Break Your Own Records

"Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today."~ Stewart B. Johnson

Are you getting ahead of yourself or are you trying to keep up and get ahead of your neighbors and friends? See, our society has made it a game about keeping up with the Joneses. All the advertising is directed at making you feel as if you need everything to keep up. And if you don't, well, you might be thrown out of Scottsdale!! I mean, come on, we have a reputation to uphold here...

How shallow have we become to buy into that crap? I sure hope that we are finding our way out and just worrying about keeping ahead of ourselves. That's where growth is! That's where change is! That's where happiness is!

Take a moment to think about how you can 'outstrip your yesterday by your today.' What would it take to make today a better day than yesterday? That's all you have to do...consciously think about how you can make today better than yesterday...and then do it!

When you realize that even the poorest American is in the top 97% of people in the world as far as wealth goes it might change your thinking. Or that 60% of the world doesn't have running water or indoor plumbing, or that 50% has never made a telephone call, you will realize that our job is just to get ahead of ourselves and not anyone else.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today."

Not Conforming to Stereotypes From Others

"I have no need to conform to the stereotypes others have defined for me." ~Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Are you conforming to the stereotypes that others have defined for you? Why? I mean really, why? Were you told that you needed to be this way or that way and you did it? What were you thinking?

Here's a favorite quote of mine, "It's none of my business what you think of me." See, if I make it my business what you think of me, then I change who I am to gain your acceptance, trust, love, whatever. But to really live that quote, you need to be confident in who you are, and know who you are!

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” Too many people today are only pushed by their problems and aren't led by their dreams. Be led by your dreams! But make sure that they are your dreams and not someone elses...

You, and only you, get to choose how you spend each precious moment of your life. Choose carefully and well. It is always your choice.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"I have no need to conform to the stereotypes others have defined for me."

You Creating Success or Mediocrity?

“Believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggle around money and success.”~ T. Harv Eker

I know that you believe that you create your success, but do you believe that you also create your mediocrity? Well guess what? Hate to break it to ya, but YOU DO! Too often we blame others, parents, teachers, spouses, the economy, when it is our responsibility, our choices, our decisions.

Don't give your power away by blaming others, because that is what you are doing. Take responsibility for you actions and create the life that you want. Your "personal brand" should be all yours, not someone elses.

You are in charge of EVERYTHING that happens in your life. EVERYTHING. Take back you power today, right now, this moment. You create your success, you create your mediocrity. It is your choice!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggle around money and success.”

Go Where There Is No Path

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why is it so hard to follow Emerson's advice? Because it is easy to follow the path rather than creating your own path. It's easy to do what everyone else is doing, but at what cost? The cost you pay is that you become another me-too person or a me-too business!! Is it worth it to you to break away from the me-toos?

Go instead where there is no path and leave one. Be the trailblazer! Roger Bannister was a trailblazer. He broke the 4 minute mile when scientists said that it was impossible for the human body to be able to run that fast. Here's the thing, everyone after him that has set the record in the mile has just been faster...but not a trailblazer. Think about that for a while.

Where can you be a trailblazer? Have you ever thought about that? I challenge you to challenge your imagination and come up with a way that you can be a trailblazer! Albert Einstein said "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere else!" Are you ready to go everywhere else?

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Impossible is In Your Own Thinking

"The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking."~Robert H. Schuller

Are you living towards your dream? NO, you're not? Why? Has your dream become "impossible?" Maybe it's just too hard? That's just a story that you are telling yourself. Remember, your brain is not your friend!! It wants to keep you safe, it will challenge your dream, sabotage your dream, but it is the only thing that is keeping you from achieving your dream...Your thinking. “When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why." Stop thinking in impossible.

Hello?? Anybody home??? Did you hear me? The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in YOUR OWN thinking! It is your choice how you think. You get to decide! No one else has any say in the matter (unless you give them power over you). What is holding you back? What are you waiting for? Wouldn't your life be so much better living your dream than what you are doing now???

"Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives."~ Anthony Robbins

Master YOUR dreams! Go after them. Don't let whatever has stopped you up until now to keep you from creating your dream life. Stretch your capacity and focus all your resources on achieving your dream! Do it NOW!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking."

Do You Believe in Impossible?

“When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why. But when you believe, really believe, something can be done, your mind goes to work for you and helps you find the ways to do it.” ~David J. Schwartz

Our brain is the greatest computer ever designed. It is a million times more powerful that the most powerful computer and when you believe something, you mind will bring the things to you that validate your thinking. Henry Ford said "Whether you think you can or think you can't you're right." If you believe something is impossible, then guess what...IT IS impossible...FOR YOU. But it is not impossible for someone who believes is it possible.

Here's another view on possible and impossible “If it is possible, it is done; if impossible, it shall be done.”~Charles Alexandre de Calonne Wow, is that powerful? If it is impossible, IT SHALL BE DONE. Do you think this way? Can you think this way? Break out of your self-imposed mediocrity and attempt the impossible.

And don't let the realists stop you, you know who they are, the ones who are always saying, "Oh, be realistic." See, a realist is really a pessimist in disguise. Go for it. Attempt the impossible and when they come to ask you how you did it, just say "It's a secret...but it has something to do with belief..."

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why. But when you believe, really believe, something can be done, your mind goes to work for you and helps you find the ways to do it.”

Are You Doing Something Unique and Distinctive?

"Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive; and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done."~Benjamin E. Mays

You were born to do something unique. Do you realize that? You were born into the world to do something unique! Are you doing it or are you doing something that is normal, mediocre and boring? While you may do something that a lot of other people do, you can make what you do UNIQUE! Because YOU are unique, you can make what you do unique.

When we are sent to school, we are told to "fit in," to "be like everyone else," to "not be different." We need to allow our children to become who they were meant to be, not what the government schools say they should be. Our uniqueness is driven to a point within us where it is hard to find, but it is still there...waiting to get out. If you have not let your uniqueness out, what are you waiting for? It will be the best thing that you have ever done!! But if you don't do it...it will never be done. Because you are here to do that one unique thing.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do." I ask again, What are you waiting for?

The Reverend Billy Graham said "Since God made us to be originals, why stoop to be a copy?" Become who you were meant to be. Be unique! Be You! Be different! It's never too late to be who you were meant to be.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Every man and woman is born into the world to do something unique and something distinctive; and if he or she does not do it, it will never be done."

As Small as Your Controlling Desire

"Whatever your present environment may be, you will remain, fall or rise with your thoughts, your Vision, your Ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration." ~ James Allen

You will remain, fall or rise with you thoughts. Wow! Think about that! You get to decide to remain, fall or rise, all based on what you think. I know that you know this...but do you believe it and know it without a doubt? Sometimes that's the hard part, we know it intellectually, but can't make it a part of our consciousness.

You will become as small as your controlling desire. What is your controlling desire. Does it really benefit you? Does it allow for your greatness to be seen? Or is it holding you from your greatness?

You will be as great as your dominant aspiration! What's your dominant aspiration? Is it life changing? Is it world changing? Is it something that drives you every day or just something you pull out when people ask you what it is?

It is your choice! You will become as small as your controlling desire or as great as your dominant aspiration. Choose wisely.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Whatever your present environment may be, you will remain, fall or rise with your thoughts, your Vision, your Ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration."

Change is Not Easy, But it is Simple

"Change is not easy. But it is simple. Things will always change. We don't have a choice about that, but we do have a choice on how we react to change. The choice really boils down to this...either we manage change, or it will manage us."

CHANGE IS SIMPLE!! But it's not easy Things will always change, so why is it that we try to stop change, fight against it or ignore it? Some things need to change, some things don't. Allow the things that need to change to change and stop the things that don't need to change. It's that simple, but it's not easy.

Here's the thing...we have a choice as to how we react to change. It is our choice alone, no one elses. Too often we act like we don't have a choice and we have to accept whatever comes our way. NOT!!! It is your choice, your decision, your ability to react the way that you want to react to change. React with your power, with who you are!

So, manage change through your choices or be managed by change through your choice to not choose, your decision to allow life to happen TO you and be a victim of change. Don't allow who you are to become a victim of change. Rise above it. Choose to react the way you want to react.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Change is not easy. But it is simple. Things will always change. We don't have a choice about that, but we do have a choice on how we react to change. The choice really boils down to this...either we manage change, or it will manage us."

Our Difficulties are Impartial and Not Unfair

“Difficulties in life are constant and impartial. Not unfair. Impartial. It is up to us to give meaning to the challenges we face, and decide how we will carry on once they've occurred.” ~ PJ McClure

Our difficulties are not unfair, they are impartial. Wow, think about that for a minute. Kinda changes things around, doesn't it. We've always been told that "life is not fair," when it should be that "life is impartial." Now, do things still happen to us? Yes, and some of them we might classify as "bad." But remember what Shakespeare said that "there is no good or bad, only what we apply to them."

Viktor Frankl said "The one thing you can't take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance." It is up to us to choose the way we respond to any situation. Are you choosing to respond rather than react? I hope so 'cause then you are using one of the last freedoms we have.

It is up to us to give meaning to the challenges we face. And remember, that where you put your thoughts and energy is where you will either see the challenge or the opportunity. I hope that you are seeing the opportunity, because we all have our opportunities and it's up to us to make the most of them.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Difficulties in life are constant and impartial. Not unfair. Impartial. It is up to us to give meaning to the challenges we face, and decide how we will carry on once they've occurred.”

Think Big...Live in Big Happiness

“Think big and you’ll live big. You’ll live big in happiness. You’ll live big in accomplishment. You’ll live big in income. Big in friends. Start now, right now, to discover how to make thinking make magic for you. Start out with this thought of the great philosopher Disraeli, “Life is too short to be small.” ~David Schwartz

Are you thinking BIG? Why not? Oh sure, you say, "I think big." But do you really think big or do you think just big enough to stretch yourself a little? That's what most people do. They think that their thinking is big when it's really just a little more than they've done before.

Schwartz goes on to say this: “Here is the first step towards success. It’s a basic step. It can’t be avoided. Believe in yourself, believe you can succeed.” This is where most people fall down...they think big but really don't believe that they can do big things. Thinking is a start but if you don't have the belief, all the positive thinking in the world is not going to get you anywhere! Do you BELIEVE you can succeed or are you just hoping to succeed? Belief, beyond a shadow of a doubt is what is necessary, so I'll ask again, do you BELIEVE you can succeed? If not, you need to work on your belief.

So, how does your belief change the way you live your life? Do you not worry about new things and try them without a care because you know that you will succeed? If you can't do this, then your belief is a little shaky.
You've heard this question before but, What could you do if you knew that you wouldn't fail? Belief gives you that kind of freedom.

Life is too short to play small! Think BIG. Believe BIG. Play BIG.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Think big and you’ll live big. You’ll live big in happiness. You’ll live big in accomplishment. You’ll live big in income. Big in friends. Start now, right now, to discover how to make thinking make magic for you. Start out with this thought of the great philosopher Disraeli, “Life is too short to be small.”

Your Time is Limited

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone elses life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ~Steve Jobs

Are you living someone elses life? Are you living with the results of other people's thinking? WHY? You only get one shot at this life, live it the way you want to, not the way others want you to live it.

Are you letting the noise of others opinions drown out your inner voice? That inner voice is your intuition and some say it is devinely inspired. Don't let anyone's noise affect your intuition. Don't let your brain drown out the inner voice, because it will try to.

Do you have the courage to follow your heart and intuition? The only thing that can stop us is our fears, real or imagined. Are you following your heart or are you just along for the ride, the ride that started out a long time ago and you have never challenged yourself to change your direction.

When you have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, then everything else is secondary. Go for it. Just do it. Be who you were meant to be!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone elses life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Are You In Control of Your Life?

“You are in control of your life. Don’t ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made.”~Barbara Hall

Do you realize that? YOU are in control of your life!! Sometimes we forget that we are in control of our lives and that it is our choices that dictate the results that we get. You are where you are now because of the choices you've made in the past. YOUR choices. Nobody elses choices, yours.

You are now where you're at because or your conscious and unconscious choices that you have made. Here's the good news..."It's never too late to become who you might have become." You can make changes TODAY to become who you want to become. Right Now, today.

Analyze the choices you've made and see where you could have made better choices. Then, make sure that you make those changes. Are you working toward what you want to become or simply moving in life on the road that is before you? Make sure that you are headed where YOU want to go and not where someone else would want you to go.

Remember, you are in control of you life. Take over and become who you were meant to be!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“You are in control of your life. Don’t ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made.”

Consider Yourself Important!

"The more you see yourself as a valuable and important person, the more positive and optimistic you will be. When you consider yourself to be important, you will treat other people as if they are important as well." ~Brian Tracy

Do you see yourself as valuable and important? Why or why not? I know a lot of people will say "I'm valuable, I'm important," but deep down, they don't believe it. If your subconscious doesn't believe it, your conscious mind is just fooling you about believing that you're valuable and important.

Are you positive and optimistic? Are you really? All the time? Most of the time? Some of the time? The more you see yourself as valuable and important, the more positive and optimistic you will be. Don't believe it? Try it for a week and let me know how it went.

When you treat others as valuable and important, they will see you as valuable and important. It's just the things work. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made and if you aren't who you want to be, you can change it. TODAY! It is your choice to decide, no one else's decision. You are in control...use it wisely!

It's never too late to be who you might have been.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The more you see yourself as a valuable and important person, the more positive and optimistic you will be. When you consider yourself to be important, you will treat other people as if they are important as well."

Aiming Too Low?

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."~Michelangelo

How high is your aim set? Is it higher than you can ever reach or is it just a little out of reach? Why? Too often our aim is set low, so that we can achieve it and feel good about ourselves, but if it's too low, it is fools gold. We know that we could have done more, made it bigger, made it better, but we settled.

Virginia Satir said "We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us." But too often, that is just what we do. Our friends, in an effort that they think is being friendly, don't push us, don't spur us on, don't encourage us to make it great. It is their limited perception of who you are that makes them do this. Don't allow it to stand. Friends like that are really not your friend.

Maybe you had a teacher or family member or someone who had a limited perception of who you were, who said that "you can't do that," or "you'll never amount to anything," and you believed them. Banish that thought now. Create your new thought patterns with the belief that you can do whatever you put your mind to do. It is your choice to believe them or to believe yourself. Believe yourself!

You are a unique creation, with unlimited power and intelligence. What are you waiting for? Permission to become who you were meant to be? Well, if that's the case, I GIVE YOU PERMISSION!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."

Waiting for Approval?

"Waiting on others to approve a change you know you must make in your own life -- an action you must take that will likely lessen your dependency upon them, and perhaps drive them to make changes in their habitual choices -- is like hoping that a snowman looks forward to a spring thaw." ~Guy Finley

Are you waiting for others to approve of your changes? Why? We so long to belong, to be accepted, to be loved...that we allow ourselves to be lost in who we are, just for acceptance. When we do that, we diminish who we are and we don't play big, we shrink and play small.

Here's the deal. Most of the people around you really don't care about you, only what you can do for them. That is why they are upset when you try to improve yourself, because you are leaving them behind and they want to keep you down with them.

Have you ever seen a bucket of crabs? One will try to get out and the others will pull him back, not let him get away. I don't know why they do that but they do...and so do people. They don't want to be left behind, so they do everything they can to keep you down with them.

Break free of those people and become who you were meant to be. Don't play small anymore, play BIG! The world will love you for it, but you might need to get new friends. While that may be a challenge, it is for the better, because who you hang around with does influence who you are. Who are you hanging with???

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Waiting on others to approve a change you know you must make in your own life -- an action you must take that will likely lessen your dependency upon them, and perhaps drive them to make changes in their habitual choices -- is like hoping that a snowman looks forward to a spring thaw."

Don't Limit Yourself!

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve." --Mary Kay Ash

Are you limiting yourself? I bet you are and you might not even know it. Why do we limit ourselves? Fear. We are afraid of becoming all we can become, so we limit our thoughts to only that which we think is safe and won't cause waves. You've heard this before but "what would you do if you knew that you couldn't fail?" Would you limit yourself then? Don't play small. It doesn't serve you or the world.

It's a good thing that redwood trees don't have the human brain! If they did, they would only be bushes and not gigantic, majestic trees. Think about nature. Does it limit itself or does it grow to be all it can be. It becomes all it can become, sometimes growing through concrete, through rocks and around stuff.

Why don't we do that? Why don't we become all we can become? Because we have a brain that is not our friend. Our brain is designed for protection and safety and we have been conditioned to live from the outside in rather than from the inside out.

You can go as far as your mind will let you go, but when you get there, go further! Go beyond what your mind is telling you. Henry Ford said that "whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." What you believe you can achieve.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve."

Your Expectations?

"There is absolutely nothing that separates the elite from the paupers except their expectations. If you wish to rise above the masses, then let the fire burn fiercely within you. Do this, and it shall be done!."~J. Arthur Holcombe

What are you expecting? Are you expecting great things or bad things? Why? Your expectations is what will carry you to everything that you desire! It is the only difference between those who have and those who don't. Those who expect great things, get great things. Those who expect not so great things...well, you get the idea.

I work with business owners and salespeople and I am constantly amazed that when they go to meet a potential client, their expectations are almost always negative. Are you like that? Change that NOW! If you walk into a meeting and you have a negative expectation, LEAVE. Nothing good will come of that meeting...until you change your expectation.

Expectations are a part of us down deep and they are part of what makes our vibrations. If your vibrations are negative, others will pick up on that and become negative as well. Learn to change your vibration so that you are vibrating positively! The world we see is the world that we have created with our expectations and our thoughts. Is that a world that you want to stay in or would you like to change what you are seeing?

To change what you are getting and seeing, change your thoughts and vibrations.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"There is absolutely nothing that separates the elite from the paupers except their expectations. If you wish to rise above the masses, then let the fire burn fiercely within you. Do this, and it shall be done!."

Nothing Is Too Good For You

"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."~ Eileen Caddy

Do you set your sights high? Some people do, some don't. Here's a fact: Most people set their goals so that they need to work a little more, a little harder to reach them. Most people don't set BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) goals, no matter what they say. Leonardo da Vinci said that we should not "fear setting goals too high and not reaching them, but setting goals to low and attaining them." How true!

I've often talked about playing small. The world doesn't benefit by you playing small. You don't benefit by playing small. Do you realize that? If you are playing small you might be accomplishing some things but not everything that you could! If you are playing small then the world doesn't benefit either. Stop playing small. Play as BIG AS YOU CAN!

Expect wonderful things to happen NOW!!! Not in the future, but now. We often postpone our happiness by saying "when I do this, then I will be happy." Why do we not EXPECT wonderful things to happen now. They are almost always in the future...

Nothing is too good for you...wow. Nothing is too good for you! Do you believe that? It's true, just start playing bigger and find out yourself.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way."

Make A Difference!

"You never know when someone will catch a dream from you. You never know when that little word or something you do opens the windows of the mind that seeks the light. So just in case, it could be that another persons life through you might possibly change for the better, with a broader and brighter view, it seems it might be worth a try at pointing the way to the right...of course it may not matter at all...but you never know it might."

When do you know if you have made a difference? Do you ever know? How often do you think about making a difference in the lives of others? We are so busy with all of our own crap, we don't often think of others...but what would happen if someone catches their dream from you? What a wonderful thing that would be! Are you allowing others to catch their dream from you?

Do you live your life as an inspiration to others or are you so caught up in your own stuff that you forget about everyone else or simply don't have time? What will you do today to be an inspiration to others? Maybe just a smile, a wave, a sincere "hello." That may be all it takes to turn someones day around...

Hopefully this has inspired you to make a difference in someones life today. Of course, it might not matter at all...but then again, it might!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"You never know when someone will catch a dream from you. You never know when that little word or something you do opens the windows of the mind that seeks the light. So just in case, it could be that another persons life through you might possibly change for the better, with a broader and brighter view, it seems it might be worth a try at pointing the way to the right...of course it may not matter at all...but you never know it might."

Do You Stand Out?

"Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do - can love things that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music. You know what to do." ~ Barbara Sher

Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out? We are trained to "fit in." We are taught to be like everyone else. Sit in straight rows, be still and quiet. Listen, don't talk and have the right answers. Don't think differently. Don't be different, don't be unique, don't stand out!

We were each created with special abilities that only we have, but if you have hidden your abilities in the effort to "fit in" then you are doing the world and yourself a disservice. The world only benefits when you are doing what you are supposed to be doing not when you are fitting in. If you don't bring the world what you were meant to, the world will never see it. Don't deprive the world of your special abilities.

You can choose which to be, either a Strataverius or a Stratadoorstop. It is entirely up to you, not your parents, teachers, friends or anyone else. IT IS YOUR CHOICE! Choose wisely.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do - can love things that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music. You know what to do."