Finish Line

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." -John Dewey

I have heard it said many times that starting a journey towards a goal is the easy part...finishing it is the hard part. Its a true and sometimes painful lesson for many of us to learn in life.

We set forth at the beginning of a new year with plans for many things. But by the second or third month, life and our own selves get in the way. We lose interest, become interested in other "bright and shiny" things or simply give up. It is a common theme for many of us and finishing really is the hard part.

I wrote recently that my son graduated from the University of Georgia, picking up his Bachelor of Science in Geology, Summa Cum Laude. Now it is graduate school (should he decide) ahead of him. I am sure it was a long and hard road to achieve this moment. Yet he pushed and kept his mind on the goal and beyond.

It is that piece beyond the goal, that which lay beyond the finish line that keeps us motivated. One goal begets another goal, another destination, or another level of achievement. But none of it happens if you don't keep moving forward.

Now I fully understand that we can start a journey and then realize the path might be wrong. The goal we set may have been the wrong direction. The course we take might get altered. We may not complete the first goal in mind, but the path leads you to the next goal and the next and the next.

The best thing you can do is to set a goal and then get up and do something about it. Try to finish the journey to your goal. If you get side-tracked from it, adjust; don't just stop. Don't click on the CANCEL button. Don't click on the BACK button. Go forward and achieve a great life.

What Me Worry

"It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized." -Wayne Dyer

Recently a college graduation occurred in my family. A son earned his degree from the University of Georgia. It was a great time having most of our family together to celebrate this achievement. Another flight from the nest to greater destinations has begun.

It brings to mind as a parent the worry we continue to have through out our children's lives. We worry that they are healthy, getting enough to eat, shelter, clothing and the basic needs of life. We would love to care for them continually but letting them struggle and learn on their own teaches them even more. But we continue to worry none-the-less about such things.

My older children in their own way are working through their lives much like we did when younger and still do. It would be nice to take Alfred E. Neuman's worry-free view of life. The reality is that we will always worry on various levels. Its a human character to care not only for oneself but for others. The care we have for our children will always have worry.

But this worry is out weighed by our happiness for what they are doing with their lives. The joy of seeing first flight into the blue sky swells our hearts with pride. While we know that tumbles will occur, life will do them just fine.

As parents, we will worry and be there to share in the accomplishments, in the sorrows and in the glory of the life they live. I can not say don't worry. Heck, I worry about the lives of my children. But I get more joy out of each little thing they do.

I would much rather live the "what me worry" but that part will always be there. Worry, worry, worry...but do more then worry. Be proud of them more then worry. Respect their decisions more then worry. Be happy for them more then worry for them. Love them and don't worry so much.

What Happens in Vegas

"Buy the ticket, take the ride." -Hunter S. Thompson

This is the final day @EMCWorld here in fabulous Las Vegas. This city certainly knows how to put on a show, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and three-hundred sixty-five days a year. Keeping in the spirit of Las Vegas, the quote from Hunter Thompson seems appropriate.

So much can happen here. Many things can be gained, much can be lost and through it all its the ride you take. A popular phrase used by the Las Vegas Tourism folks is "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." It is a catchy phrase, but what I say is to take home the positive things from your stay.

Yes, you probably spent a bit too much money, maybe drank a little too much and maybe stayed up a bit too late, and it was fun, correct?

But you also learned a little bit while @EMCWorld? And didn't you gain a few more friends? And didn't you light a spark of vision inside yourself? Absolutely you did, absolutely you will!

What you have just done is "bought the ticket" and now you will "take the ride" of your life. Don't leave that vision in Vegas. Take it home with you and make it a BIG part of your life. Begin building momentum from this experience and create a great life.

Viva Las Vegas....
Viva your best life...

Dream Big

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." -Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Here we are now on day three @EMCWorld. There have been BIG announcements already and more BIG announcements to come. But the bigger thing that is on my mind are the BIG visions people will have going forward. Not just related to EMCWorld and technology, but BIG things for their lives.

To illustrate BIG in this post's picture, I was going to show a great view of the Palazzo Hotel here in Las Vegas where I am staying. From the street, it is a grand view; large, big and brightly lit. But framing that with the quote, I didn't want people viewing money as my cathedral. So I used an image of Saint Patricks Cathedral in New York City.

Neither the Palazzo Hotel or Saint Patricks Cathedral are meant as the objects of this article. The center piece is that to build something BIG and grand for your life you have to envision it first. A cathedral starts as a pile of stones and someone having a vision to create something great. A huge hotel begins as a list of dreams on napkins and memo pads.

Everything BIG starts starts as a BIG vision.

I suppose one might even make the case for the grand looking buildings in Las Vegas. But I say this from the view of people visiting Las Vegas, the EMC World convention goers and almost anyone, anywhere. If you look at success, the gold and grandness of it all, then maybe you will catch inspiration to lift your life to even greater heights.

I'm not interested in the false facade or illusions that can exist in life. I'm interested in sparking a real vision for your life in which you can do great things. So, if standing in front of a cathedral or a grand hotel can light a fire inside of you to do great things, then stand and be inspired.

There will be 10,000 people heading home soon from EMC World with lots of ideas, goals and visions for the upcoming year. A large portion of that will be centered on the BIG announcements made during this event. But I hope that each of them take home a BIG vision for their own life.

Enjoy the rest of the convention folks and dream BIG.