Be Open and Receptive!

Be Open and Receptive!

How receptive are you?

Now THAT'S a loaded question that would need some clarification before it could be answered, right?

It is for me! My question in response TO the question would be, "How receptive am I to what?"

That does make a difference, doesn't it?

I mean, if you ask me how receptive I am to you treating me to a steak dinner I'd say that I'd be VERY receptive to that idea! However, if you were to ask me how receptive I would be to jumping out of an airplane I'd probably hesitate and not be as receptive!

But there are times that we "close off" our willingness to be receptive without any good reason.

Here's the point of the thought for today... I want to encourage you to be open and receptive at all times and not be like a door that is open and closed at different times.

By being open and receptive at all times we might be pleasantly surprised at what might come our way and be a positive addition in our lives.

Let me give you a very simple example. When I was a kid my mom would bring home some frozen pizza from the supermarket from time to time and I absolutely disliked how they tasted! As I got a little older this was my only experience with pizza and, because of that, in my mind I had decided that I DID NOT like pizza! While in high school and in the school band we would stop off and eat from time to time while traveling and, at times, it would be at a famous pizza chain - but I WOULD NOT eat pizza. Why? Because I did not like pizza! So, I'd order their spaghetti (which wasn't that great) instead. I did this for years and would turn down offers from my friends to at least TRY the pizza to see what it was like. In my mind I already KNEW what it was like and I knew I DIDN'T like it!

I finally gave in during my Senior year of high school and tasted some pizza from this famous pizza chain and, guess what? I LOVED IT! What had I been missing all of these years? I had a new "favorite food" and it tasted NOTHING like that frozen pizza that I had tasted years earlier.

I wasn't very receptive to trying this fresh pizza because I had already closed my mind to the idea that it might actually be different - and better - than what I had already tasted before.

We are like that in so many ways and, because of that, we very likely are "missing out" on so many things through the years. Are you?

Have your eyes and ears open and, by doing so you will become open and receptive to WHATEVER comes your way in whatever form!

Yes, you will need to be like an air filter that, although it takes in all air, filters out the impurities that could harm the machine (whether it be a car engine or your home's air conditioner). Be open and receptive to all "signals" but be sure to have that filter in place so that you can filter out the negative and harmful impurities from your mind and life.

Here's the story that I shared on the podcast for today. I will share it with you and then I'll discuss it in more depth in tomorrow's blog entry.

Last Thursday as I was traveling back home on my motorcycle I passed by a church building that had a sign out front with one of those "changeable messages" posted. As I passed by I glanced and the only words that I saw was, "Believe in yourself". I honestly didn't think much about it as I drove on past but did wonder what the rest of the message was.

As I arrived back in my home town - about 20 miles past the first sign - I passed by a business that had one of those "scrolling marquee" signs with the "lighted message" scrolling across. Now, think about the timing of this as drive past at about 40 miles an hour only to see the following message roll across the sign: "Believe in Yourself".

Now, honestly, my first thought was, "Is there some kind of campaign today that I missed on the news about today being the day to 'believe in yourself'?" I really think my "logical mind" did not want to think anything of it at the time. However, that thought did not last long and I smiled to myself and thought, "No, Mike - that's a message for you today!" And, when I considered the likelihood of those two signs saying the exact same thing and the timing involved I got an even BIGGER smile on my face as I opened up mind to receive the message.

Now, that may sound "weird" (or whatever word you want to use here) to you - but I believe it to be true and I believe that it happens to me and to you countless times during the course of a week and, even during the course of a day and we simply miss it because we are not open and receptive to the idea of this happening!

I, like so many of you, struggle with self-doubt from time to time and lately I have been "back on track" with some of my ideas and plans and this message was EXACTLY what I needed to be reminded of - and I received the message that was given!

But that's not the end of the story!

I spent a few minutes at my office and then began to ride my motorcycle home when I passed a different scrolling marquee sign that, as I passed (again, think about the timing) I read the words, "and others".

"Believe in yourself and others".

Wow! I still get chills when I share that with you and I'll share more specifics about the importance of that message in my own life as well as yours in tomorrow's entry but, here's the deal - ARE YOU WILLING TO BE OPEN AND RECEPTIVE to the messages that come YOUR WAY as you go through your day?

You don't need to "look for them". If you are open and receptive you will see them when they present themselves! And, likewise, if you are NOT open and receptive they will come and go and you will never even know that they were there.

Try it. Don't judge that pizza on that frozen, cardboard-tasting one you had in the past. You may be surprised at what you find!

And as you continue on your journey, don't forget to...

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

Mike

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

The Wide Open Door

The Wide Open Door

When you listen to my podcast on Wednesday's you will always here me refer to it as "Wide Open Wednesday" - my little special name for that day of the week. However, just like "Magical Monday", "Wide Open" can apply to any and every day of your life!

This, again, is an absolutely TRUE fact in your life today REGARDLESS of what has gone on in your past or what circumstances you find yourself in today!

Now listen, I know people. That being said, I know that there are some of you out there that, when you heard my podcast on this (or on EVERY Wednesday) or when you read this blog entry, think "oh, he really doesn't know what he's talking about - he doesn't know MY situation!" and so you just blow this off.

Really? Let's look at one of the most extreme circumstances that I can think of in regards to one that MIGHT THINK that the "door" is not "wide open" for them. What about someone that finds themselves locked up in prison? Is the door still "wide open" for them?

YES!

I can hear you now, "Wait a minute! How can someone that is locked up in prison for the next ____ (you can fill in the blank on that one) years look at their day, week and life as 'wide open'?"

First and foremost, if you think this way then you are STILL letting your CIRCUMSTANCES dictate your life! In other words, when things are going good - life is good. When things are NOT going good - life is not good. What a miserable way to live and what a "waste of time" way to live!

You see, even the person that finds themselves locked up in prison has an opportunity to CHANGE their direction and their life! This happens first and foremost in their heart and their head with a decision to change the direction of their life - the direction of their journey. Just as it is true with ANYONE in the world, this person in prison can look to each day as being "wide open" for them as they now move down a NEW path for their future.

Our mind is an incredible thing! A person can be locked up behind a wall and still soar with the eagles in their mind!

We're talking attitude here! In the same scenario mentioned above, someone that is locked up in prison can just give up and give in to the idea that their life is ruined and that there is nothing that they can do to make it better and live a "closed door" life. What a waste!

Pay attention here - even someone that is locked up with NO POSSIBLE CHANCE of ever being released can live a life of "wide open" possibilities!

It's not WHERE you are but WHO you are that makes the difference!

Remember these quotes from Jim Rohn?

"Either you run the day or the day runs you."

"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around."

"The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become."

So, have do we have that point straightened out yet? It doesn't matter WHO you are or WHERE you live - it's WHO YOU HAVE BECOME in the process of adjusting and correcting the way you think and the way you live that counts!

And that, my friend, DOES mean that TODAY and every day is WIDE OPEN for you!

I really encourage you to listen to the podcast that goes along with this topic - there is a lot more there and even quite a few different/additional thoughts that I share there, one of those being the imagery in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz".

Do you remember the scene when Dorothy lands in that enchanted land? Everything in the movie up to that point has been done in black and white. But, when she opens the door everything appears in amazing color! WOW!

Isn't it time you stopped living your life in black and white? Isn't it time you began to experience your amazing, colorful life? Isn't it time YOU stepped through the door to YOUR destiny?

It's open - WIDE OPEN for you.

Now go.

And, along the way...

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

Mike