Everything Changes

I have a family member whom I have repeatedly heard say, “I like me the way I am, there is no reason to change, I am staying this way.” Not willing to change… Huh. I beg to differ on that, everything changes regardless. In general, people do not like change. Yet everywhere around us, change is happening. The town and cities we live in are constantly changing. Our bodies grow older every minute, young kids get taller and the cars we drive wear out. So, everything around us is in a constant state of change…so does this mean we are too? Here is a thought to ponder: does money change people or does it simply magnify what is already there? Does addiction change people, or does it only show what is already within? Does love change people or…well, you get the picture. People say that change is hard, yet things change all the time, all around us. Everyday, trees grow taller and grass grows longer. Seasons change, the weather changes, our clothes wear out, our hearing weakens, our weight is up or down, and worst yet, our hair falls out and or turns grey! (I can relate to both of those.) The more I think of these, the more I realize the list of change could go on forever. From everything I can see, people don’t resist change, they resist being changed. This makes more sense. When it is our choice to change, we can even like it. Losing weight, starting a new job or career, making a new relationship or implementing new habits are all change and we embrace them. Notice how people enjoy the season of fall. They embrace it! The leaves turn beautiful colors, vegetation becomes green again and the warm nights are replaced with crisp, cool air. That is change if I ever saw it. So what is it so many people resist when it comes to change? Most emotions and feelings are based on two factors, security and fear. Our nature is to hang on to what we have while feeling comfortable having it. If we like what we have, why change it? After all, changing could mean loss and that is fearful. To a degree, refusing to change is selfish. Nature and all else around us constantly change. In fact, change is beneficial in many ways. Think about the farmer who plants a crop. He is banking on the changing weather to aid him in producing a harvest. Our society is largely dependent on seasons for travel, while our reservoirs and dams use snow runoff for the benefit of irrigation and summer activities. It’s not that we don’t like change; we just don’t want others changing us. In fact, we need change. Our lives are dependent on it. Better off to accept it and embrace it, if you haven’t already. Have a blessed Friday everyone.

When we Want it Bad Enough...

This last summer, I was teaching my youngest daughter, who is five, how to ride a bicycle. I had worked with her many times but the last time, I noticed that she became less interested and I, in return became frustrated. In midsummer, I threw away her training wheels. I wanted her to ride the bike the way it was intended to be ridden. Her neighbor friends were riding their bikes and she kept telling me she wanted to learn. So, with a little inspiration from her dad, she was usually willing to give it another try. During our last attempt, I could tell she was not giving it sincere effort. I saw my own patience growing thinner. The day I thought would be the magic day was quickly becoming just the opposite. In my frustration, I took a step back, and realized what was going on. She did not share my same desire. She wanted to ride, but not bad enough. For whatever reason, human nature demands that we truly desire something before we will give it our heartfelt effort. I don’t understand why this is, I just know it is. History has shown us this as far back as we can look. We want to make more money but we don’t. We want healthier relationships but we don’t. We want to kick unhealthy habits but we don’t. We want to exercise more but we don’t. The list is huge! Why? Because wanting is not enough, we have to hunger for it. Often we have to make or break habits in order to get what we want and it is not always easy. In fact, it can be downright daunting. This element alone is why we have to hunger for something before we will do what is needed to get it. Within a lot of us lies the want but there is an internal battle that takes place. This battle rages between what we want and what we have always known. Which one will win is largely determined by the one we feed. We must be ready and willing to take the risk to do something new to get something we have never had before. This is not always comfortable and fear can sometimes raise its ugly head. But you know what fear is, right? It is nothing more than: False, Evidence, Appearing Real. I know when my daughter reaches a point of truly wanting to ride her bike, she will. It won’t be because her dad pushed her, it will be because she was ready and willing to take the risk to get something she has never had before. Only then will she climb on the bike and ride it. Have a great Friday everyone, be blessed.

Part 7 of 7 on The Mindset of Success

Paying the price. What does this mean to you? Last week, I gave you some things to think about when it comes to paying the price for success. Now, be honest for a moment with yourself. Did you have thoughts run through your mind that maybe not everyone pays the price? Maybe there are some who get away without paying a huge price. Did you have these thoughts? No matter who you are, what your age, what your financial position or where you are from, everyone will pay some sort of price when striving to become a success. Yes, those prices may look and feel different. Some may have less work while others take greater risks. Others may not pay the price with money and use their sweat equity but I assure you, a price will be paid. There is simply no other alternative. No get-rich-quick scheme on planet earth will make you a success, nor will any one person make you a success because success on any level, will involve the cooperation and collaboration of other people. Not only will a price be paid, but the price is not negotiable. You can’t reason with it, buy it, barter with it…these things are simply not possible. To become a true success on any level will require sincere commitment, passion and the willingness to grow, change and become. (Hey didn’t we talk about “becoming” in part five of this series?) All these things are part of the price which must be paid. This is why, when I began this series, I spoke about passion in my first few messages. It is passion that will push us through. It is the passion from within that will cause us to do things that may make us look a little crazy to the rest of the world. Passion, regardless of what it is, will give us the fuel to pay the price when the price might not always be fun. Have you dug down deep and thought about what your passion is? What is it that gets you excited and gives you energy? Do you have something in your life that you really want to accomplish or work toward? Do you feel like you are called to do it? Can you see it in your mind? Can you visualize what you want to do? If we are going to be a true success, all of these questions demand an answer. I am not talking about making a lot of money, we have already addressed that aspect. I am talking about taking on a noble cause or working in a very specific direction to become the very best of something in a specific field. To become known as an industry expert at something you are passionate about. Oh yes, you will pay a price to get there. No, you cannot negotiate and take the easy road. I love hearing the stories of great achievers and the price they paid to get where they are. Some I have listened to many times and every time I do, I am inspired in my own walk of what I see my own success to be one day. I am enjoying (although I will admit it is not always convenient) paying the price for what I can one day see my own success to be. I think we all have to, to some degree. It is the “becoming” while paying the price, that consistently defines who we are and how seriously we are taking our passion. Above all, I pray this seven part series has shown you and aided you to realize what real success is and how it is obtained. I hope within you, I have either cultivated those seeds or planted seeds in your life that one day will lead to a harvest. But that decision will be entirely up to you. Not your spouse, not your boss, not the company you work for and not me. It is all up to you and what you do every day from this point forward which will determine your own personal success at whatever level that might be. I wish you nothing but the best on your journey and remember, find your passion, feed it, then follow it, because that is where you will find your own success. Have a great weekend everyone, be blessed.

Part 6 of 7 The Mindset of Success

Material things, big incomes, fulfillment, and who are we becoming. We have covered a lot of important topics in this seven part series on the Mindset of Success. I am hoping you are getting valuable ideals and thought-provoking discussion from all of this. There are some great topics here that are very enlightening when it comes to success. This is week six of seven in this series and this week and next, I am going to discuss the price that must be paid when it comes to achieving success. So many times, so often, from so many people, I continue to hear things that disturb me regarding achievement and success. There is always someone who has the magic “shortcut” to success. You can find them on late night TV, cable channels and everywhere on the internet. Literally, if you go looking for them you can find them everywhere. I admit, when I was younger, get-rich-quick schemes caught my eye all too often. I wanted to make a lot of money and I really didn’t care how I did it. I even came up with a few crazy ideas (thank God I never followed through on them) of my own that today I laugh about. But as I have matured and grown wiser with time, I have a very different belief of what it truly means to ”pay the price for success.” I heard Jack Canfield (Co-Author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series) say: “if a person is willing to do a lot for a little, one day, he or she can then expect to get a lot while doing very little.” Jack is referring here to paying the price for success. What are we willing to do today that may not pay much of a return right now, but down the road, could pay us back a lot? I have met and spoken with countless people who have made their businesses a success over time. The one consistent common denominator I hear over and over again is that when they started their business, they worked, worked and worked some more for very little pay and in some cases, no pay at all. I know some of you may think this is crazy. To work and work and not get paid? That makes no sense. Yet all across our country and as far back as the biblical days, there are stories of this commitment time and time again. People who sowed seeds, worked and sowed more seeds, followed by more work, to hopefully, someday, reap a harvest from their efforts. This is what paying the price is all about. I will agree that working your butt off and not getting paid for it does not sound like much fun. There are two key elements here that you need to be aware of when you commit the time and energy toward something, realizing your payday may be down the road. The first is that the person who puts in their hard efforts, believe in themselves. They know from deep within, they can make things happen. They have a high level of self confidence and self image. The other is that they have a heartfelt interest in what they are doing. They are passionate about it, they spend time strategizing and dreaming, and feel that one day all of their hard work will pay off. They know what they are doing will make a difference. These two traits make all the difference when it comes to paying the price for success. To a large degree, you could say that people who possess these two traits actually don’t mind paying the price for success. Some even enjoy it. It is their passion, commitment, determination and belief that drives them, even when there are little to no results or benefits from their immediate actions. Others sit back and look at these people and think they are crazy. Why do so much for so little? It makes no sense. Oddly enough, years later, those who aren’t willing to pay the price often want to call the successful lucky, they just got a lucky break. Yet all along, those with the passion, vision and belief paid the price day in and day out, week after week and month after month, regardless of the outcome. Next week, we will wrap this series up with WHAT PRICE YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY if you are going to become a success. Have a great weekend everyone and be blessed.