Your life is up to you now.

It wasn’t always this way.  Not long ago in history, our lives were not up to us.  We struggled to survive against the circumstances we were born into, and it was brutal.  Somehow, our forefathers figured it out for us and thankfully, we are here, now.

This is your Great Chance.  You’ll have somewhere between 50 and 90 years.

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely BELIEVE, and enthusiastically act upon – must inevitably come to pass.” – Paul J. Meyer

Don’t waste it.

The most expensive information

When you don’t know or aren’t sure, that’s bad enough.  But when you get information and it’s bad information, that is much worse.

Believing something is true or the best way, when it is not, can cost you dearly.

The world is full of information, and people who are giving it out.  Some of it is just plain bad advice.  Often there is a context – what may be good for one person is not good for another because they have different circumstances.  Sometimes we hear the part of it we want to hear and ignore important details of the rest.

Consider the source of information and their credibility and motivation.  You can not assume because LOTS of people are listening or doing it that it is the right thing or true.

Sometimes you can reframe your question.  Instead of asking “Is this true or not true”, ask “Is the useful or not useful to me, given my position and my goals?”

The most expensive information is bad information.  You have to decide each day what you will consume and accept – and those decisions, day after day, will take you where you’re going.

Get a "psychological upgrade"

If you are in a rut, bored, depressed, or feeling aimless, you need a software upgrade.

When you learn something new you get a perspective change and a renewed outlook.

Reading a good book on a subject that is new but intriguing to you, is one way to do it.

Learning a new skill or sport that is out of your box can be another way.

How are you keeping it fresh and expanding your world right now?

Purpose

Living without a sense of purpose is a malaise that affects millions.  It leads to depression and aimlessness.

Purpose – a combination of what is important to us and where we are going.

Decide.  Prioritize activities that align with what is important to you. 

Now take action….and you are on your way.

A strong moment

We aren’t always as strong as we need to be.  But we have moments when we are.  

Take advantage of them.

When we have a moment where we are willing to make a decision – clean out all the junk food from the house and take it to the dumpster.

Delete social media apps.

Clean up your home or office and make it support the person you want to be.

Clear out a space to work out.

Schedule a complete physical exam.

You won’t feel like doing these things all the time, but when you do – ACT.

On Death and Dying….

“People living deeply have no fear of death” – Anais Nin

“It will happen to all of us that at some point you’ll get tapped on the shoulder and told, not just that the party is over, but slightly worse: The party is going on but you have to leave.  And it’s going on without you. “- Christopher Hutchins

No one has escaped death, and you will not be the first. 

If you have something to do or say, do it now.

Tact

Offending people or putting them off is not a good strategy for social or business success.  You need to use tact.

Tact – “Acute sensitivity to what is proper and appropriate in dealing with others, including the ability to speak or act without offending.”

“Tact is good taste in action.” – Diane DePoitiers

“If criticism is needed, do it tactfully.  Don’t use a sledgehammer when a fly swatter will do the job.” – Ann Landers

“Don’t flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates.  On the contrary, the nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Nervous and uptight about something that's coming?

I love reading the stoics.  They have much to teach us.

When a big event is coming up and we are nervous, we make it hard on ourselves.  We might have some negative self-talk, or we keep saying how important it is that we don’t mess this up.  We may be worried about how the audience will react or what they will think of us.  Maybe it is really important that things go our way.

We torture ourselves about it for days or weeks before.  Here’s some advice from the stoic teachers – 

“One of the most amazing things you will ever realize is that the moment in front of you is not bothering you, you are bothering yourself about the moment in front of you.” – Michael Singer

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your own estimate of it: and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” -Marcus Aurelius

Being Vulnerable

You can’t move forward without being vulnerable.

You have to expose that you don’t know something or can’t do something to ask for help or take the training.

You have to face the facts.  You have to admit your weaknesses.

Practice being vulnerable.  It’s ok!  It’s the start of moving forward.

Average is not a good idea

Here’s another example –

500 years ago people consumed NO sugar.

A few hundred years ago we started nibbling on 5 pounds a year.

Now we eat 150 pounds of sugar a year on average!

Average is not a good idea.