Leading Change

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -Henry Ward Beecher

You have most likely seen it happen many times. It may have been at work, at the market, or in school. It comes in many different forms, many different versions and many times in subtle ways.

One way to describe it is a lack of leadership in setting a good example. Or you might see it as demanding of others but not of yourself.

One example I could use is while driving on the road. Recently I was driving down the freeway, probably in too big of a hurry and maybe it had been a long day. One particular car had me "pinned in" the far right lane, driving just fast enough so that I could not move over due to a large truck.

Frustrating as it was, I soon looked closer and on the car was one of those bumper stickers which read, "How's my driving?. All I could think of at first was, "stupidly". Okay, I might have thought a few other words also.

As we kept moving along, it made me wonder how is "MY" driving? Was I demanding greater perfection from others then I would demand of myself? Were my own driving habits a bad example or having a negative cascading effect upon others? I eased off and ended up with a much more relaxing few more miles home.

It would be interesting if we had a bumper sticker on our back.

The question is, will you lead the change in your life to be better? Will you demand more of yourself before you demand it of others. How is your driving?

Success in Steps

"The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance - and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.." -Oprah Winfrey

It is a very refreshing and calming thing when you have achieved success. You breath easier. Your shoulders relax. Life just seems to be perfect at that moment.

But like the sweet smell of fresh cut flowers or newly baked bread, the aroma lingers but for a while. It drifts and suddenly you find yourself looking to take the next step on the journey.

Some folks I know recently achieved a milestone of success. On their road to achieving a goal, they reached one important step. Every road to reaching something big requires reaching many smaller ones. Sometimes if a small one is not met your whole journey gets rerouted. But if you do get to key ones along the way, then your journey makes a huge step forward.

For two film makers and an actress, the first small step was to secure initial funding. Fun, intense, frustrating and relief are some words they may use to describe the result.

With their funding in place now, they can smell the sweet aroma of success. But they each know that the journey has just begun.

If you want a visual, think of it this way;

Vision: deciding that sitting on the couch forever is not an option
Action: getting up off the couch and walking out the front door

These folks have simply gotten through the gate at the end of the walk. A destination is out there waiting for them. There is a destination out there waiting for you as well.

Take your success in small steps. Consider each and every step towards a goal as a success. Savor each one of them but only for a short time. The next milestone will smell even sweeter.

Crawl or Screen to your Belief

CRAWL               SCREEN

"To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest." -Mohandas Gandhi

A couple of years back, Twitter was relatively new and I decided to join the conversation. I was looking for a way to simply draw attention to my blog site. I figured that if people needed motivation or a small bit of encouragement, they might catch site of my blog and be inspired by one or two articles.

It was early in this adventure that I caught sight of David Baker from Scotland in the U.K. David is a writer, director, producer, actor with a passion for making movies. Two people from different backgrounds, connected in the electronic world where elsewhere we never would have.

I have enjoyed reading and talking with David as he has worked hard to follow his dreams. So I am a supporter of his efforts, like anyone that believes in themself, David also acts upon what he believes in; he lives his vision which will end in the realization of that vision.

It was through Twitter and the electronic social world that David met a guy named Oklahoma Ward from (yes, really), Oklahoma here in the United States and an actress named Nicole Alonso from New Jersey. All three realized pretty quickly that they shared much of the same vision and passion for making films.

So they decided to put belief into action and are currently raising start up funds to create two films (CRAWL and SCREEN - shown above) and a documentary film giving us a view into what it takes to live your passion.

Right now (April 13, 2011), they are in the final 36 hours of that fund raising effort. They are a mere $1,900 US dollars short of their mark.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You can be part of the movie industry. You can be part of movie making magic. You can donate a few bucks to make this a reality. The links I've provided detail everything you need to know and how to become involved. But you need hook up today because when the hours tick down to zero, if the money is not there, the movies and documentary don't get made.

But they will get made...believe in it. That is what I always say, correct? What I'm asking you to do is believe in Nicole, Oklahoma and David.

Jump into the action today, live your beliefs and realize greatness in your life.

Tomorrow Is Here

by Mocachip

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Stephan Grellet

Yesterday I wrote an article titled "Building St. Peters". It was an article to try and get you thinking about starting your journey now. If you feel you have been stuck and not living your life to its best potential, yesterday was the day to start. That first step, that laying of the foundation walls; it takes movement.

Some people would misinterpret this to mean, open wide the throttle and run over people on your way to something. And there are those in life that will simply run over and crush those in the way of their goals. But once arriving, all they have done is left a trail of broken trust and broken relationships; they have left a broken legacy.

Achievement in life doesn't mean achieving your goals at the cost of others and at the cost of you. It means bringing others along with you and arriving at a destination with others, not alone.

There is an old saying that advises, "be nice to people on the way up as they will be the ones you meet again should you fall." I am not sure why people forget this one human quality of 'being nice.' There are certainly people that would rather not see you succeed. But there are many more that want to see you do well.

What we sometimes call the race to success is not the same destination for everyone. What we define as success is different to different people. So don't think of it as a race to only one goal for all people. It is your personal destination and others will help you, while you help them.

So now that I have distracted you a little bit from forgetting that you failed to start yesterday; are you starting today? Are you starting to be a little nicer to people? Are you getting up and making movement towards your dreams and goals?

Tomorrow will be here soon enough and all of your yesterdays will pile up behind you.