The Road to Lifestyle

This evening I went to the gym. A friend called me as I was about to exit my car and I told him how excited I was about certain happenings this past week. I told him that I loved life! That little things make all the difference... that a small goal realized can be such a tremendous joy in of itself. We finished up our conversation and out I went into the chill of the evening air. As I walked up to the building I noticed a small bird sitting on the sidewalk. I walked up to the little bird, squatted, and stroked his back gently with the back of my index finger. I assumed it was a boy. I asked, "Are you OK?" He fluffed up a bit... I stroked his back again, he spun around, and took flight. I watched as he disappeared into the darkness and smiled to myself, grateful for the experience. I continued on to my intended destination. As I left the gym, I texted my friend... I briefly related the story and said, "You know, I think he just wanted someone to ask him if he was OK....

So it went something like this... I know millionaires... I know millionaires that look like they just lost their dog. And I know folks that are so low they could swing their legs sittin' on a dime. But they have found the joy in their lives; they feel blessed even though they have little. Just remember one thing: take time... take time. My son taught me that. I see the dollar signs in your eyes and I know you keep slidin' that decimal place to the right... but not for me, money isn't what I'm after. I stopped chasin' that paper. Don't forget... take time .

The encouraging thing is that every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before. If you can live through that you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line, it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. -T.S. Eliot

A few months ago I posted something that never really sat well with me. It was about passion and doing something you're not passionate about until you can afford to do what your passionate about. Well I agreed that it was OK to do something you don't have a passion for and, like I said, it never really felt right. Sometimes the world gives you what you need to hear when you're ready to hear it... so just this past week I listened to something that solidified which side of the fence I was really on. Folks, you should NEVER do something you don't have a passion for. It is a miserable trail of pain, heartache, and utter frustration that will send you barreling down to the pits of an abysmal despair in short order. Ask me how I know... and you would have thought I had learned my lesson! Luckily , my friend John Maxwell and the team at Success magazine set the record straight once and for all with some convincing data. In a recent Success CD John relates a story about rese...

Far too often we go careening through life with all of the grace and elegance of a bulldozer, taking street lamps and delicate sidewalk foliage down with us as we go. Let this be a warning: there are two things people love, not like, LOVE. The first is the sound of their name being spoken aloud to them and the second is a sincere and honest compliment. As for the former, Dale Carnegie, in his timeless classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, described the significance people place on their names of "astounding importance." Mispronounce or misspell it and you've now built a wall 10 feet high and 12 inches thick that you'll need to surmount before your given access to their inner workings. Having a uniquely spelled last name myself I am sensitive to names and name " mutilation ." That's Ceville with a "C" by the way. Being on the receiving end of a mispronounced or misspelled name is like a mental glitch... like a splinter in one'...

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview a gentleman for my business. He was an older fellow... although, what does that really mean anymore? Perhaps in his mid to late 50's? I sat with him and discussed our business model, how we get paid, etc. always careful not to regale prospective agents with the merits of joining with us over any other insurance agency. That is not my goal. My goal is to lay out the facts as they are. I don't want everyone in my business; to each his own as they say. The gentleman showed a degree of interest and then I decided as is my tendency, to probe a bit deeper... to discover his dreams, goals, and aspirations for the future. For at the heart of these lies the true heart of an individual. Applications, appointments, dials etc. are part of the process but what makes a lasting effect on an individual, what keeps them in the game so to speak is not the business... it is their broader vision of themselves and the hope--the hope that they can o...

Did you know that you deserve to be happy? Did you know that you deserve to have all of the health, wealth, and abundance life has to offer? Did you know that, "You Can't Shrink Your Way to Greatness," as Dave Anderson discusses in his book Up Your Business! Seven Steps to Fix, Build, or Stretch Your Organization? If you are to be a success at anything you must be less concerned with the costs of building your capacity to grow, whether tangible or intangible, and more concerned with the cost of neglecting your ability to stretch. But how do you push through the doubt and the uncertainty that comes from forging a new path? For starters, there were others that came before you! You should take solace in this fact... by learning the stories of those who have struggled before you and made it through to the other side you will breathe life into your own journey. Do not focus on the negatives... focus on the possibilities! According to Loral Langemeier in The Millionaire Maker...