THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT MATTERS . . .

There are many, many differences between me, you and everyone else.  For instance:

My eye color is: Hazel     ... your's may be brown or blue,

My weight:  I won't divulge the bulge ... let's just say I am 25 pounds over where I want to be.  And you may be your ideal weight, more or less

My hair color?  First of all you have to have hair, then you can have hair color!  And yours might be red or blonde, short or long.

My skin is tan and white.  I live in Florida, so I've got year round farmer's tan.  And you, you may live in Wisconsin and you might be caucasion, so your skin is likely white.  And if you're not caucasian, you live in Wisconsin ... it's probably some shade of "freezer burn" white.

I am in my 40's and not getting younger.  And you might be in your 20's ... btw, you're not getting younger either!

But there is only one difference that matters and it is not the difference between me and you.  THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT MATTERS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'CURRENT [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]" AND "FUTURE [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]".

Ten years from now you will not be the same person.  Just look back ten years and think about how you have changed.  Physically you are likely very different.  If you are 18, you are probably taller now and weigh more than when you were 8.  If you are 60, you are probably shorter now and weigh more than when you were 50.  That's just life..

Mentally you are probably different too.  No matter who you are and how old you are, hopefully you've matured, gained experience, gained knowledge and developed more of a sense of who you are and/or who you want to be.  If you've regressed in this area, that's unfortunate ... but it's not too late to move in a better direction!

Step 1) It's time to assess who you are.  Write down what you like in life, your favorite activities, your passions.  Write down your skills, talents, accomplishments.  And most important ... write down how you feel about who you are today.  Assess your health, wealth, spirituality, friends and connections in your community.

Step 2)  Knowing who you want to be next week, next year and at the end of the next decade of your life is not just next ... it's critical.  Not knowing who you want to be when you grow up (more) is like setting off on a vacation, but not knowing where you are going.  Will it be adventurous?  Maybe.  But it also could be the kind of adventure where you find your car careening off a mountain highway only to find yourself stuck in a ravene with no way out.  So take a few hours and write down who you want to be or what you want to change about yourself by next week, next month, next year, in 5 years and in 10 years.

Is Step 2 a lot of work?  Yes, but not as much work as climbing out of that ravene and trying to put your life back together!

Step 3)  Start.  Yes, it might be Nike it like ... but, just do it.  You don't need a 4 year degree to accomplish most of the things that you want to do or change about yourself.  But you do need to start.  Education and training is Step 5.  Most of the great minds or thinkers of our day are self taught.  They are not 'great' or admired because they went to Harvard or Princeton.  They are 'great' for what they have done or are doing.  So just start, whereever you are at start from there.

Step 4) Develop your plan(s).  Formalize your plan to achieve your goals.  It doesn't have to be a perfect plan.  No plan is perfect.  There are always going to be variables/obstacles that you can't predict that will pop up and derail you.  Put some effort into planning on what you need (experience/training and education) to become who you want to become. 

Step 5) Get educated.  Once you start to follow your plan/passions.  You will realize that there are books, magazines, lectures and seminars that will help you in the pursuit of your goals.  Be aware and be prepared to slow down to get the training, education or ideas that you will need to accomplish your plan.

Step 6) Have checkpoints.  As you work towards your goal make sure that you stop and reflect on your progress.  Many times, especially with bigger, longer term goals you will find that you aren't following the plan that you had originally developed.  THAT'S OK.  Check where you are at, make sure that your goal is still your goal and revise your plan with even more focus and passion towards achieving it.

What if your goals change, let's say you are no longer interested in becoming a Master Underwater Basket Weaver?  That's the great thing about the check points.  If you reach your 1st checkpoint and realize that you don't have the passion or interest that you thought you had ... then now is a good time to cross off that goal and go in search of a different passion.

There are far too many people who graduate from college and realize that the degree they earned in engineering doesn't help them much in getting a job in the field they are really passionate about ... illustrating for children's books.

If you know where you want to be, and when you want to be there ... even if you falter a little bit ... you will be closer to who you want to be and you'll get there sooner than most.