How to catch a monkey and why it's important to you!

Years ago a friend of mine from Nepal told me a story about how to catch a monkey:

You cut the top off a coconut, you tie the coconut to a stake or a tree, you put some peanuts in the coconut and then you wait patiently.  When a hungry (and greedy) little monkey comes along it will reach its hand into the coconut,  it'll make a fist as it grabs the peanuts and then it will struggle to get free.  The silly, greedy, little monkey will keep his hand clenched for a while because he really wants the peanuts in the coconut ... giving you ample time to run up and grab the monkey.  I may not remember the story correctly, but I believe that once caught the monkey's name was changed to "dinner".

Are you like the monkey in the story?  Are you hanging onto something that is dangerous, worthless or useless ... but is keeping you from moving on in life?  Have you been hanging onto something or someone from your past in an unhealthy way.

Don't be like the monkey in the story.  You need to understand that many times letting go of something will allow you to move on, to survive ... even to thrive!  It may be a bad habit of yours, a flawed philosophy or an unhealthy relationship.  Understand that bad habits can be replaced with good habits; flawed philosophies can be replaced with proven ones; and, bad relationships can be replaced with healthy ones (there are seven billion people in the world ... it's time to move on!)

The silly, greedy, little monkey became dinner ... don't be like the monkey!

Have a great day!

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!

Dead weight or ballast?

Your friends, associates, spouses ... are they "dead weight" or are they "ballast?"

There's a difference between dead weight or excess baggage and ballast.

We all need ballast, just like a ship does.

But there's no place in our lives for dead weight.  Dead weight slows you down.  Dead weight keeps you from performing at your peak.  Dead weight wears you out.  When you face headwinds in life that dead weight will bring you to a dead stop ... maybe even make you go backwards.  Maybe it will send you in the wrong direction, down the wrong path.

I love this quote and I think I've used it before, Mark Mero said "your friends are like an elevator, they can bring you down or they can bring you up."  So very true!

The ones that bring you down (physically, spiritually, etc) are "dead weight"... jettison them!  Be polite ... but don't spend too much time with them.  You will develop their habits, mannerisms and vocabulary. 

Take some time, step back and take a look at your friends ... do you really want to be like them?  Separate your friends/associates into two categories ... the "dead weight" category and the "ballast" category.

The ones that bring you up belong in the "ballast" category ... they're not perfect.  But they can help you set the right course, sail straight, they bring you up.  They don't always have all the right answers ... but they care and they won't steer you wrong.

To quote a corny phrase, the ones in your "ballast" category will be "the wind beneath your wings."  They will lift you up.  They will help you focus.  They will help you "be all that you can be."

Have a great and blessed day!