Stopping Nightmares

Good Morning!

I actually slept in this morning...a rare treat!

I had a busy week...and bet that you did too!

as I thought though this, I realized that our work can take 3 shapes...

1 - We can be catching up on things remiss...
2 - We can be working on things of present need...
3 - We can be working on setting the stage for tomorrow...

It is important to assess where you are spending most of your time and shift your work efforts according to your plans and goals...

Some people are clean-up people and spending the majority of their time in category 1 is OK for them...

Some people are good soldiers and they spend time on the current battles...

Some people are leaders and are ahead of the work...ensuring that the stage is set when it becomes today!

Remember that all processes begin with inputs...

The future is simply an input for today...

What work you do for the future will make today more controllable!

Think about that...

Decide where you should be spending the majority of your work-life...and shift it accordingly...

Are you a janitor?  That is OK...

Are you a soldier?  That is OK...

Are you a leader?  That is OK...

What matters is that you are happy with who you are and what you are doing...

Who? and What?  Not one...but both...

Enough Said...

I was thinking about a pivotal lesson that my mother taught me...

She probably will not remember it...but it has made a significant difference in my life...and I actually have shared this with each of my children...so this lesson lives!

When I was young...I had terrible nightmares...especially when I was sick...which seemed to be "always!"

My fears lived in my dreamworld!

There were monsters and vicious dinosaurs...

Killer glaciers...(weird!)

Volcanoes...(another weird one!)

You can tell that they were vivid and memorable...because I can still recall them after nearly 50 years!

One night...I refused to go to sleep...and she asked me what was wrong...and I told her...

She told me that the dreams sounded really scary...but what I needed to remember was that I was in control...

I did not understand...

So she explained that it was my choice to be asleep or awake!

If a dream didn't suit me...wake up and it will go away!

I felt an ease come over me...

I was given an entirely new mode of control...and with my fears quelled...I quickly went to sleep!

And quickly began having nightmares!

And this time...even in my dream world...I assessed whether the dream was worth having...and continued in it or woke up...!

It was amazing!

But it didn't stop there...

A few days later...I got strep!  and the related fever...

And the REAL BAD nightmares started...

Mom told me to tell the monsters that if they didn't "act nice" I would wake up...and they would cease to exist...

I did just that...and found that these monsters...and glaciers and volcanoes were rational!

They stopped hurting me and took on different shapes...and became my playmates and playgrounds!

They were no longer ugly...and scary...but became beautiful...and the threatening places...enjoyable!

This continued until the nightmares went away...

Sometimes now...I still have terrible nightmares...

But you know what is strange?  I have practiced the "be nice...or I'll wake up..." so often...I still do it and the nightmares go away...before I wake up...and I consciously remember doing that...and even in my dreams...I thank my mom for teaching me this!

OK...enough of that!

I realize that we live in a duality!

We have dreams and we have nightmares...

Sometimes the dream world is our real world...

Sometimes it is the world of nightmares that is real one...

What matters is which one you want to wake up in...

I choose to live the dreams...not the nightmares...

and if the nightmares refuse to conform to my wishes...I'll simply wake up...!

Sounds simple...but this requires extreme discipline...

The real (conscious world) is actually no different...

It is filled with monsters...

"Uncontrolled" situation

Killer glaciers...

VOLCANOES!

But it is our decision and within our control to see them as friends of enemies...and whether the world we live in is a battleground...or a playground!

You can make the nightmares go away with the simple decision to stay asleep...or waking up...whether you are sleeping or awake!

Except...the metaphorical meaning of asleep or awake,,,in the conscious world calls for significantly more discipline...

What this means for us is that the "dreamworld" is our testing ground for the "conscious world"

Use it...

Are you living in a nightmare?

Wake up...either literally or figuratively...

Take the necessery steps...and refuse to allow the world to be in control...

If you stay disciplined...the monsters will begin to conform...and become your playmates...

The fact of the matter is...

The monsters are simply your playmates..with masks...

They are the things that your success can be built upon...

Do you run from them...or play with them?

FROM?

WITH?

Enough Said...

OH YEAH!  One more thing!

THANKS MOM!

There has always been a real focus on positive mental attitude...

This is all well and good...BUT...

This is one of the problems that I have with the "Law of Attraction"

A attitude is nothing more than an attitude and a dream...without...

ACTION

All of the good thoughts in the world are valueless without action...

In fact good thought and positive mental attitudes can become monsters...vicious dinosaurs...killer glaciers or volcanoes without action!

It is important to keep dreams...dreams and put nightmares in their place through action...

The "Secret" only works for those who act...the rest of the world that muddles in just thinking...sits around with happy thoughts...waiting for the monsters to go away...and the playmates to come...and neither situation will ever arise for them...

Well...I have rambled enough for today!

I think that I will go back to dreaming...and turning my nightmares into parties!

What about you?

Take my mom's advice...

If you are living in a nightmare...

WAKE UP!

Enough said!

Pura Vida! 

How Far Should You Roam in the Pursuit of Success?

Good Morning!

It has been an eventful week...

I have realized that these types of weeks are made and just do not happen by chance...

We oftentimes find ourselves waiting for the BIG BREAK...Most people die waiting for the chance...few get have the break dropped in their lap...and most of the lucky breaks were made...through:

DREAMING
PLANNING
EFFORT

To that end...

Dare to Dream!  (Rather cliche...but this is where it all starts)
Create a plan and assess the cost...and make your success interim goals...not final ones...
Work to make progress towards (on a daily basis) towards those interim goals...

So...this begs the question...

How far should you roam in your pursuit of success...?

Although this is not the theme of this series of thoughts...I want to point out that we use the terms "success" and "happiness interchangeably...

They are not the same...a person can be successful and unhappy...and vice versa...

Begin your journey by separating the two terms...until they become one in the same...this takes time...

The separation of the two meanings is subtly what this thought is about...
My father used to tell me...

You can get a productive oil well (in Wisconsin) simply by drilling towards Texas...

I would laugh at the comment...but never really the grasp of the depth of it (pun not intended...on second thought...that was pretty good!)  I thought about that bit of fatherly advice...and realized how astute it is!

The cost of success must be critically considered when you set out on that journey...

Success may be (and more often is) had from your current place in life...

Success is hard and arduous work...it is seldom dropped into one's lap...

A majority of success seekers will migrate to where success is more (in their opinion) easily obtained...it may be the easier route to get it where you are at!

My guess is that you can find more wisdom in this statement...I will think through this in the coming days...

Let's dig into this thought a bit deeper...into success...

There is an old Chinese proverb...of a peasant farmer, who owned a meager farm...he was very disappointed with his lot in life...so he went to a fortune teller...

The fortune teller, whose accuracy was renowned...told the farmer that he saw that the farmer had 2 paths before him...if he took one path he would find fortune beyond his wildest imagination...and if he chose the other path he would remain in poverty...he was at the crossroad and it was time for him to choose wisely...

The farmer returned to his farm and his village and and thought about what the seer had told him.  It soon became clear to him what he needed to do...

...he then searched the village and found someone willing to buy his farm.

The farmer packed what few belongings he had on his back...and set out to travel the world...looking for his fortune...

He spent the rest of his life...traveling for country to country...searching for the treasure that he had been promised...while he searched his travels and sacrifices made him miss the security and comfort of his agrarian life style.

One day he realized that his life was drawing to a close...and he longed returned to his village...to see his friends and his former farm one last time...

As he approached the village and his farm, he could see that things had drastically changed...

It was no longer a group of small decrepit huts...but sprawling palaces...

As he entered the gate to the land of his former farm...he was met by the man who had purchased it from him...

The weary traveler asked, "What has happened to make this place a paradise?"

The owner explained that the day after he bought the farm, he took a walk to survey his new property.  As he walked, a glint caught his eye.  He reached down to find a diamond.  As time passed, the farm provided more precious of the precious jewels than one could imagine...so many in fact that he shared his riches with everyone in the village.

I could cite the morale of the story...I do not need to...

Where are my thoughts going?

At any point in your life...you stand at a cross road...

It does not take a renowned fortune teller to point this out!

You have choices that will take you on a path of success...or one to poverty and despair...

You first have to know...DEFINE...what your success is...

That will tell you what path you need to take...

Then you have to walk it...

Many of those paths are close to home...

Home is often not a physical location...but think of the old cliche...

Home is where the heart is...

Stay close to your heart...that which you love...therein is where you'll drill for and find success that flows like a gusher!

I could go on with this thought for pages...but for now...

ENOUGH SAID!

I want to close with some information that I came across...purely by chance.  I think that this announcement (the result of extensive research) is one of the "darkest" in American history.  It disclosed that for the first time in American history, our children's' life expectancy is less than our own.  Moreover, they are expected to suffer more maladies in middle age and late life than we are...and the only redeeming part of the announcement was that they'll die sooner...and that from my perspective is not a good one!

Is it from environment? or some uncontrollable asteroid collision?

NO!

It is from diet and exercise...

Our children on an average are more obese...but that does not take the skinny ones out of the equation!

Even the skinny ones (and this is the scary part) have a lower life expectancy...in fact theirs is lower...than the fat kids!

It is from the overuse of sugar...leading to other major issues such as alcoholism...and early onset diabetes...

It is from the lack of regular and strenuous exercise leading to heart and skeletal issues...(sedentary video gamers?)

It is from no intake of leafy green vegetables such as lettuce...leading to major digestive issues...

The list was extensive...I just wanted to give you a few examples...

The reduced life expectancy projections are not just in a few years...but in decades...

Some of the related articles tried to place blame on some individual...or organization...

No one can specifically take the blame for this situation...

I believe that everyone must take the blame...even the kids themselves...

In my March 27th blog...I wrote about our obligation to the next generation...it is to make them better and leave the world a better place on which they can live and thrive...we are now officially remiss on both counts...

They are not being left in a better position...and it is because of our own short-sighted and selfish thinking...

It is not too late to turn that ship around...

If we don't...there is only one result...and it is not a good one...

Enough Said!
Have a great weekend!

Make a difference in a child's life (expectancy) by getting them out of the house...doing something active...and drinking water (rather than some sugar laden energy drink)...

Pura Vida!  (translation: For Life!)

Literally!

Common Sense Revisited

Good Morning!

For some of you it was a short week...for others just another week...

In either case, I hope that you stayed the course of setting achievable milestones, early in the week...assessed your progress mid-week, adjusted and made your goals!

I can not over-emphasize how important it is...to have a plan to get where you want to be...

An overall strategic plan...with your BIG dreams...and then...

A manageable "micro-plan" the keeps the "wind at your back" and ensures that you are making "hourly"..."daily"..."weekly"...and "monthly" progress towards that overall goal...

From a process perspective it is important and it is also psychologically critical...

One's inability to see and feel progress will lead to frustration and apathy...

This will lead to quitting...or even worse...activity that has no purpose...

I realize that I revisit this topic often...it is important and has to be part of your being...

It is one of the primary "keys of success."

Make it more than a habit...habits can be broken...make it part of your DNA...an unalterable part of your being...

Enough Said!

Earlier in the week...I was putting together a patio table.

It was wrapped in a plastic cover...

Printed on the cover was a series of warnings...

...This is not a toy...

...Keep away from children...

...Do not cover your head...

...and on and on...

These warnings were written in three languages...

Every one of these warnings were nothing but printed common sense...

As I read the warnings...I had to laugh...

What I have called the "rarest of all human virtues" has to be printed on packing material in order to avert lawsuits!

Another thing that struck me was that it had to be printed in multiple languages...

The lack of common sense is not a national issue...it is a global issue...

How sad...

The "silver lining" of this dark and ominous cloud is that common sense will be in high demand...and will be a differentiator in your life...and your profession...

Seek common sense (wisdom)...

Organizations will pay for it...they need it...more than they need ingenuity!

Individuals possessing real common sense will rise to the top of organizations...you can count among them...

How sad that the "utterly obvious" has to be printed in three languages...it is a cost...that we ultimately have to absorb...

Consider the simple cost savings that those with common sense pass on to consumers...an elimination of liability...

Do not be a reckless liability to an organization...

Do not be a risk averse individual either...

Both are costly to organizations...

Seek and find the balance between cavalier and self shackled...

You will find yourself among a small class of highly sought after individuals...

Enough said!

I was thinking the other day about a "call to account for your actions."

I learned early on in my career...to shift my perspective from my employer's perspective...(at the end of every day) and ask myself this question...

"I have paid you $X...what did I get for that?"

I actually made it a habit to ask this of myself on a daily basis...and I recorded my response...

It made me think seriously about what I was doing...

Did I give my employer something of value...or did I cheat them...?

About this time every year...and it seems like it happens out of the blue...a person is asked to account for their activities...and provide a progress report...

It is really the question..."What did I get for what I paid you?"

If you think deeper...it is them really asking..."Did you steal from me?"

"Half-done..." doesn't cut it...

Only measurable results!

Those who know me remember that if I were called to account...my ability to respond was nearly immediate...why?

Because I documented it on a daily basis...at the end of every day!

Was I successful on a daily basis?  NO!  But I can tell you that a daily awareness gave me the ability to identify potential issues well before they did become critical!

This exercise ensured that I did not cheat or squander my employer's investment in me...

Are you calling yourself to account for your performance?

It is better that you do than your employer...

Are you providing value on a daily basis...or are you stealing from them...

Even if your performance is the result of long term projects...you can account for valuable progress on a daily basis...

If you are decreasing the delivery time...you are saving money...

If you made measurable progress you are contributing...

If you are not...you know the conclusion!

Call yourself to account...before they do...

Regain that right...so that they do not take it from you...

Enough Said!

Have a great weekend!

Make a difference!

Pura Vida!

Expanded Horizons and the Miraculous

Good Morning!

I hope that your week has been full of "making meaningful and significant differences..."

There are a group of individuals that set themselves from the rest, but still fall short of "meaningful and significant" when it comes to real impact...

They fear full commitment to whatever they call their "expertise" and as a result stand on the sidelines and simply "consult."  They work diligently to get people to believe that what advice they have to offer is valuable (and it may very well be...), yet they do not vest themselves in the success of the effort...

They maintain an "arm's length" so as to protect their own reputation...that temple built upon a tenuous foundation of words and advice...rather than action...

Strive to put true substance and delivery of results, into your signature...

Words and promises are good...if you have to drag your effort over the finish-line totally by yourself...DO IT!

That group of people is not unlike many that I knew in high school that stood on the sidelines of football games (or any sporting activity...when I think about it)...and they probably do the same now...

They were incapable of playing...but definitely tried to take the right of criticism...

They were practicing to be "arm-chair quarterbacks" when they grew up and many of them also made a lucrative career of it as adults...

These were also the kids that stood in the hoard that surrounded the passionate kids that got into fights...wishing they had the guts and strength to do the same...they prodded the passionate on...took sides and ran at the first sight of trouble...

They talked BIG talk...but lacked substance...practicing for adulthood!

Instigators...and Initiators...but when alone or backed into a corner...they cried for help!

You get the picture...certain people never change...in fact they learned to make a living at it...

They are the ones who put a band-aid on someone once and call themselves a medical professional...hoping you'll misconstrue that into meaning that they were a doctor...

To be of value...you have to use what you have with courage...and pride...

Take your talent and grow it...just as you would do strengthening exercises for your body...

Refuse to sit on the sidelines...become the 1st string player...demanded and lauded...

You are capable...it just takes focus and persistence...and continual growth...

Enough said...

This week I had a chance to go camping at a great Florida State park, with the family...

It was a wonderful experience...

I reconnected with nature at a level that I never before experienced...and it caused me to grow!

It was late in the evening and I saw the reflection of a star in a bottle of water that was sitting on the picnic table at our campsite...

What struck me was that for me to see that simple reflection took millions of years, to make  (LITERALLY) and thousands of miracles!

The light left that star (in was Rigel, in the constellation of Orion) approximately 900 years ago.

That in and of itself...amazed me...

Then I began thinking about the miracle that amassed enough hydrogen and oxygen here on this planet to make the water that surrounded me in the ponds and rivers...and the water in that bottle!

Hydrogen existed since the very beginning of the universe...but oxygen is a second generation element...which means that the simple hydrogen and helium atoms needed to go through fusion to take it that level of complexity...

Then the two atoms had to find each other and bond...forming water...and find its way to our planet!

Most of the elements that make up our bodies are second generation...which means that they once resided in a star!  We are literally children of the stars!

All of those atoms had to make their way to the each...collect and find their way to our bodies...

Then I thought about the container...which was made of plastic...which comes from petroleum...which is made of atoms that made their way through stars to the earth...then became part of ancient animals...that died as a result of catastrophic event on the earth...(probably an asteroid collision...which itself is a miracle)...that amassed and we pumped it out of the earth and learned how to separate the hydro-carbons from the fluid...(crude oil) and refine it into plastic...

Another miracle...

Perhaps I think too much...but I have a deeper appreciation for the series of miracles that needed to take place just to get me to see that glint of reflected light...

AS I thought about that...I also thought about the series of miracles that it took just to get me to this place in my life...or simple just to get me here...

Do you realise that at one point in the human journey...there were as few as 40 child-bearing women on earth?  The human race was nearly wiped out by some catastrophic event too!  Your very existence is a miraculous chain of events!

I am so thankful to be able to participate in life!

It is that appreciation that makes "....making meaningful and significant differences..." all the more important to me...

It is that appreciation that should effect you...a miracle...

The odds were against us...and yet...we are here!

Live today and tomorrow with that thought...

It will change your life!

Enough said!

Have a great weekend!

Keep making differences!

Pura Vida!