Do or Don’t Do At so many different times in my life I have wondered if I was doing what I really wanted to do and should be doing. I am speaking about the everyday things I do that fill my days. I still wonder what is it I really do want to do? I
Most people want something more from their lives wouldn’t that be a fair assumption to make? They may want more free time, be able to travel more, maybe they want to improve a talent or skill. Maybe better health or to be in better shape, or at least one more pleasing to themselves or the opposite sex.
They may want a bigger house, nicer car, better boat or simply more money to live on or have saved up for future years and retirement feeling more secure about their future. They may think about helping others less fortunate and may really contemplate on how to make a difference in the world. If they are Christians, they may even think about spreading Gods word and becoming more of an evangelist. The list can go on and on.
The simple truth is that most of us can have many of these things and more if we really get serious about life and work on one internal strength each of us has and which can be made stronger, discipline.
What if? Doesn’t that little question put a little smile or smirk on your face? To just stop and think for a while…what if this or what if that? In the context of you and your life, what if can pose some big questions. It can open up access to an endless sea of possibilities and it can bring real change in your life and the lives of others. Many great inventions and businesses started with someone asking that little question, and then looking for the answers.
Each little question or challenge we face and overcome can bring with it an opportunity to take life in a new direction; to walk a path we might not yet have walked or to explore unchartered territory in our own life story and grow as a person. Everyone’s life is filled with so many unanswered questions and different possibilities, if we only learn to look for them and see them for what they are, opportunities for self-growth and become that person we want to be in our future years.
How prepared were U for life when U left your parents’ home and went out on your own? Maybe U went to college first, then out into the world, or maybe U went right into the workforce and started earning a living. How did U want your life story to go back then? I would guess that U have learned a lot about life and about yourself since then. Do U wish U had taken a little more time to think about your future and plan a few things before starting out? What do U tell you children about planning and about thinking and having a strategy for their lives’?
The company I founded, LifeLongU™, creates and distributes guides, workbooks and some videos which are designed to help U develop yourself into the person U want to become by helping U define who U will be as the main character in your own life story. We realize that everyone is on a path in life, but maybe not a path that includes continual self-development and improvement to becoming a better person and learning to do things they may not yet be able to do. This takes planning, usually some education or training and also some specific action.
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right”, Henry Ford
People who are self-confident tend to be admired many times by others and can inspire others with confidence. They can appear to be more of a risk taker because their confidence allows them to face many of their fears head-on, unlike those with less confidence. They typically are full of positive energy regardless of what they are going through in life. They simply see that the world is filled with options and opportunities and believe their glass is at least half full. What a great way to go through life! Having more confidence should be on everyone’s list of goals in their life plan.
Think about this: if you don’t believe in yourself, why would you expect others to? Self-confidence is a state of mind that comes from a belief in your own abilities, skills and experience. It can be improved through training, talking with other people and personal development.
You know, of course, that there are only 24 hours in any day, and how you use them is totally up to you. However, it certainly may not feel like that is the case. It is very common to wish you had more time, and in most cases that wish can be granted by simply becoming more organized and following a few simple rules regarding the management of your time. Below, we have listed several things you can do to give yourself more time or to get more done in the time that you have.
Your time is yours, and U are given only so much of it. That fact is very important to remember when U are working fervently on an activity that is not part of your life plan. Think about what you are doing. Does it add to your life long plan and story? Many of us get caught up in “ruts”, and it may take a serious life event (such as the illness or death of someone close to us) for us to recognize that things need to change. At that time, because of the event, we may be open to big changes in our lives.
A Secret for A Great LifeThe other day I was on one of my long walks enjoying the lake area I am so blessed to live by and saw a father cutting grass on a riding lawn mower, which by itself may not be so note worthy, I admit. However, helping him and maybe getting in his way a bit were two of his children; both kids where about 6 to 9 years old and each were also driving a small vehicle; one a small look-a-like riding lawnmower – kids version and the other a kids small ATV. The dad riding his mower had just come to the end of his cut with both kids following close behind and as he turned around they emerged right in his path and there the three of them sat looking , laughing and enjoying an intimate family situation.
I like seeing these types of things as they remind me of when my own son who used to walk next to me at about that age and push his own child version of a lawn mower as I walked and mowed our own lawn. Those types of intimate moments were great to share with someone special and great teaching moments although they never felt like I was a teacher.
See Yourself as a Business & Life Professional?Have you ever thought of yourself as a professional in anything? A business & life professional? What do you do really well? What do you want to do really well? Do you have a passion for something specifically, an area of your life that when you are in it, you simply smile and feel good? Do you consider yourself to be a professional in it? Is your goal to become a professional in it? Business & life both need professionals. Firstly, to simply show what can be done in a certain area of life or business and how well it can be done and secondly, to work with others and help them achieve a level of professionalism in their own right.
In the book, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell repeatedly claims that to become an expert at something, one needs to spend approximately 10,000 hours practicing it in the correct way. What have you done or are doing that will at some point add up to around 10,000 hours of your life (Sleeping & eating do not count by the way)? Is it in business or in life? Are you at 2,000 hours? 5,000? Closing in on your 10,000?
The Attitude – The Passion – The MotivationIn the business world and also in life, there are three words that can ultimately define who you are, what you will actually do and how successful you may be at accomplishing it. Those words are Attitude, Passion and Motivation. Each has its own unique meaning for each of us, however the simple dictionary meaning is:
Plan for Change, It Happens! In the twilight of our lives, when we have lived the life our choices and decisions have brought us, both good and bad; when our creative ideas and dreams of an earlier time have given way to the comforts of a more sedentary lifestyle; when we have lost a large amount of our drive or have accepted the inevitable…at that exact point, what do you want to remember from your life? What do you want to have succeeded at or accomplished? What do you want to be able to do from then on? This is why you may want to change your current lifestyle and develop a plan for your future.
Now is the time to ask yourself some very pointed questions. Think long and hard on your answers.
What do you want to do with your life?
What do you want to know?
What do you want to see and hear?
What do you want to really have and enjoy?
What do you want to feel and experience?
Just who do “YOU” want to be?
A Focused LifeHow often have you really sat back and took a good look at your life and wondered if you have achieved what you set out to do many years ago? Do you remember what your intentions, goals or dreams were 20 or more years ago? What did you believe your “life’s purpose” to be back then? Is that purpose still what gets you going every day? Has it changed any?
Reflecting back on your past can be a great method to help re-align your future plans. Looking back and weighing the pluses and minuses of your life, as you remember them, will help you understand more about yourself and allow you to use some of your wisdom to make better decisions about your future.
There are many types of people that approach this reflection differently and if two people had the exact same experiences with their past, my guess would be that each would reflect and remember it in different ways. Each would draw different conclusions on what was a plus and what was a minus. Each would be correct, from their perspective, but still have only one point of view, theirs. A singular point of view is not what you may want when planning your future, is it? This singular point of view, because of its singularity, may tend to blind you from other options that are in front of you and because of this singular thinking pattern, you may not see or acknowledge potential options. This is not to say that after all options have been uncovered, researched and weighed, and a plan for the future is determined and put in place, that this action plan cannot become a focus and somewhat a singular point of view. In fact, this is how big goals are achieved.
The Best Man You May Ever MeetWhen you meet any man for the first time, have you ever considered you might have just met one of the best men you may ever meet in your life? What about when they walk away after meeting you, do you think they might be wondering that very thought about you? Is it possible, did either of you just meet one of the best men you may ever meet? Have you been trying to be such a man; a real genuine role model for others? Where would you meet such a man? Would you meet him in the places you frequent? Take a minute and think about that?
I wrote this blog for my male readers, but my female readers may find it interesting as well. A genuine man needs to ask these types of questions about himself. In this day and age a man needs to have a high level of integrity mixed with strong moral values and actually live by them. This makes him who he is and is no easy task to live by. In the story of King Arthur’s court, you hear about the Knights of the Round Table and how honorable they were or tried to be? Would you be able to live up to their code of values? Can you be one of the best men someone may ever meet, a knight of the round table? Wouldn’t you like to be part of this group of men?