Release the Familiar and Seemingly Secure

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting and in change there is power."~Alan Cohen

Have you released the familiar and seemingly secure? Really? Most people stay in their comfort zone and never release the familiar, thinking that they are secure in their comfort zone. Here's the challenge. When you are in your comfort zone, you are not staying level but you are shrinking, getting smaller. There is no security in what is no longer meaningful, but we hold on tight to those things and hope that they will become meaningful again. I hate to tell you but they will most likely NOT become meaningful again.

Max De Pree said "In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are." We cannot remain who we are to be meaningful to the world. You can't continue to play small, you need to play as BIG as you've been created to be!

Action:
Realize that there is no security in what is no longer meaningful. You also cannot become who you were meant to be by staying as you are now. There is power in change! Be prepared to make that change.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting and in change there is power."

Who Are You Listening To?

"Think big and don't listen to people who tell you it can't be done. Life's too short to think small."~Tim Ferriss

How many times did you have a great idea and you told someone about it and they said "You can't do that," "You're stupid," "Why waste your time?" and you listened to them? Don't listen to the naysayers or those that want to keep you where you are. There's an interesting story about a bucket of crabs that describes this perfectly; when one of the crabs starts to climb out, the other crabs reach up and pull him back down. That's what those well meaning people are doing to you.

Napoleon Hill said "Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act on building the life you desire." Hang out with people who only want the best for you, who constantly are lifting you up and not smashing your dreams. Hang with people who will help your dreams come true!

Action:
Look at who is influencing you and who you are hanging with. If they aren't lifting you up, they are pulling you down. Notice that and make a change. It will positively affect your future.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Think big and don't listen to people who tell you it can't be done. Life's too short to think small."

Life, A Series of Experiences

"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks which we endure help us in our marching onward." ~Henry Ford

Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger. What a wonderful way to look at it. Neither good nor bad, but just experiences. It is not until we judge the experience that we place it in the good or bad category. But that is wrong thinking on our part. They are only experiences and we need to see and understand that. We can choose to look at those experiences as good or bad but we are only telling ourselves a story of what we have experienced. Learn from the experience but look at them as just that...experiences.

Do you realize that each experience makes us bigger? We sometimes think that some experiences make us smaller but that's not really the case. Each experience makes us bigger. You were meant to play bigger, you were meant to bring you talent and abilities to the world.

Action:
Allow each experience to make you bigger. If you don't bring the world your talent, no one else will and that talent will be lost forever. Claim your uniqueness!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks which we endure help us in our marching onward."

Willing To Look At Things Differently?

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” ~Edward de Bono

How willing are you at looking at things that no one else has bothered to look at? Are you willing to ask the question why do we do this that way? I hope so because it leads to the expansion of your mind and ideas. Think about that...the expansion of your mind. Are you willing to expand your mind or are you set in your ways and you "already know how to do that?"

Einstein said “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Yet every day, we try to solve the problems that come our way without changing the level of thinking that created them. Are you guilty of this? I know that I am sometimes, but most of the time, I will try to add to my knowledge to deal with the problem that I created. Books, articles and mentors help.

Action:
Motivation...Every action, positive and negative comes from our motivation. Choose wisely, make that motivation a positive one. ASK! Always Seek Knowledge. Expand your mind daily!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.”

Compete In The Present

“People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I’ve got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There’s no future in it.” -Sparky Anderson

Are you afraid of competing in the present? Are you living in your past? As Sparky said, "there's no future in it." The key is to always be present. Don't live in the past and don't spend a lot of time in the future, stay in the present.

Robert Collier said "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." That's the key, day in and day out. It doesn't say anything about yesterday or tomorrow, but day in and day out. Live for today, work for today, for today may be all you ever get. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is too far away.

Action:
Be present today. Stop living in the past and stop living in the future. Today is the only time you can live, so be present today. Repeat your disciplines day in and day out and at the end of the day, let it go, it's done, it's gone.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

Responsible For Your Thoughts?

"If we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors, we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain." ~Charles Newcomb

What thoughts are you admitting and entertaining? Have you ever thought about what you are thinking about? Start now, because if you don't, you will never understand why you can't seem to get what you want.

It's true that there are thoughts that just pop into our brain but the key is to maintain your "brain garden" free from those negative thoughts and bad weeds. Once they enter your thought pattern make sure that you weed them out so they can't plant in your brain.

What are you doing about what you aren't doing? Anything? Are you learning something new? Are you being coached or mentored by someone? Or are you doing nothing about what you aren't doing???

Action:
Keep weeding your "brain garden" minute by minute. It might be a hassle to start but you will benefit from it immediately. Start doing something about what you aren't doing.

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

"If we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors, we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain."

The Last of Human Freedoms

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”~Viktor E. Frankl

The last of the human freedoms..."to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." That means a new economy, a lousy boss, a bad relationship, any set of circumstances! It is your CHOICE!!! And only yours!

You get to choose your own way. It's not dictated by anyone other than you...unless you give someone else that power. A lot of people have given their power away to someone else. Don't let that be you!

Shakespeare said “Make not your thoughts your prisons.” Are you a prisoner of your thoughts? Think about that. What thoughts are hold you back, holding you prisoner? When you examine those thoughts, you will find that there is no truth to the thoughts that are holding you prisoner. It's just a story that you are telling yourself so it becomes a story that you live.

Action:
Know and realize that no circumstance can dictate your attitude to you. You are the only one who can choose your attitudes. Take today to examine the thoughts that are holding you prisoner. After analyzing them realize that you don't need them anymore. Make a prison-break in your mind!

Know. Be Known. Make A Difference!

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”