"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." -M. Scott Peck
I remember the feeling, arriving to work at my high paying job for a major technology corporation, getting a cup of coffee and sitting at my desk staring out the window wondering..."What am I doing?" "Where am I going?" "What's my purpose here?" "Am I going to look back 20-30 years from now and ask myself, did I make a difference or just collect a paycheck?" I remember the frustration of thinking of ideas that would improve processes, improve quality, save the company money and maintain or improve their reputation for quality. I would put together a plan, solicit others to team up and move the plan forward. I would gather data, and recommend systems to collect the needed data to identify where to focus our efforts. Ultimately implementing projects like this and seeing them to successful completion met with many roadblocks and dead ends because of complex circumstances such as a new order fulfillment system being rolled out, off-shoring of the manufacturing processes and downsizing.
At one point during the mid-nineties I realized that the company was planning to downsize the workforce in the future. This coupled with my being unhappy and unfulfilled put a fear in me that made me wonder what my future would hold. The combination of being unhappy and unfulfilled, along with the fear of being downsized forced me to take action. I decided that I needed to find a way to take control of my future. Although I was uncomfortable and had to get out of my comfort zone, I am thankful that I was willing to have the vision to step out and do what was necessary to create a better future for myself and my family.
If you are feeling the same way I encourage you to just do it today. You will never regret the decision. The only regret you will have is that if you don't, you'll look back at the end of your life and wonder...what if? You don't want to be one of these people saying...If only I'da, I should'a, would'a, could'a!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Law of the Harvest
Leaders face the facts. They question their assumptions, study their environment, and refuse to shy away from inconvenient truths. By defining reality, they position themselves to make informed choices about what should be done and how to go about doing it. People tend to exaggerate yesterday, overestimate tomorrow, and overlook today. Leaders are the exception. They know today matters, and they make the most of the minutes in their day. They measure success by the seeds they sow rather than the harvest they reap, believing that effort ultimately is rewarded with results.
~ John Maxwell
I've had the personal experience of working with many people who don't understand this principle. They are looking for immediate reward for the work they do, like a job. Other than working at a job...life just doesn't work that way. The same principles that hold true for planting a garden and reaping a harvest apply whether you're an athlete with the goal of becoming a professional or an Olympian, a musician aspiring to become a recording artist, an entrepreneur building a business or an employee aspiring to become a CEO of a corporation. When you plant a garden (Define your dream or purpose backed by a burning desire to achieve it), you prepare the soil (personal development), plant the seeds (action or applied knowledge), water, pull the weeds (control your attitude by reading and listening to positive, inspiring information and associate with like minded people) you KNOW that eventually there will be a harvest (faith). If you want to learn, understand and apply these principles you can read Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill or Three Feet From Gold (recently released) which is recommended in an earlier post on my Blog.
~ John Maxwell
I've had the personal experience of working with many people who don't understand this principle. They are looking for immediate reward for the work they do, like a job. Other than working at a job...life just doesn't work that way. The same principles that hold true for planting a garden and reaping a harvest apply whether you're an athlete with the goal of becoming a professional or an Olympian, a musician aspiring to become a recording artist, an entrepreneur building a business or an employee aspiring to become a CEO of a corporation. When you plant a garden (Define your dream or purpose backed by a burning desire to achieve it), you prepare the soil (personal development), plant the seeds (action or applied knowledge), water, pull the weeds (control your attitude by reading and listening to positive, inspiring information and associate with like minded people) you KNOW that eventually there will be a harvest (faith). If you want to learn, understand and apply these principles you can read Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill or Three Feet From Gold (recently released) which is recommended in an earlier post on my Blog.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Courage
"God only knows what successes are in my future, in our futures, but I'm one hundred percent certain that whatever they may be, the only way to achieve them will be to continue risking, taking chances and showing outrageous courage."
"Your fear of "NO" is the only thing standing between you and greatness."
What do you need to do today that you've been procrastinating about because you fear what someone else will think or that you might hear "NO?" If you don't make that call the answer is automatically "NO." And do you know what else...others aren't thinking about you, they are thinking about themselves and their problems! And maybe your phone call can help them solve their problem. I'm certainly not perfect, I can still procrastinate too. All I know is that after I do what I know I should do (make the phone call) I feel really good about myself whether the answer is yes or no because I had the courage to do it! Like the Nike commercial says "Just Do It!"
"Your fear of "NO" is the only thing standing between you and greatness."
What do you need to do today that you've been procrastinating about because you fear what someone else will think or that you might hear "NO?" If you don't make that call the answer is automatically "NO." And do you know what else...others aren't thinking about you, they are thinking about themselves and their problems! And maybe your phone call can help them solve their problem. I'm certainly not perfect, I can still procrastinate too. All I know is that after I do what I know I should do (make the phone call) I feel really good about myself whether the answer is yes or no because I had the courage to do it! Like the Nike commercial says "Just Do It!"
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Applied Faith
Many times we find ourselves focused on our situations and we begin to feel like we've hit a brick wall and there's no way around or over it. We succumb to our fears, doubts and worries and resolve to live a life of quiet desperation. Maybe we just need to shift our focus from what we're going through to where we're going to...in other words focus on our dream, our burning desire. Have a little faith and just put one foot in front of the other. You will be surprised where you end up!
An Approach to Faith
by Dr. Napoleon Hill
Here is a story which we would like to pass on to you. A man was driving from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, rolling along just fine - until his car stopped dead. He tried the starter repeatedly, but not a cylinder would fire. Being a business man and no mechanic, he didn't know the first thing about the mechanics of his car. But he got out, lifted the hood and looked in rapt amazement at the confusing array of gadgets which greeted his eyes. Angered by his own mechanical ignorance, he slammed down the hood, locked the car and started down the highway to find a garage.
For nearly three miles he trudged along in the hot desert sun and arrived at a garage in a good sweat. The mechanic drove him back to his stalled car. Now when the mechanic lifted the hood, he knew what to look for, and he loosened a nut on the side of the carburetor, took out a tiny screen, held it up to the sunlight and, after a glance, blew on it quickly. He shook it a few times and put it back in. The engine immediately responded to the starter. All that was wrong with the engine, the mechanic explained, was that the flow of its gasoline had been temporarily shut off by the dust which had collected on the little screen. Being somewhat of a philosopher, the mechanics made the observation that men are like that sometimes their mental screens become clogged and they fail to accept the bounteous blessings with which a generous Providence has surrounded them.
That caused the driver to do some thinking. He has received a tremendous lesson in applied faith. Suddenly he realized how many unhappy situations in life are caused by interruptions of inflowing life-energy from Infinite Intelligence. He understood more clearly than ever before how the screen of the mind, clogged by doubt, fear and worry, could shut off the life-giving inspiration and energy which is forever flowing around us.
This simple story brings us face to face with the matter of applied faith.
We feel keenly the responsibility that we have assumed in attempting in lay before you a practicable, working technique for taking possession of the forces of the universe in which we live. We will do our best to tell you what faith really is and explain the source of its power. Here is a simple method by which you may make faith effective in your life. When you understand applied faith, you will have taken a long step forward toward achieving your objectives.
Source: PMA Science of Success. Pgs. 81-82.
An Approach to Faith
by Dr. Napoleon Hill
Here is a story which we would like to pass on to you. A man was driving from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, rolling along just fine - until his car stopped dead. He tried the starter repeatedly, but not a cylinder would fire. Being a business man and no mechanic, he didn't know the first thing about the mechanics of his car. But he got out, lifted the hood and looked in rapt amazement at the confusing array of gadgets which greeted his eyes. Angered by his own mechanical ignorance, he slammed down the hood, locked the car and started down the highway to find a garage.
For nearly three miles he trudged along in the hot desert sun and arrived at a garage in a good sweat. The mechanic drove him back to his stalled car. Now when the mechanic lifted the hood, he knew what to look for, and he loosened a nut on the side of the carburetor, took out a tiny screen, held it up to the sunlight and, after a glance, blew on it quickly. He shook it a few times and put it back in. The engine immediately responded to the starter. All that was wrong with the engine, the mechanic explained, was that the flow of its gasoline had been temporarily shut off by the dust which had collected on the little screen. Being somewhat of a philosopher, the mechanics made the observation that men are like that sometimes their mental screens become clogged and they fail to accept the bounteous blessings with which a generous Providence has surrounded them.
That caused the driver to do some thinking. He has received a tremendous lesson in applied faith. Suddenly he realized how many unhappy situations in life are caused by interruptions of inflowing life-energy from Infinite Intelligence. He understood more clearly than ever before how the screen of the mind, clogged by doubt, fear and worry, could shut off the life-giving inspiration and energy which is forever flowing around us.
This simple story brings us face to face with the matter of applied faith.
We feel keenly the responsibility that we have assumed in attempting in lay before you a practicable, working technique for taking possession of the forces of the universe in which we live. We will do our best to tell you what faith really is and explain the source of its power. Here is a simple method by which you may make faith effective in your life. When you understand applied faith, you will have taken a long step forward toward achieving your objectives.
Source: PMA Science of Success. Pgs. 81-82.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Fail Your Way To Success
"Failure is something that we all need to embrace... to me, failing is like a big test. The more you fail, the closer you are to succeeding." - Todd Chism
Ever wonder why less than 5% of the population is considered "successful?" We're conditioned from a young age to feel that failure is bad. I think that the main reason we don't like to fail is that we think we are wasting our time doing whatever it is that we're failing at. It's easy to quit and tell ourselves...I'm going to do something that I can see immediate results (reward). What I've found is that every failure is a stepping stone to success as long as we ask ourselves the question...what is the lesson here? When we learn the lesson and correct course we are back on the road to success.
Ever wonder why less than 5% of the population is considered "successful?" We're conditioned from a young age to feel that failure is bad. I think that the main reason we don't like to fail is that we think we are wasting our time doing whatever it is that we're failing at. It's easy to quit and tell ourselves...I'm going to do something that I can see immediate results (reward). What I've found is that every failure is a stepping stone to success as long as we ask ourselves the question...what is the lesson here? When we learn the lesson and correct course we are back on the road to success.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Recommended Reading: Three Feet From Gold
I highly recommend this book! It is a modern day version of Napoleon Hill's classic, Think & Grow Rich. If you've never read T&GR...it is a success philosophy. Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 of the most successful people of his era (the 1910's and 1920's), people like Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, William Wrigly,and Andrew Carnegie. After twenty years of interviews and compiling his findings he wrote the Law of Success, then condensed it down to Think & Grow Rich. He found that there were thirteen, later revised to seventeen, principles that all of these successful people had in common. A few of the most important principles are that you must have a "Definite Purpose" backed by a "Burning Desire," have a "Plan," take "Persistent" action...avoid negative influences and surround yourself with like minded people (a team) "Mastermind."
These principles are especially important in todays economic climate as people are searching for answers to layoffs/downsizing, financial hardship and looking for hope.
Amazon.com: Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich) (9781402767647): Sharon L. Lechter CPA, Greg S. Reid, Mark Victor Hansen: Books: "Frequently Bought Together
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
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