Read, Study & Learn!

Read, Study and Learn!

If you are at all like me, once I finished college I wanted to STOP studying and - how silly of me - stop learning! It was a sign of immaturity and, I believe, temporary insanity to be thinking such a thing!

However, it didn't take long for me to understand and realize that, even if that were my true wish, it just wasn't going to come true! One WILL always be continuing to learn whether they want to or not!

So, here's the thing - we need to make this a "WANT TO" situation in our lives. And, yes, at the same time, it IS a "HAVE TO".... if we plan to continue to move toward our goals and dreams!

Can I point something out right up front? I believe there is a BIG difference between "reading" and "studying". Yes, it is true that you cannot study without reading but it IS possible to read without studying.

So, my focus for this blog today is very similar to what I said about "practice" a few days ago when I worded it as, "Practice With Purpose!". The same is true with this, "Read With Purpose!".

What is it that you hope to achieve as you read? Now, I know that there are times that we read stories just for pure enjoyment and escape and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, if that is ALL that we read -- aren't we kind of sticking our heads in the sand and not living in the real world?

As with everything, we must look at balance and, again, PURPOSE.

There are times that we read with PURPOSE (not the fictional story times) and we need to make sure that we follow through with that purpose.

FOLLOW THROUGH

Why emphasize that word? Well, first of all, follow me through this line of thinking (pretty snazzy there, huh?).

IF we read with purpose (and, by the way, everything we do should have PURPOSE in our lives) then we won't just read to say that we accomplished that task for the day. We will READ in such a way that will cross over into the area of STUDY. And, if we STUDY with PURPOSE we will also LEARN!

Read --> Study --> Learn

I remember in High School as well as college how I studied with one thing in mind. Try to pass the test. That was it! That was my goal and my purpose! That is why, many times, I would stay up all night cramming at the last minute hoping I'd retain just enough to pass the test. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not.

But I can tell you, without a doubt, one thing that DID NOT happen in those situations. I did not LEARN!

Learning takes place longer than the immediate need. Learning implants itself in our minds so that it is ready to be brought back out of that memory file to be used again when needed!

What's that old saying? "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

What does that mean? It means simply this - If I did not LEARN from the first situation then SHAME ON ME!

So, learning takes place when we embed and incorporate what we have read and studied into our minds and our lives! This is what happens when we READ and STUDY with a purpose!

A few suggestions:

- Keep on reading this blog along with others that encourage and inspire you

- If you haven't done so, go to my website (http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com) and request the FREE report that you will find there. It's not long but, again, don't let the simplicity fool you. (I will make the podcasts that I did based on that report available to you very soon).

- Go to the "products" tab on that same website and order your FREE copy (pay s/h) of "Think & Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. Wow, what a great book and, indeed, this is one to be read AND studied!

- If you have some favorite e-books that you have yet to print out, DO IT! Having the material in front of you so that you can highlight, underline and make notes improves the study process and, thus, the learning process.

- Go to Success.com (if you don't subscribe to the magazine) and look over all of the FREE information that you find there. When you find an article that you really like, PRINT IT OUT for the same reason I just mentioned in the previous paragraph.

- Go to your local library and check out all of the wonderful books in the field of personal development! Don't write in the book BUT take a notepad along with you so that you can jot down notes from those books! Keep all of these types of notes in one notebook so that all of these wonderful thoughts and ideas can be easily located!

If you are not in the habit of reading, WORK ON IT and FORM THAT HABIT.

I used a quote on today's podcast from the late Charlie "Tremendous" Jones in which he said, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read."

Wow. Think about that and commit yourself to do the following each and every day: Read, Study and Learn!

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

Mike

Quitters NEVER Win!

Quitters NEVER Win!

Yes, I know you've heard the saying before: "Quitters never win and winners never quit!" - but it's true!

It is literally IMPOSSIBLE for you (or anyone) to WIN when they QUIT! Quitting puts you "out of the game" it takes you "out of the race" and it puts you on the sidelines.

You have heard me say many times in the past that the only time that one truly becomes a failure is when they quit! Failing to meet your goals does not make you a failure! Making mistakes DOES NOT make you a failure!

QUITTING MAKES YOU A FAILURE!

Quitting flies in the face of one of my sayings that I use a lot in my podcasts: "As long as there is breath there is hope!"

"Oh, but I can still get back in the game at a later time, right?"

Sure you can. But, it is very likely that you will quit again.

Why do I say that? Because we are creatures of habit!

If it is your HABIT to QUIT - you will quit again. However, if it is your HABIT to FIGHT and NEVER GIVE UP - you will fight and you will never give up!

Our lives are lives of HABIT! Just think about your morning routine - go through it in your mind right now. Don't you tend to do the same thing every morning in your preparation for work?

Many of us even have BAD habits! Perhaps it biting our fingernails or smoking or overeating or many other numerous bad habits. You've probably also heard this saying, haven't you? "The best way to break a bad habit is to drop it!"

So it is with the habit of quitting. STOP IT and DROP IT!

You see, since the thought, "As long as there is breath there is hope!" is true then it is true that you CAN change this habit - BREAK IT - and continue on with your pursuit regardless of how difficult it becomes.

Yes, you CAN change the habit of quitting which means you then change your "loser mentality" which, in turn, improves your whole mindset!

And YOU CAN WIN!

IF (that's a might big word for only two letters, isn't it?) you don't quit.

IF you determine to never give up!

IF you are persistent and determined!

IF you continue to feed your positive mindset!

It's all up to you. It's YOUR choice. But there is always help along the way - such as this blog and my podcast. Take advantage of resources such as this and NEVER EVER QUIT!

And, all along the way, be sure to...

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

Mike

Practice With PURPOSE!

Practice With Purpose

The title that I actually stated on today's podcast for this message was, "Practice, Practice, Practice". However, after getting into the podcast I began to focus on the idea posted above - "Practice With Purpose".

What do I mean and why are we talking about practice?

Everything you do today is practice for tomorrow. That's right! Yes, I know that I always emphasize the fact that "tomorrow" doesn't actually exist and that all we have is today. That is true, BUT we must still prepare ourselves for every "TODAY" that we have, wouldn't you agree?

What is the PURPOSE of practice? Think about it. The PURPOSE of PRACTICE is to work through mistakes and correct them so that you don't make them "in the game".

That being said, we can now relax and understand that it is o.k. to make mistakes as long as we have a PURPOSE and we work to CORRECT those mistakes - make sense?

In today's podcast I share the story of a basketball team that I was on in Jr. High as well as Sr. High. We ran and we ran A LOT! Lap after lap after lap and spent very little time practicing plays, dribbling, etc. I would guess we spent as much time running (if not more) as we did in actual practice. And, guess what? WE WERE TERRIBLE! When we got into a game our ball handling skills were not what they needed to be, our plays didn't work well and, overall, we just didn't seem to know what we were doing.

WHY? Because, in my opinion, our PRACTICE lacked PURPOSE!

Sure, we could run up and down the court all night long with the best of them (and, by the way, we DID do a lot of running up and down the court trying to catch up with the other team!) - but that is not what would allow us to play competitively.

We moved to a different town for my Senior year. New school, new team, new coach and yes, new philosophy!

Guess what? We ran and we ran A LOT! But, guess what else? We won and we WON A LOT! If I remember right, we only lost 3 games that whole year.

What was the difference? At this new school our PRACTICE had PURPOSE!

You see, although we ran as much (if not more) than I did at my old school, very little of it was done with laps and sprints. Most of the running we did was in practice. We practiced FULL COURT (not half court like a lot of teams) so that we would run up and down the court while dribbling the basketball, getting set up to run the play, blocking out to get rebounds and also playing defense. By doing so, when we actually got "in the game" we knew what to do and how to do it and - guess what - we were also in excellent shape and could still run up and down the court all night long!

So it is with each and every one of us every day.

Yes, TODAY is PRACTICE but we must PRACTICE with PURPOSE!

Do NOT allow yourself to just drift through your day and use this "practice" idea as an excuse. "Oh well, Mike said it's o.k. to make mistakes, so I'm alright."

NO!

Again, the PURPOSE of PRACTICE is to learn from and correct those mistakes! We must ALL be learning from and correcting the mistakes that we make TODAY so that we won't make them over and over and over again. This will enable us to experience SUCCESS more often as we move toward our goals and dreams!

Your life has PURPOSE today because you understand and realize that you PRACTICE today with the PURPOSE of improving your tomorrow!

Isn't that AWESOME to think about? Wow!

So, it is up to you! Yes, we will ALL go through the day. We will ALL have the same 24 hours to use (or abuse) and we will ALL come to the end of our day even if at different times of that day.

When you lay your head on the pillow at night you can either feel FULFILLED because you lived a day of PURPOSE or you can feel EMPTY because there was no PURPOSE or direction in your life at all during the day.

What will it be for you?

PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE and, as always...

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

Mike

A Salute To Our Veterans

A Salute To Our Veterans

Today's message is simply this:

THANK YOU!

A special "thank you" for all that have served and sacrificed to make our country great!

We have our freedoms because of you and your sacrifice and my hope and prayer is that we - as a nation - may always be thankful.

I am an American and, that being so, I believe that I live in the greatest country in the world. That greatness is built upon the sacrifice of many.

Thank a Veteran today!

"Open Your Eyes!"

Open Your Eyes!

I always have found it funny when anyone (kids OR adults) covers their ears because they don't want to hear what someone else is saying. It's funny when kids do it - but not that unusual since we expect children to do childish things. However, when I see an adult do this (and I have on more than one occasion) I really do get amazed and amused!

Once, when I was in either Jr. High or Sr. High (I can't remember which) one of my teachers began to really "chew" on me about something. Her voice was one of those types of voices that would give fingernails on a chalkboard a close run for the money on the "irritation" scale! So, what did I do? The only mature thing I knew to do - I put my hands over my ears to try to make it stop!

Uh...can you say, "Mistake!"?

Do me a favor and let's do a little experiment. Close your eyes or put your hands over your eyes - your choice. Wait, don't do it right now or you can't read the rest of this! But, tell you what -- go ahead and do that for about 10 seconds and then come back and read the rest of this. I'll wait.

O.k.....you back with me now?

Let me ask you a couple of questions about what just happened as you closed or covered your eyes. Was your vision blocked? Could you see anything? (The obvious answer to these would be "yes" and "no" - YOU COULDN'T SEE!)

Let me ask you another question. When you opened or uncovered your eyes, had anything disappeared? Now, I know, sometimes we wish we could do that and have certain people disappear! But, it doesn't work that way, does it?

So, since it is true that the same people are around us, the same "stuff" is around us (office, house, etc.) it is also true that we have some choices to make IF we'd like things to change!

CHOICE #1: MOVE!

This will work to some extent. We can have a change of scenery (city, house, work environment and some of the people). Notice I said "some" of the people! Now, if you're single, this might not apply to you but, if you have family (spouse and/or kids) with you then THAT part will still be there. So, this choice does not solve everything, does it?

CHOICE #2: STAY, BUT CHANGE EVERYTHING!

I'm not quite sure how you'd do this, but some people try to do it every single day. They try to change the people around them and get frustrated when they are unsuccessful in doing so. They even rearrange their furniture thinking that will make a difference - and it might give you a fresh feeling for a little while, but then what? Some divorce and find someone new. Some buy a shiny, red sports car. And on and on it goes. But, we all know that nothing really changes in this situation either, does it?

CHOICE #3: OPEN YOUR EYES and CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THINGS!

I would suggest that this would be your best solution. Oh sure, sometimes we DO need a fresh start and NEED to move to a different environment - I understand that. Yet, might I suggest that, even in such a situation, it still would benefit you to change the way you see things?

I can answer that for you - YES!

We ALL need to "open our eyes" and see the beauty of those around us as well as the blessings of what else surrounds us every single day!

It is easy for us to take the familiar for granted. It is easy for a husband to take his wife for granted as well as for a wife to take her husband for granted. It is easy for parents to take their children for granted and it is sure easy for children (of ANY age) to take their parents for granted.

Think about it - everything that I have discussed all the way back to the beginning of my podcasts (March 2, 2009) and blog all focuses on the fact that we must work on ourselves and work on CHANGING our mindset. This is also the idea behind "open your eyes" --- when we change the way we think we also change the way we see/perceive that which is around us!

By the way, this blog entry is totally different (for the most part) than the podcast recorded for today on this same topic. So, in reality, you get 2 for the price of 1 today! And, that price is simply some of your time.

Take this thought to heart and apply it to your everyday life. Expand on it. Make it personal.

But, whatever you do..."OPEN YOUR EYES" and see things differently than you have ever seen them before.

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

Mike