Have You Found Your Place?

"If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place." ~ Orison Swett Marden

Wow, it was like Marden was speaking to us today, instead of 100 years ago. With the recent statistics that close to 80% of people who ARE employed, hating their job, I guess most people haven't found their place yet. If that's you, keep reading...if not keep reading anyway...

Are you growing in your work? Is your life broadening and deepening? Unfortunately, most people aren't. It's not easy to find what you love to do and grow with that. It's difficult to make changes, especially after you've lived life for a while...Believe me, I know. It was 3 years ago that I realized that I wasn't growing, deepening and broadening my life. The changes haven't been easy but they have been worthwhile!

Find your place! Remember, that the place for the things you want is currently occupied by what you've settled for...Don't settle! It's never too late to be who you were meant to be!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place."

Are You Succeeding at Things that Don't Matter?

“Our greatest fear should not be failing, but it should be succeeding at things that don’t matter.”

Why have we developed this sense of fear of failure? What has led us to thinking that failure is a bad thing? Most people have come to realize that success isn't possible without failure, but we make that failure label so painful that people will do just about anything to not fail. Including nothing at all...for fear of failure.

Our greatest fear should instead be succeeding at something that doesn't matter! I know a lot of people who are great at things that don't matter. What's the point? Are you succeeding at something that doesn't matter? What makes it matter for you? Maybe someone else has decided that it needs to matter to you, but does it?

Does what you do matter?? (Other than providing you with a paycheck) Does it really matter? I think too often we get stuck doing things just because...Just because it pays the bills...just because it's easy to do...just because it's what I've always done...

Decide what matters to you and do that!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Our greatest fear should not be failing, but it should be succeeding at things that don’t matter.”

Your Most Valuable Possession

"Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions."~John Randolph

How often do we think about time that way? Not often enough! Our most valuable yet perishable of all our possessions. We need to remember that tomorrow is promised to no one. NO ONE! So make each minute count.

"In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking."~ Sir John Lubbock

Here's the truth about time. You will make the time for the things you choose to do. So the next time someone asks you to do something, don't say, "I'm too busy." Be honest. Tell them that what they want you to do isn't important enough for you to do it. They may thank you for it or they may hate you for telling them the truth, but you will feel a lot better.

Here's another thing about time...You will never FIND more time. You need to MAKE more time. This comes down to priorities. Make sure that you are always doing the most productive thing at any given moment!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions."

Make A New Ending!

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."~Maria Robinson

How true is that?? The challenge is that most of us get caught up in the hashing, re-hashing and bitching about the choices we made before. We need to let go of those thoughts and start fresh every day!

YES, YOU can start today and make a new ending. Yes you can. Don't let those doubts slow you down or stop you. John Kanary said "If doubt is challenging you and you do not act, doubts will GROW. Challenge the doubts with action and YOU will grow." Don't let them grow, act on your new beginning and you will grow, not your doubts. After all, doubts are just stories that we tell ourselves, usually not based in truth or reality, just stories we tell ourselves.

Gandhi said "The future depends on what we do in the present," and Friday's quote was "The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." It's all determined by what you do today! Remember, every single thing you do matters!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

The Secret Is In Your Daily Routine

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

Can it really be that easy? Yes, it can. The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. So, that being the case, what is your daily routine? Is it serving you or hurting you? How often do you even consider your daily routine?

Too often we keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. Maybe if I try harder...Maybe if I work longer...but doing the same things. Einstein called that INSANITY!

The best thing about this is the fact that you can change your daily routine today! Right now! You don't need to remain stuck in that old, depressing routine, you can change it!

If your business is slow now, look back a couple of months and take a look at the effort that you put in then. It's really easy to see how effective you were then, based on the results that you get today.

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." If you aren't succeeding like you want to, look at your daily routine.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

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

What Do You See?

"True discovery consists not in finding new landscapes, but in seeing the same landscape with new eyes."~Marcel Proust

Are you ready to see new landscapes? Change your eyes!! Proust really means, change the way you think about things. When you see something, do you always think the same thing? Why? Start asking questions about why you think those same things...you might be surprised by the answers.

When was the last time you challenged your thinking? How often do you think about what you are thinking about? It's called Metacognition and you should be doing it all the time. Too often we just let those thoughts that are nonsupportive of what we want stay in our mind too long. Then it holds us back.

Are you ready to change the way you think? Einstein said that "You can't fix a problem with thinking the same way that created the problem." He was saying, change the way you think! I challenge you to do it, change the way you think. A whole new world might open up for you.

See the landscape with new eyes! Change the way you think!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"True discovery consists not in finding new landscapes, but in seeing the same landscape with new eyes."

Are You Breaking Eggs?

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking the eggs.”~Joseph Campbell

Why is it that people think that they can transform their lives without some challenges? And when the challenges come, they quit working on themselves. Is this you? Challenges are a part of life. They are what makes us grow, learn and help us become who we were meant to be.

Wayne Dyer says "In my world, nothing ever goes wrong." Wow!! What a great view of life to have. Can you have that kind of view? Why not? Everything that happens to you happens for a reason, that's how he can view the world that way. I know that you realize this but have you ever thought about it this way? How do you view your destiny?

“So that’s what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialities of the energies in your own system.”~ Joseph Campbell

Simply the fulfillment of the potentialities in your own system. Are you reaching your full potential? Why not? What is holding you back? Stop letting reasons keep you from becoming who you were meant to be!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking the eggs.”

Who Am I Around?

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." ~Jim Rohn

Who are you hanging with and how are they affecting you? Alright, I hear some of you saying "My friends don't affect me, I affect them." Right...
If EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS, then it would also be true that everything the people you are hanging around does matters...AND AFFECTS YOU!!

What are you becoming by hanging with them? Better? Smarter? Healthier? Are you growing or shrinking...there is not staying put. Too often, we don't analyze our relationships and whether or not they are positive or negative for us. Start doing that now. Stop letting what others want and do affect you, even in the slightest way.

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change. You might have to change some of the people you are hanging with, maybe even some family. Make the changes that YOU need first before you try to help others with their changes. If the people that you are around aren't challenging you, find some who will!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."

Fear is a Psychological Infection

“Fear of all kinds and sizes is a form of psychological infection. We can cure a mental infection the same way we cure a body infection with specific, proved treatments, condition yourself with this fact: all confidence is acquired, developed. No one is born with confidence. Those people around you who radiate confidence, who have conquered worry, who are at ease everywhere and all the time, acquired their confidence, every bit of it.”~ David J. Schwartz

ARE YOU INFECTED BY FEAR??? Why? Why are you letting it hold you back from becoming all that you can be? Are you playing small because of your infection? Get some anti-virus attitudes right now!!

What is the anti-virus attitude that beats fear you ask? Glad you asked! It's confidence and action! Confidence is not something we are born with but it is something that is developed. You can develop that confidence any time you want. Why not start right now?? You are good at some things, start there. Know that you are good and work to be better at them. This will build your confidence. The more confidence you get, the more you are likely to do bigger and better things.

The other anti-virus attitude is action. We will talk about action tomorrow.
Grow your confidence, grow your business, grow your life.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Fear of all kinds and sizes is a form of psychological infection. We can cure a mental infection the same way we cure a body infection with specific, proved treatments, condition yourself with this fact: all confidence is acquired, developed. No one is born with confidence. Those people around you who radiate confidence, who have conquered worry, who are at ease everywhere and all the time, acquired their confidence, every bit of it.”

Are You Discouraged and Discontented?

"Are you disappointed, discouraged and discontented with your present level of success? Are you secretly dissatisfied with your present status? Then start dreaming! It’s possible! You can become the person you have always wanted to be!"~ Robert H. Schuller

Are you disappointed, discouraged and discontented with your present level of success? Thoreau said that "most men live lives of quiet desperation." Is that you? Are you disappointed and discouraged by your present level of success? Your present level of success is the direct result of the work that you put in the past. So if you are discouraged, there's an easy solution to that...Do more of the right things!

You can become the person that you want to be and you can start right NOW!!! Because, "it's never too late to be who you might have been." All it takes is your decision to start now and do things better and differently than you did them before.

If you are unsure of what the right things to do are, ask someone who has already done what you are trying to do. No one can do it all by themselves, we all need friends, mentors and coaches. A Mentor is "someone who makes you do the things that you don't want to do and makes you see things you don't want to see, to help you become all that you can be."

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Are you disappointed, discouraged and discontented with your present level of success? Are you secretly dissatisfied with your present status? Then start dreaming! It’s possible! You can become the person you have always wanted to be!"

Do You Have Unused Potential?

“Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people's lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure.” ~Stephen R. Covey

Are you living with unused potential? Don't think so?? Hate to break it to ya...but we all are, some just more than others. Why are we living with unused potential? A lot of reasons...Fear. Complacency. Lack of Knowledge. The list could go on and on.

Our society, in order to make sure that no one feels bad, has been rewarding mediocrity as excellence. Little League baseball teams don't keep score, lest some one's feeling get hurt. I read about a League that wants to make sure that all the teams end up with an even won/loss record. Why? To make sure everybody is equal.

Here's the thing about equality. You can't dictate equality of outcomes, only equality of opportunity. We are now trying to dictate equality of outcomes.

It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure Are you personally secure and open? Most people would say yes, but if you really think about it, most people aren't. They aren't secure in who they are. Some are unsure of who they are while the rest...simply lack the spirit of adventure. Be secure in who you are and revel in that spirit of adventure.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people's lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure.”

Do What You Are Great At!

"Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why are there so many penguins and so few peacocks? Because in the world, we are told to "fit in," "Don't stand out," "This is the way we've always done things." (thankfully in Arizona at least, we are losing the penguin suits...) Our individuality has been systematically beaten out of us. So who we are sometimes is a second hand version of someone else...How sad!

Be yourself, your best self! Too often, we hide our best self for fear of it being not enough, for fear of people not liking us, for lots of reasons. There is something that you can do better than any one else and if you don't do it, the world will never see it, because you were put here for that one thing.

Listen to the inner voice and bravely obey that. How often do you turn that voice off or down so low that it can't be heard? Why do we do that? Because we need courage to listen to our own intuition...and act on it.

Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for. Are you doing things that you were never made for? Most small business owners are...for all the wrong reasons. Do the things at which you are great.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for."

What Difference Do You Make?

"How far forward would we need to go in your life to show the difference you make? There are generations yet unborn whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next."

EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO MATTERS.

You have been created as one of a kind. On the planet Earth, there has never been one like you…and there never will be again. Your spirit, your thoughts and feelings, you ability to reason and act all exist in no one else. The rarities that make you special are no mere accident or quirk of fate.

YOU HAVE BEEN CREATED IN ORDER THAT YOU MIGHT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

Know that your actions cannot be hoarded, saved for later, or selectively used.

By your hand, millions – billions – of lives will be altered, caught up in a chain of events begun by you this day.

The very beating of your heart has meaning and purpose.
Your actions have value far greater than silver or gold.

Your life…And what you do with it today…

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

Thanks, Andy Andrews

The Difference Between Disciplined and Devotion

"People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference."~ Luciano Pavarotti

Are you disciplined or devoted? Really?? I believe that most people are disciplined and only a few are devoted, but as Pavarotti says, there is a great difference. Do you see the difference?

If you are disciplined, you will get the job done, (usually) no matter what. If you are devoted, you will get the job done because. Because you love what you do, because it's not really work to you and because it is what you are on the earth to do.

It seems to me that great workers are disciplined, while those who are devoted are great workers and also the ones who really enjoy life and all it has to offer. Does this mean that those who are disciplined don't enjoy life or that those who are devoted aren't disciplined? No, not at all, but I think you can tell the difference between the two.

It also seems to me that the devoted ones are the ones who always play big, always stretch for bigger and better things and dream more. Can you say that you are devoted to your job or are you disciplined in your job? The mere fact that 78% of people hate their jobs in the US leads me to think that most are just disciplined and not devoted (and maybe not even disciplined, but know how to show up to get a paycheck...)

Be devoted. Play Big. Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference."

Think About Your Choices

"By the choices we make, by the attitudes we exhibit, we are influencing lives every day in positive or negative ways...our family, our peers, our friends, and even strangers we've never met before and will never meet again. So when you brush your teeth every morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself...'Are there things I'd like to change?'"~Mac Anderson

What would you like to change about yourself? Anything? What are you waiting for. You can choose to make a change right now. You don't need anyone's permission and if you do, I give you permission to change what you need to change. Just because you have always done something one way, doesn't mean that you have to keep doing it that way.

Who are you influencing with your choices? Anyone? No one? You are influencing at least one person...and that's you. How is that working for you or do you believe that you don't have any choices and you are stuck?

Your choices have brought you to where you are now. Are you happy with them? If not, it's not to late to change your choices and choose new things. "It's never too late to be who you were meant to be." Who were you meant to be? Are you who you were meant to be???

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"By the choices we make, by the attitudes we exhibit, we are influencing lives every day in positive or negative ways...our family, our peers, our friends, and even strangers we've never met before and will never meet again. So when you brush your teeth every morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself...'Are there things I'd like to change?'"

The Changing Tides of Circumstance

"If we allow our emotions to be tied to the events in our lives, we have given the power of our happiness to the changing tides of circumstance."~Allen Cohen

Do you allow your emotions to be tied to the events in your life? I think we all do to some extent, but Cohen is saying that we are giving away our power and the power of our happiness if we do. Think about that. When we simply react, we are giving away our power.

Here's the thing. Happiness is a choice. It's not tied to anything. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be sad. Too often we tell ourselves that when this happens, then I will be happy. Sure, we're happy for a few minutes, but then the happiness fades and we need to look for the next thing to make us happy.

Too many people are waiting for someone or something to make them happy. Why? When we do that it doesn't work and we've given away our power. Happiness is YOUR CHOICE!!! Don't give it away. Choose to be happy, today! You can do it! Choose to be happy today!!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If we allow our emotions to be tied to the events in our lives, we have given the power of our happiness to the changing tides of circumstance."

Meant-To...Didn't-Do

"Mr.Meant-To has a friend, his name is Didn't-Do. Have you met them? They live together in a house called Never-Win. And I am told that it is haunted by the Ghost of Might-Have-Been." ~Marva Collins

Now, I'm sure that you don't fall into one of these descriptions, right? Oh really??? Hmmm. How many times do we tell people that we "meant to" do something, but didn't? How many times have we just "didn't do?"

To me, they should live in the house of "Never Will" instead of "never win" although they won't win at anything either.

Here's our challenge...when we start using excuses and reasons why we didn't do something, we are not holding ourselves accountable, to ourselves, never mind the person who we told we would do it.

"You have reasons or results." That's it. Results or reasons, and reasons don't count. Am I saying that your results will always be what you want? No way, but you will have a result and you can change the result by doing it over better. You can't change a reason and make it better...

Oh, "what might have been." Don't stay stuck there. "It's never too late to be who you were meant to be." So start today, leave the reasons behind and become who you were meant to be. The world is waiting for you!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

To Do Anything You Want To Do

"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed."~Bernard Edmonds

What are your DREAMS? Are you following after them or are you stuck? Most people have great dreams...but aren't doing anything to get them other than wish for them. Why? What story are you telling yourself that is keeping you from making it happen?

How strong is your WILL? Can you do ANYTHING you want to? Really? Why not? What is the story that you are telling yourself as to why you can't? The strength of your will will determine whether or not you achieve your dreams.

Do you TRUST yourself? Test your limits? The fear isn't that we are inadequate, the fear is that we are powerful beyond measure and will not know how to deal with it. Most people have just enough trust in themselves that they know that they aren't where they ought to be, but not enough TRUST to step out of where they are and become who they were meant to be.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed."

Measure Success by the Seeds You Plant Today

"Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Are you measuring your success by today's harvest? Why? Is it that need for instant gratification? What is driving that measurement of today? Stevenson says to measure your success by the seeds that you plant today. There used to be something called delayed gratification...and it was even better than instant gratification.

Are you planting seeds for tomorrow, or are you only concerned with today? That's another challenge for our microwave society. We don't even want to think long-term, only how can I get it now??

It's been said that we can learn from watching nature. Well, in nature, there is always a gestation period, for plants, trees, animals and even humans. Live in the present but Stop living for the right now. Start planning for the future. "I am planning for the future," you say. Really, I ask? Really??

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today."

Fit Your Thinking to Your True Size

"You're bigger than you think. So, fit your thinking to your true size. Think as big as you really are! Never, never, never sell yourself short!" -David J. Schwartz, PhD

Does your thinking fit your true size?? I'm talking about mental size, not physical size...Do you realize that you are bigger than you think? Most people are satisfied with being mediocre and are not really interested in seeing how big they can play. Oh, they talk a good game, but when it comes down to it, they are happy to stay in their shell and not venture out too far.

What will it take for you to think as big as you really are and not sell yourself short? Do you let the voice in your head talk you down from trying? Do you listen to those fears? About those fears...they only exist in your head. In fact, think of all the fears that you have and there are only 2 that we are born with, the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. Don't let the fears stop you from doing what you know needs to be done to think big.

Never, ever, sell yourself short. Here's the problem with selling yourself short. The world will not raise your value if you don't value yourself. No one else can raise your value either, so it comes back to you. Stop playing small. Play and think BIG.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"You're bigger than you think. So, fit your thinking to your true size. Think as big as you really are! Never, never, never sell yourself short!"

When Everything Matters

"When you know that everything matters, that every move counts as much as any other, you will begin to live a life of permanent purpose.”~Jones

Do you realize that EVERYTHING you do matters? Do you really understand that? Most people go through life with the attitude that what they do has no bearing on anyone else...but they are wrong.

When you realize and think about everything you do, then you are living a life of permanent purpose. What is your purpose? Do you know?

Mother Teresa said "We have not come into the world to be numbered; we have been created for a purpose, for great things." So I ask you again, what is your purpose? Are you doing great things or are you playing at 50%. Why? Play full out. Play BIG! Don't leave anything in the tank!

If you are not living your purpose, then the world is denied what you were to bring the world. If you don't do your purpose, no one else will. So, find your purpose and then Live Your Purpose!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"When you know that everything matters, that every move counts as much as any other, you will begin to live a life of permanent purpose.”