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."

Do You Know Where You Are Going?

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."~Lewis Carroll

Do you have a plan for where you are going? Really? A WRITTEN plan? One that contains everything you want to do in minute detail?  One that you look at every day? Really? If so, good for you, if not, then start today! Right now!! It's never too late to be who you might have been!

An old saying goes like this: "If you fail to plan, you are planing to fail." How many times have you heard that one? Well then, why is it that most people plan their vacation in more detail than their life? Such a sad commentary on our society, when we are too busy to even plan our own future (other than those 2 weeks of vacation) In fact, statistics tell us that less than 5% of people have a written plan for their life. Are you in that 5%?

Action:
If you have your plan written out, read it every day. Make sure that every detail of what you want is included in it.  If you don't, start right now. Spend an hour thinking about the life you want and how to create that life. If you need some help, let me know and I will be glad to get you started on your way to the life you want.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

Is Your Busy Life Barren?

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life." ~Socrates

Wow...beware the barrenness of a busy life! Take a look at your life. Is it barren? Are you always busy? Are you running from meeting to meeting, driving like a banchee to get to where you need to be next...without any consideration of others? What's that getting you? How's that working?

Socrates, 2500 years ago saw the barrenness. Do you? REALLY?? Our society has programmed us to WANT MORE, NEED MORE, HAVE MORE...But is that all there is? More?

More recently, Mahatma Gandhi said "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Yet, that is all we seem able to do. Knowledge is doubling every 6 months...Computers that you bought 6 months ago now could almost be obsolete. There's so much new information coming at us, we can't keep up (and that's tough for us recovering perfectionists...lol)  In fact, according to Google, there is more information posted online every 48 hours than was known from the beginning of time to 2004!

It has been said that "The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." Take a few moments today, stop your hectic schedule, put away the IPad,  I-Phone and RELAX!!!!! Go ahead, do it. Turn technology off for 5-10 minutes.  You can do it.  OK, you say that you need permission...I GIVE YOU PERMISSION...to relax for 5-10 minutes today. That's all, 5-10 minutes. It will change your day, your week, your month...maybe even your life!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life."

Where Are You Going?

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."~Lewis Carroll

Do you have a plan for where you are going? Really? A WRITTEN plan? One that contains everything you want to do in minute detail?  One that you look at every day? Really? If so, good for you, if not, then start today! Right now!! It's never too late to be who you might have been!

An old saying goes like this: "If you fail to plan, you are planing to fail." How many times have you heard that one? Well then, why is it that most people plan their vacation in more detail than their life? Such a sad commentary on our society, when we are too busy to even plan our own future (other than those 2 weeks of vacation) In fact, statistics tell us that less than 5% of people have a written plan for their life. Are you in that 5%?

Action:
If you have your plan written out, read it every day. Make sure that every detail of what you want is included in it.  If you don't, start right now. Spend an hour thinking about the life you want and how to create that life. If you need some help, let me know and I will be glad to get you started on your way to the life you want.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

"There Is More To Life Than Increasing Its Speed"

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life." ~Socrates

Wow...beware the barrenness of a busy life! Take a look at your life. Is it barren? Are you always busy? Are you running from meeting to meeting, driving like a banchee to get to where you need to be next...without any consideration of others? What's that getting you? How's that working?

Socrates, 2500 years ago saw the barrenness. Do you? REALLY?? Our society has programmed us to WANT MORE, NEED MORE, HAVE MORE...But is that all there is? More?

More recently, Mahatma Gandhi said "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Yet, that is all we seem able to do. Knowledge is doubling every 6 months...Computers that you bought 6 months ago now could almost be obsolete. There's so much new information coming at us, we can't keep up (and that's tough for us recovering perfectionists...lol)  In fact, according to Google, there is more information posted online every 48 hours than was known from the beginning of time to 2004!

It has been said that "The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." Take a few moments today, stop your hectic schedule, put away the IPad,  I-Phone and RELAX!!!!! Go ahead, do it. Turn technology off for 5-10 minutes.  You can do it.  OK, you say that you need permission...I GIVE YOU PERMISSION...to relax for 5-10 minutes today. That's all, 5-10 minutes. It will change your day, your week, your month...maybe even your life!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life."

Think Long Term

"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? Our society has become one that seems to nee instant gratification.  The "Microwave Society" I like to call it.  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??

Only 3% of you will plan you 2014.  Why?  The old saying is that if "you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."  Most people will just keep on doing what they are doing because "they've always done it that way."  How stupid is that?  How long would it take to you plan?  Too long?  No, 10 minutes spent planning saves you 2 hours down the road.  Imagine what you could do if you planned out your whole year??  Most people will spend more time planning their 2 week vacation than will spend planning their life...how sad is that?!?

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."

Get Ahead Of Yourself

"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."

Blunders and Absurdities

Ralph Waldo Emerson week: Day #4
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely.”~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Leave yesterday there, don't bring it with you! Too often we bring along all the baggage from yesterday to today and it steals from your today. Finish each day and be done with it!! Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can.

"I am not burdened by thoughts of the past or the future.  One is gone (past).  The other (future) is yet to come.  My mind is quiet." (From the Abundance Prayer)  Be present!!

Tomorrow is a new day. Treat it as such. The key to being able to do this is to be present. Be present in every moment. This is a challenge for most people, because they have so many things to do and think about. Our society has sped up so much that it tries to not give us any other choice then speeding up to stay with it. We do have a choice. We don't have to speed up and we can take things at our own pace. That's another part of being present. Choosing to BE present.

Action:
When talking to someone today, give them your whole, undivided attention and remain in the moment. You will be surprised what you hear. The more you hear, the more you know. Be present today!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely.”

Where Are You Going?

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." ~Lewis Carroll

Do you have a plan for where you are going? Really? A WRITTEN plan? One that you look at every day? Really? If so, good for you, if not, then start today! Right now!! It's never too late to be who you might have been!

An old saying goes like this: "If you fail to plan, you are planing to fail." How many times have you heard that one? Well then, why is it that most people plan their vacation in more detail than their life? Such a sad commentary on our society, when we are too busy to even plan our own future (other than those 2 weeks of vacation) In fact, statistics tell us that less than 5% of people have a written plan for their life. Are you in that 5%?

Action:
If you have your plan written out, read it every day. If you don't, start right now. Spend an hour thinking about the life you want and how to create that life. If you need some help, let me know and I will be glad to get you started on your way to the life you want.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

It's Always Been Your Choice

"William Henley said, 'I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.' Once you believe this (I mean, really believe it,) nothing will hold you back. Something unexplainable happens when we accept complete responsibility for our behavior and our results. But it's not an easy thing to do."~Mac Anderson

Are you the master of your fate? Or are you just letting life happen to you?? Do you believe that you make the choices of the things that happen to you or that you have no choices? Why?  Too many people are stuck in their circumstances and unwilling to realize that they have choices.  They may not be the best choices for right now but they will be the best choice later.  We have lost the idea of delayed gratification in our "want it all now, instant, microwave" society.

Something unexplainable happens when we accept complete responsibility for our behavior and our results. Have you accepted complete responsibility for your behavior and your results? Not an easy thing to do...especially when our society almost demands that we blame something or someone else.  You will either have results or excuses.  Wouldn't you rather have results?

Break away from that crap. Take responsibility for your choices and actions. Know that you always have a choice and that YOU get to make that choice, no one else can make it for you.  It's always been YOUR CHOICE!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"William Henley said, 'I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.' Once you believe this (I mean, really believe it,) nothing will hold you back. Something unexplainable happens when we accept complete responsibility for our behavior and our results. But it's not an easy thing to do."

Get Ahead Of Yourself

"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!  Don't worry about where you stand in comparison with others, worry about where you stand in relation to where you were 6 months ago, 1 year ago.

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!

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."

It's Your Choice...Choose Well!

"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend ... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously and it is up to us to choose which we will focus on. We have been spoiled by our society so much that we concentrate more on what we don’t have than being grateful for what we do have. The TV constantly is showing us all the things that we don’t have and says “you need this!” Telling us that you have to keep up with the neighbors, your friends, everyone.

Are you truly grateful for what you have? Sure, I can hear you now, ‘yes, I’m grateful,” but are you really. When was the last time you said “I’m grateful for everything that I have?” See, we are grateful for the good things, but not the bad things. What about that? Shakespeare said that “there is no good or bad, only what we assign to it.” It is when you are grateful for everything that “the wasteland of illusion falls away.”

Unfortunately, many people choose to live in the "wasteland of illusion."  They don't allow themselves to see that it their CHOICE!  You can choose to live in the "wasteland of illusion" or live in "abundant gratefullnes!"  What is your choice??

Here’s a challenge for today…Be grateful for EVERYTHING that happens to you. Everything. You can choose to focus on abundance or lack. It’s your choice!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend ... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."

It Was A Day Like Today

“It was a day like today when Marco Polo took off to China. What are your plans today?”~Loesje

That was when people still believed that the world was flat and that you could fall off if you went to far! It was a day just like today. What will be your plans for today that will change the world?? Do you have any plans? Ya, I know, you are going to do what you do everyday and those are your plans...Well, goody for you!!!

If you keep doing what you have always done, you are going to keep getting what you always get. How's that working for ya???  What's that called?  INSANITY!!!

Maybe you will start to do something new and different, but just as you get going, you see... a ... SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Distracted again...off on another tangent, getting you no closer to your plans or goals. But you are busy...SQUIRREL...and then another tangent. Then another SQUIRREL!!!

Imagine if Marco Polo had been so easily distracted, or Columbus, or Einstein or anyone who has been successful in completing something. Our society has even given this challenge a name...ADD and tries to cover the issue with drugs. Well, we know how well drugs worked in the '60's so why not now???

“It was a day like today when Marco Polo took off to China. What are your plans today?” Make you plans BIG plans. You don't serve the world playing small!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“It was a day like today when Marco Polo took off to China. What are your plans today?”

Learn, Live and Hope

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."~Albert Einstein

Did you learn from yesterday? What did you learn? See, most of the time, we are so busy that we don't take the time to evaluate what we have learned and what we haven't. In our go, go, go society, we hardly even take the time to stop and take a deep breath, much less take time to think about what we learned or didn't learn.

Einstein, one the smartest men ever to have lived says that we need to learn from our yesterdays! Take that to heart and spend 10 minutes each night thinking about your day and what you learned. He also says to live for today. I read that as be present where you are, always. Our minds, while wonderful and complex, challenge us to be present with all the other thoughts of things that need to get done and things that didn't get done and all the other stuff.  Most of the time we are regretting the past and worrying about the future.  Stop doing that NOW!  Wherever you are...BE THERE!

Hope. Hope for tomorrow. Do you have hope? I know some people who don't believe in hope...and I feel sorry for them. They just seem to feel that they have to live with what life gave them and they can never change their life for the better. "Choose hope." Anything is possible when you choose hope. Anything is possible!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
"Once you choose hope, anything's possible."

There Are No Mistakes!

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go." ~Richard Bach

Our society has programmed us to believe that mistakes and failures are to be avoided AT ALL COSTS. This is just plain wrong. How will we ever learn and grow if not from our mistakes and failures. I choose to look at failures as feedback, nothing more, nothing less. It is showing me that what I'm doing is not the best way to do whatever it is that I'm doing.  It is a necessary thing we must go through to get to where we want to go.

We have learned to castigate failures, to scorn them, laugh at them, put them down...With these actions tied into failure, it's easy to see why our society tells us to avoid it at all costs. But what if we ALL looked at failure as the feedback that we need to do things better? Now that's not so bad is it.  

Thomas Watson, founder of IBM said that "The fastest way to success is to fail faster." But if we are avoiding failure, then the opportunity for success remains at a distance.

Work on seeing what you might call "failure" as feedback. And see how it affects your frame of mind and thought process.

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go."

What Are You Doing For Others?

Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?~Martin Luther King, Jr.
What are YOU doing for others? This used to be important, 20, 30 years ago and we got away from it, but now, some people are starting to realize that it is what is MOST important to almost anything. It is no longer "what can I get for myself," but "How can I serve others?"


So I ask again, what are YOU doing for others? Think about it for a while. This goes beyond what your business does for others, what are YOU DOING FOR OTHERS? And How are you doing this for others? And Why are you doing this for others?

Emerson said that "A man cannot truly help another person, without it helping himself." Do you realize that is the way the world works? When you help others, when you do for others, you end up helping yourself? We as a society have fallen into the "ME" trap. Here in the United States, it used to be US. But with political correctness, we've been divided into groups and classes.

We've been duped into believing that if I become part of a group, I can get what I want. What happened to the rugged individualism that made this country great? What happened to American Exceptionalism? We've thrown it away all for diversity and political correctness!!!

King also said, in his "I have a dream speech," that he hoped that someday, "his children would be judged on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin." I wonder what he would say about today's society?  

Take some time today and DO something for some one else.

Know.  Be Known.  Make A Difference!

Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?

Are You Living Your Life Backwards?

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want."~ Margaret Young

Are you living your life backwards? Our society kind of pushes us to live it backwards doesn't it. We are constantly bombarded with ads that tell us that if we just buy this product, we will get what we want. Buy more products and you will be happy! Easy, right? NOT!! See, happiness doesn't come from things, it comes from who you are and what makes you tick.

First, you must be who you really are. Are you who you really are or are you playing a role that you created or someone gave you? WHO ARE YOU??? Really, who are you...down deep. Are you doing what you were created to do? Are you sure? Most people aren't, they are just playing a role, just existing...really, just taking up space.

Most people live their lives in a Have-Do-Be mentality when they need to be living from a Be-Do-Have mentality. Before you can Do and Have, you need to Be. Who are you???

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want."

Intuitive Mind Is A Sacred Gift

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."~Albert Einstein

Wow, even back then, Albert got it! Think about our society today and how many ways we have done this...

Our government schools train people to be factory workers, robots, all with the same viewpoint. "When everybody is thinking the same thing, no one is thinking." Yet that is the way we are teaching children today, still. We stifle creativity out of kids, make them sit still and memorize answers so they can pass a test that tells us how "smart" they are.

Think about that for a while...

Our society celebrates celebrities simply for being a celebrity. I mean really, how has Paris Hilton affected your life? Really? What about the Kardashians? Why are they celebrities? What about all these "reality shows?" Reality??? They are the farthest thing from reality!

Maybe we've become the "Fantasy Nation." Remember Fantasy Island with Ricardo Montolban and Herve Velasquez? We've become Fantasy Island on steroids, we are the Fantasy Nation. Let's go back to when people were celebrated for their accomplishments, not vilified!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

Start Using Your Sacred Gift

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~Albert Einstein

We have created a society that honors the servant (the rational mind) and has forgotten the sacred gift (the intuitive mind). Why is that? It makes no sense at all. Einstein also said that "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Because imagination is unlimited while knowledge is limited.

Think about how often you use your sacred gift vs. the time you use your faithful servant. You spend most of your time with the servant, right? Here's a challenge...use your sacred gift for at least 30 minutes each day. Develop that gift and your life and business will become everything you want it to be. It's never too late to become who you were meant to be.

Action:
Work on your sacred gift. Nurture it. Develop it. Master it. Know that you must combine you Sacred Gift with your faithful servant to become all you were meant to become.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

The Barrenness of a Busy Life

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. ~Socrates

Wow...beware the barrenness of a busy life! Take a look at your life. Is it barren? Are you always busy? Are you running from meeting to meeting, driving like a banchee to get to where you need to be next...without any consideration of others? What's that getting you? How's that working?

Socrates, 2500 years ago saw the barrenness. Do you? REALLY?? Our society has programmed us to WANT MORE, NEED MORE, HAVE MORE...But is that all there is? More?

More recently, Mahatma Gandhi said "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Yet, that is all we seem able to do. Knowledge is doubling every 6 months...Computers that you bought 6 months ago now could almost be obsolete. There's so much new information coming at us, we can't keep up (and that's tough for us recovering perfectionists...lol)

It has been said that "The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." Take a few moments today, stop your hectic schedule, put away the I-Phone and RELAX!!!!! Go ahead, do it. OK, you say that you need permission...I GIVE YOU PERMISSION...to relax for 5-10 minutes today. That's all, 5-10 minutes. It will change your day, your week, your month...maybe even your life!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.