Where am I and how did I get here?

By this point in your life if you haven't asked yourself "where am I and how did I get here?" ... you probably should!

For most of us, where we are today isn't the result of a conscious decision twenty years ago.  For example, declaring that you "want to be the world's greatest sports writer!"  And then taking methodical steps to achieve your goal.  Truthfully, that would be the ideal situation.  And some people are able to do that.

But let's be real ... most of us don't realize what that one thing, what that one passion is that is burning inside of us.  Most of us have many interests.  It just that either one doesn't stand out or we decide to hedge our bets; we pursue a few, or many interests.  We dilute our passion and eventually what evolves is:

• A career 
• A lifestyle choice
• Poor nutrition - high cholesterol
• Poor physical health
• Lacking spirituality
• Too few zeroes in your bank account
• (add your own item here) 

And when you ask the question "where am I and how did I get here?"  you need only look in the mirror.  The reason you are who you are ... the reason you are where you are is because of the guy or girl in the mirror.  Still being honest, we would love to blame others (I have), but it is the guy or girl in the mirror who made the choices that got us to this point today.  It's also the guy or girl in the mirror that will make the choices that get you to where you are going to be in twenty years.

If you want to be a different person in five, ten or twenty years it's up to you!  Even if you still aren't sure who or what you want to be, but you know aren't happy with who/what you are today just start heading in the opposite direction.  You can seek the help/guidance/ideas/knowledge along the way that you need to become someone that you aren't today!  There are many resources available to you (some for FREE) so you have no excuse.  Start your quest today!

Good luck and God Bless!

The Fourth of Life's Secret Ingredients (4 of 10 or more)

Focus.

Oh, if we only had more focus in our lives.  Can you imagine all of the things that you could accomplish in life if you had the ability to focus on one thing at a time?  Remember that big idea that you had a half dozen years ago?  The one that you started to mess around with, the one that you thought "this is it!"  But then you got distracted (lost focus) and never went back to or perhaps did, but then lost focus again.

Well, I am telling you now that focus is one of "Life's Secret Ingredients".  You don't need focus to live, but you do need focus to accomplish more or much of the things that you want to accomplish in life.

Is it easy to stay focused? No.  Is it simple to stay focused? Yes!

Staying focused on what is important to you really is simple.  All you need is a piece of paper, something to write with and about ten minutes of time (daily, at first).  Once you have all of those things together you can begin to focus.  Here are the instructions:

Step 1:  In one minute, quickly right down the things that you most want to accomplish in life
Step 2: Categorize them (health, spirituality, professionally/career, family, fun)
Step 3: Take the most important one from each category and put it on it's on piece of paper (3x5 index card is a good choice)
Step 4: Tape them to your mirror in your bathroom
Step 5: Read them out loud to yourself in the morning when you get up and at night when you go to bed
Step 6: Once you are thinking about these goals and start to focus on them you will need to spend more time planning and working towards achieving them.  Depending on your goal it could simply mean that you carve out 'real' vacation time (no phone, no email, completely disconnect).  Others might take additional planning and resources (ex. building a zero friction, zero input, continuous energy plant).  Once you are focused, staying focused will be as easy as keeping those cards posted on your mirror. While you are at it, why not make a set to keep in your planner or coat pocket?


Super Top Secret:  Write them down, do not just type them into your electronic device.  Believe it or not, the act of physically writing them on paper activates something in your mind that makes it real.

Stuck

 So many people feel like they are "stuck" and in so many ways:

• Stuck in a job or career
• Stuck in a relationship
• Stuck in debt
• Stuck in bad health
• Etc.

You are not stuck!  You are where you are because of the choices you have made and continue to make.  It is entirely your decision on whether or not you are the same person five days or five years from now!

Make a decision, set a goal and then reach your hand out for help!  There are people around you with life experiences and knowledge that they are just dying to share with you.  Your local library has FREE books for you to gain inspiration and to educate yourself.  Your friends and neighbors have had careers and experiences that will inspire you.  They may even have contacts in the exact field that you are looking to enter!

Open your eyes and look around for your inspiration ... then look inside you for your motivation!  Find your "WHY?"!  The inspiration gets you going, the "WHY?" will keep you going.  And be ready for sacrifices.  You may have to give up your time (a.k.a. invest your time) or skip a Fivebucks Latte or lose a friend that really isn't a friend.  If you know your "WHY?" they won't seem like sacrifices at all!  Get unstuck, call today ... operators are standing by and shipping is FREE (just kidding)!


             “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go;
        they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein

                                                           HAVE A GREAT DAY!