Change Matters

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. ~Benjamin Franklin

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
~George Bernard Shaw

What does it take to move forward?  Change of location.

What does it take to grow forward?  Change of mind.

Change isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard.  Change is a choice.  

Are you willing to change?  If you don’t change neither will your circumstances and life.

Change matters.  YOU Matter!!

Be All In

December 31, 2014
As you wrap up 2014 and begin 2015, what introspective questions are you asking yourself?

My mentor, John C. Maxwell says, "Experience is NOT the best teacher.... EVALUATED experience is the best teacher."

You've experienced a lot in 2014. So what? What are you going to do with that experience? What did you learn from it? What will you do different in 2015? What do you want to be different in 2015 than 2014? Who did you add the most value to in 2014? What made you feel most alive in 2014?What relationships added the most value to you? Who or what slowed you down or is a source of discouragement? (Time to prune)

Before I began 2014, I decided to make my theme of the year "BE". Everything about the year was from the approach of who do I need to become in order to do and have the things that I want? Am I becoming who I was always meant to be? Which led me to ask God, "Who did you mean for me to be?"

"Becoming" in 2014 has done more for my personal growth and achievement than any year previous.

Becoming requires growth. Growth requires work. Work requires a plan. A plan requires a destination (or at least a rest area). A destination requires a reason.

Why (your reason/desire/ambition) will get you out of bed with excitement.
Working your plan daily will allow you to rest peacefully each evening knowing you gave it your all that day.

For 2015, my theme is something I heard Timothy Novak tell my students this fall, "Be All In." I would encourage YOU to BE ALL IN with whatever you choose to do or become in 2015.

If you have trouble with answering any of the questions in this post and need some help or clarity. Give me a shout - that's what I do.

YOU Matter!!

No Struggles - No Life

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "They have it so easy!" or "I wish I could live like them."  Or, in my case, I see great authors or great speakers, and think, "Wow, why can't I be that good?"

The reality?  You and I are seeing the fruits of the struggle that these people are likely to have experienced.  Many times my mentor, John C Maxwell, has said that people say they wish they could have his lifestyle or his speaking abilities and he responds, "You can - you just have to pay the same price that I paid.  The work, the preparations..... the struggles."

You may love to watch birds or listen to their songs, but have you thought about their struggle for life?  Birds must struggle to break the egg to enter the world.  If the egg was broken for them and there was no struggle, the bird would die.  It is the struggle that brings the bird (and you and I) to life.  It is the struggle that shows us our limits or unlocks a desire that we never knew we had.

In the midst of your struggles, stay aware and ask yourself these questions:

• Where did this struggle come from?
• What can I learn about this struggle?
• What am I learning about me?
• What responsibilities, actions, or relationships in my life need to change?
• What one or two steps can I take immediately begin to move forward through this struggle?

You don't have to like the struggles.... and if you do, there might be something wrong with you. :-)  But embrace the struggles and know that there is something inside of you seeking to be birthed that needs this current struggle.

YOU Matter!!

What Are You Doing to Stay Active?

What do you do to stay active throughout the day?

You have your daily routines, but what are you doing to shake it up a bit.  "Active" isn't just about movement, but rather diversity of movement with your emotions, thoughts, and actions - moving your spirit, your mind, and your body.

• How will you think differently today?  
• How will you think into your results? 
• What will you get excited about or show more empathy?
• Will you take the stairs instead of the elevator or park a little farther away from the building?

Share your ideas on how you could shake it up a bit.

YOU Matter!!

The Bridge From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Journeys of any significant distance will require us to cross at least one bridge along the way.

Bridges help us to navigate tough terrain that would normally be too difficult to cross.  We enjoy the convenience of the bridge, but the bridge itself was not convenient to build.  Many bridges take years to complete, but are worth the effort.

The bridge we must construct to navigate life's tough terrain is made out of GRIT. On October 10, Linda Kaplan Thaler, Chairman of Publicis Kaplan Thaler will be speaking at a live simulcast event called L2: Learn-Lead on the topic of GRIT: Guts, Resilience, Industriousness and Tenacity. How ordinary people become extraordinary.  Linda will share some of her personal experiences, inspiring stories and anecdotes of both well-known and everyday individuals, along with scientific evidence about the power of GRIT. Linda has grown a start-up to a multi-billion dollar public listed company and that took a lot of GRIT!

In this simulcast, Linda will be joined by world-renowned leadership expert, Dr. John C. Maxwell and internet pioneer, Tim Sanders.  If you are in Austin, TX, join us for this powerful simulcast event at the Moviehouse & Eatery, in West Austin on RR620 right across from Concordia University Texas.

For more information and to reserve your seat, visit our site at L2Austin.

Curiosity Kills Ignorance

How often are you curious?

Curiosity can build connection with others.
When is the last time you asked someone to tell you about themselves?  I'm not talking about, "What do you do?"  When have you taken the time to show real interest in someone by asking them to tell you their story?

Curiosity can spur you personal growth.
When is the last time you asked yourself reflective questions?  One of my mentors, Scott Fay, always asks four reflective questions at the end of each day:

1. What should I start doing?
2. What should I stop doing?
3. What should I do more of in my day?
4. What should I do less of in my day?

Are you curious?
Questions require curiosity.  Curiosity unlocks possibilities where there seemed to be impossibilities. BUT, you must stay in an inquisitive / curious state.  The problem is that many do not stay curious long enough and will just accept the first set of answers that they receive.  Instead you need to stay in a mode of questioning until you have sufficiently fleshed it out.  THEN, end with the question, "What are we missing" or "What am I missing?"

I've heard somewhere that "Curiosity killed the cat, but for humans, curiosity kills ignorance."

Stay curious..... ask questions of others and yourself.

Try it today.

YOU Matter!!