Monthly Archives: August 2017

Most Motivational Statement Ever!

I’ve been listening to a lot of Gary Vaynerchuk’s podcasts. He is no nonsense and has great marketing and motivational ideas. Note, however, that he uses the swears–A LOT–so if you are offended, skip his podcasts.

One of his statements hit me hard. Gary said when asked by a young lady how to keep motivated, he told her “You will die.” He believes that is his most motivational statement ever.

It is also true. You will die and you don’t know when. So don’t wait to go for your dream. Don’t wait to have kids until you’ve traveled, bought cars and houses, and have the job of your dreams, just have the damn kids before you’re too old to enjoy them and your grandchildren. Don’t wait to do something your heart is telling you to do until you finish school, have a new job, or have time. You will never feel like you have enough of whatever it is you’re waiting for to make a move. And I guarantee you will NEVER feel like you have enough time to do anything. But you do!

For a week or so, keep track of every minute of your “free” time. How much are you spending doing things that aren’t useful or aren’t helping you reach for your dreams. Are you being sucked into the Facebook chasm? Are you signing up for more newsletters and other emails than you can read? Are you going out with the boys or girls a night or two a week? Are you zombie watching TV for hours on end? Once you know where your time is going, you can work to get it under control and spend your time doing things to get you to your goal.

One of my favorite concepts is that we all have 24 hours in a day, the same as Beyonce, the same as Elon Musk, the same as all those people you see killing it and say you want to be just like them. How you use it will determine your success in seeing your dreams come true.

Just remember–you will die. So until then, quit putting things off and use your time wisely to make your life better, happier, and more fulfilling. Life is too short for anything else.

5-4-3-2-1-GO!

I just finished one of the most amazing books yet. Right now, if you haven’t read it already, go and get Mel Robbins’ book “The 5 Second Rule.” Like NOW! Go ahead, I’ll wait . . . The audio version is great because it is Mel reading the book – her passion and dedication to the 5 Second Rule absolutely come through in the audio book. So go ahead. I’ll wait . . .

There were many parts of the book that spoke to me, but one hit me square in the gut. Mel says when you wake up looking at Facebook and other stuff on your phone, you are starting your day with other people’s drama. You really don’t need to look at that first thing in the morning. Take time to wake up, plan your day, enjoy your first cup of coffee, and take time for you (exercise, read, etc.) In fact, she leaves her phone in the bathroom where it stays overnight. My phone sits on my nightstand and is my alarm, but I don’t usually lay in bed and read email or Facebook. No, I wait until I am in the bathroom and spend a ridiculous amount of time reading Facebook. Do I get anything out of spending 30 or 45 or 60 minutes scrolling Facebook? Not really. Some days it lifts me up because I see posts from friends who are doing something good or making a difference, and some days it makes me angry because of pity posts where people hint at things but don’t come right out and say it looking for some kind of validation, and some days it puts me in a really bad mood when I see how people are treating other people. So really, starting my day on Facebook isn’t doing a lot of good for me. I typically start my day checking for birthdays so I can wish my friends a happy birthday and then looking at my “On This Day” history. Those things give me the good feels, so I may keep up with that. But after that? I really don’t need to scroll, scroll, scroll through all the drama. I have so many things on my plate that my time is far better spent finishing some of those things. So today, for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t read Facebook’s feed first thing this morning. Instead, I spent 20 minutes working on a PowerPoint I need to use in a couple of weeks for a class and 5 minutes planning my to do tasks for this evening. And you know what? My ride to work was really better. I felt more awake (even though I did not get more sleep than usual –that’s next), more accomplished, and more ready for my day. You can bet I will try that again tomorrow.

That is just one simple thing Mel talks about in her book that has already made a huge difference in my life. ONE. THING! She talks about many, many more. Did you get that book yet?

One thing really touched my heart. At the end of the book (and I really hated for it to end!), Mel says “When your heart speaks, honor it. . . . One moment of courage can change your day, one day can change your life, and YOUR life can change the world.” Oh yes it can! What will YOU do today in one moment of courage? 5-4-3-2-1-GO!

Your Highlight Reels

I’ve often heard the saying not to compare your life to someone else’s highlight reel. While this has always been a bit of a problem because people will talk about the best of the best, but won’t talk about the long hard road it took them to get there, Facebook makes this even worse. You have friends that post every day about how wonderful their life is, how happy they are, how much they love their job, kids, spouse, life. That’s their highlight reel. It’s the best things that have and are happening in their lives.

When you’re wondering how your life compares, you cannot compare it to others’ lives. Instead, if you must compare your life, compare it to other points in your life. Do you like your job and wonder if you are doing well enough? Are you doing better than you did yesterday? Are you learning and practicing new skills every day? Have you improved your job skills since you started on that path? Are you happy today? Then you’re doing great. You have no need to compare it to anyone else.

Do you wonder how your kids stack up to others? You can bet that others are not sharing the gory details of why their kid is grounded, why they aren’t using their phone or are changing their passwords or why they are just not posting about their kids at all. Kids aren’t perfect. You can’t compare your “normal” kids to someone else’s “perfect”–or so they seem on social media–kids.

Wondering if your car compares to your friends’ cars? Does yours run? Does it get you where you need to go? Can you afford the payment (or better yet, is it paid for?), insurance, and maintenance? A big fancy car doesn’t make you a better person–it makes you a broke person. As long as it gets you from Point A to Point B, spend the money you’re not spending on a car to go to dinner or do something as a family.

And then, how’s your wardrobe? Is it Nordstrom or Target? Is it Stitch Fix or Goodwill? You can design clothes to make you look great. Of course, it’s easier with good quality clothes, but it is possible with just about anything. And honestly, do you think most people can even tell the difference? They’re not looking at the quality of your clothing, they’re looking at your style.

Just quit comparing. It is exhausting and doesn’t serve any good purpose. It makes you stress out trying to keep up with someone else. You should just be you and work to improve your own life and not worry about others. You have no control over them, so why are you comparing your life to theirs? Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Spend your time, money, and energy making you and your life better. Then when you make your own highlight reel, it will mean so much more to you.