Where do you begin?

You begin in the only place that you can begin -- RIGHT HERE!

I read a quote a while ago that I found truly inspirational and enlightening:
            "Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go;
             they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein

Your only choice is to start where you are.  You can wish, hope and pray for all of the things that would make your journey easier, better and quicker.  But you don't need them.  The things you need on your journey you will discover during your journey.  The education, the contacts, the continued inspiration ... it's all out there!  But you can't do a time warp.

• You can't go to bed tonight and wake up in the morning with a college degree or specialized training
• You can't go to bed tonight and wake up with ripped abs
• You can't go to bed tonight and wake up with extra zeroes at the end of your checking account balance

That's not how life works.  Again, you can wish, hope and pray but these things won't work without your hard work, your dedication, your focus and your passion.

Your only choice is to create a "map" to get you from where you are right now to where you want to be. If you want to get anywhere with intention, you have to have a plan.  Otherwise, as Yogi Berra said: "If you don't know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else."

Have a great day!

The Sixth Secret Ingredient to Life (6 of 10 or more)

Gratitude.

No matter where you are in life, no matter what has happened to you, be thankful for what you have and who you have in your life.  Be thankful for what will be coming in your life and be thankful for those who will be entering your life (you truly do have a lot to look forward to).

Unless you are that one very unfortunate person in the world that is really living in the worst circumstances (and you have a computer or smart phone, so I know you aren't that person) ... things could always be worse.  So be grateful for what you have.  Don't be envious of others and what they have.  Rather, be happy for them and if you want  to be like them then you need to study them, learn from them.

The good news is you have tomorrow, be thankful for that.  You may remember the motivational line that Apollo Creed says to Rocky Balboa in Rocky III "There is no tomorrow!"  Well it doesn't apply to us, for us there is a tomorrow!  The sun comes up every morning.  You always have a chance to begin again or continue or finish.  Be thankful that you have that.

If you don't like your present circumstances, be thankful that you have tomorrow to look forward to and tomorrow to work on becoming the person you want to become!

God wants you to have more, to do more, to be more.  Be grateful for what you have now, what you've done and be grateful for the ability to do more, to get more and to give more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Have you ever heard the expression "Where there's a will, there's a way!"?  I have ... dozens, if not hundreds of times.  It's a true statement, but how strong of a statement is it?

No doubt that there is always 'a way'.  But there is not always the willingness ('will') to do what you or your team wants to get done.  Your will is something you choose, but to me it's a weak word, without much commitment.  Another, stronger word for will/willingness is DESIRE.  This is a word that I favor over will.  It has determination and fortitude built into it!

Change the statement to read "Where there's a DESIRE, there's a way!"  And now you have a statement that says "you're not going to give up so easily" (a.k.a. 'if at first you don't succeed ... try, try again!"); "this is important to me"!

Now change the statement to read "Where there's a PERMANENT, BURNING DESIRE, there's a way!"  WOW!  That's saying something.  The choice is yours:  you can have a will; or, you can have a PERMANENT, BURNING DESIRE.  You get to choose.  YES!  YOU GET TO CHOOSE!

You can't apply that kind of passion to everything you do at all times.  You would be completely drained and may not enjoy life so much.  But for your most important projects or goals it's a must.  You need to have a permanent, burning desire!  Now focus on what is most important to you and do it!

Our struggles make us stronger, they help us grow!

Don't regret your struggles!  We all face challenges, some that are tougher than others ... but we all have them!

Death, Divorce, Debt, Disease ... we all have challenges, we all have struggles.  As my mentor Jim Rohn would say ... these things happen to all of us, it's what we do about them that matters.  Or as Bob Proctor would put it:  E + R = O.  The Event plus your Reaction equals your Outcome.

How you react to the things that life throws at you will determine where you end up tomorrow.  Whether you become stronger, smarter and more courageous ... or you become weaker, dumber, more afraid!  Face your challenges head on; react in ways that you will gain or grow from your challenges.

Whether you choose action or inaction you won't be the same person tomorrow that you are today.  If you rise to the challenge you will grow stronger, your life and all aspects of it will get better.  If you run from your challenges you will shrink, grow weaker ... you will be less tomorrow than you are today.

Here's the irony ... if you do nothing (meaning don't face your challenges, but don't run) ... the effect on you is the same as if you ran away from your challenges.  Doing nothing will cause atrophy in your mind, your will, your heart, your muscles ... your being.

Choose to face your challenges!  Choose to face your struggles!  Choose to grow!  And if you don't have challenges get some!

EASY IS NOT THE SAME AS SIMPLE

I've been bothered by this recently ... and have meant to post/blog about it ... but it's not easy, so I haven't until now.  So, in case you haven't realized it yet ... "Easy is not the same as simple."

Many people will use easy and simple interchangeably ... but they are not always synonyms.  Yes, they can often be used in the same context, but they are more often than not misused.  Many times when people use the word "simple" they're using it as a reason ... but it's really an excuse.  Here are a few examples that I've come across (read "struggled with") in life:

1. I just can't lose weight/get into shape.  It's not so simple!
2. I can't seem to save money, I work hard and I am careful how I spend my money ... but I simply can't get ahead!
3. I don't have the time to do all the things I need to do ... there simply aren't enough hours in the day!

Do any of these complaints/excuses sound familiar?  They should ... we've all used them. =)

The fact is these things are actually very simple to accomplish, they just aren't always easy to do.  There aren't too many steps standing between you and accomplishing any of the three examples, but they do require the following:

• Clearly defining your goal
• Budgeting
• Focus
• Sacrifice

Those are four very simple bullet points.  And they apply to anything that you want to achieve in life.  But they aren't easy ... they require that you think, make choices and then take action!  Here's a little more explanation on the steps:

• Defining your goal - if you dream about having something or becoming someone write it down, make it a goal, give yourself a deadline with measurable "checkpoints" along the way.  There are many "gurus" with further detail on how to set and accomplish goals.  Read two or three authors (I recommend Ziglar, Rohn) and you will see some basic steps that they all recommend.
• Budgeting - whether achieving your goals requires managing your time or your money better, you need to control both.  Create a budget and track how you spend your time or your money; or both!  Once you figure out where each is going and devise a scheme to control it you are halfway to your goal
• Focus - if your goal is really, really important to you ... you will make it a priority, you will devote to it the resources that are necessary to achieve your goal and you will not be distracted by temptations around you (TV, friends who want to "hang out", laying in bed when you aren't tired, etc)
• Sacrifice (read focus again) - you are going to have to sacrifice.  If you are trying to lose weight you are going to have to put the twinkies down!  If you are trying to save money you are going to have to say "No!" to unnecessary purchases.  If you are trying to get more done at work or spend more time with your spouse/significant other ... you are going to have to give up something else on your calendar (or get more efficient at the other things)

It may sound like a lot of work ... but nothing is ever really work if you have a worthwhile goal/dream.  And it really can be quite simple. From now on when you think of "easy", insert the word "lazy" ... because isn't that really what many people mean (not you ... other people).  They don't want to put in the work or effort into fulfilling their dreams or goals ... they wish someone would just hand them the "money" (lottery winner?) or the "skinny body" (liposuction) or the give them more "time" (think of all the time saving devices we have - washing machine/dryer, dishwasher, DVR, fast cars).

The temptations are all around us; there are many things that we do because they are easy and/or make us feel good.  They may not be the right things for us, in other words - don't help us fulfill our goals; but they often don't take much effort. 

Do yourself a favor and stop inserting "simple" where you actually mean to use the word "easy"; and if you take it one more step and insert "lazy" instead your life may just change for the better after hearing yourself say that out loud a few times!

Have a great day!