Lessons Learnt: Becoming A Better You: Recent Episodes
James Walters
I have made the trip around the sun 60 times and have learned many lessons on how to become successful. I discuss topics such as goal setting, self-confidence, overcoming fears, and much more. To change, you have to release your negative thoughts and create a positive mindset. You have everything it takes to improve your lifestyle inside you. If you make the decision to change you are halfway there. My goal is to help you become the person others want to be.
Learning to tap into inner energy is essential in your journey to personal improvement. You can do all the right things and not see improvement. For example, verbalizing positive affirmations and visualizing your future daily, yet you still don't feel you are improving. Something is holding you back. It could be that your heart is closed, and you are blocking your inner energy.
Vince Lombardi was a great leader who knew how to motivate men. He was an American football coach, winning many championships. He was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers when they won the first Super Bowl, and The Super Bowl trophy is named after him. Lombardi was famous for his inspirational speeches. One of his most famous speeches is "What It Takes to Be Number One."
The other day I was thinking about those psychological barriers we put on ourselves called comfort zones. Those areas or events which we feel good when we are there. It is our safe place. It is where we feel warm and fuzzy. Nothing can happen to you when you are in your comfort zone. You must break out of your comfort zone to develop.
Your comfort zone is created in your mind. It is a mental boundary based on your past experiences. Everyone has a different comfort zone. Some are small, and some are extensive. Some people are only comfortable inside their homes, but not everyone. If they relate their home to previous bad experiences; it will not be comfortable for them.
Some days I wake full of energy with a lot to accomplish. Then, unexpected events arise and, before I know it, I have lost control of my day. One day can turn into weeks or months if I let it. Today I want to talk about what happens in life and how you can take control of your life.
What is your preferred way to handle a project? Do you like to tackle it as an individual or as a member of a team? There are many advantages and disadvantages to each. At times, I prefer to handle a project alone. In contrast, I am a big proponent of teamwork for certain projects. Let's talk about the advantages of teamwork.
Developing the right habits is essential if you want to change your situation. Doing the same things that you are currently doing will get you nowhere. You must change your mindset, which includes developing new habits. If you are having trouble developing new habits, remember this question. What matters more?
To understand the power of, I Am, we only have to look in the book of Exodus, chapter 3. This is the story of the burning bush. God tells Moses to go to the Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses says to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:13, 14 NIV)
What is the true meaning of failure? What happens to you when you fail? In this article, I want to talk about failure and most importantly quitting. There is a distinction between the two. As you commence the process of changing your life, you should know the difference. Never Quit!
Failure is defined as a lack of success, the omission of expected or required action. Quitting is defined as giving up or admitting defeat. These definitions are subjective. I believe the true meaning of failure is when you quit.
The power of giving thanks is enormous. Once you have decided you want a better life, begin to give thanks for everything. Begin a habit of giving thanks every morning and throughout your day. Soon you will see how powerful a simple thing like gratitude can be.
I want to eliminate negativity in my life. Unfortunately, that is not possible and might not be possible for you. Therefore, you have to learn to ignore negativity you cannot eliminate.
What I am talking about here is negativity from family or coworkers. You might find that you cannot cut these people out of your life. You have to keep seeing them, and when you do, they will spread their negativity around you. Ignore negativity coming from these people.
The definition of a growth mindset is you believe your talents can be developed the hard work and good strategies. In comparison, the definition of a fixed mindset is you believe your talents are innate, they cannot be improved upon.
Change is inevitable. You go through many transitions as you advance in life. There are some changes that you cannot control, for example, aging; we are getting older by the minute. Other changes are completely under your control. A good example is your financial situation. By learning to control your thoughts, you can control your bank account. You have to go through different transitions before this is possible. Changing to a growth mindset take time, but it is worth it.
Some people follow others get in the way, but leaders lead. No mission gets accomplished without good leaders and leadership. Being a good leader is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. Good leaders are few and far between. Many people are referred to as leaders yet exhibit no qualities of a good leader.
When I first started learning about personal development, I thought I had to change immediately. I would listen to a speaker or a mentor who would tell me what I needed to do. Next, I would try to do everything they said right away. It meant dumping all of my old habits and becoming a new person overnight. Eventually, the result was a failure. I didn't realize personal development is a process; the keyword is development. Change must be developed. The process of personal development takes time.
2021 is flying by quickly! 2022 is almost here. December is a great month to ask yourself, "Am I where I thought I would be this time last year?" If your answer is, "No," then now is a great time to see what went wrong. Think about where you want to be a year from now and what you want to accomplish. Today is the time to start setting goals for 2022
Life is not fair. It is something that should be taught early on in childhood. Bad things happen to good people; good things happen to bad people. This is just life. We are all going to go through difficult times.
I have excellent conversations with several people who think as I do. We believe that your life is based on your thoughts. If you control your thoughts and think positively, you will lead a positive life. I began thinking about these people and realized something important. Most of them spend money to attend self-improvement seminars, workshops, and weekends. Many are not living the lives that they are seeking. I wondered why not. If you are one, maybe you do not believe in yourself.
Today I am going to continue discussing, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This chapter titled, The Brain, is Hill's 12th step in acquiring riches. In this chapter, Hill begins bringing the previous steps together showing, how everything works in your mind. Finally, he discusses using the telepathy connection to achieve your desires.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy. I just had my annual physical, and all my blood work came out perfect. My body is working just the way it should and maybe even a little better. I feel energetic, and my mind is sharp. It doesn't mean I don't always walk into the kitchen and remember why I am there. Those are just the little things that we put up with as time goes by.
Overcoming despair is my podcast today. Gloom, Despair, and Agony on me. Oh, how those words brought back a lot of great memories. I use to watch a TV show with my mom and dad back in the 70s called Hee Haw. It was a show with country comedians and musicians that would perform various skits. One of those skits had two performers singing the song Gloom Despair and Agony on me. Then they would say something funny about their trials and tribulations. They would repeat the song until another funny story. It was one of the funniest skits, and it makes me laugh today thinking about it.
Today I want to talk about the subconscious mind and its connection to the universe. This post is a continuation of Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich. Properly using your subconscious mind to connect with the universe is the 11th step in acquiring riches
In this podcast, I am continuing to talk about Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich. The 10th step toward riches, The Mystery of Sex Transmutation. I will admit that I had a difficult time understanding this chapter. I read it several times until I believe I finally understood it. It is simply a sexual energy transfer to increase creativity.
According to Hill, the emotion of sex has three constructive potentials. First, sex is necessary for the perpetuation of man. Second, sex has the potential to maintain a healthy mind and body. Third, sex has the potential for the transformation of mediocrity into genius. It is done through transmutation by a sexual energy transfer to increase creativity.
When you decide to change, you will need help along your journey. You can find this help from extrinsic motivation or through self-discipline. I know people who listen to motivational speeches every day. In contrast, I know people who do not believe in motivational speeches, and both are successful. Therefore, the question is which is better, motivation or self-discipline?
Most people in the world are not wealthy. It is said that 96% of the wealth in the world is created by 1% of the population. When you look at this statistic, what do you see? I see opportunities. We live in an unlimited universe. Each one of us can create wealth. You can increase your wealth by changing your thoughts and developing new habits. Below are 15 habits that will make you wealthy.
I am continuing to talk about the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Today I will discuss the ninth step, Power of the Mastermind, The Driving Force. Do not try to accomplish anything alone. Acquiring power by the Mastermind Principle will help you to attain your goals. Listen to my Podcast above to learn about the Mastermind Definition and Power.
I am continuing to talk about the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Today I will discuss the eighth step, Persistence, The Sustained Effort Necessary To Induce Faith. Once you turn belief into faith you will become unstoppable. Faith is an essential ingredient to accomplishing your goals and dreams. These 4 steps to becoming persistent will change your life.
I have been retired for seven years now, and I enjoy every minute of it. I retired when I was 53 years old but could have (and should have) retired at the age of 50. There has been a lot to learn in my retirement. I can describe my retirement in one word, options. There are unlimited options for me now that I didn't have when I worked for the government. I can be or do anything I want now. Listen and learn about 5 things I wish I knew before retirement.
All right, you have decided to become the person others want to be. You've taken that first step on your journey. Your goals are made, and you have written a detailed plan for accomplishing them. Now what? How are you going to get to that finish line? You see, it's all a waste of time and energy if you don't begin to do the work. You have to crack that egg to make your omelet. Congratulations! It's time to take that first step on your journey to a new you. See what Action can do for you.
Have you ever wondered how someone invents something that changes the world? Today I am going to talk about that process and how thoughts become ideas. Last week I talked about specialized knowledge and how to organize and direct knowledge to make it powerful. Today I’m continuing with the 13 steps to gain riches as written in the book, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. In his book, Hill gives us 13-steps to acquire wealth. The same steps and techniques can be used to acquire anything. This is the fifth step, imagination, and how imagination is more important than knowledge.
I'm continuing my posts based on the 13 steps for acquiring wealth. Napoleon Hill, in his book, Think and Grow Rich, discussed the 13 common steps successful men used to acquire their wealth. Today, I'm going to talk about developing a mastermind group with specialized knowledge. This is the fourth step for acquiring wealth or accomplishing your goals. Learn about the importance of building a mastermind group for success.
Positive self talk is used to transmit your thoughts from your conscious to your subconscious mind. This is a technique used to obtain the life you want to live. In season 2 episode 3 of my podcast, Lessons Learnt, I give you 5 techniques to use positive self talk or autosuggestion.
Whatever it is that you want to achieve, to be successful you need faith. For example, if you desire to acquire wealth, you must have faith that it will happen because most people do not become financially independent overnight. You have to believe that it is going to happen at some time. You have to see the amount of money you desire in your mind.
There are two parts to the mind, the conscious and the subconscious. The subconscious mind is more powerful and can translate your thoughts into reality. If you are thinking positive thoughts, positive things will come to you. On the other hand, if you are thinking negative thoughts continually, you will get the negative things you are thinking of. For example, a person who is struggling with money talks about their debt and bills. Consequently, they acquire more debt.
For this post, I wanted to get you started right on your journey to a new you. If you have decided that you want to be better off this time next year, this post will supply you with the main ingredient. I know that you have set your goals for the next year and written your plans. Now comes the question, "What is your WHY?" The importance of finding your WHY cannot be understated.
It's a new year full of promises. My goals are set, and my plans are in place. Now it is time to put the work in as the journey to success begins. Seeds that I planted last year are beginning to emerge. All the work I put in last year will start to pay off. Everything I did in the past transformed me and I was changed for the better.
How to be happy with yourself? First, you can decide today how your life is going to be like a year from now. You just need to make the decision to change. The decision is not enough though. The most important part of making any decision is to make a commitment to that decision. Your commitment will get you through the difficult times.
Many people make New Year's resolutions during this time. I have never made New Year's resolutions. Most New Year's resolutions made by people only last about two weeks. By January 15th they have already quit on them. The reason is that they never committed to their resolutions.
I wrote this post back in December as we were closing out 2020. December is a great time to conduct an end-of-year SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) self-analysis. Truthfully, you can do a SWOT self-analysis at any time of the year, you don't have to wait until December. Doing them quarterly is a great idea. Right now is a great time to do an end-of-year self-analysis.
I am going to give you a few ways to conduct a SWOT self-analysis. I conduct a SWOT self-analysis to take an inventory of my life. Looking at different aspects of my life to see where I became better, stayed the same, and where I'm worse off. Some of the areas that I look at are my goals, my plan, my education, and my expenses. In each area, I evaluate my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
This is Episode 49, SMART Goals And Mistakes To Avoid. In this episode, I provide a technique to use when setting your goals. It is important to properly set goals so they work. In contrast, I talk about mistakes to avoid when setting your goals.
In December, I wrote a post wrapping up 2020 and getting ready for 2021. Last week di a podcast about five things to change in 2021. Today is a great time to ask yourself, "Am I where I thought I would be this time last year?" If your answer is, "No," then now is a great time to see what went wrong. Think about where you want to be a year from now and what you want to accomplish. Today is the time to start setting goals for the next year and beyond.
This a podcast of a post I wrote as we were winding down 2020. There are some things you should do to prepare to make improvements in your life. Here are some self-improvement quotes and tips to help you. Don’t wait to start. Begin developing these habits now. Decide where you want to be this time next year and commit to becoming that person.
Why do we bury our dreams? A small percentage of the population never does. They continue to pursue their dreams until they turn them into reality. These people persevere and overcome all challenges that life throws at them. They know that they are in control of their outcome. Whether they succeed or fail is up to them. The larger percentage of the population never realize their dreams mainly because of self-sabotage. They allow outside forces to determine the type of life that they will live. Learn to recognize when you are self-sabotaging and how to stop.
Understanding the Law of Attraction is simple, you reap what you sow. Think about a wonderful life and you will live a wonderful life. It's what you do behind the scenes. Who are you when no one is watching? They say that great people become great behind the scenes. Their greatness is made when no one is watching.
So think about that question, “Who are you when no one’s watching?” People tend to say the right things in the right company. What are you saying when you are alone? What are you thinking throughout the day? Make sure that your words and your thoughts are in alignment. If not you could be inadvertently sabotaging your law of attraction. Once everything’s in alignment, make sure that you are putting in the work to become the person you want to be. Go out and get the lifestyle you want to have.
Several months ago when I started my blog I wrote a post titled, It's Not About Me, It's About You. The purpose of that post was to say that to become successful we need to serve others. Some people need the gifts that you have. People need to read the content that you're writing. It might make them smile, be the bit of inspiration they're looking for, or provides some information that helps them out. Taking your eyes off yourself and helping others will help you persevere. People are counting on you. You will need self-love meditations and affirmations that can help you accomplish this.
Now I'm going to switch it up a little bit. I want you to put your eyes back on yourself. The reason for this is, you can't fully serve someone else if you don't completely like the person you are. Your priority is to fix yourself and be happy with who you are. I believe we are all good people deep down inside. We are all different people so don’t compare yourself with others. There is no comparison to you.
I attended a webinar a couple of weeks ago hosted by Sean Croxton from his website, seancroxton.com. In the webinar, he talked about our limiting mindset when it comes to making money. Our brains protect us which can actually stop us from acquiring abundance. In Episode 43 I talk about the question; What does commitment mean?
Our brain is wired to block us from change. This has happened to me several times when I decided to make a change. Has it ever happened to you that you decided to improve yourself and an assortment of negative things started happening? This is your brain blocking your change. Soon you will slip back into your old habits. Most New Year's resolutions only last till January 14th. This is why gyms are crowded in January and empty out in February.
Welcome back to my podcast! This is Episode 42 and I am talking about the question; How do you spend your free time? We all are given the same amount of time each day. Most of your time is scheduled like work, sleep, or meals. The rest is free time. Are you making the most of the way you spend your free time?
I began thinking about time and what time means to us. Throughout my life, I've never spent much time thinking about, time. But seeing how I turned 60 and a friend of mine described it as entering the fourth quarter of life, time has pushed itself to the front of the line of my thinking process. I am now closer to the end of my life than the beginning.
I'm always hearing voices in my head. They are good voices that guide me through life. Some call them inspiration. Others call the vibes. I know they are of higher intelligence. Artists refer to them as muses. This is Episode 41 of my podcast. Listen and I will explain why you shouldn't ignore those voices that give you the inspiration to change. 7.8 billion people are counting on you.m always hearing voices in my head. They are good voices that guide me through life. Some call them inspiration. Others call the vibes. I know they are of higher intelligence. Artists refer to them as muses. This is Episode 41 of my podcast. Listen and I will explain why you shouldn't ignore those voices that give you the inspiration to change. 7.8 billion people are counting on you.
My wife and I were watching the SpaceX rocket launch last week and it reminded me of a post I wrote about Kalpana Chawla. Kalpana inspires me because she is an example of making dreams come true by her thoughts. She accomplished much in her short life. Today, millions of people are inspired because Kalpana Chawla dared to dream.
I’ve always been interested in space travel. I watch every launch I can. I remember watching the first astronauts launch in the 60s and continue to watch the SpaceX launches. My first recollection of seeing Kalpana Chawla was when she was a member of mission STS-107 and was about to board the space shuttle Columbia on January 16, 2003. Kalpana stood out to me as the seven Columbia crew members were shown walking to their vehicles. She appeared too young and small to be an astronaut. How she carried herself with such confidence was what stood out to me.
This is Episode 39 and I want to talk about how to overcome distractions. Life hit me hard one-day several months ago and I lost that battle. I have a lot of people both in-person and on WordPress who tell me they frequently experience similar events in their life. Therefore, I wanted to share what happened and how I dealt with it.
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and grew up in poverty. He was self-educated and eventually became a lawyer. There are many tales of Lincoln and his successes and failures before he became the 16th President of the United States.
He inherited the nightmare of a Union which was severely divided from President James Buchanan. Before he took the oath of office, seven states had already succeeded from the union to form the Confederate States of America. Buchanan had already given up hope of holding the country together. He did nothing at the end of his term to try to repair the division that was happening in this country. Congress also did nothing to defeat the growing rebellion.
Lincoln was the country's first Republican President and he was elected by a minority vote. He was disliked in Washington because he was an outsider. The media and the people saw him as a second-rate country lawyer. They thought he was ill-equipped and unable to handle the presidency. No one could predict the unparalleled strength of leadership he possessed.
In Negative Personality Traits Part 2, I want to talk about how you limit your possibilities by holding onto negative energy. Remember that the human mind is limitless and we can do all things if we believe in our hearts. To put it simply, your thoughts become your actions and your actions become your reality. I am living proof of this.
I believe in positive affirmations. Positive affirmations and changing your thought process will change the person that you are. I know this works because I am a completely different person than I was even a few years ago. Two things were limiting me. First, I was putting a time limit on my change. If it wasn't happening quickly enough, I would say it didn't work. Second, I held onto a lot of negative energy.
This is Episode 36 of my podcast/blog, Negative Personality Traits - Part 1. I want to talk about the power of releasing these negative personality traits. Our minds are very powerful instruments. For instance, it is said that we only utilize 10% of the power of our brains. That is a myth and scientists have discovered we use 100 % of our brains. Our minds are so powerful that they can store our every thought and emotion. Depending on your thoughts and emotions this can be seen as good or bad. Positive thoughts will lead to a wonderful life. On the other hand, negative thoughts and emotions can hold you back from living your dreams.
I am continuing to talk about the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Today I will discuss the eighth step, Persistence, The Sustained Effort Necessary To Induce Faith. Once you turn belief into faith you will become unstoppable. Faith is an essential ingredient to accomplishing your goals and dreams. What does persistence mean? These 10 quotes will help you discover the meaning of persistence.
Hill states that persistence is an essential factor in changing desire into its monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is willpower. Titans of industry are often described as cold-blooded and ruthless. This is because they have the willpower to obtain their objectives. Henry Ford was described this way because of his habit of following through in all his plans with persistence.
I first heard of Ernest Shackleton when I was given a book titled Endurance. The book, written by Alfred Lansing, is well written and inspirational. It entails the 1914 ill-fated expedition to Antarctica led by Shackleton. They proceeded from England aboard the ship, Endurance. The expedition had planned to make the first crossing of Antarctica. They would travel via the South Pole from the Weddell Sea to McMurdo Sound.
The Endurance became trapped in the ice and drifted for 10 months. Eventually, the ice crushed the powerful ship. Shackleton and his men then drifted for another five months on ice floes. Running low on food and supplies, they escaped in boats to uninhabited Elephant Island.
All right, you have decided to become the person others want to be. You've taken that first step on your journey. Goals have been set and you have written a detailed plan for accomplishing them. Now what? How are you going to get to that finish line? You see, it's all a waste of time and energy if you don't begin to do the work. You have to crack that egg to make your omelet. Congratulations! It's time to take that first step on your journey to a new you.
This is the most important step, ACTION. Once you have made your decision to accomplish anything, 50% of the work is done. Congratulations once again, you are already halfway there. The other 50% comes from the action of getting it done.
It's great that you have set your goals, written a good plan, and are ready to change. Unfortunately, nothing will change without ACTION. You must do the work. This is what stops most people. They are unwilling to do the work and make the sacrifices. This is why only 1% of people succeed. You are not like most people. It is inside you to get moving and take that step.
Faith builds your confidence. Fear tears it down. To accomplish great achievements you must carry faith with you. As you begin a new venture it can seem overwhelming, almost impossible. To turn it into a reality you will need confidence in yourself and everyone helping you. Everything is possible with faith. In 1969 we sent three astronauts to the moon. Two of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually landed and walked on the moon. Michael Collins flew the command capsule. This was a phenomenal feat. When they were given the “green light” to launch in July 1969, many scientists and experts thought we were years away from being ready. It took a lot of faith and confidence from the astronauts, engineers, scientists, and mathematicians to proceed on this historic event. In fact, experts only gave them a 50 percent chance of making it back alive.
If you’ve decided to do anything significant, at some point you will think about quitting. We have all been there. These thoughts are at their greatest frequency just before you are about to have a breakthrough. All you have to do to be successful is turn the corner or take another step. If you just drive one more mile you will find the answer. If you ever get to the point where you’re considering giving up and returning to your old lifestyle, think of WHY you wanted to change.
Who actually writes down goals? Well, the best answer is, successful people. Did you know that 96% of all the wealth created in the world is created by 1% of the population? These are the people that are extremely successful in building businesses and making money. By comparison, I recently heard that only 1% of people actually write down their goals. One could deduct that the 1% who are writing down their goals are also the 1% creating 96% of the wealth. For example, in my post last week on becoming an expert, I listed some habits of successful people. One of those habits is that successful people are goal-oriented. This is a great reason why setting goals is important. Taking this all in, I think it’s time we started writing some goals.
The thing about becoming an expert and being successful is there are no shortcuts. I know today, living in our fast food society, we want everything right now. Unfortunately, striving to be the best takes time. No one is born an expert. Your gift is inside you when you’re born but you must develop that gift. Becoming an expert only happens through training and experience. It is said that to be an expert at anything you must do it repeatedly for at least 10,000 hours.
I’ve talked about this in several previous articles and want to discuss it more thoroughly today. I’m talking about those little creatures that hide deep inside our minds. The ones that pop up at the worst of times. Their only function is to prevent you from living the life you so richly deserve. Yes, I am talking about those dreaded “Doubt Demons!” They are there, dug in deep and camouflaged, waiting for the right time to come out. It is imperative to stifle these demons. If at all possible, they should be eradicated.
Do you ever wonder, why isn’t anything easy? Wouldn’t it be so nice if we could go through life without any struggles? Especially during these trying times in which we are currently living. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen because life itself is a struggle and it takes strength and perseverance to get by. People who succeed in life are persistent. They learn how to improvise, adapt, and overcome. This is a phrase that Clint Eastwood made famous in his movie, Heartbreak Ridge. Perseverance is the key to success.
The subject of the podcast, "Episode 26: What Are Your Gifts And Talents?" is near and dear to my heart. That is your gift. This is not a gift wrapped in pretty paper with ribbons and bows, it’s a gift that you carry around inside of you. You have had it your entire life. The gift I am talking about has been placed in you, by God, before you are born. Everyone is born with their gift and I hope that this podcast will help you to discover your gift.
What is failure? How do we define it? In the dictionary failure has many meanings, it can be defined as a lack of success or one that has failed. I believe this is too broad a definition and I refer back to some of my previous posts where I talked about success. Success being different for each person means also that failure can be different for different people. I prefer to define failure as a necessary building block on the road to success. Very few people have immediate success when they begin a new venture.
Do you struggle with self-confidence? Are you a different person on the outside than you are on the inside? As humans, we are all unique and we have to see the real person who we are. We are defined only by the words we tell ourselves, not by other people’s words. Tell yourself every day that you are a confident, strong person. Look at all the successes you have had in your life and don’t compare them with others. All victories, no matter how large or small, are victories. Celebrate every one of them. Every day go be the best person that you can be on that day. Life is life and some days are simply better than others. Some days I accomplish a lot, other days not so much, but every day I’m the best me. Go be the best you.
So, 2020 is coming to an end. We are in the last couple of days and I know a lot of people are very thankful. For a lot of people 2020 has been a dumpster fire and a year to forget. We have had to put up with COVID-19, many natural disasters, and civil unrest. For me, 2020 has been one of my best years. Despite everything that's happened this year, I'm a better person today than I was this time last year.
If you want to be successful at anything, you need a team. It’s just overwhelmingly difficult to make it to the top by yourself. As I have written in past blogs, your WHY needs to come from deep down inside you, it needs to be large and emotional. The goal that you are working towards accomplishing has to be worthwhile. It has to be realistic but large enough to scare you and be difficult to obtain. Life is gonna throw too many obstacles and challenges at you to accomplish the goal by yourself.
Everything nowadays seems so complicated that we need to break it down into its simplest form in order to understand it. When I was in the jungle, I carried the explosives we used two destroy the cocaine labs. Trying to understand the scientific facts of how explosives work can be complicated. It wastes a lot of time looking at formulas, trying to figure out the best locations to place the dynamite.
We didn’t have a lot of time to do that. I learned in my training the simple fact is energy caused by the explosion always travels along the path of least resistance. If you wanted the explosion to travel in a certain direction, he just had to pile rocks and other heavy objects against the charge on the side opposite of the direction you wanted the explosion to travel. You don’t have to complicate things in order to obtain great results.
I always enjoy the beginning. The beginning of a relationship, meeting a new person who you know will become a good friend, starting to read a good book. To me, the beginning of anything is always exciting. I’m filled with joy and anticipation when a new football season kicks off. It excites me to begin a new challenge. I love the feeling of nervousness and wonderment I get when I ask myself, “Can I really do this?” I start a new business with the excitement of all the possibilities if it succeeds. I’m quickly filled with feelings of frustration and doubt as I have to learn so many new things. As I quickly overcome my fears, it just adds to the excitement of beginning something new. Starting projects are fine, but nothing compares with finding true love. I don’t know if I’ve ever found any better feeling than beginning a relationship with someone that you know will be there for the rest of your life.
I have gotten to where I am and will get to where I’m going all because of one word, persistence. I just kept moving forward. You see, the journey to accomplishing your goals and being successful is not linear. It doesn’t happen in a straight line. You move up, then you stumble. You get back up, brush yourself off, and start off again. Some days I get out of bed and I feel so energetic that I don’t think my feet touched the ground all day and I take great leaps forward. Other days I move forward in smaller steps and there are few days where my journey gets blocked and they make no progress. My journey to where I got to today has followed this path: set a goal; make a plan; work the plan; fail; learn; redirect my efforts; success. This path repeats the failures become less frequent, my learning increases, my plan becomes better, and I succeed. You will face a similar path on your journey to success. I believe the number one attribute that you need to have in order to succeed is persistence. You just have to continue to work your plan persistently until you see small victories. If you are persistent and you will rejoice in your failures instead of using them as reasons to quit. You will start to look at failures as opportunities and you will learn from each failure. Take the lessons you learn, look at your plan, and rework it if necessary. Look deep inside yourself and make sure you are doing everything you need to be doing to succeed.
It’s difficult to measure success. For me, the easiest way to measure success is in gratitude. Being thankful for what you do have. This is why I begin every day by listing the things that I’m grateful for. It begins my day in the right frame of mind to be successful and to face every challenge and obstacle that’s placed in front of me.
Do you want more out of life or is this it for you? Are you satisfied with where you are today in life or do you want to make a change? Are you willing to take on something outside of your comfort zone? Is putting up with some physical or mental discomfort too much for you?
We have choices to make every day. Do we get out of bed now or do we roll over and go back to sleep? Do we pick up our phone as soon as we wake up or look at it later? What are we going to wear? What are we going to have for breakfast? We are inundated with choices that we have to make every day. In my blog titled, Anxiety (COVID-19), I wrote about the current situation that we are facing today and how that has created choices. We have a choice between faith and fear. I will always choose faith over fear.
There is so much power in words. Words can make you happy or sad. They can calm you or make you angry. Put you to sleep or give you a jolt of adrenaline and get you going. They can build great relationships but they can also tear them down. Wars were started by words, but they can also bring peace.
I am blessed to have a son and two daughters. They might not feel the same about having me as a father since I’ve lied to them their whole life. I didn’t do it maliciously or even consciously, just like my father never consciously lied to me. I just told my kids the same information that my father told me and his father told him. Our thoughts about wealth, success, and even happiness are ingrained in us as we are growing up. These thoughts are based on what we are told by other people, including our parents. I now work very hard to replace everything I told them with what I now know is the truth.
You deserve everything in life. You are one-of-a-kind and can and will be whatever you desire to become. The reason you don’t believe that you have it right now is because of the words you’re saying and the thoughts that are in your mind. In order to change, you have to look inside you. You have to look at the person who’s looking back at you in the mirror and say I deserve everything I’m asking for.
The one thing we must never forget is that quitting is not an option. This is Episode 9 of my Podcast and it comes from my blog post titled, It's Not About Me, It's About You. You can't give up because there are too many people who need to experience your gifts.
Do you feel that right now is a great time to be alive? Because I do. I feel so blessed every day to be able to experience everything that life offers on a daily basis. We are living through an unprecedented event, maybe not in history, but in my lifetime.
Whatever you want to accomplish starts right now. Don’t wait for the perfect day or time. Don’t wait for the pandemic to be over and COVID-19 to be wiped out. Never wait for tomorrow or next week. Don’t wait until the end of the semester or when you get that big project finished at work. There is no better day than today, so go get it done. IT’S YOUR LIFE - go live it.
Dreams, like grass, need to be nourished and watered. If your irrigation system is adjusted correctly then most of the water lands on your yard and nourishes your lawn. The grass grows healthy and full, chokes out all the weeds, and you have this lush green lawn that’s the envy of the neighborhood.
I look forward to watching the NFL draft every year because you get to see their dreams come true as it happens. You see the emotions they go through as they get the phone call from the NFL team that is selecting them. You see the emotions of the families that are there with them. Watching the draft makes me grateful for my life. Are you thankful for what you have?
How do you value other people’s opinions? Are you caught up in the way someone else makes you feel? Can what someone says to you determine if you can have a good or bad day? If so, listen to these words carefully. I don’t give a flying rat’s ass what other people think of me. I know that I’m a good person and that I treat others in the same manner as I would want them to treat me. It has no effect on me what other people think of me or if other people don’t believe that I will accomplish what I set out to do.
Welcome to Episode 3: Overcoming Anxiety Today. We are definitely in an anxious time in our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a time of uncertainty and I don’t know about you but for me, it is difficult to find the facts about what’s really going on. One news agency reports one thing and three more reports something totally opposite. One day we’re “flattening the curve” and the next day this is something that’s going to last for years. I’m as confused as everyone but unlike a lot of people, it doesn’t cause me anxiety.
This is Episode 2: The Journey and Overcoming Fears of my podcast. In this episode, I discuss how we can make it to our destination. Our goals can seem overwhelming to us at times. Sometimes we just have to take that first step and see what happens.
Welcome. Well, I decided to start a podcast and this is episode 1 titled welcome. I'm going to going over my earlier posts and adding to them a bit. I hope you enjoy them. As with anything new, there is a learning curve. So, please forgive my mistakes, my "umms," and my " you know." I'll get better the more I do it, just like in life.