Envy

Recently my wife asked our 8-year old if he’d like a ride to school in our sports car.  (She usually drives him an SUV or a Tesla).  He said no because the kids would tease him and that they already call him “Tesla boy”.  They were teasing him because in their mind a Tesla is an expensive car and that makes him from a rich family.

He’s 8 years old.  And, this is at a private school.

Where do the other kids get that?  From their parents.  

Human nature is a funny thing.  There will always be people who say that others doing better is somehow a bad thing, for any one of many reasons we have heard. 

If these people don’t strive to do better, then they are making excuses for their own standing.

If they do strive to do better, well, it’s not a good idea to hate what you aspire to be, because your chances of achieving it are diminished if you do.

Envy is not a productive attitude for anyone.  

Now I have to undo this idea inside my son’s head.  Learn well and every day, work hard and apply your talents to help others, and be a good human being – success is good and nothing to be ashamed of.

"Uggh…..ok……I got this."

My mental training and education combined with my goals have produced a certain way of thinking, and I wanted to share it with you.

I try to move my team forward all the time.  I try to avoid bad things happening.  But when a bad thing does happen, rather than whine and complain (internally or externally), I immediately switch from the “Get good things done” and “prevent bad things from happening” thinking to “What do I/we do now?” to make the best of it and keep moving things forward.

I don’t spend too much time thinking back.  I don’t ever feel like a victim.  I don’t feel powerless.  I don’t waste more time with a setback than it already inherently costs me by commiserating over it.

Am I disappointed for the setback?  Of course.  But I have also learned that setbacks teach you something.  Breaks in your progress or life can really be breakthroughs.

The older I get and the more experience I get, the less setbacks bother me.

“Uggh……..ok………..I got this.”

Optimists Win

Optimists get paid more, are healthier, win more games and elections, feel better, live longer, have happier families, and are better at dealing with uncertainty and change.

Are you an optimist?

An Interesting Life

“What an interesting life I had; and how I wish I had realized it sooner.” – Collette

Take a moment or three to realize how interesting/cool/good/amazing your life is.

Day-Tight Compartments

Unless yesterday went really really well – don’t carry over yesterday into today.

Or last week/month/year into this week/month/year.

Each day is a new opportunity.

Take it.

Welcome to your life

Welcome to your life.

There’s no turning back.

It’s never too soon to make it right.

But one day, it will be too late.

Be your best today. 

What do leave people with?

After experiencing you, people want to see you again, or not. 

After interacting with someone, what residual feelings do you think you leave them with?

San Felipe 250 race results.

If you're gonna' be dumb, you gotta' be tough!

If you are going to be satisfied with being ignorant, or if you ignore doing what you know is the right, healthy thing, then you had better be tough enough to live with the consequences.

Hard days, easy life.  Easy days, tough life.

Ignorance

“Ignorance is a self-generating state-of-mind; one of its characteristics is that it doesn’t recognize itself as ignorance.” – Jane Smiley

“Reason obeys itself, and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. – Thomas Paine

What area do you know little or nothing about that is hurting you? 

Do you know? 

Do you want to know?