What will you regret NOT doing?

If today was your last day, what will you regret NOT doing?

Well, it’s not your last day.  Get to it, because tomorrow may be.

Nothing to lose

When it comes to living full out and growing towards all the potential inside you, many people live small thinking they have something to lose.

But the most precious thing you have to lose is the opportunity while you are here, and it is slipping by day after day if you aren’t fully actualized.

Other than that, there is nothing to lose.

Fooling Yourself

When I was a kid, say about 12 years old, somehow I became a big Styx fan.  That’s a band if you don’t know. They had this album at the time called “The Grand Illusion”.  I just loved it.  On the album was a song called “Fooling Yourself”.  

I think the number one thing holding people back is the story and beliefs we have about ourselves.  We lose faith in ourselves and our potential.  We think we can’t do it.  We come to believe in limitations.  We play small because of our own thinking.

The deceptions we tell others are nothing compared to the deceptions we tell ourselves.

We need to call BS on ourselves.

How are you fooling yourself?

Live in the world of your choosing

Your world is what you pay attention to.  It’s not what others are trying to present to you.  There is so much of that that you can’t pay attention to even a fraction of it anyway – so you have to choose.

You don’t have to live in the same world as everyone else, or even anyone else.  Create your own with the carefully selected collection of pieces you want.

There are two sides to this same idea necessary to make it work; what you choose to pay attention to and focus on and what you purposefully choose not to.  You will pay attention to far fewer things than you ignore.  You must be very intentional.

This is important; just as important as your life itself.

You can change your life as fast as you can change your attention.

Is this within my control?

When dealing with issues and things that come up, a good question to ask is “Is this within my control?”

I don’t like spending lots of time and mental and emotional energy on things that are not.  In the end, you get the rug pulled out, and you’ve wasted lots of time and wind up with heartbreak and disappointment.

Instead, I work on things that are within my control.  I invest my time and make it work.  Over time the sphere of things that are within my control grows, and I feel like I am becoming a master of my world.

What are you working on now?  Is it within your control?

Inspiration or desperation?

“We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons; inspiration or desperation.” – Jim Rohn

Some people wait until their back is against the wall or they hit bottom to change themselves.  

Some change and improve on their own so bad things don’t happen in the first place.

I’d rather be the latter (and I always have been.)

How about you?

Pain, Uncertainty and Hard Work.

If you want to live a fulfilling life and use more of the potential inside you, you will not escape pain, uncertainty and hard work.  In fact, that’s what it takes to get there.

Of course, if you make very little of your life and do the least and contribute the least, you’ll have your share of pain and uncertainty anyway.

Pushing yourself into new territory is worth the pain, uncertainty and hard work.

Consistency will get you there.

Doing something once in a while, or in short bursts and then stopping, will not get you to mastery.

What have you mastered?  Chances are you did it consistently for a long time.

What do you want to master now?  Do you want it bad enough to do it every day for a long time?

Nice people go farther

“Of all the qualities of an exemplary mind, few can rival simply being kind.” – Dr. Mardy Groethe

Did you ever know someone who was brilliant, but a jerk?  How about people who had good intentions but just came across as harsh or insensitive?

People who are kind have lots of others who do not resist their ideas and are willing to go along with them.

Is that you?

Bothered enough to change it?

“It is only through a wholesome discontent with things as they are that we ever try to make them any better.” Susan B. Anthony

Everything around us is there because someone was unhappy enough with its absence or with what came before it to change it.

We all complain about things, but what are you bothered with enough to take action and change?