Conviction - Driven

Being conviction-driven means doing the right things for the right reasons.
Beliefs and convictions provide the boundaries and direction that people want and need in order to perform well.
The problem with most leaders today is they don’t stand for anything.  Leadership implies movement toward something, and convictions provide that direction.
If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
Some important goals for leaders :
-Keep perspective
-Lead by example
-Go for respect over popularity
-Value character as well as ability
-Work hard but enjoy what you do
You won’t be a successful leader if you don’t have a clear idea of what you believe, where you’re headed, and what you’re willing to go to the mat for.

Yea but

Yea but.. they started it
Yea but ... they they are wrong.
There will always be people that disagree with you and there will always be people with different beliefs and priorities in life.
Because you do not agree does not give either side the right to put down the other side, every human being has the right to live their live as they choose as long as they do not hurt others while doing it.
Diversity is good , life should not be as cut and dry as my way or the highway - or worse - trying to threaten people that we see as different.
Where we are born and the color of our skin should not dictate our life - we should embrace diversity and people with different life experiences.
When you look at earth from a plane there are no lines - they simply do not exist, they only exist on a map that is man made.
We are all the same as we want to love and be loved - no matter what our beliefs or race or religious beliefs we all want human touch and affection and family, we want to live , laugh, enjoy a meal with friends and have a roof over our heads and a place to rest our heads.
We are not that much different.
Embrace diversity- embrace your brother or sister and your neighbors.
Live and let live

Sports

Sports are important because they can teach us a lot about TEAM and about individual accountability and how they both work hand and hand.
In professional sports , like baseball and football , you only win and achieve your goals if you have team buy in and good leaders and a defined process and what your role is in that process.
Same in any business- you need good leaders and your employees need to know their role and most important to build the TEAM atmosphere they need to know that the leader not only knows what they are doing but that they are willing to help everyone on the team achieve their individual goals as well as the team goal.
Good leaders LEAD - they watch and listen and support the team members, they adhere to the same rules that they ask of you and they build TRUST.
On every championship team there are many stories and all kind of people, it does not matter what a team member looks like or what the color of their skin may be - all you know is that you need to do your role and have their back and they will have yours- that is how we all win.

Reply

ALWAYS REPLY !
Want to quickest way to tell someone that they do not matter or that you do not care about them or their opinions- ignore them.
In life and in business you should make it a priority to answer every email and every call promptly and politely. If you choose to ignore the call or email you might as well go open the closest window and stick your head and shout... I don’t give a good s*#t about you !
I do not care what your title is or how important you think you are... you are never too busy to respond to someone, even if it is brief and you need to get back to them or you need to redirect them they deserve the respect of an answer.
And by the way if you think you too important that is a bigger problem- like they say “ be nice to the people on the way up because they are the same people you will meet on your way down”.
Get off your high horse and keep perspective and give everyone the respect they deserve and for goodness sake reply to that email or text or voicemail !

Worth

We all want to have a worth - to make a difference or to contribute.
We are at our best when we feel needed and wanted - work is one place we can achieve those goals but our personal life’s is where we will leave our mark.
No matter what you do for work , it is work and as in all jobs it revolves around money and profit and one day that will be gone and in today’s business world that shelf life is shrinking.
Your family on the other hand will always be there, at least if you make them a priority throughout your life they will be. Do not take them for granted and do not forget why you are working in the first place. If you have kids- love them and tell them that every day and more important- show them.
Showing someone that you love them does mean buying them jewelry or toys or gifts it means spending time with them, listening to them and sharing thoughts.
If you have grandkids - same there - time and hugs and viewing life through their eyes is our reward.
Our worth is to surrender to the life around us every day - close your eyes- take in a huge breath and exhale , and open your eyes to The beauty around you and the people that love you.
Never take them or a day for granted.

Music to my Eyes

You're music to my eyes
I had to listen just to find you
I'd like for you to let me sing along
Give you a rhythm you feel

I wanna learn your every line
I wanna fill your empty spaces
I want to play the part to reach your arms
Sing you a song that you feel, oh

Love, let your music be mine
Sing while I harmonize
Let your melodies fly in my direction
Take me to your paradise
On a musical ride
I'm in love with your music, baby
You're music to my eyes

Your voice is quite a view
I heard a song and then I saw you
I learned the lyrics and knew you were mine
Danced the horizon with you

I wanna sing you a sunrise
And be the dawn I know will move you
I'd like to be the strings on your guitar
Touch me and play what you feel

Love, let your music be mine
Sing while I harmonize
Let your melodies fly in my direction
Take me to your paradise
On a musical ride
I'm in love with your music, baby
You're music to my eyes

Song from the movie - A Star is Born

Dedicated to my wife- Lisa

https://youtu.be/ePFwJk_RNR4

True Reward

True Reward

I guess it comes down to what you believe...
If you believe that this brief time we have here is the end game and what you acquire here is all that matters then winning at all cost will be your road map.
If you believe that there must be something else and what we do to others will eventually come back to us and in the end the material things around us will matter least then that will become your life’s goal.

Unfortunately I see it more today then ever that winning is all that matters, people can hurt other people as long as they get what they want and that is not healthy and certainly not a way to live our lives. If you have to lie or hurt others to obtain your goal then the goal simply is not worth it.

If you have to gather groups to back you up and give voice to anger or fear then you can not truly believe in what you are saying- if you cannot stand alone in your beliefs then they are probably shallow and most likely the wrong beliefs to begin with.

Do not seek comfort in groups that spread negativity or anger - seek comfort from within.
When you release the need to “ go along “ or the fear of what would happen if you did not “ go along” you can begin to think for yourself and free those heavy chains around you.

“ Your voices matter, your dreams matter, be the roses that grow in the concrete “
Angie Thomas- The Hate U Give

Only Love

Only Love can conquer Hate
Do not buy into the reheteric and the fear -
It does not matter where you happened to be born or the color of your skin we are all human and we ALL want the same thing - to love and be loved.
For those that happened to be born poor and/or in an oppressed country or the inner city - they are literally trying to survive each day only want inner peace and the human right that should be afforded to everyone and that is to live without fear and to have an opportunity to provide for themselves and their family.
If you have the opportunity to ever lend a hand or to support a person in need my hope is that you take advantage of the opportunity and help.
There is nothing more important in your life and there is nothing more rewarding.
Open your hearts and mind and find the joy.
Love- lighten your load-

Freedom

True Freedom lies within
If you want to experience true freedom then first you need to stop chasing the almighty dollar.
Don’t get me wrong, work can be good and rewarding and you need to be able to provide but ask yourself- how much is enough?
I always told myself that as long as I had a roof over my head, food on the table and oil in my tank for heat I would be ok. I never wanted the mansion on the hill or the new sports car and certainly was not going to sell my soul for any of it.
YOU have the Power- you ALWAYS had the Power- you just may have fell into the wrong path - it is never to late to Free yourself.
Remember that this is NOT a dress rehearsal- Life is Short -
There is a movie called Michael, in it John Travolta comes back to earth as an angel to help some people out, after his mission is near complete and he knows he will be leaving Earth for the last time, he is sitting on a log in an open field with a little dog by his side, he lifts his head , looks around and feels the wind on his face and says... I am really going to miss all this.
Don’t waste a day ... be free... feel the wind on your face.

Loyalty

Where is your Loyalty ?
To have true loyalty you need to ask your self what are YOUR priorities and goals?
Is the person asking you for your loyalty someone you observe being loyal to others ?
If you see and hear people being ugly toward others you can pretty much take it to the bank that will also throw you under the bus too.
Being loyal has to cut both ways and if you cannot fully trust the other person how the heck are you going to be totally loyal to them ?
I have written and expressed my views in the past on Money and power and it is all relevant because when people turn ugly and become disloyal many times it is because they are worried about their themselves and their position and pay- pretty sad but I have witnessed it way to often.
Working and living in an environment that is truly trusting and loyal is very special and within that environment you will do some pretty amazing things - most of all your shoulders will be lightened and you will enjoy your life and your friends and family even more.
Find those that deserve your loyalty and embrace them.
Life is short

In My Life

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more

Beatles

Let it Go

Let it Go...
Three simple words that can free you.
Why ? Why do care so much that THEY do not know what they are doing or What THEY think about you ?
Let it Go
Why do you ALLOW THEM to get in your head or to rule your thoughts and your day ?
Why do you worry about things out of your control?
Let it Go
Water off of a duck’s back - that is what I was told years go - just let their negativity and hate roll right off your back- the more you allow them to take the more they will take.
What really bothers you at the end of the day is that you wasted the day and never really looked around and appreciated all the good that surrounds us all.
Let it Go

Power and Money

Unfortunately I have seen very good men change because of Power and Money.
Those that do always forget where they came from and how they were able to succeed.
With great power comes great responsibility-
Even with little power, I see how a title can change a person and they forget how to be humble.
When a person lives more in the “ I” world and less in the “we” world the problem with fester- listen to them when they talk do they always refer to themselves? Do they take all the credit and push away the blame for any negative?
Everyone has somebody that showed them the path , that was an example or gave a hand- NEVER forget where you came from and ALWAYS stay humble.
With the title and the power normally comes a raise and everyone always lives a bit above there means, no matter what their pay is so they start to worry about making more money or losing their job and that also begins the path of ugliness. Before long I watched very good people start to hurt others because they “ had to do it” or they justified it in one way or the other, all to keep their power.
Ego also grows with the power and can make people say and do things that are just plain wrong.
Power-Money- Ego -
All attributes that are hallow and will make you forget who you are and what is most important in life.
Stay humble- Give more and want less

Excuses

Give Up Your Excuses

“It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.” ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Successful people know that they are responsible for their life, no matter their starting point, weaknesses, and past failures.

Realising that you are responsible for what happens next in your life is both frightening and exciting.

And when you do, that becomes the only way you can become successful, because excuses limit and prevent us from growing personally and professionally.

Own your life; no one else will.

Toxic People

Give Up The Toxic People

“Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.”

— Albert Einstein

People you spend the most time with add up to who you become.

If you spend time with those who refuse to take responsibility for their life, always find excuses and blame others for the situation they are in, your average will go down, and with it your opportunity to succeed.

However, if you spend time with people who are trying to increase their standard of living, and grow personally and professionally, your average will go up, and you will become more successful.

Take a look at around you, and see if you need to make any changes.

Liked

Give Up Your Need To Be Liked

“You can be the juiciest, ripest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be people who hate peaches.” — Dita Von Teese

Think of yourself as a market niche.

There will be a lot of people who like that niche, and there will be individuals who don’t. And no matter what you do, you won’t be able to make the entire market like you.

This is completely natural, and there’s no need to justify yourself.

The only thing you can do is to remain authentic, improve and provide value every day, and know that the growing number of “haters” means that you are doing remarkable things.

Wasting Time

Give Up Wasting Time

“The trouble is, you think you have time” — Jack Kornfield

You only have this one crazy and precious life. That’s why you owe it to yourself to see who you can become, and how far you can go.

However, to do that, you need to ditch meaningless time wasters and stop allowing them to be an escape from your most important goals.

To do that, you should learn how to take control over your focus, attention and make the most out of your 24 hours within a day.

Remember that you will die, so never stop creating your legacy and doing the things that will enrich your life.

Acceptance

We all want to be accepted ...
It starts at a very young age, ever watch a young child around the age of 8 when they are around other kids being a bit older , like 11 or 12 ? They want to hang and play with them, unfortunately most kids 11 or 12 do not want to play or hang with 8 year olds... God forbid.. it would not be cool. And if it was your 8 year old and you observed it your heart sinks.
That follows up through middle school and high school, we want to be part of a group and be accepted and when we are pushed out it hurts and can effect our personalities and our confidence.
It still follows us into the business world because most adults are just big kids and they all are carrying around their own baggage and their own hurt and can be empowered by demeaning others.
We fear retribution and the possibility of being on the “outside” so we learn to either keep quiet or follow the leader or bend what we believe- my only advice to look for the good in everybody and follow your own path - you do not need to be part of a group to reassure yourself of your worth.
You alone are special- you alone have worth- listen to your heart and keep what is truly important to you in your every day life and hopefully what is important to you is not material.

Believe

Don’t believe you have to be like somebody...
Believe in yourself.
Learn from everyone, even those that you may not agree with.
Remember that titles do not make a person , neither does fame or fortune.
Springsteen has a lyric in one of his songs where he says “listen to your junkman,he’s singing “.
I love that line because it brings you right down to earth, you may think that big exec in the corner office with his 100,000 dollar automobile and big house and boat and toys has it all but at what price to he have to pay for all that ? How much stress is added in his life? How much time did you spend playing with his kids?
Where as that “junkman” that you drove by in the morning is singing, he does need the big house and toys , he enjoys each day and is thankful for what he has and goes home after a hard days work and has dinner with his family and reads a bed time story to his young one.
Believe
First you need to believe in yourself and strive each day to be a good person.
Work hard and never envy what another person may have, be appreciative of what you have and the loved ones in your life - and tell them you love them every day !
Believe