CHANGE Happens!

I have already posted the Vlog and podcast that I did for this topic earlier this week and I'm just now getting to this blog article. So, that being said, you need to BE SURE to listen/watch one or the other. WHY? Because I don't have a script that I follow and there will be different/additional thoughts and ideas shared in the podcast and Vlog than there will be with this article. (Check out the links at the end of the article).

I'm not sure how much I've shared via my blog articles about the changes that have taken place in my life since the start of this year (2018). I did not label them as "New Year's Resolutions" but, rather, just a "redefining of my direction" and my future. 

Just a quick review: I have been in the insurance business off and on for several years now and joined up with an agency shortly after the start of the year that I believe will be the best connection that I could have possibly made in this industry. Along with that, I have also made positive plans to be a part of the John Maxwell Team by the end of 2018. 

This insurance business is the "vehicle" that I have chosen as my way of getting from where I started the year to where I want to be at the end of the year. (Go back and read the articles about "What Do YOU Want" and the "Journey" series for more information).

This past Monday morning I found out that the person that was my "manager" and was also the one that hired me into this particular "branch" of this agency had quit. Boom! Immediate and with no warning. WOW!

A few years ago that would have thrown me for a loop and caused me to stress out about what was going to happen next! And, I'm sure it probably has done that to some people in this group. 

Why do I say that? Because CHANGE is something that makes us very uneasy and it is also something that, many times, we do not know how to handle.

Look at that graphic at the top of the article again. If you have lived for very long then you know that what is said there is absolutely true! One of the few constant things in life is CHANGE!

Everybody and every thing changes every single day. (Listen to the podcast or watch the Vlog for a more in depth discussion of that thought).

What do YOU do when CHANGE comes your way? And friend, if you say that it hasn't - it WILL.

This next statement is also a FACT - "With change comes opportunity." And, many times (if you are determined to approach it with a positive attitude) that opportunity can be a BETTER opportunity.

That is the case with the change that has taken place this week with my insurance business. It has now ended up to where the person that is now my "manager" is, to be honest, a better equipped person to do so. He already has infused "new blood" into this whole thing which will provide me with even more opportunities to be successful. 

Again friend, CHANGE WILL COME. Prepare your mindset in a way that will keep you from "freaking out" or crumbling under the pressure that COULD come with that change. Preparation is the key to this situation as it is with most every situation that you face each and every day. 

What will you do? What have you done? I'd love to hear your comments on how you have handled change in your life. You can leave them here but I would prefer that you leave them on the fan page on Facebook .

May you find a better opportunity before you with each change that comes your way.

Until next time...

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

Mike

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Stepping Away From the Mundane



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(This article first published at: http://www.empowernetwork.com/mspillman/blog/stepping-away-from-the-mundane/ )

 

I (or I should say, my wife and I) walked away from my job two days ago and I feel more alive today than I have in a very long time.

 

This thought/idea may sound completely foreign to you but, for me, it's been a life-saving move and one that was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for my life and my mission in life.

 

Like many, I had allowed myself to get into a situation (and this situation was mostly due to my mindset) to where I felt I had no other option but to crawl to a J-O-B. This was a job that ANYONE could do (and DOES do), that required no special skills and, quite honestly, had no future whatsoever. It was strictly a J-O-B and a way to bring some money in and to pay the bills. It paid the bills (most of the time) but that was ALL it did. There was no freedom with our time and there was not enough left after paying bills to actually enjoy what time we did have when we were off from that job.

 

But here's the worse part: IT WAS SUCKING ME INTO A HOLE THAT MANY NEVER PULL THEMSELVES OUT OF - it was like quicksand. Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that type of concept.

 

I/we stayed there longer than I had planned and I knew that if I didn't do something DRASTIC (something that 98% of those there would not ever do) then I, too, would be stuck there continuing to dread every day.

 

 

Friend, THAT'S NOT WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT!

 

So, I/we walked away. Yes, we have plans and things in action that we have had to put off due to having that J-O-B. And I feel more ALIVE, EXCITED and ENERGETIC than I have felt in a very long time.

 

As a matter of fact, a couple of hours ago my wife and I sat on our back porch watching the rain (which we love to do but haven't done in a very long time due to that J-O-B), smelling the rain and just talking excitedly about what all life had to offer us now that we have cut the chains that were dragging us down and keeping us attached to that mind-numbing activity from which most people never, ever break free.

 

What about you? Does that scare you? Does that sound crazy or does it MAKE SENSE to you? Does it EXCITE you?

 

But how?

 

That's the fun part, friend. But first and foremost you have to CHANGE your MINDSET! Instead of being AFRAID (fearful) of taking such a step you need to WAKE UP and be MORE AFRAID (fearful) of staying where you are if you DO NOT LIKE where you are. Make sense?

 

But, as always, it's up to you. Think and plan - YES! But, sooner or later those thoughts and plans must position yourself to finally take ACTION.

 

I'm so glad I/we did.

 

Until next time, whatever you do, be sure to "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