Inspirationally – Loving And Nice! A Hodgepodge of Thoughts!
A lifetime may seem like a long time. However, it does not seem so when we examine it in terms of “miles” and “milestones” rather than years. Only one person in 10,000 lives to see their 100 birthday. Most people die within the Age of the Bonus Mile (right after the Age of the Last Mile).
This is an outline of The Seven Milestones of Life.
I recently received an email that said, “My favorite movie and book is Dinotopia. Unfortunately though, it’s not very popular. Why do you have an interest in it and how did you hear about it?” I answered in this way…
If you have been reading my Code of Success, here is a story you could file under You Are Very Close, When You Want to Quit and Never Give In and Never Give Up!
An executive had an interesting print hanging in his office. It depicted a large rowboat stranded on a beach. Two oars rested gently in the sand, with the ocean at low tide twenty or thirty feet behind it. The boat looked too heavy to drag, too big to move. It was just stuck there in the sand.
The picture wasn’t a thing of beauty. It wasn’t inspiring. In fact, it was depressing. Here was this boat created for the water, a very nice boat made to dance on top of the ocean waves, stuck in the sand.
But at the bottom of the picture was a small caption that gave meaning to the otherwise unremarkable picture. It read: “The tide always comes back.”
“Put a dent in the universe simply means that you have to have a big, bold, clear, concise vision. I like to say that your vision should — fit in a Twitter post”, Consultant Carmine Gallo said. Gallo was referring to John F. Kennedy’s “man on the moon” declaration, adding: “We will put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade.”
“John Kennedy, in 1961, had a clear, concise vision. If Twitter had existed that day, he could have tweeted it,” Gallo said.
No 1,000 Things – Not Know 1,000 Things
Say no to 1,000 things. You have to focus. Reduce the clutter. Make it simple. Streamline. In 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company was close to bankruptcy. He took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the “A-Team” on each product. What are you saying “no” to?
Steve Jobs once said, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” He is committed to building products with simple, uncluttered design. And that commitment extends beyond products. From the design of the iPod to the iPad, from the packaging of Apple’s products, to the functionality of the Web site, in Apple’s world, innovation means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
Sell dreams not products. Be innovative! Aim to fulfill hopes and ambitions.
Steve Jobs famously explained that the iPhone was not just a phone but a lifestyle.
To Steve Jobs, people who buy Apple products are not “consumers.” They are people with hopes, dreams and ambitions. He builds products to help people achieve their dreams. He once said, “some people think you’ve got to be crazy to buy a Mac, but in that craziness we see genius.” How do you see your customers? Help them unleash their inner genius and you’ll win over their hearts and minds.
Solve your own problems.
“It’s better if you find your own solution!” ~ David Tait
Come up with your own solutions and you will develop a real competitive edge. Others will have to imitate you!
Take everything one day at a time.
It doesn’t matter how difficult your current situation is, you can get through it if you focus on what is happening at the present moment. In the movie Dinotopia, the instructor says, “You must face your fear if you are to overcome it. Fear is the future. There is no fear in the present. The present is only action and reaction.”
Forget the future and just get through each day, one day at a time. You can overcome anything that way.
“Welcome the Worst, It Will be Better!”
I am using the word “welcome” to mean don’t be afraid of the unknown! Don’t worry, laugh at your worries, there is a 75% chance they won’t happen, and only 25% that part (not all) of them will happen, but they will be better than you think!
Whatever you are worried about, face it! Exactly identify the worst thing that might happen! Not only welcome and accept the worst thing that could happen, but really write, down exactly what the worst thing might be. Embrace the very worst thing that could happen, because it usually won’t!
Let’s see, “If I start writing a daily blog, an invisible space alien will teleport themselves into my bedroom and eat me alive while I sleep.” Get real, it is not going to happen. Maybe 1 in a billion odds, or maybe zero. Think about it, the first bite, and you would likely wake up from the pain!
In order to have success, you have to dare to fail, don’t worry… Face the worst, accept it is the worst, then it will not be so bad, and it will likely not even happen!
You’re very close, when you want to quit.
“You are closer than you think, the second you feel like quitting.” ~ David Tait
An old Chinese proverb says, “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.” I believe it’s true and I love it!
Continue reading “You Are Very Close, When You Want to Quit.”