Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. A few weeks ago my show was about if you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way, and, although I thought I was done with that thought, in my mind and in my quiet time I kept coming back to the BIG idea that anyone can take the steps in the right direction to do what they are called to do. What may seem impossible to others is not impossible for you. If you will, just put forth the effort to make it happen. […]
Social Grace
If you can’t change the people around you…
This has been a week of sadness and joy for me. Let me explain. Within a ten day period three people I knew died, one from unexplained causes, one from cancer and one from Alzheimer’s. Due to my travel schedule, I could only attend one of the funerals, but I know what I saw that day would have been the same at each service. Sitting in the packed church for the service, I was struck by the outpouring of love that left a 500-plus seat auditorium only with standing room for those who came to support the family and recall […]
Almost every successful person…
Almost every successful person begins with 2 beliefs: The future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so. For the last few weeks I have been speaking about the idea of Excellence, Commitment and Action. In fact, I decided to forgo having a guest on this particular show, because, as I progressed through the message, I needed more time to talk about how you can choose to make the changes that will change your life. The idea of excellence is rarely talked about because it is hard. It’s easy to be good enough, […]
If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way.
I often hear people say to me, “Well, I am not in a position to do (fill in the blank)…,” and I always find it interesting that many people place limits on themselves when, really, no one else on the outside does. It’s all in your mind. You’re choosing not to be your big self, you’re choosing not to live to your full potential and you’re choosing not to be who you were born to be. Because YOU are choosing to do little to nothing, when in reality if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t do great things, would you […]
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude
Recently I was flying to a speaking job, and as I left for the airport that morning it was raining. I looked out the window while we were waiting to take off, and I could tell it was going to be a cold wet and rainy ride, in fact, that was the outlook for the entire week where I was heading to speak. Sitting on the plane determining what I was not going to be doing on this trip (since I don’t like to be out in rainy cold weather), within a few minutes after we took off and went […]
Running away from your problems is a race you’ll never win
As I’ve gotten older I’ve really tried to keep myself out of trouble and I’m doing pretty well, thank goodness! It’s not that I go looking for trouble but sometimes it just seemed to find me – usually because of something I said OR it was something someone said I said. So I have had to be more careful because I don’t want to hurt anyone and I don’t want to cause harm. I want to be thought of as kind person. But often I look around and see that some of my peers, friends and colleagues seem to look […]
Living to Your Full Potential
I am sure you’ve heard 100 times that you should live up to your full potential, and, although I believe that is true, I have to ask what does that mean for you? Have you ever thought about your “full potential,” meaning is there something that you’d give your all to, holding nothing back and being empty when you’re finished, only to refresh yourself and start over? If you were to look online, most of the sites that deal with living to your full potential are about leading and living your life fully in the 7 Major Areas: Physically, Mentally, […]
Walking through the rooms of our lives – not looking for flaws, but for potential
“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” – Ellen Goodman I like the idea that this year we’ll look forward not at the work to be done or cracks to be patched. No, we’re done looking for flaws, let’s look for potential. And isn’t that what a new year is all about – Potential? Webster’s defines Potential as – existing […]
Don’t forget that you’re human…
Well, friends, you survived the holidays and now it’s a new year—a fresh start—and you have a great chance to start over and begin anew. So what will it be this year? What new ideas do you have? What new places will you visit? What new adventures will you try, and what will you leave behind? What problem or issue or circumstance will you make a clean break from so you can start with a clean slate? What? You’ve not thought about leaving the old and finding the great adventures that this new year will afford you? Wait a second, […]