Results!

We all have goals in sight and once a year we recommit ourselves to actually achieving those goals- whether it is losing weight, saving money, being a better person, getting your dream job-- whatever it may be- it seems like we keep trying and trying, but to no avail- or we achieve it for a very short period and then go back to the same place we started. There is a saying,

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

I know that we should learn when we fail and we learn and grow on the journey -- but sometimes we are just so set on achieving those results we forget to look at the small picture and see what it is that is causing us NOT to get there.

So- today I encourage you to look a little deeper into exactly why you haven't achieved your goal- what is it that is stopping you?? You want to reach the end result, don't you?? So, learn from your mistakes- don't keep making the same ones and EXPECTING a different outcome.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Everybody fails at least once

I was recently on Digg and came across this video. When I saw this video, it reminded me of my recent post on failure. It is not that we failed, but in what we do after we fail that will determine where we go in life! Enjoy this video on people who have failed and what would have happened if they never got back up. Then realize what your world might be missing, if YOU never get back up.

Discouraged?!

I have recently started a new company with a brand new idea... and the turn out has been ok-- but not AMAZING, like I had hoped for and expected. I still believe in the idea with all my heart and know that it will succeed, but I was starting to get a little discouraged because I hadn't heard back from some of the people who I e-mailed regarding networking. That is when I remembered the story of Colonel Sanders and how he introduced the world to Kentucky Fried Chicken:

While hundreds of people have delicious recipes for chicken, Colonel Sanders was convinced he could make money from his recipe. At the age of 65, he decided to do something with it. He walked into a restaurant and told the owner that he would gladly give him his secret recipe for nothing if he would share the profits. A quick no was all he got.

Now, if Colonel Sanders 'expected' failure, he would've quit right then and there, saying to himself, "Well...it was worth a try." While that's what many do, not Colonel Sanders. Focusing on a positive outcome, he marched right into the next restaurant...and, just as quickly, got his second rejection.

Before I tell you how many rejections he heard let me ask you this. How many could you handle — 5 ...10... 50...100? Do you have what it takes to become optimistic after 500 people have looked you straight in the eye and said, "NO"? Could you keep on going after hearing 1000 NO's?

Colonel Sanders could! In fact he continued, undaunted, until person number 1,009 finally said, "YES". That's correct; 1,008 people said NO.

Amazing, isn't it?

And, if that is what it takes- then that is what it takes, and I will NOT stop, because that is how much I believe in me and my new business! I have got to remember that it takes time, and things may not transpire the way you had hoped- but they will transpire in time!

So, if you are ever discouraged, just remember Colonel Sanders story and how KFC came to be:) This can apply in any area- and not just business. So, make your dreams real!

Overcoming Fear!

Today's post is from a blog I frequent. Semi-charmed Wife, has done a post on Overcoming Fear, and I loved it so much, that I thought I would link her here, for all of you to go visit and read. Enjoy:)

Rudy, Rudy, RUDY!

I can almost hear the chanting in the stands! Can't you? What an amazing story... and if you have not seen Rudy, I highly suggest you go watch it right about, now:)

Rudy Ruettiger was one of the many people in "You've Got to Read This Book". Off the top of my head I can't recall which book was life-altering for him, but I do remember a quote he gave in his short essay- that could inspire anyone- especially coming from a man who has been there and done what was thought to be the impossible.

"To this day, they haven't made a movie about Joe Montana, one of the greatest
football players in the world- yet they made a movie about Rudy. Why? Because what people want to see- even more than the greatness in others- is the greatness possible in themselves. Every one of us uses our mind to create our life. My story can be your story- if you are willing to swim against the stream, fight against the odds, and believe you can be whatever you want to be. " - Rudy Ruettiger

So, there you have it. Straight from the mouth of Rudy Ruettiger! So, what are you waiting for??
Swim against that stream, fight against those odds, and MOST of all believe that YOU can be whatever YOU want to be.

I'm thankful! YES I AM!

"Gratitude enables us to create more of what we want in our lives. You must focus on all of the wonderful things you have in your life and not on the things that you don't have, and then practice being grateful for all those wonderful things." - Wallace Wattles

I whole heartedly believe that when we are grateful for all the things in our lives, that we do create more of what we want--- but it isn't necessarily that we get more... but we look around and believe we have more, because we feel like we have the world because we are looking and appreciating the good, instead of focusing on the bad.

So, be grateful, be more appreciative, give a sincere thanks to someone, and in return you will notice and create more of what you want in your life:)

Perseverance

Back in high school, I remember perseverance as one of our SAT vocabulary words. My English teacher impressed the meaning of the word and the spelling of the word at least 5 times a class period, throughout my whole Sophomore year. It is a word that I will never forget. Back then it was just a word..... but NOW it means so much more to me!


It's the steady, constant driving
To the goal for which you're striving,
Not the speed with which you travel
That will make the victory sure.
It's the everlasting gaining,
Without whimper or complaining
At the burdens you are bearing,
Or the woes you must endure.

It's the holding to a purpose
And the never giving in;
It's the cutting down the distance
By the little that you win.
It's the iron will to do it
And the steady sticking to it
So, whate'er your task, go to it
And life's purpose you will win.

- Author Unknown

The joy in failure!

I think most people have different ideas about what success is, and when they don't get it, they quit. I always find it fascinating when I hear a story about someone who seems to be living life exactly the way they want, but that it took many attempts to get there and it wasn't all just a cake walk.

Last year I read "If Success is a Game, These are the Rules" by Cherie Carter-Scott.

Cherie Carter-Scott really knows her stuff! Here is an excerpt from her book that really stood out for me, and made me realize that... there is an order of things that have to happen before you can really, truly live life the way you want.

"Success and failure are as intricately entwined as the moon and the tide, the mountains and the valleys, and the sunshine and the rain. .......
There is sound reason behind the adage that claims you cannot know the sweetness of success unless you have tasted the bitterness of failure. You cannot fully appreciate the joy of fulfillment unless you have traveled through the eye of adversity, been seriously defeated by setbacks, or had the crushing wave of disappointment knock you down so that you actually considered not getting up again.

Setbacks are what build character. They are what separate the lucky from the truly successful. It is not the person who wins the first time out of the gate who demonstrates strength, stamina, wisdom, and grit. Rather, it is the one who has run before and narrowly missed the finish line---who runs with all he or she is worth. Such people are the ones for whom victory tastes the sweetest." - Cherie Carter Scott

Failing is inevitable at some point, and it is how you handle that failure and what you decide to do with it, that will strengthen your character.

So, go out and who cares if you fail! As Benjamin Franklin so honestly puts it,

"I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong"

The quicker you learn that failure is not the end all, be all- the quicker you will succeed in whatever it is you want to do.

Dan Lier , "The 10 Minute Coach" advises "Fail as much as you can, as fast as you can."

In his book he made the analogy that if you knew it would take 10 times to fail before you would succeed and finally get it right- wouldn't you try to get those 10 "failures" out of the way as quick as possible so that you could get to succeeding? I know I would!

Even though we don't know the exact number of times we will fail before we finally "get it" We know that if we keep pushing and working at it, then eventually we will succeed!

So, once again,hurry and go fail to succeed!:)

Dream BIG!

Chet and I both dream of having an absolutely beautiful home library someday, chalk full of great inspiring books. Starting in 2007, it has been my resolution to read 52 books a year. I did not realize that I would fall in love with reading. I was never a reader growing up, no matter how much my mom tried to get me to read! It just would not work- I did not think reading was "cool" and therefore tried to stay away from it. The book I am reading now is called, You've Got to Read this Book: 55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life put together by Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks


As I have been reading, I will recommend certain books to my friends, that I really, really enjoyed, and that I thought were "life altering". However, some of them seemed to love the books while others just thought that they were ok. While reading this book, I came across a quote by Bernie Siegel that says it all.

"To be honest, I really don't believe any book can change your life- only you can. Look, two people read the same book: One is inspired while the other is bored. It's the person- not the book- that creates the transformation."

This is precisely why we can read the same book over and over and depending where we are in our lives, we will notice something else about it, and learn from it in a different way.

It has been fascinating to read the book titles that have changed these peoples lives. Each and every person in the book is prominent in the world today. They all started off in a similar place in their hearts and minds, and when they came across a certain book, it just had that "click" for them and they were able and willing to change and make themselves better and grow. Everyone has a different book too!

My life changing book as of right now is, Wins, Losses and Lessons: An Autobiography by Lou Holtz

My favorite quote from his book is:

"Coaching gives one a chance to be successful as well as significant. The difference between those two is that when you die, your success comes to an end. When you are significant, you continue to help others be successful long after you are gone. Significance lasts many lifetimes. That is why people teach, why people lead, and why people coach."

-- Lou Holtz

When I read that statement I knew I wanted to lead a life of significance!

Now it is your turn, I want to know about the book that changed your life.

A Newsletter recieved from "The Ladders.com" - very inspirational

I've just re–discovered a YouTube video that reveals the secret to success in your job hunt… or anything else in life. Now, you may have seen this before, but give me just 2 minutes and 44 seconds this crisp March Monday morning, and have a look at this video.

No matter how many times I watch this video, it gets me every time. That, Readers, is the secret to success in your job hunt, your life, or anything else you've ever wanted to do, accomplish, or be.

I'd like to ask you to really think about Jason McElwain today.

I'd like to ask you to really think about what he's gone through in his life – folks telling him he's different, he's handicapped, he's not able to do things the other kids do.

Everybody had their little box; their little box into which they put their preconceived idea of what Jason was capable of and what Jason could be.

And maybe sometimes we all feel like we're in that little box. Maybe sometimes we all get pigeon–holed or typecast or put down a path that we didn't choose. Maybe that's why you found your way here to us and to this newsletter; because you didn't feel that the box that other people had come up with really represented you or what you are capable of becoming. You didn't feel that that box was fair.

And that's what I'd really like for you to think about today, Readers, because Jason McElwain is here to teach you something. The lesson of Jason McElwain that we've shared this morning is… there is no box.

There are no preconceptions or typecasting or opinions that can ever change who you are. Those are other people's thoughts, other people's errors.

And if you have it within you – if you have the talent, or the dream, or the desire, or the smarts, or the capability – if you have it within you, other people's words are just smoke drifting by in the mid–day breeze. They can't change you or stop you.

The lesson of Jason McElwain that we've shared this morning is that there is nothing stopping you; there is nothing that can hold you back; there is nothing that you can't achieve if only you know you can achieve it.

So please, Readers, let's be humble. Let's be humble today and learn from Jason McElwain.

Sure, as a subscriber to this $100k+ jobs newsletter you are in the top 10% of the American workforce today, and in the top 1% of all successful professionals across the globe. But, today, let's be humble, and let's learn just this one lesson from a determined, enthusiastic, amazing, beautiful kid in upstate New York…

There's nothing stopping us – nothing at all.

Warmest Regards,

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.

Greetings, all! Chet Ranger here, Bertie's awesome husband. It's about time I contributed to the blogosphere, and more specifically to Bertie's blogs seeing as how we're fam and all. Anyhoo... Life: Have it YOUR way, baby! I just quit my job at Mattress Giant; I've been a manager there for awhile now, worked there since July. I hit a plateau in pay and between politics and pay cuts, I couldn't get any more upward mobility for at least 6 months.

So here's my 2 cents on having life your way - and while I'm at it, lemme explain the pasted "4-Hour Workweek" title.... it's real simple. Time and how we spend it is the currency of the x and y generations. At any retail job (or any desk job for that matter), your time is not your own -- it's your company's time. And they (rightly so) feel entitled to you spending it however they please. Trouble is, none of us are adequately remunerated for:

A) co-worker interruptions
B) mindless, boring, redundant meetings
C) training sessions, HR sessions designed with the few in mind that aren't 'compliant'
D) in Mattress Giant's case -- cleaning, organizing, filing, answering telemarketing calls, etc.
E) fill in your favorite time-wasting items here

So, if all of us could just focus our time and energy on what we each do best, just how productive and happy could we be? I don't know about you, but to me the possibilities are staggeringly endless. If I could schedule each day around work, this is what it'd look like. Your mileage may vary:

A) peacefully prepare for the day in the comfort of my home. This would include absorbing 30 minutes to an hour's worth of information via RSS feeds, music, and other items relevant to increasing my energy level. Oh, and a nice breakfast.
B) around 9 am, be calling on individuals as energetic and positive as myself to network, close a deal, etc.
C) continue this until lunch, at which point a natural turn of events might include eating a nice meal with an associate, my wife or popping over to my son's elementary school to eat with him
D) repeat B until anywhere from 4-6 pm depending on how productive I'm being
E) once I feel a dropoff in productivity, spend some time planning, setting goals and reviewing current results
F) rinse and repeat daily

Key here is -- my time needs to be my own, period. All the interruptions? Email, phone, 'heat cases' with customers... all should be dealt with through gatekeepers and triage, no matter the organization. David Allen's "Getting Things Done" is a great look at how to manage, organize and prevent life in URGENT mode. Tim Ferriss' "4-Hour Workweek" clarifies how to outsource all the junk and garbage that fills your day so you can be productive in as few hours as possible and free up the rest of your time to deal with things that matter.

So that's the blueprint for my new career. While I'd like to stay in the same industry (retail), it's unlikely I'll find a position that offers enough flexibility to suit my needs, so we'll see who wins out and gets ol' Chet on board.

More to come!

CAN and Dick and Rick Hoyt

Dick and Rick Hoyt have inspired me to reach my highest potential, when I first heard about them a few years ago. They are the true meaning of "I CAN! and more importantly I WILL!" I hope they give you some inspiration to really get out there, no matter what it is you want to do. Let go of whatever it is that is holding you back- and KNOW that YOU CAN! I got this from http://www.snopes.com/glurge/teamhoyt.asp


Be ready.....you WILL cry!

This is the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. I am absolutely in AWE of this man. Please watch the video, too — I am sitting here at my computer at a loss for words. There are no words for this, only tears filled with emotion.

A MUST Watch Video

This Father does it all just for the purpose of seeing the smile on his son's face. If you want to see the most profound reflection of the Father's love for us that you've ever seen ... watch. Time taken to watch this is the best time you've ever spent on email.

Read this and then watch the video (the website link is at the end)


I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars — all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much — except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."

"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."

That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

"The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."


Here's the video ...

Calling for guest bloggers!

Yes- that is right! I want to hear from YOU! I want you to be a guest blogger on my blog:) Now, this is all for free- and just to share knowledge. I feel that we can all learn a lot more, if there are a lot of people joining in a expressing their thoughts or stories. So- come one, come all to the achievement ball:) E-mail me at bertieranger4@gmail.com and let's get your post on here!! I don't care if this is the first time you have read my blog, if you are a blog lurker, or are an avid commenter... I still want to hear from YOU:)

Act AS IF

I recently just finished "The 10 Minute Coach" by Dan Lier. It was a really good book. Very to the point and had a lot of good information. One of my favorite "do's' in his book was the Act AS IF principle. He says,

"You're the same person, with the same talent and skills, yet often it's what's going on inside your head that limits your potential..... so act as if you are that person you really want to be. Show up strong, confident, and full of certainty. Great job! This is the day you make the decision to act as if you are the person you want to be. Think about yourself and where you want to be in the next five, ten years. Act as if you are that person today. Walk that way, talk that way. "

So, today my advice is Act AS IF you are the person you want to be... and you will see a change, and get things done!:)

We are all the same!

My husband and I have watched a few movies over the past couple of weeks. One of those movies was Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix and another was Pursuit of Happyness. In Harry Potter, Harry, said something very profound. He was giving a mini "peptalk" to the other wizards in his class, and he said, "Every great wizard started out as nothing more than what we are now.......if they can do it, why not us?"

Exactly!! Then why not us?? We all started off in the same exact place- we all start out as little babies, who are innocent, loving, happy, and have joy for life. Yet, some are able to carry out their dreams, and others don't. Yes, we can say we all start out the same, but we all grow up in different circumstances, and we have different backgrounds, different people in our lives, etc.... While all of these definitely play a part in who we are and in our story- it does not determine what we make of ourselves and where we go from here. That is up to you- not where you lived where you were growing up, if you grew up poor or rich, etc.... You just have to put the work in, you have to really want it to get it, you have to really believe in what it is that you want and then drive it home. I'm sure we all know someone who grew up with very important parents who were both Doctors or scientists, etc.... and they got everything they ever wanted and yet that have not done anything with their life, and just taken everything for granted. On the other hand- I'm sure we all know someone who came from a background where you would never imagine them in the prominent place they are today.

This brings me to the Pursuit of Happiness. Chris Gardner was a man who invested into a business that seemed very promising at the time. He lost practically everything he had... and you always wonder, where do I go from here- how can I get to being "on top" again. The good news- is, when you are down like that, there are only 2 options, stay where you are, or get back up, dust yourself off and get hustling. Chris decided to do just that- he went above and beyond what any normal person would do. He waited every morning and said hi to the man he was trying to impress, etc...

In "Living Life on Purpose" by Greg Anderson he quotes Robert Brown saying, "You have to become what I call a 'tenth miler.' If anybody wants you to go an extra mile, in terms of hard work, go ten miles, and most of the time you're not going to have anyone even close to you." That is what Chris Gardner did- that is what most successful people have to do, they have to put themselves out there and out on the line and just keep going when the going gets tough.

So, remember- that YOU can be whatever You want to be, YOU can go wherever YOU want to go. We all started from the very beginning- and it is up to US, to where we will end up. Where are YOU going to end up? Decide today- and TAKE ACTION!! Good luck and HAVE FUN!:)

212 degree attitude!

I subrscribe to a daily motivational quote through Nightingale Conant. A while back I got one that said- if you watch this 3 min. video it will change your life. I just now got around to watching it... while, no- watching it will not CHANGE your life- because that is something YOU have to do- it did give me the extra boost I needed, and to take that extra step! Enjoy:)


http://www.nc212movie.com/2/


(if you can't click on it- you will have to copy and paste it in your browser... sorry!)

Getting back to my own advice:)

Wow- has it really been nearly a month since I last blogged? A lot has happened in the last month, and every time I sat down to start writing- something would distract me, and I would never finish. I'm getting back to my 15 min. rule and am going to do as Nike has always said and "Just do it!" So, expect a spectacular post tomorrow... that I have been trying to finish for a month:)

Be a Millionaire in 2 seconds.......................

if you respond within 2 seconds of me posting this!

Ok, not really. I don't really have a million dollars to give away, but I wouldn't be surprised, that if it was real- I would get the most comments EVER in 2 seconds award. Often, I am reminded of all the "get rich quick" schemes and how people are willing to blow 50 bucks on a lottery ticket just hoping it may be the one that makes them a millionaire. How many people have gone on fad diet, after fad diet- just to be heavier then they were when they started out on the first fad diet? Why do people quit so quickly after resolving to "get things done". People quit, because they do not see the results fast enough. They don't get the six pack they have always wanted within 2 hours and decide, what's the use? Or, they don't see that immediate promotion when they have worked 80 hours of overtime just so the boss could see how great a worker they are. Everything takes time. As quoted in the above poster,

"Nothing worth gaining was ever gained without effort." - Theodore Roosevelt

If you win a game without really trying, or without putting hours and hours of practice in, it isn't half as fulfilling when you know you did everything you could to prepare for that game, etc... and when you win it is that much sweeter. Same thing for any dream you have. If you don't put the work and time in needed to get there, then you won't. If you quit when you don't see results 15 min. after "working" at it... then you will never have Life: Your way.

In my very first post of this blog, I mentioned how it seems lots of people do dreaming and planning, but then they never do. Well, I think some of them do actually "do" but they don't keep at it when the going gets rough.

Oprah Winfrey says, " You have to believe that you can succeed, believe that you can be whatever your heart desires, and be willing to work for it."

If you really want to be a millionaire or really want to be an award winning actress or a world renown surgeon or lose 50 pounds, then realize it will take work, and a lot of it. Realize results won't come immediately, they take time, sometimes years and years- but if you are consistent and keep at it, no matter what happens, then you will get exactly what you desire!

Surround yourself

Surround yourself with people who love you and support you in all you do. I was speaking to a group a few weeks ago and during my speech I noticed a girl in the front row who had the awkward look on her face of confusion. When I saw her face, immediately my mind started racing "I'm doing a terrible job!" "I'm not getting through." "I'll never be a professional public speaker" " I should just quit now and walk out". Of course, I couldn't just stop speaking and walk out- I had to keep going. I quickly moved my eyes away from this girl so that I could concentrate. As I continued to make eye contact with more of my audience, I came across this other girl who was just beaming. She had the biggest smile on her face, this light in her eyes that made me know that I was in fact doing a great job. I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. She gave me that extra confidence boost I needed, without even knowing it. I did occasionally see if the girl in the front row would change her expression- but it never did change. That is when I realized, I can't focus on "who I'm not getting through to" and focus on who I am getting through. The people who support you and only want the best for you are the people who will help you get to where you want to be in life!

I have heard countless stories of people who have said that when they are told by someone "You could never do that!", then it lights an everlasting fire and they do it. Well, whenever someone says that to me... you can find me in a corner of a closet, with this face:

I need constant positive reinforcements. Negative ones, do not do a darn thing for me. Yes, for maybe .05 seconds I think to myself- "Oh, yeah! I'll show him!" hmphhhh.... and well- then I'm crying in a corner like a baby! So, find a group of friends who believe in you and support you and want the best for you... and you will be that much closer to having a life your way.

Just 15 minutes...............

Yesterday I posted about overcoming your fears and just doing what you have always wanted to do. Today- I want you to get a step closer. It isn't necessarily a fear that is stopping you, but more of a time issue-- "Oh, I can't start this project because it will take all day, so I'll just wait until I finish these other things, and get to that later", then the "later" never comes. Or, you feel intimidated by the project or moving forward and you just wait until you are "in the mood". This is where I bring in my 15 minute rule. I adapted this rule from The Flylady, at www.flylady.net. At first, this rule was for cleaning a certain area of my house, that I really didn't want to, and I would start with 15 min. a day. More often then not, that 15 min. got me over my "fear" and I would keep going, and it wasn't as bad as I had originally thought. Since that time- I have applied that 15 min. rule to a bunch of different "roles" in my life. Right now actually, I have set the timer for 15 min. - which means, I have 15 min. to write this post. It gets me in, it gets me out, and I feel accomplished and then I feel I can move onto other things. Sometimes it takes just a small accomplishment, to help us tackle the bigger things in life. It makes us feel like we can actually do it! We say to ourselves- wow I can do this?! What else can I do? I bet I could do this too.... and then you go for it. Time is ticking. :)

What is holding you back?

Why haven't you accomplished what it is you want to accomplish? Why don't you lead the life you want to lead and that you dream of? I have already mentioned the 3-4 things that need to be done in order for anyone to be what they want to be, or do what they want to do. Sometimes, when I hear someone say they want to do this or that, and I notice they aren't doing it, I really wonder why? Then I think about myself. Why am I not exactly where I want to be? Why did I start this blog 6 or so months ago- and just now start writing in it? The only conclusion I have come to is fear.

What am I scared of? What do people get scared of reaching for their goal? For me, I didn't start writing in this blog because I was scared people would think I don't have the knowledge for it. I was scared that no one would ever read it. I was scared that it might not take me where I want to go. Maybe my expectations are too high and I would get disappointed. Well, to tell you the truth- I am still scared! I'm still scared that no one will ever read it, or they will read it once and be like- ok, she is just rambling and has no clue what she is saying. But, this time around, I told myself, does it really matter? Does it really matter what people think? Does it really matter if this doesn't get me to exactly where I picture myself? NO! It's a definite start and I know that I can start learning by trial and error, and hopefully along the way inspire someone to do what they have always wanted to do, or be who they want to be, no matter what the outcome. Let go of fear and just do it. You never know what may happen, the possibilities are endless, but not unless you try!

Believing in YOU

My friend, Mikie, left me a comment on my last post that is VERY important to having the life you want to have and being what you really want to be - believing in yourself! Thanks Mikie- for pointing that out to me:)

Believing in yourself is so important! If YOU don't believe in yourself, then no matter who does believe in you- it won't matter, without faith in yourself! Do know at times you WILL fail- and your confidence can get a good swift kick, but that is where you stand back up, knowing that each time you fail, you have learned something new and can attack your goal again with that knowledge, and become even better at what it is you are aiming for!

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe states, “Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.”

Now, GO GET 'EM!

You CAN and you WILL!

This past year, 2007, I began to read a lot of books. I started out with a lot of self-help books, mainly because I would like to write a book, and was looking for what styles I liked, what I didn't, what other people were saying, etc.... As I read one after the other, it dawned at me, that ALL of these books are saying the same thing! They are saying it in a different way, and some add other things, some are tailored specific to a certain area... but they all come to the same conclusion. That no matter what you want to do in life, whether it is to have the best body, be a millionaire, be the greatest homemaker, sail around the world in 25 days, improve upon your character,etc.... There are THREE main steps you have to take - visualize in your head what it is you want to be or do, then you have to plan it out step by step, then you actually have to DO it! As I was reading these books, I kept thinking, MAN, there are so many of these self-help books out there, why??- and I feel like there are so many out there because people read and then get motivated for a little bit, and then they don't follow through on their plans or they just dream about it all day- and the DO never happens. So, they go out and get another book, to get their engines running again. I have enjoyed EVERY self-help/motivational book I have read. I get on a "high" every time I'm in the middle of reading one! They make me feel like I can do ANYTHING! So, this is what I want this blog to do for you! I want you to really feel and KNOW that you can do whatever you want-- and then I'm going to help you put it all into action! I want you to tell me what it is that you dream about doing, that you have always wanted to do! I want to see your dreams come true:) E-mail me at bertieranger4@gmail.com with your dreams or stories of how you made your dream come true, or you overcame the odds! For now, I'll leave you with a quote (and why you should come back to my blog everyday:))

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." - Zig Ziglar