You never know where a spark of inspiration will come from. Sometimes you get it from a quote or a story; other times it might come from a question ...
The truth is that sources of inspiration are always there for you. The question is whether you are looking for them or notice them when they show up.
Here's a source that I value for its practical wisdom and insights.
"Today Is Your Day to Win" is a series of 99 daily lessons, delivered by e-mail. On more than a few occasions, it brought me a message right when I needed it.
It is written by Mike Brescia of Think Right Now, and it doesn't cost a cent. Of course, to get the benefit, you will have to invest some time and mental cycles to consider the content.
"What can I do now that will prepare me for tomorrow?"
------------------------------ Today's Fast Session ------------------------------
Often the most frustrating thing that any of us feel on a regular basis is to want something really bad, and not be able to get it right away.
Yes, it's frustrating. But it's usually not realistic, is it? ...
It's getting so that it's increasingly rare to find people who are truly willing to put in the requisite time necessary to get the traits or items they want. Our world today is trying to teach us that we must get what we want immediately; that it's our right. And that's why so many of us are jealous, smoke or drink, are overweight, use drugs, etc. ...
Life is NOT like school.
In school, you can trick yourself into thinking you're doing great if you cram for exams and get decent scores. It is possible to get fairly good grades for a while that way.
But you don't learn it. You're likely to just remember it until the exam is over... maybe.
That's why new college graduates often find it difficult to find a decent paying job. Companies like successful work experience. In college, you can fool the system and yourself. In the professional world and in most other areas of life, it's a lot tougher. Almost impossible.
Real life is truly like a farm.
On the farm, you must move the rocks, buy seeds and all the other stuff, plant the seeds, buy and maintain the equipment, pull weeds, keep the pests away, water the crops, buy and sell the animals, feed them, nurse the sick ones back to health, fertilize, etc. And you need to keep up with it all everyday...
Or you won't have a crop at the end of the season.
Life is like this, too. Just like a farm, you can't "cram" in life. Don't be fooled. Don't believe the lies that others want you to believe. You want to believe it. I know you do. But think.
The people who have the things you want earned them. And don't believe they just got lucky. Luck takes work.
Put the effort in today and you'll get luckier and luckier. Will it be immediately? Probably not. Beat this into your head... Anything worth having takes time to get it.
When I'm tempted to believe that I should have something (before I've earned it), I think of my grandparents.
They owned a farm.
And I realize that life can be long and that I can't put tomorrow before today.
Then I look at my goal, put my shoulder down and keep going...
They say memory is the second thing to go, as you get older … but I forget the first.
However, based on how hard it is getting for me to see at night (and the fact that I now have little flashlights stashed all over the place), my guess is that eyesight is the first thing to go.
It turns out that my vision wasn't as bad as I thought it was; but my choice of lighting was worse than I realized.
In an attempt to be environmentally conscious and have light bulbs that supposedly last longer, I started purchasing these strange curly fluorescent bulbs. My mind told me that they were fine, but my experience proved otherwise.
Recently, I switched to the natural spectrum bulbs from Verilux, and it's like somebody finally turned the light on. Externally, they may look the same, but they make a big difference. I can read again, my eyes don't hurt at the end of the day, and that strange tint on photos or web-cam videos is replaced with a much more natural palette of colors.
Coincidentally, I'm reading a book by Temple Grandin, an autistic woman with insights into how natural surroundings either calm or disturb animals and humans. According to her book, it turns out that one of the primary anxiety triggers is fluorescent lighting and its incessant flickering.
We spend so much time thinking about what we put in our bodies (like organic foods or vitamins), but to feel healthy we also should think about what we surround our body with ... and a full natural spectrum of light is a good start.
There are times in life when it is hard to imagine finding a path to victory.
So often the answer is as simple as committing to the outcome desired, showing-up, playing full-out, and giving your best until there is absolutely nothing left.
We're all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits -- from happiness to obesity -- can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don't even know.
His work shows how phenomena as diverse as obesity, smoking, emotions, ideas, germs, and altruism can spread through our social ties, and how genes can partially underlie our creation of social ties to begin with. His work also sheds light on how we might take advantage of an understanding of social networks to make the world a better place.
Christakis explains that he and James Fowler (co-author ofConnected) have become obsessed
with trying to figure out how and why we form networks and how and why
they affect us.
Once you start mapping these networks -- they’re so intricate and so beautiful and so interesting -- you just can’t help but wonder why we humans make them. Why does a spider weave its web? Why does the web have a particular kind of shape? It’s not a coincidence. You look at these webs and you think, “My God, what purpose do they serve? And, how do they affect us?”
My kids are getting older. So Father's Day looks a little different than it used to.
But as I look back, there is an investment I made that paid-off in a big way, and I want to share it with you.
Like many parents, I wanted to teach my children that, to a large extent, they control what happens to them. One of the first ways I did that was to set up a "compensation system" for them to earn video games.
Some parents try to limit the amount of time their kids spend watching TV or playing video games. I tried something different. Instead, my kids earned their games by reading books. Here is a photo from way back then.
Paid With Play.
Here's how it worked. When they were younger, 10 books was enough to earn a small game. When they finished a book, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the bookstore for us to pick up the next book together. Likewise, when they finished the requisite number of books, it was their right, and my obligation, to take them to the computer store or game store for them to choose any game they wanted.
When they finished hundred books, they got a bonus of earning the next game system. That meant if they had a Nintendo, they could now also get a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
How Can You Encourage a Jump to the Next Level?
There came a point when I wanted one of my sons to start reading grown-up books. He was comfortable reading a certain type of book, and didn't want to read the kind of books that I read. So, I created a bonus system that counted a particular book as three books. I didn't force him; I just let the easier path to a reward "whisper" in his ear what to read. Once he finished that, he never went back to teen fiction.
It Is a Great Way to Learn About Your Kids.
I also used the bookstore visits to get a sense of how the boys were doing. For example, I might say "I notice that you read five books in that series, maybe you'd like this book". Or, "That sure is a lot of science fiction; what was the last biography you read?" For the most part, though, I didn't care what they read. The key was to get them to want to choose certain books for their own reasons. Ultimately, their preference meant they were learning to love reading.
It Puts Them In Control of Their Destiny and Rewards.
My younger son likes competition. He also broke or misplaced many things. So, in order to earn back the Game Boy unit that he lost, I challenged him to read five books in five days. These weren't easy books either. It was designed to stretch him, and also to teach him that he could read a book a night. The bet was that he either finished all the books in the allocated time, or none of them counted towards games or Game Boys. On the other hand, if he read a book a night for two weeks, not only would he get to have his Game Boy back, the books would count towards a game too. It worked like a charm, and we were both happy.
So, Who Got the Better Bargain?
As they started to get into their teenage years, I needed to up the ante a little. So, 500 books meant they got a laptop of their choice. Both boys cashed in, and probably felt like they were taking advantage of their dad.
I got what I wanted, though; both my boys love reading, and know that they can accomplish anything they put their minds to … one step at a time.
That's an investment that will pay dividends for a long time.
KFC's new Double Down sandwich has been getting tons of press since its ingredients were revealed. Some blogs are calling the sandwich "disgusting", while others
gleefully talk about their eating experience.
The Double Down is essentially a sandwich with two chicken fillets taking the place of bread slices. In between are two pieces of bacon, melted slices of Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheeses, and a "zesty" sauce (you know, things your cardiologist is secretly happy you're putting into
your system).
How Bad For You is Eating Something Like This?
While it certainly doesn't qualify as health food ... it also doesn't
have bread. Further, according to KFC, it weighs
in at a reasonable 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and (a less
reasonable) 1,380 milligrams of sodium, Other sources argue that the
calorie count is much higher.
Regardless, there are lots of fast foods worse for you than this
sandwich (click
here to see the rankings). Some even claim the Double Down is
healthier for you than a salad (see
why).
It Might Not Be Great Food, But the Marketing Is Working.
The marketing has been pretty effective driving demand and generating buzz in the media. Here is one of their commercials.
After seeing it, my teenage son begged me to get him one. Okay, it didn't
take much
persuading.
Nonetheless, I've been counting calories, recently, and
logging what I eat
in an attempt to eat healthier and lose weight. Like my wife, my skinny
pants (still patiently waiting in an under-used corner of the closet) hoped I
would put up more of a fight than I did.
In advertising, attention is good (even if some of it is controversial). It looks like the folks at this Pepsi spin-off, Yum Brands, have a hit. Not only are people who wouldn't normally eat at a KFC, now eating at KFC ... There's a bunch of folks fighting about whether this is a good or bad thing.
When Wendy's came out with the Clara Peller commercials, with the
tag-line: "Where's the beef?" ... it changed their business. Kentucky Fried
Chicken needs a tag-line (or brand promise) that will capture more than the
disgust of the American public, if they want this to last.
I just got back from a weekend retreat with a group of entrepreneurs.
It consistently surprises me how valuable it is to take time to get away from your daily routines, in order to focus on the bigger picture.
Part of the benefit is simply taking the time to do it. Another part is listening to others, and hearing a fresh perspective.
Having fun helps too.
I've watched my kids play Guitar Hero and Rock Band on their gaming systems; however, it was quite a different experience watching a bunch of middle-aged children play it at the retreat.
I was particularly embarrassed that I knew so few of the songs. And when I tried participating ... I reminded myself more of my father, than of a rock-star.
Yet, for what it's worth, it turned out to be a great group activity to loosen-folks-up at the retreat.
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