You Be YOU! (Everyone Else is Taken)

There is no one else like you. Period. There never HAS been anyone like you and there never WILL BE anyone like you. Ever. 

Wow! Let that sink in for a moment. 

You are, indeed, one-of-a-kind and, yes, you are UNIQUE!

That being said - and is a FACT - why compare yourself to anyone else or why try to be LIKE someone else?

I understand having a mentor or a "hero" that you want to emulate or "be like", but don't try to be a "carbon copy" of that person. You simply cannot! We'll talk more about this in the next topic but, don't even try to COMPARE yourself to anyone else - there is no need!

Your finger prints identify YOU and no one else! Again, with that being true, don't you think (as well as believe and understand) that your MIND also is unique and that no one actually thinks about things and approaches things exactly the way that you do? They don't - they CAN'T!

So, take your unique talents and abilities, find your passion and your purpose as we discussed in the last article, and you go out and make a positive and powerful impact on your world

Only YOU can do that the way that YOU can do that!

And, as you do so, always be sure to...

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

Mike

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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

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