Copy Those That DO!

That's a pretty powerful quote shown in the above graphic, isn't it? We'll get to it in a few moments but, first, let me continue on with today's story that is continued from the story in the LAST blog. Got all of that?

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to go back and read the last blog article because today's article is DIRECTLY tied in to what took place with the situation that I discussed there. 

Picking up where I left off in the last article, Asher (my 3 year old grandson) had enjoyed an afternoon of being in a friend's pool last weekend when he and his sister, Em (4.5 years old) came for a visit to our house. He had done the same thing that his sister had done for much of the afternoon - he stayed really close to my wife, hanging on and not wanting to take a chance being away from the "safety" of hanging on. This was despite the fact that he was wearing a life jacket. 

I was busy with Em, helping her finally trust me to the point that she stopped clinging to me and started enjoying being able to splash around the pool and even move around a bit with her life jacket on and a "swim noodle" wrapped around her. And, she finally got rid of the swim noodle and enjoyed getting around with just her life jacket on. 

Asher had watched all of this and, once he saw his sister taking that step and seeing her enjoy the "freedom" that came with taking action based on her trust, he decided to do the same thing. 

He watched someone who was DOING (his sister) and decided that he, too, could do the same thing!

Hey, don't miss this important point: SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU! That's a bit of a "side track note" from the main thing we'll be discussing today, but it is IMPORTANT for us to realize this fact in ANY area and EVERY area of our lives. 

Now I'll get back to the main focus of this article - in any area of your life in which you seek improvement, FOLLOW THOSE THAT ARE SUCCESSFUL. And, by the way, the only ones that are successful are those that "do" as opposed to those that "talk". 

I've discussed before about the decision that you will have to make in this process when you do this, which is: Are you willing to DO what they have DONE for the success that you seek?

In my example, Asher watched his sister Em SUCCESSFULLY let go of her fears, trust her "Poppa" and actively enjoy her time in the pool even more than she had been doing. She acted, he watched and then he, too, took action.

That's how it works, friend!

It's also important to be careful of who it is that you watch, observe, "copy" and follow! Again, only copy and follow those that DO and that DO so SUCCESSFULLY. 

Whether it is concerning parenting, your marriage or other relationships, your job and/or career as well as your goals and dreams - seek out those that have done it successfully and perhaps are STILL doing so. If possible, take advantage of the opportunity to visit those that are still around and "pick their brain" as to the "secret of their success". 

Several weeks back I talked about learning from "Other People's Mistakes" and I called it "O.P.M Wisdom". In the same - but opposite - way, we can also learn from "Other People's Successes", which we would call "O.P.S Wisdom". 

So, who are YOU watching? Are you paying attention and even taking notice of those that are successful in whatever area it is that you seek success as well? 

Watch. Observe. And then copy those that DO. 

As always, if you haven't done so yet, you need to listen to the podcast on today's topic. Just click one of the links at the bottom of this article to do so. There is SO MUCH MORE information and additional thoughts that I share with you there that is not found in this article. 

If you listen by going to iTunes, please take a moment and leave a review - I thank you in advance! Also, be sure to stop by the FYU fan page on Facebook and let me know that you left that review AND to just say "hello" and let me know that you are benefiting from Future You University. 

As always, THANKS for joining me today and, please, share this with as many as possible and always be sure to keep moving forward, closer to your dream!

And, until next time, whatever you do,  be sure to...

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

Mike

Future You University   FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

SHARE and TEACH

CONCLUSION: "Share and Teach Family and Others!"

"Learning", of any type, is achieved through sharing of information. Wouldn't you agree?

Parents, teachers, and others pass along information to our children and they learn - good or bad - that which is shared with them. 

If you will notice on the picture above, I have circled the focus of today's article: "Share and Teach Family and Others!". When I originally wrote the main phrase about finding and keeping our joy and peace, I realized that it was also important to TEACH and SHARE and, especially, to do so with FAMILY FIRST and then others. 

Let's talk about sharing and teaching with our family first. There are not many things that are more valuable than to help our children learn how to find JOY and PURPOSE in their lives. Notice I said, "teach them HOW TO FIND" and not, "tell them what it is". That's one thing we must be careful of and avoid. We can NOT tell anyone else what it is that brings joy and purpose in their life but we CAN help them in the process of discovering that for themselves. 

Go back and read again the articles on finding our joy and also on finding our purpose and use some of the information there to help in this process. We can help our children understand that, often, we find true joy while serving others. We can point out how this is discussed and promoted in the Bible as well as just about every "positive information" source that has ever been printed. You can also hear just about every motivational speaker say the same thing (as well as write the same thing).  WHY? Because it's true!

Helping our children to discover joy through serving as well as helping them understand that they DO have a purpose in life and it begins in the world that is nearest to them - their world - is one of the greatest things we can do for them. Help them to understand that, when we say that their purpose in life begins in "their world" that we are not saying that they are the "center of the universe of their world". Make sense? 

And, don't forget, they will learn best by observing what YOU AND I do in our own lives. That's right - they're watching us!

SHARING AND TEACHING OTHERS - I'll start this part of the article where I finished the last one. Those around us will most often "learn" through observing how we put this into practice in our own lives. Don't miss the importance of this and, especially, how it relates to this process with others (non-family).

Here's a little "warning" for you: If you try to "tell" everyone what to do in this area, you will likely be met with resistance and ridicule. And, when you have a "bad day", you will hear about it from them because you have already presented yourself as an "expert" in the area. Hey, I'm just being real here. People don't like to be "told" or "preached at" by others. 

Here's how this works with others...

Your example through discovering this in your own life will work as a "magnet" for some and it will draw them to you. Notice I said, "some". Not everyone will pay attention and not everyone WANTS to find joy in their life. I know that sounds odd but, truth be told, a lot of people ENJOY being miserable regardless of what they say.  (Also be aware that these are the same people that will likely do as much as they can to ridicule you and discourage you along the way. They are miserable and they want everyone else to be miserable as well).

But, there are those that will be "drawn" to you and the way that you handle yourself. Living a life of joy and purpose will automatically draw others to you and, many times, they will want to know HOW you are able to live life the way that you do. Don't take this as a sign to "dump it all" on them at one time! No, just take the time to share with them a little at a time - over time - so that it can be absorbed along the way. Most importantly, continue to SHOW THEM by how you live. 

You can share these articles with them. You can also share that free resource from Jack Canfield that I discussed recently (and I highly recommend that). Just go to jackcanfield.com and look for the 10 Day Transformation Course and sign up for it - again, it's FREE!

Help them understand (and this applies to our family as well) that this is something that takes time and that it is a process. It's not a magical formula that happens overnight. Every person is different and it will take some people longer than others.

That's o.k.

Life is a marathon and not a sprint. Enjoy the journey and don't focus solely on the destination. 

Thank you for allowing me to experience joy and purpose in my life through sharing this blog and my podcast with you on a regular basis. I do mean that - THANK YOU!

If you haven't done so yet, you need to listen to the podcast on today's topic. Just click one of the links at the bottom of this article to do so. There is SO MUCH MORE information and additional thoughts that I share with you there that is not found in this article. 

If you listen by going to iTunes, please take a moment and leave a review - I thank you in advance! Also, be sure to stop by the FYU fan page on Facebook and let me know that you left that review AND to just say "hello" and let me know that you are benefiting from Future You University. 

As always, THANKS for joining me today and, please, share this with as many as possible and always be sure to keep moving forward, closer to your dream!

And, until next time, whatever you do,  be sure to...

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

Mike

Future You University   FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

 

The Power of Positive People

Hey everyone, meet Herman. Herman is mowing my yard today and he is the reason for today's blog/podcast and videocast - "The Power of Positive People".

 

Let me tell you a little about ol' Herman, o.k.?

 

I met Herman yesterday afternoon after I had gone through a particularly rough day combating the forces of negativity. Although I had separated myself from a person that was continually spewing negativity and, basically, pure hatred my way there were still times - due to the situation - that I had to be around that person. And, even though I do my best to fill my mind with as much positive input as I possibly can, it still did have an impact on my attitude.

 

Enter Herman.

 

Herman mows yards for a living and he lives about a mile from my house. I pass by his home/business every day and I've planned on stopping by for the past several days because I needed to get my yard mowed. But, for one reason or another it just didn't happen until yesterday.

 

On the way to the hospital to visit with my wife's mom following surgery I told my wife that I was going to stop by Herman's on the way home so I could see if he could do my yard for me. Of course, this was even before I had any idea of the day was going to go and, on the way back home, I did as I said I would do and stopped by Herman's.

 

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I had never met Herman before and had no idea what kind of man he was but, honestly, I was just hoping that he was not going to be a negative person since I had encountered more than I wanted to throughout the day as it was.

 

From the moment Herman came out of his door he put a smile on my face! He was happy and joyful and PROUD of what he did for a living and treated me as if he had known me all of my life. He followed me to my house to take a look so that he could give me a quote and, again, the whole time he was there I was laughing and smiling while joking around with him.

 

After he left last night I told my wife, "I needed to meet that man TODAY!". Some would just say that it was a coincidence, but I believe that everything happens for a reason and I needed to meet Herman YESTERDAY! Remember me saying that I had intended to stop by there for several days before I actually did? I needed it yesterday and that is when I met Herman and I had the opportunity to once again feel "The Power of Positive People".

 

Friend, YOU need such a person or a group of this type of person in your life, don't you? Maybe you have them already. If so, you need to be around them as much as possible and you also need to let them know how much you appreciate the positive impact that they have on your life.

 

One other thought...maybe YOU can be that person in someone else's life. Think about it. We all come into contact with people every day that, likely, we don't give much thought to such as the person behind the check out at the local store. Let me encourage you to take the time to actually engage in conversation - even if it is short - that lets them know that you not acknowledge their presence but that you appreciate what they are doing. IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR DAY, that I can promise you.

 

You may never, ever know the impact you've had on others when you decide that you are going to be a powerful, positive influence in the lives of those around you each and every day. But know that, indeed, it DOES make a difference. Never forget that.

 

Do it. And as you go about spreading this powerful, positive influence be sure to...

 

 

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

 

Mike