Starting Over...Again

Hey! It's "Turn-Around Tuesday!" Be sure to listen to today's podcast to find out the significance of this "tag" for today!

On your mark...get set....GO!

FALSE START! Line up and do it all over again.

Board game...roll the dice...move six spaces...space says, "GO BACK TO START!".

On a bit of a more serious note, perhaps you or someone you know had their life savings set back in a way that they thought was "secure" only to find out that it had all been wiped out or "swindled" away. Time to start all over after years of saving and putting back.

"I do...regardless of sickness, health, poverty and/or wealth...until death do us part!" Scenario one: the person standing across from you had other ideas of what the phrase "until death do us part" and they decided to bail on your marriage at the first hint or sign of struggle. Scenario two: Death IS what "parted" the relationship between the two of you and, regardless of how long the two of you had been married - like in scenario one - now you look at having to start life all over again without that person by your side.

You've planned out your path to achieve your goals and dreams and have even set a time-line only to find that time come and go without you reaching your intended result....START OVER.

You start over and "tweak" things a bit thinking you figured out where you went wrong and what you need to do to finally reach those goals and dreams only to find yourself "coming up short" once again...START OVER AGAIN!

And again. And again. And again. And again.

Question: How many times will YOU "start over" before giving up?

Question: Do you see yourself a failure because you had to start over? If not the first time, how many times do you start over before you begin to feel this way?

Question: How many times in your life have you EVER reached success the very first time you tried something that required quite a bit of effort, skill and knowledge? (I think I can answer that one for you - LIKELY, NEVER!).

So, here we are in the middle of the first month of 2012 and, perhaps, you ARE starting over for the _____th time.

So what?

The main thing is that you have NOT given up! When you get "knocked down" you can either GIVE UP or GET UP!

The choice is yours! Do you get that? The choice is YOURS and not someone else's.

Stop listening to the naysayers and the doomsday words of those that likely never attempt to "step out of the box" to better themselves. Stop listening to those that tell you that you should "give up" because, "After all, you've had to start over two or three times!".

SO WHAT?

If it's important to you and if it's of value to you - WHY GIVE UP BECAUSE YOU HAD TO START OVER?

Don't. Keep going. Keep moving. Never, ever give up.

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

Mike

Permanent Marker Dreams?

Hey! It's "Magical Monday"!!

Check out the podcast to hear my comments about what makes today "MAGICAL" - you'll be glad you did!

As we continue to talk about our goals and dreams I want to bring up the idea of HOW you write down these goals and dreams....do you write them down with "PERMANENT MARKER" or do you do as I do and use a "dry erase board"?

I mention in the podcast that one thing I like about that "name" is the middle word, "erase"!

Sure, you may also think about it as if you use ink or pencil to write these things down. The great thing about a pencil is the ERASER!

When I sit in my "war room" and look at my dry erase board where I write down my focus, plans, goals and dreams I have to acknowledge and realize that I have erased and started over many times.

Yet, I STILL am focused on the same thing....I've just had to take a different path from time to time and I'm still on the journey!

Sometimes there are roadblocks and set-backs but the key thing is to ask ourselves if we are determined enough or focused enough to "stay the course" and keep moving on toward that destination.

Don't get all worked up if you've had to adjust your time line for completion of your goals....the main thing to look at is this: AM I STILL MOVING TOWARD THOSE GOALS?

Check this out on a DAILY basis and ask yourself if you have made progress TODAY toward those goals and dreams. Even the old saying of "Two steps forward and one step back" will mean movement in the right direction.

Think about that fact. IT'S TRUE!

Don't be afraid to get the eraser out and don't be afraid to use that eraser on that dry erase board.

And, hey, if you've used permanent marker or ink -- don't be afraid to tear that up and start all over! We'll be talking about that tomorrow but, until then, be sure to...

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

Mike

"Merely Existing OR Truly Living?" (Conclusion)

"Merely Existing OR Truly Living?" (Conclusion)

"DON'T FORGET TO LIVE!"

As I conclude my thoughts on the topic of "Merely Existing OR Truly Living?" I hope that you have really taken a close and serious look at your life and asked yourself that very question in regards to your own life.

"As long as there is breath there is hope" has been one of my sayings that I have shared many times in the past and I know I will continue to share it many times in the future. The premise simply being that, as long as you are alive, there is ALWAYS the potential to improve your situation and make things better.

Are you ALIVE?

Are you LIVING?

No, I don't mean purely in the physical sense. I'm not asking if you have a heartbeat as you read this. (It would be quite a story if you DIDN'T have a heartbeat as you were reading this!).

In yesterday's blog I closed out with this quote that also came from the movie, "Tuck Everlasting"... "Don't be afraid of death but rather be afraid of the unlived life."

What do you think of when you think of living a life without regrets?

Is it simply trying to live life without doing much of anything wrong and, if you DID do something wrong, making sure that you reconciled the situation as much as possible?

For me, when I think of the idea of "living life without regrets" DOES take the previous thought into account BUT, in my mind, there is so much more to the equation. Let me explain...

I DO NOT want to come to the end of my life and have a long list of "what ifs" or "I wonder's". Do you understand what I mean?

I don't want to still ask myself, "What IF..." I had done this or that. I don't want to be wondering what would have happened IF I had stepped out - in spite of the fear and the unknown - and followed my heart and/or my dream.

Fear is truly an amazing emotion.

Think about this - fear can make you move like you've never moved before! For me, that type of strong emotion comes if I come across a snake unexpectedly. For example, my wife and I were walking a few years ago and it was just about getting dark when a very small (but still very poisonous) copperhead snake cross right between our feet. I didn't see it but I didn't HAVE to see it when I heard her say, "There's a snake!" Friend, she didn't yell it, she didn't say it with excitement. She said it in a very normal and calm voice. But, for me, it didn't matter! I didn't have to see the snake or know where it was. All I had to do was hear the words, "There's a snake!" and I was IMMEDIATELY "high-stepping" and doing it quickly! (Stop laughing!). Yes, she laughed hard and long at my immediate reaction to the situation but I really had NO CONTROL over my actions. FEAR MOVED ME to MOVE and to do so QUICKLY!

Now, let's look at a different scenario. Thank goodness I've not really had this one happen to me, but let's say I'm walking through the back yard and I come upon an adult copperhead that is coiled up and ready to strike. Very likely the very same emotion of FEAR that caused me to move and move quickly in the previous example would likely cause me to FREEZE in my tracks and make it to where I couldn't move no matter how badly I wanted to.

Same emotion with two different reactions.

Which will you allow into your life?

Will you allow the FEAR of the "unknown" or the FEAR that comes from past failures cause you to "freeze in your tracks" and keep you from making any more progress in your life? Go back and look at the examples I used yesterday about over-protective parents and realize that FEAR can definitely put us in the category of "merely existing" instead of "truly living".

Or, perhaps, you will allow the FEAR of dying with regrets ("what ifs" and "I wonder's") push you forward REGARDLESS of the past failures or the fact that you are not sure of what may happen.

Which ever form of that fear is the greatest will determine your action.

Yes, fear CAN be a great motivator and, if that is what it takes to get you started, then let that fear of dying with regrets get you going.

Then, guess what? You will begin to see that there was nothing to fear in the first place (as far as "the unknown") and you will begin to LIVE life and cease to merely exist.

Oh, I'm sure that we ALL will die with SOME regrets when it comes to an "unfinished list of things to do and see". But, just think of how wonderful it will be to look at that list (even if it's in our head) and KNOW that we sure enjoyed living life as we checked off as many as we could!

HERE'S TO LIFE AND LIVING!

And it all starts right now. Today.

Until next time...

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

Mike http://www.michaelspillman.com/

How Do I Close the Gap?

"How Do I Close the Gap?"

Sometimes we take note of people in the news that are wealthy beyond our imagination and wonder why that can't be us.

So many times we also begin to "attack" that wealthy person (knowing very little - if anything - about them) so that we can feel better about why we are where WE are in relation to where THEY are!

I mentioned an article in the podcast about "Myths About Millionaires" and I've posted it on the fan page on Facebook - go there to check it out. (If you're not a member, go to http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com and click on the contacts tab and join up to become a member of our fan page there).

Hey, listen - you and I have both known this for a very long time...the easiest way to try to make ourselves feel better is to try to tear someone else down! We see it all of the time and, let' admit it, we've also DONE it from time to time.

But, may I suggest that we look at this a different way?

Perhaps, instead of "pulling them down" we need to STEP UP!

It is interesting that, with the article I mention, the comments that people left about the article just emphasize what I'm saying even more. Whining and complaining and the majority of the those leaving comments have NO IDEA what they are even talking about.

Why not let it be DIFFERENT with YOU?

Again, you don't have to be a millionaire to change your life, right?

What amount of money would make difference in your monthly budget? Would $1,000 a month make a big difference in your life? My guess is that it would! That's an extra $12,000 per year!

Whatever is needed in your life - what are YOU doing about it?

Are you sitting on THIS side of the gap looking over at the OTHER side and just whining about it? Are you just sitting and WONDERING how come things are the way that they are?

OR are you ready to start putting some plans - backed by ACTION - into place so that you can "close the gap"?

Guess what? It's all up to YOU!

Hey, you should know by now - if you don't already - that this is the main point of just about everything I say. YOU. No one else so stop looking around. YOU.

What will YOU do?

Start today and, as you do so...

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

Mike