Dreams...

When we were children...we dreamed!




Some of them while we were awake...




Some while we were asleep...




Some were invigorating and exciting...




Some were comforting...




Some were terrifying!




As we grew older...we acquired a saying..."it is just s dream...it's not real!"




How sad!

I believe we did this as a protective behavior...based on the fear of the "bad" dreams...that poison went on to kill our good ones too!

Dreams are frail creatures! At birth they lived in a very narrow and fragile environment...

Dream-world!

Simply waking up can kill a dream!

As dreams are fostered...like a child...they grow stronger and more independent...

Until they take on a life of their own!

That is how dreams become real!

Making dreams real is simply a matter of time and focused action!

Yet we tend to put our dreams aside...




WHY?




Perhaps because we have no time...




Perhaps we have no energy...




The fact of the matter is...when we lose our dreams we begin to die!




I refuse!




Dreams are the things that great things are built from!




Dreams are the seeds that create a cool and safe forest in which we can abide!




All prose aside...dreams are an essential element of success!




In many ways...dreams are your goals...but they are more than goals!




Goals are (written or verbalized), yet more often than not...they are not visualized!




Dreams contain that single element that differentiates them from something simply said! The PICTURE!




Whether it is in your mind's eye of on a piece of paper...the dream contains an image!




The more often you see the image...the more substance it gains...until you can touch it!




Society has tagged "dreaming" as a bad thing! Dreaming is a BAD THING!...to status quo!





Society will try to destroy anything that challenges its survival!




Dreamers change things!




Society avoids change!




Dare to dream and challenge status quo! Challenge society!




I refuse to allow Society the right to take away my ability to dream! I seldom ever tell anyone what they should do! But in this instance...You should refuse also!




The only path that I know to success and fulfillment starts with dreaming...everything else leaves success and fulfillment up to chance!




Decise what you what...and picture it!




OK...you say...I am not very imaginative...I can't piture things any longer...




Then find pictures of what you are dreaming of...




Paste them on your bathroom mirror and look at them every time you are there!




Put one on the refridgerator...look at it every time you eat!




Build those images!




Focus on those dreams and figure out ways to make them real!




It will happen!




What do you have to lose?





Enough Said!

A Good Crisis...

Good Morning!

So many lesson's learned from experience...so many things to apply our wisdom to...huh? Sometimes looking back at yesterday is a scary thing...sometimes...it is delightful!

This week has been much more subdued for me (than the prior few)...and I am cleaning up the aftermath from a few crises...the details of them are not important, but the realization that we all have them is!

I was talking with a good friend this week and said...if we are over-worked...we long for boring routine...and if we are bored...we complain about that...WE ARE NEVER HAPPY! As I thought through this...I discovered that this is a symptom of an inward facing perspective...

The more self-centered we become...the more extremes effect us and our attitudes! The more we focus outwardly...the less impact life has on us!

SHIFTING GEARS...KIND OF...

Earlier this month, I attended an executive networking meeting. It had multiple purposes. Among them was the opportunity to "rub shoulders" with some local organizational heads AND the proceeds from it also went to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. You know how I love a WIN/WIN situation...(the genius of the "AND")...


One of the "high-light" was a presentation from an Economist from an investment bank...in it were his projections for the next two years...so an added benefit of the "shoulder rubbing" was a learning opportunity...ANOTHER "AND!!!!" This is getting good!

In his presentation, he described Econometrics as the "Dismal Science." Forecasting the future is always bleak! When he put his assumptions on the table and spelled out reality as he saw what he meant...economists by necessity need to focus on every possible downside...how depressing!

Here is a recap...

...unemployment is significantly worse that is being communicated. If we are honest with ourselves it is in double digits!

...the recent lift housing sales are inflated...it is really a reflection of operational definitions...they are really low!

...the bottom line was that we the economy outlook is really bleak and he projects no recovery in the near future...despite what the optimistic economists are saying...(he calls optimistic economists an oxymoron!)...

Dismal yes...but what an opportunity! HUH?

Another presenter quoted, something said at a lunch meeting, by one of the people in attendance..."I hate wasting a good crisis" or something like that!

If taken literally...it is a sick sentence...

...but the real truth is found not in the specific words (literal translation)...but in the image that it creates in the minds of optimists!

Crisis is the perfect event, from which change can be effectively initiated...

Think about it...in a crisis situation people are searching for stability (boredom...or at least something they can "count on" in uncertain times)...they are open and receptive and work together towards that single goal! It is a basic human need! We are programed to create patterns!

They are will or are at least open to trying anything (within reason) to get to the end! It becomes a "hunger..."

Great leaders have to "vow to lose it all" in order to be heard and followed...

Great leaders have to "mean what they say" and not simply "spout" nice and "feel good" words...

Great leaders must not only "rise to the occasion" by their very nature they are the catalysts of crisis! They have to "WALK THE TALK!" They can not just sit and say..."we need a hole over there"...they must pick-up a shovel and dig! They have to risk getting dirty! AND more often than not...they get the dirtiest! (Here is another "Genius of the and!")

Great leaders depend on their closest confidants for backing and support...they have to trust that their team will come to the rescue...that is a critical component of their initial vow!

How sad when a leader makes that vow...trusting their team and it doesn't happen! You have probably had that happen if not...be careful...it will!

TIME FOR A MENTAL BREAK!



Great message in this song!

I would propose modifying the "crisis" axiom to this..."I never waste the opportunities afforded to me by a good crisis!" or "I never waste what a good crisis can do!"

I like the second one better!

I know that this sounds like a "silver lining" "gag me with a tongue depressor" optimist thing...

Like that..."when life hands you lemons...make lemonade" saying...but let's think about that one...

What if you can't afford sugar?

Then..."When life hands you lemons...you got something to throw!"

All sarcasm aside...there are things to be extracted from crisis...but it isn't always sweeter!

My advice...DO NOT sit in a pity party for too long...unless they are serving "top shelf" liquor!

Look for all of the opportunities that can be extracted from a good crisis...grab them...clean up the mess that is left over...and move on!

From now on...I will never waste what a good crisis can do!

Enough said...for today!

Life Changing Quotes and Personal Success

Good Morning!

I hope this day dawned for you with an excitement for what is in store!

I know that you set BIG goals for yourself and made them happen! We have learned that success and happiness is in your control. It is a matter of definition,thought (focus) and action...I can say that it is a journey...but I would be misleading you! It is about the end!

Let me put this in a unique (psychological) math equation...

Personal Success = Expectations or Anticipations +/- Actual Results Experienced

When put in this context...we can see that all of the personal success equation is in one's control!

As a result...It is sad when personal success is not commonplace!

When we are not personally successful...we are tempted to blame an external source for failure! Yet let's decompose the equation...

I am not successful...perhaps...

• Expectations were too high or unrealistic...
• One did not work hard enough or diligently enough...
• One did not adjust expectations based upon discoveries...
• One did not adjust activity based upon discoveries...
• One felt entitled to success...

The list could be huge...but all of them are inward focused and have nothing to do with the outside world's influence...

I am not advocating that you stand absolutely alone and independent of the world and do not take into account (the world's standards) what the world thinks...that in fact truely helps define success and expectations...

The world has its opinion...but it can not judge! It can not rightfully determine value...that is in your court...and is yours alone...unless you abdicate it!

The world does not have the right to control your happiness! It will try to take it away from you...REFUSE to give it up! Take control of success...define success...establish expectations and work diligently to achieve them...

Be REALISTIC...

Enough Said!

I woke today and jumped out of bed...knowing that a VERY unique gift awaited me!

A century cactus is blooming in a pot next to my pool! The reason that it is called a century cactus is that it blooms about once every 100 years...and only under very specific conditions! Moreover, the blooms only open at night and last 1 day! It is a rare event...most would simply miss the event...I have discovered that unique and interesting "rare" events are happening around us continuously...we are often too busy or unaware of them happening! They are gifts that we miss! STOP and notice!

We should all have anxious anticipation for things to come...it is a child-like attribute that we need to protect! All too often, we grow weary or are caloused by life...as a result...waking becomes...just the start of another day!

Success and happiness is in your control!

Do not allow the world to determine if you are a success...

That is your call!



EONUGH SAID!!!!!

Latest Did you know!

Remember the "Special Editions?"

This is one!

A friend of mine from Atlanta recently shared the latest update to this video that I shared with you in the past!

It always gets me thinking about where we need to be...to stay ahead of the curve!

Things change so fast! Keeping up is a difficult task...but it is still possible for those who possess the passion to do so!






Well that is it!

What do you think?

Can you keep up?

It requires dedication, persistence, and focus!

You can not be jumping from one thing to another and be successful...

The need for specialization is required for 99% of this world!

It requires taking a risk...because what you pursue may not be what the world needs...

Find it...it is easy!

Go and get it with all of your heart!

Enough Said!

On Vision Boards, Micro-Managing your Dreams and Life's Changes

Good Morning!

Do I wait for the weekend to share this...or do I post a Weekend Update during the week?

What a cool problem to have!

This weekend I was inspired to "rebuild" my Vision Board!

Life has a way of reminding us of what is important...

...or...sometimes that there are things that are important!

We often get so caught up in the fray and activity of life that we lose sight of the fact that there simply are important things!

By choice (sometimes not!) we end up putting on the brakes and coming to a full stop! That is scary...but oftentimes the only way to come back to reality!

The "STOP" is a time to reflect on the stories of the past and for planning on building the ones of the future!

I seem to always have many forks in my roads! That, I guess, is a good thing! Options and opportunities always seem to abound...even in the darkest times! I am so thankful for that!

I realized that with the changes in our life...my vision board needed some adjustment! At least...it needed to be reviewed and confirmed!

Some pictures had to be removed...that was sad...dreams ended!

New ones added...that was exciting...NEW DREAMS!

Some made more precise...It is exhilarating to see more clearly!

Revising the Vision Board is an event!


What is a "Vision Board?"

A "Vision Board" is a collage of pictures representing your specific dreams and goals! It is the actual picture(s) of the story you are building! It is NOT a mental image...it is REAL and posted some conspicuous place so that, "what you are aspiring for" is always in the forefront of your mind...

I like Vision Boards...they keep me focused on my dreams and they call me to account for my actions relative to what I am aspiring to be! That simple board with 9 pictures micro-manages me!

It begs the question..."Is what I am doing linked to making one of those pictures real?"

If not...then I have to stop and determine if the board is really representative of what I want...or do I need to add or take away a picture...

My board is dynamic...but as time passes...the pictures do not seem to change as often...the only time the board really changes is when the dream is achieved and that chapter of my story is complete!

Do you have a "Vision Board?"

Are you focused on doing the right things?

Only you can answer those questions...

A "Vision Board" seems a bit hokey...but I can tell you that it definitely works!

It is not some "New Age" spiritual activity...it is simply a substantitive commitment to making what you want real!

When you paste what is really important, to you, on a single place...you see that they are more than dreams...they can be achieved...THEY BECOME REAL...and they become your story!

Revisit and revise your vision...share it with those who will help make yours possible and invite them to place their pictures on the board!

Enough Said!

Karma, Mother Nature and Bonsai...

Good Morning!

Dee shared a really motivational quote with me a while back that I have carried with me throughout this ordeal! I learned an interesting thing about the "things" that we gather and retain...they are indicators of what we believe and cherish...DUH!

But I ask you to think about that...take a quick assessment of the "life axioms" that you have gathered...and the "treasures" that you have amassed...

I said that to someone the other day and they said...I have no "life axioms" and nothing that is really special (treasures) to me..."I stand for nothing...it is safer that way!"

Without belaboring the point...allow me to share this tidbit of life with you...

"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature." John D. Rockefeller

How cool is that one?

The sad fact of life is that the world (in its entirety) hates a loser! The world itself has been designed around hating losers! Evolution does not reward losers...only winners! It is in the fundamental design of everything...down to the sub-atomic particles! We are designed to win...

We attribute "karma" to some religious group...but the fact of the matter is...it is simply an observation of a fundamental principal...

We have categorized a set of immutable laws to a bucket called "Mother Nature."

We have legitimized many of these observations to sciences...physics...mathematics...and so on...

It is an interesting thing!

It is so funny that a commonly misused axiom is that one "can not beat Mother Nature!"

I was reading about a guy in the mid 1600s who took a bet that he couldn't push an 1 inch diameter, iron ball through his body (below his rib cage and above his navel) and live. The amount of money wagered was huge...and he took the bet...

Weird bet...but go with it for a minute!

He took the ball and used a belt and tightly strapped it on the location....and waited...every few days he put more pressure on the ball...

Low and behold...over time his body gave way to the ball and healed around it.

It was soon internalized!

Then he used rods or something to keep pressure on the ball...

After a little over a year...the ball exited from his back...

The entire ordeal left only 2 small scars...one at the point of entry and the other at the exit...

He collected the money...and lived out his life!

Whether it is totally true or not...it is a good example of how persistence, even with Mother Nature can create a winner!

If he would have tired to do it in an hour...or a day...or a week or even a month...it would have killed him!

Mother Nature is the unforgiving, when one is impatient...

But when one is persistent and knows the limits and tolerances...of "Mother"...it will conform in ways that are unimaginable!

That is the way of Bonsai!

Nature in miniature, doing unnatural things!

I love this discipline!

True Bonsai trees are really no less than a quarter century old...before that...they are in training!

If one tries to make a Bonsai in a week or a month or a year...and bends the branches too quickly, or trims too much of the plant...it will break or die! That is a law of Mother Nature...

But the plant can be taught to do things that no natural tree will do, by applying persistent pressure (within Mother Nature's limits)...and guess what? She conforms...and rewards the persistence with a unique masterpiece!

Our lives are like that! The need for immediate gratification makes us slaves to Mother Nature's rules...VERBATIM!

If we are patient and persistent living within the limits of her rules...she rewards in ways that are unimaginable!

The last piece of this intellectual puzzle is 'karma!" How does karma fit into this scheme?

It is simple...the entire world is governed by cause and effect! There are no random events!

Break a rule and there is recourse!

Breaking the rule is the cause...the recourse is the effect!

Karma is simply the recourse for any action...

Good actions spring from persistence and patience...

Bad actions are spurred by impatience...

Patience and persistence are actions growing from Knowledge and Wisdom...

Impatience is born from selfishness and stupidity!

So those who abide by the rules and stay the course...do not reap the harvest of BAD KARMA!

Although this sounds like a VERY eastern philosophy...it is simply common sense!

If you are impatient...or selfish...you will reap a certain set of rewards!

If you are patient, persistent and stay within the limits...you will reap the rewards!

No deed goes unrewarded!

He who lives by the sword dies by the sword...

I love that...for we are guaranteed that all injustice and selfish decisions will catch-up with the idiots who believe they are immune! No epistemological set of beliefs will protect them! It is a comforting thought...

Many may be upset by this concept...that is a good indicator that there may be something to worry about...

Karma is not a sum total game...ten good acts do not make up for one bad act...

Every action creates an independent string...with its own recourse!

Like the prodigal son...it will return to the one who raised it!

Plant good seeds!

Be constantly aware of what you are doing and its true relation to the laws of Mother...

She is vindictive and ALWAYS justified!

Enough Said!

Pondering the Possibilities...and Daring to Dream!

Good Morning!

I can not leave a good thing alone!

I miss pondering the possible! It is relaxing and invigorating at the same time! I love the rush!

For those of you who took the time to dine with me this week...THANK YOU! I really appreciate the friendship, support and loyalty! It means more to me than you'll ever know!

I have struggled with keeping "The Updates" alive! At first...almost out of spite...I thought to let them die...then I hungered for them...as if they were a basic need, rather than something of Self-actualization! I person's psychology is an interest thing!

My next statement will make Maslow roll-over in his grave!

I have gotten to a place in my life where "self-actualization" is a basic need! Strange as it may sound...I need that as much as I need food!

So...as a result...you are getting an Update!

I am soon going to be converting them to "blogs." Then you'll get an automatic email telling you of an update! When I get this done...please forward the link to as many people as you know!

The world needs a 21st century philosopher! I have looked in vain for one and have come up empty!

Since I have been handed the role of Socrates...I might as well claim the fame "to boot!!"

Some may argue that over the course of human-kind...everything that needs to be addressed has been pondered!

I am in agreement with that!

21st century philosophy actually is about finding the right application of the concept to the situation...somewhat like situation ethics!

We have the tools at hand to find the right answers and we are morally and ethically (and for some...spiritually) obligated to do so!

That, in and of itself, is an interesting trap that you need to be consciously aware of...

Our legal system already has recognized that and punishes people for not doing so!

They call it...aiding and abetting or complicity to...!

But let's return to the original thought!

If you are in a position where you make a decision that negatively effects others and you do not involve the affected in that decision...you are placing yourself in the position of God...or worse yet...committing blasphemy! There is no valid moral, ethical or spiritual justification for not doing so! I have thought through every variation and possible argument that I could come up with...and only self-serving hedonists have a consistent argument! It is a sad sort (less that human type) that would resort to something like that!

The simple message...NEVER...blindside or surprise someone with a negative situation! Be forthright...open and gather information! It may change and enhance the decision...or better yet...make it a foregone conclusion...which is the real goal for which we strive!!!!!

As Plato states..."we have only one freedom...that being the freedom to do the good!"

Enough said!


Applying what I know to what I need!

I have taken the challenge at hand and the advice of a dear friend…which said…”I can not wait to see what the next level of Phil Reinke creation looks like…” and began creating the next great thing!

It is funny how the basic tools that we teach can be so effective! I have created a project plan…and used “reverse visioning” to isolate the tasks required to bridge the gap from today’s reality to tomorrow’s dream!

Dare to dream my friends! It is a gift that takes us away from this complacent and selfish world! Dreams are not bound by the rules of today! Every dream can contain a “win/win!” There does not have to be winners and losers!

If you do not or cannot dream…STOP and find the reasons why!
It is dreams that make champions…
It was a dream that created the wheel…
It was a dream that took a man to a mountain-top…
It was a dream that put men on the moon…
It was a dream that brought you together!
Do not allow that dream to die!
Enough said!
Enjoy your day!

The pool is calling me!

I have many things to think about!

PURA VIDA!

Phil