I’ve been learning a lot about people lately. The one person I’ve learned the most about though has been me. I’m trying my damnedest to live this life rather just be a “observer” where I sit and watch things happen.

One thing that absolutely amazes me is the limits people place on themselves. Now I certainly don’t claim to be perfect…not by a long shot. I have fear, self doubt and the odd pity party but I really do strive for excellence in as many areas of my life as I can.

I’m become more interested (maybe that should say “obsessed”) lately and I’m on a quest to better myself in every way I can.

I keep hearing an interesting quote that I just love and have decided to make it a mantra…..

“how you do anything is how you do EVERYTHING…”

Think about that for a minute…think about all the things in your life and the HONEST effort you actually put into them. I’m talking about everything from the big stuff like what kind of wife, husband, father, mother, sister, brother child etc you are right down to the little things like wiping the ketchup goobers off the top of the ketchup bottle EVERY time you use it.

I bring this up because I recently got considerably bummed out…ok I was downright pissed off at a few people in my life that were severely limiting my success in a certain area. I don’t think they were doing it intentionally (although they might have been) but the point is….who cares? I am the boss of me I get to choose what effect I let things have on me.

If I ignore the limits that these Mental Midgets put on me, and I concentrate on kicking ass in every aspect of my life, sooner or later I will leave them in my dust and it will be as though they never existed. They’ll go on living their mediocre shitty little lives and I’ll grow, achieve and excel.

If you’re reading this…you’re here for a reason. You’re a person who most likely is not willing to just sit around and HOPE for things to happen.

I hope you take this message to heart, ignore the limits others put on YOU and live the best life you possibly can…..

See you at the top.

Ok, I’m dropping the whole “unemployed day #x” bullshit from my vocabulary and my blog. It was a long, depressing week and I’m fed up!

My goal was to take on a bunch of extra writing work and stuff like that for internet marketers so I could earn a few extra buck but people will write you articles for next to friggin’ nothing. Yeah, they might suck but I actually found a few people who looked REALLY promising that were not that expensive. We’ll have to see how that plays out.

I figured if I continued on with the “poor me” crap and let this bring me down, how would I ever succeed? I contacted a new Facebook friend who I found very interesting named Darren Jacklin. Turns out he a very successful and driven lad and an excellent motivational speaker.

I dropped him a line on Facebook and he actually replied to me and said we should speak on the phone this weekend. Now I hope it doesn’t cost me $500/hour because unemployed folk should spent $500 on chit chats with ANYONE…..BUT I just know that we can come out of this swinging and it it would be awesome to share it with as many people as we can.

It should be interesting to see what Darren has to say. I plan to offer to interview him and I also plan to inquire about hiring him for a Mary Kay event for my wife’s business.

I always believe in others and am confident that they can do anything they set their minds to but sometimes I lose sight of that same belief for myself. You could say my mindset needs adjusting from time to time.

I will not give up, I will remain hopeful and full of zest, I will succeed at all costs and provide my family and myself with all of the fulfillment and satisfaction that we deserve. Will you do the same?

I was out on my roadbike today (yes a PEDAL bike, they do still make those) and I was kicking ass just pushing along fighting the wind and wishing I was home. My legs ached and my lungs worked hard and I looked at the road ahead and even though I was tired, I HAD to press on because I was 30 kilometers from home, had no cell phone, and no other way home.

After my ride, I was out grocery shopping with my wife and daughter and we bumped into a friend who has 2 small kids. Her husband fell from the rafters of a barn a few months ago, suffered massive trauma and died a few days later. She possesses a strength that I have a hard time grasping.

While these situations are drastically different, having them both happen in one day led me to realize something about life and the reasons people fail at things. The reason is that we allow ourselves to have options with failure being one of them.

Think about it:
- Dieters give up on eating healthy and getting fit because they have the option to eat crappy foods and be lazy.
- Smokers fail to quit because they give themselves the option to just go buy more smokes when they can’t hack it anymore.
- The unhappy 9-5 worker keeps slugging away at their dead end job that they hate because they are afraid to reach out and take a chance on a new venture and they have that cushy comfortable spot to fall back into.

The list could go on and on.

I am a part-time musician and I once read an interviewer with a guy called Mike Portnoy from the progressive rock band Dream Theater. The interviewer asked Mike what he would have done had music not panned out for him. What was his back up plan?

Mike told the interviewer that he never had a back-up plan as they are just an excuse to fail and they allow you a way out. He decided he wanted to be a professional musician and from that point on he refused to let anything stop him. Mike has gone on to win more drumming awards than any other rock drummer.

So I ask you? What will you let stand in your way of you reaching your goals and dreams? Never quit, remove it as an option and I think you’ll be surprised at what you’re able to achieve.

Mike