A wish or a goal?

I wish I had a million dollars. I wish I didn’t have such bad luck. I wish I had more friends.  I wish I had a better job. I wish I could win…

You can’t control outcomes at the outset.  What you can control is your actions and behaviors that lead to outcomes.

What can you control that causes what you want?

Eating Ferns

I went to a restaurant the other night for dinner.  They had fiddleheads as an appetizer special and soft shell crabs (you eat the whole thing, shell and all) for a main course.  I ordered both.  Really different for me.

It’s good to do/play/eat/read/drive differently than you normally do.

Try something different and see what opens up for you.

The Advantage of Disadvantages

When we first experience a setback, problem or condition that would be viewed as negative, we aren’t happy about it.  But as we mature and grow, we can find that it made us better prepared/qualified/able to do something else and be successful at it.

What “disadvantage” did or do you have, that could be or is actually, an advantage?

We repel what we despise

I was asked by Junior Achievement to give a talk to 350 middle school students.  I didn’t know how attentive the audience would be, but it went really well and I was impressed with them.

In my talk about entrepreneurship, I asked them “How many think it’s better to be rich than poor?”  Most hands went up. “How many think it is better to be poor?” To my amazement, about 30 hands went up. I asked again to make sure they understood the question.  

For whatever reasons, some kids were conditioned to believe that being rich is bad. (Why is another conversation.) Here’s my question – Do you think these kids will strive to be economically successful?

And so it is with us.  If a part of us doesn’t like a result, despises it, is envious of it, thinks it is not good for us, etc., we will repel it in our lives.

We may look at the winners and say “Who do you think you are? You aren’t better than anyone else! You’re just lucky that’s all! You cheated. Nobody likes you….etc.”  With this attitude, as much as we’d like to win, we won’t try, because we told ourselves winning is bad.

When you look at the sucessful people in your profession, sport, or town, do you say to yourself “I want to be like them?”

Driving at night

Most people are afraid of the unknown.  We don’t want to start unless we can see the whole road; unless we can see the finish line.  This leaves us only taking on small challenges.

But even if we can’t see the entire journey, if we can action in the direction we want to go, it will illuminate the next step. Like driving a car at night, we can drive as far as our headlights will shine, then we can see farther.  

In this way we can travel 1000 miles…to dawn.

To grow more…

…you have to know more.  To earn more, you have to learn more.

How are you learning this week?  What are you learning?

Comfortable in your mess

Some people go around avoiding the unknown because they are afraid it will be worse than what they have now – even if what they have now is not good.

Does fear stop you from trying change?

Equal Opportunity or Equal Outcomes?

People should have equal opportunity and equal treatment – right?

But we can’t say that people should be “equal” or have “equal outcomes” (income, homes, cars, standard of living, etc.) Why? Because people do not do the same things with their time, and if we wanted everyone to have the same standard of living, we would have to treat people unequally. That is to say we would have to take away from some, to give to others so they had the same. 

If we want equal treatment, we can’t have equal outcomes.

And if we want equal outcomes, we can’t have equal treatment.

Right?

Creating what is possible

Is anything possible for you?  No. Things that you do not want, and don’t believe are possible, aren’t possible for you.

However, as soon as you have a desire for something (the stronger the better) and believe it is possible, all of sudden, just like that, become possible.

What’s possible for you? 

Nothing to lose

“When we remember we will die soon, it keeps us from believing the myth that we have something to lose”.

                                                                   -Steve Jobs

Rest in peace Steve.