Positive people seek positive people...

People want to be around with people who make them feel good about themselves. People don't remember what you do or what they say, but they do remember how you made them feel. Why be the guy know always needs to be right? It leaves that feeling, that awful feeling like when you walk up, they want to leave. Negative feelings aren't what you want associated with you. Why be the person who argues to argue? Being right isn’t that important. Do you think anyone wants to talk to you after a while?

People remember the people that make them feel good as well as they remember the people who make them feel bad. Acknowledge people for the things they want to be recognized for and it will help you along on your journey. There's never a reason to vocally disagree to the point of arguing until you are at a point in the relationship that it would actually make a difference. Even if you disagree or you think you are right, it's pointless. Life doesn't have a huge scoreboard where it's important that you are right, but there is a person on the other end who is annoyed by you. It's far better to be interesting than right.

I think the quote goes something like "Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you."

Every encounter is a chance to make an impact on someone. Make the most of your opportunities.

what is success???

Maya Angelou defined success as "liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

I think there's value in that statement. I especially like the comment of "liking how you do it." I'm not sure if I can describe wrong, but you sure know what's wrong when you try to explain it to the people you've wronged.

Isn't it time to be successful? I think it's a process. No one ever suddenly became depraved. He who allows himself to be insulted, deserves to be. It's time to be stronger. This too, is a process.

It's time to be stronger. It's time to be happy and wise. Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. Being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

It's a process. At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable. People can because they think they can. You must believe it's possible. More importantly, you must make is inevitable. But it's a process.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. The only history that's important is the history we make today. Make yourself successful! Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about creating yourself.

It is never too late to be what you might have been. Be successful.

Value the Battle...

In life, sometimes it's the result that's important and sometimes it's the path that gets you there. If the goal is powerful enough and the journey is fun, it's possible it can be both. The only thing you have to remember and that's to focus on the goal.

When we are young we think that it's important to win each and every battle. We focus on the battles and lose sight of the ultimate goal. As we get older, we understand that it's the war we want to win. Some battles do not help us reach our goals, they become unimportant. Obstacles are the things we focus on when we lose sight of the goal.

It's important to recognize the goals but almost as important is to understand how to achieve them.

Today is the Moment...

Today is the current and the past is over. Your future is now, do not waste it. I don't write to inspire readers, I write to inspire writers. I don't teach to inspire followers, I teach to inspire leaders. Now is the moment to begin your journey.

I am proof that you can live life looking forward instead of always looking back into the past. Make the most of the opportunities handed to you... there may not be a second chance. Don't dwell on the past... rather learn from your mistakes and opt to not repeat them. But in the end, simply let them go.

All journeys begin with a tough first step, why not take that step towards a great journey? Make the most of your time, make the most of your life...

Good days...

The only difference between a good day and a bad day is how you perceive it. Perception is reality, thus you can create your own reality. Only you label your days good or bad. Things can be overwhelming and unexpected but would that make for a bad day? Tragedies may occur but how you handle it could be heroic and could influence and soothe others... would that make it bad? Maybe you are stuck in traffic, even though at that time there is always traffic, bad then? It's not the other things that make your day bad, it's your mood and attitude.

Good days are as common as you make them. Value your successes and learn from your failures.

PS never forget to smile...

Judging Others...

No two people are alike. We all come from different upbringings, different experiences, and different influences that shape how we act and more importantly react. So when someone does something, it's unfair to judge them based upon how you would react. Most likely you have never been in their position and secondly if you had been, you are a different person with a different outlook thus have a different response.

We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are. Everything is relative.

You can’t hold your standards to someone who hasn't walked in your shoes. Don't live your life to judge others. You shouldn’t talk about other people because honestly you shouldn’t really care. There is no strength in being better than someone else. Only find happiness in being a better person than the person you were.

Boundaries and Challenging Yourself...

We are limited and confined by our own actions. Maybe you have the habit of taking no for an answer and perhaps you even use it as an answer. Maybe you find taking that first step is just a little too hard. I challenge you to try more things. We develop our tastes by trial and error, so we really don’t know if we like something until we give it a chance. Taking chances and trying new things isn’t as scary as you might have once thought.

People find safety in the things they know. Comfort is powerful, but you need to know how to use it in your favor. It’s fear of the unknown that limits your choices. Right now you are limited by your own defined boundaries. The further you push those boundaries, the more things you allow yourself to do. Expanding your boundaries allow you to accomplish more things because these new boundaries encompass more possibilities

Live your life pushing boundaries and not settling. I believe the most dangerous thing that gets in the way of perfection is settling for good. I say challenge yourself. Go further than you want or expect to. If you usually go 20 minutes on an exercise bike, go 30 minutes. If you only work hard, try working harder. If you usually don't approach women, try it.

Never adhere to boundaries... especially self imposed ones. Take that extra step. Make that extra effort. Say yes to opportunities. Live life to the fullest and then learn to smile in the process.

Permission...

There are spectators and players. People who watch people do and the people who do. You see it in all aspects of life. The labels and analogy comes from the realm of competition, but is not life a competition?

Do you want to be a spectator? You can be the person who watches other people do things. You can hear wonderful stories and these stories may even excite you. If the World was a club, do you really want to be a wallflower in life? But what keeps you from being a player? Who needs to give you the permission to take a risk? Who needs to give you the permission to act? The answer is you.

Only you can keep yourself from doing something. So why not say yes to yourself? If you don't believe in yourself then who will. I think it's time to say yes to yourself.

Be courageous...

Courage is being scared to death - and doing it anyway. Whether you think you can or you think you can't... you're right. Why not error on the side of thinking you can?

Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make. The trouble with waiting is opportunity may never come your way again. Obstacles are only those things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. Begin say to yourself, Want it... Take it. But take in mind that a goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at... so aim high.

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. People are born to live, not to prepare for life. So why not live? Why not act?

Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. You will soon find out the more you practice the luckier you get.

Appreciate life...

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. Things are not that bad, in fact things are amazing. It's easy to pine for things lost or be envious of others, but appreciate those things you do have. You can think of your roses having thorns, or you can be thankful your thorns have roses.

Even God cannot change the past. Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Look forward, Live forward. Today was a great day and there is no reason that tomorrow can't be either.

Appreciate, value, and be thankful for the things you have.

Common ground...

We are all different. We all come from different backgrounds and have uniquely specific experiences. But why focus on the differences?

Truth of the matter is that people are more similar than they are different. If you choose to focus on the differences you will be doing yourself a disservice. This negativity may cause you to miss opportunities and fun experiences as well as creating a bad atmosphere..

It's time to change your mindset to start focusing on the similarities. Focusing on the common good qualities you share and the things you do have in common. No two people will be exactly alike, but there are millions of people who are like you.

Every person is special and has value. Spend a little time and do them a favor and find and acknowledge it....

Obstacles...

Obstacles are the things that get in the way when we take our eye off our goal. Most of the time they are self imposed and very unnecessary. Obstacles serve as excuses why not to do something.

I've spoken in the past about needing permission to do things. The only person you truly need permission from is yourself. You are only person that can stop from success. Goals are set because we want to obtain them, not because you want to look back and regret not doing them. Always ask yourself, "what do I want." This will allow you to stay focused on your goal.

Sometimes things are put in front of us. You may perceive them as obstacles. What if they were simply detours? What if they weren't there at all and you just needed a reason to stop? What if it was simply a manifestation of fear?

To an ant a speed bump may look like a mountain, but to a person it's just something to step over when we are heading somewhere. Why live small and easily stopped? Wouldn't it be easily to live tall and keep looking at thinking about what it was that you wanted?

I recently wrote about instead of treating people you aren't comfortable with as obstacles, treat them as cheerleaders that are pulling for you. Strangers are just friends that we haven't met yet, people who haven't had an opportunity share and experience memories with you yet. They are there to root you on in life.

There's millions of reasons or obstacles not to do something but there is usually one good reason to do something... that reason is that it's what you really want. If you truly need permission to achieve it, I give you that permission here and now. Good luck.

Now...

Reputation is how you are seen, character is who you are. I think it's better to have tremendous character than to worry about what other people think. My core values believe in two things... hard work gets rewarded and never allow someone else to change you negatively.

I've written this before but it's never too late to become the person you want to be. There's always time to accomplish your dreams. Excuses are made to justify why you don't want to do something. Never make excuses for not doing something that you want to do... just do it. If tired was ever an excuse, I wouldn't do anything.

I don't believe in rain checks. Moments are rare and moments pass. Opportunity doesn't have to knock twice. Attack them all. Live your life facing forwards. Take advantage of opportunities. Live for the moment. Appreciate the moment.

Don't allow anyone to stop you from success. If it's truly what you want never accept no. If you want a job and someone says you can't have it... volunteer. Don't accept no. Make them need you. Be unyielding. No one can stop you from your goals.

Goals were meant to be achieved. Life was meant to be lived and not wasted. Be a player in life and not just a spectator. It's always better to have a good laugh about the things you have done than to regret not doing something. No one needs to give you permission in life and if you truly need permission I give it to you right now.

I was recently asked why I type. I think with my head and live with my heart. I type with me heart too. I type not to have readers, instead I type to inspire writers. I teach not to have students, rather I teach to create leaders.

There is no guarantee of a tomorrow. You never know when your chance is lost. Live in the moment. Be now... right now.

Comparisons...

There is only one comparison that you need to make in life. It’s not a comparison between you and another person, the only person you need to be better than is the person you used to be. As long as you constantly learning and improve your life, you are doing well. There’s no reason to compare yourself against other people because your value is not reliant on them… it’s reliant on you.

It’s tempting to start comparing yourself to other people. You have a perception of who they are and in way you want to be more like them perhaps. The reality is that you would be comparing yourself to a mirage because as much as you think you know the other person, you really don’t. You’d be comparing yourself to all the good qualities they have or some made up version of them. This is a waste of time. You have just as much value as they do… you just want to be able to show it like they do.