What are you aiming for?

I was reviewing some of my notes from a seminar I attended a few years back. One of the speakers was a man named Les Brown and he was amazing. I will share a link to a clip of one of his speeches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekdv8SiTec

Les talks about something that interested me for a long time. Can you truly be satisfied with less than you are capable of? Obviously there are those out there who are! Now please don’t take me the wrong way here, I am not degrading anyone on their situation or circumstances. I am however wondering what the mechanisms that drive me and not them are. What is it inside of me or you for that matter that will not settle for what you have? What makes you desire more? Do we all have this mental army inside of us wanting to conquer more and get more? Perhaps some of us have thrown in the white flag and given up. Maybe some have been mentally, physically or emotionally beaten down so much that the drive is over.

If you are one who is in high gear, great-keep the accelerator down! If you are one who is methodically working your plan taking chunks at a time, I applaud you! If you are the one who has given up, cannot find the way out, does not know where to turn, put the flag away and listen up! Think about something for a moment for me. Think about five things in the past 6 months that you have accomplished. This could be that you have learned to speak Spanish or you have finished a new book for example. Now think about five things that you have failed at in the past six months. Possibly you missed an opportunity for a raise or let your anger distance you from a friend. Okay, now that you have identified a few things you have failed at, look back and figure out what you could have done differently each time to create a different outcome. Maybe you could have held your temper, or consulted a friend for an opinion. Maybe you could have been proactive and prevented a bad outcome from a situation at work. Now that you have identified some situations in which you could have responded differently, LEARN FROM THEM. Yes I said it, learn from your past actions and grow from them. I know what you are thinking, “You mean you want me to forget about what Timmy said and quit gossiping about him all day at work?” “You mean I would be better off helping a customer who smarted me off 5 minutes ago” “Read a book, what do you mean read a BOOK”

Okay, back on track now. Next task is for you to select three to five short term goals that you can accomplish in the next month, maybe reading a new self-help book or learning Excel. Part two is to select three to five goals to accomplish by the end of the year like seeing the ocean or learning to fly an airplane or even not missing any work for a year. And finally I want you to pick two five year goals that you want to achieve. Get a new degree or start a business would be good examples. Write them all down somewhere where you will see them frequently. Remind yourself of what you want to accomplish. Reward yourself when you reach your goals. And finally set new goals.

You can only control two things your attitude and your activity.

Remember, there’s nothing more constant than change.
Experience is the one thing you can’t get on easy payments.

All play and no work, does not work.
A goal is a dream with a deadline.

The only place success comes before work is the dictionary.
Glory comes from daring to begin.
The greater part of progress is the desire to progress.

Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Destiny is not a matter of chance it’s a matter of choice.
Each of us has two ends a sitting end and a thinking end, Success depends on which we use.

Many spend half the time wishing for things they could have if they didn’t spend half the time wishing.
For every person who climbs the ladder of success there are a dozen waiting for the elevator.

To succeed do the best you can, where you are, with what you have.
Wisdom is what’s left over after we smarten up.

Many people quit looking for work when they finally get a job.
Don’t wait for your ship to come in swim out to it.

I cannot express how true these are. When we stop looking at someone successful and saying they are lucky or they had it handed to them, which is not the case. Mimic what they did to achieve greatness, learn from them. The road will be different, but the destiny can be the same. This is a nice video to see also!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tWLqFmaNdQ

Finally I say to dream big, find a mentor, and always be truthful, never quit, and never stop learning.

Go fly!

Jeff