Inform Yourself

Everything we experience on a daily basis is a reflection of ourselves. This holds true for every interaction; everything we see and how we see it, everything we hear and how we hear it or not, everything thing we feel and how we feel about our interactions. This is true for both individuals and organizations. From an organizational perspective, a small and medium sized business is a reflection of its owner and in larger organizations a reflection of its managers.

On an individual basis, if you are having a good day, you feel great, the birds are singing a sweet song, and the sun shines brighter. If you are having a bad day, you may feel angry, frustrated, sad etc., you probably don't even hear the birds singing, and there is a black cloud following you everywhere you go. Your environment is reflecting your state of being! If you do really do not enjoy grocery shopping, everyone that you interact with in the store will bother you, regardless if it's the store clerk or another shopper. If you feel that you dislike speaking with a particular person, you will feel every communication is wasted time.

Looking at organizations, if a business owner is frustrated the employees are frustrated and the customer probably are as well! If an owner or manager struggles with a particular area of the business, the business will undoubtedly be struggling in the same area. For instance, if a business owner dislikes dealing with financials, the business is probably is having cash flow issues. If the owner or managers dislike sales and marketing, the organizations sales will be declining. If the owner or managers dislike dealing with details, service or product delivery has issues.

So what does this all mean? Your reflections are the universe's means of providing you feedback for areas of growth. This is true for both individuals and organizations.

How can you change it?

1. In order to improve, you must first select an area of focus. Look at yourself or your organization. Be honest. Where are you struggling? Only select a single item.
2. Ask yourself how you see it, hear it, and feel about this issue. Specifically, what do you dislike about it?
3. Now ask yourself "What is the universe trying to teach me here?"
4. Your answer to the question is the basis of your action plan for improvement.
5. Execute your action plan for improvement!

When you apply the above process, you change your state. When you change your state, your reflections change. using the above process on a continual basis will keep you on a constant path of self and organizational improvement.

So I ask you, do you like your reflections?

How comfortable are you right now? Did you do anything today that made you uncomfortable? Were you nervous, uptight, or anxious about anything?

This question is an important one, especially if you are an executive, manager, or a business owner. You see, we all fall into our own comfortable behavior patterns. Whether we realize it or not, we all tend to do things on a daily basis that are comfortable for us. Right or wrong, good or bad, we do it. We do so because it keeps us safe. There is no denying it, we all do it.

How is this safety net you have developed aiding you in your growth or the growth of your staff or organization? If you do the same things everyday, are you really growing? Probably not! We grow and learn when we are challenged to expand our comfort zones. When we expand our comfort zones, we expereience new things, meet new people, and learn new lessons.

I challenge you to be uncomfortable at least once a day. Here are some typical examples of things that may make you uncomfortable; making a cold calls to prospects, complimenting one of your staff for a job well done, or it may be getting out and meeting other business owners. Select one thing that makes you uncomfortable and focus on it. When you get comfortbale doing it, repeat the process and pick another.

We make many excuses for our non-action. It's not my nature, I'm not good at it, no one wants to talk with me. NONSENSE! These are all examples of excuses for avoiding dealing with the real issue, your inner-self. This is what is truly holding you back! Your own limiting thoghts and your comfort zone!

NO MORE EXCUSES! Start learning and growing again! Start by taking a small step and experiencing the event. Then ask yourself, How do I feel right now? What made me wait so long to do this? What did I just learn? Did I move closer to my goal?

One of my favorite quotes is by Peter McWilliams:
"Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but is is a small price to pay for living a dream."

So I ask you again, How comfortable are you today?

A wake-up moment is the moment in our lives when we come to realize what is most important to us and discover how we truly want to live. Wake-up moments vary for each one of us. Some individuals set out on a journey to discover, others are thrust into discovery by an event or intereaction in their life. Some have yet to expereience their Wake-up Moment. Eventually though, all of us will experience a Wake-Up moment.

My wake-up moment was back in 2003 when I finally was honest with myself that although I was making great money and was part owner of an IT firm, I was totally unhappy. I was unhappy with what I was getting out of my life's work. I was unhappy with where I was, what I had become, and how I was living. I felt as though something was missing. There had to be more to life than merely existing! I had reached my current state by operating based on everyone else's expectations and goals that those around me had set for me. As a result, I began a journey (more on this later) which enabled me to discover exactly what I wanted out of life and how I "really" wanted to live my life. I was tired of merely existing and surviving, it was time to rock-n-roll!

I am now living a dream. I help others discover how to Live The Life They Love! Additionally I also do public speaking on a variety of topics in addition to co-authoring the soon to be best selling book (Wake Up...Live The Life You Love, Wake-Up Moments) with Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Bill Harris, Brian Tracey, and others!

My own book "Your Blissful Life" will be out in August as well.

Have you experienced your wake-up moment? If so, share it!