success

You’re Unique

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Whenever I’m in a large crowd of people I’m amazed at the fact that each person has a unique and different appearance (identical twins notwithstanding).  With all the combinations of facial features, body types, skin and hair color, height and weight possibilities, no 2 people are exactly alike in appearance.  Each person is unique.  I love that!

In addition to physical features every person is also unique in their mix of gifts and talents.  Unlike hair color or height and weight, a person’s gifts and talents are not always visibly recognizable to others, or to the person who possesses them.  It’s easy for us to see a talent being used in other people, but we can often miss, or even dismiss the unique talents and gifts that we possess. When we see others’ talent being used it’s easy to think, “I wish I were talented like so-and-so“ or “I’m just not that talented”.   Of our own talents, we may even think, “It’s not a big deal” or “There’s nothing special about that”.  I disagree.  Your talents are a big deal, and they are something special.

I think we are at our best when we are using our gifts and talents on a regular basis.  We perform our greatest work, give our greatest effort, and make our greatest contribution when we engage them.  That’s why it’s so important for us to be aware of our gifts and talents and seek to use them often in the course of our daily lives.

Spend some time over the next couple of days reflecting on your unique gifts and talents.  As you do, think of opportunities to use them to cause something to happen in your personal or professional life. Also, realize that no one else on the planet has the exact same make up of gifts and talents that you do.

You truly are unique!

 

On Quitting

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“Winners never quit and quitters never win!”  Really?  We’ve all been taught not to quit, and that quitting is failure, but I don’t think that necessarily true.

What if you are in a job, career, business endeavor, or educational pursuit that you realize isn’t going to take you where you want to go in life?  Should you continue on, knowing it’s not what you’re excited or passionate about, or should you quit and pursue something that’s a better fit for you?  I don’t think there is anything noble about sticking with something that you know isn’t working or that you know won’t lead to success.  If that’s the case, I say quit.  Immediately!

However, I don’t want to make a blanket statement that says we should always quit.  If for example, we’re pursuing an endeavor that we’re passionate about and that will take us toward the goals we’ve set for ourselves, we should stick with it.  Often when we start something new, the beginning stages are fun and exciting.  But soon the excitement wears off and it’s time to start doing the hard work to cause something to happen in order to be successful.  At this point we shouldn’t quit, but rather apply our efforts to get through the challenging work to get started.  This NOT the time to quit.

When considering whether or not to quit, we should ask ourselves some questions like:

  • Is this path I’m considering quitting going to take me where I want to go in life and help me achieve the goals I’ve laid out for myself?
  • Am I quitting just because it’s getting hard?
  • Could I be more effective/fulfilled/successful doing something else?
  • Will my increased or continued efforts cause me to be successful?

Give yourself honest answers to these questions, as they will help you determine your course of action.

Is there anything currently in your life that you need to consider quitting or stop giving thought to quitting?  If so, ask yourself the tough questions, make your decision, and take action.  You’ll either be freed up to pursue something more fulfilling, or you’ll put yourself in a position to refocus your efforts to move ahead.

Don’t delay.  Your future awaits!

Your Puzzle-Box Picture

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I’m not a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles, but I am fascinated by the process of putting one together.  You start with all these little pieces, a box top with a picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like, and then you get to work.  First, you may begin looking for the corner pieces or any piece with a flat edge so you can frame in the picture with the boarder.  From there, maybe you look for all the pieces with the same color as a feature in the picture, so you can get that section put together.  Eventually, many of the pieces get connected and the picture starts to come into view and look exactly like the picture on the puzzle box.

What’s most interesting about the puzzle assembling process is how much time is spent looking at the picture on the puzzle box.  We constantly glance at it in order to get a clear picture (literally!) of what the finished product is going to look like.  We use that picture to guide us in the process.

The picture on the puzzle box reminds me of our goals and the life we desire for ourselves.  Our goals and desires, much like the picture on the puzzle box do several things for us:

  • They guide us and influences our decisions
  • They keep us focused and mindful of what we’re pursuing
  • They help us clearly see where we are going, even though we are not there yet

Imagine trying to put a puzzle together without having a picture to reference.  It would be extremely challenging without having the desired goal that the picture on the box provides.

Now imagine a life without goals, desires, or aspirations.  How would you know where you’re going or what kind of life you want if you didn’t have a clear “picture” of the life you are trying to create?  How would you know if /when you got there? How would you know if you’re on track or if your efforts are making a difference as you move along life’s path?

Do you have a “puzzle box” picture of your goals and purpose for your life clearly in your mind?  In your attempts to cause something to happen, do you clearly understand where you want your actions to take you?  Begin today either creating or clarifying the puzzle box picture of how you’d like your life to be, and then look at it often.  It will bring clarity, direction, and purpose as you assemble the puzzle of the life you desire.

Do the Things That Are Easy to Do

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We tend to think greatness and big achievements come from huge effort and doing things that are hard to do.  Actually, the effort and degree of difficulty it takes to achieve something significant is usually quite small… and easy.  More important than the degree of effort, is the consistency of the small effort that’s put forth doing the things that are easy to do.

Suppose we have a goal of losing 20lbs.  There is not Herculean effort you can make in one day that would enable you to lose those pounds.  Instead, what’s required is doing things that are easy to do, and then doing them on a consistent basis over a period of time, like eating smaller portions, drinking fewer sugary beverages, and getting your heart rate up every day.  These aren’t difficult things to do. In fact, they are rather easy!  What we need is to do them every day and we are practically guaranteed to see results, as long as we are consistent.

The results may not come not come right away.  In the beginning, it may not feel like your efforts are even making a difference.  However, if we consistently do these easy things, we will begin to see results.  Probably sooner than we think!

The problem is that these small things that are easy to do are also easy NOT to do.  It’s easy not to exercise.  It’s also easy not to have a glass of water, but to have a soda instead.  The truth is that you won’t really notice if you exercise or not… at least today.  However, after several months or years of drinking soda instead of water and failing to exercise, you will notice.

The point is that the things we need to do to cause something to happen that we desire in our lives, like lose weight, build wealth, start a business, or improve our relationships, are actually quite easy.  They just need to be done consistently over a period of time.

What easy things do you need to begin doing consistently over time in order to take your life in the direction you want to go?  What would you be able to achieve by doing so?

For more on this topic, I’d recommend reading The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.  The concept and principles are so simple and so effective.  We need only apply them to see significant results.

Ride the Wave

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While pursuing a goal or project, have you ever stalled out on progress because you lacked some skill or knowledge required to take the next step?  I have!  It can be extremely frustrating being stuck and not making progress.  What makes up for the frustration, however, is when a breakthrough finally occurs and you gain the skill or knowledge needed to move ahead.  At that point progress begins to come rather quickly.  When that breakthrough occurs, it is imperative to immediately take action and ride the wave of your new found momentum.

“Riding the wave” is giving focused effort at applying your newly acquired knowledge.  It is taking swift and decisive action to maximize the enthusiasm, excitement, and momentum that result from your breakthrough and causing something to happen that quickly propels you toward your goal.  Failing to take action immediately after a breakthrough allows other forces take hold and keep you in a place of stalled effort and minimal progress.

Be on the lookout for these breakthrough moments and view them as signals to crank up your effort in order to ride the wave of momentum that has been created as a result.  By doing so, you’ll be making huge leaps toward achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself.

What Are We Afraid Of?

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I had been putting off making a phone call that I needed to make for the last 2 weeks.  It wasn’t anything major.  I just needed to call someone up and ask a couple of “how to” questions.  I don’t really like talking on the phone, so I kept putting it off.  The problem was that doing so stalled progress on a specific goal I am currently pursuing.  I kept telling myself, “I’ll call tomorrow”, but tomorrow turned out to be several days.

Eventually I got fed up with myself, grabbed the phone, and made the call.  You know what?  The call went REALLY well!  Not only did I get my questions answered, I also met a nice person that I will work with in the future.  It turned out to be an enjoyable conversation.

When I hung up the phone I thought, “That wasn’t so bad.  Why didn’t I do that sooner?  What was I afraid of?”  Probably fear.  Probably also getting out of my comfort zone.  Whatever the reason, it cost me 2 weeks of potential progress toward my current goal.  I squandered the opportunity to cause something to happen during those 2 weeks in order to stay in my comfort zone.  How lame is that??!!  Nothing great ever occurs when we act (or don’t act) out of fear.

Moving forward, I’m going to be on the lookout for those the fears and thoughts that keep me from doing what needs to be done, and when I recognize them, I will combat them by taking the action I know I should take.  Have you ever experienced thoughts or fears that hold you back?  Are you experiencing them now?  If so, it’s time to stop letting fear and comfort run the show.  I invite you to join me in defeating them with intentional action.  Doing so will not only cause you to move ahead faster, you’ll also feel great as a result.

Pick Yourself

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Remember picking teams back in grade school gym class or on the playground?  All the best players got picked first and the least talented got picked last.  I remember the feeling, hoping to be picked and then feeling relieved when I was finally selected.

It’s not much different as adults.  We wait for a potential employer, a significant other, a business partner, or some other person or group, to give us their “seal of approval, by picking us to join their team.  Perhaps we feel being picked by them validates us, our talents, our ideas and goals, and maybe even our individual value.

Instead of waiting for others to pick you, why not pick yourself?  Why not realize the value, talent and ability that you possess and pick yourself to pursue the goals you’ve put forth for yourself, instead of waiting for someone else to do it?  Validate the skills, worth, and ability you have and take the first step toward your goals by picking yourself to be the one that gets things started.

Don’t wait for others to pick you?  Cause something to happen.  Decide today to pick yourself.

There’s Only Learning

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Like a lot of people, I love learning new things.  There’s something cool about starting out not knowing anything about a topic, spending time learning about it, and then having an understanding that I didn’t have when I started.  What’s even better is applying what I learned and seeing positive results.  That’s the true value of learning.

But what about failure as it relates to learning?  Have you ever thought of failure as a necessary step in the learning process?  No one likes to fail.  It makes us feel clueless, ignorant, worthless, or a whole host of other self-defeating feelings.  I would guess that many people don’t even risk applying what they learn, or even attempt to learn new things, in order to avoid failure and all those negative feelings that come with it.  We potentially miss out on so much because we’re afraid to fail.

What if we change our mindset to view failure not as a shameful and defeating event, but instead see it as a form of learning?  Multiple times in the past several weeks I’ve heard the phrase “There is no failure, only learning”.  That’s powerful!  When we first set out to learn something new, we already know and accept the fact that we are clueless, ignorant, and worthless in that subject.  And we’re fine with that.  Why?  Because we know that is the starting point of all learning.  We show up with nothing.  We also know that, as a result of learning about our chosen topic, we won’t be that way for very long.  As we begin to apply what we learn, we soon find that we are becoming competent, knowledgeable, and valuable in our chosen topic.

Isn’t failure just part of the learning process, helping us discover what works and what doesn’t?  If so, shouldn’t failure be seen as a crucial part of the learning process?  I think so.

Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from attempting to cause something to happen.  See it as a natural part of your learning process.   And always remember, there is no failure, only learning.

Success by a Thousand Small Victories

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We’ve all heard the term “Death by 1000 cuts”.  I recently heard that phrase and began thinking about it in terms of success and recalled how success doesn’t occur all in one day.  Instead, success is the result of several (maybe 1000) small victories achieved over time.  That thought re-energized me in my current pursuits.  That encourages me to daily focus on providing consistent effort.  Doing so will ensure success through 1000 tiny victories.

Be encouraged to provide daily effort toward your goals and for small success every day.  Significant results will come if we simply take care to make progress every day.  We will achieve success through a thousand small victories.

Let’s Get Disruptive

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What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word “Disruptive”?  I tend to think of a noisy child in a classroom (probably because I’ve had experience as this child in school) or of someone who is going against the established order or protocol of a community.  Usually, what comes to mind is someone who is disturbing several other people.  But have you ever thought of being disruptive as disturbing yourself?  More specifically, disrupting your thoughts, or engaging in disruptive thinking?  What is disruptive thinking, and why should we even bet interested in it?  Let’s find out…

We all have established beliefs that influence how we view ourselves, others, and the world around us.  They form our ideals about how the world works according to “insert your name”.  These beliefs influence our decision making and self-talk, affect our attitude, and shape our outlook on life on a daily basis.  Being disruptive challenges our long held beliefs and causes us to ask ourselves questions like:

  • Is this belief still accurate, valid, or relevant today?
  • Is there a better way to do what I’m currently doing?
  • Is there evidence that supports or disproves this belief?
  • Are there other possibilities I should be exploring and considering?

In short, being disruptive is about challenging the status quo of our own thinking.  To me, this concept is extremely important, because if we want to change any aspect of our lives, it is going to require changing what we’ve been doing on a daily basis, which usually requires a change to our current thinking and how we view the world around us.  Changing our thinking will often cause us to be confronted with one or more of our strongly held beliefs.

So what does it look like to be disruptive in our thinking?  Here are a few examples of how a disruptive thought can challenge a long held belief in order to change your thinking:

Long held belief:  An artist might have always been told, “Artists don’t make money.  Being an artist and being an entrepreneur are mutually exclusive.”

Disruptive thought:  The artist could shake up that long held belief with the disruptive thought, “Why can’t artists run a successful business that showcases their art?   What if I were to … (insert disruptive thinking idea)?”

Long held belief:  A would-be business owner might have been taught to believe, “It costs too much money to start a business.  Doing so requires going tens of thousands of dollars, or more, into debt. “

Disruptive thought:  The budding entrepreneur could challenge that long held belief with the disruptive thought, “Who says I have to go into debt to start a business?  Why can’t I leverage my skills, talents, and experience and technology to start an on-line business for less than $1,000?  I’ve got valuable skills the marketplace needs and would willingly pay for”

Long held belief:  A young person in high school may have been taught to believe that, “The only way you can be guaranteed a bright future is by getting stellar grades in high school, scoring high on the SAT, and graduating from a top tier college.”

Disruptive thought:  What if this student were to challenge that long held belief with the disruptive thoughts, “Why do I have to go to college for 4+ years, and spend all that money on tuition to be successful?  What if instead I gained some experience in my chosen field now and started learning from people who are currently doing what I want to do?  Is a degree really required for what I want to do?  Could those 4 years at college be better spent gaining real experience to help me become successful?  Is there another path to success that I haven’t considering yet?”

Are you getting the idea of what disruptive thinking looks like?  Can you see how it can challenge your current way of thinking and cause you to consider other possibilities that you may not have been able to consider before, due to the interference of a long held belief?

I’m not saying that we should abandon all our long held beliefs, but we should be willing to examine them and determine if any could be keeping us from achieving better results in our lives.  As mentioned before, if you want to cause something to happen that is different from what you’ve been doing, a new way of thinking will most likely be required.  Be mindful about disrupting your thinking on a regular cadence to see if you have any long held beliefs that are acting as logjams to the advancement of your goals.  The faster track to your success might just be a disruptive thought away!