Are You Focusing On What's Important

"Focus is not a 'business only' thing. Each person has only twenty-four hours per day, and how we spend those hours shows what's important in our lives. The question we must ask ourselves is...Are we focusing on what really matters?" ~Mac Anderson

Focus. What do you focus on? Whatever it is, it's important to you. Is it important to the world or anyone else? Does it matter? What does your focusing tell you about what's important to you?

Mike Murdock said "The secret to your future is hidden in your daily routine." Is what you are focusing on a routine or something that really matters. Is it just a habit or a time waster?

Steve Jobs said "Focus means saying no to the hundred other good ideas." A real interesting way to look at things, isn't it. Most people see focus as what you focus ON rather than what you don't focus on.

How are you spending your days? Are you focusing on what matters?

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Focus is not a 'business only' thing. Each person has only twenty-four hours per day, and how we spend those hours shows what's important in our lives. The question we must ask ourselves is...Are we focusing on what really matters?"

Mediocrity, Embraced By The Masses

"Mediocrity is a form of madness, a dream embraced by the masses because it makes just getting by an acceptable -- sometimes applauded -- social art form."~Guy Finley

Have you embraced mediocrity? Really? Are you excellent in every thing? Do you always strive to be the best that you can be, or do you sometimes slack off...just a little?

We have become a society that makes getting by an art form. Working for the man, doing enough to not get fired, but not going all out to stand above the crowd. Too many people are playing small. The world is not served by your playing small...PLAY BIG!!!

Look at the things you do. What are you an expert at? What are you good at. Where have you settled on being mediocre? I'm sure there are not any places that you would say you are terrible, so let's make mediocre as the bottom rung.

How can you move out of mediocrity? Do you even want to? Or does that frighten you too much. You were meant for so much more, go for it!!!

Let's take a look at settling. One of my favorite quotes says "The place for what you want is currently occupied by what you have settled for." Is that you? Have you settled on mediocrity? I sure hope not...

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Mediocrity is a form of madness, a dream embraced by the masses because it makes just getting by an acceptable -- sometimes applauded -- social art form."

Failure Is Not Our Undertaker

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end." ~Denis Waitley

When did failure start being something to be avoided? As far back as I can remember, it was always something to be avoided as opposed to being something to view as experience and learned from. Most people view failure as a dead end rather than a temporary detour.  How do you see failure, as a dead end or as a roadblock?

The fastest way to success is THROUGH failure.  Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said "If you want to succeed, fail faster." What a great way to look at things! Failure is OK!!! In fact, the best way to deal with failure is to re-frame it as delay or a temporary detour or just as a learning experience.

Don't be afraid to fail. Henry Ford said "Failure allows you to begin again more intelligently." Nice, failure allows you to being again more intelligently! Start now. Fail your way to success.

Here are some other ways to view failure through different eyes:  (Tom Hopkins)

I never see failure as failure but only as a learning experience,

I never see failure as failure, only as an opportunity to practice my technique and perfect my performance,

I never see failure as failure but only as an opportunity to develop my sense of humor,

I never see failure as failure but only as the negative feedback to change course in my direction,

I never see failure as failure but only as the game I must play to win!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end."

You Are Unique And Valuable

"Your most important job is to be you. There are contributions you can make, and gifts you have to give, that no one else can duplicate." Ralph Marston

You have a perspective that is unique and valuable. No on else has your unique viewpoint! No one else has the same valuable insights that you have. Share the insights and energy that come from that perspective.

You have feelings and longings that flow from the core of who you are. Express those feelings and fulfill those longings in your own special way. The world is waiting to hear those feelings and longings. Don't deprive the world of that opportunity to learn because if you don't bring it to the world, the world will never see it!

There is great treasure in your authenticity. Your authenticity is what brings the world to your doorstep. There are beautiful possibilities that spring from the genuine person you are. Don't hide them, let us all share in those possibilities.

Through you, life experiences itself in a way that is unique and special. If you don't share it with the world, that unique and special experience dies with you, never to be shared. Don't cheat the world from your uniqueness!

Use this opportunity to make a difference in a way that only you can do.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Your most important job is to be you. There are contributions you can make, and gifts you have to give, that no one else can duplicate."

To Say No Requires Focus!

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas." ~Steve Jobs

Wow!! Do you get the wisdom in that? As small business owners, it seems that we are always looking for the next whiz-bang thing that can take our company to greater heights...SQUIRREL!!! But Jobs is telling us to let them go. He is telling you to stop chasing the squirrel.

Did you know that Apple had the IPad ready for production 7 years ago? But Jobs kept it on the shelf until the IPhone was solid and all the apps built for it would then work on the IPad. Talk about saying no to a good idea. It really wasn't a no, but a not yet. Let go of the hundred good ideas and concentrate on only a few.

When Michelangelo was asked about his sculpture of "David" he said "He was there already, I just had to take away everything that didn't belong there." Think about your business. Have you taken away everything that doesn't belong there or do you have some chiseling to do? I would bet that you have some chiseling to do. What are you waiting for? Get chiseling!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas."

Where Are Your Dreams?

"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities"~Vic Braden

What are your dreams? Do you allow them to grow or do you stomp them down so you don't really have to think about them? Do you think about them hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly? Do you do more than think about them? Do you take action that brings them one step closer to probability?

Most people will say, "Sure, I have dreams. They are over there, in the 3rd drawer of my desk." That's not having a dream, that's really not even having a wish, because you aren't working towards it at all. That's just having one to say that you have one...

What is keeping you from going after your dream? Fear? Money? Family? Why are you not going after your dream? If you think about all the reasons you are not going after your dream, are any of those excuses valid or true? You may be convincing yourself that that they are valid but isn't that just another story you're telling yourself...so that you don't have to really reach for them???

Forget 'enlightenment.' When your dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities, how do you feel? I'm sure you've felt that way before. It feels GREAT! It makes you feel that you can do anything. Remember that feeling. Crystalize that feeling until you can recall how you felt with just a quick thought (will allow you to better visualize) And keep chasing your dreams!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities"

How Do You Respond Or Do You React?

"You may not be able to control the events that occur during the day, especially those events that are unexpected and challenging. But, you definitely have a choice whether you are going to allow these events to ruin your day, and how you are going to face these challenges." ~Barry Gottlieb

Do you ever get up "on the wrong side of the bed?" Ever had a "bad hair day?"  Ever feel like everything is going wrong and it will never get better?  How do you handle them? Do you let them ruin your day or do you change your mindset before leaving the house? You do have a choice in how you respond to those events. Be sure to exercise that choice. Don't stay stuck in that negativity.

Too many people have allowed themselves to stay stuck in that negativity.  They enjoy being there!  It's the pain they know which will always be less than the pain they don't know.  If that's you, start counting your blessings.  You're alive.  You live in the greatest country in the world (the one everyone else in the world wants to come to) and so on.  You could probably count 100 blessings in 5 minutes.  Well, that 5 minutes would be the best time spent to get you out of that negativity.

Stephen Covey said "If you start to think the problem is 'out there,' stop yourself. That thought is the problem." Too often we get caught up in thinking the problem is 'out there' when it is really with us. Realize that you are in control of your life, no one else is. It will be your choice to either react or respond. Reaction is without thought. Response requires thought. Always respond, never react.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"You may not be able to control the events that occur during the day, especially those events that are unexpected and challenging. But, you definitely have a choice whether you are going to allow these events to ruin your day, and how you are going to face these challenges."

The Best Time Of Your Life

"Embrace fully your capacity to create, to think in unlimited ways, and to pursue everything that you have been wanting. Be flexible, open and willing to let the new come to you. "This can be the most prosperous, and creative time of your life." -- Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

Have you embraced your capacity to CREATE? Have you learned to think in UNLIMITED ways? Are you pursuing EVERYTHING you have been wanting? Why not??? You have an unlimited capacity to create (even though that art teacher in 7th grade said you couldn't). How many people believed the teacher that said something like that about your creativity? Don't believe it! We ALL have the ability to create.

Are you pursuing everything you have been wanting? Too many people put off what they truly want, thinking that they need to wait for good the good things they want. Now is the time to go after what you want. There's no need to wait. Go for it NOW!

Have you learned to think in unlimited ways? Really?? Many people have learned one way to think and that's the only way they think. Don't get stuck in that trap. There are many ways to think, you just need to get out of your own brain. Learn to think differently. Challenge you thinking. Expand your mind.

"This can be the most prosperous and creative time of your life."  Do you believe that?  Why not?  What's holding you back?  Only YOU are holding you back.  Once you realize that, make the changes that are necessary and this can be the most prosperous time of your life!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Embrace fully your capacity to create, to think in unlimited ways, and to pursue everything that you have been wanting. Be flexible, open and willing to let the new come to you. "This can be the most prosperous, and creative time of your life."

Stop Living In The Past - Be Present!

"What's the good of dragging up sufferings which are over, of being unhappy now just because you were then." ~Seneca

Your greatest power is always in the present moment. When you re-live past misery in the present you are committing an act of violence against yourself. When misery from the past enters your consciousness you have the power to choose how to view it. What choice do you make?

Stop living in the past!  Just because something happened once before doesn't mean that it will happen again.  Too many people like to stay in the past because it serves them somehow.  They like to play the "victim."  They like to get sympathy.  It's a pain that they are familiar with so they hang on to it.  Don't be that person!!

Here are a couple of self confronting questions to bring you into the present: "What am I trying to accomplish today?" "What one thing am I not doing --that if I did do, would greatly improve my life six months from now? Think ahead, not behind.

Take some time and answer those questions. I know that the answers will give you the direction and power to make it happen.

Finally, two thoughts to take with you today. Your greatest power is ALWAYS in the present moment and the choice is YOURS to make.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"What's the good of dragging up sufferings which are over, of being unhappy now just because you were then."

Limitless Potential or Limiting Past

"I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past."~Stephen Covey

Are you living out of your imagination or out of your memory?  Most people are simply living out of their memory and because of that, they never get to where they really want to go.  Is that you? Are you stuck reliving the same old stuff, day after day, almost like that movie "Groundhog Day?"  If so, do what Bill Murray did in the movie.  He took the opportunity to learn new things, to grow and become more than he was and get what he wanted to get.  Your life isn't so different.

The challenge we face is described here by Wallace Wattles when he says, "You can never get rich, or start the creative power into action, by sending out unformed longings and vague desires."  Most people want to be "happy" or "rich" or "have a nice house."  All things that are unformed longings and vague desires.  GET SPECIFIC with what you want!  

Don't spend any time thinking about what you DON'T WANT.  Why?  Because that just attracts more of what you don't want!  You have to train your brain to focus on all the good things that you have and not on what you lack.  Focusing on your abundance, even if it's a small amount of abundance will bring you more abundance!  Your brain wants you to focus on all the things you don't have.  Work on making that brain of yours work for you, instead of against you!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past."

"We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in the future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act."~Swami Vivekananda

Yes, YOU are responsible for who you are!  Not your parents, not your teachers, not your spouse or significant other.  We are also responsible for whoever we wish to be!  Do you realize that?  You ARE responsible for who you wish to be, how great is that?  It's your choice and it's always been only your choice.

We are now the results of who we have been in the past and so it follows that we can change who we will be by our actions NOW, in the present.  WOW, we can change who we will be by our current actions!  Who do you want to become?  Start now by changing your actions to be that person.

We have the power to make ourselves whoever we want to be.  Most people say that when they have, they will do and be.  That's wrong!  You need to BE, DO, then HAVE!  Make your present actions all about being.

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in the future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act."

Are You Dealing In The Negative?

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong... Why not see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”~Thich Nhat Hanh

Is that you? Dealing too much in the negative? Most people like to think that they are positive people but think about it. How much time do you spend thinking about what you have or can do versus thinking about what you DON'T have and what you CAN"T DO???

Our brains naturally go to the negative and it is a trained mind that can flip that switch from the negative to the positive. Is your mind trained? I hope so. Here's the thing...it's kind of like golf, you can never master it and you need to constantly work on it. t's real easy to drift back to the negative without even realizing it.  Are you constantly working on your positive thinking?  

One way to do that is through gratitude. The more you are grateful, the more things you see to be grateful for.  Melody Beattie said "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more." Wow, how powerful is that?!? It turns what we have into enough, and more!! It is the Law of Attraction at work. The more we focus on gratitude, the more things we have to be grateful for. What are you grateful for today?

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong... Why not see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”

Do You Have A Success Plan?

"When plans are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances fit in with them."~Sir William Osler

Have you created your Success Plan for 2014? Really? Is it written down? Only 3% of all people have a plan that is written down. So, are you part of the 3% or part of the 97%?

It shouldn't be surprising how often the circumstances fit in with the plans you make (and write down). We create what we think about, so it only makes sense that when we have planned, the circumstances fit like they were meant to. A lot of people tell me that they don't have to write down their plans, because they have them in their mind. The problem with that is that sometimes you don't remember things. When you have your plan written down and in a place where you can see it, it reminds you of what you want as opposed to thinking about what you don't want, which is what most of us do.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "To map out a course and follow it to some end requires courage." It does require courage because when you make a plan, you then become accountable to working on the plan. Most people are not willing to become accountable...even to their own goals and plans.  And that's why only 3% of all people write down their plans!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"When plans are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances fit in with them."

Fear Of What Other People Think

“The greatest prison that people live in is the fear of what other people think.”
~David Icke

Are you stuck in that prison?  A lot of people are.  A lot of people live their lives constantly worrying about what other people are thinking about them.  If that's you I've got some great news for you.  Are you ready?  You sure?  Here it comes...You don't need to worry about what other people are thinking about you because...THEY AREN'T THINKING ABOUT YOU!

Most other people are so worried about themselves that they don't have any time to think about you. They are caught up in their own life issues or maybe they are so worried about what you are thinking about them they don't have room to think about you.  What do you think about that?

Remember when you had that great idea and you told someone and they thought the idea sucked?  Did you move forward on that idea or did you drop it?  Chances are you dropped it because you were valuing their view on things more than your own!  Since when did we decide that other people's views are more important than our own?  We too often dismiss our ideas when someone else thinks it's stupid or dumb or bad.  

Can you imagine Thomas Edison telling people he was going to produce light from electricity? What do think they said to him?  What about when the Wright Brothers were working in their bicycle shop and told one of their customers that they were building a flying machine?  

Stop living in that prison and break out now!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

“The greatest prison that people live in is the fear of what other people think.”

The Far Side Of Failure

“Failure is a teacher – a harsh one, perhaps, but the best...  That's what I have to do when an idea backfires or a sales program fails.  You've got to put failure to work for you ... you can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it.  So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can.  Because that's where you will find success.  On the far side of failure.”~Thomas J. Watson

Failure.  the word conjures up bad memories, times we were ridiculed, laughed at and shunned because we were wrong.  That's part of the "Harsh teacher" Watson is talking about.  I'm sure you've felt it and can remember it like it was yesterday.  Maybe it even was yesterday however you have to make that failure work for you!

We need to reframe that word, failure.  "A learning experience," "feedback," "course correction," "An opportunity to begin again more intelligently," "A chance to develop my sense of humor," "An opportunity to perfect my performance."  How do you reframe failure?

You can get discouraged by failure or you can learn from it.  Failure is hardly ever fatal.  Quitting is fatal and final.   Don't let a failure stop you from becoming who and what you want to become.  Watson also said that "If you want to succeed, fail faster."

Failure is GOOD!  Making mistakes lead to success!  Because on the far side of failure is where you will find success!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

“Failure is a teacher – a harsh one, perhaps, but the best...  That's what I have to do when an idea backfires or a sales program fails.  You've got to put failure to work for you ... you can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it.  So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can.  Because that's where you will find success.  On the far side of failure.”

Belief Instead Of Disbelief

"If you expect the best, you will be the best. Learn to use one of the most powerful laws in this world; change your mental habits to belief instead of disbelief. Learn to expect, not to doubt. In so doing, you bring everything into the realm of possibility."~Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Do you expect the best?  Or do you have disbelief and doubt?  Why?

Most people are scared to expect the best.  They've been told not to expect the best because if the don't get it they will be disappointed.  So what if you are disappointed?  Learn from it an move on!  However, to not expect the best because of fear of failure just brings about failure!

I teach sales people and in my workshops, I always ask them, "When you go to an appointment with a prospect, do you expect to make the sale?"  90% of them will say that they do NOT expect to make the sale.  To that I say WHY GO TO THE APPOINTMENT!?  If you don't expect to make the sale you are wasting your time and your prospects time. Just stay home.

Expect wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now!  We are good at expecting good things to happen when...just not right now.  Change that because when you do, you will bring everything into the realm of possibility.  EVERYTHING!

Know.  be Known.  Make A Difference!

"If you expect the best, you will be the best. Learn to use one of the most powerful laws in this world; change your mental habits to belief instead of disbelief. Learn to expect, not to doubt. In so doing, you bring everything into the realm of possibility."

The Power To Shape Your Future

"We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here now with the power to shape your day and your future."~Steve Maraboli

THAT'S LIFE!!  We all make mistakes, have struggles and regret.  The key is to let them go and not dwell on them.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly."  What did he mean by that?  He meant that whenever you do something new, there is going to be a learning curve and when you start, you will do it poorly.  However, the more you do it the better you become at doing it.  It's not that the task get's any easier, it's just that you become better at doing it!

Here's the key, don't stay stuck in your mistakes and struggles.  You are not your mistakes.  So what that you didn't get it right?  You are not your struggles.  Start over again and do it better. Just keep working on it!  Don't stop.  You have the power to shape your future and it all hinges on you continuing to work at it.

Maraboli goes on to say "Your greatest self has been waiting your whole life; don't make it wait any longer."  Are you making your whole life wait?  Stop it!  You are the one who is in control of your future, no one else.

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here now with the power to shape your day and your future."

It's Your Choice!

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose."~Wayne W. Dyer

So, do you feel sorry for yourself or do you treat what has happened as a gift?  Most people just feel sorry for themselves and it keeps them stuck where they are.  Oh sure, once in a while they step out of their victimhood however it's only for a short time and then they are back feeling sorry for themselves.

Ken Keyes Jr said “To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have.”  Most people are upset over what they don't have or what they feel they aren't getting from someone else and waste what they do have.  Is that you?  I hope not.

Do you see everything as an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing? What a wonderful thing to see everything as an opportunity to grow!  We need to teach our children this.  Did you not do something right?  An opportunity to grow, not a failure.  didn't get that client?  An opportunity to grow, not a failure.  How different would our society be if we looked at failure as an opportunity to grow and not failure?  Henry Ford said "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more wisely."  An opportunity to grow!

YOU GET TO CHOOSE!  Feel sorry for yourself or a gift.  An opportunity to grow or failure?
It's always been you choice, no one elses!!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose."

Steps To Success: Simple, Not Easy

"Decide what you want. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."~H.L. Hunt

Right there are the 4 steps to success.  It's really simple.  1) Decide what you want. 2) Decide what you are willing to exchange for it. 3) Establish your priorities and 4) Go to work.  SEE??  Real simple...however it isn't easy!

The first thing that make it difficult is that most people don't know what they want.  Let me repeat that, MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT!  "I know what I want" you say, "I want to be rich, I want to have a cool car, I want to be skinnier."  What does rich mean?  What's a cool car?  Skinnier than what?  /we think we know what we want however without specificity, it means nothing!  Be specific in what you want.  I want to have a million dollars in the bank in 3 years.  I want a BMW X5 by summer.  I want to lose 25 pounds by the end of the year.  Specificity!!!

The second reason that it's difficult is that we aren't willing to make the exchange for what we really want.  We settle for what we have now and will not let go even for something better! We know what we need to exchange to get what we want...we just won't make that exchange.

The third reason that it's difficult is that we never establish our priorities.  We say that we don't have enough time, well time management is not about time management.  We all get the same amount of time.  It's more about priority management.  It's difficult to manage our priorities if we have never established them in the first place!

And the fourth reason that it's difficult is that YOU HAVE TO GO TO WORK!!  I hate to say it, most people only work at a 50% level, leaving 50% on the table an calling that the best they can do!  What would happen to your business or job if you were able to give 20% more, just up to 70%?

See, the 4 steps are really simple, they are just not easy!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"Decide what you want. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."

Are You Ready To Live NOW!

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Are you getting ready to live? Stop it and LIVE NOW! Before you know it, time runs out...IT'S 2014 ALREADY!!!  Tomorrow is promised to no one, yet we act like we have all the time in the world to do the things we really want to do...and we keep putting them off.  New Years Day 2013 was just like a few month ago!  Time flies and we don't even realize how fast it goes by!

Don't let your time run out with music still in you. Do the things you have always wanted to do. Don't let circumstances dictate that you can't do what you want to do. It is your choice to either do it or stay "getting ready to live."

Robert Orben said "Time flies. It's up to you to be the navigator." See, we are in control of how we spend our days. Here are the numbers. You have 1440 minutes per day and 86,400 seconds per day that melt away, always. Are you investing your time or are you wasting it? It's your choice!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”

The Secret to Your Future? Your Daily Routine!

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."~Mike Murdoch

How does your routine change? Will you be doing different things now in 2014?  Or does it always go a certain way and you are just hoping for different results? Einstein called that insanity.

If our future is hidden in our daily routine, how would you change yours? What would you stop doing and what would you do instead? Why? Oh, you realize that what you're doing isn't working, but just haven't changed it yet...hmmm. Why?

You know that you want to achieve more but you just can't put your finger on what to do...

Start with analyzing your daily routine. See what you are doing that no longer serves any purpose for you and replace it with something that does serve you. The more things you do that serve you, the better chance you will have of creating the future that you want.

Maybe it's something as simple as making coffee at home instead of paying $5 bucks for Starbucks, or maybe it something as difficult as getting up an hour earlier to work out or take a walk. Maybe it's something as difficult as not eating those donuts or maybe it's something as easy as spending an hour reading more about how to improve your networking...

Analyze your daily routine and make sure that everything you do is serving you. Not anyone else, but you.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." ~William Shakespeare

Do your doubts stop you from doing things? Why? What hold over you do those doubts have?  Are you setting new years goals lower than you should because of your doubts?

We all fear some things but our doubts shouldn't be one of those things. Heights, snakes, going too fast, these are some things to fear but not our doubts. Why you ask? Because our doubts are just stories that we tell ourselves, not that there is any truth to them, but stories that we believe.

What stories are you telling yourself that are holding you back?

Don't ever not do something because of a fear of failure. Why? Because you will fail your way to success. It's the only way anyone succeeds. They fail their way to success. Think about it. That "overnight sensation" band that has played every scum bag bar in town for 10 years finally makes it big.  When Thomas Watson the founder of IBM was asked how to be successful quicker, he said "Fail faster!"

Historically, predators from the T-Rex to today have only been successful in 1 out of 10 hunts. Yet they keep trying, why? Because survival dictates that they do. The same goes for me and you. Survival dictates that we keep trying.

Don't let your doubts keep you from the good you might do.  Don't believe the stories that you have been telling yourself that hold you back.  Make 2014 everything you want it to be!

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."