Tag Archives: success

Planning vs. Winging It

This morning, as happens all too often, I saw a social media post that argued planning over improvisation or “winging it.” I saw another one that suggested winging it was always better than planning. Both arguments seem sound to me and I came to the realization that to be truly successful you have to do both. The challenge is that they require different talents and different skill sets. That said, if you can plan AND improvise then you all but guarantee yourself success in any endeavor. Let’s think about this a bit and discuss a few particulars about each approach. Continue reading →

What Does ‘Exercise’ Mean to You?

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I recently wrote a piece about the difference in perception caused in most people when they hear ‘diet and exercise’ versus ‘nutrition and fitness.’ Just yesterday (as I write this) I was in my doctor’s office and was proud to see his reaction to the new fitness levels my wife and I are demonstrating thanks to our relatively new regimen of eating cleaner and training more. When he asked what we were doing, I carefully didn’t answer “diet and exercise” but HE used the word exercise in our conversation quite repeatedly. It made me wonder what people think when they hear the word ‘exercise’ because some seem so adverse to it. Some seem to think it means something tedious and unbearable. Some seem to think it means constantly repetitive and boring activity designed for very limited purposes. I decided to take a look at the word and how we use it and see what it really means. Continue reading →

Your Plan versus Their Plan

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While I’m going to use examples from my childhood and that of my children, this article does not apply only to parents and children. It applies to anyone who would see you do something different because of what they think is best for you. The honest reality is that sometimes their plan is better but far less appealing. Sometimes your plan is best and they simply don’t know any better until you show them. Sometimes either plan could work just as well but the more successful one will ultimately prove to be the one you believe in the strongest. Let me explain… Continue reading →

Start With Commitment

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I came to a realization this morning. It may not have been a big one, but it struck me as worth sharing. That realization was this: every success story I’ve ever read or heard about started out with someone taking a dream and changing it into a goal. In that moment, when they decide they are going to make their dream come true, the successful person commits. They commit to the work it will take to make their dream come true. They change a dream into a goal and compile the goals into a plan and work that plan until they reach success. Continue reading →

Expansive Outlooks

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One really spectacular benefit of social media is that it allows you to follow those you choose, ignore those you want to and share news or commentary on your day as you see fit. There are a great many people who use it purely for trivia or entertainment. There are many companies that use it to pimp their product. There are also a host of people who use it to regularly share good news, positive messages and (hopefully) inspirational commentary. Finding THOSE people wasn’t as easy thirty or forty years ago and, in that way, social media can benefit everyone on a daily basis. That said, the benefit only exists if YOU seek out and follow the folks who share such positive messages. Here are a few other thoughts to go along with what you might find if you do. Continue reading →

Be Thankful for the Darkness

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There’s an old joke about how some people are so stupid they would bang on their hand with a hammer just so they could enjoy how good it feels to stop. While none of us can imagine why anyone would voluntarily hurt themselves just so they could enjoy it when they stop, the “joke” does illustrate the process of experiencing a negative event and then having a deeper appreciation for the positive event that immediately follows. That’s the topic of this entry: the necessity of experiencing some “bad” things so that you can more deeply appreciate the “good” things… and how eventually you can learn to appreciate the “bad” things… and then they’re not so bad anymore. Continue reading →

The 12 Best Life Hacks

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In today’s computer age, days where you can’t look around without seeing someone on their “smart” phone, and times of everyone being connected nearly full time, the word “hack” has come to take on a whole new meaning. It is essentially used to mean “something that makes your life easier or an easier and faster way of doing something.” I’ve seen some pretty cool hacks posted online but I often wonder how come nobody ever shares TRUE “life hacks:” hacks that actually make your life easier in the way(s) that count most. So… I had to. I considered it a challenge I couldn’t back away from. Continue reading →

What Qualifies Me?

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So, I received a private message on Facebook from a gentleman asking, “What qualifies you to give advice on life to anyone?” I had to think about this. It’s a good question. I found myself wondering if he has a point? What DOES qualify me to give advice on anything to anyone? For that matter, what qualifies me to teach anyone anything as well?

The answers become obvious after a while. Continue reading →

2018 New Year Resolutions

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Near the end of every calendar year… or in the first few days of a new year… huge numbers of people make resolutions with the goal of improving their life. Some of those resolutions are very specific and equally unrealistic. For example, after someone has been a cigarette smoker for years (if not decades), they decide that starting January 1^st of the New Year, they’re going to quit smoking… cold turkey. Now, they’ve decided to quit a dozen times before and they’ve stopped smoking for several days at a time, made themselves miserable, and then come up with a reason why they just HAVE to have a cigarette. My own father stopped smoking for a year after he had heart surgery and then someone offered him a cigarette at a bar and he thought, “One won’t hurt.” Another year later he had to go through the misery of quitting again. Continue reading →

Life’s Simplest Lessons

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Recently I saw an image through the wizardry of social media and, after having read through it, thought about just how true it was. The title was “Simple Formula for Living,” but that didn’t really describe the list of items included. As I read them, I felt they more described lessons to be followed for a prosperous and spiritually valuable life. I certainly don’t always follow each bit of guidance (because I’m human and therefore imperfect), but I see the value in each and strive to maintain my compliance to them. Let’s go through them and briefly discuss the value. Continue reading →