Thursday, February 04, 2010

The Certainty Of Possibility

"When nothing is sure, everything is possible." ~Margaret Drabble

While in New York on business recently the above quote was used in a presentation at one of my meetings. It was used in the vision being presented for this year. It was meant to inspire and push people to excellence in their pursuit of success.

It stuck with me as the day wore on and had me thinking about how it can be applied to everything we do. "When nothing is sure", pretty much describes what life can be like. A birth, school, marriage, divorce, job, money and even with death, nothing is sure.

One could think back to the days of the Cold War when a concrete barrier called the Berlin Wall was erected not to keep people out, but to keep them in. The uncertainty of ones life and would this wall ever come down. People dreamed of the day it would happen and it did eventually. Many thought it never would, but the dreams overpowered the uncertainty. Today the German people are no longer seperated by a wall, today they live with greater possibility.

We can spend all of our time concentrating on these uncertainties. Will my baby be healthy and smart? Will our marriage be all that I dreamed it would be? Will a divorce be the end to all that my life was ever going to be? Will I achieve my full potential in my job and have enough money to live a comfortable life? Will the death of someone close change everything.

The answer to these questions is yes and no. The answer to these questions is that "everything is possible" when everything is unsure. Events and circumstance will occur in your life. One aspect of your life may end or be radically changed. But it also means that a new chapter is beginning and you have limitless possibility.

So instead of worrying about the uncertainty, focus on possibility and see your life expand.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New Game Or Continue


When you are in the valley, keep your goal firmly in view and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb.” ~Denis Waitley

The game is played and you reach a point in which failure occurs. Mario couldn't jump the deep gorge; the race car veered off course; maybe the wall of Tetris bricks fell down around you. When this happens, you get two choices presented. One selection is to start a "NEW GAME", while the other option is to "CONTINUE".

Similarly in the game of golf, if you flub a swing, you have the opportunity for what is called a mulligan. Some call it a do-over or something that allows you to take another swing at the ball.

Yet when it comes to life, we only get this one to live. We can't start over our lives in order to avoid mistakes made. What we have is the ability to continue on with our life. All we have to do is make changes in how or what we are doing and then press the "CONTINUE" button.

Keep your eye ahead of you, towards the road further on. Find a different path, find a different way and continue on with your life. A NEW GAME may not be possible, but a NEW WAY is.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Build A Life


"Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process." ~Anne Wilson Schaef

You have heard it before. It was either directed at you or someone else. The phrase "get a life" is tossed around by many folks. It is usually directed at those that are lazy or wasting their days. It is also meant to describe a process of achieving more.

But I contend that the phrase "get a life" is a misstatement. My belief is that you "build a life". There is no reaching up on a shelf to choose or find the life you want. I can not look up the keyword "life" on the Amazon website and all is well. It takes change on my part to help "build" the life you want.

Whether we are building a life from the ruins of a death, divorce or disaster, we do the work necessary to create something new for ourselves. We read stories of how others built a new life. We search for inspiration to keep us moving in the direction of a new life. We construct a life that will be great.

And when this life you are building begins to take shape, others will take notice. Your life will be that much greater when you "build a life".

Monday, January 18, 2010

Looking Beyond


Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ~Matthew 3:24

Its amazing what can happen when our path becomes blocked by trouble or pain. Some will look and simply sit down on the side of the road. So many of these roads are littered with the shanty buildings of those that have given up.

Others though will see the mountain and have the ability to believe in something beyond it. They can see what lay beyond the obstacle and use faith to guide them past it.

With the recent earthquake in Haiti, as with any major disaster; people will see the devastation around them and simply give up. But there will be many that can see the vision of a new country. Of rebuilding a hospital or a grocery store. They see their new home where now only a pile of rubble exists.

Your problems could be simply finding that job, someone to love or getting beyond whatever troubles you. It is your own personal mountain; your own personal boulder on the road to where you want to be. See beyond the obstacle and believe in it.

Then begin your trek across, around, over or through it. There are many different ways to achieve success. All you have to do is keep trying. Pretty soon you'll leave those shacks built by others along the road. A clear and wonderful path will lay before you.

Take today and work through what you have. Tomorrow will present greater opportunity for you and yesterday is gone...so let it go. Overcome your obstacles and achieve.