Intuition – a voice guiding you.

Intuition is part of wisdom.

The basis of intuition is memory. 

You instinctively draw on your experiences – the ones that are fresh and the ones that are distant and faded.

If you recall a certain behavior from someone to be a red flag, you will proceed with caution.  That’s probably a good thing.

The problem is if you had an experience where you were embarrassed, didn’t perform well, or didn’t get good results, and told yourself the wrong story as the lesson – then your intuition can send you a signal, with the wrong advice.  

If it says “don’t take that chance, you’ll look stupid”, (or get your heart broken, or be betrayed, or won’t win, etc.) because these things happened in the past, then your intuition becomes a voice to limit you.

Let’s say you didn’t win in the past because you weren’t good enough – yet.  Was the story “I won’t win”? or, “I need to get better if I want to win – and I can”.  If you got your heart broken, was the lesson “I am not worthy”, or “Love is pain”, or “That was just the wrong person and I can see why now”?

We need to pay attention to the stories we tell ourselves about the experiences we have had.  All experiences are training for the next ones.  

Seek the valuable and useful lesson.  That’s what your mind will draw on in the future.

This will bring out the best in you…

Unless you have a clear and strong purpose, your mind wanders.

Anything will do.  You waste time. You wander.  You can’t decide.

You settle for very low-value activities to pass the time away.

I can tell you unless I have one or more big goals, passion projects or burning reasons, I am not the same person.

Imagine that…the same you, but completely different versions; one a bland wandering generality, and one on a mission, super focused and productive.

All because of a purpose.

What is your purpose? 

Is it big enough to bring out the best in you?

Are you clear about what you want?

“I just want to be successful” is not good enough.  It’s nowhere near clear enough.

Unclear goals attract unclear outcomes.

What exactly do you want?

Are you sure and clear?

How bad do you want it?

Get the universe on your side.

The world conspires for the man who knows exactly what he wants and will not quit.

Is that you?

Chose the emotions you want.

Fear and faith are not real.  They are both made up.

They both exist only because we believe in them.

Choose the emotions you want.

What emotions will not help you now?

Which ones will?

Show up. Do the work. Repeat.

If you don’t have self-discipline, you don’t have freedom.

If you don’t discipline yourself, you’ll have to be disciplined by someone or something else.

Show up every day.  Do the work and do your best.  Be consistent.

That’s how freedom is earned.

This person is holding you back.

We make excuses to ourselves (and others) as to why we didn’t do better.  

We blame, we explain, we tell stories about why.

Soon enough, we convince ourselves that our excuses are not excuses – they are truth.

We believe our reasons are holding us back.

The story of humankind is a story of most people selling themselves short.

The one holding you back is in the mirror.

Only you can say – “BS, Let’s go!”

Don’t rely on motivation – because mostly it’s not coming

If you want to achieve great things that require a lot of work, and all great results do, then you can’t wait on motivation coursing through your mind and body each day – because that is not going to happen.

Motivation may be there on the first day or the first hour, and that’s why you started in the first place.  But after that, it boils down to work – not so fun anymore.

You have to get used to just getting after it each day, even when you don’t feel like it.  Even when there are 20 other things you’d rather be doing that are more “fun”.  

You have to build and rely on a habit of working on your project and hitting your daily goals.  Once you build a habit of doing what most others won’t and don’t, while it may not be “fun”, at least you don’t suffer over it anymore – it’s automatic.  This is what you do. This is who you are.

This post describes me and what I have been doing for many years.  I don’t whine about it to myself or anyone else.  I do what needs to be done to move the ball forward on my projects.  I put butt in seat or tool belt on waist or whatever else I have to do, and I do not squander days, or even hours.  

The results grow, accumulate, and compound for me and everyone in my life.

Don’t feel like it?  Doesn’t matter.  Do it anyway.

Waiting for motivation is a mistake.  You’ll be stalled out most of the time, and you won’t finish what you started.

You can’t call motivation up when you want it each day, but you can develop disciplined habits that are there and take little effort to get you in motion.

This is easier than being brilliant…

It is easier to avoid stupidity than to attain brilliance.

Some people make stupid mistakes a habit.

Some do pretty well most times, then make big mistakes that set them back a good distance.

Avoiding mistakes is not hard if you think before you act and exercise self-discipline.

If you are not sure if it is a good idea, don’t do it.

(Not to be confused with good ideas that make you uncomfortable.)

If you know it’s a bad idea but you can’t help yourself, you are being stupid.  Sometimes you will get away with it, and sometimes you will pay out of all proportion.

If you think you are about to say something that will put you in someone’s dog house, don’t say it. 

If it sounds too good to be true – it is.  Proceed accordingly.

If you are angry, keep your mouth shut.

Don’t drink and drive.  Best not to drink much anyway.

If it feels good and you do it often, you are probably being stupid.

Don’t cancel your gains.

Avoid stupidity.

Thoughts are seeds

What you plant in your mind will eventually grow into habits, actions and outcomes.

Thoughts are where what happens next starts.

Plant the future.

Go ahead – have a long great thought.