Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Want To Take Action? Write It Down

The following is from the Eagle Leadership Consulting blog, and it explains why writing your goal(s) down on paper is needed to help you fulfill that desire/task/dream.

Strategy and Action: Two Keys to Success


If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. (Luke 14:28 GNB)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The More You Put In...

Remember the old saying, "The more you put in the more you get out"?

The following article by the writer Diggy--creator of the blog Upgrade Reality--takes that concept and runs with it. He gives great advice on how to stay focused on one or two goals instead of many. Also, he explains why we should stop procrastinating and start working on those goals so we can enjoy the outcomes of hard work. I don't know about you, but personally I'm tired of imagining what life would be like if I did this or that or such and such. I'm ready to put the building blocks in place so that those imaginings can become a reality.

A Superior Life: What You Put In Is What You Get Out


6 Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live.
7 They have no leader, chief, or ruler,
8 but they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter.
(Proverbs 6:6-8 GNB)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Drained? Weary? Return to What You Know

Now before you think it, no, I’m not saying return to your place of comfort. By now, that place is probably destroyed. You could rebuild it, but it would take some time. Even if you rebuilt it, you would return to the same place that created the need for change anyway.

What do I mean by return to what you know? Remind yourself of the reason(s) that brought about this change. Why did you feel a need to change? What was the purpose in your changing? Return to that place. This is what you know. Were you no longer satisfied with where you were in life? Had you outgrown those around you and needed a challenge to push you further? Did you feel there was more to life than work, home, and social activities? Whatever it was, return to that. Return to that urgency that if I don’t change now, THIS type of life change may never come again.

As you return to that place, try to recall some of the materials that you read or heard that encouraged or inspired you to continue on your path of change. Be it a book, video, your own journal entries…whatever it was that kept you going. Maybe it’s time to revisit some of these things. Reminders help to relieve the burden, the weariness/tiredness, and the stress that life changes will bring.

Return to what you know so that you can continue to where you’re heading.


This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the LORD brought us out of Egypt by his great power.(Exodus 13:16 GNB)

2 The LORD responded: "Write down this message! Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces it may read it easily.
3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. Even if the message is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; for it will certainly come to pass — it will not arrive late. (Habakkuk 2:2-3 .NET)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Ducks Quack and Complain While Eagles Soar

I believe the following is found in Dan Miller's book No More Mondays. If not, it can be found in issue 497 of the 48 Days newsletter.

Ducks Quack - Eagles Soar
No one can make you serve customers well....that's because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed Harvey a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment....

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' Harvey said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today..'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed Harvey another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts...

'Tell me, Wally,' Mr McKay asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. Harvey says he's probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever he goes to their cities, he gives them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told him all the reasons they couldn't do any of what he was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Chasing Pavements aka Chasing Dreams

This entry was inspired by a song I was introduced to this week. Its name is "Chasing Pavements" by the NeoSoul artist Adele. While it's not a song of the Christian faith, I was intrigued by the video. I had not seen choreography performed in such a manner and I thought it was quite artistic. It takes a creative mind to choreograph a piece on the ground but make it look as if the dancers are standing upright. (To see the video, click here).

However, the chorus is what really caught my attention. The words are
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Or would it be a waste, even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements
Even if it leads nowhere?
Although the artist is referring to love and relationships, I related these words to life and the life changes we can experience. Especially those changes involving personal growth.

We all have our comfort zones, but comfort zones can become a trap. Do we continue to stay in them because we know our place? In comfort zones, we know what to expect from others and they know what they expect from us. Yet, what if those expectations are no longer fulfilling us as individuals? Do we give up and continue to stay in our comfort zones or do we leave them to chase after pavements?

What is chasing after pavements in terms of life changes? It's chasing after our dreams or the desires and longings of our hearts. However, chasing after dreams and desires could lead us nowhere. So do we continue to stay in our comfort zones, even though we know and feel that our lives are becoming a waste, or do we leave them there to chase after our dreams?

Personally, I say chase after those dreams, because you'll learn far more about yourself chasing than you will remaining in your comfort zone. And what's even better? There's a great possibility that you will run into the very thing you're chasing after.


11 The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have.
12 When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a wish come true fills you with joy. (Proverbs 13:11-12 GNB)

What Are We Learning More Of?

I'm a member of Facebook, and there is an application on it called "God Wants You To Know". This is what it published today:
...God wants you to know...that you learn what you do.
If you worry a lot, then day after day you are learning how to worry even better. If you think about doing something a lot, then you are learning how to think about doing. Every moment you are happy, you are learning how to be even happier. Every time you act, you are learning how to take an action even better. What is it that you've been learning today? What is it that you want to learn tomorrow?

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
(Proverbs 6:6-11 KJV)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Have You Laughed Today?

"You need to give yourself permission to laugh. This is equally as important as giving yourself permission to cry." - Gerry Hopman, humor-laughter.com

Have you given yourself a chance to laugh today? During times of change, laughter helps to alleviate the stress change creates. If you can, find a way to add laughter to your day.


"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." (Proverbs 17:22 KJV)