Month: February 2018

I am a woman. I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a step mom. I am a grand mom. I am a cheerleading coach. I am a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. I am a full-time Executive Assistant. I am a full-time Realtor. I am a Beachbody Coach. I am a doctor. I am a writer.

I am also strong. Loyal. Loving. Intelligent. Beautiful. Independent. A lover of art and books. And a hopeless romantic.

Not once did I label myself by my race, skin color, age, nationality, or religion. Those labels are not needed for you to get to know me or for me to add value to my life or yours. I also don’t need you to label me, because I put enough in myself. We should be free to choose our labels and not be labeled by assumptions. My character is not built by a label, rather on what I do and the integrity with which I do it.

Too often I see people quick to judge but not to listen. Quick to anger but not to inform. Quick to label but not learn.

If someone does something to offend you, take a step back, take a moment, and then try to be open to the possibility that he or she is simply misinformed. Most likely there was no ill-intent, just lack of knowledge. So instead of being offended, let’s be educators first. Use it as an opportunity. This small change in our reactions can be a powerful tool for change.

Ghandi said it best: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

https://youtu.be/nhixMwfBL7Y

 

Success is not something that can be measured against a yardstick.  Yet, we use measures of success in almost every aspect of society.  Rankings, pay grade, raises, promotions. We celebrate birthday and anniversary milestones like they are markers of success.  And we hold events that celebrate the best of the best like the Olympics and the Superbowl.

But if you asked the leading athletes about their success, they always attribute it to something bigger than just winning.  It was a journey, a goal they set, the will to keep going no matter what.  That comes from something deeper.

The truth is that there is no form of measure to accurately quantify or qualify your level of success.  It is highly individualized.  It changes with time and purpose.  The materials possessions you collect are a visual representation, but do a collection of things yet a sad heart really constitute success?

Instead of focusing on what society deems successful, try focusing inward on what and who matter most.  Does your dream get put on the back burner?  Do your children have enough of your time?  Does your spouse of significant other get the best of you or what’s left over?

Don’t let society define your success.  Success is happiness, authenticity, love, honesty, freedom, achievement, forgiveness, knowledge.  It’s a feeling through the journey, not just the end goal.  Success is knowing you did not give up.

Are you giving it it your all and focused on doing your personal best? If not, there is no better time to start than right now.

 

We have all had those moments when hindsight is 20/20, and we just want to kick ourselves in the ass for not knowing better.  But that’s just it…we didn’t know any better.  The fact is that some lessons just can’t be learned until you are completely immersed in the nightmare.  But it’s going through the nightmare and coming out on the other side that makes you stronger.

Life does have a way of throwing lemons at you.  Actually, life has a way of throwing lemons at you ALL THE TIME.  We have a few choices…turn and run away from them, try to dodge, or catch them.  You’re still reading, so that must mean you made the choice to catch the lemons…now what?  Well, more choices….  catch and throw, catch and collect…

A friend of mine is going through a rough time right now, and while she’s in the middle of it all, she feels like she is drowning.  I reminded her that she is amazing.  And I also reminded her that she won’t see progress or results while she is walking the walk, but one day she’ll be able to look back and not only see, but KNOW without a doubt, just how far she has come and how much she has triumphed over.   YOU WILL TOO!

People will try to hold you back.  They will throw doubt and worry and fear in your face when you are hoping for a little extra confidence or encouragement.  Move forward anyway.  They will try to persuade you to give up or change course.  Stay the course anyway.  Why?  Because your character is built on the days you struggle, and your reputation is built on the days you celebrate.

Your potential will send them on a tailspin to prevent your success out of their fear of being left behind when you succeed.  In the words of Sandra Bullock, “It is noisy out there, and for some reason, people want to see you fail.  But that is not your problem.  That is their problem.”

So work through the tough times – catch the lemons…and one day you’ll be drinking margharitas on the beach while your nay-sayers are still trying to figure out how to simply dodge the lemons.

Plan your work and work your plan.

It’s a pretty simple concept.  Yet, so many of us fail to make even a sketch of a plan for the day or the week, but we continue to wonder why we get so derailed.  Each day, if we took just a few minutes to plan out how we want the day to run, and be disciplined to follow the plan.  Doing this daily gives us an opportunity to review anything that isn’t working, make adjustments, and still stay focused on the goal.