YOU Own the Pricing Gun!

Yesterday we talked about the fact that we do not need to allow ANYONE to try to determine our value and/or our worth. But yet, sometimes that is easier said than done, right?

Here's the thing - just because something is easier said than done does NOT mean that we should not do all within our power to DO IT! Hey, if that were the case we'd all give up ANY attempt at improving our lives because it's not always easy.

Is it?

Of course not! And, when we have people around us that seem to take joy in trying to determine our worth and convince us of THEIR view in this regard - well, that just makes it a little tougher!

However, REMEMBER: use that "negative garbage" to fuel the fire for your future! Use the words, "You can't" or "You never will" to drive you to look back at them with, "I DID!".

Now, I know that sometimes we all have problems realizing our own worth. Many times it is because of the input and impact of others, but sometimes we just don't feel very valuable.

In today's podcast I talk about the art work of the greats and the fact that they were not considered so great while they were alive! The phrase, "starving artist" came from the fact that many of these artists were literally starving because no one would pay them anything - or much of anything - for their work!

But now, long after these artists have been dead, their work may be worth MILLIONS!

With that in mind, think about YOUR life and the fact that YOU'RE NOT DONE YET! I mentioned the phrase, "Please be patient with me. God isn't done with me yet!", to encourage all of us to realize that this is a true fact! WE'RE NOT DONE and, that being so, NO ONE (not even ourselves at time) can determine the value of our lives!

Do you understand and realize that you may likely never know the extent of your reach? What do I mean by that? When you reach out with a kind word or deed to someone do you really think that it stops there? My friend, the truth is, IT DOES NOT!

You likely never see the IMPACT of your kind word or kind deed on that person and how it may encourage them to do the same for someone else. And then, guess what? THAT person may be impacted in such a way so as to "pay it forward" to still another person. I wonder how far reaching that kind word or deed that YOU did really is?

WE HAVE NO IDEA! Isn't that exciting to think about?

So, my friend, don't "devalue" your existence and your life! You truly have no idea how valuable you really are to some that you may never know and that may never know you!

The Christmas classic, "It's A Wonderful Life" is a great example of this! When the lead character played by Jimmy Stewart is shown the IMPACT made if he had NOT existed, he is able to see how far reaching his "little existence" really was!

And so it is with YOU...with ALL of us!

So, remember - NO ONE else but YOU owns the pricing gun on your life! And, likely, NOW is NOT the time to put that price tag on your life just yet. But, even if you do, know this - THAT VALUE CONTINUES TO GO UP DAY AFTER DAY!

That's just plain ol' cool!

And, friend, as you go about sharing your value and worth...

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

Mike

From "You Can't" to "I DID!"

From "You Can't" to "I Did!"

Who do YOU let decide your future?

Going back to what we talked about yesterday and using the "garbage" of negative thoughts to "fuel the fire of our future pursuits" I want to continue to encourage us all to understand and realize that WE are the ones that determine the value of our lives!

My friend, Mike Magdaleno (http://www.MikeMagdaleno.com) shared a quote by Brian Tracy on one of his Facebook status updates yesterday - "Say no to anything that is not a high-value use of your time and your life." I made a comment that the challenge many times was determining the value of these things in our lives. I loved Mike's comment about that - "Make sure YOU (emphasis mine) determine the value and not outside forces, ego, etc."

Many of us, if not ALL of us, have had others try to determine our value and our worth for us. And, as we all know, they don't hesitate to share with us (dump on us?) their opinion about this matter! Remember the story I used yesterday as the basis of my discussion? "You are an exhibition of failure and all the children in school need to know about you..."

How DARE anyone say that about a child! How DARE anyone say that about ANY other person! And now, may I step on YOUR toes? How DARE you allow it and/or believe it!

Now, I understand that, as a child, you may have felt helpless and intimidated. But what I'm talking about is now that you are an adult. How DARE you allow this in YOUR life!

That's how determined we MUST become in taking control over this most important aspect of our life - OUR WORTH AND VALUE!

If that has happened to you in the past, perhaps as a child, do NOT allow those cruel words to continue to control your life or determine your value and worth. ENOUGH! Understand that NO OTHER HUMAN has the right (or the ability) to determine your worth and/or your value!

If you have those around you in your life now, as an adult, you MUST reject this negative influence by not allowing these harmful words to become a belief in your life AND I would suggest that you strongly consider ridding your life of these people if at all possible.

Friends? I would strongly suggest otherwise.

If you have no way around it, then use this to fuel your future!

Even if you DO have a way around it and you have removed it from your life then you likely still feel the effects of those harmful words. Hey, whoever said "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" didn't have a CLUE what they were talking about! So, even if this is something from the past, you likely still feel the sting. USE that to fuel your drive for success!

Use the words, "You can't!" to drive you to success where you can say (with pride), "I DID!"

I LOVE THAT, don't you?

Tomorrow we are going to continue with this discussion with examples of others that I know that have had people tell them, "YOU CAN'T". And, guess what? Yup, you guessed it - THEY DID and they STILL ARE doing!

I love it, I love it, I love it!

Hey, whatever you do and wherever you go, be sure to...

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

Mike

Fuel For Your Future!

"Fuel For Your Future!"

Negativity attacks all of us each and every day, doesn't it? Sometimes we are successful in our battle to keep it from having an impact on our mindset and our lives but then there are the times that we don't do so well.

The example I used on today's podcast was comparing it to germs. We can do all within our power to stay healthy - take vitamins, cover our mouths when we cough, wash our hands often, get plenty of rest, etc. - but, sometimes, even in spite of our best efforts we still catch a cold.

So, what do we do with the negativity that gets through our "invisible force field" anyway? Will we allow it to sink us OR is there a way to use it to our advantage?

I've include the following link on the Fan Page for Future You University (why not join the fan page while you are there?) - http://www.facebook.com/FutureYouUniversity

This is the story of a man that was belittled by a teacher when he was a small boy. Here's what she told him: "You are an exhibition of failure, and all the children in the school need to know about you, because this is what happens if you don't listen to me, children."

Isn't that a terrible thing for ANY adult to say to a child? The story doesn't tell HOW his mother found out, but we all know that mother's DO find these things out. My guess is that he didn't come home and tell her but that she could tell something was wrong just by looking at him. Mother's have a way of doing that, don't they? And, don't you know he had to be feeling pretty low after that?

Now, the mother and child had a few choices of how to handle the situation. I know you can run through some of those and even what YOU would have done in this situation and the story doesn't tell us if the mother did use any of those other options or not. However, the story DOES tell us one major thing the mother DID do!

In the story, the boy - now a man - was told this by his mother: "You are now going to continue to make small things. If you keep making small things, your name will get bigger!" She also told him, "The smaller your work, the bigger your name."

The man, Willard Wigan, now creates"micro art" sculptures (read all about it in the article I mentioned) which sell for up to $150,000!

What an inspirational story! What a wonderful and wise mother! What an example of using the negative to FUEL HIS FUTURE!

The reason I have the picture of trash burning for this article is simply this: Use the negative "garbage" that comes your way to fuel YOUR future!"

Instead of allowing it to bring you down (the intent of negativity - do not forget that!) use it to inspire you and drive you to success!

How many times have you heard a successful person say something along the lines of, "They told me I couldn't do it" or "They told me I'd never amount to anything" and they used this to drive them to success?

So, yes, do your very best to block out the negativity so that it cannot have a negative impact on your mindset and life.

BUT - not if - when it DOES seep through, use that negative garbage as a way to fuel YOUR future! Burn it! Allow the heat and energy that comes from burning that garbage to provide you the energy to propel you towards success!

I like it!

Don't you?

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

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

Mike

The Time is NOW!

The Time is NOW!

Isn't it? We've all talked about it, right? This week's podcasts and blog entries have all centered around this need that we all have IF we plan to move forward with our goals and dreams. So, isn't the time to "jump", NOW?

Here is a fact to consider: IF you choose to try to achieve your goals and dreams (and, by the way, if you don't choose to try to achieve them, why are you setting them in the first place?) you WILL face moments of FEAR and, along with those moments of FEAR, moments of DECISION.

That DECISION will be about ACTION. Will you "jump" or won't you?

I'm going to share a couple of things from the Bible just to make a point and because it also relates directly to what we are talking about today -

The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:7 - "For we walk by faith, not by sight." I don't know about you but my initial reaction is, "Whoa! Hold up there, buddy! I HAVE to see where I'm going!"

And that is our initial and "natural" way of doing things. But, tell me, friend - can you see the future? Can you KNOW with 100% certainty how something is going to turn out? OF COURSE NOT!

And, this is the very FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) that keeps us where we say we don't want to be! We often want someone to make a GUARANTEE about our future and/or our plans - but that is impossible! YES we should make adequate plans and chart out our journey to the best of our ability, but there are NO guarantees!

The other day on one of the podcasts I talked about the fact that there is risk involved every time we get into our cars and drive down the street! There are risks involved every time you get on an airplane or every time I get on my motorcycle.

So, in order to avoid the risks, do you just stay put and never go anywhere? SOME PEOPLE DO!

Did you know that there is actually a word to describe those that have a fear of FAILURE? Here it is: Atychiphobia.

So, back to what the apostle Paul said - sometimes you just have to "step out" and walk by FAITH and NOT by what you can or can not see!

YES this is 100% easier said than done BUT it MUST be DONE in order to move toward success in our goals and dreams!

The writer of the book of Hebrews in the Bible says this in chapter 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." You see, this is NOT a "blind" faith!

When we understand that "walking by FAITH and not by SIGHT" still means we have "substance" and "evidence" then it becomes a little easier to digest!

By planning and carefully working on our "planned route" for our journey (just like planning a trip), yes, there will ALWAYS be unknowns, BUT there is evidence - either from our past experiences OR the experiences of others that have done the same - that we CAN be successful in this action. We have FAITH in that believe. Why? Because there is SUBSTANCE to that faith and also EVIDENCE to back it up!

So, again, we are NOT walking "blindly" when we talk about it being time to "jump"!

Scary? Sure. Worrisome? At times. Butterfly-producing? Most likely!

But just think about the "rush of the ride" that you are about to experience when you are feeling these emotions!

So, what would you rather do? Stay where you are and beat yourself up because, once again, you have failed to make progress in your journey? OR would you rather step out by FAITH which is backed up by SUBSTANCE and EVIDENCE and "jump"?

I ask one more time...

Isn't it time to jump? Isn't the time NOW?

Enjoy the ride and, as you do so...

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

Mike

Is It Time to Jump?

"Is It Time to Jump?"

I'm scared of heights! That's right - I'm a "scaredy-cat" and I admit it! I don't even like getting up on a ladder to get up on my roof. The climb up is not quite so bad, but making that step off of the ladder and onto the roof drives me nuts!

As a matter of fact, yesterday afternoon I was watching an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery channel where the host was doing the job of changing a light bulb on a big bridge. He had to walk on a "cable" (looked more like a big pipe to me) all the way to the top of this suspension bridge to get to the bulb that needed to be changed. He started off around 200 feet above the water and I'm not sure how high he ended up but it was a LOT higher than when he started.

Here's the crazy part - I was just watching this on t.v. and I started breathing hard. My wife got tickled at me because I began to "pant" as I saw how high he was. Yup, I'm afraid of heights!

I love my sons. What? What does this have to do with what I'm talking about. If you have listened to the podcast, you probably already know where I'm going with this. If not, hang on a minute and you'll see the connection.

I am afraid of heights and I love my sons. What do you do when the two come together? Specifically, I'm talking about being on the lake with my 3 boys and them wanting to jump off of some cliffs and into the water. "C'mon dad, come with us!" Yikes!

So, what do I do? I try to find some cliffs that don't look too high so that I can still have fun with my sons without killing myself or giving myself a heart attack!

But here's the problem - the appearance of height is not the same from the boat as it is from the top of the cliff itself! Not by a long shot! The view from the top is a WHOLE lot different than from the safe confines of the boat below. Trust me on this.

So, again, what do I do? It's too late to chicken out. Remember, I'm afraid of heights, but I also love my boys and I love creating memories with them. (By the way, this is actually all in past tense since 2 of the 3 now have wives of their own and our youngest is about to graduate high school).

So...guess what? They are almost as terrified as I am. We all have discussions about who is going to jump first. This conversation always involves each volunteering SOMEONE ELSE to go first!

Then we do the countdown thing...everyone is going to jump on "3" right? WRONG! We count and no one jumps. We count again, same result.

Well, sooner or later one of the boys decides to jump and, honestly, I'm usually the last one standing and they are all waiting for me to jump. BUT REMEMBER? I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!

But, I love my boys.

So, I jump!

Believe me, it wasn't easy and, although it got easier the 2nd and 3rd times (yeah, believe it or not, the thrill was so great I even did it again! Imagine that!) I still hesitated every time before making that jump.

Here's the point: You may be afraid to break the habit of "NO" and start living in the "YES!". But I hope you LOVE the idea of what awaits you if you decide to do so. I hope you love your LIFE more!

Again, saying and living in the "NO" is the easiest way to "exist" - it's not living, just existing. No challenges. No risks. No potential failure. But also, no reward and no life.

Don't let the F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) keep you paralyzed where you are... love your life and your LIVING life in the "YES!" more and prepare to jump!

And, hey, as you do so...

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

Mike