Wow, It's Been Longer Than I Thought

I knew I hadn't done a blog article in a bit but didn't realize that it's been almost a month! My apologies for being away longer than I had planned.

A lot of things have taken place during this period of time, which had SOME influence on the length of my absence. 

My youngest son had just gotten married a few days before that last article. Then, earlier this month my two oldest sons were both deployed to serve in a foreign land. So, yeah, a LOT of changes have taken place over the past few weeks.

And, on top of all of that, my wife and I have begun a new business venture. 

What about you?

How often do you find yourself realizing that, "Wow, it's been longer than I thought!" ?

All of you have likely heard the saying, "Time flies when you're having fun!" but, as I get older, I've come to realize that, whether you're having fun or not - TIME FLIES!

Are you kids growing up too fast? Are you having a hard time believing that they will be in ____ grade in school this year? Or that they have already been married for ____ years?  Or that they already have children of their own? 

Maybe you've realized that more time than you wanted has passed since you decided to do something different with your life. Know what I mean? Maybe it was back at the start of the year when you, along with millions of others, made one of those "New Year's Resolutions". 

And, now, the year is already MORE than half over. 

Really?

Here's the thing...time passes and things happen. Changes take place in our life, both good and bad or, at least, things we would prefer NOT to change. Or at least not as quickly. 

But they do anyway. And time still passes. Days come and go and, before we realize it, those days have turned into weeks, months and even years. 

If you've been with me long enough then you know that I have often talked about the fact that, all we really have is TODAY.  We can't go back...that 24 hour period that we call "yesterday" is gone and can never be reclaimed. The 24 hour period that we call "tomorrow" has not yet arrived and, just to be blunt, it may not ever arrive. So, when you really look at it, all we have is TODAY...right now!

So, friend, make the most of what you DO have. Make the most of TODAY. 

It's here right before you. Now. 

And yeah, what you do with it DOES matter.

So, until next time, whatever you do...

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

Mike

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Growth Pains

The opposite of being in and staying in a rut is GROWTH!

As opposed to being in a rut (as we discussed in our last series), GROWTH is not always easy. And, as a matter of fact, GROWTH is sometimes - if not always - PAINFUL!

Take a look at the picture above and, as if you can't do this without me pointing it out to you, notice the guy wearing jersey number 21. See him? Can you pick out which one I'm talking about?

Of course you can...he's kind of hard not to miss, isn't he?

I love seeing the different shapes and sizes of kids around 5th - 9th grade. They come in all shapes and sizes and it doesn't matter if they are boys or girls. There are some (boys OR girls) that are "behind" on the growth and maturity scale, there are some that are about where they should be and then there are others - and they stand out - that are way ahead on the growth and maturity scale.

Like number 21.

I have a picture somewhere of me in the 6th grade after our team won a basketball tournament. Now, I wasn't as tall as the guy in the picture above but I was still "head and shoulders" above the rest of my team mates. I remember, specifically, while in Jr. High School being in my bed at night, after a basketball game, "kicking" my legs in my bed at night because my legs hurt so bad. I was experiencing "growing pains".

It's a fact of life.

Anytime you choose to GROW (or growth takes place as a natural part of life) it's a challenge and, again, it's often - if not always - painful.

Growth requires CHANGE which, again, is not always easy!

Here's another way to think about it: Though painful, those very pains let you know or reminds you that you are, indeed, GROWING and that you are NOT "stuck in a rut".

So, again, you can choose to stay in that rut and never be challenged with having to make a decision or face a choice. But also remember that you have no "say so" in your life for the rut will make all decisions for you.

Never cease to grow. NEVER give in to the "pain" or "uncomfortableness" of necessary growth.

Giving up is the "easy" way out.

Be sure to join me for the next article in the series entitled, "Grow or Die".

Until then, whatever you do, always be sure to...

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

Mike

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The Struggle of Learning

 

 

 

OUCH!

 

Guess what? Learning from your mistakes and/or failures is PAINFUL!

 

But, you know what is even MORE painful? Making the same mistakes OVER AND OVER AGAIN and never learning anything!

 

And, it's painful to watch as well.

 

Growth (which is really what learning promotes) is always a painful process whether it be in business (or any type of organization) or even physically.

 

I remember when I was a teen lying in my bed at night, on my stomach, kicking my legs because they hurt so much from the "growing pains" that I was experiencing. But it's not always physical when you are "growing up", is it? Emotionally learning how to deal with social skills as you go through those "awkward stages" of physical growth can sometimes be difficult to navigate.

 

But, just as in these examples I just shared, though "learning" and growth can be difficult they do go "hand in hand" and they DO produce positive results.

 

IF we don't give up and IF we don't miss out on the opportunity to LEARN from our mistakes and failures.

 

Seeing people do the same wrong thing over and over again is just plain painful to see. But, you know what? Whether they realize it or not, it's even more painful to live that kind of life.

 

So, "suck it up" buddy and GET ON with the process of learning and growing through your mistakes and failures.

 

You will make it as long as you don't give up and as long as you don't stop learning.

 

Yeah, now you get it.

 

Until next time...

 

 

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

 

Mike

 

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