There You Are

"We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far." -Swami Vivekananda

I travel quite a bit in my job that that takes me to places far flung around this world. I have been to every one of the seven continents with the exception of Antarctica. I am trying to figure out what possible reason there might be for me to earn a business trip to that last one. It just has not worked out yet that Emperor Penguins have identified a use case for disk storage.

In each of these places, I know that my actions and words are closely watched and listened to. Each of my visits require me to speak in front of customers and the local co-workers for the company I work for. As anyone that speaks in front of others, you know that your words have impact upon those listening. What I say is expected to be truthful, accurate and easily understood. If that doesn't happen, the words can lead to misunderstandings and wrong outcomes.

Even my actions can have bearing upon those around me. The way I act during breaks in between meeting sessions. The way I act at a client dinner meeting or event. What I do and how I act have a huge impact on people's perception of me, my integrity and my influence or lack of influence. Acting like a dolt will certainly temper their opinion of me.

The same is true for anything I do, whether it be in front of people or behind closed doors. What I do, where ever I do it, that is who I am. It is similar to the old phrase that says, "Where ever you go, there you are." Both phrases basically mean that one cannot run from one's problems or actions indefinitely. I am who I am where ever I am.

So regardless of where I am, a meeting in front of customers, at home with the kids or standing in the checkout line at the store; people see your actions and who you are by what you say. It means that you or I can have influence on people no matter where we are. The way we think translates into words which translate into actions. So than it extends to where ever you are in your thoughts, so go your words and actions. Make those thoughts the right ones.

Start Tomorrow By Starting Today

"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 that 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 with 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 that passed through our world during the day has an impact on us.

We can make a resolution to change something about our life. But then we tell ourselves it can wait, tomorrow I will change. But tomorrow comes and you think you are the same person, but something has changed. You have created a person that is resistant to change by having put it off. Even though we continually say we are going to do something with our life, you might think that nothing ever does when we 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 is the same you as yesterday, but with less to show for it, less of what it is you want in life. You have started to create a person that will never make a change and achieve everything meant 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 person will be stepping into those shoes and heading out the door. In order for that to happen, you must take steps today. It all begins with making that first step. One change today, changes the you of tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

Circle of Influence

"Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.." -Napoleon Hill

Each of us, as we walk through life, have a sphere of influence around us. It is an area or impact circle that you have on those that enter or pass through it. Taken in its simplest form, your family, friends, co-workers, people at the store you shop at, where you buy your gas, church and everything you do; your moving circle of influence impacts a lot of different people.

During those moments when you interact with people, the way you speak, the words you speak, the way you conduct yourself and the way you respond are all chances to impact the life of another person. If you think about it, everywhere you go creates a sphere of influence. To adapt it from Confucious, "Wherever you go, there goes your influence."

What all of it means is that your influence and ability to impact people moves with you. In example, whenever and wherever I travel on business, my circle of influence travels with me. There some people that would say traveling takes them out of their comfort zone because it takes them out of their environment. But I say that your environment is all that is around you. Your environment moves with you and you carry that environment to those people you come across.

We might be moving into their fields, but your field moves with you, therefore they enter into my field as well. You may wonder what I mean by my field. I'll write about that another time. For now just know that as you move about in your daily life, that where ever you go, you can have impact on others. Try not to lose any opportunity to engage and create change within your circle of influence and also in the outer reaches of circle of concern.

Stay inspired my friends.

Flowing Opportunity

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." - Whitney M. Young

Opportunity abounds most every where you look in life. It is very likely that you pass it daily and not even recognize it is there. It flows through businesses, personal lives and out on the street where you may least expect it. It stands right behind you when looking the other way. It will sometimes leave a door open that has always been shut. Opportunity creates a light in what was once a dark hallway. And there are opportunities that you find on your own and those that are pointed out to you directly by others.

But grabbing hold of opportunity can be difficult if you are not prepared for it. The reason I say this has to do with being able to recognize the opportunity itself. An old saying is that you can not recognize that which you do not know. Most certainly you can be given an opportunity without knowing anything about it. You will struggle to understand that opportunity handed to you and if not done quickly, the opportunity will slip from your hands.

Even worse is that we walk by so many opportunities without realizing it. And the reason is because we simply can not se it. We do not have the knowledge to see it. We do not have the vision inside to know that it exists.

So the first thing you need to do is to increase your knowledge; knowledge of anything and everything. Read books, newspapers and magazines on multiple subjects. Every bit of information that soaks into your mind becomes a library of knowledge that will feed your vision. You will than be much better prepared for opportunity that presents itself to you. You will have the ability to identify opportunity flowing eveywhere that otherwise you may not have seen. You will touch that flowing opportunity and make it your won.

Secondly, you have to be prepared for change. It will be the type of change that is required to take hold of those things that come your way. There are many that see opportunity, can recognize and touch it, but have built walls of resistance to change. Change that is sometimes required to fully experience the opportunity found. this inability to make change in our life will prevent you from seeing what lies beyond the opportunity. It keeps us from being able to grab hold of new possibility in life. If you break down that wall of resistance, you will see a difference.

It is said that opportunity is like water. When it comes to containing water, it will always find a way, a path through which it can flow. If you dam it up, the water will rise and flow over the top. If a leak in the dam occurs, the water will find it and open it further. Opportunity is also like this. It will flow to the path of least resistance and if you have a wall built up around you, opportunity will flow around you. It will flow to those that are open to seeing it, grabbing hold of it and letting it change their lives. Grab hold of opportunity for your life, change your life and achieve your best life.

Stay inspired my friends.