Being A Success

No one has ever been able to truly show what success is because it can neither be seen nor held.  While it can’t be seen , I believe that success can be defined as: doing what you were created to do.  Notice I did not say anything about money or things which is how most people define success.  The truth is I know many people who are successful but have very little monetarily. So if success is doing what you were created to do, how do we do that?

Do Your Best

Doing your best  is part of doing what you were created to do. You can not do better than your best, and you can only do your best at what you were created to do.  We are all unique, and have been given abilities to do things that no one else can do, and be someone no one else can be. You may not have been able to decide where you were born, but you can decide what you do with the life you have been given.

Think Small To Grow Big

We were all created for a reason.  While I can’t tell you what you were created to do,  I can tell you that you have a natural ability that only you can use.  You are in control of yourself, and you are in control of whether or not you use your gifts.  Our tagline is, “Get There, Stay There, And Pass It On.”  I use it because I know the only way to get to the top of the mountain is to start the climb.  Mountain climbers know that training and climbing smaller mountains is the key to success when climbing bigger mountains.  You will never climb Everest, if you have not first climbed a hill.  The same goes for your life, if you are not willing to do your best and climb the smaller hills first, you will never be a true success.

Thrive Where You Are

If you are beginning a small business or working from home, don’t give up the job you have now if you are not willing to do it to the best of your ability.  I see many people who are not happy where they are.  They have a bad boss, or bad people around them, or they just hate the job they have.  If this is you; my suggestion is to learn to do the job as best you can and if you are starting a business let the job be your seed money.  I know many other career/business coaches that will tell you to get out now if you hate the job because the pressure of being unemployed will drive you to do whatever it takes to get the business off the ground.  That may be true, but if it takes a year or more, you may run out of money  and in today’s economy you may not get a job if you need one.  So learn to do your best at the job you have, and do your best at the career you are creating until it can support you.

Give Only 100%

Many times we are hampered in doing our best by believing that doing more, is doing our best.  If you are trying to do more, or even less than you can, are you really doing your best?  If you do more than 100% you are probably skipping things and are out of balance in one or more areas of your life.  If you are doing less than 100% you are getting the benefit of someone elses work and that is just like stealing.  Give 100% to whatever you do.  If you can’t give 100% cut out things until you can give it to all you do.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This may seem childish but it is the only way to become the best at what you do.  If you want to speak in front of audiences then get in front of the mirror and talk.  If you want to play golf then get on the range and hit.  Michael Jordan didn’t learn to shoot playing video games, he went out and shot tens of thousands of baskets.  You have to as well.  If you want to teach a subject you have to read books and take notes.  The process is long but it has to be done.  Dr. John C Maxwell said this, “There is a price to pay for everything. You can either pay it now, or you can pay it later, but there will be a price paid.”

Success is built one accomplishment at a time. If you never do anything you will never accomplish anything.  So as you stand at the bottom, or the middle, or wherever you are on the mountain of life remember this.  You and only you can figure out what you have been created to do.  You and only you can decide to be a success at the job you have.  And, As long as there is breath in your lungs you have a choice about how high up the mountain you go. Decide what success looks like and start the climb today.

Image Via Wikimedia Under CC 2.5 Liscense

Do Things Rather Than Have Things.

I heard Bill Bennett  say that a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me ever since.  When we were children we wanted everything we saw. We would beg our parents to buy this or that and many times if they could they would.  Other than the Star Wars toys, I don’t remember all the things my parents bought me when I was a child.  I do remember going camping, fishing, hunting, and family trips.

As adults many of us have not grown up, I am included in that.  We want everything we see and if we can get it we do.  As a whole we Americans have spent ourselves into a very bad place, and while this is not about our debt it can be applied.  At some point we must shed our childhood ways and begin to think like adults.  We have to stop buying everything in sight for us or our kids. When we focus on getting more stuff we enter the “Rat Race” and begin to live for the stuff, and not just live.

What will your children remember when they are grown.  Will they remember the time you spent with them or the things you bought them?  Will you be able to spend time with them when you are older or will you have to keep working to pay for your stuff?

I know this is a short post, and maybe I am just talking to myself.  If you have any thoughts on this I would love to hear them.

Image Via

What Does The Invisible Fence Look Like?

The above question was posed by my youngest son after some friends had an invisible fence installed at their new home.  The question has stuck with me for a couple of weeks now and, me being me, I have pondered what some of the invisible fences look like in our lives.

Other People

One of the strongest invisible fences are other people.  We let others dictate our moods, our thoughts, and many times our jobs.  Many of the people in your life that put up the fences don’t even know they are affecting you so you live behind the fence by yourself while they are out having fun and roaming the neighborhood.  Don’t let others dictate your life, listen to your still small voice and break free.

Money

I wrote on this the other day.  I called it the rat race then but if you are running around the yard behind the invisible fence of money, you are still not going anywhere. I know, you got a house and all the food you can eat, but are you really living?  Get out and share some time with your puppies.

Beliefs

This is a hard one for people who live in the United States.  Your beliefs can separate you from others that can add to your life.  If you decide people who do not believe what you believe are all stupid or evil, your fence may be pretty strong.  The good news is that any fence can be dug up.  Go make a friend with someone who is out of your belief area. Go cut the cord and go run around the neighborhood.  Find out what other dogs are roaming around free and join them.

I don’t know what your fence looks like or where it comes from.  What I do know is that if you do not do something about it you will never become the person you were created to be.

Seth Godin: Maybe You Need New Friends

The Extent of Life Coaching

Just a few short years ago if someone told you they had a coach you would have probably thought they had a tennis or a golf coach they were working with to improve their game.  Now when someone says they have a coach more and more people realize that person is trying to grow as a person, and trying to become successful on their terms.

Professional life coaching has an enormous potential for growth.  As I mentioned in another post Why Not Become A Life Coach, there are thousands of areas where you can become a coach.  If you look at each person in America, they need coaching for: personal development, finances, marriage, home schooling, decorating, career, leadership, starting a business, accomplishing goals, and any number of things you can think of.

Why Is Coaching So Popular?

In my opinion, life coaching is so popular first because, most people already know what they want to do.  People have goals but most people need some one to come along side them and help them fine tune the goals and act on them.  They also need an honest sounding board that may not be specifically tied to them like a close friend is.  Friends are great, they just think like you do so they may not have the best view of what is going on.

Second, most people don’t have a mentor they can go to.  I had a conversation last week with a friend about how we wished someone would have come along side us earlier in life to open our eyes to the opportunities that are in front of us now.  If everyone had a mentor there would be no need for coaches.  Coaches are available now to come along side us and help each person walk through the opportunities at hand.

Finally, coaching is so popular because technology has made it possible.  Cell phones let us talk for unlimited minutes.  The internet lets us stay in constant communication do seminars at all times of the day and night.  But technology has also made it harder to find a good coach.  You need to talk to several coaches before you make a choice on hiring one.  Just because a coach charges a lot of money does not mean that coach is a good coach, it just means they charge a lot of money.  Find a coach you can connect with and feel comfortable with not one that is going to charge you a whole months paycheck to get the same results.

Change Your Mind, Change Your Life

If you are not satisfied with your current physical, monetary, spiritual, or any other situation the good news is you can change all aspects of your life just by changing the way you think. At the first of every year we hear that we must set goals to accomplish various tasks with in the next year. As you already know, most people who start these programs will stop within the first month – or two at most.

Why?

From what I have seen as a personal coach the most common reason is, the person has not come to a full understanding of how to change what they want to change. Most people have clouded their thinking  with the thoughts of others so they are  trying to accomplish a goal put there by someone else. The good news is that this can be fixed in four easy steps.

1) Decide what you really want. That sounds simplistic but in reality this is the main reason for stopping before reaching the goal. Do you really honestly want to accomplish this goal? If you do why do you want to? Is this for your own good or for the benefit of someone else? Are you doing this to fit into society? Continue to work down to find what the real reason is and you will find what the real goal is.

2) Once you have decided what it is you really want write it down. Once you see it on paper it becomes more realistic to you and you can get your mind around it better. Now rewrite it in the first person present tense form such as: I have x, I pray x times daily, I weigh x pounds. Once you have it in the first person present tense your mind can begin to accept it. Read it at least 6 times per day. This will solidify the way you think. Once your mind accepts the goal as fact, it will begin to change and help you accomplish that goal.

Hint: Take a favorite proverb and do this with it.

3) Set a realistic time frame to accomplish the goal. If you are broke with no job finding a new job may take a month or two. If you are over weight and it took twenty years to get here don’t try to get rid of it in six months. A realistic time frame is crucial in the achieving the goals you set

4) Make better choices. Turn off the T.V. and read good books. Start reading books and magazines that lift you up not tear you down. Start cooking at home instead of dining out. Write a letter instead of using email. This step will be the most helpful part of the process.

You can change any aspect of your life if you want to. If you just learn to change your thought process, you can transform yourself a little each day.

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