Sail Past Your Icebergs

R.M.S. Titanic leaving Cobh from Jamie McGinlay

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” ― Robert H. Schuller

On April 10, 1912, the largest ship ever at that time, left Southampton, England on her maiden voyage to New York City. It was a magical and wondrous ship that was last seen by those on shore when it departed its final European stop of Cobh, Ireland. This sleek ship was to achieve a record setting six-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean.

On the night of April 14, 1912 at 11:40pm, the ship struck a massive iceberg. In only three hours the entire ship had sunk. What was thought to be the safest ship, the RMS Titanic became completely submerged about 2:45 AM on the morning of April 15, 1912.

Of the 2,228 people on board; 1,343 were passengers and 885 were crew members. There were only enough lifeboats on board the ship to hold 1,178 people. A number of the lifeboats were lowered at less than full capacity, resulting in a significantly small survivor number.

The exact number of survivors tends to vary, however the most common reported number is 705. Which means 1517 people lost their life on the Titanic. And with this tragedy, lives upon lives were changed forever. All because of a single iceberg floating on the currents of a vast ocean.

Each of us go through life, constantly on the lookout for any icebergs that may cross our paths. Watching for an obstacle or event that could impact our lives is a part of being prepared. Yet somehow, every once in a while, the tip of the iceberg slips by our cautious view.

And then it happens to us; job loss, relationship dissolves, an accident or sickness and worse yet death of a loved one. The level of unexpected circumstances vary like the size of an iceberg that lay beneath the water line. All events that may have been unavoidable even if you did see it coming. Your 'unsinkable' life has just been put into crisis.

You can't avoid some of the unavoidable, but you can prepare. In the case of the Titanic, there were only enough lifeboats to accommodate half of the ships people on board. Your ship is the safest and unsinkable. But being prepared for what life will send your way is the best thing you can do.

Job loss; keeping yourself connected to a network of people and up-to-date in skills will give you a head start on the next job. The competition for that new job will be intense, but you will have the tools to recover as opposed to sinking.

Relationship dissolves; keeping yourself connected to a network of people and maintaining a sense of self worth. The emotional pain will still occur, but you will have the tools to recover as opposed to sinking.

Accident or sickness; keeping yourself connected to a network of people and healthy ahead of time. The recovery will still take place but being healthy to start improves your overall ability to rebound.

Death of a loved one; the hardest one to give advice on because it varies widely on its effect as well as cutting so deep on a personal level. Yet keeping yourself connected to a network of people and having a strong faith will give you greater strength than you might imagine.

Each 'iceberg' we encounter is eased by having this network of people. The ones that will drop what they are doing and be there for you. Each 'iceberg' event has in some way a corresponding spoke of life that will see us through. When all of these spokes are well-balanced, the more balanced we will be to recover.

The 'icebergs' are out there floating on the currents of life and when we encounter them we can be prepared to handle them. We can be one of the survivors that are 'unsinkable'. We will sail further in life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Attitude Check

"The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." -Marilyn Ferguson

Did you check the oil level in your car's engine today by chance? Maybe you created a checklist of grocery items needed for the house last night before going to bed. As you left for work, you may have stopped to check the thermometer or rain gauge to see what the weather is like. Are you really prepared for the day?

And we all do this; stop by the mirror to check what we look like. We make sure our hair is combed straight and that our clothing for the day looks appropriate. Again, are you really prepared?

The one thing we do forget is to check our attitude.

Knowing what type of mood we are in can make all the difference in how our day proceeds. But many times it is the last thing we ever think of doing. We rush off, out the door into a world that is waiting to test your very attitude. Maybe we are not quite prepared?

The unexpected nature of life does not mean that life is 'out to get you.' Rather it is just life happening and if we prepare our attitude ahead of time, then adjusting to the roller coaster events will easily be enjoyed or endured (for those that do not like roller coaster rides).

Now you are prepared!

Take a few minutes each morning to just relax and reflect upon how you want your day to go. Prepare yourself to understand how you feel going into your day. It is an attitude check that you can perform at any point or multiple points through out your day. An attitude check will prepare you for a great day and should be a part of the everyday routine.

Stay inspired my friends!

Grab the Opportunity

Today is about opportunity, preparing for it, recognizing it and seizing it.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
-Charles R. Swindoll

When you adopt a positive attitude in life, you are setting the stage for yourself. Being able to say, I'm ready "no matter what" is an important part of opportunity. Many of us tell ourselves the time is not right or begin to prepare for it once opportunity is upon us. By then it can be too late to grasp hold of it.

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
-Sarah Caldwell

And when we have prepared ourselves, opportunity will be so much easier to identify. So many times we are wrapped up in our own misfortune, that you don't recognize the fact that opportunity is staring you in the face. We expend all our energy on complaining that opportunity slips by before we notice it. Only to repeat the cycle of despair or self complaining.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
-Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

For those that do prepare and see opportunity, they grasp it when it arrives. There is no need to think but only to react and take hold of it. When you have prepared yourself, you understand that regardless of whether you succeed or fail, you will survive and move on. Opportunity is only the vehicle of change. It doesn't predict success nor does it predict failure, it is simply movement in your life. Seize opportunity and let the movement change you.

“Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals - Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want.”
-Marsha Sinetar

Opportunity always comes your way. It comes in life changing ways, it comes in small and seemingly insignificant ways. Your life is full of these and with a positive view on life, you can take on these opportunities and turn them into great things.

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Life will allow you the opportunity to have a great life. It takes an attitude of willingness to understand what it can do for you and those around you. Prepare for those opportunities, recognize them and take hold of every opportunity that comes before you. You will have a great life and you will make a great life for those around you.

Stay inspired my friends.

Baby Its Cold

Johnny Carson: Man, is it cold out there today.
Ed McMahon: How cold is it?
Johnny Carson: It's so cold I saw a chicken with a capon.

Okay, so maybe it isn't that cold out side but my first day in Germany and the temperature is 14 degrees Farenheit. An artic blast reminding me that yes, it does get cold in various places.

I was warned though and I planned ahead. But having a carry-on suitcase and not wanting to carry bundles of coats, I felt prepared enough. The jacket, scarf, hat and gloves were and will have to be enough. Even with my planning though, the sharpness of the cold cut through me.

That is sort of how life is sometimes. We plan and prepare for what is to come but sometimes it just isn't enough. The sharpness of circumstance will cut through you and change the course of your day. What matters is how you carry forth from the situation.

For me, I could let it ruin my entire business trip. I could decide to allow myself to be miserable but won't. I'll enjoy the feeling of the cold, of artic wind upon my face and the numbing of my toes. It will create great memories and also lessons for next time.

Something can always be gained from your experience. And the great thing is that you get to decide. It is your choice on how you'll respond to the situation. I choose to enjoy it, learn from it and next time I will certainly be more prepared. That is how we move ahead in life.

Stay warm and stay inspired my friends.

Gathering Firewood

"Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control." -Richard Kline

As I drive the back roads of New England, driving to the office and back to the hotel, you see the preparation for winter taking place by humans. Their porches are stacked with cords of firewood. Long rows of cut and dried wood line the driveway alongside the garage. Small sheds are filled to the roof line with hard and seasoned firewood. The work required in preparation for winter has been long and hard.

Each of us know that preparing for something is essential in success. Success in making it through the winter by keeping your home warm. Success in presenting a business topic at a seminar. Success in having a great relationship or marriage. Success in raising your kids to be successful as well.

Some of us are better than others in preparing. Some of us over prepare to the point of obsession. While there are those that seem to do very little in preparing for something. For all of the preparing we do though, we have to remain confident in whatever amount of preparing we have done.

Confidence is key to pulling yourself through when you start to question the level of preparedness you have done. Without it, we will never see ourselves through to the end. Confident that you will make it through the tough winter that is part of the road to achieving a goal or vision.

Try to be prepared in all that you do. Be prepared at what ever level you feel good about. But most of all, be confident in the preparation that you have done. Be confident in yourself and see the success you will achieve.

Prepare

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." ~Abraham Lincoln

You get up in the morning, shower, dress and eat breakfast. Some then start the car while others head off to the bus stop. You arrive, grab a coffee or other drink and sit at your desk. Or you put on gloves and a hard hat, making your way towards the task at hand.

Lunch arrives, you open your lunch pail or the menu. Maybe a personal phone call or two and then back to work until the time to leave arrives. So back into your car or to a bus ride home. The dog needs to be walked, the supper cooked, maybe a school meeting or catching up on your reading.

The time for bed comes around finally and pajama dressing, teeth brushing and setting the alarm for the next morning. All of this happens day in and day out, most times without even thinking about it.

But everything you do or have done required some level of preparation. It took some planning, some thought and some decision making. You then put each of those things into action.

Now think about your visions or dreams. Have you prepared? Have you planned? Have you put them into motion?

Preparing For Snow In Your Life

"Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me." ~Carl Sandburg

Everyone knew it was coming. Everyone planned by buying up groceries for the kitchen and gas for the car. The various road departments had the sanding trucks on standby. The airlines started cancelling nearly 2000 flights. Schools were closing, businesses were closing; the whole city was shutting down in preparation for the snow.

And then it happened. There it was, six inches of snow across the Atlanta area. The large amount of snow came as predicted and many still felt unprepared for it. Snow and then sleet on top of it with the rest of the country looking on.

Those further north are much more prepared for this sort of thing and snicker at our efforts. But yes, this much snow can pretty much paralyze the south. The good thing is that we can usually count on the temperatures moderating fairly quickly. This does mean our winter wonderland will be somewhat short lived.

Seems very much like life itself. Sometimes we can see it coming far off down the path we are walking. We prepare ourselves for it, we know its going to happen, but when it does finally happen we still feel unprepared. And I would venture to say that you are better off for having prepared.

Yet it is those times when the 'unexpected' happens that we feel even more frustrated. You see when circumstance happens or even being prepared for a snow storm in your life, you still have to work through it.

We can sit back and watch the snow and ice fall. Watch as it covers everything with a hard thick covering. Watch as it smothers our life until we find it even harder to move.

Or we can enjoy the snow, get out and clear the driveway or path of our journey in order to proceed. When the unexpected happens or even when we prepare and become overwhelmed, the true path is forward. Keep pushing through the snow and ice. Carefully of course, but with the intent that this too shall pass, this too we shall overcome.

Two Days

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Two days and one blog article, it sounds like a confessional or apologetic musing asking for forgiveness to my avid readers. I failed to write yesterday as I was travelling home to Atlanta with my wife from Los Angeles. Could I have written yesterday, most certainly.

We made it to the airport, settled into the lounge to wait for our flight and thought to myself, "I really don't feel like writing today." I was enjoying the simple pleasure of sitting and talking with my wife. This was a short window of time before we would both return to our busy lives. Even though I worked a fair bit while on vacation, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time with our daughter and her husband.

But here we were, sitting in an airport lounge enjoying the remaining moments before we launched back into our lives. This was us waiting upon that 'wave' Thoreau spoke about. Preparing to grab hold of the everyday and new experiences coming towards us. The preparation for these moments of launch may seem like an eternity, but they fall upon us ever so quickly. So enjoy those quiet moments just prior to the launch.

Your moment might be in the early morning hours before the day begins. It might be as the day is ending, the countdown is your time to reflect and prepare. Get ready to launch with every moment, take your life to a new level and enjoy the ride.

Forecast Great Things

The weather channel says there is a probability of rain or snow. The news channels begin to repeat it over and over. The impending storm could possibly happen and there is no shortage of people reminding you. So you run to the store and buy bread, eggs and milk along with some extra batteries. You are convinced the storm will happen so preparation is your motto.

Early in the morning you wake to see just how bad it is outside. The surprise on your face tells the story. The hype of news over snow materialized and now you have a lot of egg sandwiches to eat. The idea of being prepared is not what I'm writing about though.

Being prepared is a good thing. Looking to the future and believing in a forecast is like believing in your own goals. The forecast and signs of success are there, but do you prepare nearly as much. Do you believe in what you have forecast for yourself and then done as much as you can to get yourself ready for the outcome?

You must believe in your goals, more importantly in yourself. The forecast for you is success and great things; are you prepared?
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