Plans are great, until they don't work anymore

“Everybody has a plan, until they get in the ring and get punched in the face” – Mike Tyson

New information, new decisions.  When it doesn’t go like you had hoped, you better be courageous, flexible, and persistent.

Stay true to the fundamental goal, not the plan. 

The Master in the Art of Living

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.  To him, he’s always doing both.” – James Michener

Pro Choice

When you don’t have any money, you don’t have any choices.

So one of the things we have to be good at is creating value that others want and getting paid for it.

How are you doing on that?

Self-acceptance

If we don’t accept who we are, we walk around petrified that someone else will notice or even point out what we don’t like about ourselves.

“Nothing I accept about myself can be used to diminish me.” – Audre Lorde

Take away fear, and the power you are giving others over you.

Courageous Convictions

“Courageous convictions will drag these dreams into existence.” – Rush, Vital Signs/Moving Pictures, 1981 

I’ve had more than a few dreams come true, and I can tell you it always involves towering courage and unwavering belief.

What is inside you?

Pain

It’s telling us something.  Pain is important.

How we avoid it.

How we accept it and deal with it when it comes.

How we get better and transcend it.

Have you allowed it to teach you?

Touch someone

Whether you call it teaching, helping, caring, loving, therapy, laughing with, smiling at, we all love positive connection.  We don’t have control of when someone gives it to us, but by proactively giving it to others we will get it back – most often immediately.

Genuinely put yourself out there for others.

Celebrate your progress

Celebrate your progress, but not based on the ideal perfect life; everything accomplished.

Celebrate it based on where you came from.

You can never get to the horizon.

Opportunity Knocks…

If you answer the door, work will be standing there.

We all get opportunities.  Small ones at first.  

To take advantage of them and get bigger opportunities, you have to do the work.

Had to be there to be here…

You had to be there to be here – right?

And your being here is a stepping stone to be somewhere else – right?

Your current situation – quicksand or springboard. A choice.

It’s up to you…