Expectations of others

I want to start this week talking about expectations.  They are very important in our lives.  

Human beings are the only animals that can envision a future, and from this we create hope, and optimism, and plans for our lives.

Positive expectation is very important to be a high performance person.  But expecting a lot from others is a recipe for disappointment and resentment.

Have you been expecting much from others only to be let down?  Of course.  We all have.  This is not to say that we should never expect much from others.  But if our success depends on the high performance of others, eventually we’ll find it was mistake for us to have relied on it.  We must expect that some people will let us down no matter what they say at the outset, and factor this into our plans.

More on expectations tomorrow…

The weaknesses you need to fix

If a weakness prevents your strengths from advancing you forward, you need to fix it.  

If it doesn’t, you don’t have to fix it.

Does that make sense?

Going for it!

Why not?  Why not now, and why not you?

You can.

Time to tell the world you’re coming for it!

Born to be Great

You weren’t put here to just be good.  You were made to be great!

What are you or can you be great at?

Reasons for NOT succeeding

It’s easy to come up with reasons to succeed at something.  We all have reasons we’d like to do better.  So why don’t we?

It’s because of…wait for it….US!  You have reasons NOT to succeed.  Likely you just don’t see yourself as “the kind of person who succeeds”.  You say “I don’t deserve it”, “I’m not smart enough, good enough, talented enough, or deserving enough”.  Or maybe you say to yourself “This happened to me so I can’t”, as if you are damaged goods.

The bad news is you are stopping you.  The good news is, you are the answer.

Isn’t that right?

Cheese is milk's great leap toward immortality

What will you leave behind when you are gone?

Conflict cannot continue without your participation

Think about it.  What continual debate, feud, or controversy persist in your life?

What if you just let it go?

Who is your competition?

If we compare ourselves to others, we’ll never be happy because someone will always be smarter than us, better looking than us, thinner than us, and have more money than us.

If we aren’t competitive at all, we won’t try, and that will keep us at the bottom.

Instead, let us be our own competition.  All we have to do is commit to being a better version of who we were yesterday.  If we can continually improve and feel forward motion in our lives, we feel we are making progress.

Just beat yesterday.

Seeds or Sugar

Many years ago when I was a younger man I learned the idea that when I spent the little money I had, I should spend it wisely.  What is wise?  I should spend it on things that will make more money for me, or things that go up in value tomorrow.  Unwise spending is buying things that go down in value and are worth less tomorrow.

So for example, if I needed to buy a car, I would not buy a new one that would be worth 40% less as soon as I drove it off the lot.  I’d buy a used one.  If I paid cash, I would not pay for financing, and I would not need collision insurance.  

If I needed a tool for my business, I’d consider if I’d use it enough to make more money.  Clothes are an example of buying something that is worthless to anyone after you walk out of the store, and so are most consumer goods.  If I was going to make an investment, I learned that it must be a smart one where I would not lose my money, even if the return wasn’t huge.

Most of us have limited funds today.  If we want to make our financial tomorrow better, when we do spend money, spend it on things that go up in value or make us more money by increasing our earning ability.

The habits that have you

The habits you have, and the habits that have you, will determine your level of achievement, or lack thereof.

Breaking a habit or starting a new one isn’t easy, but it could be the most important thing you need to do so that your life turns out different than where it’s heading now.

What habit do you need to kill or create?