motivation
It’s a simple question, and a simple answer
Picture walking into your house and it’s in total disarray. Drawers pulled open and clothes hanging out of them. Other drawers upside down and all their contents dumped on the floor. Furniture tossed around. Pictures and other decorative items yanked off the walls. What did the burglars take? You’re trying to remember, but you’re facing a few obstacles. Those obstacles are stress, fear, frustration and anxiety, all of which impede your ability to remember.
When you have a loss, you’re required by the insurance company to provide a list of everything you need replaced. How will you do that?
- You’ll try to remember everything you owned.
- You’ll try to remember the model number of your digital camera.
- You’ll try to remember the size and manufacturer of the big screen TV.
- You’ll try to remember how many DVDs, CDs and video games you own(ed).
- You’ll try to remember the purchase price of each item you’re listing.
- Then you’ll try to remember when you bought them.
- And you’ll keep trying and trying and trying to remember what else was taken.
That’s a lot of “try” activities. My life/business coach, J.Sewell Perkins, of Success Coaches Institute, has taught me that try really doesn’t exist. You either do or you don’t. She and Yoda in Star Wars share the same message. She is as insightful and knowledgeable as he was (but much more attractive), and this try lesson really hammers home the need to have documentation of the contents of your home and/or business. Because as J.S. and Yoda say, “There is no try – only do or do not.”
Would you rather “do” create your list or “do not” create your list? Would you rather recover financially or not? Would you rather lessen your stress and emotional turmoil or not? Would you rather have a document to refer to so your task is efficiently completed or not? Would you rather submit your claim quickly or lose many weeks and months while you try to remember what else was taken .. or would you rather not?
Would you rather have an inventory of your belonings, or would you rather not? Would you rather not have to try, but instead, do?
Finding your true love
Valentine’s Day takes me back to grade school days when everyone brought the flimsy little paper valentines to give to everyone in class … even the boys who punched you and the girls who snubbed you. But that one day, everyone “felt the love” for everyone else. And that love we proclaimed was just as meaningless as many other statements of love.
I believe the word love is SO overused, evidenced by statements I’ve heard recently that people …
love filet mignon and lobster,
love watching sunsets in Florida,
love their favorite TV show,
love it when it snows big, beautiful flakes,
love it when there’s no line at the grocery store,
love the smell of a new car … and so on.
We all love, love, love, love, love so many things, we’ve loved the word love to death! Has the true meaning of love lost its luster, its impact and even its depth?
I don’t have the answer to that. But there is one love – in addition to the love I feel for those special people in my life – when the word love is very appropriate. In fact, it’s even necessary. That situation is loving what I do for a living. And if you don’t, it’s time to make a change.
Whether you earn minimum wage or 6 figures, work for yourself or someone else, if you love what you do, it isn’t work. Small company, large corporation or entrepreneur, if you don’t love what you do, it’s the wrong thing to be doing. Life is too valuable to spend countless hours a day in misery – or at the very best, just “doing” a job, marking the days until you can retire.
What’s your passion? What’s your purpose? What do you love to do? Discover that, then find a way to get paid for it, and you’ll never work another day in your life! Click here if you don’t know how and you’ll create a whole new life to love.
I have completed the Secret Abundance Files and am currently in the International Mastermind Group and an affiliate member. Because of the growth I’ve achieved personally and professionally through this program, I highly recommend it. The money I receive when you buy the course is a mere fraction of what YOU will receive when you master its principles. The cost is only $197 and comes with a 100% guarantee. (You’ll “love” it!)
You only have one life; why not begin now to live it to the fullest?
Those of you who know us personally have stated you see a difference in us. We attribute this – and the growth of our inventory service business – to J. Sewell Perkins, our life/business coach. Her program called The Secret Abundance Files has given us and many others the knowledge and help to change our lives.
Due to special arrangements we’ve made for the holiday season, you can purchase this gift of hope and renewal for someone you care about, and you will receive the course for yourself at no additional charge.
I know a blog is not the place “sell” anything. But this isn’t selling, this is sharing something that can make a huge difference in your life and the lives of those you care about. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact us.
You only have one life; why not begin now to live it to the fullest? The cost of the program is a fraction of what you’d expect. We encourage you to learn more about this gift of a lifetime.
How to avoid flatlining
Red, yellow, green … purple
Our grandson Josh is 5 and just started Kindergarten last week. He told me that he was “in the yellow” one day, then went on to explain what they meant. They all start out in the green each morning. Once you’ve misbehaved enough to get a warning, your name is placed in the yellow. This is an easy, visual way to let you know you’ve crossed the line without the teacher even needing to state you are in trouble. Then, if conduct doesn’t improve, you go into the red.
First impressions
We’ve all heard about the importance of making a great first impression. We’ve also heard the negatives that happen when you don’t make the correct first impression. But who is to determine what the “right” impression is? Our clothing, spoken words, body language and attitude are all scrutinized when we meet others. And we, in turn, evaluate them. This is happening at social get-togethers, business meetings and networking events – just about anywhere people gather.Should you care what others think? Does it matter? Well, yes, and when it comes to the business world, especially. It matters when you’re trying to make a sale to a law firm and you show up for the meeting in shorts and a t-shirt, while the competition shows up in a 3-piece suit. It matters when you’re a business owner and you know that your personal image ties into the business image. But no matter how well you dress, or speak, or act – if you aren’t the true you – your first impression will soon fall apart. I believe that all this doesn’t matter unless you give the correct first impression to the most important person in your life. That one person’s opinion that matters more than anyone else, is you. Your feelings about yourself is what will determine what happens each day!Each day is a new day, and each day you can give yourself the “right” impression, which is determined by you. Whether you’re a sales person, business owner or stay-at-home mom, you must be true to yourself. If you’re being something different to impress others, or give an impression you think someone else wants to see, you’re accomplishing nothing in the long term.You don’t need another person’s opinion when you know your true self. When you reach that, you have the confidence to be who you are. You’ll be happy and content with what you see in the mirror each morning. And then, the impression you leave with others is exactly what and who you are. You’re leaving the “right” impression.But, what if someone doesn’t like your clothing? What if they don’t like your hair? So what? You are you, and when you are the best you can be, and are happy with that person, then it’s not about you any more. It’s that other person’s problem, the other person’s issue, if for some reason they don’t like you. Who says what’s right and what’s wrong? The key point is that you won’t be living by another person’s standard; you’ll be living by your own. And when you are true to yourself, you are pleasing the most important person – you.
Lessons from a 5-year-old
It’s amazing how much children can teach us about life and business. When our grandson played his first soccer game, he was so proud when he scored the first goal of the season. It was his first season playing organized (if you can call kindergarten “organized). In their 5-4 win, he scored another two points to assist with the win. Of course, these young children are told that they don’t keep score, and playing soccer – at this age – is just for fun. So it was interesting to listen to his remarks during the game when it was his turn to sit out … “We’re winning!” … then as the other team went ahead … “Oh, man, they’re beating us!” … and finally, “We won! We won!” Even though he was told it doesn’t matter who wins, that they really don’t keep score, he knows better.
Lessons from a high school cross country team, Part 2
Yesterday I introduced you to 7 strong, determined young men who had the dream of winning the Indiana Cross Country State Championship. They trained hard, believed in themselves and each other. They had a common goal they visualized every day, and at the end of the season, they stood on stage as state champs!
Their vision became reality! The physical effort these boys put forth was amazing. But the edge they brought with them was that they saw it happen before the season even started!
These 7 runners – who on paper were not a championship team – made me a believer in visualizing your way to success. Of course, just seeing it won’t make it happen. What it will do is allow you to work toward your goal with a belief that it will happen. Once you allow yourself to see it, you will begin to believe it. See your success and each step you need to take along the way to reach your goal. This is what allows one person to become a success while others sit back and wonder why life dealt them a bad hand.
The same is true in the business world. Our business associates, fellow networkers and power team members help us see what we can be and help us get there. We are each other’s cheerleaders, mentors, teammates. Without support, without others keeping us at the top of our game, we will not have the success we want. We, like the cross country team, hold each other to a higher standard. Your teammates’ successes are your successes, and yours are theirs.
Success is not a sprint. Achieving goals is more like a cross country meet – a long run, one step at a time, with obstacles, ups and downs, people getting in your way, maybe even pushing you off course, and in the end, it’s you – alone – crossing that finish line. You’re exhausted, but jubilant with arms in the air. And you know that your team helped you get there. You take a moment to celebrate the victory, and then you’re off again, ready to start visualizing your next goal and seeing your next success.
The cross country team did that. They decided that one blue ribbon was not enough. So they immediately began their new vision, their new goal of back-to-back state championships. They worked through the pain, and knew it was worth the effort. They found strength in visualization because they knew that it worked. They gave themselves permission to believe! Stay the course. See it – believe it – achieve it.
Lessons from a high school cross country team
Achieving success comes from within. We read books and listen to CDs which give us the opportunity to motivate ourselves. These ideas from others encourage us to create our successful universe. I believe in creating our own destiny, of visualization, of ‘seeing’ our success. But no professional speaker or author proved it to me more than 7 young men who ran high school cross country.
They taught me that visualization is a 3-way process. You can’t just have a goal and expect to achieve it. There must the goal, of course, but then the ability to see it happening, and finally the motivation to make it real.
My son was on that cross country team. They were rated in the top 10 in the state, but certainly not number 1. They could have paid attention to the newspaper articles, the buzz about other teams being better. They could have seen themselves as a 4th or 5th place team. But the strength of visualization gave them permission to see themselves differently. It allowed them to see themselves as state champions. And that vision gave them the stamina to train like champions.
The team worked hard, running 2 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. It didn’t matter if it was 95 degrees or 0. They were good and this intense training made them even better. They saw themselves winning it all. The key is they didn’t just see themselves on stage receiving their blue ribboned medals; it was much more than that. They saw each step, each race, each victory one at a time.
Before each meet the team formed a circle, each mentally ran his own individual race. Their eyes were closed and their heads moved as they saw themselves maneuver a curve or push up a hill. The entire team saw every detail of every race – from a perfect start at the pop of the gun to crossing the finish line.
Did each race turn out as they envisioned? Absolutely not. Sometimes they didn’t place where they expected. Other times they didn’t run the pace they anticipated. But they always visualized themselves coming in strong, arms in the air in victory … In reality, we saw wobbly knees carrying sweat-soaked bodies, each struggling to breathe as they often staggered to the finish line.
And at the end of the year, does it really matter if they won the state championship or not? Isn’t the important thing being that they learned to believe in themselves? Absolutely!
What happend that crisp, fall morning in Indiana? Part 2 tomorrow.
The top 10 things I’m grateful for
So often we tend to look at what’s wrong, sad, bad or depressing in our lives. Instead, if we look at what’s right, happy, good, uplifting, joyous, fulfilling, energizing and motivating we would make it a better world just because of our positive energy. (And did you notice I have many more ‘good’ words than ‘bad’?)
So, I am using this final post of 2008 to share the things for which I am most grateful:
- Mike is, of course, number 1. He is my best friend, husband of many years, business partner, cheerleader and encourager. He has a quiet sense of humor and makes me laugh.
- Our sons Sean and Brian. I’m proud to be their mom and even prouder to see what great husbands and fathers they have become.
- Amy and Jill, our daughters-in-law, who have enriched our family more than I could have asked for.
- Olivia, Tyler, Payton and Josh. Grandkids! They help me see the world through young, eyes-wide-open, eyes and I love them each dearly.
- My mom who just turned 80, my life mentor who taught me how important it is to consider others’ feelings and needs. I don’t see her often enough.
- My sister, Kathy, who has always been there for me and still today is one of my biggest fans. We live 5 hours apart and I miss her.
- Friends from years past. Each brought something valuable into my life and there would be a void if I hadn’t known them.
- Friends who are currently in my life, acquaintances who are just becoming friends and those whom I have yet to meet. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
- My “electronic” friends who read my blogs and newsletters, who are on Twitter, Smaller Indiana, LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo and other social sites. Though we most likely won’t meet f2f, I read their posts, enjoy our conversations, and appreciate the support and friendship they provide. I’m grateful that I’ve found this whole new world of friends that are just as valuable and meaningful as any other.
- Fellow networkers who have become friends and business associates. They keep me motivated, provide support, share ideas and refer business to us.
You might be thinking – isn’t she grateful for her business? Yes, I am very grateful for our home inventory business. We wouldn’t be here today without those mentioned above. Likewise, the recent launch of the Hartman Inventory Systems turnkey package is something I’m extremely grateful for. I’m grateful that Mike and I have the ability and fortitude to have created it. It will provide the opportunity to help others own a company that will, in turn, help others!
But the top 10 have to be people. People who impact my life, who allow me to give of myself and offer the same in return. People are what life is about. For without these people, nothing else would matter.
What are you grateful for?
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