Being On Time

Here's a message we know all too well, yet practice way too little.  Well, for the most part anyway.  What does it mean to be on time?  Well if you were to ask legendary coach Vince Lombardi he would introduce you to what we know of today as:  Lombardi time which states:

"Show up for every important business meeting 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled meeting time."

Obviously if you show up with fifteen minutes to spare you would be able to collect your breath and get situated for whatever your endeavor might be.  We've also, however, grown up in a culture where we spread the message of being "fashionably late" - a time frame I've noticed means a lot of different things to many different people.

So what's really the point of being on time?  If nothing else, it reduces stress.

Hubby and I were on our way to an important meeting a couple of days ago.  If you are familiar with the differences between Utah Highways (where we just came from) and New Jersey Highways (where we live now), you would agree that they are night and day.  While Utah is built on a measurable grid system with two main highways, it's really difficult to get lost.  However NJ has about 100 highways and they all like to loop around ten times before spitting you out on a straight road.  Fun stuff for sure.

So as we have began to become familiar with these roads we decided to leave an HOUR early for our appointment to make sure we'd be "on time".  Glad we did.  We drive a sporty red Acura that has a double muffler (we bought it that way and have yet to change it back), so it's loud!  As we navigated through the potholed streets confusing the hell out of our GPS system we saw flashing lights behind us.  You got it, we were getting pulled over.

We actually got pulled over right in front of our destination and we had about thirty minutes to spare.  Apparently they were looking for a car that matched our description and we had to wait in the parking lot until they boss-man came to verify that we weren't indeed running away from the law.  After a time the officer tapped our window and motioned to us that we were free to go.  Great, no problem. We entered our building and still had 15 minutes to catch our breath.  Vince would be proud!

Had we left later or tried to make our appointment just at the right time, we would have been stressed out by the encounter and our meeting could have gone poorly.  But we weren't stressed, just a little amused at the whole thing.  All because we gave ourselves plenty of time. 

This is an easy habit to implement.  Get up a little earlier, get ready the night before, so that as you travel to work, school, or casual events, you can go in a positive attitude that will surely affect the rest of your day.

Read more...

Great Expectations

As I was finishing up my previous post about setting goals and achieving milestones, one thought came to me which I felt merits an entire post for the message to be delivered correctly.  How many times do we set goals that are too easily achieved, which by reaching those set milestones we aren't even motivated because it was simply too easy of a task?  This happens a lot because we have fear of not being able to accomplish greater things.

The real tragedy is that the only thing holding us back from doing greater tasks is the little tiny insignificant inner voice that says, "You're not good enough," or "You could never do that," or "What will everyone think of you," etc, etc.  It's that one nasty jerk that sits on one side of your shoulders that usually overpowers the awesome coach on the other side of your shoulders and moves you in the direction of playing it "safe" by staying small.

Now, goals should be realistic.  If you haven't been off your couch in years than it should be safe to say that you probably won't be running a marathon in less than 3 hours by the end of the week.  But don't set a small goal of being able to walk around the block once without stopping by the end of the year.  See the difference?

One of my mentors explained to me that goals should be stretchingly realistic.  They need to be believable enough for you that you can actually visualize yourself in the attainment of your goal, yet just far enough out of reach that you will truly have to grow and learn and put yourself just on the outside of your comfort zone to accomplish it.  Only with those kind of stretches will we be able to turn into the kind of people we want to be.  Only then can we truly begin to see the potential that really lies deep within us.

So dream, but dream big.  Make your goals important enough to you that you are willing to stretch and learn and grow.  Make them sit at a level of life that you have yet to touch and by moving in that direction you know you will become closer to the image of the self that is truly who you are.

Read more...

Accomplishing Goals

Lot's of focus on goals lately!  That which you focus upon expands, and I want expansion to happen in my life abundantley.  So one good place to begin was my bucket list.  I've noticed it was getting a bit neglected and decided to tackle one of the items on that list.  I've chosen to set the goal to learn how to do a "split" again.  Of course I'm an over-achiever and psycho, so it's not going to be enough for me to just to a split in one direction.   Oh no no, I want to hit the goal of being able to do a split with either leg in front and both my legs to the side.  This will be a painful and lengthy process, as it has been at least 15 years since I've been able to do one!

Why is this even relevant to anything in my life?  Will doing a split enable me to be better at closing business deals?  Will it give me the ability to enhance my writing skills?  Will a silly split give me the confidence to become a better leader and servant?  The answer to all these questions and any relevant questions is a resounding YES!  How is that so, you ask?  Here's the answer:

Life is about accomplishments.  It's about not staying stagnant.  You start small and believable.  You build up your faith muscles (you know, the ones that have been in hybernation for the last hundred years?) and become a giant of mental strength.  One goal is as important as any other goal.  So this goal in and of itself isn't the key.  The key is that I have a goal and I am working toward accomplishing it.  I will post a picture of myself doing these splits once I am able to perform this olympic triumph to measure my accomplishment.

What goals are you going to begin tackling from your bucket list?  Don't have a list, yet?  Get crackin' and make that happen asap.  Then, once you have items written out don't just stuff the list in the bottom sock drawer, create those things in your life so that you can live that kind of reality.  Become a delibrate creator and move in the direction of your dreams.

Read more...

Ten Reasons to Set Goals

Many people read about setting goals and are intrigued by the concept, however, they never get around to actually sitting down and thinking a few up to write down.  It is of critical importance that we set goals in our lives, and here are ten reasons why:

1.  YOU NOW KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING
Seems obvious, but without a destination you will simply run around in circles and end up nowhere, which is the same place from which we start.

2.  YOU GET TO DREAM
When you place yourself in a position to actually sit down and contemplate upon the things and events you want in your life, you become giddy with excitement and you look forward to your experiences in life.  The simple exercise of writing down goals gives you permission to let your inner child out and dream again.

3.  YOU WILL BUILD AN INTERNAL MOTIVATOR
For the times you just "don't feel like it" you will get an inner boost of energy if you have goals toward which you are actively working.

4.  YOU WILL BE STRONG AGAINST THE NAY-SAYERS
The people that tell you that you are crazy for dreaming so big do so only because they have no goals of their own.  When you know what you want and hold on to that firmly, it won't matter what others say about you anymore.

5.  YOU WILL FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF
How can you stop your confidence from increasing if you have such a strong reason to persist in life?

6.  YOU WILL BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND YOUR TRUE PURPOSE
By setting aside your goal setting times, you will begin to learn about who you really are and all the things of which you are capable.  You will begin to be amazed at yourself and will come to love yourself more.  Only by doing that can you reach out and help the world.

7.  YOU WILL CLIMB TO HIGHER LEVELS OF LIFE
Each goal you set will motivate you to continually pursue all that is good in your life as you see yourself hitting milestones for each event.  As you hit a small goal here and there, after time you will look back and be amazed at all you accomplished cumulatively.

8.  YOU WILL DEVELOP YOUR "GOOD HABBITS" MUSCLES
As you learn to set goals on a regular basis, it will instill in you the desire to do other great things (such as exercise, read, serve, etc.)  With each goal setting session you increase your muscles of discipline, desire, and determination.

9.  YOU WILL LOVE LIFE
Being constantly in the pursuit of all that is good is what makes us as humans tick.  Having goals will keep you moving rather than staying stagnant.  Even if you just compete with yourself in getting better and growing your skills and abilities, you will enjoy more energy and vitality from the act of having goals and living by them.

10.  YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO STAND FOR
The familiar saying of "Stand for something or you'll fall for anything" rings more true today than ever.  By having goals you will have a crusade.  No matter where the wind is blowing you will stand firm on your path because you know the destination.  Having goals gives you a purpose and you now have something to stand firmly behind.

Read more...

5 Reasons to Quit Your Job and Start a Business

Find my article on HubPages here.

Read more...

Following Your Passion

Recently I changed the poll question on this blog to: 

If you were given $100 Million would you still work at your current job/business?

The majority answer so far is "NO" and it stays within the SURPRISE category in my brain.  Really?  If you would really truly quit doing what you are doing now if you had enough cash flow to take care of your necessities then why oh why are you still doing it now?

I understand, we can't all just up and quit from our jobs right now and be able to make it through a month's worth of bills, right?  Wrong!  Other than the obvious fact that we should have emergency funds set aside so we can support ourselves (another post for another time), we live in a time of freedom and creativity.  Especially if you live in the United States, you can earn money LEGALLY without having to be in a J-O-B on a daily basis.  Especially with what people are making nowadays.  Take a look at this:

The average income in the US was:  $46,326. 

Click hereto view the rest of the statistics.

That is an average of just under $3,861 per month.  I am venturing to guess that most of you who read this blog who earn in that proximity or even less are some of you who are voting "no" as an answer to my poll.  So if you earn less than $1,000 per week, and are hating life during the hours of 8:00AM - 5:00PM, I hope there is heavy consideration from you in regards to ideas of how to break free from the rat race.

How to replace $1,000 / week in the USA?  Sell stuff, start a business, join a business, become self employed.  Don't have a lot of money to start a business?  You shouldn't have to.  If you're looking to make an average wage, yet not have to report to anyone the thing you need most is a desire to succeed and a drive and motivation to work in spite of whatever your mood may be for the day.

We'll begin discussing business ideas and money making creativities in the posts to come, but if you're not happy than for the love of all that's good...MAKE A CHANGE!

Read more...

Dreaming

Do you catch yourself staying up late into the night with thoughts about your future and all the great things you'll accomplish?  Do you find yourself looking out of windows and being labeled a day dreamer because your mind is racing a mile a minute thinking of all you plan to do with yourself?  Before you go on thinking that this is a habit you need to correct, you should smile inwardly knowing that you are among a very small percentage of people that have something to day dream about.

Most of the time we are told in school to focus on the lesson, or at the dinner table to slow down and stay in tune with the family conversation.  There is definitely a time and place for all those instances, but when you have a burning desire festering up deep within you; good luck squashing that.  In fact, you should keep on that route so your fires continue to spread and like wild fire manifest incredible things in your life.

In Napoleon Hill's Book "Think and Grow Rich" he talks about developing a WHITE HEAT BURNING DESIRE for the thing you want.  Many of us fall short right there.  We've self developed, we've set goals, we've even found mentors and coaches that will help us keep on track of our path.  However, we stop at the point where we become consumed with such things.  We get caught up in the day to day rituals of everyday life and we soon find other things to occupy the space in our minds.

Whatever your goal may be, grow it, breed it, make it larger than you are.  In times of no motivation and idleness, that desire can fuel you toward the action you need to take to move forward and make massive progress.

Read more...

Money Mindset

Money is not important.

Money isn't everthing.

Blah... Blah... Blah...

You've heard people say things like this plenty of times, haven't you?  You might have even had these words slip from your tongue a time or two in the past as well.  Do Not Fret.  It's okay, take a deep breath and let's start over.

The rationalization for saying things like the statements above comes from lack of money.  It is pretty evident that people who are financial wealthy do not go around saying things like, "Money doesn't buy happiness."  You can be assured that words such as those come out of the mouths of those labeled BROKE!

Imagine saying to your spouse "You aren't important" or "You aren't everything" or any other similar combo.  How long do you think it would be before you would start having troubles in your marriage?  It is very easy to see that example, however, with money people seem to push that out of their head as they justify why they have none.

Recently we met with a family member to say good bye before our big move next week.  She is older and always always always is reprimanding us for not being spiritual enough.  What she means by that is that we focus too much on money (well, first of all we are in the money business) and that talking about retiring young and being financially wealthy aren't heavenly attributes.  Every now and then she throws in a tease about having made our millions, yet.

This experience each time we meet doesn't really bother me much at all anymore.  I understand that we all have different views and opinions and we are all entitled to them equally.  But the interesting thing that happened recently made me smirk in response to how contradictory humans can be in regards to money.

Her husband lost his work.  Guess what that means?  Yep, no more MONEY coming in.  Guess how spiritual she's feeling right now?  Well, let's just say there's too much stress right now to worry about how to help the poor somewhere else.  Her prayers are filled with suplications of providence instead of other spiritual matters.  She just doesn't know what she's going to do.  How terrible is that situation?  She's 73 years old!

Don't worry about her, she will be cared for by family and those who love her.  But can you see my point in this post?  Money is important and it is good.  It is a tool that can bring options to your life, your family's life and the life of many many many other beings on this planet.  Can we control what others do with their money?  No.  We can only control ourselves, and it is our duty to be good stewards of the money we are given and to multiply it.  It is not enough to bury it in the ground for later, either.

Next time someone tells you money isn't important, you automatically know in your head that they don't have any.  Until they change the way they feel about it, more won't be coming into their pocket any time soon either.

Make the choice to treat money with respect and appreciate it for the tool that it can be for us in our lives.  Only after such a mental shift, can more of it pour into our life.

Read more...

Customer Service

Customer Service?  What on earth does that have to do with Money or Mental Health?  Uhhh, only EVERYTHING.  Raise your hand (go ahead, even if you're alone at your computer) if you've ever been mistreated by someone at any kind of corporation or retail establishment.  Now, keep your hand up if the mistreatment was for no apparent reason?  Yeah, I thought so.  Too bad, isn't it?

Recently I dealt with a very sensitive transaction involving a funeral home.  You would think that someone working at a funeral home would be sensitive, caring, and definitely compassionate.  Would it surprise you if I told you that the manner in which I was treated was completely apalling?  That during the entire day of phone calls and office visits I felt as if I was the one bothering them?  Turns out, the issue I was having was squashed when the contract was pulled out and clearly displayed the solution to our situation.  It was a simple and quick fix, yet I was given a run around all day.

Recently I met with someone who told me about a poster hanging up at her office.  The title of the poster is:

10 Commandments of Customer Service

Among such "commandments" were ideas such as:

The Customer does us a favor when he calls, we do not do them a favor when we serve them.

and

The Customer is the most important person in any business.

As she was recounting this list to me, she snickered and laughed while explaining how much "hogwash" the statements felt like to her.  It truly saddened me.  Why is it a joke to serve the customer?  Why do some people act as if they are bothered by service.  See, the thing about customer service is that it is the ONLY reason you have a business at all.

Customers pay for your paychecks, not your bosses.  So when you are dealing with people, give them an attitude of gratitude.  They are paying your mortgage, your gas, the food you put on the table for your kids.  It's the customers!  When you begin feeling that toward them, it becomes easier and easier to show a cordial attitude toward them in your service.

What if you absolutely hate your job and are completely miserable in it?  Then start looking for something more suitable to your personality, but don't diss the customer of your current place of employment in the mean time.  Be respectbale and remember the golden rule:

Treat others as you would wanted to be treated.

This will go a long way for us in life.

Read more...

Have More Faith than Fear

I recently created a mission statement.  You can view it in the MISSION STATEMENT link above.  As I think about the statement daily, the more I want to live up to fully and joyfully.  I'm glad it moves me in such a way, because otherwise it couldn't be considered a mission.

On top of a mission though, there needs to be a motto.  Something that you can pull out of your subconscious pocket and rely on to kick start you back into your daily focus of accomplishing the grandeur that is your mission.  I've decided to use this phrase as my motto:

"Have more FAITH than FEAR."

It really is self explanatory.  So many times we allow fear to cripple us.  By letting ourselves fall into the whole of fear, we are telling the Universe that we have no trust in the powers instilled in us and all around us.  FAITH is probably one of the most powerful emotions and weapons, and whenever fear creeps in, using our faith we need to tell it where to go.

So often in our life we've allowed ourselves to succumb to fear that it's almost natural to shirk away from change or a challenge.  Tweaking this one aspect of our mental life can certainly propel us into heights only before imagined.  Faith is what we're composed of, and it's time to pull it out and kick our potential in gear.

Whenever you are faced with something uncomfortable this week, pull out your shield of faith and plow through the fear.  All you have to loose is the worry and all you have to gain is everything you've ever wanted.

Read more...