“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” -Foster C. Mcclellan
What does it
mean to trust yourself? Do we develop trust in ourselves the same way we
develop trust in others? Developing trust in others is usually a process. Over
time, people demonstrate through their behavior and their actions that they are
trustworthy. We come to know or realize over time that certain people will do
what they say. They become people of their word.
Believe it or
not, we often apply this same process to our own lives. We tell ourselves we
are going to do something and then it’s almost like our mind is waiting to see
if we will follow through on our promise. And what happens when we don’t honor
our promise or commitment to ourselves? You guessed it, our inner critic or
head trash says something like; see, I knew you wouldn’t follow through.
Or maybe,
who do you think you are, you’ve never done anything like that before… Or why
is this time going to be different than all the other times you said you
wouldn’t quit, wouldn’t give up, wouldn’t fail?
How do we go
about creating the kind of self we will be happy to live with all our lives?
We start by
honoring the promises we make to ourselves. When we honor our promises or our
commitments, we subconsciously begin to build self-confidence. Our mind says
hey, let’s check the memory banks and see what the history of previous attempts
says. And, if we have been true to ourselves and have honored our commitments,
our mind says; this person has honor, this person keeps their word, we can
trust that this person will DO what they say.
This is how
our tiny sparks of possibility are fanned into flames of achievement. This is
how we go from I can’t, to maybe I can, to if others can, then maybe I can too,
to I not only can, but I will, no matter what. This is how self-belief and
self-confidence are developed. This is how we become better over time, one tiny
inner spark at a time. One honored commitment at a time. One day at a time!
Combining
Our Efforts And Coming Together To Create Lasting Change
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY!
“People acting together as a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could ever hope to bring about.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Much has
been written about people acting together as a group. The ability to accomplish
things that would otherwise remain dusty dreams in the deep recesses of our
minds has much to do with this phenomenon. We have come to realize over the
years when a like-minded group of individuals acts together, there is no way to
know for sure just how much will be accomplished through their combined
efforts.
Story after
story, article after article, book after book, movie after movie, victory after
victory, all we need do is simply look to our history to understand all that is
possible when people come together for a unified purpose. As a matter of fact,
there are so many stories, it is difficult to pick just one or two to
illustrate this point. However, since I am the one writing “this
story” I get to choose.
Writers
privilege!
I will
illustrate the power of collective unified groups by capturing a few phrases
from the Twentieth Century that both pulled and then kept people together in
times of great difficulty and tremendous struggle.
Like many
myths, I wish I could tell you that Winston Churchill unified an entire country
with the phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” but unfortunately, as good
as it might make the story, it wouldn’t be the truth. However, that doesn’t
mean the words are not now indelibly linked to Churchill’s spirit and leadership
of the British people.
The phrase
is more popular today than it was when it was first coined in 1939 in preparation
for World War II. It was originally meant to raise morale and unite England in
preparation of the anticipated air attacks that would eventually become known
as the Blitzkrieg. For whatever reason, although almost 2.5 million copies were
produced, the poster was rarely displayed and didn’t become popular until it was rediscovered in
2000 at a British book shop. Churchill did however unite the people of Britain
with his words such as those used in his iconic 1940 “This was their finest
hour” speech which he first delivered to the House of Commons and then later
broadcast to the nation.
Many years
later, America would experience a darkness of a magnitude it was ill prepared
to deal with. Oppression clearly has no regard for boundaries.
During one
of the darkest times in the history of the United States, a speech was
delivered in Washington DC that would change the entire course of civil rights
in America. The “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. unified people around the civil rights movement.
With the
words “We Choose to go to The Moon” John F. Kennedy unified a
country to support the space race against Russia.
Apple
introduced the idea of the personal computer, and today, we each carry one
around that doubles as a communication device… The internet has completely
changed life as we know it and the creators had to overcome challenges, they
didn’t even know existed yet to make it a reality. What started as a search
engine for the internet has become a company now leading us into the future
with advances that aren’t even fully understood yet. Google Deep Mind is A.I.
unlimited…
Today,
January 20, 2021, in Washington DC, we witnessed the magic of this entire
concept when it played out in real time as the words of a young poet laureate,
Amanda Gorman were shared with a nation in need of unity and healing. Her
poetic words may have done what no other words could. They served as a reminder
of how far we have come and as a beacon of hope for a better tomorrow…
In today’s
fast paced world, brands have become movements as well… The
“Virgin” brand has become a group of companies focused solely on
solving challenges within different sectors of society. Education as we know it
is being completely redesigned by companies like Virgin and Mindvalley.
And finally,
there is now a major shift taking place in the Healthcare Industry as well.
There is a new focus on both health and wellness in response to people living
much longer and wanting to maintain both their physical health and mental
acuity. Fitness, and the fitness movement have taken the main stage. The focus
isn’t only on physical fitness, but mental wellness is finally getting its
proper due.
In the
pharmaceutical arena, companies are looking to comprehend the body at a
chemical level to better understand and drive innovation. Immunotherapy was for
years mostly conceptual, but today, it makes up a vast part of both the
products available to treat disease and is key for the research being developed
to eradicate disease as well.
For an
interesting review of each of the different areas of focus I discussed, we need
only look to YouTube for a better understanding… Information on Churchill,
King, Kennedy, Jobs and early Apple, The Internet, Google, Virgin and Sir
Richard Branson, Vishen Lakhiani and Mindvalley, and a little video called
“Fire with Fire by GE” that provides hope about the potential future
of medicine as we know it…
Each of
these causes, or major advancements in history, have one specific commonality, togetherness.
When people unite to accomplish something none of them could ever
hope to accomplish alone, history shows us that nothing is impossible when
these like-minded individuals join together to make a real difference in the
world.
Together, we
accomplish More!
“One person may supply the idea for a company, community or nation, but what gives the idea its force is a community of dreams.” -Andre’ Malraux
Push Your Talents And You Will Discover Your Genius
Photo by Hayden Walker on Unsplash
ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY!
“Life is not about discovering our talents; it is about pushing our talents to the limit and discovering our genius.” -Robert Brault
There have been many people
throughout history who discovered their talent and then that’s where it
ended… They never took the time to develop that talent into something more.
Having a special talent and
not developing it or sharing it is like buying someone a gift and never giving
it to them. The gift does nothing for the person who bought it, or for the
intended recipient, nothing!
It is only in the exchange
that value is created. Ideas and talents can be likened to gifts. Shared, they
become powerful, perhaps even priceless, not unlike a diamond. Unshared, they
are interesting, the same way a hot air balloon is interesting tethered to the
ground…
However, tethered to the
ground the balloon is only full of the POTENTIAL to rise and soar into flight.
Genius happens when the tethers are released and the brilliant, bright and awe-inspiring
balloon takes flight. In the air, high in the sky for all to see, we marvel at
its majestic appearance! And the riders in the basket, they have a new
perspective of earth as well, for they have tapped into the power and the
brilliance of the balloon!
Go out and soar today, decide
to develop one small facet of the brilliance that is YOU! Remember, you are not
so unlike the diamond in the rough. To the untrained eye, we might not even
recognize a diamond and we certainly wouldn’t know if our own back yard was
full of diamonds if we didn’t know what to look for.
A diamond doesn’t become what
it is until it meets the eye of the stonecutter. It is the skill of the
stonecutter, (their talent pushed), that allows for them to see
the finished product in their minds eye when the stone is still a lifeless lump
of glass.
It is the application of
their skill, their talent that pushes them to become a respected and possibly
highly sought-after stonecutter. The apprentice stonecutter does not begin with
the Hope Diamond. No, they spend countless hours working on and perfecting
their craft so that one day, when the invitation comes to create a masterpiece,
they are ready!
Having discovered their
talent for stonecutting, they pushed past the thankless task and engaged in the
day to day monotonous and mundane work of becoming a genius, a genius
stonecutter.
Now, amply prepared, when the call comes in to create the next Hope Diamond, instead of wondering why they were called, they say to themselves instead, of course they called, who else would they have called ,they were looking for a Genius to turn their lump of glass into a diamond, of course they called me, after all, I am a genius stonecutter.”
It is important to understand
that this is not hubris, this is much more. It is the confidence that
comes from countless hours of beating on their craft the same way a chunk of
metal is heated and cooled, pounded and shaped into a sword of destiny. The
sword is heated, pounded, shaped, cooled, and then the process is repeated
hundreds or thousands of times to temper the steel, and then finally, the finished
product emerges as “Art.”
The sword maker is no
different than the stonecutter or the CEO, the restauranteur, or the
accountant, the lawyer or the sales professional, the writer or the producer, the
brain surgeon or the entrepreneur. Each must work on their craft, honing their
efforts, putting in the mundane hours of study and practice on their given
talent or chosen endeavor, so they can emerge a genius, not overnight but “one
day at a time.”
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” -Henry David Thoreau
What does it mean to endeavor to live the life which has been imagined? How does one “advance confidently” in the direction of one’s dreams? And what does it mean to meet success unexpected in common hours? All are great questions, let’s examine each of the questions a little closer.
Endeavor
translated literally as a verb means to try hard to do or achieve something.
Therefore, if we will but try hard, we will find ourselves in the company of
the action takers. These are the people who just simply get started and worry
about how, once they are already in motion. They understand the
principle that a body in motion tends to stay in motion…
Advancing
confidently is often easier said than done. How do we develop the confidence
necessary to stay the course? Confidence comes from building on small successes
and then eventually achieving bigger goals along the path. This is where we can
really lean into the underlying philosophy of all my work.
My work is predicated on the idea that our accomplishments come from the understanding that everything we ever do will be done, “one day at a time.” It is the cumulative effect of our daily actions, our habits, small acts repeated over and over that lead to our results.
It’s what I
simply call “The Cumulative Effect.”
One of the
very best natural examples of the cumulative effect is on display in one of our
National Parks. The Grand Canyon represents the cumulative effect of nature on
the surface of the earth. The beauty of this process is that to the human eye
it’s imperceptible. In life, our own progress is often imperceptible as well.
This is one
way to describe the phenomena of “overnight success” which is traditionally a
myth. The individual who is finally outwardly recognized for their success has
quietly been defeating adversity at every turn and often for many years before
they ever reach any level of notoriety.
Their “unexpected”
success was a result of countless hours of effort!
Where does
one meet unexpected success? It lies right on the other side of perceived
adversity. It is often just one more attempt away from wherever we currently
find ourselves…
The prize?
Well, it is often far better and much sweeter than we ever imagined. Success found on the other side of adversity is success of the highest caliber, it’s the reward of discovering your persistence was more than worthwhile.
Ah, breath it in, it feels GREAT!
Keep
Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
Author’s
Note:
ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY is the title of my next new release in the “One Day At A Time” series. It will be released on the 4th of July to celebrate my 31st year of sobriety. Exactly one year after the publication of my first book, THE SOMEDAY SOLUTION, the story continues…
