Lifes Little Lessons

Let me tell you about my day. To begin I woke up late, yes my own fault. I get out to my spot and it is blocked by a company van that is repairing bricks at our complex. My first thought is “Hey why in the world would you park in front of a garage at 8:00, seems really silly to me.” I find the guy and have him move the van so I can get out. I pull out and get on the main street, stuck behind a school bus SERENITY NOW! I finally get to work. Everything is fine until I pack up for lunch. I spill my water bottle all over my desk. The cap was not on (yes I am a winner). So now I am angry I am mad, at what, life.

Now why do I tell you this? For one looking back at it I find it so funny that I got upset and that all this happened and guess what I am still alive. Stuff so small gets in our ways everyday, because we let it.

The final point I want to make is what happened at lunch. I went to get Chinese, as usual after eating I got a fortune cookie. I open it and my message reads “windows of opportunity rarely open themselves”. IT HIT ME. There are so many times in life and in business where we are looking for the opportunity to come smashing through a window and hit us in the head. However we forget to realize that every moment is an opportunity to learn. Lets just review my few key opportunities I saw as a reason to be mad.

1) Waking up late: I need to plan better, I should not rely on a machine to tell me when something needs to be done. Think of how disrespectful that truly is to the people you love.
2) The Van: How many times have you thought about what you want? What good does it do you? Not a whole lot in the long run. One of my keys to happiness is to help others get where they want to go. I will not be a van blocking the way
3) School Bus: I should really have another route. How many times have you gone into life and business with a set plan with no other alternatives? It is a sure to be a failure (an epic one at that?)
4) The water bottle: How many times have you taken on a project without really knowing what is going on to the point where it could destroy everything? Why do we do this? I agree there needs to be some adventure however if you are not secure (like the cap) do not take the opportunity

Thanks have a great night!

SUCCESS: How much does it cost?

There are so many people that are willing to tell you the key to success. Many want you to pay to learn how to successful and what it means to be successful. I find this trend rather sad. Since when do we need someone to tell us how to be successful or what it means? The last time I checked success was something we decided upon. It was a goal we set and a path we took a path to freedom, happiness and learning.

There is one main point that everyone needs to be successful. It is passion. Passion drives you. It drives you to learn more, do more and be more. Creating success.

Over the past three months I have not been chasing my passion. Thankfully that was ended for me. Which is truly a blessing for me, it has set me free.

It is easy to get caught up in the day to day and get lost in finding what your true passion is. Here are a few hints from me on what it looks like

1) You seek the approvals of others instead of yourself
2) You feel like you can’t do anything right
3) You feel like you are letting the team down
4) You know deep down this is not what you should be doing
5) You have no idea how you impact the business

How can you apply this to business? Simple, define what your passion is. Not what it will be but what it is. What is it that you do better than anyone else and is it something you love to do? Then the hardest part, you need to go out and do it. Find the right people that will invest in your future. Find the customers who want to buy from you and speak their language. Create a culture where your passion will stay alive. This to me is the key to success. You have to have passion

“Go forth and set the world on fire”

A journey not a destination

Too many people are looking for a destination. A place to be a place to stay. A safe place for them to hide from the rest of the world. However they will never find it. They are searching to be happy based on their situation. They think that your situation determines how you should feel. However the truth is. How you feel and your outlook determines your life and how you live it. If you decide each day to enjoy it you will enjoy life.

Good marketing is the same way. Do not have it paint a thick coat of fake paint on you. Have it leverage the opportunities in the market. Your business and its core is the fulcrum. You are the balancing point. The cornerstone. The market is the resistance. It will always be there sometimes heavier than before. Your market is the effort. The arm of the diagram is your brand. The more precise and defined it is the more work you can do, however if you are weak with your brand you have a flimsy arm. No matter how much force you apply with marketing it will not matter. In fact with a untrue brand and strong marketing you will break the brand and connection between you and the market.. It is what connects the market and your business The closer your business and market are aligned the more market can leverage the opportunity.

What to write about

I have been sitting in front of the computer thinking about how to get the blog going again. I have had what I thought were great ideas fall flat on their face. I could just tell after writing them they did not fit. They were not me.

So if you will excuse here is some random ideas I have.

1) Failure- I think that the biggest failure a person can make is to try and not making any. They lock themselves up in a box and worry about being so perfect they are a mess.

2) Authentic- There are a lot of things you can change however who you are is not one of them. You cannot change who you are. Do not try and hide it embrace it. Do not be arrogant about it be confident.

3)Arrogance Vs Confidence- There is a big difference between the two. One is believing in yourself and what you can do and one is thinking you know how to get there.

4) You do not know everything. Searching for answers gets you nothing. The fact is that there are no real answers and one you know who cares?

To me these are keys to success. They are not answers and by no means all the keys. You need to use this to get where you want to go.