Forget Resolution and Implement the Solution

GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD...

Every year people get all hype about a New Year's resolution that goes right out of the door by the 1st of February and sometimes even sooner.  Why do people set out with high hopes and great intentions but fail to execute?  It's because they are not fixing the solution - THEIR MINDS.

You can write down all the goals you want and speak them into existence but until your mind changes and the values are upheld that constitute change, it's just a futile exercise.  Once the mind is free and clear of noise that clutters up the mental space that is necessary to prioritize goals and set aside time to take the proper actions, the sky is the limit.

I just had to clear my mind of some poor choices of relationships in the past two years by re-reading the book, Calling In the One, by Katherine Woodward-Thomas.  And unknowingly in October, I was well on my way to the mental restoration process needed to only maintain and engage in friendships that serve a benefit rather than create a cost - financially and psychologically.  In fact, reacquainting myself with 1 high school and 1 college friend did the trick because they were always genuine, good-hearted individuals who wanted the best for everyone - even me.

What goes on in your head distracts the mind from productivity.  Now with this newfound perspective on a clutter free mind, I will do a multi-day juice cleanse with with ingredients to sharpen my mental acumen and get a kickstart on my healthy living by continuing my mostly healthy eating habits and consistent workout regimen.

Keeping my mind free is the New Year's solution to go beyond what is visibly possible!

It's Never Too Late To Finish

THERE IS A WAY...

In the past month I have met and/or become reacquainted with some really good people with genuine hearts and kindred spirits with a candid and fun approach to life.  Trust me it is refreshing! But the common thread of all of these individuals is that somewhere in the midst of living life, they stopped short of a previous goal to complete their college education - a dream gone goodbye.

Scenario 1:  They were offered a great job while they were in college and became accustomed to the lifestyle created by making that money...only to find out years later, it was not the right decision because a completed degree would have enabled more career choices and salary increases.

Scenario 2:  They received the opportunity of a lifetime to play professional sports and had a short-lived "career", ending in 2 years, and never found their way back to complete the remaining 9 - 12 credits for the degree.  Now in the construction and security industry trying to determine how to make things work, hindsight is keen.  The college degree would have positioned them for a coaching career at a collegiate level.

Scenario 3: They either got married to the love of their life or had a family at a young age or during college and worked to take care of the child and never had the mindset to finish. They allowed all the kid's activities to take up the spare time and did not allot for any downtime to accomplish personal goals or even have a personal dream.  Now that the child is almost grown, time has come and gone and there is little to no interest in completing what was started.

Let's face it.  People make time for what they believe is important.  The ability to prioritize is a major problem for individuals who put others' dreams before theirs.  They tend to put their life on hold to get someone else's life into gear. And if they have a good heart, they get great satisfaction in witnessing others achieve their goals - kids, family, friends, co-workers, etc.  But of course, there's the personal guilt trip if you do anything for yourself.  It does not make you a bad spouse, child, or parent; it provides an internal peace that you need to stay sane with the mundane routines that you have allowed to occur in life.

But there is good news...if you take 1 - 2 hours a day to focus on you, learning how to sleep 1 or 2 hours less/day, or watching no television (e.g. especially not-so reality shows), you can at least complete the degree you started with online or evening courses. And if you restructure the family and kid's extra-curricular activities to happen around or after college weekend courses, those are also an option. 

Oh yes, the money aspect.  Stop buying the $5.00/day Starbucks, cigarettes, and start packing your lunch.  Go to the manicure/pedicure spot twice/month instead of weekly.  Eliminate the frequent happy hours and save money by drinking less.  Water is a great healthy option.  Hold off on the spontaneous shopping sprees.  Keep consistent with this for 90 days and it becomes a habit to save the extra money for this endeavor.

So where do you start? 1) Set up an appointment with the counselor of your old college and take the course curriculum that was required for you to graduate.  2) Order a copy of your transcript.  3)  Determine how many courses would be required (on-campus and online) to finish.  4)  If all of the courses are on-campus and you can't adjust work schedules to take them, go an alternative route and check for universities who allow completion of college degrees online (e.g. University of Maryland University College, University of Phoenix, etc.).5) Get the essays written and checked and the references ready for the application.  6) Start scheduling the downtime and removing distractions in the space of where there should be either classes or studying. 

Once the importance of completing what you start is in place, other values begin to surface.  Next up, becomes a career change that provides more money and autonomy.  There's a bigger vision - how your kids see you professionally and want to aspire to their dreams, the ability to financially do more for the family, and the possibilities of being your own boss and having the freedom of time to do what you want when you want.  We all have had endured some circumstances in life, some more dire than others.  But it's never too late to achieve as you Run Life's Course!

The Cloudier The Purpose, The Bigger The Vision

Clearing Up Cloudy Purpose...

Two more weeks of planning to be one of the sponsors of the Ray Lewis Family Foundation and anything taking more than two emails to resolve has officially become a problem.  And the problems keep coming for some reason.  Maybe this is what people mean by "biting off more than you can chew".  The challenges are stacking up and 12 mile runs every morning and hill runs on the weekends are not exactly clearing my mind to help me focus on getting through them for this philanthropic effort.

A good measure gift for the Celebrity Bowling tournament was supposed to be giving out my newly released book, Get A Clue - 10 Steps to an Executive IQ.  After all, if the attendees are paying over a $100 to bowl or spectate, they clearly are either executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, or descendants of some great business owners.  These people want to make a difference so why not throw in a book.  Well I tell you why not?  My assistant calls the book distributor and they tell her that it will cost over $900.00 to ship the books to Baltimore.  That's ludicrous. That's 4 more iPad minis that I can give to some more young people.  Time to come up with Plan B.

Plan B consists of ordering promotional items for the tablet/laptop screen cleaners.  All good although disappointing because the book would be more of a gift.  Now I have to wait for the proofs of both the screen cleaners and the drawstring bags that will be given to the participants at the Fitness Clinic.  I opened the email from the promotional company with the two proofs that require my signature and the proofs are not what I ordered and it is for another company.

The NYC group I am sponsoring is now continuing to try to get chaperones on the field at the Fitness Clinic and the Miami D Camp.  Don't they read rules and regulations from the organizers.  In fact, these are the same people that believe I should pay for 3 grown men to be chaperones for the 11 kids I am flying down to participate in the camp.  By the way, the kids will be in camp from 8am - 5pm.  What exactly would the chaperones be doing the rest of the day?  Typical New York mentality to try and get over...adults acting up instead of the kids.

After three emails to the promotional item company, they finally send only one correct item changed on the approval form.  Now we are off and running but the new shipping date is next Monday.  Hold on, this needs to be in Baltimore by Wednesday and it was originally ordered four weeks ago.  Oh but now I can't get anyone on the phone to resolve this matter and ensure shipping delivers on time.

I circle back to the book distributor and interacted with a nice man on their chat application who indicated the books would not require a $900 shipping charge because Baltimore was considered local.  This means the book could be in Baltimore by Monday for a shipping charge of $63.00.  Back in business by His grace.

Now 10 nights straight of no sleep because I need to make sure one of my current projects is intact before I leave for this Baltimore trip.  I leave my client's office, which is about 35 miles from the real part of Los Angeles.  Of course there is always a need to pass slow individuals and to get out of the traffic so I step on the gas and the ENGINE MALFUNCTION light comes on with a message that ENGINE POWER HAS REDUCED.  I get to my neck of the woods (familiar area) off the highway of which we all were speeding and the vehicle stops with no warning in the middle of an intersection.  Seriously?

I call Roadside Assistance and they tell me 70 minutes before they will show up.  Good thing I didn't cancel my AAA membership because they were there in less than 10 minutes and the dispatcher stayed on the phone with me to make sure I was safe.  Good job AAA!  After three tow trucks (because you can't tow the vehicle if it won't go into Neutral), it was towed to the after hours parking lot.  Now another issue and this one much more major; this could have been my life.

Why is all this happening a week before the event?  What happened to the joyous feeling you are supposed to feel because you are doing something for others?  If I had just dumbed down my vision, I might not have had all these problems.  Maybe I should have just given the money and not been so involved.  If I have to go through all of these challenges a week before the event, maybe this is a sign that it was not meant to be and I should just bail out.  

All of a sudden, I think about how blessed I am.  First and foremost, the vehicle did not stop in the middle of the highway where people were going over 80 miles/hour.  My life and probably some other lives were spared.  But God!  Just that thought alone gives me the extra push to not stop because the fact that I am still here means there is a vision even greater than me to not only reach but extend myself to help the next generation.  And so I have to Run Life's Course.