Doing it Now and Asking for Forgiveness Later...IS WRONG!

Good Morning!

In the 1990's, there was a SUCCESS phrase that ruined many careers...

The strange thing was that many if not most people thought that it was the way that a person should operate!

AND...

It killed many careers...and people continued to believe that it was a SECRET OF SUCCESS...

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Let's put this phrase in its proper place...at least in your SUCCESS TOOL KIT...

"I am going to do it and ask for forgiveness later..."

Have you heard it?

Have you actually tried it?

Are you still employed by the company that you used this with?

Are you still married...if you applied this principal to your relationship?

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In my opinion this phrase is the single greatest "killer of trust" that has ever existed...

Successful people avoid this "modus operandi" with every atom in their soul...

Think about it...

• If you are doing something against the better wishes of your benefactor...or judge of your performance...
• Is that very smart?
• How much will they trust you next time?

• If you are doing something that will benefit your benefactor or judge...
• Doesn't it make sense to make the case to gain support?

•  If you are just blowing smoke to your peers about the tenuous situation that you are in and it is simply a lie...
• Think of what they'll really think of you if they find out!

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Stop thinking that you need to be a "risk-taker" or need to be perceived as a "risk-taker!"

Risk is the new language of the 21st century...

I WILL NOT invest in RISKY people or potentially RISKY people...or people who aspire to be a RISK!

Would you?

We have to be people of results...not RISK!

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If you risk asking for forgiveness...you are not a person of success...

Buy a lottery ticket and quit your job!

Be a person of "sure things!!!"

Your signature should be...

I know what she/he is doing and I fully support it...because they deliver results...

NOT...

I have no idea...and they may not be aligned with my real needs...this person is a "loose cannon!"

E-NUF SED!

Pura Vida!

The Top 5 One Liners that have Changed my Life!

Good Morning!

As I reflect on the success quotes, axioms and one liners, there are a few that are deeply embedded in my being...

Why?

Not because I think they are quaint or "catchy"...but because they actually changed the way I am!

There is a short list that I took to heart...allowed them to permeate my behaviors and finally (after I became them) I fanatically shared the wisdom found within each to anyone that I felt could grasp!

There isn't a conversation or a meeting or a class in which I haven't had an opening to share one or more of them...

Despite that fact and the temptation to share...I often didn't do so because I knew that my effort would be squandered...and they would just nod in agreement and move on...

That having been said...

Can you list YOUR top 5 life changing "one liners?"

You may say that you have yet to find them...

The reason that I am focused on this today is...

I have found that every successful person has one or more that they can quote from heart...

The "axioms" become their guiding principals or themes for their lives...some even go so far as to make them their life's mission...

I have to admit...In a way...I have!

If you seek to be successful...perhaps you should consider having one or more as your "theme" or "guiding principals" or perhaps maybe your "mission."

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My TOP 5

I have rambled enough...For those who have spent any amount of time with me...or have read previous blogs...They will sound quite familiar...READ ON...

1. "The Biggest Mistake that a person can make...is not starting"
2. "There is no greater sense of failure than when one finally realizes how close they were to success when the quit" 
3. "Prejudice is an illusion...It is the differences between us that we have most in common"
4. "If you find yourself in a position that you have to make a decision...you do not have enough information"
5. "In life...you win some or you learn something...in either case you receive a prize"

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I believe that if you desire to be successful...you need to not only define what success looks like...but also the "rules" by which you achieve success...

The axioms are those rules...

For me...

I don't wait or hesitate...but move (even though it is cautious)  Axiom #1
I refuse to quit...until I am assured that my efforts are valueless  Axiom #2
I appreciate what each person offers and their contribution to life  Axiom #3
I do not move on whim...but on logical thought  Axiom #4
Living is an ongoing process and it must be fully embraced Axiom #5

These are the general rules by which I operate...

Can you recite your rules?

Let me share another axiom that may help you understand why I have taken the time to write on this subject...

History is our best and most persistent teacher...it will continue to repeat itself until we fully grasp the lessons it intends for us to learn...


E-Nuf Sed!

Pura Vida!

An Over-inflated Sense of Entitlement

Good Morning!

I have mentioned this before...but it is worth repeating...as a lead-in...

Nearly every week takes on a theme for me...this week was no exception!

At every turn on my journey, I met someone who complained about how poorly life was treating them!

Some had been making 6-digit salaries and now nothing...there lives had fallen apart...

Other had major family issues...

Some had MAJOR life saving surgeries...

Some were having trouble at work...

and on and on...

A common theme (actually a question) that was (many times) literally spoken and more often than not was...

"What have I done to deserve this?"

To me it sounded like they thought themselves undeserving victims and entitled to much more!

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If there exists a single word that can make my hair stand on end...infuse me with adrenalin and cause more anger than any single human being can exhibit...it is the word..."entitlement"

From my perspective...

Entitlement is an interesting concept...and the word should be reserved only for those who can lay claim to perfection!

Undeserved tragedy is reserved to the realm of "Acts of God" and if you are a religious person...my guess is that your God is not vindictive...therefore the explanation related to the question "What did I do to deserve this...?"  can not be answered with the words...

"Nothing...you don't deserve this!"

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Successful people do not waste even a precious moment in pity parties!

It is a statistical fact of life that we all go through relatively the same life events...

You may argue that some people never get married...so they don't divorce...or whatever...but for the sake of argument...let's just agree...

It is how a person responds to normal life events that definitely affects their overall happiness and success...

"We are on a mission...DAMN THE TORPEDOES" is the battle cry of the successful person...

They recognize that they have an issue...they confront and get back on course!

Many people do not!

That is why there are so few real successful people in this world!

Most use the adverse event as an excuse for not doing what they should be...

Many times the "emergency" is a reason for quitting...so that they didn't have to risk failure...

Other times it was a distraction from a mundane activity within their success journey...

There is no reason for diverting...

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DAMN the TORPEDOES...

One of the most important characteristics of successful people is that they realize that they didn't shoot life's torpedoes...but if they are sunk...they were to blame for not avoiding them or they in fact turned into them...

From a psychological viewpoint...people who are "sunk" because they didn't avoid the attack or turned head-long into them are enablers!  They actually seek the emergency out...

Why?

Because they possess low self esteem...they see themselves as LOSERS and need to find some type of value to contribute...to justify their petty existence!

The biggest injustice that we can do to these people is to feel sorry for them!

They need to be called out!

They are not advocates of the Quantum Obligation...they may think that they are making things better for their having participated...but in truth...these individuals only make things worse!

What have they done to deserve this kind of life?

EVERYTHING!

They are fully to blame!

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But if everyone has relatively the same events within their lives and there is no such thing (except in VERY rare situations) as a undeserved event...

How do I rectify the attitudes of successful individuals...

This is so simple!

Successful people take full responsibility for what happens...

"It is what it is..."

and they do not allow the emergencies (short of their own death) to deter them from fulfilling their responsibilities...

Successful people do not spend much time in pity-parties...

They move despite (and often "in spite") of what life hands them!

They are entitled to what they have received...and at the same time entitled to absolutely nothing good!

Any benefit is an undeserved blessing...and they are thankful!  and if you recall an earlier update...

Thank you is not just a short sentence...it is an IOU!

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We were NEVER promised that life would be easy...we were promised that it would be worth it!

It is what it is...

A SUCCESSFUL person recognizes that they deserve absolutely nothing (from the good perspective) and absolutely everything (from a bad perspective) and they are thankful when the good comes to pass and the bad doesn't!

They do not believe that they are entitled to anything

They do not believe that they deserve a car...a cellphone...food, water, clothing, love...

and they live their lives owning nothing...so that they are not in a codependent/enabling mode!

They are real...

No excuses...because they never need them...

They are people of honesty and a realistic self-perception...

There is no need for "filler" they are capable and proud of what they have done...

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E-NUF SED

Pura Vida!



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How Long is your "To Do" List?

Good Morning!

Upon rising this morning...I mentally went over what I wanted to accomplish today...the Weekend Update seemed really low on my list...

I also reflected on what success observation I should share this week...and felt that I had nothing meaningful of of value...

My "To Do" list seemed so long....that I had initially decided not to write an update...

It is a good thing that I have made "second guessing" my decisions a part of my thought process...

"Second guessing" is not (as some superficial psychologists would have you believe) an indicator of a lack of self-confidence...

It is a critical step in the decision-making process that should never be circumvented!

It is Cause/Effect/Impact ...an exercise of WISDOM...

It is our Quantum Obligation!

I almost missed a great opportunity because I had convinced myself that I had things much more important to do than write an update today...

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A Great Injustice

Before I go any deeper into the prior thoughts...I want to point out a great injustice that has been done to aspiring leaders...

Cutting to the chase...It is the belief that successful people and great leaders make decisions and with stubborn resolve make them happen...

Just from a random perspective...that behavior is wrong 50% of the time!  It is pure chance!

My advice...stop lauding those who do that...stop admiring people who do that!

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More on Second Guessing

Please do not misinterpret me..."second guessing" can also be a detriment too...

This is easy to identify...with the answer to this question...

"Is your "second guessing" slowing your action?"

If yes...you may be proving the superficial psychologists correct...

You may be lacking self-confidence...or...

It may itself mean that it is not time to act!

Think about that...If you cannot act with a STRONG confidence...you may lack sufficient information to do so...and that specific behavior is not your top priority!

Two different insights from that same event!

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How does this relate to Quantum Obligation?

Those who have committed to and follow the Quantum Obligation hold that they must strive to leave every moment better for their having been a participant...

In other words...they have added value...rather than drained from the moment!

Of equal importance...is the choice of which moments you choose to participate in!

YOUR "TO DO" LIST!

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How long is your "to do" list?

My was and remains VERY long!

I realize that it is however my starting point...

It contains items that:

• I must do...
• I should do...
• I want to do...
• I shouldn't do...because I am wrong!

What I realized is that...if I possessed infinite abilities...my "to do" list would take on a different meaning...

But since I am finite and most of the things on my actual or perceived list...are of little or no importance...or within my ability to truly affect...my list gets significantly shorter!

How short?

It actually becomes a "list of one" at any given time!

WHAT?

It is true...

We deceive ourselves that our list contains things of equal importance...this is not true!

There is one and only one thing that we should be doing at any given time!

Do not think yourself so important that you have multiple things you need to be doing!

For some of us...the "big" list contains things that we can not really affect...

Activities in which our efforts will add no real value!

Others that are not properly timed...and can be done later...

As we chop at the list...we can get it down to a single event...

At that point...our Quantum Obligation "kicks in"

Know what to do...and DO YOUR BEST!

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A List of One!

Although this is the most controversial aspect of Quantum Obligation and "to do" lists...it is important to point it out...

Much of life is loaded with random and meaningless "stuff" that diverts our attention and activity from the real meaningful things...

When you can get that "to do" list down to that single item...you have arrived...

How long is your "to do" list?

If it contains more than one item...you are not there yet!

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High School Wisdom!

This takes me back to a memory of a framed quote that hung in the office of the principal in my high school...

It would pay for you to look it up on the Internet and read it in its entirety...

The lines that are indelibly etched within my mind...

Credit is given to the philosopher and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and is called the Serenity Prayer...

It says in part...

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference...


This is the beginning part of our Quantum Obligation...to get our "to do" list down to a "list of one!"


There is a poem that parallels Neibuhr's prayer...


It is by W.W. Bartley 

For every ailment under the sun

There is a remedy, or there is none;

If there be one, try to find it;

If there be none, never mind it.

Understanding life from this perspective...makes it so much more meaningful and effective...

It will take you one step closer to your destination on your success journey...

Enough said!

Pura Vida my friends...

Keep the list...but make it realistic!