Did you know that EVERY important decision in America is made by 545 individuals? There are 316 Million Americans and essentially every aspect of our lives is impacted and controlled by 545 individuals who have been given the power to set, interpret, and enforce the laws of our land? There is one President, nine Supreme Court Justices, 100 Senators, and 435 Representatives. They are directly responsible for the direction our country heads day by day, week by week, and year by year. For me that is a scary thought that so few people have been entrusted with so much power to directly impact mine and my family’s lives.
How Come I Never Get Opportunities Like That?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? I know I did for many years. I would observe people who were finding more success than me in many endeavors and I would just repeat that question over and over again in my mind. The problem was this is a disempowering question and I would just come up with a list of reasons I was not getting opportunities. I realized my focus shouldn’t be one why I did not get opportunities, but it should be on what I could do in order to get more opportunities. Here are the three things I realized I could do to gain more opportunities.
Who Sold You That Plan?
I know it is mentioned from time to time in the media and the politicians in Washington like to mention it around election time, but have you noticed we have a FINANCIAL CRISIS on our hands in America? It kind of seems to me like everyone is aware of it, but we are all too scared to talk about it. So what do we do? We ignore it, pretend like we do not have a financial crisis, and things continue to get worse and worse every year.
How Much Does It Cost?
In order to find success, happiness, & fulfillment in life we first must determine what we want. That is where we all begin, but there are plenty of people who know what they want and still do not get it. Why is that? That is a great question and there is a very simple reason.
5 Reasons To Be An Entrepreneur
Have you ever thought about being an entrepreneur and starting your own business? I know before I finally made the decision to start my own business it was a thought I would have from time to time, but for one reason or another I would always find reasons why I could not. I am sure if we all got together we could come up with a list of 100 reasons why you should not become an entrepreneur. I am sure each reason would have some validity to it. What I would like to do is offer five reasons WHY you should consider starting your own business.
Vision Night
One truth I have discovered is most people do not succeed in just about any endeavor because they simply do not know what they really want and why they want it. Our vision for our life is our personal compass which directs us and guides us. Without first knowing what we want we simply cannot determine what is wise to do as we move towards where we want to be in life. That is what I discussed in What Do You Want. Once we have identified what we want we are then faced with the continual challenge of staying focused on what we want and where we are going while we take the daily actions to move closer to our dreams.
A Fine Reputation
I have shared before about the power of words. As I continue to grow in my leadership I continue to become more aware of a leader’s responsibility to always speak words of life over people. I recently just finished listening to How to Win Friends & Influence People on Audible. This book is a MUST READ if you want to find more success and happiness. The book is full of simple actionable wisdom that will help you accomplish exactly what the title describes. One of the many take aways/reminders I have after listening to it is point number 7 in the Be A Leader Chapter, Give The Other Person A Fine Reputation To Live Up To. This reminded me of a quick story from a few years ago.
Do You Know The Best Question Ever?
Have you ever made a decision that you wound up regretting? I know I have more times than I would like to admit. I am willing to bet all of us have made decisions that did not turn out how we intended them to. Sometimes there can be serious consequences for these poor decisions we make. Have you ever looked back on that decision and thought, “How could I have been so dumb?” or “Why didn’t I see that coming?” Again, I know I have. What if I told you there was a question you could have asked that could have helped you decide differently and avoid almost any poor decision you have ever made? Would you be interested?
What Should I Read?
In my last two posts, I Don’t Like To Read & What Are You Feeding Your Mind, I shared some thoughts and insights into the important of reading. As a follow up I figured I would share some of my favorite books in the following categories: Faith, Parenting, Personal Development, Finances, Leadership, & Business. There are several other great books in all of these areas. In fact I would love to hear from you about your favorite books in any or all of these areas. I know of several other great books that have been recommended to me by friends and mentors who I trusts. I only wanted to recommend and endorse books I have personally read and received tremendous value from.
What Are You Feeding Your Mind?
Yesterday I shared the importance of reading. I want to expound upon that idea some more with you. Overcoming the self-imposed limitation of “I Don’t Like To Read”. All of us would never consider driving our cars for hundreds and thousands of miles without stopping for gas. Why is that? It is because we know after a few hundred miles our cars would be broken down on the side of the road. We also would never consider going without eating food and drinking water for 3 months. We know that food and water are fuel for our bodies. Our bodies simply cannot function without them. They are a necessity. The same is true for our minds. What would happen in our lives if we paid as much attention to what we feed our minds as what we feed our cars and our bodies?