Knock and...

Knock and...

...the door shall be opened to you.

WOW! When you take a look at all three of these you SHOULD BE astounded at the promises that come with these action points!

SHOULD BE...but are you?

With each one of these that we have discussed this week you have ACTION followed by a PROMISE of DELIVERY. Why would anyone NOT follow through with the action?

I'm not sure, but we see evidence of it each and every day.

For example, we all know that if we eat better (healthier) and exercise we will lose weight AND likely prolong our life. Pretty good promise of delivery wouldn't you say? Yet how many of us (myself included for right now) seem to struggle with following through with this idea?

Another example: If you spend LESS than you MAKE you will be able to set some money back and, over a period of time, have a nice "nest egg" of money set back and your bills taken care of! Again, another good promise of delivery, right? And, yet again, most of us FAIL to follow through with this course of action.

So, when we look at the three action points behind "the Concept of A.S.K." along with the promises of delivery we can also see that, although the promises of delivery are POWERFUL, not everyone will follow through. Will you?

"ASK and it will be given to you. SEEK and you will find. KNOCK and the door will be open to you."

That's pretty powerful IF we follow through. And that, my friend, is a big "IF"!

So, here we are. We have ASKED the questions that are necessary for us to follow our dreams and move toward our goals (see Tuesday's blog and podcast). And, IF we have done so with the purpose of following through we WILL have the answers revealed to us! Then what?

The answers have been revealed showing us - revealing to us - the PATH that we must take in order to fulfill our life's purpose. However, even as we SEEK this path - this direction - we must still continually be asking those questions to make sure that we do, indeed, continue to follow the right path. By doing so, we WILL find the right path to follow along our life's journey!

By following this path that leads us to the fulfillment of our life's purpose, we will end up at what I call the "door of opportunity". We've been lead down the right path to this door. It's there - right in front of us! You've heard the phrase, "Opportunity knocks" right? Well, here is our chance to knock on the door of opportunity!

But, will you? Will we?

Believe it or not, THIS promise of delivery scares some people! Sure, they've had to step on out boldly so far by following the answers that have been revealed to them and by actually following that path that has been revealed during their search. But now...NOW they have to decide if they really want to knock on that door.

Why? Because the promise is that, if you KNOCK on that door, it WILL open!

And, if that door of opportunity is open for you, what excuse do you have NOT to walk through it? Let me answer that one for you - NONE! No excuses!

Believe it or not (maybe you DO believe it because you have experienced this in your own life) people get to this place every day and fail to follow through by walking through that door.

If you notice, we're not told WHAT lies beyond that door! We're just told, PROMISED, that it WILL open for us - to us. And, perhaps that is the problem - the fear of the unknown.

We have talked about fear at great lengths over the past year or so, haven't we? Yet, we still face that paralyzing fear often.

WALK THROUGH THE DOOR!

This is the path that you've followed. This is the path that was revealed to you when you asked those questions about your purpose in life and how to go about fulfilling that purpose. You are AT THE DOOR!

Knock and walk through with great confidence and security. It is YOUR door that is open to YOUR life and YOUR opportunity.

Claim it. Own it. It's yours!

And, when you do so, as the old Carpenter song says, "We've only just begun to live..." !

How great is that?

And, as always, be sure to remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

"Seek and..."

Seek and...

...you shall find.

Today I'd like to discuss the second of three "legs" behind the "Concept of A.S.K."

Yesterday we discussed the first, "Ask and it shall be given to you." We discussed the importance of asking some vital questions that we MUST be asking if we are serious about following the path of our purpose. And THEN taking action when the answers are revealed to us. And, be assured, they WILL be revealed if we do, indeed, want to know the answers!

Please notice that all three of these words - ask, seek, knock - are VERBS. That being so, they denote ACTION!

We discussed the idea that we must not ask and then wait for something to fall into our laps. No! When you look at it as a VERB then we understand that we must ASK with the intention of MOVING TOWARD the answers.... actively pursuing those answers. And then ACTING upon them once discovered.

Today is the same as we look at the idea of, "Seek and you will find".

Remember that, this too, is a VERB word and that it denotes ACTION! This is not a "passive search" but an "active search".

Why am I emphasizing this so much? Because it is IMPORTANT for us to understand! Too many times we may say we are asking the questions and seeking or searching for the right path for our life when - in all reality - we really aren't!

Many times we are "going through the motions" just to try to pacify either ourselves or someone else and we aren't really serious or we don't really have any intentions on changing ANYTHING in our lives.

Don't waste your time and don't try to do ANYTHING in this area to try to please or pacify someone else.

It is UP TO YOU and it has to be FOR YOU or it will never really work out for you.

YOU have to want it! YOU have to really want to know the answers to the questions we discussed yesterday. YOU have to really want to find the direction for your life so that you can life a life of purpose and passion. YOU!

Here's a fact of life: You will find what you are looking for - good or bad!

If you focus on the negative things in this world then, guess what? You will continue to see and see nothing BUT the negative things in this world. Your life and your world will seem to be nothing but a sea of negativity.

However, the opposite is also true and CAN be true even for those described in the previous paragraph IF they desire to make the needed changes to make it happen. If you focus on the positive things in this world then you will continue to SEE and EXPERIENCE the positive things that this world has to offer!

Oh, you will see the negativity from time to time but, because you are being ACTIVE, in your pursuit of the positive, you will easily overcome any impact the negative might have on your life and you will move on in a POSITIVE direction!

Again, it's YOUR choice!

Ask, and it WILL be given to you... Seek and you WILL find!

Whether this matters to you or not is up to you. For those that say that it DOES matter, answers and direction await!

And, as you travel this journey of life, always remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

"Ask and..."

Ask and...

...it shall be given to you.

That's the first of the 3 parts of the concept we began talking about yesterday: "The Concept of A.S.K." , a Biblical concept which, I believe, can be applied to all areas of our lives and one that I believe can get us back "on track" to living the life of our dreams and our passion.

Yesterday we talked about raising the level of our expectation. But, the question is this: how do you know that your level of expectation NEEDS to be raised?

You have to ASK the right questions about your life and be willing to find the answers!

We should ALL be constantly asking ourselves questions about what we are doing and/or trying to accomplish in and with our lives so that we may stay "on course" or "on track" in this pursuit.

What questions should we be asking?

1. Why am I here? What is my PURPOSE for being on this earth? Hopefully you have come to realize that you are not here for you alone! We are all connected by those around us and the ever decreasing size of our world thanks to the technology that exists today.

Last week we talked about the fact that you are UNIQUELY you! There is NO ONE ELSE in the whole world like you! You leave a very unique "life fingerprint" on your world and the question we asked concerning this was, "What imprint are YOU leaving behind?".

It's pretty much the same question just worded differently.

2. What Am I Doing to Fulfill This Purpose? Once I understand what my purpose is (you may never come up with the complete answer and you will likely see the answer slowly unfold before you over the course of time) I must then ask myself the question of, "What am I doing about it?"

3. HOW Will I Fulfill or Continue to Fulfill This Purpose? This is the "what action is needed" part of the equation - WHAT DO I DO?

Are you serious about asking these questions? Will you spend the time necessary to adequately explore the possible answers to these powerful questions about your life?

4. Will I? This is likely the most important question that MUST be answered. You see, going through the process of discovering your purpose and what you must do to fulfill that purpose is a wonderful - and needed - thing in our lives. However, if we are not willing to actually DO something about it, it really doesn't amount to much, does it?

You see, the part of the "A.S.K. Concept" on this part is, "...and it will be given to you."

Do you expect it to just be dropped in your lap? I hope not! But many do!

The answers WILL be revealed to you IF you sincerely want to know the answers! You may ask, "Why would anyone ask a question that they don't want the answer to?" It happens all of the time and you likely even do it from time to time.

Sometimes the "action" of asking the questions pacifies us to the point of "feeling good" and thinking we have done all we need to do. Sure, we may be willing to ask the questions - but are we willing to really look for the answers?

And, then, when the answers are revealed are we willing to take ACTION with those answers?

"Ask and it WILL be given to you!" That's a promise for those that genuinely ask.

This is more difficult than one might think. It takes the willingness to be 100% honest with yourself and really look deep at who you are and why you're here and what you are or aren't doing about it. And then, the hardest part... the decision to take action on what you find.

I wish you success on this journey that we are discussing this week. Make no mistake, the journey will go far beyond this week, my friend! This journey will likely take you weeks and months if not years but, in my opinion, it is one we MUST all take if we are serious about living up to our potential and living a life of passion. This also will lead to living the life of your dreams.

And, as you travel this journey, always remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

The Power of A.S.K.

THE POWER OF A.S.K.

I'm really excited about this week's topic of discussion because I think it can really "open a lot of doors" for those of you that are still struggling with the concept of raising the bar of your expectations.

The concept that we will be talking about this week is a Biblical concept, but I won't be "preaching" at you during these discussions - I promise! However, there is much good and many wise thoughts and ideas that can be gained from Scripture and some of the greats in the field of personal development (such as Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar) regularly refer to some of these thoughts and ideas.

What I'm talking about is the concept of Ask - Seek - Knock. The extended version of this is as follows: Ask - and it shall be give to you; Seek - and you shall find; Knock and the door shall be opened to you. We'll get into the specifics of these the rest of the week when we discuss "Ask" on Tuesday, "Seek" on Wednesday and "Knock" on Thursday.

But today, as a way of introduction, I want to go back and again talk about the need to RAISE YOUR LEVEL OF EXPECTATION!

Why is this so important?

If we don't have an expectation of something greater in our lives then there will be no desire and no need to follow the A.S.K. concept. Why? Because, again, you are happy where you are and have likely decided to "settle for less". (Go back two weeks ago and listen to that week's podcasts as well as the blog entries for that week on this topic).

Here's the bottom line: as I talk about each and every day in my podcasts, we ALL have the power and the ability to make things better in our lives! We ALL have the power to "turn things around" each and every day.

We also all have the ability to choose to do nothing and settle for less.

Raising your level of expectation doesn't mean you have to desire to become a millionaire. It doesn't mean you even have to desire to change jobs. You may love your job and you may be doing exactly what you were meant to be doing. AWESOME! GREAT!

However, I am a firm believer in the fact that ALL OF US (yes, even you) can improve ourselves a little each and every day. And, by doing so, we become better husbands, wives, dads, moms, friends, workers, bosses, etc.

And, by doing so, we likely teach a very valuable lesson to our children and/or to those that are around us each and every day.

It's the belief that we can always LEARN more and improve our lives and expand our knowledge base just a little bit more. From what I understand, it has been proven that in order to keep our minds "fresh" and "sharp" it is important for us to "exercise" our brains by challenging our brain with new information.

So, yeah, even if you LOVE what you are doing - there is still the ability to raise the level of our expectations.

Now, there are also those of you that have become discouraged and depressed to the point of giving up any hope that things might become better in your life. You've waived the "white flag" and surrendered to any thought of expecting more in your life.

DO NOT GIVE UP!

Stop relying on others or "outside sources" to make that happen in your life - IT IS UP TO YOU! It is YOUR job to improve your life!

It is NOT the governments job! Some have that expectation in their life and are waiting for the government to "give them" what they thing is their "right".

Some have the expectation that FAMILY should take care of them and they sit around and whine and complain when the "family" doesn't come through as they "should".

If either of these describes you - SHAME ON YOU!

You have taken the road of least resistance and have become LAZY - yeah, I said it - instead of raising your level of expectation! Don't raise your level of expectation of what you expect OTHERS to do FOR you, but raise your level of expectation about what YOU can do for YOURSELF!

When we begin to understand that, indeed, it is up to US to improve our lives then we realize that, indeed, there is no limit to what great things we can accomplish in our lives!

You've likely heard the phrase, "If you want things done right you have to do them yourself!". Apply that to what we are talking about here and think about it for a moment!

Those that are sitting around waiting for others to do FOR them are basing their "results" on what the "others" decide to do. And, again, it usually isn't to the approval of the one that has settled for this type of lifestyle.

WHY NOT DO IT YOURSELF?

Raise your level of expectation of what is POSSIBLE in your own life and take charge of this area of your life!

Believe it or not, it's true! (Think about it, whether you believe something or not really has nothing to do with something being true or not. What is true is true!)

What is true? The possibilities are ENDLESS for you when you take this approach with your life! You will be surprised at what you are able to accomplish in and with your life once you begin to raise your level of expectation!

And, this week, I will be sharing thoughts with you about this concept of "A.S.K." and how this can greatly aide us in this desire.

Thanks for allowing me to share these thoughts in your life today. Be sure to listen to the podcast that goes along with it by either going to iTunes and searching Future You University or Mike Spillman OR you can listen in by going to http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com

As you go through your day today, always remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Claim Your Print!

CLAIM YOUR PRINT!

How quickly are you to sign your name to something? Do you understand what I mean? How quickly are you ready to put your signature on the bottom of a piece of paper?

It depends on what the paper is, doesn't it? And, even at that, if you are like most people, there is still a bit of nervousness to signing your name "on the dotted line". (You know, I've never signed on a "dotted" line - they've all been solid!)

Why are we so nervous about doing this? Because it is legally binding! Your SIGNATURE means that YOU - yes YOU - agreed to the terms of whatever it is that you signed.

Sure, someone might be able to forge your signature and, unless proved as being forged, that signature is also binding to YOU.

Wow, very much like our fingerprints, huh?

In today's thought I want you to also consider the concept of your signature much like an artist puts his signature on a painting. Doing so states, "Yes, this is MY work! Like it or love it, it's mine. I did it!"

How much of your LIFE are you willing to put your signature on? Good or bad, like it or love it.

You see, when we do a job and we do it well, we LIKE for people to know that we were responsible for it. Go on, admit it. You know it's true. However, if it doesn't turn out the way we planned we more or less hope that we don't have to take credit for the mistake, right?

And, even then, when it comes back to us (our "signature" declares our "ownership" of the project) we may even try to come up with any and every kind of excuse as to why - even though it's "ours" - it didn't turn out well. Ouch!

Here's the deal - the question is not, "Are you WILLING to put your signature on everything that you do in life?". The FACT is, you do.

All week long we have been talking about our "life's fingerprint" and the imprint and impact we make on our world. Good or bad, positive or negative we are leaving our imprint behind. Uniquely ours.

And so it is in today's thought and message. Like it or not, we ARE "putting our signature" on everything that we do.

Our job. Our family life. Our social life. Our spiritual life. Each and every relationship. Everything. That's right - EVERYTHING!

Yes, I understand that, in a family, there are others that are involved as well. But, what does YOUR "signature" and "fingerprint" say about YOU in this situation? Apply this thought to each of the situations mentioned above as well as those I didn't mention.

Here's the challenge: Live life in such a way that you are willing to accept both the good AND the bad and still PROUDLY have your "signature" and "fingerprint" attached to the situation!

Claim your print!

Take responsibility. For the good AND the bad.

Don't make excuses. Don't hide. Don't boast. Just simply claim your print!

I'm thinking that, when the reality sinks in that everything we do is attached to us via our "signature print", it might change our approach on life in general.

Hey, it's just a fact. Like it or not, we leave our "signature print" behind on everything that we do and upon everyone with which we come into contact. Wow!

Are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No.

But I am me! I am trying to IMPROVE "me" each and every day.

I hope that you never "settle for less" in your ongoing development and improvement in your life. I hope that your "signature print" is significantly more meaningful in your life TODAY than it was when you were a teenager.

Seriously, do you think anyone would take you to court as a kid in kindergarten if you got hold of a document and scribble your name on it? Why not? Because that "signature" really didn't carry any significance to it at the time! But now? That's a whole different story, right?

Claim your print!

It's yours and on one else's!

Pretty cool, isn't it?

And as you go through your life leaving your "signature print" behind, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Claim Your Print!

CLAIM YOUR PRINT!

Yes! It's Me!

Yes! It's Me!

Take a look at yourself. Go ahead. I'll wait. Go look in the mirror and take a good look.

So, I see you're back now. Well, what did you see? My guess is you picked out the blemishes and the things that you don't like about yourself. Is your nose too big? Eyes too close? Ears? Lips? Eyebrows?

Who do you look like? One of your parents? An uncle? Grandma?

Even though you might look LIKE someone else - you don't look like anyone else. Just like your fingerprints, you are unique in all the world! That's right. No one else is exactly like you.

Your family. Your life experiences. Your DNA. All of it goes in to make you who you are - not just in how you LOOK - but also in how you conduct yourself and the "fingerprint" that you leave behind as you make your way through your world.

I'm typing this up a little early. Tomorrow (when I usually would put together this blog entry) I will be sitting with a family at the hospital as their elderly father goes through some major surgery. It's going to be a rough go for him and his family. Thing is, it HAS been quite a rough go for them over the past month or so.

This elderly gentleman and his wife had celebrated their 66th anniversary not too long ago only to have her pass away within two weeks after this celebration. Wow! That's a LONG time! And they have BOTH made quite an "imprint" on their world.

As I sat through her funeral not too long ago one thing that I heard talked about over and over and over again was her smile. And she DID have quite a wonderful smile - no matter what was going on or how she felt. Several talked about how that smile - HER smile - lifted their spirits when they felt that things just weren't going to work out for them.

She left her "life's fingerprint" on many, many people in this community and far beyond.

Do other people smile? Sure they do. But not like SHE did - it was HER unique smile! No one else could smile like "Miss Margie"!

I still remember my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Huddleston. She left quite a "fingerprint" on me with her loving and caring ways. Oh, she was firm, but all of us in her class knew that she loved each one of us. She made such an impact on me that I took my wife to meet her before we got married. I had moved and lived miles away but I wanted my wife to meet her. She made that big of an "imprint" on my life.

There are others in my life and I know that there are those in your life that have left their special "fingerprint" on your life.

And so it is with YOU! You are unique! You are "uniquely you"!

Hey, has life dealt you a hard blow? Don't allow yourself to use that an excuse - use it to propel you forward in your life and understand that it is also part of what makes you "you"!

We all have a limited time on this earth. What will you do with yours? What "fingerprint" will you leave behind? What "impact" and "imprint" are you leaving as you go through your day.

There is no one like you!

So, when the world asks, after seeing your "life's imprint", "Hey, is this you?" , you can proudly say, "YES! IT'S ME!"

And, as you do so, don't forget to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Your Fingerprint I.D.

Your Fingerprint I.D.

We have already discussed in yesterday's entry how each one of us has a unique fingerprint - no two are exactly alike. Not even identical twins.

We also discussed how each one of us are unique individuals based on our personality and our mindset. And, that being so, we all leave our own "fingerprint" on the world around us as we go through our day.

So, the question is this: What does your "fingerprint" (your "life's fingerprint") say about YOU?

We all have the power to control and direct that impact, that imprint that we leave behind! Isn't that a powerful thought to consider? Although you cannot change your physical fingerprint, you CAN change your "life's fingerprint" - it's up to you!

(Aren't you continually amazed at how many things come down to this?)

We also discussed the fact that, no matter who you are and no matter how insignificant you may think you are, we ALL leave an imprint on our world. All of us.

Yes, it may be a POSITIVE imprint and it may also be a NEGATIVE imprint. Again, the choice is ours. If you don't like the imprint that you are leaving behind - CHANGE IT!

When we consider the "ripple effect" of our lives, there could very well be generations of the future that are touched by what you do today!

So, yes, what you do today DOES matter!

What will be written about you in the book about your life? What will be written about you in the book of those that made a great impact on their world? Will you have a sentence mentioning you? Will there be a whole paragraph? A whole page? Will there be an entire chapter dedicated to the impact you've made through your life? Perhaps even your very own book. Or...will there be any mention at all?

It's up to you and I want to encourage you to make an effort to be sure that the impact you leave is one that is positive, encouraging and helpful.

We need more of those fingerprints in our world, wouldn't you agree?

And, as you go along leaving your "life's fingerprint" behind...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Your Life's Fingerprints

YOUR LIFE'S FINGERPRINTS

Most of us understand the basic facts about fingerprints, right?

Most of us realize that no two fingerprints are alike but did you know that this was also true in regards to identical twins?

Did you also know that Koala Bears have fingerprints that can be mistaken for human fingerprints?

And, finally, did you know that injuries such as burns or scrapes will not change the ridge structure: when new skin grows in, the same pattern will come back.

These are all interesting facts, aren't they? And, they also bring about some thoughts about a different kind of "fingerprint" that we all leave behind.

I call it our life's fingerprint. The imprint, the impact that we all make on our world - yes, even you!

I know that many people feel that they have no impact on the world and that there existence doesn't matter at all and that the world would be no different if they were to disappear.

WRONG!

Yes, I know it's a movie, but let me call your attention back to that classic, "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart. You remember, don't you, that the premise of the movie is that of the character played by Mr. Stewart having the chance to see what his world would have been like had he not even been born. He found that his life DID INDEED have far greater impact than he imagined.

Now, I know of no way to do this for you. HOWEVER, I do know that it is true of your life as well as everyone else's.

Yes, there are those that leave a negative - and sometimes even an evil - impact upon the world. But there are many that impact their world with a POSITIVE imprint that reaches far beyond their imagination.

We've talked about this idea before when we've mentioned how YOUR imprint can impact generations to come without you ever even knowing about it. POWERFUL!

Now, if you noticed, I highlighted a couple of phrases in that last fingerprint fact listed above. I highlighted the words, "will not change" and "same pattern" in regards to our physical fingerprints.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS: We CAN change our life's fingerprints! If we don't like the impact or are not satisfied with the type of fingerprint we are leaving on our world we CAN change it and/or correct it!

Again, it's that wonderful ability we all have to make a CHOICE!

Isn't life wonderful? "As long as there is breath there is hope!" helps us to understand this each and every day.

Know this: you DO leave and you ARE leaving a fingerprint - an imprint - upon your world.

What does your "identifying mark" say about you?

Join me the rest of this week as I discuss this topic further in both my podcast and here, in my blog. Thanks for joining me today!

And, as you go through your day remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Your Life's Fingerprints

YOUR LIFE'S FINGERPRINTS

Raise the Bar of Your Expectation

Raise the Bar of Your Expectation!

The thought of everyone being exceptional is a nice thought, isn't it? It's a pleasant thought for all parents to believe that their children are exceptional and it's also a pleasant thought to all adults to think that they, themselves, are exceptional.

The only problem with this is the fact that it is simply not true. Sorry to burst your bubble!

One of the definitions for exceptional given by dictionary.com is as follows: "unusually excellent; superior".

Now, when I read this definition it tells me that if exceptional means unusually excellent then I need to check out the definition for that word as well. Here it is: "possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good."

Now friend, as bad as we may wish that this were true of everyone the plain truth is that it IS NOT! The truth is that, lowering the bar does NOT make everyone exceptional. We can applaud that approach and say that it breeds confidence and excellence and whatever else you want to say but the simple truth is that it breeds MEDIOCRITY! (Go back and listen to one of the earlier podcasts this week to hear my full rant on that).

You already know this, but I'm here to encourage you to do the opposite. Instead of lowering the bar of expectation and settling for less, why not RAISE THE BAR OF YOUR EXPECTATION and stretch and grow along the way?

Can you imagine watching a basketball game without any goals? What would be the point of the competition - to see who could dribble the best? When you think of the activities during the NBA's "All-Star Weekend" they are all focused on either the physical goal (3 point contest, dunk contest, All-Star game, Rookie game) OR achievement goals (the skills challenge).

What about football? What if the goal lines and the goal post were removed from the competition? What about hockey? Soccer?

What if there were no home runs in baseball and no one kept score in ANY of these events? Oh, I know some of you might say, "What would be so bad about that?"

Well, again, go back to one of my previous podcasts/blogs for the week and answer the question if YOU want to ride on an airplane or get behind the wheel of an automobile that was constructed (if that would even be possible) by a group of people that never had grades or goals to measure their abilities. Go ahead, you can take my seat ANYTIME!

You see, this is one reason why we must WAKE UP and FIGHT to remove this "disease" of mediocrity from our own lives! It IS a killer of hope and a killer of dreams. And, it is also a killer of life.

"A killer of life? How so?"

Here's how: When you allow mediocrity (settling for less) to take root in your life you have ceased to LIVE. You have begun to "exist".

One sure way to rid your life of mediocrity is to RAISE THE BAR OF YOUR EXPECTATION for yourself!

Yes, this will take PLANNING , this will take FOCUS, this will take DEDICATION and this will take ACTION - but what noble effort doesn't require these things of those that pursue?

"Oh, but if I raise my expectations too high I might fail!"

Here's a secret for you... you WILL fail in your efforts! ("Wait a minute, I thought you were here to ENCOURAGE me, Mike!?")

How do I know that and why would I say that? Here we go - pay close attention!

If you set goals and you reach them easily then you need to raise the bar of your expectations AGAIN! Easy success is not really success, is it? If you don't have to change anything in order to reach that goal, what has been accomplished?

Imagine someone saying this, "Today I'm going to set a goal of doing everything like I always do!"

What would you say about that?

This is why I say RAISE the bar of your expectation... if you're already "clearing the bar" without any effort you're not really accomplishing much.

Oh, I understand that a great athlete may be able to jump over the bar higher than anyone else and be considered the best! However, if it has become easy for him and he never tries to "raise the bar" to see if he might be able to do even better, his accomplishment has ceased! And, sooner or later, someone will surpass him while he sits by admiring his past accomplishment.

I could go on and on with this but, the bottom line is this: IT IS UP TO YOU to raise the bar of your expectations!

When - no if - you fall short, get up, learn the lesson that needs to be learned before you make your next attempt and then go at it again! DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS!

The idea of EVERYONE being exceptional as a way to boost confidence is a lie. The "confidence" is not confidence at all - it is a false feeling that will catch up sooner or later and lead to dissatisfaction, disappointment, disillusion and, eventually, disgust!

Why not raise the bar, rid your life of mediocrity and settling for less and PUSH yourself FORWARD to greater things in your life?

You DO have that ability and you CAN accomplish more IF you dedicate yourself to the process.

And, as you do so...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Kick Mediocrity Out of Your Life!

Kick Mediocrity Out of Your Life!

Are you sick of it yet? Are you sick of the fact that you likely have allowed some level of mediocrity to seep into your life?

Even the "strongest" of us will likely have to admit that we have allowed this on SOME level. YUCK!

Are you tired of allowing this "disease" to suck your energy, hope, focus and life out of you?

No? Then find something else to do other than reading this blog.

You still here? Good! Then that means that YOU, my friend, are not only tired of allowing this in your life but you are now read - and determined - to RID your life of this dream-killer.

Stop cuddling, feeding and giving mediocrity a home in your life! Now, if you listened to the podcast you know I couldn't think of the name of these characters that I'm about to describe, but, alas, this morning I looked it up on the internet!

Remember the "Gremlins"? Cute, cuddly little pets! However, if you allowed them to get wet they reproduced like crazy and if you fed them after midnight they turned into little, DESTRUCTIVE, monsters!

Yeah, that's mediocrity.

You're also aware of the warnings about carbon monoxide poisoning in your own home, right? Odorless, silent and deadly! In your own home.

Yeah, that's mediocrity.

Understanding that we NEED to rid our lives of mediocrity is great! Agreeing that we need to kick mediocrity "to the curb" is a wonderful thing! Admitting that you are sick of this "disease" in your life is a necessary revelation!

However...what are you going to DO about it?

Remember this formula: Decision DEMANDS Action!

Without action, a "decision" is just wishful thinking. Think about that.

What will YOU do to actively rid your life of mediocrity and then what will you do to KEEP IT OUT of your life?

If you KNEW that a killer was standing out on the sidewalk in front of your house just waiting for an opportunity to get into your house, what would you do?

Hey, wake up. That killer is there and that killer goes by the name, "Mediocrity".

You CAN do it! And I'm here to help.

But YOU have to do it. And you CAN do it. And you WILL do it... IF you are, indeed sick enough of it.

Tomorrow we will talk about the need of "raising the bar" in our lives in order to make this happen.

Think of how much better you life can and will be when you become "mediocrity-free"! Think of the power you will feel and think of the success you will achieve!

And, as you do so...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Is Mediocrity Acceptable?

Is Mediocrity Acceptable?

Let's start off by asking a few more questions that will help us answer the question found in the title of today's entry...

1. Is mediocrity accepted in our world?

2. Is mediocrity accepted in YOUR world? (your friends and relatives; the people you spend your time with)

3. Is mediocrity acceptable to YOU?

We're going to break each one of these down a little more in a moment, but I want you to understand that, many times, something IS or ISN'T acceptable to you based on the influence of those around you. Think about it and I'm sure you can come up with many examples of your own. Here are just a couple that comes to my mind today:

Example 1: Those that have been raised with religious mindset, have "gone to church" most of their life, spend their time with friends and family of the same mindset will likely a different view of what is acceptable and unacceptable than those that have had no such background. What may be perfectly acceptable to those brought up in a "non-religious home" might be considered unacceptable by those that were. This example could go on and on but I think you get the main idea AND, let me point out, that on EITHER side of this those ideas and thoughts can be changed by changing the people that they spend time with!

Example 2: Those that have been raised in a home that pays a lot of attention to manners (table manners, proper attire for certain occasions, etc.) will very likely have a different idea of what is or isn't acceptable than those that were raised in a much more casual atmosphere. The more casual family may not give a second thought to having their elbows on the table, talking with food in their mouth, laughing and joking at the table, etc. while the "manners family" might find all of this very unacceptable.

Again, you can come up with your own examples, but I wanted to give those so that we can understand that even in the area of mediocrity this can be true! So, let's break down the three questions presented above and see what we come up with, o.k.?

1. Is mediocrity accepted in our world (as a whole)? I suppose it's rather hard for me to speak about the world, so I'll focus my thoughts on the U.S.A. as to what I have observed in this area. My answer for the U.S.A. - YES! I do think that, in many areas and due to the "political correctness poison" that seems to rule so many times that we have allowed mediocrity to be acceptable. I know that many won't agree with me but, in my opinion, when we have activities for our children (ball games, school, etc.) where we don't keep score, we don't give our awards unless EVERYONE gets them and we don't give out grades - all so that they can all feel ACCEPTED - we are accepting and TEACHING mediocrity! Be sure to listen to the podcast for today on a couple of questions I have for you concerning these ideas. I think you'll find that all of this sounds really good until you really see the ultimate outcome of such thinking.

2. Is mediocrity accepted in YOUR world? Again, you can go back to the two examples given above about how things are or are not acceptable greatly in part - many times - because of the influences around us. I really want to you sit up and take notice of this in your own life and see what kind of influences you are allowing in THIS area of your life! Here's a real clue on the acceptance level of those around you --- how often do you hear them make comments or suggestions to you or others in "your world" to just "let it go"? I'm not talking about letting go of anger or worry here. I'm talking about responsibility. Someone might say, "I really need to go back home and finish up on some paperwork that my boss needs done" and the reply might be, "Oh, just let it go. Don't worry about it! You can throw something together at the last minute, right?" -- WARNING SIGN! High school and college is a breeding ground for mediocrity in this way many times, so BEWARE of those that make up "your world"!

3. Is mediocrity acceptable to YOU? You likely will already have your honest answer just by considering the first two questions presented in this article today. You may even be surprised to find out how accepting you have become of mediocrity in your own life. That's right, you may need to make some changes in your life UNLESS you are satisfied with living a mediocre life and settling for less. It's up to you!

Most of us find the thought of mediocrity distasteful! But, just like with many things, given enough time, we can get used to almost anything.

DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP!

From yesterday's title - BEWARE Mediocrity! And, from today - FIGHT the tendency for it to become acceptable in your life.

And, as you do...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Beware Mediocrity!

"Beware Mediocrity!"

How many of us would line up to go to the restaurant that would advertise a "mediocre sandwich"? Perhaps they believe in the "truth in advertising" rule! (Don't you wish more restaurants were as open and honest as the "mocked up" sign above?)

Here is the definition of "mediocre" as given by dictionary.com . . .

MEDIOCRE: adjective
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.

Now, YOU tell ME - would you seek out a restaurant, a business, a car dealership, a doctor, a dentist, a school, a realtor (and on and on we could go) that promoted themselves using EITHER of these definitions?

Can you even imagine an advertisement coming across your television screen or the radio airwaves with the voice saying, "Our customers say we're neither good or bad! Heck no! As a matter of fact, they say we're 'barely adequate'!"

Now, let's get down to the point - how many of us have settled for these to be definitions of our own lives? OUCH!

Yes, we are continuing our discussion of the choice we have to either FOLLOW our dreams or SETTLE for less!

This is one of my greatest concerns about our young people. Yes, there are examples of young people that are doing some incredible things with their lives. But, my guess - and that's all it is - would be that for every one of THOSE teens there are likely ten others that have already settled into a lifestyle of accepting mediocrity for their lives.

The struggle for us all in trying to correct this problem (with our young people - we'll get to you and me next) is in trying to help our young people understand that, indeed, the WORLD lies open and waiting for them! That, at their young age, they can accomplish SO much! That, at their age, they have the time to mess up several times and still recover! That, IN this age that we live in there is likely more opportunity available for them than ever before in the history of our world.

But, what kind of example are WE (yeah, this is the "me and you" part I just talked about) setting for them in this area? Let's look at the things I just mentioned that our young people need to understand and notice that WE, too, need to understand the same things:

1. The WORLD lies open and waiting for YOU! Regardless of your age, this fact is true. Remember, stop making excuses (disguised as "reasons") and look around.

2. At YOUR age, you can accomplish SO much! This is NOT true only for young people. Age really doesn't have a lot to do with it IF you understand and realize point 1: The world lies open and waiting for YOU.

3. At YOUR age, you have the time to mess up several times and still recover! Now, granted, the younger you are the better this is for you. But let me ask you this question: How old are you now and how many times have you really messed up already? Oh, and let me ask you this one, too: Are you still here? Remember, "As long as there is breath there is hope!"

4. IN this age that we live in there is likely more opportunity available for YOU than ever before in the history of our world. You see, this one fact removes the age barrier for the most part. This one fact removes the geographical barrier BIG TIME! As I have mentioned lately on my podcast, if you have the ability to listen to my podcast and/or to be reading this blog, then you have access to some of the greatest tools that can open up GREAT AREAS OF SUCCESS in your life. Regardless of who you are, where you are and how old or young you are.

One of the quotes I use in today's podcast is from Ayn Rand and it is the following: "The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work."

Now, along with that, I'd like to include another quote because I think they go "hand-in-hand" with one another. This one is from Scott Alexander which says, "All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy."

Too many of us have sought out the EASY in our lives and, because of this, have allowed and settled for mediocrity in our lives! WAKE UP!

Chances are that if you feel empty, lifeless and in a dead-end situation that you have allowed and settled for mediocrity in your life.

Yes, some people actually seek out the easiest, least demanding job that they can find. It doesn't matter to them that it is also the least PAYING job and that they can be replaced by just about ANY "Joe Mamma" on the street - it's easy and that is exactly what they seek.

Many companies use these mind-numbing (and often "butt-numbing"!) tasks to weed people out. Yes, these tasks are likely necessary and must be done. But, again, ANYONE can do them and many times companies will start workers off to see who will rise above and who will settle. Kind of like the example given last week about a glass of water with impurities. And it's like the proverbial example of the "cream rising to the top"...SEPARATION!

We are going to be continuing this discussion for the rest of this week and I encourage you to take an inventory - an HONEST one - of your mindset and your attitude as you consider these thoughts. Could it be that YOU have settled for less and, by doing so, settled for mediocrity?

YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT and don't you ever forget it!

Desire to "rise above" and, as you do so...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Give Up or Get Up?

Give Up or Get Up?

Here we are again talking about CHOICE.

YOUR choice to either give up and settle for less OR to get up and follow your dreams.

Even when you think you CAN'T (go back to yesterday's message) you still have a choice.

"Oh, but you don't know me, I'm not making excuses, I have a really good reason...."

NO, you don't.

Again, go back to yesterday's message and check out the two people I mentioned there. And, while you are at it, add Dennis Walters to your list. Read about him here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/07/eveningnews/main6372899.shtml

Yeah, I'm pretty adamant about this - contact any of these people (along with many others) and tell them what your "reason" is as to why you CAN'T do something. Really. Go ahead and see what they have to tell you.

Please understand that I DO understand that some people have more negative things stacked against them than others.

However, the fact remains that you can still RISE ABOVE anything - ANYTHING - in your life if you are determined to do so.

It just depends on how badly you want to get up and follow your dreams.

And, yes, just like in the story about Mr. Walters in the link above - sometimes your dreams take a different route, but you ARE resilient enough to change course and still survive, thrive and succeed!

Aren't you?

Sure you are!

So, what will YOU do?

Give up and settle for less?

or....

GET UP and FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS?

You can do it... GO FOR IT!

And, as you do..."Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

You Can't WHAT?

"You Can't WHAT?"

I love that little poster up there. It's so true and factual yet, many of us still live by the mantra of, "I can't."

You're kidding, right?

How many of these have you used or ARE using currently: "I'm too young. I'm too old. I'm too fat. I'm too skinny. I'm too dumb. I'm too smart. I'm a male. I'm a female. I live in the North. I live in the South. I live in the East. I live in the West. I live outside of the U.S.A. I live IN the U.S.A. I'm poor. I'm under- educated. I'm over-educated. I'm too pretty. I'm too ugly. I'm handicapped....."

Oh, I'm sure I left some out. My guess is that some of you have even said in your mind, "Well, MY reason is not there...I'm too _________________!"

Really?

For any and every "reason" (by the way, these are EXCUSES that we have "dressed up" as reasons) that we want to give there is someone that IS following their dream in spite of that "reason". Every one of them.

If you want to have your eyes opened to your pitiful excuses - yeah, I'm getting THAT blunt today - then do an internet search on the name Rick Vujicic and watch some of the videos about his remarkable stories. Type in the name Bethany Hamilton, the teenager who had plans of becoming a professional surfer before having her arm ripped off by a shark. Do you think she just gave up?

And there are many, many more that can really make us take a serious look at our life of "I can't!"

You see, these two examples (and again, there are many more) are of people that DID have a really strong "reason" to say, "I can't" on a LOT of matters! But instead, they have boldly declared, "YES I CAN!"

There are so many of us that have gotten lulled into a life of mediocrity by following the life of "I can't". We have settled for less because we have told ourselves - for whatever "reason" (EXCUSE!) - "I can't follow my dreams."

Look at that picture at the top of this entry again. "Someone is always doing something that someone else said was impossible!"

As with everything else - this one is 100% totally up to YOU!

Isn't it time that you stopped whining and complaining about why you CAN'T and started stepping up and boldly declaring that you CAN in spite of what may be "wrong" in your life?

Better yet, why not get in contact with Rick and/or Bethany and you tell THEM why you can't.

Kinda' puts it in perspective, doesn't it?

Follow your dreams or settle for less. What will YOU do?

And, as you go through your day, be sure to remember...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Time Passes ANYWAY!

Time Passes ANYWAY!

"Time flies when you're having fun." We've all heard this, right? But here's my quote on this:

"Time flies whether your having fun or not!"

Oh, I do understand that, when our minds are preoccupied with something else besides watching the clock or watching the calendar that we lose track of time. "What? It's midnight already?"

However, - check this out for yourself - time moves at exactly the same pace whether you are having the best time of your life or you are having the worst time of your life! That's right. There are still sixty seconds that will pass for each minute and sixty of those minutes for each hour. Your day, my day and everyone's day still has twenty-four of those hours in them.

It's the same for everyone.

Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, who passed away in October of 2008, said the following: "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read.”

You see, time passes by for each of us - regardless!

So, whether you are FOLLOWING your dreams or you have decided to SETTLE for less...time will still pass you by!

I heard Jim Rohn say the following: "Here is a good question to ask yourself. Ten years from now you will surely arrive. The question is, where? We don’t want to kid ourselves about where; we don’t want to kid ourselves about the road we’re walking."

Wow! Are we getting the point now?

How many of us - myself included - can look back over time and be amazed at how much time has already passed by in our lives? How many of us wish we could go back and reclaim some of that time and make better use of it?

FACT: We cannot.

You've heard me say it or have read it in my writings - once gone it is gone forever! We cannot reclaim it and we cannot relive it! We can make apologies and try to make amends for the mistakes that we have made, but the mistakes cannot be removed. We can celebrate the good times in our past and we can relive them in our memories. However, we can never go back and actually relive them and enjoy them again.

It is a sad fact of life that some people seem to never move on from their past. They either life in depression due to their horrible past or they are stuck reliving their "glory years" of successes that have long passed.

WAKE UP!

It is TODAY! NOW is the time! Listen, since time is going to go by anyway, why not do something POSITIVE with the time that you have?

"Oh, but I'm old and I don't have much time left!" But you DO have time left, right? At least as far as you know. So why not DO SOMETHING POSITIVE with the day, the hour and the minute that you have RIGHT NOW?

Hey, whether we are having fun or not has absolutely NOTHING to do with it...TIME PASSES ANYWAY. What will YOU do?

And, AS you "do"...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Follow or Settle?

Follow Your Dreams or Settle for Less?

I absolutely LOVE that picture! You've been around me and my recordings and/or blog long enough to know that I firmly believe that, sometimes, BLUNT is the best approach.

And, this... is straight to the point!

No sugar coating. No tip-toeing around the thought. Straight on and in your face.

Hey, let's admit it - most of us don't like to really think of our life choices in this way. We like to downplay the emphasis a bit so that we don't feel so bad about our choices.

But hey - plain and simple...the choice is YOURS about what you want for YOUR life! (Hmmm, where have you heard THAT before?).

YOU decide (and no one else) if you want your life to be average or memorable. You.

Another way to look at this is as follows: Will you follow your dreams and live a memorable life OR will you settle for less and live an average life?

In today's podcast I share a scene from the movie, "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney that my wife and I watched the other night. Now, if you listened to the podcast (or if you listen to it AFTER reading this) you will discover that I was not really overwhelmed by the movie itself. As a matter of fact I couldn't even remember the name of the movie and had to look it up on the computer before typing up this entry for my blog.

Anyway.... (I digress)

In this movie, the character played by Mr. Clooney has the job of flying around country and letting employees of different companies know that they have been fired. Wow, wouldn't you love THAT job? He and the others that had the same job had some "canned" line that they would share with the "newly-fired" people on the other side of the desk in order to try to give them something positive to think about concerning their future. They gave some "blah-blah" line about the great opportunity that awaited them now that they are sitting where they are sitting and that many great people began right where they were at.

Does it shock you that I call this a "blah-blah" line?

Oh, the line in and of itself is TRUE and a great truth! However, the one's saying that line didn't believe it any more than the shocked person sitting across from them. There was no belief in the statement by anyone in that room.

However, the character played by Mr. Clooney takes it a step further in one instance and actually seems to talk from the heart to an older gentleman who has just learned that he has been "let go".

The older gentleman shows Clooney a picture of his kids and asks, "What do I tell them?" and goes on to talk about the fact that he believe that his children looked up to him and admired him for his work and that now this admiration would be gone. Mr. Clooney pulls a shocker and tells the man that he didn't think his children admired him as much as he thought.

You can imagine the older gentleman's thoughts on THAT opinion!

But, here we go - Clooney asks why did he think that children admire professional athletes (beyond their ability to hit home runs or dunk a basketball). Clooney declares it is because these athletes have followed their dream and that children admired then for following their dreams.

Hey, how many times were we told at SOME POINT that "what we wanted to be when we grew up" was an impossibility? Talk about crushing your dreams!

Mr. Clooney went on to point out that he noticed that the gentleman across the desk had actually gone to a French culinary school before taking this job that he had occupied for the past several years (20 - 30 years).

"What, initially, did they dangle in front of you - what dollar figure did they offer you in order for you to give up on your dream and take the job? And when were you planning to quit and follow your dream? And at what point did you decide to stop following your dream and just settle for less?"

The gentleman admitted that, indeed, he had planned to work that job for just a short period of time and then he planned to go back and follow his dream of becoming a chef and that, indeed, he had settled for less than his dream.

Friend, although this is from a movie script it happens every single day and it is also quite likely that it has happened or IS happening to you!

So, as we begin this discussion this week, ask yourself this question: "Will I follow my dreams or will I settle for less?"

Only YOU can answer that question.

We'll continue this discussion tomorrow but, until then...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Learning Life's Adventure Lesson

Learning Life's Adventure Lesson

(Yeah, the type/font is going to be a little different because I want this to look more like something you'd do for a class -- will it work? Eh, who knows?)

This week we have been talking about the fact that life is an adventure! That being so, we must understand that the word "adventure" does not always mean "enjoyable". Let me remind you that the adventures we see people participate in usually have the "exhilaration factor" highlighted and you usually don't see the struggle aspect.

Sometimes you do, and I'm thankful for those programs that show the good, the bad AND the ugly of an adventure!

Too many times we wistfully watch a television program and think about how wonderful it would be "IF ONLY" we could have such an adventure in our life!

So, DO something about it.

That's right. If you want to live a life of adventure then DO it!

You see, you don't have to go climb a high mountain in a foreign country or travel around the world to have an adventure. Sure, it'd be quite an adventure to be able to do those things but, my friend, GET THIS POINT - adventure is awaiting you each and every day right where you are! Are you willing to take the risk (the good, bad AND the ugly) that comes with it?

And, yes, trying to figure out how you're going to survive when you have several mouths to feed and you just lost your job IS an adventure. Sure, it's one we'd rather not have to live through - but, regardless, it IS an adventure.

"Oh wait, that's not the kind of adventure I was talking about when I said I wish I had some adventure in my life."

Sorry. Too bad. It happens anyway, doesn't it?

Without repeating myself too much please understand that you CAN survive. The proof comes in the fact that either YOU have survived before or you know others that have done so. So, YES, either you can do it AGAIN or realize that you, too, CAN survive and make it through this "adventure" in your life.

You will hear - my guess is 100% of the time - those that experience these extreme adventures in their life talk about what they learned about themselves in the process. I'd guess that if you go through such a thing and you DON'T learn some important lessons about yourself - you probably died along the way!

But not before you learned something.

The example I used in today's podcast was this: "If you're going to have your heart ripped out due to losing a loved one, why not - WHY NOT - try to learn something through the process?"

Again, perhaps we learned not to take people for granted, or the day for granted. Perhaps we learned the value of telling those close to you that you love them as often as possible. But, learn SOMETHING! And, the thing is, whether you actually realize it or not, you DO learn something from life's adventure struggles.

If you are currently involved in a "life adventure", take a moment and ask yourself a.) what you ARE learning and, b.) what you NEED to learn in the process.

If you are struggling financially perhaps ask yourself what you NEED to learn so that you can prevent this from being a recurring cycle in your life.

THIS IS IMPERATIVE if we are going to not only survive but also THRIVE in this adventure we call life!

You can do it and you CAN grow and learn as you encounter life's adventures.

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike