Resolution To Start

“To make any year, your year, keep it simple:
1) Count your blessings first
2) Whatever you did last year, Do it better
3) Go step by step, One day at a time.
4) Create/make your own opportunities.
5) Believe in your abilities at all times,
6) Quitting is not an option. Keep Going.
7) Finish what you started”
― Pablo

res·o·lu·tion, ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/noun

1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.
"she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more"
synonyms: intention, resolve, decision, intent, aim, plan; More
2. the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter.
"the peaceful resolution of all disputes"
synonyms: solution to, answer to, end to, ending to, settlement of, conclusion to
"a satisfactory resolution of the problem"

You know what the word means.

You have a list of items to guide you.

You now should start.

Stay inspired my friends!

Start Tomorrow By Starting Today

#FallbackFriday

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day." - James Joyce

Each of us are a product of what we did yesterday. The things we did, what we ate, what we read, and how we treated people created the person who woke up today. It changed big things and little things about us and now in today's light, we must live with those changes in us.

The same thing will happen based upon how we approach today.

The news we read and the books we finish change us just a little bit. What happened to us at work or on the drive home modifies our personality slightly. How we reacted to all the events and people who passed through our world during the day have an impact.

We can make a resolution to change something about our life today.

But then we tell ourselves it can wait, tomorrow I will change. But tomorrow comes and you believe yourself to be the same person, but something has changed. You have created a person will to accept changes by putting it off. Even though we continually say we are going to do something with our life, it feels that change never happens.

To put off today until tomorrow.

But something did happen....you lost one more day, one more opportunity, one more chance to do something with your life. The you today might be similar to the you of yesterday, but there is less to show for it; less of what you want in life.

Yesterday creates nothing more or creates the start of everything for you.

Forget about yesterday and take hold of creating your tomorrow, today. Grab hold of the opportunity so that tomorrow when you wake up, a different you is slipping into those shoes and heading out the door. In order for that to happen, you must take steps today. It begins with making that first step.

One change today, changes the you of tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

Start and Run

Start by starting." -Meryl Streep

Okay, so you have made that decision to create change in your life. Your dream has been transformed into a set of goals. There are pieces of paper hung in those places to remind you of the vision. You are really going to do it this time you have reminded yourself a multitude of times.

You click on the 'START' button and all of a sudden you have choices. You had thought it was as simple as starting. The act of starting is a big step towards your goal, but the goal doesn't just happen. There are going to be decisions to make, changes to the plan and needed help along the way.

Think of the different choices presented to you;

- NEW DOCUMENT
- OPEN DOCUMENT
- SET PROGRAM ACCESS AND DEFAULTS
- UPDATE
- PROGRAMS
- SETTINGS
- SEARCH
- HELP AND SUPPORT
- RUN
- LOG OFF
- SHUTDOWN

And get the SHUTDOWN and LOG OFF options off your list now.

These are the options that say quit or end the journey towards a goal. It doesn't mean an end to life, it means you have decided not to pursue your dreams any further. That is why there is a HELP AND SUPPORT option available to you. A place to go that will help give you direction and assistance along the way. We each need help once in a while and don't be afraid to use it.

There are PROGRAMS that will work with you along the way and when you can not find your way, then the SEARCH feature of your life is available. Use those people in your life that build you up with real advice. Surround yourself with positive people and learn from the success of others.

You can UPDATE your goals along the way as well. You will OPEN the DOCUMENT that describes your goals. You read these constantly and try never to close it. When the time to update the goal comes, create a NEW DOCUMENT with the updated goals. Save and never lose the document; make copies and read them often.

As you get things figured out, you can SET PROGRAM ACCESS AND DEFAULTS that put those things into an automatic mode so that your energy can be focused on the goal. Just don't forget that even these items need to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Finally, an important choice you can make.

The choice is to RUN towards a vision. You have been talking and dreaming of it for so long. Now is the time to reach out towards that thing you want.

It all "starts by starting" and you are on your way.

Stay inspired my friends!

Start Now

“What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

At the start of a new year, many people like to make resolutions. They decide that January 1st is the best time to start on a path to accomplish some particular task or goal in their lives. It could be a goal to lose weight, exercise more or eat better on a daily basis. Others may decide to quit smoking, drinking or try to simply moderate any excesses in their lives. Still others have financial, relationship, college and a host of other goals.

Whatever type of vision or dream you might have, what are you waiting for?

You are probably telling yourself that January 1st is nearly a month behind us. You could be saying internally, "I'll plan during the year and get a start on things next January 1st." The problem with this thinking is that it will never happen. Unless you push the start button now and start moving, year after year you will keep repeating the same thing. You will never advance from that worn spot on the carpet where you pace, constanly planning but never doing.

Anything you decide to do in the new year can not be accomplished if you do not begin moving towards it today. And guess what? There is nothing magical about January 1st. Yes, you read that correctly. January 1st is a date on a calendar, a moment in time. What that means is that you can start now, today, this hour, this minute.

There is no special alignment of the stars.

There is no perfect economy.

There is no fool-proof business model.

There is only YOU and this moment in time.

Stay inspired my friends!

Dreams for 2012

The end of 2011 is coming quickly to an end. In under four days, 2011 will ring out with a rush of parties, a dropping of the ball in New York's famed Times Square (yes, there are many others around the world), kissing, hugging and resolutions declared. People will declare the start of a new year, new beginning and renewed hope for better times.

While I talked of that new beginning in a previous article, I understand the general consensus will go based upon the calendar. But it doesn't mean that you can't start thinking about it now; starting today with a new beginning and renewed hope for better times.

As we dream of great things and see visions of prosperity, success and great love in 2012, dreaming is only part of the equation. There are those dreams that come to us at night while we sleep. There are dreams that occur during the day as we lazily ponder thoughts in our mind. But as you notice, both are sedentary activities, no movement, only thought. But what I have found is that DREAMS + ACTION = ACHIEVEMENT as you start a new beginning and renewed hope for better times.

As I have said before, you have to "Raise the BAR" (Believe, Act, Realize) in order to achieve your dreams. Do not wait until the blur of 12:01 AM on January 1 or even the hangover of the next morning. Start making movement on the 2012 year. Forget that the Mayans wrote of destruction and disaster. Believe in greatness and a new beginning and renewed hope for better times.

In an article called "10 Tips for Turning Your Dreams into Reality!" by Inez Bracy, Inez Bracy International; those things you need to start considering are;

1. Take an in depth look at your life, who you are and how you show up.
2. Decide if this is the way you want your life to be 365 days from now.
3. Give yourself permission to move in the direction of the life you say you want.
4. Chart your course; set goals toward achieving your dream life.
5. Do something daily that takes you closer to your dream
6. Keep a journal of your progress.
7. Celebrate something daily.
8. This is about you and for you.
9. Ask for help when you need to.
10. Express gratitude daily.

But you have to start now, start today; get a head start on 2012 before the crowd gets in the way. You will be on your way to something greater in your life, your best life.

Stay inspired my friends.

In-Between Bits

"Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else." -Brian Tracy

There you stand at the start line, anticipation and excitement building up inside of you. Those around you are murmuring the same thrill of the race to begin. The general tone of the crowd begins to build in crescendo, everyone waiting for the starting gun to go off.

Bang!!

Away everyone takes off and immediately they cross the finish line. That finish line tape breaks as all of the runners shout in joy. The band plays and the crowd cheers in approval.

Think of what it would be like to get rid of all the bits in-between the start and finish line. What if we set a goal in life, started and could finish it right away without having to deal with all of the ups and downs in-between? What if you could snap your fingers and you would be done?

I'm not sure we would really gain all that much. The first couple of times would be pretty cool one could suppose. But we would lose our ability to grow, to learn from all that happens in-between. Pretty soon I'm sure you would become bored with life in general. We are born and than we die; no sense messing about with all of that stuff in-between right?

It is great though that life isn't that way. It is great that we have to live all of the in-between bits. We have to struggle in order to appreciate the success. We have to endure some pain in order to experience the joy. We get to live life and all that happens from start to finish.

While the start of something is exciting and crossing the finish line is exhilarating, the tough part is what happens between the two. We can easily allow discomfort to takeover and allow us to abandon our dreams. You are running the race and someone yells "free ice cream" and we pull off course, distracted from the finish. Well, you get my point.

All of that stuff in-between is the really important part of achieving any goal or dream. Starting is easy and crossing the finish line is easy. Keeping yourself motivated and inspired is the hard part. It will be a roller-coaster ride, painful, joyful, easy, hard, and you name it.

You will finish though, you will break the finish line tape. The band will strike up a song, the crowds will cheer, the trophy will be presented and pictures taken. But before you get there, keep moving forward, keep advancing, keep overcoming anything that stands between your start line and that glorious finish line.

Just Start

Whatever you want in life, start today.
Not tomorrow - today.
Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning.
Your happiness depends on starting today - every day.
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Along with all that life is throwing at us, kids in school, a busy work schedule and a spouse's surgery; we decided to remodel a good share of the house. All at the same time and all culminating in our time being filled to the brink.

I would not say it is overwhelming for all of us (me, you and everyone else) as each of us has the capacity to do more then we give ourselves credit for. I would say that we took this on because waiting just wasn't in the cards. We were ready to move on all of it even if we didn't think we were completely ready.

What I mean by that is all of us have something we want or want to do in life. But inevitably we procrastinate or reason that the timing isn't perfect. Yet now is the perfect time. Now is when you should be starting to get on with your life.

For us, an opened wall between our dining room and living room will create a grand space for family and friends. Fresh paint on the walls will brighten rooms in which we gather. The new carpets will comfort our feet as we dance away the days. Yes, getting on with life in spite of all that happens is a good thing.

Take a moment to breath a short sigh and then get on with it. Start moving forward with your life. Start the makeover, start the new class, start with starting as opposed to waiting. Your life will be so much grander for having done so.