Focus on First?

At this point in life I now spend a lot of time thinking at the end of each year about things I have accomplished and future direction. The more I go through this process the better I am getting at understanding the power of planning and thinking. I recently looked through all of the results from 2014 and something has changed in my process over the past few years in reflecting that I wanted to share with you. I have always been fortunate in life at clearly seeing the things, I wanted to change, that were not the full results of what I had wanted or desired for my years efforts. I think that expecting results from your effort is a critical part of growing but now I am learning to also see the other side of planning correctly. I have been working hard on changing the process in order to examine what I am appreciative of FIRST. Not Second but FIRST.

I honestly believe in that which we focus our minds upon grows the most and while I know we all have talents to overcome the issues we find ourselves in all year long  why not place First things First?

If I am desiring a positive reward, positive outcomes and situations in my life, then isn’t it up to me to focus on those positive items I had in 2014 First? I am not wanting to sound Pollyannish so I want to also examine the negative things I wish to change from 2014 but never at a cost which forsakes the gifts I received this year First. I know that the mistake of Focus can be the greatest mistake of all in life and I want to celebrate each month of the year by reading my calendar and remembering where I was and what I did. I am currently going through that process for each and every month and making a list of appreciations.  Imagine spending a few hours alone and just taking the time to realize all that you did in this year of your life… 

What would you see from this same type of examination?

What would you learn?

As I go through these past months, weeks and days I am learning what an awesome year this has been and if you are reading this I probably shared some of it with you, so thank you! This year has held so many great opportunities to learn more about myself, my priorities and my commitments. I am trying to use that information to become “better than I was yesterday” because I know that is my main responsibility in life. 

In order to maximize this time of year I want to go through all I experienced BUT my habit for most of my life in doing this exercise is to find the things I want to fix and create a list of goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. This process sounds pretty good on the surface but I now realize it is one of my main problems! If I do this task and do not remember to place the gratitudes first then that means I am focusing on what I did not like. By placing my focus on those items and making a list for the new year I now realize I have always been basing my goals for improvement upon my view of whats missing!

Napolean Hill taught us the principle of “what the mind can conceive and believe the will can achieve” He was right! The question we must ask ourselves is when we examine the power of the mind, what is our mind focused upon? It seems like  a small challenge but I realize every year it is anything but SMALL! It is the largest part of building me. Knowing what I like and I don’t like in my life are both important but which comes first?

You have heard of the proverbial question “Which comes first the chicken or the Egg?” That is a confusing question but has nothing to do with our focus on goals. When focusing on changing your life there is a  VERY clear order to which comes first. It is always what you appreciate FIRST. If you examine human kind you will find that the majority of the population has way less than the minority of our population who possess way more. I think this obvious as we study the numbers of world wide wealth and ownership. 

Is it true that 1 percent of Americans control a third of the wealth?

Yes it is TRUE, in fact according to Huffington Post and Reuters….

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Global wealth has risen by 68 percent over the past 10 years to reach a new all-time high of $241 trillion and the United States accounts for nearly three quarters of the increase, Credit Suisse said in its World Wealth Report. Average global wealth has hit a peak of $51,600 per adult but this is spread very unevenly, with the richest 10 percent owning 86 percent of the wealth, analysts at the Credit Suisse Research Institute said. The top 1 percent alone own 46 percent of all global assets!

Why? Is it because we live in an unfair world? 

I personally do not think so. Yes it is true that some people are born with more advantages than others but it is also true that generational wealth is not a step up for very long if at all. When you talk to many people about this subject you will commonly hear their envy of “if only I had that opportunity” or “if only I was born with that much of a head start.” 

There was an article in FORBES I recently read in which the headline read…
”How The Wealthiest Families Make And Lose Their Money”

I love reading history and I love reading about the people who have created incredible impact in business and in life. It is all too common that the people who created wealth often leave a legacy of wealth to their children but it is very rare according to history that the wealth is maintained by the generations it is left too in the future. 

John D. Rockefeller left a fortune to his descendants that was the largest fortune ever accumulated, by the time Rockefeller died in 1937, his assets equaled 1.5% of America’s total economic output. To control an equivalent share today would require a net worth of about $340 billion dollars, more than four times that of Bill Gates, currently the world’s richest man.

Rockefeller’s Family – lives on, spanning more than 200 surviving individuals and possessing a collective net worth of about $10 billion, as compared to the $340 billion equivalent they were left, despite the family’s continued wealth, which rests primarily within a small percentage of the family, the Rockefeller’s no longer stand atop America’s financial hierarchy of wealth a far cry from the heyday of John D. Rockefeller less than 90 years ago.

What makes the difference? 

The Rockefeller legacy began with a 16-year-old bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio, whose greatest ambitions were to earn $100,000 and live 100 years. His formal business training included a ten-week class in accounting, as well as a con-artist father who was known to say, “I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make ‘em sharp,” according to the biography John D. Rockefeller: Anointed with Oil.

That young man named John Davison Rockefeller in 1855, who in 25 years would become the wealthiest man of his time, and arguably the wealthiest in history, reigning over a monopoly that refined as much as 90 percent of America’s oil. (cited from Carl O’Donnell Forbes magazine)

JD Rockefeller built a fortune that was diminished by his children and their descendants but this is only ONE example of the same story over and over again, the Roosevelt’s, the Dupont’s, the Vanderbilt’s, the Carnegie’s are but a few more names from history that can show the same type of examples of generational wealth and not propelling their children forward with advantages beyond their own abilities.

It is awesome to think that our future is unlimited but when we fall into the space of thinking that some have greater opportunity than others it becomes dangerous. I would argue that in this country while the odds might be helpful for some with a greater starting point it has been proven over and over that it is up to each of us to determine our futures. Our futures are much more dependent on self focus and disciplines than what we have been handed from others before us.

The opposite has also been shown to be true, more often than not, many people who are handed great wealth and opportunity are in no way assured of a better outcome for their lives or a continuation of “easy street”. 

Doesn’t this all depend upon the individual and the way they choose to see the world?

At this point of the year, I do not want to spend any time wishing for what could have been or envious of what others may have because it just creates me falling further from my goals. Instead I choose to see this year and what it held so that I may create a template for where I want to go next year. No year is safe and I will never be locked into anything except what I find to be right for the coming year and it’s creation of my life. I have been fortunate enough since being a child to recognize the power I hold to change anything I want but I am learning how to now divide those perceptions into two categories.

As I study each moment of 2014 there are clearly many great things and also some things I would like to change going forward but I am learning to be thankful for the great ones FIRST. Learning gratitude, appreciation and reflection for what I have been given in my life always comes First. Secondly I have the ability to see the things I wish to improve upon and both need to be planned for accordingly. I never knew the order was so important and that has often caused me to take for granted the things I have had while in search of the things I wanted to accomplish. I am working on myself to change these reflections and their order of importance even as I write this article.

We all have these choices to be great but as I look around I once again realize that there are few people who choose to really focus on what they want and create a plan to build it. There are even fewer people who make the choices to see what they are grateful for first. I was studying some teachings recently which instructed that our frustrations come from our continued desires for what we often want. 

While we are taught dreaming of higher goals is a great thing, we also know that when we do not have what we want, it is often, if not always, the source of our frustrations. Realizing that Desire is at the root of all frustrations I started to wonder how to build new goals, new ambitions and new results if thinking about them took me away from appreciating what I have now and focusing instead on what I wish I had.

That picture has become a lot clearer to me over the past couple of years with the “Order of importance” I now realize that I want many things, goals and results in the new year to come but I am not concerned with what I do not have as much as I am with what I have already found. There are so many items I appreciate as I study 2014 and I simply want more of them in the coming year. They may take a different shape, they may be new ways or even new things which allow me to celebrate what I already appreciate but they should be based in appreciation from the life I am currently living.

There is nothing I would change throughout my past life because it has brought me to where I am. There are many things I would never repeat but I must recognize that all that has happened to me has created what I am today. Please do not misunderstand me because many of the things I have gone through this past year and years before I will never choose to do again but showing appreciation for my LIFE starts with me NOT forsaking what got me here. Now the next step is to decide where I am going and what I want to focus on today and forward. 

I will share with you my 6 steps as I am learning them…

Review the year you just lived and think about your appreciations and write them down. 

Make a second list of the things you would change and find the good that was within each item, no matter how tough it was.

Make a new list of your goals from these two lists above and make each one attach to your appreciations in life.

Make a list of ways that tie your new goals into giving to others and benefitting others in life.

Create a plan attached to each of the new goals you found worthy of your coming year. 

Share that list with trusted advisors and ask their help to build a better future for yourself and the people around you.

If you follow these steps and build your goals it will allow you to look at the time you spent with someone this year and plan for more in the coming year. It will let you see the money you made and what you did with it and look for ways to expand it next year. It will let you see the reasons you did so many things that created results and decide how you want that to expand. By taking the time to reflect on what was really great and how you want more of it you are also preventing yourself from seeing the negative focus. You are instead creating your energy towards how to become better and not focused upon or propagating further “whats missing in your life”. Those negatives go away when we choose to make them go away but that starts with our energy to create and be greater in the next opportunity we all have which is now.

When you build your goals from your appreciations you will realize that they come true much quicker and easier because they are not built from frustrations. Appreciation compels us to excitement and energy where our focus on lack, loss and frustration steal our energies and leave us exhausted. Choose the space you want to start the new year in wisely and your goals will make a difference for you and those who have connected their lives to you.

I am working on my list and I am positive that my decisions with where and how I spend my time and life will create great results. They always have before and each year it gets better, my only hope from writing this to you was that I could share what I have found. I hope you have a great 2015 but I know at the end of the day that is totally up to each of us and what we choose to Focus on First!

On a Small Piece of Land...

I had an opportunity recently to have my eyes opened to a new insight in what I felt to be a most unlikely setting. I am sure many of you have been there before where you are just cruising along doing what you think you should be doing or what you want to be doing and then all of sudden, it hits you like a big smack in the face. "Really I did not see this coming?" Even afterwards you feel a little dumbfounded that you did not see the signs but here you are anyways a little stunned from the impact. 

It was about 16 -17 years ago I started working with Chiropractors in a practice management company. It was a company that was focused on helping Doctors improve their business communication, systems and performance skills in order to create better results on the bottom line. 

There were several different people who worked within the practice management company to serve the clients we had. There were marketing and graphic design people to help raise the level of professionalism in advertising. There were performance review and analyzing numbers people to focus attention on the right areas of need in a business. There were organizational team members who kept the ship running and everyone communicating well. Education and communication was also a major focus area on how to educate our clients in educating their patients by teaching better talking points and practicing those tactics regularly. 

We would meet up with all our clients four times per year at some major training event in a different city each time in order to create the "executive experience" and hold what we called roundtable sessions. During those events we would have incredible speakers from all over the business community. Robert Kyosaki, John Miller, Michael Gerber, Robin Sharma and the list would go on with some really great teachers for us to learn from. In between these "Roundtable" events which we would hold every 3 months we would also create call schedules and teleconferences that helped us keep our clients on track, growing their business and improving their systems. "If I knew then what I know now" is the first expression that comes to my mind. In our continuing effort to improve performance we were always working on systems and procedures and how to share them better. We were so busy "Doing" all the time we were often not very aware of the idea of "Being". 

The majority of civilization is constantly focused on "Doing" more, creating more, accomplishing more and all of those items can be great things but not at the cost of knowing how to become more or knowing how to remember to focus on "Being"more. It is a tough thing to remember how to stop and focus on whats around us in each situation and what we are supposed to be learning from it. If our temporary life on this earth is simply a compilation of our knowledge and experiences that build the energy within us to give to others; then why do we not stop more often to realize the impact each situation is trying to develop in us? There is an entire book on this subject, no actually there is an entire library that could be filled on this subject alone. Recognizing the opportunity in every feeling and every circumstance we experience in life. It is these take aways that build who we choose to become and the way we are able to lead and give to others around us. 

In this business group we worked with, this awareness was almost undetectable. We all worked very hard on "Doing" but the idea of "Being" was so rarely addressed because it was not at our collective conscious level as a group. More, More, More could have been our mantra and many were finding that on a financial or superficial levels. It is since that time I have learned that sustaining more only comes from shifting my focus to what I do and who it serves and the better I become at the shift of focus in a correct direction, more seems to be the natural outcome. 

"I wish I had", "I need more Money", "I need more time", "Poor me", "When will I get a break?", "No one understands""they took advantage of me"

These are just a few of the never ending phrases we have all used and hear regularly in the world around us and each one of them points the individual user into the wrong direction. When falling into the ongoing and prevalent trap of self indulged focus we are less motivated to become something great, truly worth rewarding. The more we can locate a purpose for giving aid and helping others, the more self sacrifice is needed and eventually it leads to less focus on self. 

This is where two of my favorite all time quotes come to mind each time I study this subject. 

"You can have anything you want if you can help enough other people get what they want" by Zig Ziglar 

and the other is"We do not give to get but ALL receiving begins with giving" by Jim Rohn. 

What are you giving today? What is your focus placed upon to make change for others? Are you just trusting that you will be taken care of in the process?

It is often a very difficult situation to contemplate but I have found after working with thousands of people it is the only way to find true significance and peace in the journey. Every battle with EGO and more, more, more leads me back to frustration. The focus on appreciation for what I currently have and how I can make a change in the world, with the opportunities of today, gives incredible peace, self worth and reward even when you were not looking for it. 

In the group I mentioned earlier there were many foundational blocks laid which allowed me to work on the "Doing" and prepare me for the eventual"Being". One of the most critical foundation blocks was the relationships built at that time in my life. Many of the relationships I have today and value the most all began within that group. There were a few of us who just naturally attracted to each other and held on to the relationships well beyond what existed within that temporary search and connection. (Every situation and opportunity is a temporary search for learning by the way) 

One of those relationships was with a guy named Dav Neubauer (Norwegian spelling for Dave) who was on the team with me as an educational and communication coach. He was an easy guy to like and know, at least most of the time, and as we traveled we began to know each other better. It was not long after I first met Dav that I was also introduced to his entire family, he was married to Carrie and they had 3 small children at the time Cole, Ross and Annie. We all met on one of these business trips to Cancun with the rest of our colleagues traveling together. As Dav and I  hung out together we had some good discussions and for whatever reasons, unknown at the time, we started to hang out a little bit more and communicate with each other often in the course of daily work. 

Dav used to also host Doctors in his home town for a period of 3-4 days in between our meetings for what he called "Boot Camps". In these sessions he would do what we were doing at other times in Cancun, Ottawa, Scottsdale or many other cities. He would lock down for a few days and focus on how to raise the level of intent that each Doctor used in sharing their principles and beliefs. These "Boot camps" would be full of mechanics like scripting and practices to be better communicators. The sessions would be filmed and critiqued to increase performance for each Doctor in attendance hoping to raise the level of impact so that when they returned home it would increase performance in their businesses. 

All of these systems, ideas and training sessions made complete sense but what made little sense to me is the location he chose to hold these events in. There are a lot of cities in the North American continent and I have been fortunate enough to visit a large number of them. I have logged over 2.5 million air miles in my life and it has taught me a few things about which cities are easier and which are more difficult to host events such as these in. There are some cities that just have fewer air routes and therefore cost more money to fly into and some have less time options as a result. There are cities that have more hotels and that makes it easier on you to offer better pricing because of supply and demand availability. The education in this field of hosting corporate events is something I have found hard to explain to people who have never really traveled extensively and set the events up but some places just make more sense. The Location for Boot Camp that Dav chose was to fly into Minneapolis and travel about 1.5 hours west to a town called Bird Island Minnesota, Population of 1200 at that time. This did not seem like the likely place to host a training event that people would be asked to travel to from all over the country but it was his choice. 

As time went on I came to realize that he chose this town because it was his hometown. He had built a very successful practice in this small town serving patients when he was a practicing chiropractor. That practice had grown to a point where he was seeing 2000 patient visits per month in a very rural setting. The growth he had experienced was directly related to the way he learned to communicate and now he was teaching others what he had learned to do. As I would visit his home town of "Bird Island" Minnesota I would learn more and more about him and his family. He grew up on a farm less than a mile across the pasture from where his new home now stood. After building his practice to a successful level he eventually sold it and began to search for other things to do with his skills. When he was newly married to his high school girlfriend they lived in San Diego for a period of time while he was studying. They found great pleasure in the warmth of Southern California but only to return to Minnesota because his Dad a local 2nd generation Minnesota farmer had asked him to come back and serve their hometown not long before his father passed away. After many years in practice in a Minnesota farm town and after selling that business he had built from scratch he decided to move his family to Arizona and test out the sun filled lifestyle once again, only to return to the draw of Minnesota a year later to be close to the family that was missed.

Here we are in the most unlikely place to host training events and the question I would ask is; Why Here?

Dav was one of 7 children and the 5th in line of age. As I Look back now I realize how fortunate I was to visit that town as often as I did. I learned something there that I am still learning to this day. As I got to know him and his relatives I began to see the entire dynamic of a large family which I was not exposed to growing up. I saw that there were 7 kids who grew up in a small farmhouse that was located on a farm shared by their Dad, Jerry and their uncle Don. Jerry and Don had both inherited the land from their father before them and worked side by side their entire lives. These 2 brothers had grown up in Bird Island Minnesota and attended St. Mary's High School located right next door to St. Mary's parish. Jerry (Dav's father) had met and married a girl named Gloria Bohm in 1949 in St. Mary's parish. Gloria just like Jerry was also a graduate of St. Mary's high School class of 1948 and her family had moved there from Farmington when she was a junior in high school. After being married they settled onto the Neubauer family farm and started building a life that most of the world was completely unaware of. 

I have visited this farmhouse many times over the years including the very first visit I ever made to Bird Island when Dav was insistent I go out to the farm and meet his mom. I was immediately greeted with a smile and a "nice to meet ya" I was amazed as I went through the 150 year old farmhouse with one bathroom that a family with 7 kids could fit here! Dav and his mom showed me the rooms in the carved out attic of the house and showed me who slept where and in which beds. I remember being fascinated that it was even possible from that very first visit. I did not know all of the family yet but Dav and his mom Gloria were showing me the space that each one of them grew up in as they told me stories about their family. I did not know how these first thoughts would build in my mind to the point of what I see today but here it goes. Each time I visited Dav and the Neubauer family I would meet a few more of them and get to know them a little bit more. Some I would see more often than others but they were all in pretty close proximity to the original farmhouse so it was pretty likely you would meet them if you visited Bird Island. I never knew Dav's dad because he had passed away in 1985 when Dav was only 24 and Gloria was only 54. 

This past week I flew to Minnesota once again to visit Bird Island because Gloria Neubauer had passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 84. I flew there to be with friends and support them during an incredible loss in their lives. As I arrived in Bird Island on Sunday night at St. Mary's parish, I went to get in the receiving line which was over an hour and a half long to express condolences to the family. After waiting for a while I was pulled out of the line by Dav's son Ross and his Cousin Sean whom I have close relationships with. I walked up to the front of the church and just waited until I was able to say hi to Dav and Carrie who were shaking hands with all of the people who had come to pay respect to Gloria. That night I stayed at Dav's Bird Island house with his family and many of his nephews came over to hang out and catch up. Over these past 16 - 17 years I have had the chance to know many of Dav's relatives through fishing trips, holidays spent together, experiences shared and many trips to Minnesota. A few of us hung out that night and caught up on what was going on in life and then after much conversation we went to bed pretty late.

I woke up the next morning to take a walk around the town of Bird Island and as your imagination has probably gathered it was not as long a walk as I was wanting that morning due to the size of town. It did allow me to process some thoughts and prepare myself to learn through the experiences that would take place that day, even though I did not see it coming. I got back to Dav's house to get ready for Gloria's funeral service and felt a little under dressed that morning due to the fact I was traveling when I received news of her passing and all my suits were at home. After getting to the church and awaiting the service to begin, I sat down with some friends who were not in the family. I watched as the family again thanked everyone for coming to the services that day. Once the procession began the family came in together to be seated in the first few rows of St. Mary's parish. Gloria's entire family came in; 7 children with 7 spouses, 22 Grandchildren most with spouses and 22 great grand children. You can do the quick math and realize that there were about 80 people in the first few rows of the service known as the Neubauer family. 

As I looked around the church I was not sure how many people St. Mary's would hold but it looked to me as if there were 5 times as many people in the rest of the church as there were in the family rows. At this time my mind started racing from all of the photos I had seen of Gloria's life scattered about the service. I was aware that she had gone to high school next door and been married in this same place I was sitting. She only lived just down the street on the farm where she had been a "farmers wife" and a mom to 7 kids. I read in the bulletin that talked about her volunteer service for 65 years in 4H, the choir, religious education instructor, hospice volunteer, St. mary's school board. I kept reading and on the back page of one of the bulletins handed out were a list of "Gloria-isms" that she was well known for always saying. "Be there", 'Love ya Kiddo", "Always do your best", "Do you have enough money?""Can I make you a ham sandwich?", "As long as you are happy, I'll support you", "Whatever..Cry me a river and then build me a bridge to get over it" and many more. 

I started thinking about how many incredibly talented lives she had blessed this earth with. How many incredible families she had literally given birth to. I thought about the fact that for 30 years she was the matriarch who held her family together even after she lost her husband and partner in life. Even from an outsiders perspective I was fully aware that Neubauer Christmas took place on Christmas eve with Grandma Gloria. I was also fully aware just like everyone in her family that 4th of July was her birthday and it was a day for the Neubauer family to be together and celebrate this firecracker of a woman. 

It became so obvious to me sitting in that church of what she had built from her dreams and visions of giving to people and then teaching those same people to live their lives in that manner. On a small piece of land in the middle of Minnesota she had created an empire to change the world and she is still guiding it every day. She guides it through the words she repeated so often, she guides it through the memories of how she faced adversity, she guides it through the energy she taught others to walk in and she leaves the responsibility to 80 more people to do the same with their lives.

At the grave side service just after we left the church I noticed that the headstone next to hers read Gerald Neubauer "Farmer". I then looked at her headstone and it read Gloria Neubauer "Farmers Wife". On a Small piece of land in the middle of Minnesota, greatness was built and I began to understand that we all will end up on a small piece of land someday but it's what each of us choose to do with what we have been given now that truly makes the difference others need.

I looked at the bulletin once again that we had been given that day and I found a letter from Gloria Neubauer written to her children in the last days of her life and it read;

Dear Family,

Sometimes it's hard to convey your feelings to the people you love.

Looking back on my life, there isn't a lot of accomplishment to put on

my account, but this is the time to tell each of you what a wonderful

feeling I feel when someone speaks your name.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for belonging to me.

Mom

In that church that day I realized what incredible magnificence was the person I had seen so many times. Someone who was so dedicated to "Being" the best at what she had put her hand to that she had created something really great. People from many places had come to honor her in a service that any human being would be proud to have as recognition of a life well lived. I am thankful today for having the chance to know someone who was so great at what she did and yet I feel a little foolish for not always knowing how to recognize it each and every time I saw her. Thank you Gloria Neubauer for what you gave the world and many relationships that are very dear to me. You had many more accomplishments on your list than you will ever realize!

Cultural Responsibility begins with ME

What causes me to succeed beyond me?

We all have talents and corresponding areas to each talent that can be challenging. An example is "the driven goal setter" there are so many things can be said and praised for an individual who knows how to get things done and reach new goals. The challenge this personality often faces is finding an appreciation for life and the peace we all are looking for within ourselves. Another example is "the incredible communicator" who loves people and loves spending time with people. This type of an individual is usually a great encourager and pleasant to have around but they often seem to skip over the push and confrontation it often takes to move forward in accomplishing goals they may have at being able to change the world around them.

Understanding and refining our talents as individuals is always the first step to making change in our world. The second step is asking the question of how we can align and connect our talents to the talents of others around us. It is in the connection of two or more that the power to create is amplified and most enjoyable. 

Again what causes me to succeed beyond me?

This is a question that makes me think of Stephen Covey and his best selling book "7 habits of highly effective People". If you have ever taken the time to read his book you will find it is full of incredible truths that can and will make a difference in the person you choose to be if you digest them. He outlines the following 7 principles to creating successful individuals;

BE PROACTIVE

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

THINK WIN-WIN

SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

SYNERGIZE

SHARPEN THE SAW

As I study each of the areas above they are daily reminders of what I need to do with the opportunities I am given. It starts with me learning to be a more diligent individual who has priorities correct in my life. I could easily spend a lot of time and words addressing each of the items above but since Covey has already done just that I will look at a different direction today. It was a little while back located in my blog that I wrote a piece called "Conduit to Greatness or Mediocrity" although these choices in the title are opposite planes and my hope is that everyone chooses the right one, it is always going to be a choice we face in every area of our life. 

Am I willing to do what it takes to be a great person, employee, employer, parent, child and every other task we take on in life. In the article I focused on the foundation we decide upon each and every day when we awake. It still amazes me how many days in my life that I have lived just getting up and going at the next task on the list. It was always a hope that I had enough sleep, that my energy was correct and that the world was aligned so that my subsequent day would be what I hoped for. Often it did not work out that way.

As time has passed I have learned that it was always completely in my control to set the stage and make the choices and create the best possibility for every day simply by starting my day with an Interval 1. This is the first part of the day that is centered on me growing through mindset, calming my expectations and exercise. I listen to many teachers and books in the morning of each day so that I know that the knowledge I will live that specific day in is greater than the knowledge of the previous day. I can now understand the compounding effect of that choice to get up and start every day in this space is extremely empowering. Interval 1 is the foundation of the structured day we are all building each and every day of this life. Interval 2 is the space where we use our developing talent to work at having our impact on the world. Sometimes this is called work, sometimes its called taking care of family and home. In other times it may be charity or giving but it is the space in which you use the natural and developed talents to keep facing new things which challenge us to become greater. The last interval is the space where we understand at a deeper level to share in the relationships we value. Family, friends and learning to appreciate the moments of celebrating a day well lived. There is much again to be said on these topics but since they were  studied in my previous piece, I encourage you to read it for further understanding.

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http://teachmehowtoduggy-briansblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/conduit-to-greatness-or-mediocre.html

Today I want to think about the culture we are choosing to build and be a part of. I cannot help but think of how incredibly powerful it is to be surrounded by people who are encouraging and looking for ways to succeed. It lifts me and drives me to want to be better and create more. I am certain that every person reading this has had the same type of euphoric feeling that I do when surrounded by a group of people who are excited to be better than they were yesterday. The obverse is also just as true, when we are constantly choosing to be a part of a culture that drifts towards negativity or even apathy it is incredibly disabling. This is the real focus of todays writing is how to become a cultural developer instead of a cultural casualty. 

In Stephen Coveys follow up book the 8th habit he addresses many of the items that cause us to go beyond ourselves and our personal disciplines. It is a book that leads us to understand the necessity of a culture larger than myself. I am only as big as my talents and weaknesses when I try to control all, take charge of all or block the need for a culture much larger than me taking place in my life. I am and always have been a part of something much bigger than me but my EGO is constantly centering on how I get credit, how I make my mark and how do I gain praise for being great? 

All of these questions are firmly centered in EGO but the real problem is that if these items are in our lives they leave no room for a culture. EGO is said to stand for the acronym of Edge God Out which simply means that seeking out our own recognition and reward is at best a temporary road to success. It can still help us to find some success and I have worked with many people including myself who have found recognition through EGO. The challenge is that when I center all of my quest for success on me it means that all I am doing lives and dies with the 7 habits. As good as I am is as good as I will be when it begins and ends with a search that is centered on myself. Very often it sounds good on paper to not be centered on yourself but it is a very sneaky subject that we often do not realize is controlling our actions and our outcomes.

Simply ask and answer yourself honestly on the following question; 

Why do I want to succeed and who I am doing it for? 

Is it for self esteem ? 

Is it for the reward? 

Is it for personal safety? 

Is it primarily for anyone other than me?

All of the things I mention above are enjoyed things but they should not be the focus. I personally desire to have self esteem, reward and safety but what I see now more than ever before is that those are simply the absolute occurrences when you are doing what you do for the right reasons.

"I want to succeed at the opportunity to make a change in the lives of those around me."

Below is a list of key elements in the 8th habit and I ask you to pause and read them slowly thinking of how each topic relates to the people you are joined to in your life prior to considering yourself in each line. After you have centered the thought on others first then join in by seeing yourself as part of each of these concepts with others. By removing your EGO in this manner you will for a moment have the certainty of the feeling that you are a part of something larger than self and this is where true success really lives.

THE 8TH HABIT^®: FROM EFFECTIVENESS TO GREATNESS

Topics Include:

• Searching for Meaning (OUR search ..)
• Taking Charge (WE can to help whom..)
• Starting Within (WE can help THEM by..)
• Creating the Dream (OUR dream of serving whom..)
• Teaming with Others (THEY Deserve.. )
• Overcoming Adversity (For the good of WHO...)
• Blending the Pieces (THEIR talents help to build...)

The beginning of a culture starts with our willingness to sacrifice ourselves in our own thoughts first. It is a prerequisite to sustained and lasting growth as far back and as far forward as you can imagine. Are you developing a culture centered on a group of people you have connected to who can change the world? Do you see the impact as coming from you or do you see it as something you will do and others should be supporting you in your quest. Hopefully after these few words you can already realize the failure of this mindset. Every interval 2 gives opportunity for us to interact with others and an ability we have to influence a growing culture through our thoughts and actions. 

I spoke to our company recently on the topic of culture and many of the questions I asked were ones that came to me, as I grow and consider what I desire to see created in the world around me. I am confused at times because of the challenges I see in the world we live in and knowing that it is my job to find perfection in the process of changing. The culture of separation is one that makes sure we identify mistakes, create a need for fault and blame. These are normal protections of the EGO that make sure there is always a responsibility attached when things do not happen as we think they should. I am challenged by desiring to see less blame in the culture around me and knowing that it part of the process of growth which is a huge positive.

Each and every day I am linking my life to other people and it is now more than ever before that I am realizing the power of these decisions. I can be accomplished, talented and responsible with everything I could possibly do but if my culture is still based upon EGO and focusing on challenge and blame to protect that EGO then I remain limited. 

I was having dinner recently with a group of businessmen who were all very accomplished and driven. It was simply a social gathering so there was no need for too much deep thought. The table had some power players who were well aware of the subject of EGO as I would guess that the net worth at the table was close to 2 billion dollars collectively from the individuals. One of the very accomplished individuals had been a very successful litigation attorney and had become very prosperous as a result of his driven talents. As we had dinner he made a comment that rang in my ears so loud that I had to join in. He said that he had recently been scammed on an investment from a long time friend that previously he would have considered as close as a brother. He went on to speak of how he was even questioning his own judgment and not even sure at this point if he could trust his own wife and kids. You could see it was something that had really caused him pain and my first thought was "just keep your mouth shut and eat your dinner" fortunately I could not follow that thought. I spoke up to tell him that in business and life we must often look forward to examine the potholes in the road and the possible obstacles. Doing this can easily allow us to become negatively centered but not doing it can cause us to fall into some difficult situations. I went on to say that as human beings I think we must find balance by actively choosing to always look back with appreciation for all that has occurred. This includes the friend who took advantage of you. If we do not learn to see the good in all that has already played out I am not sure why we would remain motivated to create and try to give to others"

I thought a lot afterwards about being in my sixties, like this man, someday and having plenty of wealth and afraid that those closest to me might be waiting to take advantage of me. I thought also about the impact a career of litigation might pose to my outlook and belief system if I had not chosen to focus on the positives. I also thought about how hard it was for me to remain quiet when addressing this man who had been so accomplished. I told a friend recently when sharing the story that I guess I am little afraid that if I allow that attitude to exist around me for even a dinner it might somehow take effect in the culture I am building so I spoke up.

Who and how are you choosing to link your life to culture today?

What Culture to you want to be a part of? 

Is there a greater likelihood of blame or personal responsibility in your culture?

Do you find more positives or negative focus when living out your culture?

Do you think the culture you are building is more about others or is it a group of people simply looking out for selves?

The answer to these questions hold a map for you to either steer the course or make some change in direction. My hope is now more than ever to see more and more people in our culture who get WHY they do what they do and it was never for self but rather for others and in the process of being great at building a selfless culture your rewards will be higher than you ever could have hoped for.

When your Morals and your Values align success is inevitable! What are you choosing to be focused on?  That is is your value.

Choices are tough?

From Donald Grey Barnhouse:

A little boy was told by this doctor that he could save his sister's life if he gave her some blood.  The six-year-old girl was near death, a victim of a disease that the boy had miraculously recovered from two years earlier.  Her only chance was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness.  Since the children were both rare blood types, the little boy was an ideal candidate.  "Johnny, would you give our blood for Mary?" asked the doctor.

The boy hesitated.  His lower lip started to tremble, but then he smiled and said, "Sure, I'll give my blood for my sister."

Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room - Mary, pale and thin:  Johnny, robust and the picture of health.  Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned.  As his blood siphoned into Mary's veins, one could almost see new life come into her tired body.  The ordeal was nearly over when Johnny's voice broke the silence:  "Say, Doc?  When do I die?"

Only then did the doctor realize what the moment of hesitation and trembling lip had meant earlier.  Johnny thought that in giving his blood to his sister, he would be giving up his life!  And in that brief moment, Johnny had made a brave - and loving - decision.

Hope you show someone some true love today and pass out three random compliments.

The Season?

The Season?

As I sit here this morning ready to embark on the highlight of the holidays my mind went to considering what this season means to different people. I have been receiving messages for the past week from so many people of thankfulness and appreciation. 

In working with so many people there are also many message groups I subscribe to through my email accounts, which also give me the benefit of watching thoughts exchange between people. In watching the excitement and the appreciation of others it can serve you to become more appreciative yourself, if you are so inclined. 

In receiving these messages of gratitude and many photos of everything from children's choir services to a photo of a friend and his newborn son a couple of days ago it can easily allow you to participate in the joy of the season, If you are so inclined.

You may ask yourself why my thoughts of appreciation listed above continue to offer a reservation of "If you are so inclined" and that is where my mind wandered to this morning as I thought about the appreciation I truly have for this year. I am not only aware of but have been often guilty of in the past of being very disappointed as I look back at this time of year. In being able to set goals and achieve them I have often been guilty of finding lack as I examine what I may have left undone as well. 

This time of year usually gives us a little more down time to examine where our lives did and did not take the shapes we desired for this previous year. As we participate in the activities of the season and outwardly express appreciation, thankfulness and celebration there is often a silent killer lingering quietly behind the curtain ready for a few moments of solitude and attempt to take us into a space of what we did not accomplish this year. I read a second hand message like this one yesterday that at first really bothered me because I did not expect it from the person who had been pulled behind this curtain of doubt but then I remembered how often I have slipped into that same space myself.

This past week I shared some ideas that came to me regarding goal setting as this is also the time of year where people who are intent on getting and giving more in life tend to reflect and build lists of things they want to do bigger and better than ever before. There will be a percentage of people who will write down goals, resolutions, dreams and desires that will raise their spirits and make them examine how to just be better versions of themselves this year. I know that these are the people who truly make the world go around because they create and determine the process of all change in this world. Often these same people are looked at as peculiar because their ambitions are often seen as unreasonable or even beyond reach to others around them. This is encouraging to me as I think of it because it reminds me of George Bernard Shaw's quote "The reasonable man adapt's himself to the world where the unreasonable man adapt's the world to himself, therefore all progress is mad by the unreasonable man." 

In examining the percentage of the world who enters into this behavior of desiring excellence, it is a much smaller one than I think it should be. I understand my own necessity for dreams, goals and ambitions and making a choice to not have them or dream of them would seem suffocating at best in my life. It is an imperative to dream and think big for our lives in order to see the opportunity to stretch ourselves and become the work of magnificent creation we were intended to become. There is much to write about the missing element of dreaming and goals setting in the world but I would choose to focus on the smaller percentage of those who do set goals and what 2 challenges they often find still standing in their way. It is commendable to see people take action in their lives and when people do it encourages others to do the same so in an effort to encourage this activity I want to help by sharing a couple of pitfalls I have seen slip into even the most commendable lives of people I know who are sincerely trying to be the best they can with their choices.

The first challenge I see taking place as we examine the past year is one of reviewing accomplishments and instead of often seeing what we did well, we instead see what we left undone. When checking off the list of goals from last year, it seems that no matter how much we may have accomplished, experienced and learned our attention is always drawn to what we did not do or left unchecked. There are so many things which appear to us throughout the course of a year which serve us to learn and grow and be wiser with future decisions but it seems that our lack of attention and appreciation for it often allows it to escape us. 

We are taught in the principle of "The Secret" that what we focus on becomes our reality. We are taught in "think and grow rich" What the mind can conceive and believe the will can achieve. In spiritual text this teaching remains prevalent of "what we focus our hearts desires on....", countless messages on faith and belief..., parables of talents used and talents wasted..

All around us it stands to be evident that if we choose to focus our thoughts and desires in a direction that direction always seems to present itself so why in the world would I want to focus on lack? Need? failure? whats missing? whats left undone? what has not been accomplished? It seems to be clear that if my mind is focused on absence I am only creating an attitude and belief system centered on not accomplishing.

If we think about the small percentage of people in the world who are choosing to build goals and dream lists this time of year. How many of those same people are building those lists from what they did great this year verses how many are focused on what they left undone, whats missing or what will be made better next year?

When focusing on our dreams and desires to be better is done incorrectly, this good intention of building goals is often doing more harm than good. The more I focus on where I failed instead of succeeded the more I am reinforcing the possibility of failure. This is not an advocation to place our heads in the sand but rather it is an advocation to find the positive that exists in EVERYTHING.  All aspects of life contain the ability to find what is useful and contributory to future success IF ONLY WE ARE INCLINED!

There are many verses of scriptural text which mean a lot to me but one of my all time favorites was when James wrote and said "to count it ALL joy" the more we find negatives the more we are building negatives but the more we find joy the more we are building joy. There are times when this thought is of great consolation to me and there are times where even when I know it is the truth, I see people who have faced such tragedy that there seems to be no consolation. The pain people feel in the face of great loss is only made bearable with the time, support and love of others but in the moment often finding the joy is unimaginable. I am not asking anyone in these situations to be burdened with a sense of failure when they are not finding the joy of ALL in periods of tragedy in life but rather it becomes much more imperative that we be surrounded by people who are in the select small percentage to hold us up when we are in these spaces of our lives so we may only return to once again search for joy at a later time.

As you hopefully set your goals and build dreams from this past year I encourage you to look at the calendar, month by month and week by week to find the things you really enjoyed and were thankful for. Make a list of how to improve on these things and make the desires of your heart more prevalent that last year and the list you are building will be focused on what you did well, what you will do better and completely avoid the downfalls of negative focus while attempting a positive future. Look for all of the opportunities and experiences where you learned and grew and make more room in your future for these activities. Think of the times you celebrated and cared for others in your life and make an effort to become more present in creating these times in your future. Do not get focused on regrets or whats missing because it only robs you of the opportunity to be truly present TODAY.

Yesterday is a memory and tomorrow is a dream but today is an opportunity to become all we want to become!

The second challenge we often find ourselves is the truly silent killer of our future success. It is the most common element of all human beings when failing to meet their dreams, goals and ambitions. It is well known and rarely recognized and we know it as Blame. All that exists in my life exists because of ME. No one chose to go where I have gone, done what have done, thought what I thought except ME. I often see people making lists of goals and the discussions held with them are often littered with the largest killer of future success known as BLAME.

I struggle with my observations of this more than any other item in human development. I see the nuances of positives over negatives but any choice of blame always eliminates ALL opportunity for improvement. As soon as I allow myself to believe that I have no control then I can never resolve the issue. Any statement that supports this thought is one that destroys my future of succeeding. I cannot for the life of me imagine why good people make such bad choices like choosing to think that any situation they find themselves in is the responsibility of anyone other than them self. I heard it said one time that ALL conflict exists inside of me. The proof is that all of the challenges I perceive in life around me would die with me if I were to die tomorrow so the choice to resolve conflict must be inside of me as well. 

I see well meaning, well intentioned people allowing this killer into their thoughts, their words, their actions and most certainly their results. I was just reading the observations someone took the time to write out for their past year. I was amazed at the thought and energy placed into developing such an account of their past year and what they had left UNDONE. I was just as surprised at how many opportunities to place blame on associations, limitations, tools available and others in general. When I read it at first I felt frustration for someone with such a  poor choice of outlook but it did not take long for those feelings to give way to pity. I imagined that same feeling we have all felt of being trapped inside and really believing that the answer was somewhere other than inside of me. When will somebody else fix my life?!!

That angst of why do people not see what is happening to me! I realized that although the statements were in complete error,  the feeling of frustration must be giving them a false sense of validity through blaming others. This topic can be written on forever but the simple answer is that your life is your own and your choices are your own. Do what you like but above all take responsibility and you will be empowered to change it. Neglect responsibility even in the vaguest way and you choose to empower your certain struggle with success.

I have always had a coupe of real good tips that help me overcome the challenge of responsibility. The first tip is look around you. If even one other person is able to accomplish in the situation then that proves it is acheivable. The only question left is can I choose to achieve it? It seems easy to want to associate myself with lots of others who may be struggling but what good does that do me? I simply choose to be among the successful ones. I am a small percentage but this rule will always keep me there and I will always refuse to be among the many.

The second rule is cultivating my culture. There are people I CHOOSE to be around every day and every day I examine how they support me in my search to be among the few, the creators, the successful the unreasonable. I will not go lightly into the darkness of mediocrity but rather I choose to lead myself and others into the light of accomplishment. It is imperative that we select organizations, environments and  relationships that build us to accept responsibility and be among the few. The Pareto Principle teaches that 80% of the world creates 20% of the results while the other 20% create 80% of the results. I choose to be among the few and help change the world and see the minority of positive focus become larger each day and create larger change for the good.

I look at the people I work with daily and my honest desire is to be among the few that want to change the world for the better. The only way I can do this is to accept responsibility for my life and help others to do the same. To focus on whats working and not whats broke. Amplifying positives will create results and get the attention of others. When I slip and choose to do some things that prevent some of the goals I wished to obtain then the question I should ask is "What good came form that?"

Vic Johnson used to say that when he was in business he made some really large mistakes and it was just ten years later that many companies were paying him large sums of money to help prevent them from making those same mistakes!

Dennis Waitley speaks of losing his home in search of building a new business and moved on to say over and over that "Failure is the fertilizer of Success"

I can choose to find blame and distance from the solutions of my life or I can choose to know it is all about me choosing to think right. Surrounding myself with opportunities to be surrounded by others who think right. My job is to be thankful this season and count it all joy. 

I know that everyone out there reading this message has much to be thankful for. I know this message was read on your computer, if not one of several you own. I know that the electricity which powered that computer is up and running to comfort your life. I know that the internet provider you subscribe to is paid and running and this is a luxury. I know that these creature comforts indicate a life that is able to be thankful. I also know that someone shared the opportunity for you to be connected to this message and that tells me that someone cared about you and what you get in this life.

I am very confident that there is someone very close to you right now if not in the next room waiting for you to choose to be positive and accept responsibility. It may be the greatest lesson of their life and they are watching you, just as they are watching me. I hope this end of year season gives you the strength of character to accept responsibility and share it with those around you. It was never any situation that we find ourselves in but rather it was the self we finally understood to find with power in the situation.

May God bless and Happy Holidays

Enjoy the Search,

Brian Dugger

What Street am I on?

Chapter 1 of my life I walk down the street and there is a deep hole in the sidewalk, I fall in, I am lost, I am helpless it isn't my fault, It takes forever to find a way out. 

Chapter 2 of my life I walk down the same street, there's a deep hole in the sidewalk, I pretend I don't see it, I fall in again, I can't believe I'm in the same place but it isn't my fault and it still takes a long time to get out. 

Chapter 3 I walk down the same street, there's a big hole in the sidewalk, I see it there, I still fall in, it's a habit, my eyes are open, I know where I am, It is my fault I get out immediately. 

Chapter 4 of my life I walk down the same street there's a deep hole in the sidewalk I walk around it. 

Chapter 5 of my life I walk down a different street.

Conduit to Greatness or mediocre existence

Thoughts for the day...

I was discussing some things with a friend of mine the other day and as the discussion unfolded there were some cool concepts that helped clarify an outlook on life for me so I thought to take a few minutes and share them with others. 

It was a little while back that a chiropractor wanted to join our company as a franchisee in spite of his struggling finances  he found a way to move forward and he sent in a check to attend our next official HealthSource training for new franchisees. 

While in attendance at this HealthSource training we realized some really large financial challenges that would likely prevent him from even operating/affording in the basic mechanics and systems we were teaching him to put in place. After the realization was made by us it was discussed by every one on our team that the best thing to do was to refund his check and not sign the contract but instead offer to help him over the next 6 months to overcome some of his challenges and create a healthier practice which might allow him to reapply and become a franchisee at a later date. 

This is something we typically do not do with anyone outside our company but since he had made it so far in the vetting process before we were made fully aware of his circumstances we agreed it would be a fair position to take with him and try to help him overcome. My friend Jim has been holding review calls on his progress to advise and examine his results and in the process his practice grew over the first few months. The other morning Jim was telling me that over the past two months it has started to recede and he was pretty bummed about it. 

During our discussion Jim told me he was meeting with him later that day to discuss the situation and I thought I would give a few ideas to Jim to help clarify. The first thing that popped in my head was that life and who we are is a lot like a conduit. A conduit is a piece of pipe or channel through which things can flow. If you look at the plumbing in your house and examine the pipes the water flows through you will find some interesting things. When the pipe is new and clean and smooth on the inside it works at its best. If you allow just a trickle of water into the one end it will easily flow through to the other end but as time passes and stuff keeps flowing some natural occurrences take place. There is a build up over time and little by little you will see sediment growing and increasing to build on the walls of the pipes. The greater the sediment and build up the smaller the channel is to allow proper flow and the more pressure we have to turn on to create a steady out put. 

This seems a little like life to me.

Our life continues with each and every passing experience and day and as time goes on we put a lot of things into our conduit and push it through. The challenge is that a lot of the "stuff" we pass through our own personal lives and channels leaves junk and sediment on the walls. Over time the junk and sediment builds up and our ability to flow through life with enjoyment seems to slow down or become harder to create what once seemed a little easier. The key in my opinion as I told Jim is a big dump of drano into this thing we call life!

How do we learn to clean out the pipes and create a healthy channel for us to allow great work, great creation, great relationships and great impact to flow through every one of us?

I am a really big believer in the proper basic blocks of each and every day and have been for quite a while now because I know it works. 

Let me give you an example.....

The foundation of every single day is Block 1 or Interval 1 depending on your choice of terminology. In this first block of the day we are choosing to either prepare for greatness or launch ourselves into mediocrity. Every morning I awake to take some time to exercise and listen to some great teachers. I know that all the things I know today is the result of what I have learned and all that want to be tomorrow is the result of what I add to what I know through continuing to learn. Many people seem to make it through school and somehow think that learning is no longer a responsibility. It just depends on what you want your life to stand for or not stand for. Each day I focus on listening to lectures from great teachers and achievers because I want t add to my knowledge base. Some days I repeat some of the audio teachings in my collection over and over again on my iPhone because the content is just so empowering. In the first block it is important to me that I find peace, knowledge and passion to make each and every day count. For these reasons it is a daily choice that I listen to many different teachers. I also choose to just be quiet for a few minutes and think or not think as the case may be to clear my mind. I also know to focus and be appreciative of all the opportunities I have and thankful for the new ones I will have that day. In this first block I am preparing myself to launch into the day with passion and purpose and therefore expecting my impact to be larger than the average human being. 

The second building block of the day is the walls or Block 2. This is what I often refer to as the "small game". Every one has "work" to do each day and "task lists" to complete but these items are only as good as the person who is choosing to do them.  The more prepared a person is to tackle the day with a solid mindset then the better the days accomplishments will naturally be. It is a firm belief I hold that if I can find gratitude for what I am doing then I will be given more opportunity. If I can also be willing to work at growing and seeking purpose and skill I will succeed at those same opportunities. The combination of these two things will create more opportunity for me to try new things and evolve to a higher level.

The third and final block of each day is Block 3 or the roof. This is the simple sharing and enjoyment of the days accomplishments with people you care for. It is a time to celebrate and be at peace with a days great work.  Relax, unwind, communicate and be open with those you love. Turn off the TV and just talk for a bit about what was really cool today. Tomorrow will bring new opportunities but each opportunity we will have is completely dependent on how we handled talents and tasks we have already been gifted with. Be responsible with the chances you have and more will be given to you. ;-)

John Maxwell often says that he lives his life by the bookends of the day which is simply two questions....

First question in the morning when I wake "Today, Who can I add value to and how will I do it?"

The last question of the day "Today, who did I add value to and how did I do it?"

The centering of these two questions is creating a cognizance or recognition of finding purpose and passion for making change in the world and that is why we were all created. Our happiness and prosperity is directly related to how we succeed at helping others around us succeed and these 3 blocks are critical to that search.

Back to my conversation with Jim about that doctor.... I told Jim that sometimes when we have outside circumstances create excitement or energy in our lives it sometimes causes us to turn up the flow of our work, energy and sometimes results. The challenge is that if the conduit that is our lives has junk from the past or bad learning on the walls it is restricting the flow of our creation. Imagine going to a Tony Robbins event and getting excited and coming back the next week to turn up the pressure and create great results. Imagine making a new goal or resolution to do the same. Imagine hearing a great teaching at a seminar or online and getting motivated temporarily. Imagine someone taking time to coach you and examine your choices to help you grow. Those are all cool things and good things but don't we want to get to a point that no matter how high the pressure is turned up or turned down we are always producing because we are focused on keeping our lives clean from junk and sediment?

Zig Ziglar said it best when he was asked one time If motivation ever wears off? and to that question he answered that it most certainly did and that is why he recommended it daily!

The same goes for learning!

Building Block number one is necessary for all of us to clean out the old and wrong ways of thinking out and that is why we should do it daily. I love listening to guys like John Maxwell, Jim Rohn, Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy, Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra and the list of great teachers that can go on and on. I am a very regular customer of the itunes store and audible.com because I want a huge library to learn from.. 

EVERY day I want to listen and learn new ideas because block number two is the work but the effort is only as good as the worker. The talented and educated worker is built in block number one. I am often found sharing these principles with others because it is absolutely true that those who schedule time every day to be better and more successful will be. Make a schedule that allows you some time alone in the morning, time to learn in the morning, time to think in the morning and time to exercise in the morning. Your time could be 30 minutes if you plan it and for some it is as much as two hours every morning but for those who just launch into the work of each day they will usually find frustration, exhaustion and results that represent what they currently know and what they currently plan for each day.

I asked Jim what would it be like if I sent Wayne Dyer to your house for two hours every morning for one month to talk about life and think about ideas?

I asked Jim what would it be like if I sent Deepak Chopra the second month to your house for two hours every morning to talk about life and think about ideas?

I asked Jim what would it be like if I sent Jim Rohn the third month to your house for two hours every morning to talk about life and think about ideas?

Do you think you would be more powerful? 

More Motivated? 

More Inspired? 

More at peace with life? 

Able to accomplish more?

That is just like dumping drano into our conduit and cleaning the junk off the walls. All we have to do to be great is decide to be great, so take the time each day to plan a schedule that you follow towards greatness. Ideas are plentiful! Ted talks, motivation on you tube, inspirational teachers, audio books and the list goes on forever when you start looking. If you have made it through my LENGTHY post today then I know you are searching for something better so why not start today and build a personal calendar dedicated to greatness. Get up a little earlier and make greatness happen.

My final thought to share is that when you have figured out this is true by doing it in your life, please share it with others and help them stop living in their mediocrity as well. We all have natural talents and can produce with our lives but raw talent versus focused and developed talent always has a different impact on the world around us.

As Zig also once said "you can have anything you want if you can help enough other people get what they want"

Help yourself and then be passionate about helping others and results will always follow. I PROMISE.

Have a great life!