Start Dreaming

People that do great things that most don’t – those that give unusual effort to accomplish something uncommon, have ambition. They need it. It is necessary.

If you don’t have much ambition, start dreaming.

Start to imagine great pursuits that interest you. Dream about what you could do, how it could be and what it would look and feel like. Dream away. Dream until you get excited, and develop a desire. Craft your dreams into clarity around what you want. Develop a plan and hone it. Let the desire in you build with your vision.

Than take action on it – and you’re off on your way…

Double Down on Your Strengths

What is your gift? What do you do really well?

Since we were kids, they’ve been trying to fix our weaknesses, and maybe made us feel like there was something wrong with us due to them. But our weaknesses, so long as they don’t blow us up, aren’t what we need to focus on.

Live your strengths. Work your talent. Double down on what you are good at. That’s how you get ahead and get happy.

Motivation or Education?

If we are going in the wrong direction and we get motivated, we’ll likely go in the wrong direction faster.

“If a person is going in the wrong direction, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up, he needs education to turn him around!”   -Jim Rohn

Which do you need more?

He didn't care about anything.

Can you imagine such a person? Would anyone else likely care about him? Not really, no.

If you have a purpose, a cause, and care about something deeply, people will likely care about you – the people that share your cause or are the beneficiaries of it.  

If you don’t give a damn about anything, no one will give a damn about you.

What do you give a damn about?

Ego gets in the way of ideas

If your arrogance is more obvious than your expertise, you are someone other people avoid.

What’s bigger, your ego or the value of your ideas?

Who are you asking for advice?

I was reading a book called “You Are a Badass at Making Money.” Jen Sincero is the author and she is funny – and on point.  In it she writes “Do not ask your broke ass friends for advice. For God’s sake get advice from someone who knows what the hell they are doing.”  

That’s great advice on getting advice. What do you want to know about? Relationships? Investing? Fitness? Something specific?

 Are you asking experts for advice on that subject?

Inaudible self-talk

What we say to ourselves is REALLY important – and most of that is inaudible.  

“This is going to be hard today,” “I hate this,” “OMG, are you kidding me? This is stupid already…” “I can’t do it.”

Catch yourself.  

Speak a new inaudible reality – the one you WANT.

Free Speech

Imagine a world where you could only say what everyone else approved of.  That’s an instrument of tyrants over the ages.  Can we agree that is not a society we want to live in?

Ok, well if we want to say things that others don’t agree with (maybe BECAUSE they don’t), then doesn’t it stand to reason that we must tolerate and accept others saying whatever they want as well?

Offensive?  Yup.  Against our beliefs?  That too.  These have to be included because who’s to say what offensive is or what beliefs are truth?  

Let’s defend our own free speech, by not silencing others.

Act as if you'll live a long healthy life.

How would a person who will live a long healthy life live? Eat? Exercise? Take care of themselves? Think? Believe?

The person who has the most control of whether you live a long healthy life is you – right?

How are you acting?

Not everyone will approve…

We’ve all heard the saying that one way to be unhappy is to try to make everyone else happy.  I used to think I had that one handled – that I tried to make the people who were important to me happy (family, customers, employees) and I wasn’t trying to make the world happy – so I’m good.  

But in the end, I don’t want people to dislike me.  I guess I’m no different than most people.  There will be people that say nasty things about you behind your back, or anonymously online.  If we take it to heart, we will change our behavior and start living small, where you can’t do much people can criticize.  In fact, you wouldn’t do much at all. That would be giving your power away to the critics.

The reality is, that people levy harsh criticism of others mostly because of what is going on with themselves, not you. Your existence just happened to cross paths with their attention, and they spewed some unkind words.  But a few minutes later they were on to something else, and forgot about you altogether.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t listen to the feedback the world is giving you.  But even if you are doing great stuff, not everyone will approve of what you are doing.  And there are always the snipers, who have personal shame, shortcomings or pain they are trying to mask by bringing someone else down.

Take any power they have over you away.

Ignore them.