Achievement in Word and Deed

“I’ll be able to if I . . . when I solve the issues I’m solving.”

-Brad Bertoch

Achievement in Word and Deed

There were dishes clinking around us as we sat at lunch in a venerable restaurant talking about the meeting we had just left.  It was a great conference and we were enjoying reliving the moment together.  Our lunch also gave us the time to do a little planning for the future so we began to talk of new opportunities that could be opened as a result.

“I’ll be able to if I . . . when I solve this issues I’m solving” said my friend Brad.

As he spoke, I was looking directly at his face and into his eyes.  The hitch in his sentence was noticeable in my ears, but I also watched his eyes as they took a glance up and to his right as the realization of what he was saying caught in his throat, connected to his mind and was reflected in his eyes.

In a split-second he corrected his hindering speech and moved forward in an affirmative and bright-future creating change.  It was clear to me that one of the reasons Brad is known as a visionary and as having business brilliance is because he understands the direct connection between his words, his actions and his future.  He’s always careful not to allow his own words to betray him.

As I watched my friend go through this self correcting process, I thought, “There is not one of us who likes to be betrayed, yet so many of us do it to ourselves often through our own words.”  Unless we watch our words and use them to our benefit then we become our own obstructer! 

We deceive ourselves into thinking we’re working toward accomplishment while our subconscious mind is working against our overt efforts.  Such action reminds me of the old saying, “Our words will condemn us.” 

I know you and I don’t want to deprecate our successful futures before they’re even a possibility, so I thought Brad’s example would act as a reminder.  As you make plans to have more love, wealth, and health in your life, plan to describe that future in carefully supportive words that will shepherd that goodness toward you.  You can have achievement in and through word and deed.

Precipice Dancing

“It seems to be a universal principle that whenever I declare that I’ll reach a goal or have something, that there will be a time when I’m tested; I’ll be required to wrestle with every bit of strength I have to demonstrate that I really want it!”

–Jacob

Precipice Dancing

Have you ever looked at someone you know well; someone who has it all, the people my friend Robert Crooks calls “the beautiful people,” and wondered at their ability to be seemingly free to accomplish everything they ever desire?   I certainly have and for many of my younger years I believed such people were simply lucky!  Then I noticed that it was the same people who were “lucky” over and over again.

Steven Maranville, one of the most insightful business consultants I know, and I sat in comfortable chairs around a small table in a glass skyscraper this week and had a conversation about this very phenomenon just three days ago.

“A huge segment of society thinks there is “security” to be had by working for someone else.  But, that isn’t the case.  When you do that, someone else controls your destiny.” Steven said.

That made me really think about destiny and made me wonder if anyone really controls their own destiny.  My mind raced from corner to corner testing the concept of destiny and control.  Does anyone really have the ability to decide what their future will be and then go out and make it come to pass?  Then I thought of the lucky ones again and knew that they understood principles that others don’t seem to.

“The successful entrepreneurs I know seem to be good at living on the brink.” I said to Steven.  “Perhaps that’s what sets them apart.  They have the ability to make a goal and then work toward that goal while they’re living on the precipice of disaster a lot of the time.”

It was at that moment, when the words had just slipped past my lips, that I vividly remembered my friend Jacob and what he had taught me.  Jacob is one of the most amazing people I know about.  He is successful in every corner of his life.  His business is amazing.  He is spiritually centered.  He looks great and is in wonderful shape.  He’s the “poster child” for the word amazing!

Jacob once said to me, “It seems to be a universal principle that whenever I declare that I’ll reach a goal or have something, that there will be a time when I’m tested; I’ll be required to wrestle with every bit of my strength to demonstrate that I really want it, that its mine!”  Then he went on to tell me about his personal story and how there was one time in particular when thought he was completely spent, but wasn’t.

“I had this vision about my life and its rewards.  I had done alright, but I wanted to do more that well!  I wanted to have it all!” He recounted.  “Once, when I was tired, night was just beginning, I thought I’d just quit for the day.  Then the vision of what I wanted rushed vividly through my whole body and I wanted it more than anything I’ve ever wanted, so I wrestled the entire night until I was granted the outcome I wanted!”

“Granted?” I replied.

“Yes, granted!” He said with a smile.  “It wasn’t until I gave myself the permission to see that I was just like everyone else, others were not any smarter than I was and they didn’t have more answers than I did, and that what I wanted was already in my possession, that my life really changed.  So, while others thought I was taking big risks, I knew I had already succeeded.  It wasn’t that I wasn’t challenged any more, I just knew the outcome so I just worked with confidence through obstacles as they presented themselves.”

“So, one person’s dangerous cliff is another’s play ground?” I asked.

“Yes!  I live on that edge so it is comfortable to me.  It’s exhilarating, challenging and fulfilling to me.  It’s all in the way you look at it.  You have to grant yourself the permission to live and thrive there while knowing you’ve already succeeded.” Jacob answered.

You’ve already succeeded too.  Grant yourself the permission to own your successful future today.  It’s yours for the taking.  Will dancing on the precipice be dangerous or exhilarating, challenging and fulfilling to you?  The answer is inside of you.  Wrestle it out today.

Shifting Heads

“We hold public hearings to make sure we hear everyone’s voice if they want to be heard.”

-Rod McDaniels

Shifting Heads

I sat right across the table from Rod with my legs dangling in the air.  My feet were keeping some sort of spasmodic time with the music that was acting as a backdrop to our conversation.  The table was elevated, next to a window in a local restaurant.  Our conversation was engaging.

Rod was telling me about his work and how important it was for his group to listen to the public as they were pressing forward with their plans to improve transportation issues.  I could see the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke and I knew he was deeply committed to doing his job well.  His efforts are squarely centered on service to others.

As he was speaking my mind seemed to catch a spark of how important this conversation really was on a larger scale.  He was following a pattern that would allow his group to gather information that they otherwise would not have access to.  In short, they were getting smarter with every meeting they held.  They were expanding their horizons in exponentially as they listened!  It was a smart thing to do regardless of whether it was for their group as a whole or for its members individually.

Then I thought about what this concept meant for you and me as individual learners!  My eyes began to scan the room and I wondered about the stories making up all of those lives.  What kind of experiences had they been through?  How could those stories benefit me now and in the future?  What is it they know, that I don’t know?

The answer is lots!

I can’t begin to account for everything I’ve learned directly from others.  But, one direct result is the experience I call “Head Shifting.”

I can only see what I can see and think my own thoughts unless I open up.  It is such a limiting way to live! But, once in a while I really open my ears and heart to take in what someone else can teach me.  When I do it is like a firework bursting between my ears and the light exposes my mind to possibilities I’ve never considered.  I would never have considered the new thought if it hadn’t come from outside of me!  It’s a told shift.

Total shifts will make you feel, experience and think new things.  It’s the best and most effective way to grow into a new, smarter and more interesting person.  Look for head shifting opportunities everyday and you’ll be amazed at how often they’ll come to you.  Seek to have a shifting head today and experience the explosion of light in your own mind.

 

An Investment Guide

“Buildings in Memoriam”

An Investment Guide

It was a home coming of sorts.  A friend had invited me to attend a Drum and Bugle Corps event at the first University I attended so many years ago.  I had many fond memories flood into my mind as we made our way to the stadium.  The last time I had been in that stadium was for graduation.  But it was the walk to the stadium on this day that made such an impression for me.

As I walked along past the Science Center, Strength & Conditioning Center, and the entrance to the Stadium I read signs that memorialized personal names on the buildings.  Of course, I’ve seen many buildings named for people before.  I understand it’s a way for Universities to raise additional capital as well as acquire new facilities.  But, but there was something different about these buildings.

The difference was that I actually knew all of these people before they had passed away.  I had a personal relationship with them; perhaps most importantly they were all people who had had a positive impact on my life for varied reasons.  So, while the University had received a facility, I had received something much more valuable; friendship, mentorship, true leaning and personal growth.

From the focus of this story you would automatically come to the conclusion that my experiences with these people were in relation to the University and my studies there.  But that conclusion would not be correct.  My relationship with every one of these people was community based.  I had been in all of their homes and had seen how they lived in everyday lives.  I saw how they interacted with their spouses and children.  I learned at their very feet.

On this day, when my feet had taken me to my seat and the drums began to beat and the bugles blew during the competition, I sat thinking.  A warm rush of remembrance filled my whole body as I mentally saw the faces of my mentors and friends a new.  All of them have now passed, but their impact on me has never passed away.  I am who I am today in large part because of their example, teaching, caring, giving and goodness.

I sat wondering if I was really following their legacy in my own life.  Am I giving enough of myself to everyone around me?  Am I as caring, good and giving as they were?  Would they give me a passing grade?  Have I become as they were?

I pondered and thought as pageantry presented itself all around me.  The music was beautiful, the costumes were colorful and the youthful energy displayed was dazzling.  I was watching young men and women who were the recipients of mentorship as I had received and their lives were the expression of talent, discipline, and love. 

Their exemplary being is their true reward; it was not the trophy that would be presented at the end of this night’s competition.  They will benefit from the teaching and goodness of others until the end of their days.

The “end of my days” was ushered into my ears through their music as the answer to my own questions as they were spinning around in my head.  As long as I invest in the lives of others until I am no more, then I will have lived up to gifts that others have given to me; invested in me.

When you invest, make sure you’re investing in life.  Don’t let your greatest investment be wasted on things that have no life or the ability to give life.  Pass on goodness.  Give your knowledge to others.  Impress your love on as many other people as possible.

Your Brave Moment

“I just don’t think I know how to do this anymore!”

-A Colleague

Your Brave Moment

A round table, with dark tobacco road stain, was resting my arms.  The table had a clear protective cover made of glass and it felt a little moist where my skin touched it.  I could see my colleague sitting on the other side of the table.  She was facing me.

Her position gave me a clear view of her eyes and I could see that she was a little tentative as we began to converse.  As soon as words began to be exchanged it was as if a switch had been tripped and those same eyes came to life as flowing fountains.

I listened to her tell me of her challenges and could tell that they had been draining the life out of her.  She was tired and perhaps more than anything else, she was very afraid.

Hers was a fear I could relate to.  When I saw it erupting out of her it was as if I was feeling the same pain; because that pain had been a resident within my own heart before and I knew of its debilitating effect first hand.  I also knew that it would take great courage for her to face this challenge down and overcome it.  She would need to show herself what she was really made of.

There is a difference between showing other people and showing yourself what you’re really made of.  I didn’t understand the distinction between the two until I was in a position just like my friend’s current situation.  That singular experience taught me that no one can understand true bravery until they discover their own essence.

Most people don’t take the opportunity to understand their own fundamental nature.  They’re too caught up in putting on a good show for the other people around them.  They believe that they are what other people think they are.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

It’s far from the truth because there is only one person who can truly see into your heart, knows your true intention, and can make change happen.

Personal change is every individual’s moment of truth.  I knew my friend was at her own moment.  As a result, I was heart-stricken as well as elated for her.  I was heart stricken because going through this one moment is the most painful event most people ever face.  I was elated for her because she would end this one moment by showing her bravery.

Some people crumble and give up at this crossroads.  I could tell she would not collapse.  She was already demonstrating it with the questions she was asking and the actions she was taking.  Bravery is revealed through, first recognizing the crisis; and then facing the crisis, planning a way out of the predicament and actively implementing the plan to success.

When I spoke with her on the phone the next day she was smiling again.  I could tell from the excitement in her voice.  She was living her plan; taking it one step at a time while building on each small success.  Both of us knew it would be a long hard road.  We knew it would be worth it and end in her victory because she was worth it.  Her indomitable heart is the essence of bravery.

Your heart also contains the essence of bravery.  Perhaps you just don’t know it yet.  But you will.  When your moment for bravery comes, recognize it for what it is, face it, plan your way out of it and then live your success.