Start a (Life) Revolution
Set off fireworks in your life with a revolution.
Two hundred and forty years ago, our great nation was born with the Declaration of Independence and the decision we would no longer live by the rules others imposed on us. The thirteen American colonies had started a revolution to gain their freedom and new life here in this land, away from the British rule that had once owned them. They believed in a new way, a new attitude, and a new life from their counterparts across the Atlantic.
The limitations the British had imposed were no longer acceptable. So they decided to make a change.
Which begs me to ask – how are the limitations you’re living with? Are they still acceptable? Here are a few simple questions to explore: (more…)
How’s Your Perspective
This week’s Monday Motivation is a reminder about the importance of perspective. How you view an obstacle determines your attitude & actions.
Look at David & Goliath. Every Israelite was terrified of Goliath. They saw the giant as an impossible victory. But not David. David had a different perspective – one in which he knew he would win – and acted accordingly.
Do the obstacles we face in life hinder us and hold us paralyzed with fear? Or do we view them as possible victories?
How You Should Finish 2015
Can you believe it?
Saturday night’s Big Ten Championship game provided something most football fans have never seen – a 22-play, nine-minute, game-winning drive. It is almost unheard of for a team to step-by-step, move their way down the field a few yards at a time. Most times struggle after 8-10 plays, much less double that. Yet, Michigan State stuck to their gameplan and moved down the field, a few yards at a time.
At the one-yard line, with 33 seconds left, LJ Scott refused to be kept out of the endzone in a play of sheer determination & heart.
And it set the perfect blueprint for how you should finish the last few weeks of 2015. (more…)
Being Realistic
“Be realistic.”
Those two words are the most damaging to your dreams. “Being realistic” is accepting things as they are and lowering your goals. “Being realistic” means changing your dreams to fit inside their expectations of what you’re capable. “Being realistic” means living by their rules.
Not your own.
“Be realistic” is the phrase people tell you when they lack the vision to dream as big as you do – and the willpower to pursue dreams of that magnitude. It’s not that you can’t. It’s that they can’t, so therefore they assume you can’t. It’s a good thing your life isn’t dictated by what they believe to be reality. It’s dictated by what you do.
Don’t “be realistic” – be outrageous. Be flamboyant. Be wild.
Be YOU. Dream YOUR dreams. Set YOUR goals. Create YOUR life. Refuse to “be realistic.”
Dream big. Live bigger. Always.
How Travel Helped Me Reach My Goals
I’ve been driving all over the United States since I started Compete Every Day back in 2011. Like many of you, I planned out my road trips with the best music playlists & invested in XM/Sirius Satellite Radio in order to get my favorite sports talk no matter where I was. In 2013, I shifted to audiobooks, cranking out two of my favorites, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (affiliate link), & Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I loved getting lost on the open highway in a great book.
But that was simply a way to help me pass the time. It wasn’t helping me improve how I served others or how Compete Every Day operated. And then I got hooked on podcasts. (more…)
To Compete is to Act
Seth Godin just posted about the circus. “The circus doesn’t wait to be called. They show up. They show up and sell tickets.”
In other words, they don’t wait for the invitation. They don’t hesitate or look for permission. They don’t ask if “it’s ok” to be there.
They just act.
The world is deprived of great art by those who wait. (more…)
Quit Waiting on Permission
Most people are waiting to act. They hesitate to try something new, as if they are looking to others in order to give them the necessary permission to do so. Good friend Chris Brogan talks about this very struggle quite a bit – and he is phenomenal at reminding you the core truth. You don’t need someone else’s permission to do great things.
I came across this little reminder on Pinterest and was immediately compelled to share.
Prepared for the Unknown
I’m a third generation entrepreneur. My grandfather had a construction company and even after retirement still works from time to time on projects. My dad built a chain of 13+ convenience stores around the greater east Texas area before retiring. And now, like a true hustler, he un-retired because he was bored. The itch to start & grow a business has been in my blood from an early age. But I failed to find a true outlet for it. (more…)
Growing Pains
[blogoma_blockquote ]Our growth is never in the easiest of times. Sunny, calm days do not make us stronger individuals. It is only in times of turbulence and storms do we grow stronger. Just as an athlete cannot strengthen his muscles without forcing them to lift a heavy load, our spirits do not grow without enduring the hardest of times.[/blogoma_blockquote]
Just a reminder for your Thursday. Embrace the “suck” in life when it hits. These will be the moments that strengthen you more for tomorrow. Never give up friends.
How to Compete for your Best Life
Or what I’ve finally learned saying good-bye to my 20’s.
I’ve sat and chewed on this post for a few weeks now. Honestly, I knew exactly what I wanted to say but had no ideawhere to start. It’s been an incredibly hard, yet rewarding season this past year. Heading into my 30th birthday, the last few months have been full of reflection and refocusing on the direction I’m headed and most of all, what’s important in life. But ultimately, what does a life – the best life full of only important things – look like? (more…)