Day 373 – Just let it go.

What bugs you? Is there something that just gets under your skin?

I have several things of course and some of them are really quite embarrassing. People who do 60mph in the far left lane bug the heck out of me. People that are walking in front of you and just randomly stop bug me. Then there are other things that bug me too that are a bit more significant. People making excuses is probably my biggest pet peeve. I think that goes hand in hand with personal accountability or the lack thereof.

My point today is not to get all preachy about what bugs me or what bugs you but, the size of what we let bug us.

I see people every day that are just in bad moods. Everything around them just seems to grate them the wrong way. At first thought I would yhink there just must be somethign happening in their lives that is so big that it is just manifesting in a negative way. That is why so and so yells at everybody. Sometimes that is the case. Sometimes, someone is just going through a personal battle and the stress of it overflows into other areas of their lives.

What happens when it is more than that? When someone is just not a nice person and is grumpy all of the time?

I submit that they are the result of years of just letting all the little things bugging them. Years of just allowing the guy going 60 in the fast lane to bug him. Years of counting how many item the person has in front of you in the express checkout.

The next time I get frustrated by something so trivial I hope to remember this and ask myself, “Is it really that important? Is this really affecting my life in a way that will make any kind of difference?”

For me, It is time to just let some things go. I want to be a much happier and care free person in this new year and years to come. I think it will just be a better way to live. I have seen the grumpy old man that seems to hate everyone and I do not want to be him.

Day 372 – People actually pay attention!

So one of my hot buttons or motivations is helping people succeed.

It is actually part of what I have discovered as my purpose. I think that anyone who simply decides to do something can do it. There is nothing more powerful than the human spirit when you make a decision and fuel it with desire and an insane work ethic.

I have been writing this blog for one year now and I am blown away every once in a while when I find out who is really reading it. I am even more blown away when I see it affect someone.

I have an old friend that has been embarked a similar journey and he has credited me for his inspiration. My friend Wade has decided that an extra $20,000 dollars this year will do some amazing things in his life including starting a debt free lifestyle.

I am sure that everyone would like an extra 20 grand right? Wade has done something very powerful though. He has done more than just wish for the extra money. He has written it down and declared it. There is just something magical about this step that most people miss. Not only has he made a specific goal and written it down, he has shared that goal and given himself accountability. I am excited for him and to follow his journey as well.

It is January 7, 2015. How are you doing on those old New Years resolutions? Have you written them down? Have you told someone else about them? Most importantly, have you taken that first step? The time is now!

 

Day 371 – Stop with the excuses already!

I have talked about personal accountability before.

My view is that we are in life exactly where we choose to be. Basically that we we the sum of our decisions. This is not a popular view in today’s society. Most people want to blame something or someone else for their failures. That is super easy to do and sure makes us feel better. I mean if we actually took responsibility we may not really like what we see.

Most people spend more time making excuses about where they are than doing something about it. How many times have you seen the overweight person eat unhealthy? How many times have you seen the broke person be irresponsible with money? We see it all of the time and are guilty of it ourselves.

I subscribe to a daily post by Darren Hardy. He is the publisher of Success Magazine and an accomplished author. This morning he posted on this very subject and I was cheering. I have inserted the 3 minute clip and invite you to take a look. Darren Hardy – No Excuses

Do you think that the people that are successful in their lives make excuses? I am pretty sure that one of the things that most successful people have in common is personal accountability. At some point in their lives they have decided that enough is enough and made a change.

During this new year season make a decision to stop making excuses. Think of how much better your life would be without them. Think about how much better the world would be without them. Lets work on removing the word excuse from our vocabulary and make some real changes.

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.”         Jordan Belfort

Day 370 – Resolution #2 – Cutting out the noise.

I really hate being alone.

It has everything to do with my otter personality I am sure. I like being around people and things. I like activity and the buzz of things happening. I have always been like that and it is probably one of the reasons that I am such a night owl. I remember when I was a kid I would get sent to bed and lay on the floor in front of my bedroom door just to listen to what was happening. I never wanted to miss anything! Truth be told there was not much happening but, it was something and I liked it.

I still crave that desire to not miss anything and it has been amplified by the easy access to so much these days. Information and pretty much anything you would want is at your fingertips on your smartphone or personal computer. I find myself trapped by these things as I am in need of constant input. Is this something from my childhood or is it something else?

Darren Hardy calls it Acquired Attention Deficit Disorder. I call it just being afraid of the silence in my head. My head is a scary place as I am sure you regular readers can attest to. It is just not a place that I like to spend any time and I am wondering if that needs to change.

This morning was a perfect example. I got up and showered, made the bed, and came downstairs for breakfast and my morning caffeine. I just automatically sat down at my computer and started scrolling through Facesuck to see if I missed anything. Then I looked and found that I could watch the morning news live on my computer!

I was about 45 seconds into the stream and I felt sick with myself. Why can I not just sit with my thoughts for 10 minutes while I just eat? I have become addicted to input. and its is not really valuable input. It is just crap or filler.

Another of my resolutions this year is to spend more time with myself. Like in silence and without the background noise of anything. I will make a real effort to limit the amount of noise that I allow in and be purposeful in what I do allow in. Time to face the fears in the dark corners of my mind and go for a stroll with myself. Hopefully this is not the beginning of my journey to insanity but to more of a place of peace.

Hopefully I can actually stand to be alone with myself, we shall see.

 

Day 368 – My clean desk goal.

When I watch television or movies I notice weird things. Have you ever noticed the difference in peoples desks? I mean a fancy office with a high powered millionaire usually has a sprawling office and a desk with almost nothing on it.

Look at Donald Trumps desk in one of his TV shows and you will see the same thing. A clean and clear desk. Now lets look at the cluttered desks. Stereotypically the clutter desk belongs to the cop right? Over worked under paid but, it also belongs to the otherwise brilliant guy who just can’t seem to catch a break.

Stereotypes all come from somewhere. Most are anchored in some degree of truth. I remember when I first started dating Amy, she would go over and clean her dad’s office once a week. I remember looking at the crap piled on his desk and wondering how he could possibly get anything done. There was no room to really work and there was no way he could ever find anything! Amy assured me that he actually knew where everything was and he was actually doing very well for himself in the real estate biz so I just figured at the time that was actual reality. Albert Einstein also kept a crazy messy desk.

Several years later I remember going into my friend Ron’s office and it was almost meticulous. Clear working space and only the project he was working on was out. It reminded me of old TV shows from the 70’s where at the end of the day everything was put away and you could go home. Hmmm pretty much like my elementary school used to be. I don’t think Ron put his chair on his desk though.

Now both Ron and my father in law are successful with 7 figure net worths. Einstein was obviously brilliant and maybe this whole desk thing does not mean anything. To me a cluttered desk is an exhausting proposition of unfinished tasks. Things that just have not been dealt with or are in process. For me, that is a hard desk to sit down at and do work. It is hard to know where you left off and to get started again is even more difficult. I like a clean slate that allows me to get started on the priorities right away without the distraction of other things that may not be as important.

I look at the desks of millionaires and cannot help but assume that their desks are almost always clear of everything but what they are working on at the moment. It allows them to focus and really get things done. Now there may be a pile of things somewhere else in a cabinet or something but the desk is usually clear.

I could be totally off base here but, for me it is a big deal. I like having a clear desk and at least trying to be organized. Maybe the big clean desk is just a fantasy and not practical but it makes sense to me and I am running with it. My ADD, I think actually requires it.

One of my goals for this new year and beyond is to have my desk clear. I got it cleared last night and it has already been a pleasure to work on this morning. It is a simple goal and only one of many but, I believe it is a habit of a millionaire and that is good enough for me.

Day 367 – end of the week . . . beginning of the year.

January 2nd and we are into 2015!

Kind of weird that today is a work day and the start of many people’s resolutions but, its Friday. Its the end of the week but the beginning of a new year!

Well I have not even taken my own advice and written down my 2015 goals. Maybe one of them should be less procrastination? I have a few things that I really need to look at this year and get on a timeline. Business goals and personal ones as well. I will certainly be taking some time this weekend to actually get that done and I will of course share because that is what this is for.

I have a bunch of things to do this weekend actually and the list is getting longer as I sit here looking at my desk. I have been a bit neglectful of a few things and the tornado on my desk certainly shows it. Invoices, bills, and checks laying everywhere. I am sure that Richard Branson’s desk does not look like this at all.

Funny but, I am actually really excited about catching up and cleaning my desk. My head is spinning right now and my ADD is kicking into overdrive as I struggle to finish this and make lists at the same time. Time to wrap this up and report some progress tomorrow.

Remember, this is the beginning of the year not the end of the week. Get some!