What derails our confidence?

Everything.

Then, perhaps we should watch this You Tube video for our hourly dose of inspiration.

Before you decide to not click the video, let me simply ask you, right now, are you inspired to start your day? Are you 100% confident in your ability to be remarkable and indispensable?

I get nothing if you click through and watch it. Well, almost nothing.  I get the peace of knowing that I tried my best to help you this morning.

If you click here, you’ll see a common man, working for the phone company, who has every reason to back down from his destiny.

But he didn’t.  And neither should we.

Will be back again tomorrow for another shot at helping you with your daily dose of “don’t settle”.

PS.  The clip has 63 million views so far.

Trash is as trash does.

Sins of commission (trying to do the right thing) are forgivable…

Sins of omission (doing nothing when you should be doing something) are not.

Is it acceptable to throw trash on the ground, because others have?

Is it acceptable to throw away your dreams because others have?

Famous

Yesterday’s jeff noel blog post, with the quote sent from Sally, is a reminder of how difficult it is to have the confidence to feel like we can make a difference.

People who know you well, will not notice your transformation, and therefore, you are much more susceptible to their ridicule and your own doubt.

And during this Lenten Season, many are reminded of Jesus’ story. Jesus wasn’t considered a Prophet in his home town, but he should have been.

Instead, he changed the course of history with his humility. And his prophetic promise, and sacrifice.

Mid Life Celebration

“You have the opportunity to be a powerful influence on the lives of other people, no matter your position in life.” — V.J. Smith

A reader of the five daily blogs I write sent this quote in a separate email.

It’s powerful.

It’s powerful when you come to realize that if you believe long enough and hard enough, it’s contagious. And no amount of rank or position can take that away from you.  None.

Daily writing began in earnest a year ago. So literally, prior to that, I was writing one post per year. Ya with me.

Here’s the very first “blog post” I ever wrote, three years ago. Maybe reading this will give you hope to not give up on your dream.

EVERYTHING’S IMPORTANT
(April 02, 2007)

How many books and articles have been written, over time, about what’s really important in life?  In business?  In leadership?  In raising children?  In becoming successful?  In learning to prioritize your life?  In achieving financial freedom? In becoming the best you, you can be?  The answer, we all know.  It’s thousands and thousands.  This begs a profound question.  What are they all trying to say?  Really?

Two of the most magnificent days in your life are the day you were born, and, the day you figure out why!

Have you figured it out yet?  If you’re like me, and the rest of your human brothers and sisters,  the obvious answer is no!  Most of us, simply because we’re human, will go to our graves not knowing .  How tragic is that?  It’s criminal, eh?

How then, is it possible to travel for decades on this glorious planet, and never figure this out?  This too is a no-brainer. It’s because, “EVERYTHING’S IMPORTANT”!

What do you mean, Jeff?  Think about it.  We have all had bosses, or maybe we were the boss, and, it’s one fire-drill after another.  Everything’s important, right. It gets so confusing that we finally just cave in and  say, “OK, everything’s important”.  It’s that seemingly insignificant moment that you doom yourself to a life of mediocrity.  Really!

It’s like the story of the frog in a pan of room temperature water, sitting on the stove.  A group of teenagers slowly turn up the heat to see what the frog will do. We all know how this plays out.  The frog never notices the slowly changing water temperature and dies as the water finally reaches the boiling point.

How is this possible?  It’s possible because you and I are weak.  We are conditioned to accept mediocrity.  We are shown images of greatness in the media.  Constantly.  No one ever talks about the serious, but do-able, effort required to be excellent.  And so it goes.  We give up, It’s perfectly acceptable to give up.  Everyone does it.  Why should you be any different?  Because!

Because if you don’t try harder, you will never know the difference between joy, liberation and inner peace, compared to the alternative – a life sentence in your unfulfilled journey.  Is this your legacy?  The legacy  you want your children to see and model?  Go to jail, go directly to jail.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200 dollars.

Right now you should be feeling some pain.  Emotional, psychological pain.  This is a very good sign this  book is for you.

It has taking years, no, decades, to discern the truth.  You’ve probably heard it said:  “Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making mistakes”.  The truth is here at your fingertips.  In these pages.  You can do what you want at this point.  The choice is yours (there’s a BFO)!

I know of no other person who’s invested more time and emotional labor to simplify life’s truths.  They say, “to teach is to learn twice”.  Your journey is like mine.  We are born.  We grow and learn.  Somewhere on your  path, is your answer to your question, “Why am I here”?

Are you ready?

Pause!

Yes, pause and think.

This will make you feel uncomfortable, no doubt.  You should get used to this feeling, so that, in time, you will welcome your pain that comes when you slow down, and look inside yourself.  You will discover, there is no other way.

If you think about why you are reading this book, then your answer to continue or not  will be automatic.  Yes!

Please turn the page when you are ready.

Motivation is like a fire. Let’s keep it lit with our own passion for reading, and for doing good work.

Can you comprehend this?

The Tree Gets It

We can not fully begin to live until we are fully prepared to die.

Once you figure out what this means, you’re life will become extraordinary.

But not until then.

Mid Life Celebration, LLC

Ever make a plan or goal, and find yourself at a place one year later, and wonder where the time has gone?

And when you find yourself there one year later, do you celebrate your amazing accomplishment, or do you look back and realize that there was no progress whatsoever?

About one year ago, I looked back on 2008, and realized that I had failed.

Now, looking back at 2009, it’s time to celebrate.

The most amazing phenomenon?

Becoming an exception to the rule: the only Internet blogger who writes five daily blogs.