Leaping at opportunities

Some say successful people are “lucky”.  But we all have some luck.  It’s what you do with it that matters.

Opportunities cross our paths every day.  We need to recognize them when they come.  

If we are just starting out, these opportunities are not large, but by seizing them and working on them, we earn larger opportunities.

“Any man who has been successful has lept at opportunities chance provides.” – A. Lincoln

What opportunities have you ignored or seized?

Rewards in Life

Your rewards in life will be based on your contribution.

Want to know why someone is not doing well?  Follow them around on an average day and observe their levels of real contribution.

Want to know why someone is doing very well?  Follow them around on an average day and observe their levels of real contribution.

On an average day, what are you contributing that is valued by others?

Friends

“The making of friends, who are real friends, is the best token we have of a man’s success in life.” – Edward Everett Hale

“Friends are the thermometers by which one may judge the temperatures of our fortunes.” – Lady Blessington

“Fortify yourself with a flock of friends.” – George Matthew Adams

“A real friend refers their friends to ThinkDaily.com.” – Larry Janesky

High Melting Point

They say the measure of a man is by the things that make him angry.

Do small things upset you, or does it take a lot to throw you into a tizzy?

Avoid "the second dart" syndrome

When something shocking happens and we react with a swell of emotions, we’ve been hit by the first dart – which we can’t control.  But most pain in life comes from the “second dart” – our spiraling thoughts about the first dart.

Do you have a voice in your head that is long suffering from the second dart?

The Pursuit of Happiness

There is nothing wrong with pursuing what you want and pursuing it each day with zeal.

But taken to extremes, we can form a habit of chasing things and lose sight of why, and get lost in the striving.

“Happiness – a butterfly, which when pursued seems always just beyond your grasp: but if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” – Daily Crescent, June 1848

Comparison is the thief of joy

Many people compare themselves to others and see that others are doing better, are more pretty or handsome, are richer (seem to be anyway), are more popular, are smarter, etc.  This makes them feel bad about themselves, OR, it brings out envy, jealousy, and feelings of unfairness.

While others can show us what is possible and inspire us, we need to check ourselves when we feel our thoughts spiral downward as a result of comparison.

Compare yourself to your own potential, and to who you were yesterday.  If you still feel bad, then you need to do better, and it’s on you.  If you feel good, keep going and get even better tomorrow. 

Too Many Options?

Free markets allow anyone who thinks they have a better idea and wants to give it a try to start their own business with their own brand and style of product or service.  The products and services consumers like get purchased, and if enough consumers purchase them, the business survives.  If not enough consumers like them, the business goes bankrupt and goes away – as it should.  This clears the “deadwood” in the marketplace, and producers learn from the failures.

This produces a wide variety of products and services.  It produced technology, where we can shop the world from home.  We can meet people and interact from our devices anywhere we are.  We have unlimited entertainment options.  We have the opportunity to craft the life experience we want based on what we choose to pay attention to.

It also creates a problem.  Were our brains made for all these options?  The answer is no.  We can have decision fatigue if we feel we have to look at and consider them all.  We can second guess ourselves.  We can become overloaded.  We can become seduced by messages, advertising and “news” that consume much of our time.  

I think we have to approach this abundance with a healthy sense of what direction we want to go and who we want to be, and let it accelerate our progress instead of distract us from it.

I may have a monkey mind – but I am the monkey, and the monkey should remember to stay in charge of his life. 

Fuzzy targets lead to bad mental outcomes

When I don’t have a clear goal, I am wandering, wondering, searching, confused, bored and/or depressed.

People who are clear on who they want to be (to whom),  and what they want to do walk with a purpose and are happier and self-motivated.

Clarity for yourself.

Are you clear about what you are moving toward?

On Loss….

In my observation, we all experience loss.  When we are kids, everything and everyone is new – a gain.  But the longer we live, the more loss we will experience.  People will leave us.  Situations we thought were permanent, are not.  Expectations unmet.  Since it is inevitable, we should, if we can, develop a workable approach and attitude toward loss.

Here are some thoughts on the subject –

“There’s always failure.  And there’s always disappointment.  And there’s always loss. But the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of those holes are vacuums.” – Michael J. Fox

“If you sit down crying because the sun has set, you miss the privilege of seeing the stars.  Sorrow for what you have lost should not make you neglect that which comes in its place.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.  These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.  Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elizabeth Kubler-Ross