You Can't Sell an Ocean!

Good Morning!

There are weeks during which I put my head down...focus on the critical and vital few...and...

...avoid the temptation to do the things I love...(which are often the things that divert me from the tasks that I have to do)...

Then there are weeks in which the things that I love are the things I have to do...

and without failure...I realize that the things I have to do can become the things I love doing!

...and the things that I have to do, become the things I love doing!

 Which means...that with the right attitude...everything that one does can be what they love doing!

More on this later!

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Focus is a critical element of success...

We live in an information rich world...

There are challenges around every corner...

For those individuals who are passionate about making a difference...

There is no lack of needs to be found in the information flow...

The biggest challenge is finding the mountain to succumb and saying "NO!" to the rest of the hills!

Passion can be a curse...not just for "fixers" but for anyone that wants to impact the world and leave a legend!

Passion is also a blessing...when focused...because there is no stopping their progress towards their end...

Where are you?

Cursed?

Blessed?

or...

Still looking for that fire?

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Life without Direction...

I am saddened by those who aspire towards positions without passion...

They are generally driven by money...or a lift of their ego...or some other self-serving need...

These individuals cause more problems than they are worth...

Because they have yet to connect with what they are really supposed to be doing...

In a previous entry...I discussed that we are specifically "programmed" to fulfill a specific purpose...

This is our "calling"

Our first goal is to identify our "calling" or purpose...

Our second goal is to live up to our calling...otherwise...

Nature will call us a great experimental failure...and try another variation!

Trying to be something you are not...is about as futile and believing yourself to be a bird and capable of unaided flight!

Find what you are meant to be and live that purpose with everything that you have!

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Successful people avoid failure at all cost!

I was recently talking with an individual that is highly successful...looking for some bit of wisdom...

He told me that his secret to success was very simple...

He simply does not allow failure to be an alternative in any activity that he does...

If he did not allow failure to be a REAL alternative...it can't happen!

He doesn't waste time focusing on anything but success...because failure can not and will not divert his attention from anything but success...

Another interesting discussion was that he often ensures his success by defining it (success) himself...and redefining it as he progresses...

Let's look at this for a minute...

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Maslow and Success...(Our Discussion Took a Turn...or Did it?)

To further understand his defining success...

I asked him if he aspired towards "Self-Actualization" as others do...

His answer intrigued me...

He said that he aspired to be the best that he could be...whatever "rung" he found himself at!

He explained that many times in his life...he was totally at the bottom...scraping for "air, food and water" and at that point in his life...aspiring to be anything other than physiologically fulfilled would have been frustrating and useless!

His focus was always on the moment...seeking contentment at that level...and NEVER aspiring to be anything more than the best that he needed to be...with what life had handed him...

Having met those needs...he almost mystically found himself at a higher level...and challenged to meet a whole new set of needs!

He explained that looking higher is looking at one's "wants"...versus "needs!"

It is selfish to put "wants" over "needs"

Marketing pushes the conversion of an individual's "wants" into "needs" by convincing that us that we can not live without them...and that we deserve them despite our current position in life...the bottom line is that they get our money and resources...and we get stuck where we are at...wallowing in unfulfilled needs...

His stance is that an individual's emotional maturity (E/IQ) can easily be determined by how well they can control their "wants" and how aligned their needs are with their plight...(position on the hierarchy)

Ultimately this alignment is the determiner of happiness and success...

By the way...he is always successful and happy...

I can attest that he is now beyond self-actualization (OK...the highest form of it) living in a world of charitable work and giving...

He is not hungry or thirsty...although he has been so...for more than a week on many instances...
His safety and security is not threatened...although it has been...
He is loved...although he has been alone...
He is well educated...although he dropped out of high school seeking temporal happiness...
He is giving back to the world...although he once stood on a street corner hoping for his next hand-out!

The one thing that he told me...and I believe him...is that not once has he ever been unhappy...

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As we talked he picked up my bottled water and said...

You and I could stand on the shore of the ocean...and I could try to sell it to you...

You would consider me a fool...

But if I bottle just a few fluid ounces of it...(desalinated of course)...you'll pay me over a dollar for it!

It is funny how breaking things into small affordable pieces can make a person successful and rich!

I began my life with an ocean of possibilities in front of me and I tried to sell it to the world...

They looked at me as if I were a fool...( I later realized that I was a fool!)

I found that I needed to bottle my abilities into a small affordable package and sell that!

and low and behold...it worked!

His ultimate advice is...SPECIALIZE!

Don't try to fix the world...

Just fix a small piece of it!

No matter what it is...learn to be happy with it...

Hmmm....that sounds like my week!

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Have a great fulfilling week!

Be realistic...assess your position...

DO NOT aspire beyond your current "tier" and do that extraordinarily!

PURA VIDA!