The Road to Lifestyle

"Miracles begin with you.  You must find the place inside of yourself where nothing is impossible."  - Deepak Chopra --- Although, I would prefer the quote to read: "Miracles begin with you. You must find the place inside yourself where everything is possible." It has a more positive spin to it... don't you think? :) Be pro what you want out of life versus against what you don't want. What you focus on expands. I choose to focus on the positive. Your Victory Awaits!

Two posts in ONE DAY after such a long absence?  Crazy, I know! But I've been reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays and one passage just stuck out to me. I've read it over and over and over again... From his Essays First Series (1841) ... "Self-Reliance" ... "Man is timid and apologetic; he is no longer upright; he dares not say 'I think,' 'I am,' but quotes some saint or sage. He is ashamed before the blade of grass or the blowing rose. These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments alike. But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the ...

Have you ever thought this about yourself? If you do suck... or you think you suck... read this book: All You Can Do Is All You Can Do:  But All You Can Do Is Enough! by A.L. Williams I promise you... PROMISE... that you will read a story in this book about someone that is in WORSE shape than you! And if they are in worse shape than you, then you're not so bad after all! Here's an excerpt that I found quite motivational: "It's essential to have big dreams and big goals.  But it's also important to remember that everything doesn't always go just the way you imagined it.  So many people give up because the reality of their new adventure doesn't quite meet up with the beauty of their dream.  That doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the dream.  It just means that in real life we have to put up with a less-than-perfect world." And lastly... "Remember, before you can be great, you've got to be good.  Bef...

On our Friday national call, Barry Clarkson discussed how to communicate as a leader.  He touched on the need to become a student of human nature.  According to Barry, you must realize 10 common traits: 1.  People are quick to jump to conclusions. 2.  People are skeptical--they suffer from the "shaft" syndrome. 3.  People procrastinate--the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 4.  Most people dream of having great wealth. 5.  People are curious. 6.  People don't think they can sell. 7.  People don't like insurance salesmen--they rank either right before or right after car salesmen. 8.  Most people would love to be their own boss. 9.  Most people would love to have their own business, BUT __fill-in-the-blank__. 10.  Most people doubt that they ever could or would. If you realize these commonalities in your prospective recruits you can be a more effective communicator.  Couple this knowledge with honesty and drop the p...

As I was reading Chris Gardner's book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, I was reminded of a memory. Chris said he is often asked "how it was possible to start a business in Chicago in the competitive business environment of Wall Street with only ten grand of capital going in." Per Chris, he "didn't know it couldn't be done" and furthermore "ignorance is bliss." I agree... Years ago my squadron had a formation for physical fitness several times a week. On one of these occasions we gathered in a parking lot in order to stretch and do push-ups etc. They asked us to "get down" and do as many push-ups as we could do. I pumped out 72... People were amazed. They asked, "How did you do so many push-ups?" My answer, "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be able to." Apparently most women piqued around 40 push-ups or so. As Jim Rohn once mused, "How tall w...

A few weeks ago I watched the movie Secretariat and as is my habit after being inspired, enlightened, or utterly confused by a movie I "Googled" it to learn more about this Thoroughbred's amazing story. To be honest, as soon as my husband said he was going to rent the movie I told him, "We've already seen that movie... it was called Seabiscuit !" I thought all horse movies were the same... not so! Secretariat was the 9 th US Triple Crown Champion in 1973. He won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. To this day he still holds the Kentucky Derby track record of 1:59 2/5. During this race he was actually accelerating during each quarter mile of this one and a quarter mile race! Secretariat also finished The Belmont Stakes way ahead of the pack. He won by 31 lengths and to this day holds the record for the fastest 1.5 miles on dirt finishing in 2:24 flat. But of all the accolades he received none is more astonishing than the gif...

There will be many times in your life that adversity stares you in the face, takes a step toward you, and pushes you to your knees. Will you let it keep you down? Will you suffer from the " quitter's disease" as Charlie "Tremendous" Jones calls it? Bill Hybels , in his book Who You Are When No One's Looking: Choosing Consistency, Resisting Compromise , encourages us to break through those quitting points by enlightening us to the fact that those quitting points are "made of tissue, not brick." Per Hybels , "Every time you break through a quitting point, you prove to yourself that quitting points are not as solid as some people think they are." Amelia Earhart put it yet another way. For her the quitting points, or the fears and difficulties of life that put our world at a standstill, are merely "paper tigers." According to Ms. Earhart: "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. Th...