“Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill there is a solution to every problem.” ~Anurag Prakash Ray
In life, over time, I have come to realize all events are neutral until we label them. Everything we experience or will ever experience, will be experienced, one day at a time. Life is perceived through the filter of what we bring to it. No two people see things exactly the same even when in full agreement on whatever it is they are seeing.
We are not machines and therefore, our emotions, our attitude, our confidence, our physical capabilities, our fitness, both physical and mental will all play their part in the way we perceive things. Our inherent nature, risk averse or risk prone, our ego, our pride, our fear, our humility, our concern for the well-being of others, selflessness or selfish, all will play their part in the decision-making process about what is and isn’t possible…
Mindset, belief, attitude, confidence, clarity, judgment, resilience, tenacity, grit, etc., these are the words used to describe the behaviors and actions of those who appear sure of themselves and their abilities.
Fear is not typically a word associated with the above list. The truth however is that most confident people feel the same fear as the individual lacking confidence. The difference is not in the fear they experience, but in their individual response to it. Confident people find a way to feel the fear and do it anyway. When they do it, whatever “it” is, they do it afraid!
For some, fear is paralyzing. For others it is exhilarating. For most of us, it is the common thread of the lived experience we each do our best to navigate. There is no all-inclusive instruction manual on how to manage fear. There are many theories, articles, and even books on how to manage fear, but the truth is, what works for one may not work for another.
If, however you are interested in one of the best manuals ever written, I highly recommend The End of Fear Itself by Steve Bivans which is available as a kindle read on Amazon for less than the cost of a gourmet cup of coffee. If you prefer a paperback you will have to separate yourself from $15, which is a bargain for a manual on unlearning everything you thought you knew about FEAR!
Some of us are defeated before we ever make the attempt. Some just know their natural limits and I have the utmost respect for them for they are bold enough to face the ridicule of those that might heckle them or call them a quitter, or even worse, make fun of them behind their back in private conversation.
It often takes more courage to say no than it does to say yes. I applaud those who consciously say no after weighing their options and measuring their choices against their abilities. Deep consideration for the safety of others, particularly strangers, is a rare quality indeed.
The climb from the bottom of the Half Dome trail departing out of Little Yosemite Valley to the top is approximately 2700 feet and about 3.5 miles of switchbacks, granite stairs, some of which are carved right into the rock, and standard steep ascent paths. It is a serious hike for serious hikers and a true test of patience and resilience.
Many casual hikers make the attempt as well. Some even succeed.
The casual hikers will be those starting as we did from Little Yosemite Valley because from the valley floor, Half Dome rises nearly 5,000 feet to a grand height of 8,839 feet!
Photo from Author’s Collection
For me, this hike was a test of my will. To begin with, it’s at altitude. It’s steep and requires a steadfast commitment to keep moving even when tired and short of breath. Determination and persistence are the words of the day…
When you finally make it to the top of the Half Dome approach, or what many refer to as the sub-dome, what you find waiting for your is a pair of cables suspended from poles that fit tightly into the drilled-out holes that await their replacement every year when the season reopens. (See picture below).
Photo from Author’s Collection
The final elevation gain on the cables is 400 feet of what sometimes feels like straight up, which translates to about a 50–60-degree slope! The poles are set about 8–10 feet apart with a 2×4 strapped to them to provide a little extra footing. The mantra was to go from board to board as you wait for the person in front of you to advance. Where it gets tricky is when you run into someone coming down at the same time as you are going up or vice versa. There is only so much room between the cables and cooperation from both ascenders and descenders is mandatory to navigate the journey safely!
As you can imagine, there is always one chucklehead in every crowd and for all of us it was Mr. Pink Shirt! He was overly impressed with his own ability to descend facing down the mountain rather than backwards and showed little concern for anyone who got in his way or was too slow to get out of his egoic charge down the cables… Fortunately, no one was hurt!
Where was I? oh yeah, the ascent…
When you finally reach the top, you are either exhilarated or terrified and I saw both this past Monday. The face of one of the ascenders I watched come off the final steps looked like one of those faces you see in a movie like Friday the 13th!
Fortunately, my friend Joe was at the top taking pictures and the one of me looks like someone who both felt and looked UNSTOPPABLE! (See Picture).
Photo from Author’s Collection
The view from the top is almost unimaginable… The meadow floor of Yosemite valley is thousands of feet below and everyone waits for their turn to get a picture taken on the promontory point! (Mine is Below).
Photo from Author’s Collection
After a leisurely break of about 20–30 minutes for hydration and a quick snack, the process of mustering the courage for the return trip down the cables begins.
Photo from Author’s Collection
It’s easy at first, facing forward, no problem, I got this and then the slope begins to change and the decision to begin the slow and methodical backward descent begins. As a descender, you must constantly be looking behind you which also means looking down to make sure you don’t run into anyone.
FEAR can be friend or foe and I found it best to embrace it as a friend. I said to fear; I AM Feeling Excited And Ready. I know I CAN Face Everything And Rise!
I did!
In the next article, I will give a little history of the area and discuss the Wawona Hotel and Restaurant where breakfast was thoroughly enjoyed the next day…
Did I mention the adventure was epic? Now I have! Until next time…
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
Advance Confidently may still be the title of my next book, but it will not be coming out on the 4th of July as I originally anticipated. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book, at least not from me, so I am listening to my muse and will write a fable of self-discovery instead. I don’t know for sure when it will be ready, but what I do know is it will be worth the wait because that is my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your patience!
In the meantime, I will be releasing a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch for the story on the 4th. You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“There is always a best way of doing everything.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
If there is indeed always a best way of doing everything, how do we go about discovering the “best” way? We may not initially know the best way, but with so many resources available at our disposal today, we can evaluate several different options and then try our best to choose the best one available to us at that moment in time.
The Scientific Method is a procedure known to the natural sciences since at least the 17th century. It consists of a series of systematic observations, experiments, measurements, calculations, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. It is viewed as an empirical method of acquiring information and knowledge through careful observation and rigorous skepticism. It takes into account the understanding for potential bias and therefore relies on objective observation balanced by a healthy dose of skepticism.
Trial and error is a less formal and much less rigorous process characterized by multiple repeated varied attempts to reach a desired outcome. Failure is a natural part of the process of both trial and error and the scientific method and failure is embraced as part of the natural process of moving in the direction of the desired result.
How was Thomas Edison able to discover the best way to create an incandescent light bulb? The simple answer is he found thousands of ways that were not the best way. If we are willing to try different approaches and keep our minds open to all available options, eventually we will discover the best way for the task at hand in those circumstances. The best way is ever evolving, constantly improving, making room for the next best way. We are still figuring out the best way, all these years later, to create the best lighting solution possible. Sometimes the best way is only slightly different than what the best way was the day before.
Writing is a lot like this. When I first started writing, many of my messages were rudimentary. As I practiced my craft, I learned different ways of expressing my ideas and gained a better command of language, expression, and description. I also developed my style. The more I practiced, the better I got. And the more I practice, the better I will get. Excellence eventually becomes a habit.
Excellence is the evolution of ideas and the understanding that our world is in perpetual motion, movement, and advancement, which allows us to individually do our best in any given situation or circumstance. Our willingness and openness to evaluate new information and ideas is what gives us the opportunity to do our best work. Collectively, we rely on one another and on the sharing of ideas and information to discover the next best way of doing things.
When we move from believing that we as individuals have the best opportunity of creating the best solutions to instead, crowdsourcing the collective wisdom of our communities and companies, we then gain access to the collective consciousness and collective wisdom of the group.
The best practices of today only provide a bridge to the best practices of tomorrow. The cycle repeats itself with each new day and once again gives us the opportunity to do our best because our individual best is the “best” way of doing everything. That is, unless we can come together in a group and work collectively to solve whatever challenges we are facing and then the “best” way will have been decided by each of the “best” minds working together to create an even better “collective best” mind or more simply, the crowdsourced “best of the best!”
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” ~Wilma Rudolph
Is it really possible there could be 7 infinitely simple steps to greatness? In a world where everything is promised with almost no effort required, it’s easy to become suspicious. I know I have!
We live in an Instagram world where the pictures we see only represent the absolute best of everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives. For some unknown reason, it’s not glamorous to share the struggle, to share the challenges, to share the truth…
On any given day you will find a social media post with a link to a YouTube video where someone will tell you “how to” crush the day. The advice will come in one of two forms. It will either come in the form of how easy it is, or it will come in the form of how hard it is. There doesn’t really seem to be a lot of middle ground and the reason I decided to write this article was to cover the middle ground. I wanted to offer a different perspective, to present a different idea, a different way of looking at what we often call, the struggle.
What if by simply re-framing the language we use with what we face each day, what if by simply re-framing what we’re labeling something, we could completely change the way our mind thinks about whatever that thing is?
In some of the videos they will tell you it’s necessary to hustle and grind. They will tell you if you’re working 10-hour days and that’s not working , then double your efforts, work 20 instead, work harder, work longer, try harder, do MORE!
And they will tell you that if you do, success might even be easy. In my opinion, the thing that’s misunderstand about success, is many people are looking for the easiest way to get it. Everyone creating content has 5 easy steps for this… or 10 easy steps to greatness, or whatever…
The truth is that the steps to success, the steps for success, are infinite. Success is not a place of arrival. You won’t suddenly one day arrive and declare your success. It doesn’t work like that… At least not in my opinion anyway. Many of those who are on the hamster wheel in search of success can’t even tell you what success means to them, and the truth is that success absolutely, positively, must be identified individually, because what’s success to one person, might actually be failure to another…
A great place to begin, a great place to start, is with why. One of the great videos that does exist, that you can watch as it relates to this idea, is a TEDx from Simon Sinek, (the video is included at the bottom of this article). I also believe it’s important to play an infinite game as he suggests. I am not a fan of a finite game. Also, I believe it’s important to play a long game not a short game. Be in it to win it but be in it for the long haul and be in it to serve as many as you possibly can while in pursuit of whatever it is you hope to achieve or accomplish. If you do that, if your end goal is to help as many other people as you possibly can to get what they want, then you can, exactly as Zig Ziglar described, have everything you want.
I believe the most compelling way to share information is with examples. Here is an example of a simple re-frame around the conversation you may or may not be having in your mind as it relates to just how hard life is. Yes, I believe we can acknowledge the difficulty of life. However, I don’t believe we need to label it “HARD.” If that’s the truth, then how else might we refer to it? Here’s a possibility.
A re-frame for the statement: Life is HARD!
I once thought life was hard, then I learned that life isn’t necessarily hard, but it is a challenge. I have learned to access everything I need to not only meet, but also manage challenges as they arise and to create meaningful solutions to the challenges I encounter! I have everything I need to embrace every challenge with clarity, commitment, and confidence!
I hope you can see the clear difference between the two statements. And let’s make no mistake, they are both statements. One is a disempowering statement; the other is an empowering statement. Why do we consistently sell ourselves short on our ability to take on challenges, to do hard things?
If your life has been filled with failure because you didn’t have access to the information you needed to be able to take on the challenges that came your way, then the natural conclusion would be that life is hard. Let’s be honest, not everyone has access to the information that would allow us to re-frame what we otherwise might call “HARD.”
It is my intention to lay out a pathway to progress for you here that comes from my book, The Someday Solution! I didn’t intentionally set out to create this pathway, it presented itself to me after I completed an event that I originally didn’t even believe I was capable of accomplishing. It was revealed to me as I looked back on what I had achieved, when I looked back on what I had accomplished, and when I looked back at where I had come from.
I asked an empowering question. I asked, I wonder how I did that? I wonder how I went from the couch, out of shape and twenty pounds heavier than desired, to the completion of a 192-mile, two-day bike ride, when I didn’t have a bike, I wasn’t a cyclist, and I knew absolutely nothing about cycling.
It was in the asking of the question that the process was revealed to me, that the pathway was revealed to me… My COMMITS pathway to progress is a proven process to take you from wherever you are, to exactly where you want to be, and all you must do, is plug yourself into the process.
Yes, there are 7 infinitely simple steps in the process. If you plug yourself into the process and simply follow the pathway, you will make steady progress as you move in the direction of whatever it is you choose to do, be, or become.
First, before you can do anything, you must push your doubt aside. You must first, choose to begin. In choosing to begin, you will initiate the magical process that will move you from wherever you are, to exactly where you want to be, if you will simply commit to taking the necessary steps and actions that will move you in the direction of your dreams, if you will make a commitment to advance confidently, you will meet with a success unexpected in common hours as Henry David Thoreau described in his writings about his experiment in the wilderness.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he is imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau
The COMMITS pathway has been used by literally thousands of cyclists for over 40 years, to turn non-riders into passionate riders and fundraisers and entire communities have come out to support their efforts. It wasn’t called the COMMITS pathway to progress until I labeled it, and most of the individuals who followed it never had a clue they were following a proven pathway. As a matter of fact, part of the magic of the pathway is that it’s not a “system” but more of a loose and lackadaisical philosophy for success.
The motto of the PMC is “Commit, you’ll figure it out.” ( PMC.org )
The magic is in the commitment! It all begins with commitment!
The PMC or Pan-Mass Challenge is not only a cancer fundraiser, but also a family of like-minded individuals working together to bring an end to cancer. What started out as an idea has morphed into an all-out MOVEMENT! It’s a movement to END cancer!
The commits pathway to progress revealed itself to me after I completed my first Pan-Mass Challenge during the 35th anniversary of the event. My inaugural ride took place in the worst conditions ever experienced in the 40+ year history of the event. Instead of trial by fire, it was trial by water. In 2014, it rained from the beginning of the morning throughout the entire 108 miles of my first day’s ride and what got me through was our TEAM and our commitment. I didn’t know at the time the pathway to progress even existed. It didn’t reveal itself to me until after, and it was only looking back at where I had come from that it revealed itself to me.
Each of the elements below represent a chapter in my book and I wrote about my experience with each of these elements not only with the Pan-Mass Challenge but with my life. I believe if you plug your life into this pathway you can do, be, become, or achieve, whatever you choose. Give it a try, make a commitment, you’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Choose to begin! (Start)
One day at a time. (Just for today)
Manage expectations. (Set intentions)
Make mistakes and friends too. (Give yourself permission)
Inspire others and seek inspiration. (Inspired action creates energy)
Together we accomplish more. (TEAM)
Success is the natural result of commitment. (Success is a journey)
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Mindfulness is the practice, silence is the tool, equanimity is the gift.” ~Karen Hand
I was introduced to The Miracle Morning on Clubhouse by my friend and mentor Michael O’Brien.
The introduction came in a roundabout way. Michael introduced our peloton (a group of like-minded individuals moving together in the direction of awareness) to a book by Brianna Greenspan. The Miracle Morning Art of Affirmations: A Positive Coloring Book for Adults and Kids is not your normal book of the month kind of a book.
Why? Because it’s not a traditional self-help or personal development book. No, it’s so much more!
Disguised as a coloring book, it teaches the core foundational principles of Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning Philosophy, which over the last several years has become a global movement. And now, the community is available to anyone with a mobile device 7 days a week on Clubhouse in The Miracle Morning Room.
The room begins at 7:00 AM Central, 7 days a week and is hosted and moderated by the co-founder of the room, Brianna Greenspan.
The Mission of The Miracle Morning® movement is to elevate the consciousness of humanity one person and one morning at a time.
The “movement” is based on a morning routine built around 6 key practices known as “LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S” — Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing — can help you get more done and live your best life.
Brianna is a connector of people, projects, and products that elevate consciousness and uplift the planet. She is a lifelong learner of many modalities. Unified Mindfulness, Appreciative Facilitation (Xchange approach), Reiki master, Jewish Energy Healing, Permaculture Certified, etc…
Brianna is also a Cheerleader of GOODNESS. She is a Chronic Illness patient, advocate, coordinator, and researcher. Her illness to wellness journey is featured in The Miracle Morning Documentary. She is an Advocate/Advisor to The Miracle Morning Movement.
Mindfulness is a set of three attention skills. Concentration, Clarity, and Equanimity all working together. You can learn more at: UnifiedMindfulness.com/core
Brianna is #zebrastrong and believes in: “Doing all the good you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, for all the beings you can, as often as you can.”
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” ~James Keller
Every day in The Miracle Morning Room on Clubhouse we are crowdsourcing the collective consciousness and wisdom of the co-moderators and the audience that shows up to participate in the room. A topic of discussion is provided by Brianna and we all collectively do our best to inspire and lift each other up with our authentic truth and experience with facing and embracing the events of life and the subsequent adversity that often accompanies life as we know it.
Through the collective practice of the room, we learn from each other taking some of the best strategies and applying them to our lives in an experimental fashion to see what works, what needs to be refined or adapted, and what’s available by showing up with a curious rather than judgmental mindset.
“Be curious, not judgmental.” ~Walt Whitman
Using the S.A.V.E.R.S to keep us grounded with a strong foundation, we explore the many different ways the community is using these foundational principles to make the planet a little bit better, one person, and one morning at a time.
Below, in quotes, is an example of the way I was able to describe a current situation to someone who was feeling taken advantage of due to their kind nature (all names have been removed to protect their identity). I don’t believe I would have been able to clearly articulate what I was thinking without the clarity I have received as a benefit of regularly showing up for myself as a Miracle Morning Practitioner.
You may or may not find my example useful or helpful. If it doesn’t serve you and your beliefs, then go within to discover your own answers to whatever challenges you are facing.
“Hidden within each of us is everything we need to achieve anything we can imagine.” ~Bobby Kountz
“Hello Beautiful Soul…
The Universe has its own rhythm, and I am doing my best to honor it. I used to push so hard and along the way forgot that my best work always comes when I surrender.
Today, I have surrendered.
I am honored to have met you behind the scenes here on the platform. I have an immense appreciation for your gift, for your art, for your words, and more importantly, your inner beauty.
Being a conduit, or a vessel is no easy task and is certainly not for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, there will always be those who see our kindness as weakness, and they will attempt to exploit it. I used to try to figure this stuff out and now I simply realize it’s just part of the fabric of society. I believe it takes the darkness for us to see the light. It takes greed for us to understand generosity. It takes meanness for us to understand kindness.
The Tao is my teacher in these matters, and I respect the wisdom captured there.
It helps me to understand my place in the world and that if I remain humble, if I remain low like the ocean, then the river of humanity can pour into me. The ocean is so vast it even seems to tolerate all the ugliness that’s poured into it. There are literally floating islands of plastic in the ocean and even still it stays low, it remains low and continues to receive everything that’s poured into it. And even still, I see the beauty in it. The ugliness can be found on the coral reef where a discarded plastic bag drifted over the top of a piece of coral and caused its untimely death. It also shows us that we must each do our own part and how we both get to and must choose how we show up in the world.
My only hope is that both you and your partners will understand that when you make yourself a vessel of The Universe, particularly a vessel as big as the ocean, people might pour things into you that you don’t necessarily want to receive.
I believe the lesson is that those things don’t define you. The ocean continues to remain an abundant blessing for all of us even when there’s a massive oil spill or slick that washes ashore and causes great pain, havoc, and destruction.
The beauty of the ocean remains and on the other side of the world, away from wherever the disaster happened, away from wherever all the oil spilled into the ocean, you will find people sitting on a tranquil beach enjoying the sounds of the waves.
I choose to see the world as an ocean. I choose to hear the tranquil sound of the waves coming in and going out. It reminds me of my own breath and when I’m present with my breath, I feel everything will be ok…
In loving kindness,
Bobby-“
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~John Steinbeck
I once believed that Winter was simply a season. Then, as good fortune would have it, I met Jim Rohn. He described winter in a way I had never heard it described before. He spoke about winter as a season of life.
As a matter of fact, he wrote The Seasons Of Life in 1981 and I heard about this “philosophical glimpse into the common threads interwoven among the laws of nature and man” when I attended my very first seminar in 1991. It’s interesting that I attended this seminar 10 years after he wrote the book and was blessed with the opportunity to get a copy of the new book he was releasing at the time.
It wasn’t just any copy. It was a signed, limited edition copy that is now one of my prized possessions. The Five Major Pieces To The Life Puzzle, Copy Number 251 of 2,500 and is hereby certified by the author on the date indicated below and signed Jim Rohn, 2/21/91.
Inside the front cover of the book are scribed the following words:
Bobby,
For the best of life and treasure,
Jim Rohn
I left the seminar with both book and notebook in hand and inside the notebook filled from front to back were the words of wisdom he shared that day. As a newly sober college student I had no idea what to expect when I walked in the door. The only thing I knew was to come prepared to take notes and because my mother prepared me, I had my notebook and I managed to get out of that seminar with all of the information that would become the foundation for the rest of my life.
“The first great lesson of life to learn is that winter will always come; not only in the winter of cold, and wind, and ice, and snow, but the human winters of despair and loneliness, or disappointment, or tragedy. It is winter when prayers go un- answered, or when the acts of our children leave us shaken and stunned. It is winter when the economy turns against us, or when creditors come after us. It is winter when competition threatens, or when a friend takes advantage. Winter comes in many forms, and at any time, both to the planter of crops as well as to the person in business, or even to our personal lives.”
Prior to attending Mr. Rohn’s seminar, I had never heard the adversity of life described as winter. I knew Shakespeare had words about the winter of discontent and Mr. Rohn did not disappoint in this arena either.
He talked about the winter when you can’t figure it out and the winter when it all goes wrong. He talked about the winters of our life. The winters of a death, of a divorce, of a tragedy, of the things we can’t understand; things like Covid for example… However, he also talked about what we do know and that we know it’s possible for us to weather any storm. It’s possible for us to get through all winters.
Mr. Rohn talked about the passing of time when he described how we get through winters. He simply said you can’t change the winter and you can’t change the seasons, but you can change yourself!
His answer was for us to all ask ourselves about what we can do to get through the winters of life. He suggested we could be better prepared to deal with the winters as they naturally present themselves with the same regularity of the seasons.
He suggested we could all get stronger, we could all get smarter, we could all get better. He then stated this applies to all of us, me included. I’ve gotten better, we can all get better.
I remember him describing what happened the first time he stood up to give a speech. He said I stood up and my legs sat back down. I stood up and my mind sat back down. He then went on to describe the secret of his success… He said, I stood up and did it again, and then I did it again, and then I did it again and I kept on doing it until my mind and my legs stood up with me. I did it when I was scared, and I did it when I didn’t want to, and I even did it when I was ill. I did it when it didn’t work well, I did it when it wasn’t appreciated, I did it a lot of times when I didn’t really even know what I was doing and I did it anyway and eventually, I learned, I got better. I got better in spite of the winter, in spite of the downturns, in spite of money problems. I got stronger, I got better… I can still hear those words in my head 30 years later because that’s how profound an impact his words had on me that fated day.
I also remember him saying the key is not to wish for a better winter but to wish for more strength, more wisdom, more courage, to get better, to get wiser, to get stronger. He said, there’s no winter that you can’t overcome, there’s no winter that you can’t figure out how to survive. He finished with the understanding that winters don’t last forever, hang on!
The final piece of advice I remember was Mr. Rohn reminding all of us to never let the effects of winter interfere with the arrival of Spring!
Spring is here! What will you do with this one wild and precious Spring?
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.” ~T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
A-ttitude
C-larity
T-ime
I-nspiration
O-pportunity
N-eed
Sitting at the end of this acronym is one more letter. The letter is “S.” It stands for SUCCESS. Success is the natural result of commitment. It is the natural result of taking action. It may not be the ultimate success we’re looking for, but it will be a step in the process moving toward whatever it is we choose to be, become, or create.
Attitude.
Much has been written about this word. Rather than trying to recreate the wheel, sometimes it’s best to just capture the essence of someone who said something really well as it relates to whatever it is we’re hoping to discuss. As it relates to attitude, I believe the following may be the best I’ve ever come across.
Attitude– The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, then education, then money, then circumstances, then failures, then successes, then what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company… A church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string what we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… We are in charge of our attitudes. ~Charles Swindoll
Enough said!
Clarity- Why clarity? The reason I selected clarity is because clarity leads to confidence. The clearer we are about the outcome we desire, the better the chance we have of bringing about the results we seek. If we are unsure about what we want or about the result we’re seeking, then we are liable to get a result different than the one we desire. However, when we’re clear, when we are sure, when we know exactly what it is we we’re after, then we will be prepared to take the necessary steps required, to put in the effort, to do the work of bringing into reality whatever it is we have visualized for ourselves.
Time- the reason time is important is because what gets scheduled is what gets done. If we don’t take the time to schedule what’s important to us, then whatever happens to interrupt our day will take precedence over whatever it is that we are not defending. We must defend our time. We must draw a line in the sand and create blocks of time for ourselves to accomplish whatever it is that’s important to us. If we don’t map out our day, if we don’t run our day, then as Jim Rohn used to say, our day will run us.
There are so many demands on each of us in this fast-paced world we now find ourselves living in. If we don’t defend the most precious resource, the most precious asset we have, then we will find ourselves at the end of the day wondering what happened to it. We will find ourselves asking where the day went. At the end of the day, we can do one of two things, we can either celebrate, or we can wonder. We can wonder what happened to the day, or we can celebrate everything we accomplished. As it relates to time, it is important to schedule in breaks for ourselves as well. We function better when we step off our hamster wheel. Schedule 5-minute breaks or 10-minute breaks in between your blocks of time so that you can refresh your mind and begin the next task with a renewed sense of vitality and energy.
In other words, Pause, Breathe, Reflect…
Inspiration- When we become curious, we will find all the inspiration we need to accomplish whatever is important to us. Inspiration is everywhere and in everything if we have our eyes open and if we’re looking for it. The quote at the beginning of this article is a perfect representation of the difference between dreaming with our eyes closed and dreaming with our eyes open. When we dream with our eyes open, we stand a chance of discovering whatever we need or whatever is required to bring that dream to life. When we act upon our dream with open eyes, we will be in the process of bringing it into existence, of bringing it into the physical realm. Dreams may begin in our mind, but for them to become a reality, we must bring them into the physical world and our dreams are brought into the physical world with A.C.T.I.O.N.
Opportunity- Who knows what an opportunity is? It has been suggested that success is what happens when opportunity and preparation meet each other. When opportunity and preparation meet, during the time allowed to bring ideas to life, there’s a great chance that with some form of action, the opportunity will be turned into something. An opportunity that presents itself but isn’t acted upon will be simply that, an opportunity, nothing more, nothing less.
The opportunity only becomes something tangible when acted upon with effort and an idea. It is wonderful that as human beings we have the capacity to come up with new ideas. However, it must be clearly understood that an idea without action behind it is just an idea. An idea, written down on a napkin, and then acted upon when taken back to the office the next day becomes something much more than an idea. It has been said that entire businesses have been created from an idea written on a napkin. That is only half the truth. It was actually the action taken on the idea that turned it into something in the physical realm. Otherwise, it would have simply remained words on a napkin…
Need- The word need is here as a reminder for us to ask better questions. For some unknown reason we tend to ask how. I believe how is a poor question. I believe there are two better questions that could replace how. The first question is who. Who do I need to become to accomplish whatever it is I want to accomplish? The second question is what. What skills will be required for me to achieve or accomplish whatever it is I’ve decided is important to me? Asking the two questions, who do I need to become and what skills will be required, sets us up for potential success.
If we’re attempting something that we’ve never done before and we’re asking how, it can be an exercise in frustration. However, when we shift the conversation from how, to who and what, we give ourselves a chance to identify whatever is in the gap between where we currently find ourselves and the desired result we choose to bring into the world. When we examine where we are compared to where we want to be, in the examination of those two points we will identify a space and asking the questions who and what gives us the opportunity to fill in that gap with what we need to grow into, and the skills required to achieve or accomplish whatever we desire. All skills are learnable.
If we identify in the process of inquiry the skills we are not interested in learning, then this is just merely an indication about what portion of the project needs to be outsourced. Sometimes, this is the most important piece of the puzzle. When we come to the realization that we don’t need to do everything ourselves, we only need to be able to identify what needs to be done, what actions need to be taken, then we can either, insource, outsource, or manage around whatever it is we don’t want to do ourselves.
When someone says they don’t have enough time, what they’re really saying is they don’t have enough team. TEAM Is what makes all the difference. We each have the ability to assemble a team around us. Who are the people better at whatever it is you really aren’t even interested in doing and how might you get them to cooperate with you on whatever project you’re interested in bringing to fruition?
Here’s an example:
A writer, who up until whatever time they decide they’re interested in writing a book might only need themselves and a second set of eyes to look at their work before they publish their articles. When the writer decides to become an author instead, then they will most likely need the help of some other people to help them bring their idea to life.
For me, I needed the assistance of several people to help me bring my first book to life. I needed the assistance of a content editor. I needed the assistance of a line editor. I needed the assistance of a formatter. I needed the assistance of a graphic designer to help create a compelling cover for my book. My first book is far from ideal, but what I have come to learn, know, and understand, is that version one is 10 times better than version none. I learned so much in the process and as I prepare to bring my next book to market, I am sure I will be learning many more additional lessons as I get closer and closer to my publication date of July 4th.
The one thing I know for sure, the one thing I am absolutely crystal clear about is that the only way my book will make its way into the physical realm is with A.C.T.I.O.N.
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
