Category: Reflection - Coach to Expect Success

Christmas Day Thoughts... Quote Of The Week

12/25/2014

“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” -- Winston Churchill

Merry Christmas! Here we are on Christmas day – Everyone is still in bed here except for me, so I thought I’d get a few thoughts out about Mr. Churchill’s thoughts. Got my coffee in my special mug that I only use on Christmas day… I’m all set.

First off, if Merry Christmas doesn’t fit your style; then Happy Holidays to you and your family. I’ve become accustomed to saying Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to people in stores, holding doors open for people, etc. I’m of the opinion that I will always say Merry Christmas – but that Happy Holidays fits too right after.

The season of Christmas is a time of rejoicing, being grateful, and also a time of reflection as the year comes to an end. Those things are things that I try to focus on not just on Christmas, but on any day throughout the year. I know I need to do a much better job of that for sure. That’s an important point that Winston brings up – the things we celebrate and focus on for Christmas, can be focused on any day of the year. For those that don’t believe in Christmas, they certainly can follow those principles. Anyone can do that.

Enjoy your day with family and friends – focus on rejoicing, being grateful and spend some time reflecting too.

Quote of the Week - June 9, 2014

6/9/2014

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein

I believe I've had this quote used before, but it struck me this morning as one that had to be repeated as we finish up another school year and get ready for summer 2014. Summer always is a time of hopefully slowing down a little bit, relaxing more with family and friends and also a time for reflection. Hopefully you will find some time to do some reading which is one of the many things I try and do more of during the summer.

Albert Einstein brings up a great point to reflect upon and to try and figure out how we can offering more value to others in our lives rather than just looking to be successful. The older we get the more important I think it is for us to find our purpose in our lives. Not only is the idea to find this purpose, but to also find it as soon as we can along with acting upon doing something about it. It's a message that I try and get my students to start to figure out sooner than later.

I've truly seen more and more of this as I advance through life. The more value you bring to others, the more connections you make with people which leads to more opportunities towards success. The success seems to come in so many ways too. It's not always about money. The money will come with offering more value wherever you go. The real key as I've seen many examples of, is with the relationships that we make throughout our lifetime. Those relationships with others are what leads to more and more opportunities.

So, this summer try and focus on this quote and look for ways to offer more value to others and watch the great things that will happen. Feel free to share with me so I can share with others, some of your success stories.

Look for my blog to continue over the summer - feel free to keep in touch with my contact page on my homepage.

Quote of the Week - March 10, 2014

3/10/2014

"Pay attention. Don’t just stagger through the day." -- Jim Rohn

This is one thing I've tried to do myself and try to get my own kids along with my students to focus on. Paying attention in life has it's ways of paying dividends and I think that for many of, we don't do this nearly enough.

I know for a fact that I have staggered through many days in my life without paying too much attention. Sure wish I could have a "re-do" or as we called it as kids a "do-over" - but I sure can learn from those times, that's for sure. There are so many days that all we feel like doing is to just get through the day - but if we spend just a few moments at the start of the day to get into that frame of mind of paying attention to what's going on - you never know what we will find.

I've started the last few weeks getting up in the morning and spending a few moments reading some type of devotional, scripture, goal setting, leadership, success passage, etc. It really has set my day off in a better direction and I know I need to continue that every day.

What are things that you can do to help you in this area? Paying attention to things day in and day out is so valuable to you and your life direction. I think it helps us to focus on the things that we know will help us go after those goals and dreams in our lives. So first - we need to have those goals and dreams of course. What else can we do to have this be a great benefit to us? Pay attention to those things, share them with me and others and that way it will help you focus on them too.

Quote of the Week - November 11, 2013

11/12/2013

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” -- William Penn

When I saw this quote, it came on the heels of watching a FANTASTIC movie with my wife on Sunday night. We saw "About Time" and then saw a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and then we made our way to dinner. The movie was one of the best ones I have ever watched as it had so many important messages that I guess I needed to see and hear at that time in my life. The messages are similar to others that I've had before, but I guess it stood out to me more at that time than ever before.

I tell my students over and over again that time is really our most important resource. Unlike most other resources, including money that can be re-used or we can get more of; time is not like that at all. Once it's gone, we can't get it back. As we walked out of the movie I remember thinking that I wanted to really notice what was going on around me. I looked a little bit more at things going on around us that night. At the people, the kids especially - their faces, what they were saying, the gentle smiles that were all around at this outdoor mall's Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

The dinner that Sunday night with my wife - one of the best we ever had at TGI Fridays no less. I had to fight back the tears that started as I watched the movie (and as I am typing this now) as I thought about how blessed I am and what I have in my life. Like the movie (without giving too much away) - we all have our issues, but the one thing that we have for such a brief period of time it seems is our families and friends, both young ones and the older ones.

First off... see this movie. Secondly, see how you spend your time throughout your days and nights. How we do that dictates a lot of what happens in our lives. The one resource we can't get back is the most valuable to us. We see that some times too late. The key is I think to realize that as we are in those moments so that we can enjoy it while we are in it. Then looking back we will hopefully have less regrets and worries on how we spent those years that seem to go by oh so fast. I sure wish I spent a lot of my past years differently than I did, but I've learned from them that's for sure. What about you? Spend some of your precious time thinking about how we spend it. Then start making some changes; in our thinking, what we say, how we react to others, how we spend our time on our own and with our loved ones. Such an in depth topic here, I know I need some help in some feedback discussions - so, what do you think? Let me and others know.

Quote of the Week - October 21, 2013

10/22/2013

"The best things come to those who Never Give Up." - Zig Ziglar

When I saw this quote from Zig - it really got me connected to the idea of starting my week off in a very positive direction. While I was doing some chores outside yesterday and cleaning the garage out a little - this thought hit me right in the nose and it helped me to get things done rather than putting them off until later.

It also helped having a good weekend too. My wife and I spent some time with some good people and had a lot of fun. This helped me to see that this quote about not giving up not only affects me, my wife and family, but also my friends and those that I don't know yet. If I give up on things (like I have in different areas of my life) I may not get the chance to connect with people. For me, it's been a personal battle throughout my life time - giving up on things. I'm working hard at not doing that anymore. Would I have liked to be like that in my past? You bet. But I can't go back and change that. But I can make changes today, and that's where my focus is. The past should serve as a history lesson for us every day. The good and the bad. Remember, we really learn more from the bad, negative things that happen to us compared to the good and positive things.

Have you ever checked out Zig Ziglar? Check him out. He's all over the place. Even after he's gone - he still has a HUGE impact on people. My kind of guy... that's what I would like to be for others even when I'm gone. Any thoughts? How have you been with this "Never Giving Up" idea?

Quote of the Week - September 23, 2013

9/23/2013

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

This is a quote that I had posted onto my old computer monitor at school for years. Seeing this again, I know that I need to put it on my new monitor too. This is such a great reminder for us that if we want to change things in our world, we need to change ourselves. If we want more happiness in our lives, we can't depend on others to give it to us, we need to create it ourselves. If we want someone to listen to us more, listen to them more. I've heard it over and and over again; be the example of what you want more of in your life.

While mowing the lawn yesterday I was listening to "QBQ" - The Question Behind the Question by John Miller. In his great audio reading of his book, he covered the same point. So many times the lack of personal responsibility is evident everywhere we go, and many times it's right in the mirror for me. Gandhi had it right on target with this thought. If we want more peace in the world, be more peaceful to ourselves and those around us. Dr. Wayne Dyer brings up the same idea in that whatever we focus on, that's what our world is made up of. Whatever we focus on, think about all the time - that becomes our reality.

I know that I need to really focus on this thought and I need to start being the change I want to see in my world. It's not going to happen any other way. You know what? It starts today. Monday is always a good day to take a different approach to our world. Scrolling through some postings yesterday, this jumped right out at me. Like I said, I've heard it before. That brings up another good thought for all of us: Lesson repeated until lesson learned. I guess there is a reason why I am hearing it so many times. Is this the first time you have heard it? How can you be the change in your world? Let me know. I bet it's a great example to help so many others.

Quote of the Week - July 22, 2013

7/22/2013

"Do you ever doubt or worry that the sun may not rise tomorrow? Sunrise must come, it's an immutable law of the universe. And so must your dreams if you simply plant good seeds and continue to nurture them." ~ Russ Whitney

Interesting points Russ brings up here. Not sure I doubt that the sun won't come up tomorrow. In fact, that is one thing my dad always would say - "don't worry John, the sun will come up tomorrow." Sometimes I would get worked up about something, worry about it, and my dad would always help bring me back down to earth a little bit.

I think what Russ is talking about here is that we need to have the faith that our dreams are the same way. We need to work at them everyday, just like the sun comes up every day. It goes back to a very simple idea that Mike Litman (best selling author of "Conversations with Millionaires") would always talk about - yet it's more difficult to do than people think. Mike would mention the idea about working on your goals and dreams just 1% everyday. Do little things here and there, everyday that would get you closer to your goals and dreams. He would say that after a month, look as to how far you got toward them. After half a year - wow! Especially after a year would go by... great progress for sure.

This quote struck me right in the nose. It got me thinking about the changes I have to make to start getting the believe and expectation about my dreams and goals. I need to get out there and not only expect that everyday something will get accomplished or started towards them, but also that 1% factor really connects to this point too. Where are you at with this thought? Is this concept something you have thought about before like I have? Is it something that you need to get back to doing everyday, like I do? I always welcome your thoughts, ideas and discussion as I really get something from anyone that takes the time to share. Writing this has helped me remember a 1% choice I can make right now in getting something done. How about you?

Quote of the Week - April 1, 2013

4/1/2013

Even with a break from school - I still wanted to get some thoughts out.

"Learn from your failures or be conquered by them." - from livelifehappy.com

This quote just jumped right out at me from two standpoints. First, learn from your failures is something that I know I need to always focus on in my life. Sure wish I had a clue about that earlier, but now I do. Failures happen, but we need to learn from them, make adjustments and move on. So many times I see myself and others making mistakes and failing... but then we don't learn from them. Ouch! Life is all about mistakes happening. Life has failures in it everyday. But we don't have to choose to keep making them over and over again, do we?

Second, if we don't learn from our failures and we don't make adjustments to become better or to get through those things that we struggle with - those failures will end up holding us back, really conquering our futures. There are obviously so many different levels to this as there are different levels of failures. Another key element to this that when we don't learn from these failures, they will also affect the other people in our lives that we are connected to.

Too many of my failures and shortcomings that I've had in my life have affected my family. Whereas if I would have learned from them and gotten better, things could be more positive in many ways for me and my family. These really end up getting in the way of our relationships in life. Which, if you haven't figured out by now, are really what's important in our lives.
Any thoughts or ideas on this? Have you thought about how things like this might be getting in the way for you? Always looking for discussion points.

Quote of the Week - March 11, 2013

3/12/2013

"The things which hurt, instruct." - Benjamin Franklin

I think the older you get the more this quote connects with you. They key is to have this (and other ideas like it) connect to you early in life rather than waiting for getting older to help you figure it out. I tell my students all the time, feel free to learn from me and others that are older than them so you don't take the time that we did to figure things out.

Learning more about Ben Franklin really shows me how smart he was. Those things that really matter in life, usually hurt us at some point in time and we have to learn from them. Life is full of teachable moments, we just have to look upon those moments as being able to learn from them rather than getting all upset and ticked off at those moments. Ben brings up so many important points about how we should live our lives. He learned many lessons himself about how he had to improve the way he did things. If you can find any of his writings, I suggest you take the time to read them.

So even if you don't like history, check out Ben Franklin. Not only is he a very wise man for the history of country, but he also learned some things about people and himself too. In life, improving ourselves and how we interact with others is one of the most important things we can deal with throughout our lifetime. What are your thoughts? Is Ben correct?

Quote of the Week for February 25, 2015

2/27/2013

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” - Oscar Wilde

We all have issues going on in our lives.  It seems now a day that so many people are having more issues in their lives that they must deal with. From money problems, the poor economy, the negative news around the country and around the world, in the media; there is no wonder the mood seems to be sad and depressing at times.

But what about if we took a step back and took a deep breath and tried to look at each issue by itself instead of one big jumbled mess. The things that I’ve been working on, I’ve tried to do just that.  I’m trying to ask myself, “What can I do about that?”  It’s always good to try and deal with things that we can actually do something about. It’s taken me a long time to realize that fact, and to tell you the truth, I still need to be reminded about it all the time it seems. Worrying really doesn't do any good at all.   I've found that if I deal with things that I can control, I feel much better about all the things going on in my life.

I've also began to see that there is opportunity in these bitter trials. Mostly it’s the opportunity for me to get better.  While others may blame, criticize and condemn others for their situations; I’m trying to learn to look for the chances for me to get better and to improve the situation that I find myself in. Does it work all the time? No way, but it’s getting better. There are usually things that come out of tough times that make us better in the long run. That involves having patience and the ability to actually do something about the situations that we find ourselves in. It’s a long process sometimes and we have to remember that life is indeed a journey and there are many things that happen along that journey.

Any insights? Any thoughts? Ideas?  Always looking to learn from others – and I know others are looking to learn from you too. Go on… be a difference maker by offering your ideas to help yourself, me and others.