So Move

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." -Anatole France

For all of the dreaming and planning that we do, movement in action is required to realize those dreams. Each of us know of people that constantly talk of what they want in life but never begin taking actions to achieve it.

Those people may very well be you, always thinking of greater things for your life. Planning and assessing how to get to a new point in your life becomes a daily activity. Yet you never get any closer to the dream.

Why? It is because you make no movement in your life to actually go after those dreams. Without action, a dream remains a dream. With action, a dream can become reality.

Dream of great things, dream of all that you want....then take action.

Stay inspired my friends!

Stuff Happens

"One's life is not as fixed as one believes. Surprises may lie in store for you, the unexpected often tends to happen, sometimes bringing in its train the most delightful change in one's life or circumstances." -Elizabeth Aston

cir·cum·stance (sûrkm-stns)

1. A condition or fact attending an event and having some bearing on it; a determining or modifying factor.
2. A condition or fact that determines or must be considered in the determining of a course of action.
3. The sum of determining factors beyond willful control. Often used in the plural: a victim of circumstance; work that will begin on Monday if circumstances permit.
4. circumstances Financial status or means: "Prior came of a good family, much reduced in circumstances" George Sherburn.
5. Detail accompanying or surrounding an event, as in a narrative or series of events.
6. Formal display; ceremony: the pomp and circumstance of a coronation.
7. A particular incident or occurrence: Your arrival was a fortunate circumstance.

Idioms:
under no circumstances
In no case; never.
under/in the circumstances
Given these conditions; such being the case.

There is a saying that I am sure all have heard before. Without being vulgar in my writing, I will change the wording slightly. The saying is, "Sometimes STUFF happens." I am sure you can fill in the appropriate word within the saying. And it is true, life happens each and every day. There is no seeming rhyme nor reason to any of it. Things will happen at various times in your life, no escaping that fact.

When these things happen, you shouldn't waste your time wondering the why and how. Sure it is good to try and understand what led to the condition. Yet how you conduct yourself, how you respond to these circumstances will determine how well and how quickly you get past it.

There are people I have known that will spend time and time again focusing on the 'why' and very little time on the 'getting past' the circumstance. Repeatedly they bring it up and turn it in circles, looking it over and over. They become so focused on the issue that they are unable to see an outcome or resolution.

So the next time something occurs in your life, know that STUFF happens. It is not an assault upon your life. Stop and examine what you can of it and then move on. Take the experience of having gone through it and let it lead you to something greater. Keep moving, your future awaits.

Stay inspired my friends!

Strategy for Life

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." -Denis Watley

We dream of things to come and have visions of what we want to accomplish in our life. But these dreams and visions remain just that if no action occurs. The act of taking a step towards them puts us on a journey that will eventually capture our real goal.

Yet how do we go about planning or executing a path towards those goals. In much of my reading, many of the principles I've learned come from business. It comes from those that have achieved in life with very basic steps. In today's article, I want to list these steps. Not in the 'business' vernacular, but in a way that you can adopt them in your own personal life.

For any goal to be met, you need to have a coherent strategy and method of executing those steps. Each of these are crucial in working together for success in achieving a goal or set of goals. Much of what I have read revolves around six steps through which a plan for success in achieving a goal is accomplished.

1. Develop a strategy; it may seem a very basic step, but many people go head long into something without figuring out first how to get there. When considering your vision, think about the following;

- What is the mission or purpose you want of your life?
- How does the goal fulfill that purpose?
- What lies beyond the goal or what do you envision once the goal is achieved?

2. Plan the strategy; now that you have an idea of what the strategy will be, plan how you will implement it. Translate the objectives into specific targets or short term action plans. You can even create a one-page block diagram that gives you a visual idea of where you are. With small and short action plans, accomplishing lots of little steps gives you encouragement and shows progress.

3. Align your life with the strategy; are those around you supportive and willing to come along on this journey. Giving those around you a sense of ownership and benefit will be a supportive network. If you hang around negative people, it only draws you down and hinders your ability to accomplish your goal.

4. Conduct your life with the goal in mind; find ways that will improve and boost your ability to accomplish each of the targets. In ex; if you like to read and the goal is being debt free, then reading sporting magazines all of the time isn't helping you achieve that. Maybe change subscriptions and start reading financial magazines and the like.

5. Monitor and Learn; many strategies to accomplishing something never end up looking exactly as they did when first developed. As you move forward, evaluate what is or is not working to help you achieve the goal. There is no hard fast rule that says you can't change. Change is great when applied to strengthen and improve your strategy.

6. Adapt the strategy; as you monitor and learn from your journey, write down and revise the written strategy. A lot of folks simply adjust and forget to rewrite the strategy. Then when they reach a point of being lost in their journey, they go back to the written strategy for guidance. If it is the old and original one, you will retrace steps that you either don't need to and shouldn't. This can cause you to become disheartened or discouraged. So write down, adapt the written strategy for it is your road map to where you are going.

So performing these steps doesn't require fancy charts and graphs or forms. It only requires commitment from you to take a step. It requires you to change some of what you are doing in life now and being bold to step out of the comfortable.

Once you begin moving and start seeing small accomplishments, the goal becomes much clearer and achievable. Develop a strategy for your life and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Stay inspired my friends!

Attitude Check

"The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." -Marilyn Ferguson

Did you check the oil level in your car's engine today by chance? Maybe you created a checklist of grocery items needed for the house last night before going to bed. As you left for work, you may have stopped to check the thermometer or rain gauge to see what the weather is like. Are you really prepared for the day?

And we all do this; stop by the mirror to check what we look like. We make sure our hair is combed straight and that our clothing for the day looks appropriate. Again, are you really prepared?

The one thing we do forget is to check our attitude.

Knowing what type of mood we are in can make all the difference in how our day proceeds. But many times it is the last thing we ever think of doing. We rush off, out the door into a world that is waiting to test your very attitude. Maybe we are not quite prepared?

The unexpected nature of life does not mean that life is 'out to get you.' Rather it is just life happening and if we prepare our attitude ahead of time, then adjusting to the roller coaster events will easily be enjoyed or endured (for those that do not like roller coaster rides).

Now you are prepared!

Take a few minutes each morning to just relax and reflect upon how you want your day to go. Prepare yourself to understand how you feel going into your day. It is an attitude check that you can perform at any point or multiple points through out your day. An attitude check will prepare you for a great day and should be a part of the everyday routine.

Stay inspired my friends!