There Are Always Opportunities

"Feelings Aren't Facts"

We all have setbacks in life. There are times when things do not go our way. Sadly, it seems that the events during these times pile up. They say that things happen in threes. Most of us understand this from experience. It seems when something goes wrong, everything goes wrong. The snowball effect has been felt by all of us.

It is during these times where we can allow our feelings to get in the way. It is easy to feel bad when things are falling to pieces around us. Depression, anxiety, fear, and other emotions (all negative) can arise within us. Unfortunately, we assume a position of powerlessness when we allow these things to take hold of us. The truth is that feelings are not facts.

Many will try to disprove this statement but it not possible. Feelings only serve as a guide. However, it is up to each of us how we process what we experience. There are always two choices: become paralyzed or motivate ourselves to move forward. Whatever the situation, these are always the two choices we are confronted with.

Another fact of life is there are always opportunities in front of us. This is an difficult concept to remember when one is mired in the emotional abyss that can result from horrific life circumstances. Nevertheless, this does not diminish this age old truth. A common occurrence of the last few years is where one finds his/her world turned upside down due to a job loss. Millions of people were put out of work with scarce chance of finding equal replacement employment. Naturally, this creates a host of emotions within a person.

I once heard a motivational speaker get excited when one of the audience members mentioned losing her job the day before. He said "That is wonderful. Now you have 360 degrees of possibilities before you". Obviously, it all comes down to our perception of things. This individual saw the opportunities for this person to move forward.

And that is the main point of this post. It is time for each of us to move forward. There is nothing that should hold us back. Sure, there are times when things occur which are not to our liking. Nevertheless, we are able to choose how things affect us. Are we motivated to move forward or do we want to dwell in the emotional negativity that naturally arises from such events? Those who are successful in life are able to recognize that life happens. Because of this, they take the action that is needed to move forward. Feelings tend to only hold us back since we are apt to listen to them like they were factual. In reality, life does not care how you feel. It judges us by the action we take. In the end, the only challenge in life is to get ourselves to move forward. Change is inevitable. The only way to deal with it is to concentrate upon that which needs our attention. Projection only hinders especially in times like these.

One final note: the greatest of success stories rarely emerged from ideal conditions. This is true whether we look at sports, business, health, or any other facet of life. The successful start from where they are at and take action. Those who play the waiting game ultimately end up stuck in neutral. There are only some many moments on this planet. It is time to get busy.

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What Is Most Important?

I heard of a situation that a friend of mine is confronted with. I will begin by saying that I do not have all the details since I heard this second handed but I feel the lesson is still the same. It really helps to put things in perspective.

Death is something that we are all confronted with. In the duration of our lives, we only are granted so much time on this planet. How we choose to utilize that time is a decision we are each allotted. Nevertheless, we only get one chance at this thing. In the end, we all pass away.

This week, a friend of mine got the results back from a biopsy he had done on his liver. From what I hear, the results are not good. He talked with someone about his situation. The facts of that conversation were relayed to me.

The death, or impending death, of someone close to me always makes me look at things in a different light. When someone is given a "death sentence", there is actually a release for them. They have the luxury of knowing exactly how much time they have left. There is no mystery as to how long they will live. They waste no energy worrying about their retirement since there is none. The option of best using those last remaining days is in front of them.

What about the rest of us? Well, it is my experience that we take a different approach. We have the limitation of believing that our time is unlimited. A sense of urgency is absent from our lives. We feel that there are decades left to live. Often, the only time we exit this state of hypnosis is when we are confronted with something like my friend did.

The fact that our time is limited is the reason why we need to determine what is important. If life is nothing more than a series of moments, what are we doing with these moments? How often do we waste that time by fretting about something that is truly unimportant? take the way people drive for example. There are stupid, senseless, selfish drivers everywhere in the world. Yet, most of us manage to allow ourselves to get upset when someone cuts us off. At those times, we are giving those moments away.

Most people spend the majority of their waking hours doing a job they detest. They do this in the hopes of getting a few weeks vacation and, ultimately, working towards retirement. That is the belief system we are taught. Work hard and save up for retirement. While this is a valid method, as we see, retirement is not always ensured. Many pass away long before that.

I like the old lesson which talks about no man, when reflecting over his life, wished he spent more time in the office. We all need to choose what is important to us. What type of life do you want to lead? I see so many who start on a particular path and stick with it because they invested so much time into their training. Sadly, they learn that they do not even like that field.

Rest assured, my friend's perspective is different at the moment. What was a pressing need two weeks ago is probably not even on his radar. Through is story, my life is different now also. I once again see how I allow time to get wasted. How much more can I pack into the time I have left? That is something we all can ask ourselves. Bet the ranch my friend is doing the same with the few months he has left.

Perhaps it is time to get off the merry-go-round. Stepping back to determine what we want in our life is a healthy practice. Maybe, this is something that you should consider doing on a daily basis. Someday, the end will be there for you also. How did you choose to spend you time.
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Finish Strong

This is one of the more moving videos that I have seen in a while. Be sure to take a look. It is a little over 2 minutes but something that you will remember.

Click here.
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Develop a sense of urgency

Yesterday, I wrote about the "need for speed". The idea is for us to start utilizing our time in a more effective way. We typically waste too much time dilly-dallying around. The most successful seem to have tamed this tendency while focusing their attention on the most important details.

Today, I want to mention the concept of approaching life with a sense of urgency. Most fail to realize how precious this thing called time is. That is because we think we have a lot of it left. The truth of the matter is that we have no idea how long we are going to live. Also, everyday brings us one step closer to the ultimate outcome: our departure.

Why do I write this? My intention is not to sadden or depress you. The point that I am making is that there is no time to waste if you are going to live life the way that you desire. Many people put off doing those things that make them happy. They allow fear to make decisions which prevent them from taking risks. Their motto becomes "someday". In effect, they put off their dreams.

We can see this in how people usually approach their day. The average person is nonchalant about how he or she handles the activities of the day. Many feel it is alright to put things off. Procrastination is one of the most common ailments among our society. We fall under the misconception that there is plenty of time for us to do things. This simply is not the truth.

What would happen if you were suddenly diagnosed with an ailment which would kill you? How would your priorities change? Would you approach your days differently? I am certain you would. Suddenly, there would be an urgency to everything you did. The goal would be to pack as much as you could into a limited period of time. Well, I am here to tell you that you are now suffering from a fatal illness which will kill you. This malady is called life and it is incurable. The end result is death.

Therefore, it is time that we started to make use of every second that we have left. Remember, death is just around the corner. You only have a little time left. As we age, time accelerates. Ask anyone in his or her 60s how quickly 10 or 20 years pass. The answer is usually something like "in the blink of an eye".

Develop a sense of urgency in your life. Make your motions fast and hard. Do everything with the vigor as if you are on your last legs. Squeeze all that you can into the time that you have left. The clock is ticking for all of us.
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Never Give Up

As we approach 2009, it is important to first get our mindset right. Recent events have people filled with fear. This is only natural with all the uncertainty which was created. However, we need to look at our own lives to determine what we are going to create for ourselves. The macro situations will affect us but not as much as our own activities.

When we uncover a dream or goal(which will will discuss in a the next entry), it is crucial that we maintain the desire for that outcome. So many people get excited about it initially only to lose luster when obstacles are encountered. At this point, they usually make excuses that allow them to give up. Throwing in the towel is now an art form.

It is vital that you never give up on your dreams. Life will throw challenges your way. This is a guarantee. Accept it as reality while persevering. The only thing that can truly stop you is your mindset. Success and failure are first created in the mind. The instant that you decide to quit, that is when you chose failure. It is that simple.

The economic conditions that everyone is facing are going to create a tougher road for everyone. Yet, because of the uncertainty, many will utilize this for tremendous gain. With each crisis is an opportunity. Those who attack the situation will come out on top. Sadly, the majority will accept the difficult conditions while making excuses. This allows for you to enter the minority.

Begin the process by getting it firm in your mind that you are not going to quit until you attain the success you want in life. No matter what obstacles you encounter, you will continue until you reach the outcome you desire. The decision to live a successful life is the first thing that you need to do. Make it now.
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Energy Management

We heard about the merits of time management for years. It seems that every self help expert and business coach offers insight into managing our time better. This is the "holy grail" for success. You will be a total success if only you manage your time efficiently.

Time management is a valuable tool. There is no question that it has merits. However, there is one factor that time management misses: energy. This is the one factor which determines the level of success we are to achieve. Mismanage your energy and you are doomed to fail.

Here is an example. Someone who takes the day off work because he or she is physically ill has plenty of time. The 24 hours are at that person's disposal. Nevertheless, nothing gets done on that day other than sleep. Why? Obviously because of the lack of energy. When we are sick, the only thing we concern ourselves with is feeling better. The proverbial to do list takes a back seat.

Time management tells us to handle the most important tasks first. This is a valid concept. The question is why are we doing this? We do this since that is typically the time that our energy level is the highest. Our success rate increases when we attack the activities which are the most difficult when we are strongest.

How many of you have the "afternoon crash"? For most people, this is a common occurrence. It is also an example of how time management fails to solve this situation. After lunch, there are a number of hours still left in the day. If we attended to the difficult tasks earlier, they are out of the way. Nevertheless, there is still business to attend to. Many find they have the time yet not the energy. Physically they feel the crash.

Experts will tell you that life is a marathon. In the general sense, it is. This teaches us to look at the long term perspective while persevering. Yet, when it comes to energy, life is a series of sprints. We are confronted with a situation that requires an exertion of energy like a dash. After that, we need time to recoup. This is how the successful excel. They build in the periods to restore the energy level.

In the next post, we will delve more into the energy/sprint concept.
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Creating Opportunities

The media keeps telling us that we are in a historic time right now. There is a great deal of uncertainty with the global economy. Many are worried about how bad things will really get. Today, the latest unemployment numbers for the week came out and they were up substantially. This is after the Senate approved a landmark "bailout" package last evening. Obviously, this creates an tremendous amount of pessimism.

I read an article earlier which mentioned that we are heading into a recession. It seems the official barometer of two consecutive quarters of negative growth will be reached. I am so glad the government finally caught up with what most already knew. My travels enables me to talk with many small business owners. These people were experiencing the effects of the economic downturn for the last 12-15 months. If you want to find out the facts, go to those who are on the front lines of the action.

How bad will this get? There is no way for anyone to determine that. However, with every downturn comes opportunities. People who are willing to look at the situation as "half full" will fare much better than those who take the "half empty" approach. This I can guarantee. My presumption is that most people will throw a "pity party" as opposed of plunging forward with something that could make a difference in their lives.

Let us use the stock market as an example. The last few months have seen it hammered. This is the worst stretch that I can remember in terms of sustained volatility. In particular, the industrial stocks were devastated. Many of these lost 50%-60% in the last 12 months. However, there will be a lot of wonderful opportunities in this sector in the next few months. If the bottom was not reached, it cannot be far. Most of these companies are now on sale. That means it is a good time to pick them up.

One of the shrewdest investors is Warren Buffet. The last two weeks saw him go on a huge buying spree. If memory serves me correctly, he dropped about $15 billion in that time. Why would the richest man in the world do this? The reason is because he is trained to see an opportunity when it is presented. While many others were worrying about the market crashing, he was analyzing the underlying value of the companies. This is how he could see what others missed.

There is a saying about "keeping your head while everyone else loses theirs". This is how we create opportunities when others see chaos. What can you do that will change your situation? Losing a job is a terrible thing for people to go through. However, it also opens up so many possibilities; starting a business, going back to school, or making a career change. The point is that we need to have the proper mindset to create the opportunities that lead to success. Instead of dwelling on all that is wrong, begin to look for all the possibilities you are faced with. With each downturn, there are tremendous opportunities.
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