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Posts Tagged ‘motivation’

Meet Some of My Famous and Influential Mentors

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

I have had the good fortune to have been mentored by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, Dell’s founder Michael Dell, Virgin’s CEO Richard Branson, creator of such hits as Survivor and The Apprentice’s Mark Burnett, actor Sylvester Stallone, Wendy’s restaurant founder Dave Thomas, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and literally hundreds of other famous, successful, and wealthy individuals.  How can an average guy like me from suburban Detroit gain access to all of this world-class talent?

 The answer to that question is thru the books that they have written.  All of these individuals and for that matter, individuals in every field, industry, and nation have shared their secrets to success in print for hundreds of years.  The answers to any question that you may have are in print at your local Barnes & Noble, Border’s Books, or online at Amazon.com just waiting for you to dive in and scoop up the treasures from page after page of answers to how these people overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to rise to the top of their respective fields.

 Further, you have people in your life: parents, siblings, teachers, coaches, neighbors, bosses, and friends who are achieving every day what you want.  Understand that not everyone in life is going to understand your hopes and dreams.  We all have different opinions and view the world from a slightly different lense.  It can be hard to understand sometimes why loved ones or people you admire have a different view from you when it comes to your dreams.  Just remember that your dreams are just that, “yours” and belong to no one else. 

 If you are operating from a base of integrity and life is giving you signs that whatever you may be striving for is a good thing, then by all means, forge on, and stick to your path.  Realize that some or all of the people listed above may not want to see you succeed because of their own insecurities or competitive nature to always have to be on top.  Just keep pushing on.

Dream Big!

Use It or Lose It!

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

We had a beautiful snowfall a couple of weeks ago, and my daughters had great fun building forts and sledding down the hill in the back yard for a couple of days.  On the second day of play, I asked my youngest daughter, Megan, why she hadn’t used certain sections of the yard.  She informed me that Anne Marie, the oldest, had instructed the group to save those areas.

 

I let Anne Marie know that if they wanted to have fun with the unused snow, they better use it today because the temperatures were going to climb into the 40’s the following day, at which point the snow would be gone.

 

That got me thinking… what am I or any of us not using that we should be?

 

? Time, we only get each day once?

? Access to family, friends, neighbors, or co-workers? 

? Are we allocating our financial resources properly balancing today and tomorrow?

? Saying “I Love You” to that special someone?

? Forgiving those who hurt you?

 

How do we know when we should use one of the above, knowing that we risk losing it as the alternative?  I believe you know when :

 

1.     You know who you are as a person and what you are capable of.

2.    Your priorities are lined up with your values and in sync with your capabilities.

3.     Your taking responsibility for your daily choices and actions.

4.     Your utilizing your God given abilities, or natural strengths to the best of your ability.

 

If you’re focused on paying attention and developing the above traits, you’ll know when to use it or lose it!  Just as it’s important to seize opportunities when they present themselves, it’s equally important to let other opportunities pass you by.  The opportunities to lose would consist of those being harmful to your health, wealth, or well being.

 

So next time your playing in the snow, try to remember that sooner or later the snow is going to melt, so you might as well have fun now!

 

Have a great day!

Pandora’s Box and The Key to Happiness

Sunday, April 6th, 2008

The legend of Pandora from ancient Greece offers an amazing lesson for us still today.  As the story goes, Pandora was given a mysterious box by gods jealous of her beauty.  Pandora was told that she must never open the gift.  What do you think she proceeded to do?  You guessed it… she opened it!

 What Pandora released when she opened the box was some really negative things: disease, greed, vanity, envy, pining, and madness (these vices aren’t on the top of my list of wants).  Pandora was able to shut the box just in time to preserve the antidote that provides meaning to people’s lives… hope.

 Hope, modern researchers are finding, provides a suprisingly powerful role in life.  I can’t believe that it took these researchers this long to figure that out.  Hope keeps you strong!  Hope gives you a reason to believe!  When you have hope, you have faith (belief in the unknown)!

 Live with an expectation of good things to come into your life today and in the future.  Dream big dreams, then put the plans into place to make your dreams reality.  This all begins with hope, the foundation of faith.  The key is to do this one day at a time.  If you live with hope and faith each day, you will live a happy life!

Have a great day!