This has led to me spewing off my own optimistic ideas of the life you could live.

I believe you can do work that matters.

I believe you can create your own map.

I believe you can follow your own rules.

I believe you can reach your goals.

I believe you can do whatever you want for a living.

I believe ALL of this boils down to the choices you make.

But I need to bring myself back to reality for a minute.

This type of advice isn’t for everyone. After all, to accomplish any part of what I’ve said over the past few months, you’re going to have to get down and dirty with the lizard. You’re going to have to face your biggest fears, one after another.

And every step of the way, your very own brain will be telling you to turn around and get back to reality. Every step of the way, people will be telling you you’re acting nuts and being foolish. The people closest to you will urge you to stop with the wishy-washy dreaming. They’ll say, “shut up, put your head down, and get back to work.” What’s the big deal with giving away 30 years of your life in the bigger scheme of things?

Sheesh.

But seriously:

It’s easy for me to write about all the goodness that can come from being an optimistic person and viewing your glass has half-full.

It’s easy for me to tell you to “follow your passion” or “get rich of worms.”

It’s even easier for me to tell you that if you don’t set out to do what you were destined to do, you might end up in a lot of pain.

But here’s the thing I’ve realized. If you’ve been reading ANY of what I’ve been saying, and somewhere deep-down inside you there’s even a smidgen of something saying, “Yeah I could totally do that,” perhaps there’s a smidgen of a voice inside you telling you that you DO have enough ambition to actually light the fire.

Then maybe I’m not too far out-to-lunch.

Every single one of us has that smidgen somewhere. It may be hiding right now. It may not show itself very often, but you can be damn sure it’s there.

One of my favorite authors, Steven Pressfield, has written an amazing post on “Ambition” that inspired me to write this post and look back at my own posts over the past few months.

And he hits the nail right on the head.

An oak litters the earth with ten thousand acorns, and inside every one is the drive to grow to be as mighty as its daddy. Every lion cub, every fledging eagle carries in its DNA the will to be king of beasts and lord of the air. That’s nature’s law. Why should we humans expect to be different? ~ Steven Pressfield

That’s reality.

It gave me the day to reflect on this post.

You’ve all heard the saying; the glass is half-empty or the glass is half-full. In my opinion, it’s all about the choices you make and the way you choose to perceive the glass.

For me, I always try my best to focus on the glass being half-full. But I wonder if we could do better?

After all, as gifted and as privileged as we are to live in a society and area where most of us have the ability to eat on a daily basis, drink clean water, see a movie when we want, or eat a Big Mac, almost all of us can find problems within our own lives.

We can almost always find something to complain about.

Lots of people spend all their lives focusing on the glass. For many, it’s not even half-full, the glass is nearly empty, if not bone dry.

These people are nearly always the unsuccessful people who feel they were dealt a poor hand.

And maybe they were. I’m not one to say what your glass looks like. It’s a personal choice.

The most successful people I know are the most positive. They always see the glass as half-full. The best part of this type of attitude is they approach the glass knowing that filling it to the top is within reach.

Here’s a guarantee I can make to you.

Become a half-full glass type of person. Focus on not just maintaining your half-full glass, but make the sucker overflow. Today, my glass is flooded.

I guarantee and promise you’ll see positive results.

Overflow the glass.

P.S. It’s a girl.

From Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid.com and his book Ignore Everybody

Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.

The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.

Human beings have this thing I call the “Pissed Off Gene”. It’s that bit of our psyche that makes us utterly dissatisfied with our lot, no matter how kindly fortune smiles upon us.

Your business either lets you go hunt the woolly mammoth or it doesn’t. Of course, like so many white-collar jobs these days, you might very well be offered a ton of money to sit in the corner-office cave and pretend that you’re hunting, even if you’re not, even if you’re just pushing pencils. That is sad. What’s even sadder is that you agreed to take the money.

From Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid.com and his book Ignore Everybody

P.S. Enjoy the Weekend!



That thing you’ve been putting off for months now. That new business venture you’ve been talking about. That great idea for an iPhone app you thought about. That exercise program you’ve been thinking about starting. The nutrition plan you were going to stick with. The marketing course you were going to take.

The discipline of starting something now, and sticking with it, can be painful. It’s painful because it requires some sacrifice. No success comes without some sort of sacrifice.

Sacrifice might mean having a salad while everyone else has pizza, or you might have to work Friday and Saturday nights go get that restaurant going. You may even need to sacrifice money and buy less, or live a little more frugally.

All this sacrifice can hurt, but that’s just the beginning. You need to build up self discipline and stick with it to get through the dip.

I know, I know… The pain can be unbearable at times.

I’ve got a feeling though, it will hurt a hell of a lot less than regret.

First is the “go get-em” way. This is the Tony Robbins style of motivation. “Stand up and say I!” It’s the same ole think positive, set goals, and grow rich type of inspiration.

The problem with this type of inspiration is that it acts a lot like kindling. You never actually put a log on the fire. It looks like it’s going to burn, the fire almost starts, its smoking, and you quickly add more kindling; but before you can add the log, the flame goes out and then we start all over again.

The second type of inspiration comes in the form of real, concrete, “this is how I did it” type of information. This might be a book about the history of Starbucks, or Donald Trump, or Duncan Bannatyne.

The problem with this type of motivation is, while it’s packed with ideas, processes, and steps to follow, it never inspires you to take the leap (or start step one).

The third and final type of motivation has to come from one single source – you.

This is the hardest part of the inspiration puzzle because it’s the hardest piece to find.

In a way, you need a mix of all three to truly get inspired. Method one acts as the kindling. You build up a pretty solid base of confidence and personal development. Method two is equally important as you improve your perspective and gain an understanding from those who went before you. It’s the same as if you soak the kindling with a little bit of gasoline.

Method three is the match.

Without the match, method one and two will only get you so far.

Bring matches.

You.

I think there’s something to be learned from turbulence.

Expect turbulence on every flight you take.

When you set out on a new adventure, plan to start a new business, prepare to roll-out a new marketing campaign, set optimistic revenue goals, decide to get your real estate license, buy a dog, have a baby, start laying a hardwood floor, hope for the best – but expect it to get bumpy.

A positive attitude is important, but too much of a positive, nothing-can-go-wrong type of attitude, and you’re walking on the edge of naivety.

Of course, you need to plan for some “what-if” situations, but you can’t possibly plan for all of them. Do everything you can to plan in advance, but be ready for anything.

If pilots and airlines waited for the perfect conditions to fly, we’d never get anywhere. They anticipate turbulence in advance and take the appropriate steps to ensure a smooth flight. But when the shit hits the fan, the true professional uses her skills and knowledge to deal with it accordingly.

Do the same.

The cottage was absolutely stunning even with its lack of hydro, hot showers, flushing toilets, and massive swarms of killer mosquitos.

I thought about this blog post during our final moments of relaxation this morning while sitting on the dock waiting for a boat to take us back to civilization.

When I say go away, I don’t mean it in a rude way. Instead, I just want you to take a vacation.

And I don’t mean a tour. A tour is what happens when you’re on a bus or a cruise ship. I also don’t mean trying to see six European countries in 10 days –  that’s just a collection of  snapshots. I mean a real vacation.

No plans. No advanced tickets. No reservations. No Rick Steve’s travel books.

The type of vacation I’m talking about can happen in your backyard. It can happen on your lunch break. It can happen this weekend. And it’s relatively affordable. And while a pristine Northern Ontario cottage helps, it’s not absolutely crucial.

Most people use vacations to escape from work, and end up bringing the stress of work with them. I used to be as guilty as the next guy. I’m talking about a different type of getaway.

Here’s the itinerary.

Find a spot/time/place where you can allow your mind to truly reflect on your future goals. Don’t dwell on the past. Learn from the past, but let it go. Stressing about the past is  simply wasted energy.

Attempt to gain some perspective and clarity around your goals and future plans. Search and strive for pure relaxation. Let everything else go. Simply focus on where you want to go…and aim yourself in that direction. (personal or business)

These vacations can be short and sweet, or they can be long and extended. Spread them out and take them often.

It’s those moments when you’re most likely to have a major breakthrough. It’s those moments where the real magic is going to happen. It’s those moments you’re going to solve that problem that’s been driving you crazy, or come up with that new idea you’ve been searching for.

That’s a vacation.

Go.

We’re adults now. We know everything we need to know. Why would I need any help? I’ve put in my time.

Coaching? Why would I need a coach?

This of course, brings up the obvious question, why do sports teams need to be coached?

After all, these are guys and girls that have played the sport their entire lives, they’ve reached the pinnacle of success – the pro-leagues, - and yet they are still constantly under the wings of professional coaches and leadership.

Of course teams are different from individuals, right?

But…

Why would Lance Armstrong need a coach to improve his cycling?

Why would the manager need a coach to improve his management skills?

Why would the brain surgeon need coaching on learning new brain surgery techniques?

But us regular folk – we’re beyond that, right? We finished school. We got our degrees. We got drafted into the real world. We’re pros now.

But we’re driven by our egos. We believe it’s easier to look strong, stand up tall, and put on a smiley face, than it is to resort to asking for help.

Seeking help has been typecast in our society as a sign of weakness. We’ve gone and made it almost embarrassing. We’d rather just muster on and try to do it ourselves.

Before Tiger’s “issues,” he was often used as an example by coaches about the importance of continued coaching and training. Tiger is adamant about constantly improving his skills. He was never beyond learning from his coach. He could always learn from his coach, or even other golfers. Tiger was known to practice for hours and literally BEG for his coach to point out an issue with his swing, or his stance, or his grip.

He obviously could have used coaching beyond his sport, but that’s beyond this post

Here’s my take on it.

When you’re willing to accept that there IS a lot more to learn, you can drastically improve your skills. A coach can actually teach you something, or point out your flaws or help you with where to focus your  practice time. That’s when you’ve entered the professional league.

Seeking help, guidance, and new knowledge to become bigger, stronger, faster, is the ultimate sign of strength. The real pros always know there is someone better out there who can teach them a thing or two.

So ask yourself, what league are you in? Pick one.

The Pros or  the Amateurs?

How do I know if this is really my passion?

Where do I look for my passion?

I’m not sure what I’m really passionate about.

Check this out.

“You might be thinking, “How do I know what I’m good at?” All you have to do is listen and learn. Listen to the environment and other people. Pay attention, because they’re trying to tell you what you’re good at all the time. It’s in you, but there’s also feedback—the world is trying to tell you who you are. There are signals. It’s all a big mirror of your own soul. If you feel wonderful when you read a sentence in a book and somehow get goose bumps, that’s the world trying to say, “That’s you!”

The Hands-Off Manager – Steve Chandler & Duane Black

The weird thing is, this entire book is giving me goose bumps.

Enjoy the weekend.