Facing the Truth
Many times we do not want to hear the truth if it shows we have been wrong. If we do not acknowledge the truth, we cannot improve in that area of our lives. Here are some notes on the subject you might reflect on. "The truth does not change according…
Get to Living
How old are you? How old do you think you will live to be? How many years do you have left? What do you want to do before it's all over? Why are you waiting?
A wealth of information, a poverty of attention.
In 1971 social scientist Herbert Simon famously said "What consumes information is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." This statement was made before smartphones, social media, texting, and email. Today it is more important than ever. In…
What are you trying to accomplish?
"The most basic form of stupidity is forgetting what you are trying to accomplish." - Freidrich Nietzche It's a great question to ask yourself from time to time - All the things you do...all the stuff you bought....all the things you learned... What are you trying to accomplish?
Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
Nothing is more damaging to a child than to grow up with people around them that call them stupid, don't believe in them, and try to hold them down. Of course for the culprit, this has nothing to do with the child, and everything to do with them. But let's…
An insecure future – good for you?
Here are some words that may whack you upside the head like a frying pan - "Nothing is more damaging to an adventurous life than a secure future. Better to have a short life doing what you like doing than a long life doing what you don't like. Playing it…
Being Extraordinary
Being average is not hard. Just do what everyone else does. Take advice from average people doing average things and living average lives and copy them. For me, it's okay to be normal in some areas of life. But if you want to be extraordinary, you can't be normal in…
My Philosophy for Living
I am attempting to write down my philosophy for living here. I hope you will try to write yours. This is without thinking very long and hard about it. First, I'll say that the older you get, the more mature and wiser you get. Your philosophy may change as that…
You need a philosophy before goals
This post is around a comment by subscriber Willis Ponds. He put it better than I did when talking about the futility of very long-term planning. When thinking about what your life (or business) will look like in five years, ten years, or longer, you can't help but make many…
You gotta have a system to stay organized
An active high performance life requires you to stay organized, plan your days and weeks and years, and not drop any balls or let people down. Let me tell you how I do it. I use a planner book. The one I use is the Jim Rohn One Year Success…
Facing the Truth
Many times we do not want to hear the truth if it shows we have been wrong. If we do not acknowledge the truth, we cannot improve in that area of our lives. Here are some notes on the subject you might reflect on.
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally.” – Flannery O’Connor
“Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion.” – Edward Abbey
“The truth knocks on the door and you say ‘Go away, I’m looking for the truth’, and so it goes away. Puzzling.” – Robert M. Pinsig
Are there any truths you have been failing to acknowledge?
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Get to Living
How old are you?
How old do you think you will live to be?
How many years do you have left?
What do you want to do before it’s all over?
Why are you waiting?
Love this one…I put off living for way too long.
Well said, Larry.
“Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.” – Langston Hughes
Great one Larry! I Just turned 59 and in my newly purchased condo in S. FLA on a golf course for the winter! Also just bought us a nice little Boston Whaler that I’ve wanted for a while. I’m living NOW not when I’m 70. Only problem is I’ve reached all my goals…which is ok, I’ll find more.
How old are you? 32
How old do you think you will live to be? 150
How many years do you have left? 118
What do you want to do before it’s all over? Be financially independent.
Why are you waiting? Investment goals.
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A wealth of information, a poverty of attention.
In 1971 social scientist Herbert Simon famously said “What consumes information is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
This statement was made before smartphones, social media, texting, and email. Today it is more important than ever.
In a world filled with distraction, attention is our competitive advantage.
Stop deli-slicing your attention and limiting your ability to focus deeply.
Do great work by eliminating distractions.
one of the all time great Think Daily post.
thank you for sharing
Thanks Larry, This is great. My wife is a teacher that is dealing with Cell Phones on a daily basis.
Hello from Keystone Basement Systems! Great post today, Larry.
Stop deli slicing your attention! I love that picture!
Thanks Larry!
Thank You, Larry – this is priceless!!
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What are you trying to accomplish?
“The most basic form of stupidity is forgetting what you are trying to accomplish.” – Freidrich Nietzche
It’s a great question to ask yourself from time to time –
All the things you do…all the stuff you bought….all the things you learned…
What are you trying to accomplish?
Inner peace for outer results.
I am trying to accomplish my life purpose as a servant of God, be a prophet to as many people possible, announce the love of God for humanity “Jesus the Christ “
Each day I wake up knowing it’s another day to show grace and love to everyone that I come in contact with. My accomplishment will come at the end of my life if I can smile knowing I done my best to serve god every single day while not letting the adversity of the world keep me from showing grace and sincerity in any possible way that I can. Lives are changed day by day it doesn’t happen over night.
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Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
Nothing is more damaging to a child than to grow up with people around them that call them stupid, don’t believe in them, and try to hold them down. Of course for the culprit, this has nothing to do with the child, and everything to do with them.
But let’s take an audit of the people around us adults. Are we around people who don’t believe in us and our potential? Are we around people who tell us we can’t? Are we around people who like us because we are living small and struggling like they are – and who would not like it if we improved?
(Are we one of those people to others? Ut-oh. Different subject!)
Nothing can take the foot off the brakes of happiness and growth in life than to get away from heavy negative influences like this. And while it can be difficult, in the end, it’s simply a choice that takes courage.
It’s not about arguing or proving them wrong. It’s getting your physical body away from them.
Stand up for you.
Thank you, and everyone here at the The Home Transformer is grateful for Larry.
Love this! Physically moving away from the negative changes everything.
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An insecure future – good for you?
Here are some words that may whack you upside the head like a frying pan –
“Nothing is more damaging to an adventurous life than a secure future.
Better to have a short life doing what you like doing than a long life doing what you don’t like.
Playing it safe to live longer by doing what you don’t like is stupid.”
Wow. Love it!
What do you think?
Comment with the orange button!
I suppose discomfort is where we find growth. Discomfort can come in many forms. One form of discomfort it “sticking it out” in a tough job. Sales finds many ways to kick you in the gut. Being in sales within the Contractor Network is pretty darn stable. One may say that staying in a sales position or planning to stay is playing it safe. However, there is the conundrum of relinquishing the position for something more adventurous or risky vs. staying and “gutting it out” in order to master one’s profession. We all must make decisions and commitments in life. Stripping away distractions so that skills can be refined and sharpened to a razors edge. Is it better to constantly search for the next position or job or to plant a flag and commit to the “safe” path in order to develop a skill at a level higher than the rest of the field? Can one achieve both?
Having been recently diagnosed with cancer these words ring so true. I didn’t realize how much I love what I do when I was faced with the fact that I might not be doing it for long. So my plan is to give it all I got doing what I love as long as I can and make a positive difference in the lives of others and the world!
Thank you Larry for sharing these thoughts every day. They really bring me to a new level of appreciation of how hard I work and how much Joy I get out of it!
Mike B
Security is an admirable goal, but can be limiting. My first real job over 30 years ago touted that as a key benefit–I was young 20s and single. Glad I left after two years and “blazed my own trail” with an interesting and satisfying career. Occasionally I wonder if I’d still be making “doubled minimum wage” there had I stayed! As I approach 60 job security again sounds appealing, but it is not as critical now because I’ve prepared for my financial future. I do like that Larry challenges us to “Think Daily!”
Commenter Mike B: I love your commitment to “give it all.” We never know when our time is up.
At the age of 50, I made a bold decision. I closed the doors of my successful contracting business, a venture that had been both my bread and butter and my identity for many years. The decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. I had always been a person who believed in working hard and playing even harder. Adventure was my lifeblood – from the thrill of white water rafting to the adrenaline-pumping excitement of rappelling and skiing, to the awe-inspiring challenge of conquering all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks. But the pursuit of happiness in my career became my new mountaintop to conquer. It was a testament to my pursuit of personal growth, an endeavor that required taking risks and venturing into the unknown. I sought to discover what truly drove me, what made me feel alive. Crucially, I found a partner who supported, loved, and shared in the joy of this adventurous journey of self-discovery. Life isn’t just about living; it’s about living passionately.
Larry,
I feel compelled to write and express my deep gratitude for your daily blog. Your words have become a vital part of my day, serving as a source of inspiration, motivation, and wisdom. The way you courageously embrace adventure and urge us to do the same has influenced me to continually strive for growth, not only in my career but also in my passions. Your stories stir deep thought and encourage me to pursue what genuinely makes me feel alive.
Thank you for sharing your remarkable journey with us and for continually inspiring your readers to seek their own paths of self-discovery, passion, and adventure.
My comment is short and sweet – I just put Page Arizona on my list of places I need to see.
Absolutely love this statement and try to live by these words. It’s quality of like not quantity!
“You risk so much by not being willing to throw yourself into the abyss.” – Buddhist Monk (in “Scarcity Brain”, by Michael Easter)
Good morning Larry. I have just recently learned about your fantastic contribution to our country. I have enjoyed each of your daily emails. Truly inspirational. I plan to follow many of your philosophies in my own life, the lives of my family, and my business life. Thank you. and God bless your 2024.
Love that!!!
So True!
If you don’t know where you’re going in the next 5 years you’re already there. I do things every day that I don’t want to do to live a longer, healthier life; the more I do them though, the more I crave doing them even if they are hard.
Know when to play it safe, know when to take calculated risks. Balance in all things!
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Being Extraordinary
Being average is not hard. Just do what everyone else does. Take advice from average people doing average things and living average lives and copy them. For me, it’s okay to be normal in some areas of life.
But if you want to be extraordinary, you can’t be normal in all areas of life. You have to get around people who are not normal. Learn from them. Think differently than most. Look at what everyone else is looking at and see what nobody else sees.
Then, you have to do what few others will.
That’s extraordinary.
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
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My Philosophy for Living
I am attempting to write down my philosophy for living here. I hope you will try to write yours. This is without thinking very long and hard about it.
First, I’ll say that the older you get, the more mature and wiser you get. Your philosophy may change as that happens.
Next, there are so many dimensions of life, that I decided to create individual sentences to address different ones. Compartmentalization is my specialty in such endeavors anyway.
1) An extraordinary life of shared experiences. (That is my personal mission statement).
2) My life will never outperform my character.
3) Do it now. Life is short.
4) Be nice to people. It will make things much easier.
5) People, including myself, have much more potential than they are using. Endeavor to bring it out of them.
6) Freedom is most important for people to thrive. Talk about it, protect it, and defend it.
7) Step in front and be a leader. As a leader, you are a steward of others. Do not fail them.
8) Take “risks”, but don’t be reckless.
9) Help and serve others by using the gifts you have been given. That’s why they were given to you.
10) The best way to make a better world is to be a better person, and to take care of your family first.
11) Spend less than you make and invest the difference, no matter how small.
12) Turn your talent into skill and skill into achievement with continued effort.
13) Tune out voices that will not help you, and tune into voices of value as much as possible.
14) Just because everyone, or a lot of people, are doing it, doesn’t make it right. I’ll decide how I behave.
14) How high and far can I go? I’ll keep going and find out. It’s a long game.
Without writing a book, and spending fifteen minutes on it, this is what I have.
What is in your philosophy?
Doing the right thing is always the hardest..
Don’t take the path of least resistance
This is quite awesome and worthy sharing,truely I feel motivated to start thinking of my phylosophy for living..
Just like Jim Rohn so many years ago… Once I found you I keep saying, where has this guy been all my life. Thank you for helping me to think deeply.
The highest frequency you can operate on is Love and Authenticity. Share Love and be yourself because God’s gifts are inside of your most authentic and loving version. Give grace and gratitude.
Larry – I admire and appreciate your clarity on who you are and what you want to do.
If you can’t do everything at once, do something at once.
If we had some ham, we could have some ham & eggs, if we had some eggs.
Happy is the man whose wife is his lover and whose lover is his wife.
I am working hard on number 11 of your life philosophy, I have to say it’s more difficult when you’re incomes is limited, but it’s still the right thing to do. Thanks for your words of wisdom
Why does all of his words make me cry??
Thank you…you genuinely give me inspiration and motivation.
This is a great list Larry! I like it a lot. It closely resembles my list. I have a couple that are a little different that are important to me. Being a Christian I am trying to live for the next world more so then for this one. Nothing contradiction to what you have. Also I seek knowledge and wisdom from those who excel in areas that I deem important but my benchmark is not how well I am doing relative to someone else, but how am I doing towards that goal/objective compared to where I was at the day before.
Love your daily posts and look forward to reading them each morning. Thank you for doing this.
Great words Larry, and I know you truly practice what you preach. I would add- do all the above with kindness.”Kind people are the best kind of people”.
I am happy I signed up for your daily blog. Great information, some that I already know and some new. I will probably use some of this wisdom in my monthly meetings if you don’t mind. I look forward to completing the SOE courses as soon as I get my one last licensing thing taken care of. Thank you for the continued knowledge sir.
My Philosophy in life
Be useful, stretch myself to be better in everything I do, but not stretch myself too much to sacrifice my happiness. I want to be surrounded by a loving family, and friends.
Family: to express my me deepest need to love and be loved and to continue my legacy,
Friends: like minded friends to expand my deeper understanding of things, and to enjoy the journey.
A journey of always growing in knowledge and spirit, and wealth to enable me to do more… although wealth is not fundamental, it is basically an expression of my usefulness…
I love this!! All of this!
Over the past seven years of coming to Connecticut and interacting with you I can say I’ve seen you live these values. You are one of the most consistent people I have ever met. I appreciate you and all you do!
Thank you Larry!
That’s a really good list! I enjoyed reading the comments others left as well. I especially like John Kirkley’s, “Happy is the man whose wife is his lover and whose lover is his wife.”!
I look at life very long term and, as Michael Mitchell above, even into the next world. My overall goal for life is to “Do things that will matter for those around me now and for those in the future.” I believe that what we do now affects the future for many generations and so I first strive to raise good children who will also have a positive impact on the future. This is like an investment. You put in a little now and get a huge return in the future. I also donate to several Boys and Girls homes/clubs/ranches. I believe that our future is dependent on our youth and we will not have a good future if we don’t have good youth. My heart breaks for the many children out there who don’t have good homes, good educations, good parents, teachers, coaches, peers, etc. While these children could still go far, as evidenced by people like Dr. Ben Carson, the statistics say that theirs will be a hard life. How much better would the world be if every person had at least one other person that loved them and cared for them deeply? My philosophy is to do everything in my power to make life better for everyone around me, everyone I come in contact with, everyone I work with and those I work for so that they in turn will hopefully do the same for others. Doing so will pay off in huge dividends as Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
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You need a philosophy before goals
This post is around a comment by subscriber Willis Ponds. He put it better than I did when talking about the futility of very long-term planning. When thinking about what your life (or business) will look like in five years, ten years, or longer, you can’t help but make many assumptions. In an unpredictable fluid world, you will much more than likely be wrong.
Instead, Willis tells us, you need a philosophy for living. Then strive to live by it and take opportunities as they come. When presented with a choice, follow the paths you love.
Philosophy. Jim Rohn talked about it a lot.
What is your philosophy for your life? Good question. I bet you never thought about it that way. Tomorrow I will try to express mine for you.
Thank you Larry! I’m glad my comments proved useful.
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You gotta have a system to stay organized
An active high performance life requires you to stay organized, plan your days and weeks and years, and not drop any balls or let people down.
Let me tell you how I do it. I use a planner book. The one I use is the Jim Rohn One Year Success Planner. (You can get one on Amazon.)
I can hear some of you young whipper snappers now – “Paper and pen? OMG. So old school!”
Ok, maybe, but you have to find something that works for you. This works for me – really well. It is also a big part of my liberation from screens.
It’s simple. I can plan my year, my weeks, and my days. I use the boxes at the bottom of each page to write in calls I have to make. If it’s a hard appointment I write it in and draw a rectangle around it. I put stuff to do first thing at the top of a day (column) and afternoon stuff toward the bottom. When I complete something I highlight it with a yellow highlighter. Of course, I use different color ink when I write things in to separate on thing from another with color.
The only downside is if I lose my journal I am in a bit of trouble. But I do not get a constant barrage of notifications and reminders about things I wrote in, and I don’t need or want them because I have the habit of carrying my planner home and back to work all the time and following it. It works for me. I will continue it. I solved this challenge long ago. I love it.
I know there are many ways to stay organized and some have benefits. Which one you choose is not the point. That you have a system that works for you is.
What is your time planning system?
Totally old school. Love it. Have large calendar in our office that has all of our apoointments and reminders on it. My wife and I write everything on it that needs to get done. Easy to see and follow. And wven though retired, same system we used to run the house while i worked.
Great discussion- I use an electronic notebook- ReMarkable- for my daily and weekly task items as well as meeting notes, etc. It’s easy to set up various folders and best of all there is an online electronic backup if it is lost.
It’s about as close to pen and paper as you can get. Appointments and emails are handled by Outlook.
Paper and colored pens for me also. My calendar is in my pocketbook always. There’s something to be said for old school methods. I don’t like to rely on my phone to organize my life.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Happy New Year! I am with you on writing it down. I found a gem in an audiobook called The Power Of Writing It Down by Allison Fallon.
Love this post! Keeping the “pen to paper” alive. I’m new here, but am loving your insights!
Hi, I noticed that Larry Janesky had said he was grateful for me. Thanks Larry! Happy New Year! Dan
Happy New Year!
Using Siri to add Reminders on my iPhone.
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Too true
This has been one of the hardest things for me to do in regards to adaptation in my communication processes. I love when people point out that I’m wrong so that I can be right by correcting myself. Even within my core foundational beliefs. Generally this is offensive to other people. From my informal studies, I theorize that cognitive dissidence is a protection mechanism not just for the individual but for the group in a primitive setting. Protecting our similar beliefs prevents the group from being divided, even if it’s a lie or untruth.
“The truth will set you free … But first it will piss you off.”