Tag Archive for: action

sunrise

 

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life changing experiences that you hear other people talk about. You know, the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly? Well, this one occurred a mere two feet away from me!

Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

First, he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, and movingly loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other's face, I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled somewhat shyly, diverted his eyes, and replied softly, "Me too, Dad!"

Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe 9 or 10) and while cupping his son's face in his hands he said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug. His son said nothing. No reply was necessary

While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one and a half) was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, "Hi babygirl!" as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder and remained motionless in total pure contentment.

After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed, "I love you so much!" They stared into each other's eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant, they reminded me of newlyweds but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't be. I puzzled about it for a moment, then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I were invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, "Wow! How long have you two been married?"

"Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those," he replied without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" I asked. The man finally looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile and told me, "Two whole days!"

Two days?! I was stunned! I was certain by the intensity of the greeting I just witnessed that he'd been gone for at least several weeks, if not months, and I know my expression betrayed me. So I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!"

The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with an intensity that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, "Don't hope friend...decide." Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!" With that, he and his family turned and energetically strode away together

I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, "What'cha looking at?" Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!"


Michael D. Hargrove

© Copyright 1997 by Michael D. Hargrove. All rights reserved. Used with author's permission. Visit Michael's website at: www.bluinc.com

 

"The Personal Strategic Plan is a life changing program."

It shows you exactly how to adapt powerful strategic planning methods from Corporate America to your own life.

Life is way too short to continue repeating history, and if you've had challenges accomplishing all your goals in the past, this program that will help.

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Once you put this plan into action you'll find distractions falling away, you will say adios to procrastination, and hello to a bright new future filled with endless opportunity.

Gary Ryan Blair's Personal Strategic Plan

I can vouch for Gary Ryan Blair.  His programs are comprehensive, simple to implement and I found his approach very down-to-earth and practical.
=> http://bit.ly/13hyxOJ

 

Just stop for a moment and think back to those business goals, work targets, KPI's, and personal aspirations (lose weight, get fit, learn something new, etc.) that you set at the beginning of the year. Think about those visions of success, profits and happiness you saw yourself achieving this year.

Are you still on track?
...or have you broken some of those promises?

"Just a moment", I hear your say "I never *promised* that I would achieve them, I just committed to trying my best. I didn't break any promises, I just got caught up in other things"

To me, this is an excuse.
It is a habit of allowing yourself to not stick to your targets because you lose focus when under pressure.

Am I being a little harsh? Perhaps.
Am I being truthful and accurate? Absolutely!

If you want to have success and happiness consistently in your life, then you need to become resilient to pressure by raising your standards.

Let me explain...

Studies have found that your body 'normalizes' stimulants that it is exposed to on a regular basis. Meaning that you become somewhat de-sensitive, or less sensitive, to the frequent noises, smells, images, tastes and sensations of the environment around you.

Two examples:

The smell receptors in the olfactory (smell) system of the body of garbage collectors becomes less sensitive to the smell of garbage after about 6 weeks. The body adapts to the smell by desensitising to the smell of garbage.

Even an hour or two after putting on perfume, cologne or aftershave you become somewhat unaware of the smell. Your body desensitises the frequent stimulants around you.

So what has desensitisation got to do with becoming resilient to pressure and achieving your goals??

If you consistently accept an excuse, cop out, or lower standards of performance from yourself, then your body learns to accept that as OK. After a while, you become desensitised to your excuses and you no longer notice them. That's when they become a habit.

When the pressure builds up, if you have developed the habit of allowing excuses and cop outs to be an acceptable response - then you will always find yourself setting goals, targets, new years resolutions, but rarely reaching them.

 

Think about your excuses for a moment.
Which one do you use?

"I just got too busy"
"Sorry, I became sidetracked"
"I have been swamped with other work"
"I simply couldn't be bothered today"
"I just don't like calling up my clients"

What's your excuse?
Excuses are like armpits - we all have them and they all stink!

Top 3 Excuses and how to beat them:

1. 'I'm too busy and don't have any time'
Who isn't busy and pressed for time?
However, you can get into the habit of saying , or thinking, that you are too busy. In this frame of mind, you no longer look for ways to reach your targets, but get caught up in why you can't reach them.

Raise your standards by expecting more from yourself.
Solution: Create time via leverage.
You may have heard the saying 'If you want something done, ask a busy person'.
Busy people fit more into their day because they look at ways to shortcut those tasks/jobs by leveraging their time. A great example of leverage is outsourcing those tasks you would rather not do, or take up too much time.

 

pivotal stories - Kung fu

 

2. 'I just have to get through this first before looking at everything else'
Another 'excuse habit' that stops you from planning your success.

Planning a wedding is a huge event. It is an exercise in logistics, project management, HR, mediation, communication, and occasionally, health and safety. It would be madness to leave the seating, catering, venue, table decorations etc. all to the last few days - major stress.

In the same sense you have plan how to use your time so that you get the best return on each hour of your day. How do you plan your time?

1. List what needs to be achieved over the next 7 days
2. From that list isolate what needs to be achieved in the next 24 hours.
3. Plan your order of action according to:
a. What action will give me the best return
b. What is the most productive use of my time
c. What needs to be done now?

Sure, a time plan can change in the first 30 minutes of your day. So, just re-do your plan if/when that happens.

3. I just can't be bothered.
This habit trains your body to become lazy. It sends a message that 'it is Ok to stop trying when you are outside your comfort zone'.

If babies thought this way, they would never walk.
Instead, raise your standards by being accountable.

a. Accountable to yourself.
Write out clear targets and read them each day. Stay mindful of where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Set clear dates by which you want to accomplish certain tasks, etc.
Be accountable to yourself for your actions.

b. Be accountable to others.
Let others know of your targets, aspiration - personal and professional. This way if you decide
to fall in the habit of 'I just can't be bothered' you will know that others have an expectation on
you - which may kick you back in to gear.

.........................................................................
Michael Licenblat B.Sc.(Psych), Resilience Expert
Website: www.BounceBackFast.com Email: Support@PerformanceSolutions.com.au

The Five Greatest Warriors

~Matthew Reilly

IT BEGAN WITH SIX STONES. Jack West Jr and his loyal team are in desperate disarray: they've been separated, their mission is in tatters, and Jack was last seen plummeting down a fathomless abyss. IT FINISHES HERE. After surviving his deadly fall, Jack must now race against his many enemies to locate and set in place the remaining pieces of The Machine before the coming Armageddon. WHO ARE THE FIVE WARRIORS? As the world teeters on the brink of destruction, he will learn of the Five Warriors, the individuals who throughout history have been most intimately connected to his quest. OCEANS WILL RISE, CITIES WILL FALL. Scores will be settled, fathers will fight sons, brothers will battle brothers, and Jack and his friends will soon find out exactly what the end of the world looks like...

This is Book Four in the Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan.

The Review in Booklist:
Following Will and Evanlyn’s escape from slavery in The Icebound Land (2007), Halt determines that the Temujai mean to attack Araluen and decides to help the Skandians defend their land. Rejoining Halt, Will and Evanlyn become warriors in the stronghold where they had recently been captives and use their wits and skills to fight the common enemy. The story plunges forward with irresistible narrative drive toward the climactic battle scene. Even readers drawn to the series for its deftly drawn characters and setting may find themselves caught up in the action. A fine entry in the increasingly popular Ranger’s Apprentice series.

Amazon has identified copies as "Bargain books" books that are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such. They are selling the paperback for $3.20.