Posts tagged inspiration
Make Memorial Day Memorable
May 28th
Memorial Day is this weekend, so I wanted to put together a quick post to thank all past and current members of the armed forces for what they do. As I reflect on what so many men and women have sacrificed for our country, I am reminded that their commitment is what enables me to lead any life I choose.
If I’m not utilizing all of the resources and opportunities that are available to me, then what is the point?
This Memorial Day, commit to make your life memorable.
Take a few moments to decide how you want to be remembered, and what legacy you want to leave behind? Then use this small list of ideas to motivate you to action:
- When in doubt, choose action.
- Make things happen. Don’t just sit there waiting for life to fall into your lap. Create it yourself.
- Be proactive, not reactive. Anticipate, don’t hesitate.
- Apply focused intensity to all of your passions. Your focus will enable you to achieve anything you wish.
- Someone may be doing it bigger/better/faster/fancier than you, but everything you create has the possibility to inspire someone else – so do it anyways.
- Work diligently on the things you love. Your persistence will lead to success.
- Don’t get good at what you hate.
- Given the choice, choose to create instead of consume.
- You are what you think. Focus on the positives and grow; focus on the negatives and wither.
- Expand your horizons; try new things and visit places you have never been. (In college, I was part of an intensive internship program and often joke that those experiences helped me decide what I didn’t want to do for the rest of my life.)
- Be fascinated with everyone you meet. Aim to discover their passions before looking for their faults.
- Be open and share your dreams with those around you. You will realize others feel the same way.
- Act on those dreams. No matter how slowly or in what capacity.
- The opposite of happiness is boredom. Do things that excite you; life is too short to be unhappy.
- Fear is “false evidence appearing real”. When you see fear, run toward it and knock it over. Doing the things that we fear the most often yield the greatest results.
- Don’t stop. Ever.
Don’t Be That Guy
Jan 27th
You know – the one who’s constantly whining about getting a raise and who counts down the minutes until his next “break.”
… the one who is more worried about clocking in and out on time than getting things accomplished.
… the one who shuffles papers when the boss turns the corner and then slacks off the rest of the day when no one’s looking.
… the one who is quick to fire off a lengthy, in-depth email in defense of his poor work but won’t exert the same energy actually doing his job.
Be This Guy (or Gal) Instead…
Be the one who shows up early and stays late without asking for extra compensation.
Be the one who shows up late and leaves early because you actually accomplished all your tasks/goals for the day in less than 8 hours.
Be the one who does things because they need to be done, not because someone asked you to do them.
Be the one who comes up with a new, better system and implements it without asking permission.
Be the one who makes everyone else look bad.
In the long run, the people in the second group will be the ones who help shape the world.