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Becoming An Expert Has Advantages

Would you like to be considered an expert in your field? Who wouldn’t?Becoming an expert in your field comes with some nice perks. What are some of the advantages of being known as an expert?

You can charge a higher rate.
People have more confidence and trust in you.
It’s easier to grow your client list.
It helps in marketing what you have to offer.
Etc.

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
~ G.K. Chesterton

“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.”
~ Sabrina Bryan

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Successful People Are Experts

In one of my post-retirement lives I consult for an expert witness. He is an expert in premises liability and policing. He is considered an expert because of the decades of experience he has in his field. Also, he has written several books and papers on the subject of law enforcement. Because of this, he has been certified as an expert by courts throughout the United States. It allows him to charge more and his phone is ringing off the hook.

“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” ~ Steve Jobs

“You can’t fake passion.” ~ Barbara Corcoran

People who are considered experts in their field are also some of the most successful. Author Stephen King is an expert in the genre of horror fiction. If you wanted to begin writing horror fiction novels, he would be a good source. In the field of business, Richard Branson would be considered an expert. He has taken a small record store and turned it into several other highly successful businesses. When I’m thinking about American football one name comes to mind, Tom Brady. Because of his success, he would be considered an expert on being a quarterback as well as on becoming a champion.

Put In The Work

The thing about becoming an expert and being successful is there are no shortcuts. I know today, living in our fast food society, we want everything right now. Unfortunately, striving to be the best takes time. No one is born an expert. Your gift is inside you when you’re born but you must develop that gift. Becoming an expert only happens through training and experience. For instance, It is said that to be an expert at anything you must do it repeatedly for at least 10,000 hours. As an example, when I was a Special Agent with DEA, I was considered an expert in narcotics trafficking and smuggling techniques. I didn’t have that knowledge when I was hired or even after I graduated from the Academy. It took many years of studying and experience to become an expert.

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” ~ John C. Maxwell

“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” ~ Bishop T.D. Jakes

Above, I have listed some of the benefits of being known as an expert. These are reasons why we are willing to put in the required time and sacrifice. It takes more than just putting in the time. It takes passion. Passion is what lights the fire. To be passionate about something gets you out of bed in the morning. It keeps you going when you run into the obstacles and things get hard. This is the reason you need to have a big WHY. You have to be passionate about your WHY.

Grit

It also takes Grit, what I call perseverance. It’s only through being persistent that you will ever become successful. All experts are willing to persevere through the struggles and conquer every obstacle presented to them. They do everything they can to move forward. Some days are giant leaps, some days are small steps, but they are always forward. Successful people know that the bigger the obstacle, the harder the struggle, the closer they are to victory. They embrace those difficult days.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
~ Anthony J. D’Angelo

Growth Mindset

Becoming an expert also requires a growth mindset. The importance of this trait cannot be understated. You must always be growing mentally. You must continually be thinking of your end result and not what is happening at the moment. This will allow you to continually look for ways to improve. You are always moving forward.

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
~ Denis Diderot

“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.” ~ Jon Bon Jovi

When I was in the Army, we learned how to make defensive positions, a.k.a. foxholes. When you first arrive, you dig a small hasty defensive position in case you are attacked. Then you begin to dig your foxhole. After the foxhole is dug, and mounds of dirt are placed in front to stop any bullets, you camouflage it. You are constantly looking to improve your foxhole and make it more protective. The longer you’re at that position, the more elaborate and protective it becomes. You are always looking to improve it. You have to do the same with your mindset.

Team

It also takes a team to help you become an expert. Your team becomes your family and will help you persevere. One of the members of your team can become your mentor. Your mentor will teach you what you need to know to succeed. They will be your guide on your journey. Your team must consist of like-minded individuals. They are there to guide you and support you through the difficult times. They must be positive and have the same passion as you do. A negative member of your team can destroy it. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Habits Of Successful People

As I was conducting research for this post, I realized that successful people tend to have the same habits. In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill spent 20 years studying the richest and most successful men in America at that time. He came up with 13 qualities that all these men shared. I came upon an article on the website weekplan.net which lists 50 habits of successful people. Here are a few of those habits.

They are early risers.
Meditation is a daily activity.
They have a love of reading.
They spend time on focused thinking.
Exercise is a part of their day.
Their network contains like-minded individuals.
Goal setting is a must.
They don’t rely on a single source of income.
Avoiding things that waste time.
They consider problems as gifts.

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
~ Albert Einstein

Final Thoughts

This is only a few of the habits that successful people share. If you are not where you want to be in life, go through this list and see which habits you need to acquire. Leave a comment below and let me know how you have changed your habits. Subscribe to my email list by clicking on the blue button above and receive my checklist to keep you moving forward in attaining your goals.

If anyone would like to support this blog please click on the product icons if you need to purchase anything from Amazon. You can purchase whatever you want and I earn a small commission as long as you enter through my links. This is at no extra cost to you and you will be supporting my blog. I appreciate it and I am grateful to all my followers and readers.

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs, and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

Sources Cited:

“50 Habits of Successful People.” Week Plan, 16 Aug. 2019, weekplan.net/50-habits-of-successful-people.

Sigmundsson, H., et al. “The Passion Scale: Aspects of Reliability and Validity of a New 8-Item Scale Assessing Passion.” New Ideas in Psychology, Pergamon, 4 July 2019, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X19300625.

July 26, 2020August 10, 2020

InspireChief33 Comments

Eliminating Doubt For Personal Development

I’ve talked about this in several previous articles and want to discuss it more thoroughly today. I’m talking about those little creatures that hide deep inside our minds. The ones that pop up at the worst of times. Their only function is to prevent you from living the life you so richly deserve. Yes, I am talking about those dreaded “Doubt Demons!” There they are, waiting for the right time to come out. They are dug in deep and camouflaged. It is imperative to stifle these demons. If at all possible, they should be eradicated. Eliminating doubt for personal development must become a priority.

I want to say that I have recently gone over 100 followers and I’m humbled. I am grateful and appreciate each and every one. Thank you.

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
~ Sylvia Plath

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.”
~ Honore de Balzac

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Eliminating Doubt

In my previous post, “Inspirational Quotes about Your Gifts,” I gave you a definition of success. “Success is the completion and the fulfillment of the original purpose of your existence.” For you to have success, you must know what Doubt Demons are and where they come from. Just like a cancer in the body, Doubt Demons are there to destroy you. Doubt Demons are those little voices and thoughts inside your head. They are constantly telling you that you can’t do it. They will stunt your personal development and must be eliminated.

“Worry, doubt, fear, and despair are the enemies which slowly bring us down to the ground and turn us to dust before we die.”
~ Anonymous

“If you are going to doubt anything in life, doubt your own limitations.”
~ Dan Brule

Fear creates Doubt Demons just like it creates all demons. They are particularly active right after you make a decision to change yourself for the better. Have you ever tried to lose weight and began to get cravings for unhealthy foods? Doubt Demons. If you’ve ever attempted to get a promotion, you might have started noticing the quality of the other candidates. You begin to compare yourself with them and believe that they are better. Doubt Demons. Did you start a business for financial freedom? Were you engulfed in fear, after you made that decision? Did you ask yourself, “how will I pay the bills?” Doubt Demons.

“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”
~ T. Harv Eker

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
~ Suzy Kassem

How Do Our Thoughts Form?

Any thought you have that fills you with fear is placed there by the Doubt Demons. Where do they come from? Unfortunately, these Doubt Demons can be given life inadvertently. When we are young and our thoughts are forming, we are very vulnerable. As we go through our personal growth our thoughts are developing. Many times adults place Doubt Demons into our subconscious mind inadvertently. They don’t realize the harm they are doing. Often your parents, teachers, etc. have tried to protect you from disappointment. They say things like, “he’s just shy,” “she’s not a good test taker,” or “it takes money to make money.”

“Don’t waste life in doubts and fears.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Doubt is only removed by action. If you’re not working then that’s where doubt comes in.”
~ Conor McGregor

Any statement such as the ones above give life to these Doubt Demons. Imagine what will happen if you want to ask out the girl of your dreams but you have been told that you are shy. You want to go to the college of your choice but are “not a good test taker.” Doubt Demons are not exclusively given life just when we’re young. They can also be placed in us as adults by our coworkers and friends. Have you ever told a friend about a big dream? If their response was less than enthusiastic, it gave life to your Doubt Demons.

“Don’t let them make you doubt yourself. All the greatest visionaries in history have been told they were insane at some point.”
~ Michele Jaffe

“We all have genius within us, never doubt that fact.”
~ Catherine Pulsifer

Look For These Symptoms

What are some of the symptoms of Doubt Demons? Fear creates Doubt Demons. They feed off our internal fears, especially the six basic fears. There are six basic fears that we suffer from at different times. The fear of poverty, of criticism, of sickness, of loss, of old age, and of death. Once we decide to make a positive change in our lives, we begin to experience some of these fears. At times, it is a combination of these fears. These fears can lead to symptoms such as indecision, procrastination, gossip, and eventually quitting. Once we quit, we return to our old life which is the goal of the Doubt Demons. We must be eliminating doubt for personal development.

Have you made the decision to start your own business? If so, you might have woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. The thoughts of failure and not being able to pay your bills raced through your head. Here come your Doubt Demons invoking the fear of poverty. Do you worry about what your friends or family will say? The Doubt Demons have inserted into you the fear of criticism. This is a very powerful fear and you need to know how to handle it. For some good tips and information, you can check out my post, “A Flying Rat’s Ass.”

“I love it when people doubt me. It makes me work harder to prove them wrong.”
~ Derek Jeter

“I’ve learned that the mastery of self-doubt is the key to success.”
~ Will Smith

What To Do?

What can we do about these Doubt Demons? We know we have them, they are always with us whether we believe it or not. We must find ways to exterminate them if we can. If we can’t, we must live with them and control them. You will never be able to fulfill the intent of your existence if you don’t. Eliminating doubt for personal development is a must. Solutions for controlling/eradicating them are:

1. Identify Them. Understand your Doubt Demons for what they are. These are thoughts that have been placed in your subconscious mind and allowed to grow. That’s all they are and once you identify them, you can develop a plan to fight them.

2. Positive Affirmations. You can replace any and all thoughts placed in your mind by other people. By writing down the Doubt Demons which you have identified, you can now replace all negative thoughts with an opposite positive thought. Write down these positive thoughts and speak them out loud several times a day. Remember that your Doubt Demons have had years to grow in your mind. It won’t happen overnight, but if you develop the habit of speaking your positive affirmations daily, you will change your paradigm.

3. Release Them. Now that you have identified your Doubt Demons, began changing your paradigm through positive affirmations, you can release them. As you release them, you will see yourself changing. You will grow more confident, be more decisive, and know how to handle criticism. You will begin to live a happy life because you know how to control your fears and live by faith. It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are doing your best with the gifts God has placed inside you.

Final Thoughts

Are you eliminating doubt for your personal development? Are you struggling with anything right now? Do Doubt Demons stop you from living the lifestyle you deserve? Do you have any tips to share that would be helpful to someone who is struggling with doubt? I would love to be able to help you out. Leave your comments below. Subscribe to my email list by clicking on the blue button above and receive my checklist to keep you moving forward in attaining your goals.

If anyone would like to help me out please click on the product icons if you need to purchase anything from Amazon. You can purchase whatever you want and I earn a small commission as long as you enter through my links. You won’t incur any extra costs. Also, you will be helping me out. I appreciate it and I am grateful to all my followers and readers.

“Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.”
~ Anonymous

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

July 19, 2020January 18, 2021

InspireChief31 Comments

Inspirational Quotes For Strength And Hope

These are difficult times we are living in and I know there are many people who are struggling with the changes we are facing. I hope these inspirational quotes will give you some strength and hope to make it through difficult times.

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

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My Secret

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
~ Psalm 28:7

Needing Inspiration For Strength

One hot July evening, after dinner, I found myself hiking on a dirt road up a hill in the North Georgia mountains. My classmates and I had just arrived at the US Army Rangers training center and were being taken to the top of the hill to have a class on terrain features. In the heat and humidity, we walked for over an hour until we arrived at the top of the hill. The instructors pointed out the different terrain features we would need to learn for our land navigation class the next day.

At the end of the class, the instructors told us we would have to find our way back to camp by ourselves and couldn’t use the road. Simple enough, I thought, we can just walk down the mountain through the woods until we get there. I was hoping to be in my bunk in a couple of hours. To add a little difficulty, the instructors would not let us leave until it was completely dark.

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
~ William Ellery Channing

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
~ Khalil Gibran

Into The Darkness

We began our trek down the hill in a single file line. Quickly, we became aware that this was going to be more difficult than we thought. It would take all of our strength and my hope of an early night was fading. Once we entered the tree line, it was completely dark and you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The only thing that we could see was glowing moss on the ground and the two strips of phosphorescent tape we had sewed onto the back of our boonie hats, they called Ranger eyes.

We had to walk painfully slow as we did not know what was in front of us. Every now and then the Ranger eyes in front of you would disappear and somebody would cuss. We knew that the person in front of us had fallen into a ditch and we would have to navigate our way down the ditch and back up the other side.

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
~ Michael J. Fox

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. “No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”
~ 14th Dalai Lama

Strength and Perseverance

It took us several hours and used up a lot of our strength to make it down the hill and find the road. We met up with the Ranger instructors and just had a short walk back to camp. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning because our instructor got lost. After several hours of walking and constantly being told, “It’s just 500 yards more,” we knew something was wrong, especially when we came upon a civilian neighborhood. Luckily, it was probably 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning and no one was out.

As the sun was coming up, we walked through the gates of the Ranger camp. We were all exhausted, cut up, bruised, and battered by the time we made it back to our barracks. Something that started out sounding so easy turned into an all-night struggle. We all persevered and overcame and no one had any serious injuries.

“The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.”
~ Criss Jami

“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”
~ J.K. Rowling

A Real-Life Mission

About a year later, I found myself in a similar situation during a real mission in the jungles of Peru. We had to move our team through the jungle at night and find an airstrip. There was going to be several hundred kilograms of cocaine delivered to that airstrip the next day. As we were walking through the jungle, I thought back to that night with the Rangers and how we used our stamina to overcome all the obstacles in front of us and find our way back. Going through those struggles made us better and gave us the strength to complete our mission in the jungle.

Why Can’t It Be Easy?

Do you ever wonder, why isn’t everything easy? Wouldn’t it be so nice if we could go through life without any struggles? Especially during these trying times in which we are currently living. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen because life itself is a struggle and it takes strength and perseverance to get by. People who succeed in life are persistent. They learn how to improvise, adapt, and overcome. This is a phrase that Clint Eastwood made famous in his movie, Heartbreak Ridge.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
~ Walt Disney

The Butterfly

I remember hearing a story one time about a man who came upon a cocoon in a tree. As he looked at the cocoon he could see the caterpillar had changed into a butterfly and was struggling to break free. The butterfly continued to struggle and the man thought he would make it easier by opening up the cocoon. The butterfly emerged once the cocoon was opened and he could see that there was something wrong. The body was thin and the wings were misshapen and fragile. The butterfly fell to the ground and died. What the man didn’t know was, it is the struggle in which the butterfly goes through trying to break out of the cocoon that gives strength to its body and wings and allows it to fly off. Humans are no different, our struggles make us stronger.

Laws Of Nature

These are simply laws of nature that illustrate you can’t get something great without giving something up. The struggles that we go through are necessary in order to accomplish our goals. God presents these struggles to us and we must learn to overcome. Even though our struggles seem mighty, God never gives us more than we can handle. Whatever you’re going through, rest assured that it’s already inside you to overcome that struggle. The comedian Steve Harvey talks about his struggles when he first tried to make it in comedy. Looking at him now you would never know that he had to live in his car for three years while he was struggling to make it. He persevered and now leads an abundant wealthy lifestyle. He had no idea of how long it would take him to achieve his goals.

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
~ Marcus Aurelius

The unknown causes more anxiety in people than probably anything else. The hardest time we go through is when we don’t know how long our struggles will last and they seem like they will never end. There is no timeline to life’s difficulties. Unfortunately, most people give up right before they would have succeeded. It just gets too hard and they go back to their old life. Perseverance is the key to success.

“Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.”
~ Demi Lovato

Persevere

We must persevere because our struggles don’t last forever. As I said earlier, they can never be too hard because God never gives us more than we can handle. If you improvise, adapt, and overcome, you will come out stronger and better. You can have the life you always wanted. In order to persevere you must have a definitive purpose, a big WHY. This will get you through when it gets too hard, and you don’t feel like it’s worth the struggle. Do a little bit every day to get you closer to your goals and always keep moving forward, never go back. A great book to read on perseverance is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
~ Christopher Reeve

Adapt

Are you hurting right now? Is life kicking you in the teeth and every day is a struggle? We are all going through tough times these days and no one knows when it will end. All we can do is improvise, adapt, and overcome. Set your goals, make a plan, and put action to that plan. Find your definitive purpose and if you don’t have one, ask. It will be shown to you. Keep things simple and form a team of people who will support you until your struggle ends. Were all in this together and we will need the help of each other to get through.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.”
~ Louisa May Alcott

Final Thoughts

If you would like to share any struggles you are having, we might be able to help you out. Leave a reply along with your quotes, advice, tips, or links to helpful groups or sites in the comments section below. If you have any questions or requests for topics I would love to hear them. If you like this post, click on the little star and feel free to share it with others it might help. As always, my posts are based on lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. I don’t claim to be an expert or professional therapist, I just play one on TV (some of you might get that joke).

“Anyone can give up; it is the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, now that is true strength.”
~ Chris Bradford

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
~ Maya Angelou

Unashamed Begging 😉

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“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

July 12, 2020August 9, 2020

InspireChief26 Comments

Quotes To Help You Make Life Choices

Enjoy these empowering quotes to help you make the life choices we face everyday. I’m going to begin with a situation I found myself in where I had to make a life-threatening decision.

I kneeled behind the largest tree I could find. The timer on my watch was ticking down the seconds as I wiped off the beads of sweat dripping on the watch face. Minutes earlier, we were flying over the jungles of Peru and spotted the large cocaine lab from the air. After finding the lab and placing the explosives, I had cut a length of fuse for a 2 minute 30 second burn, fired off the igniter and started my timer. 10 seconds to go and we should hear the large boom and see an immense fireball. Three… Two… One…, Nothing, just silence. What just happened? Did I miscalculate the length of the fuse? Maybe it was a bad fuse? Did the fuse stop burning or was it still burning at a slower rate? All these thoughts flew through my head.

“You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice.”
~ Ezra Taft Benson

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
~ Nelson Mandela

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My Secret

“Decisions are the hardest thing to make especially when it is a choice between where you should be and where you want to be.”
~ Anonymous

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”
~ John C. Maxwell

Life Decisions

Now I had a choice to make. Leave the unexploded ordnance like it was which could injure someone or risk my life going back to the lab to see what went wrong and fix it. The decision was simple and I slowly made my way through the jungle back to the lab. It seemed like it took forever because with every step I took, I would stop and look for smoke or any telltale sign that the fuse was still burning. With God on my side I made it and found out that the fuse had looped back on itself and burned out. Everything turned out well and another lab was destroyed.

We make choices every day and sometimes several choices a day. Luckily, the choices we make are not always life-threatening, but they can have an enormous impact on our lives. I hope these inspirational quotes on life choices will be of some help to you when making decisions.

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
~ Denis Waitley

“Every morning you have two choices: Continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase your dreams. The choice is yours.”
~ Anonymous

You Are The Deciding Factor

How your life turns out depends on the choices you make every day. If you make more good choices than bad choices, you will enjoy the benefits of living a good life. We make many decisions every day and most of them will not have a significant impact on our life. They can however have an impact on how your day is going to turn out. If you choose to eat a sketchy gas station burrito for breakfast, you might not have the best day. In this article I don’t want to focus on the minor decisions that we make, but rather the ones that are life-changing. This is a great anonymous quote to help you make life choices; “We make our choices, then our choices make us.”

Life is a game and like all games the choices that you make during the game decides if you win or lose. You are 100 % responsible if you win in life or lose in life based on the choices that you make. Success doesn’t see race, socioeconomic status, or what country you are from. It only matters what you do with your life and the choices that you make. Always remember, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.

“I believe we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.”
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.”
~ Sammy Davis Jr.

Changing Destinations

You can change your destination simply by making the right choices. The end always matters more than the beginning. For example, you might decide that you want to attend Harvard University but do not get accepted. You make a choice to attend a local community college, study hard, make the right choices, and do everything in your power to apply for a transfer to Harvard. Eventually, you are accepted and graduate with honors. It didn’t matter what school you started at; you are a Harvard graduate.

I grew up in a middle-class family. My father was a federal law enforcement officer and even though he didn’t make a lot of money, he provided very well for us, and we never wanted for anything. I remember there were some lean times when we had to switch to powdered milk and other less expensive food items, but there was always food on the table.

“Every test in our life makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to break us or make us. The choice is ours whether we become victim or victor.”
~ Anonymous

“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

My Kingdom For A Chainsaw

Dad always wanted to teach us the value of hard work, so he made a choice not to invest in power tools. This meant that if we had a tree fall on our property, my brother and I were given the task of cutting it into firewood. Without a chainsaw, my brother would get on one side of the tree and I would get on the other. We would use a bow saw and saw back-and-forth for hours until we reduced the tree to smaller logs. Once that was accomplished, we would spend hours splitting the logs with an ax. If he had chosen to, he could have purchased a chainsaw which would have been smarter and faster. Using a chainsaw though wouldn’t have developed the necessary attributes such as teamwork, planning, and perseverance that helped us later in life. Today, I’m thankful for his choices.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
~ William Jennings Bryan

“Our talents are the gift that God gives to us… What we make of our talents is our gift back to God”
~ Leo Buscaglia

When The Sun Comes Up

I choose at the beginning of every day how my day is going to be, based on my words, my thoughts, and my actions. The first thing I do when I open my eyes in the morning is give thanks for the day I’m going to have an all I’m going to accomplish. I always start my day off with a happy thought. That thought is always the first time I ever saw my wife.

I make the choice what I’m going to do that day. I choose to work because I enjoy what I do, I like to learn new ways of making money, and I want to continue to have the ability to give. It is my choice to live my life by faith and not pay attention to the fear-based media. I have determined my purpose in choosing to spend my days in activities that will lead me to success.

“Life is the sum of all your choices.”
~ Albert Camus

You can have anything you want in this life if you choose to have it. First, you must make a choice to decide what your life is going to be. Second, you must define your purpose, what it is that you want, and why you want it. Third, you must be willing to do what it takes and sacrifice to make it happen. Fourth, you must make a plan on how you’re going to attain it and write it down. Lastly, you must read your purpose, your sacrifice, and your plan every day. Think about these motivational quotes when faced with life choices

“Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible.”
~ Cherie-Carter Scotts

“You can let things define you, destroy you, or strengthen you. It’s your choice.”
~ Anonymous

Final Thoughts

You can choose to be happy or angry. The life that you have, either good or bad, is your choice. The amount of money you want to have is all up to you. Make a choice today to live the life you want to live. Make a choice to leave this life with no regrets. If you will make the choice, follow the steps above, persevere through any failures you might have, and never quit, you will live the life of your dreams.

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs, and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

“This Train is moving on! You can get on or you can get off, but the train keeps moving on. We are going to the top of the mountain!”

July 5, 2020December 16, 2020

InspireChief8 Comments

Powerful Quotes On Failure To Motivate You

What is failure? How do we define it? In the dictionary failure has many meanings, it can be defined as a lack of success or one that has failed. I believe this is too broad a definition and I refer back to some of my previous posts where I talked about success. Success being different for each person means also that failure can be different for different people. I prefer to define failure as a necessary building block on the road to success. Very few people have immediate success when they begin a new venture. These powerful quotes will help you understand failure.

“Most great people have achieved their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”
~Napoleon Hill

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
~Thomas A Edison

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Quotes On The Meaning of Failure

We must come to understand that failure is important and necessary to succeed. Everything is a learning process and I like to refer to the process as a journey. We all start out on a journey with a full pack of food and gear. The first steps are taken on a nice comfortable, well-worn path and we are full of energy. At some point along the way, the path becomes overgrown with vines and covered in rocks. Our food supply begins to dwindle as our journey becomes more laborious. We don’t arrive at our destination before winter sets in and we have to turn back. Our journey is a failure.

We didn’t quit on our journey; we are just temporarily delayed. Our failure has presented itself as a learning lesson. Our journey will take longer and we need to begin earlier in the year before winter sets in. Most journeys to success follow the same path, begin, fail, learn, and begin again.

Check out these powerful quotes:

Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.”
~ Zig Ziglar

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”
~James Joyce

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”
~John Green

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”.
~Samuel Beckett

Powerful Examples

If you don’t believe that failure is part of the journey to success, look at some of these examples.

Author Jack Canfield’s manuscript was rejected by 144 publishers before he found one who would publish it. The manuscript was “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” It’s now been translated into 43 languages and published in over 100 countries. There have been more than 500 million copies sold worldwide.

“The problem is that most people focus on their failures rather than their successes. But the truth is that most people have many more successes than failures.”
~Jack Canfield

Funny Man

Actor Jim Carrey dropped out of school at age 15 to help support his family. He was booed off the stage during his first comic standup. He auditioned for Saturday Night Live and was rejected. Later, he used the Law of Attraction, writing himself a check for $10 million for “Acting Services Rendered.” He kept the check in his wallet. Seven years later, he received a $10 million payment for his work in Dumb and Dumber.

“Life opens up opportunities to you, and you either take them or you stay afraid of taking them.”
~Jim Carrey

What A Voice

Singer Katy Perry dropped out of high school after freshman year to pursue singing. She was dropped from three different record labels. She worked odd jobs until she was signed by Capitol Music Group in 2006 and became a commercial success.

“I just feel like I’m going to be criticized regardless of what I do next, so I might as well do something that I feel really passionate about.”
~Katy Perry

An Innovator

Henry Ford failed at two other automotive companies that resulted in bankruptcies. On his third try, with the Ford Motor Company, he revolutionized the automobile industry by pioneering the Model T and the assembly line. He is also credited with the concept of an automobile in every home and went on to sell over 17 million Model T’s.

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
~Henry Ford

Teaching

One of the biggest mistakes I believe we make in our society is not teaching children about failure. We plant the idea of perfection in their heads by saying things like, “don’t color outside the lines.” We teach that failure is a bad thing, children don’t learn how to deal with failure when it happens. This can put a lot of pressure on a young mind. Instead, let’s begin to teach children that failure is a steppingstone and to learn from it. Utilize failure in order to succeed.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”
~Michael Jordan

The pressure to never fail as well as our viewpoint of failure as a negative which are ingrained in us early in life translates over into adulthood. As adults, we operate and make decisions based on the input we received as children from our parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc. The thought that failure is to be avoided can at times provide us with an excuse to quit. We can believe that everything is easy and that whatever we attempt we will succeed in it every time. Whenever we don’t see that success, early on in the process, then we give up.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived all, in which case you have failed by default.”
~J. K. Rowling

A Mistake

Most people don’t even attempt the difficult tasks that it takes to change because of fear of failure. I wrote in a previous article, “The Journey,” how I utilized my fear of failure to motivate me to graduate from The U.S. Army Airborne School and become an Army paratrooper. In hindsight, I should’ve gone into the training with the confidence that I was going to graduate as my motivator instead of fear. As young adults, we are constantly reminded to, “Have something to fall back on,” when we express our dreams. This one statement leads many people to give up on their dreams far too quickly.

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.”
~John Wooden“

The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
~John C Maxwell

If everyone played it safe and always went to their backup plan as soon as things became too difficult, we wouldn’t have accomplished anything. We would have never landed men on the moon, personal computers would’ve never been built, and we would still be riding horses instead of in cars. It takes great risk and personal sacrifice for anything great to be accomplished.

You’re Close

When we devise a plan to come up with something great we are going to experience many failures along the way. One thing that I have learned about success is, we never know how close we really are to our goals. Many people turn back to their old lives right before they would’ve achieved a breakthrough. SpaceX endured many failures during its launch of unmanned rockets. They utilized every failure as an opportunity to learn and fine-tune the engineering as well as their process. They continued on and have recently made history by launching to humans from Earth and docking with the International Space Station.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
~Winston Churchill

In conclusion, the idea that I would like you to take away from this article is to get rid of your fear of failure. Embrace your failures, use them as a learning tool, and make changes to your plan. Remember that your goal doesn’t change, only your plan. With every failure you will find yourself one step closer to becoming the person you are meant to be. The only way you can truly fail at anything is to quit. Never quit.

Leave Your Thoughts

I would love to hear about how you overcame failures and used them in your journey. I hope I have inspired you and these powerful quotes will help you to overcome any failures. Leave a reply along with your quotes, advice, tips, or links to helpful groups or sites in the comments section below. If you have any questions or requests for topics I would love to hear them. If you like this post, click on the little star and feel free to share it with others it might help. As always, my posts are based on lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. I don’t claim to be an expert or professional therapist, I just play one on TV (some of you might get that joke).

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“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchase. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs, and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

June 21, 2020June 15, 2020

InspireChief1 Comment

Short Inspirational Quotes To Improve Teamwork

Does Teamwork Make The Dream Work? Yes it does! If you want to be successful at anything, you need a team. It’s just overwhelmingly difficult to make it to the top by yourself. As I have written in past blogs, your WHY needs to come from deep down inside you, it needs to be large and emotional. The goal that you are working towards accomplishing has to be worthwhile. It must be realistic, however large enough to scare you. That is to say, difficult to obtain. Life is gonna throw too many obstacles and challenges at you to accomplish the goal by yourself. I’ve included some short inspirational quotes to help you succeed.

We always went into the jungle as teams. I was part of a 10 man team that was deployed to South America and lived in the jungle. In the military, I was part of a unit that had a mission to accomplish and could only be done as a team. During my law enforcement career, I always had a partner but most importantly, we were part of a bigger team that worked the streets. Whenever we would conduct an enforcement operation, for example, we always went out with a minimum of six team members. You will see from reading these inspirational quotes of people from all walks of society that being a part of a team is important if you want to succeed.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” – Napoleon Hill

Inspirational Quotes From Sports

On sports teams, one player cannot win it all by himself or herself. Even in individual sports, for instance, golf, the player and the caddy make up a team. You cannot motivate yourself to perform to the same level a teammate will inspire you to. Teams win championships, not individuals. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Michael Jordan, couldn’t win a championship by himself. He needed championship type players around him. The Chicago Bulls couldn’t win a championship until they formed a complete team around Jordan with players such as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, then they won it all. Read inspirational quotes from champions on your journey .

In the NFL, the New England Patriots were not awarded all of their Super Bowl rings by relying only on Tom Brady. They continually brought on championship type players to surround Brady and let him work his magic. Their success has inspired other teams to do the same. In baseball, to win the World Series, teams must have great pitching, hitting, and fielding. The US women’s national soccer team is viewed as one of the greatest in the world because they have won several world cups. Mostly due to the depth of talent they have on that team. These great players all work together in harmony to achieve their goals. I love this inspirational quote below from Abby Wambach. It really sums up teamwork.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson

The Teams That Motivated Me

I have been part of a team for most of my life. It started with youth sports, Little League, and high school sports. Next, I became part of a team when I joined the military, as well as afterward when I was hired by DEA. Wherever I worked we were always surrounded by inspirational quotes in the office.

Whenever that moment came that I moved on and left the team, I always missed the comradery the most. The hardest part of deciding to retire from DEA was knowing that I wasn’t going to be part of that team anymore.

I was on that team for almost 27 years and it was extremely hard for me to realize that that part of my life was over. The long hours, hardships we faced, and failures we endured were made easier by having my teammates around me. The successes were more joyous and memorable by sharing them with my teammates.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

“There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn

Form Your Team For Inspiration

If you find yourself all alone on your journey, I encourage you to go form a team. Find people who will be inspirational to you. It is said that two horses pulling together should be able to pull twice as much weight as a single horse. The truth is that two horses, pulling as a team, can actually pull three times the weight. If those two horses trained together as a team, then they can pull as much as four times the weight.

According to “The Book Of Drafts Horses: The Gentle Giants That Built the World”, a pair of Shire horses pulled around 50 tons (100K pounds) of logs:

Shire breed horses pulling a heavy load of logs

By forming or joining a team it will make your journey to success easier, faster, and less frustrating. It’s a lot easier to quit on yourself than it is to quit on a team. When you’re looking for a team, Firstly, look for people who are like-minded as you and are always uplifting. Next, take a deep long look at the team that you’re currently on, mainly your coworkers, family, and friends. Evaluate your team to see if they are supportive and invested in your success or are they negative and insincere.

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” – Mother Teresa

Who Inspires You The Most?

Look at the people in your life and you will see that you can fit them into one of two categories; wind or anchors. People that are in the wind category are always filling your sails and moving you forward. They are motivating and inspirational. People in the anchor category are the ones that stop your forward progress, keep you from moving anywhere, and if they wrap around you, can drag you to the bottom of the ocean and drown you. These anchors will have to be cut out of your life, at least temporarily, until you are not affected by them.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford

As you continue on your journey you will build your confidence to a level where you are no longer affected by other people’s opinions of you. In a previous post titled, A Flying Rat’s Ass, I wrote about not letting other people’s opinions affect you. For instance, if someone else’s opinions or words negatively affect you and stop you from accomplishing your goals, then you value the other person’s opinion more than you do yourself.

Inspiration From Business Leaders

Whenever you see a successful person on TV always remember that there was a team behind that person that got them there. But, you rarely see the entire team, just the face of the business such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Jeff Bezos. But you can rest assured that there was a team of like-minded people with them. This team was focused on the mission and worked together to become successful. No one accomplishes anything worthwhile alone.

Even something so sequestered as writing a blog is made up of a team. While I sit here alone, hacking away at my keyboard, I have a whole team of people in the blogging community helping me out. I surround myself with quotes of inspirational and motivational sayings. You provide me inspiration to continue and tips to make me better. This community has shared my words and helped grow my following, for that I’m much appreciative. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Final Thoughts

“Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” – Patrick Lencioni

The next step is to simply go find a mentor and form that championship team that will accelerate your road to success. I will provide many inspirational quotes in my posts that you can use and share with others. We are all here for you.

Do you have any favorite inspirational quotes? If so, I would love to here them. Send me your quotes, advice, tips, or links to helpful groups or sites in the comments section below. If you have any questions or requests for topics I would love to hear them. If you like this post, click on the little star and feel free to share it with others it might help. As always, my posts are based on lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. I don’t claim to be an expert or professional therapist, I just play one on TV (some of you might get that joke).

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

Sharing

I believe in the power of sharing. If I read a good blog that speaks to me and I believe it will provide value to others, I will share it. I have linked four books that I believe have value. To change you, you first have to change the way you think. Leaders Are Readers!

I still enjoy sitting by the pool or on my sofa with a good book. It doesn’t matter the genre, fiction, history, biographies, and motivational. I enjoy the quiet time I get with just me and my book. But we live in a fast pace society today where sometimes we need to combine our tasks. Do you find yourself short on time? Are you constantly saying, where did the time go? You are not alone. I believe that we all feel like we don’t have enough time to get everything accomplished and what usually suffers is “me time.” “Me time” is especially important to all of us.

I Love A Good Shortcut

A shortcut that I have found helpful is my Audible Membership and Kindle Unlimited Membership. I listen to books on audible while I’m doing other things. I can listen while getting dressed, while I’m working out, and even while I’m preparing dinner for my family. It is a great way to get my reading in even when I have a full to-do list that I have received from the Mrs. She doesn’t take kindly to me ignoring her to-do list while I catch up on my reading.

With an Audible Membership, it’s a win-win for both of us. I can download great books on this and listen to them with my AirPods. I use my AirPods every time I exercise. They don’t fall out and the sound is great. With Kindle, I can download books, magazines, and my daughters can even download their college textbooks. This is so much easier than carrying a heavy backpack full of textbooks around campus. The books can be downloaded to any device and read with the Kindle app.

Don’t Miss Out On This Deal

Both the Audible Membership and Kindle Unlimited Membership are currently offering a 30-day free trial. You can sign up by clicking on the links and give it a test drive for 30 days free. If you find it’s not for you, simply cancel your membership before your 30 days are up and you won’t be charged.

Do you know someone who is always in a hurry and can’t seem to take time for themselves? We all do. I would suggest checking out giving an Audible Membership as a gift. It is a great gift idea for someone who is always on the go.

Inspirational Books Full Of Quotes

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. A book that will change your life. It answers the question, Why do some people have everything and others struggle? The answer is simple, they know the secret. It has changed my life and can change yours.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This is an oldie but goodie that is full of relevant life lessons. It is a book that you hear speaker after speaker refer to. Successful people all have the same mentality and know you have to change the way you think to be successful. Only one percent of people set goals.

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind And Defy The Odds by David Goggins. I enjoyed reading this book and I found it very relatable. If you want to become more than you are today, read this book. After you finish there will be no excuses. David is just an ordinary guy who made the decision to be extraordinary and was determined.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. A must-read for anyone wanting to change their habits. A great book for managers and leaders. Covey teaches you how to transform your thoughts to not only help you but also to help others. These are 7 principles to incorporate into your life.

I appreciate every like, follow, comment, and share. Keep’em coming.

May 24, 2020July 8, 2020

InspireChief11 Comments

Success Doesn’t Wear A Watch

Why do we do anything? Why did the colonists declare independence from Great Britain? Why do inventors invent things? Why did we want to send men to walk on the moon? If you are a follower of my blogs or follow me on social media then you know that the WHY is the most important thing to me when taking on any challenge. The WHY is what gets you out of bed in the morning, it gives you the courage to face even the greatest challenges, and it is the one thing that will keep you going when you want to quit. Everyone’s WHY is different. Your WHY has to be big, bigger than any reason you could think of to quit. Your WHY has to be emotional, it has to invoke a feeling deep inside of you. My WHY is that I want to help millions of people live better lives. I want to give them hope and spark a fire within them that anything is possible. It does not matter how long it will take, success doesn’t wear a watch.

My youngest daughter was helping me set up my social media pages yesterday and we were talking about why I wanted to start an online business. I told her that I will help millions of people. She then replied with that age-old saying, “if you help only one, then it will be a success.” I told her that was a saying that people tell themselves when they want to feel good about failure. If I only help one person, then for me that isn’t good enough. I will be happy for that one person but I will know I didn’t do enough to make my dream of helping millions come true. Helping one person is not emotional, it doesn’t require hard work, it is not a big enough mountain to climb. Helping one person is a start, the first step on my journey to help millions.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Is your reason, your WHY, big enough? Are you where you want to be in life? If not, are you at least heading in the right direction? Do you have dreams, goals, or plans? I can give you all the tools to get you everything you want out of life. The one thing I cannot give you is a WHY. Your WHY is personal. My WHY won’t get you out of bed in the morning or keep you going when things get hard. Your WHY will. I was having this discussion with my daughters the other day, and I told them that I could give them everything they needed to be successful in whatever they wanted to do. I just couldn’t or wouldn’t do it for them. They would have to do that for themselves, whether they succeeded or failed was up to them. When I’m on my deathbed, I will look at my family and know I have done everything possible for them to succeed. I will have no regrets because I will know I have done everything I could do during my time on earth to help as many people as I could.

Not Even One Letter

I was listening to a speech that Denzel Washington gave at a college graduation, which I provided a link to. In this speech, he talked about his life and his many failures. When you go from failure to failure to failure you can begin to think of yourself as a loser. He said, “you are not a loser, you just haven’t figured out how to win yet.” If things aren’t working out for you, it’s not you, because you have greatness inside. You just haven’t figured out how to pull that greatness out and win. Find somebody who has accomplished the same thing you want to accomplish and do what they do. Search through YouTube, take an online course, or hire someone with the knowledge to help you. Just don’t leave that greatness inside of you.

Like your greatness, 90% of the iceberg is not seen.

Success is like a radio dial and you have to tune it to the right frequency. Before cars were computerized and had a wide variety of entertainment options for us, all we had was the radio. You had to turn the dial on the radio to find the exact frequency of the station that played the music you wanted to listen to. In between the stations all you heard was static. To hear the station clear, you had to make very fine adjustments to dial it in. When we would drive across country, we could go hours without being able to dial into a station. It was only when we got close to a town with a radio tower that we could dial in the right frequency and listen. Sometimes you could only find one station and you had to listen to whatever genre of music they played. If you stopped turning the dial before you reached the right frequency, you never heard the music. If you stop what you’re doing right before you hit the right frequency for success, then you will never experience what it feels like to win. Take a good hard look at what you’re doing, if you’re not having success, you need to change something. It might be your mindset, your habits, or your plan. It might be that you’re almost on the right frequency and just need to tweak it a little. I heard a story once of a football coach who took over a losing team and he told the team that the reason they weren’t having success was because they didn’t know how to practice. Most players just go through the motions during practice and don’t give it their all. Players on championship teams practice like champions. Everything you do, do it like the champion you are. Don’t just go through the motions.

Dialing in Success
Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash

If you’ve read any of my past blogs you know that I’m not in my 20s, not particularly skilled at writing, and pretty much out of my comfort zone dealing with anything that has to do with computers or the Internet. This is new to me and I’ve taken it upon myself to educate myself. I read the blogs that I follow and they teach me something new every day. The terminology is different and I’m constantly having to look up words and phrases I’ve never used before. Computer code and analytics are foreign to me. I just keep hacking away until I get it right, it’s a slow process. Building any kind of business can take time and you can’t worry if things are not happening fast enough. As long as you don’t quit, eventually you will be successful. Just concentrate on your WHY and don’t worry about the time. Success does not wear a watch.

“This Train Is Moving ON, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving ON! We Are Going to the TOP of the Mountain!”

Sharing

I believe in the power of sharing. If I read a good blog that really speaks to me and I believe it will provide value to others, I will share it. I have linked four books that I believe have value. In order to change you, you first have to change the way you think. Leaders Are Readers!

I still enjoy sitting by the pool or on my sofa with a good book. I read all kinds of books, fiction, history, biographies, and motivational. I enjoy the quiet time I get with just me and my book. But we live in a fast pace society today where sometimes we need to combine our tasks. Do you find yourself short on time? Are you constantly saying, where did the time go? You are not alone. I believe that we all feel like we don’t have enough time to get everything accomplished and what usually suffers is me time. A shortcut that I have found helpful is my Audible Membership and Kindle Unlimited Membership. I listen to books on audible while I’m doing other things. I can listen while getting dressed, while I’m working out, and even while I’m preparing dinner for my family. It is a great way to get my reading in even when I have a full to do list that I have received from the Mrs. She doesn’t take kindly to me ignoring her to do list while I catch up on my reading. With an Audible Membership it’s a win-win for both of us. I can download great books on this and listen to them with my AirPods. I use my AirPods every time I exercise. They don’t fall out and the sound is great. With Kindle I can download books, magazines, and my daughters can even download their college textbooks. This is so much easier than carrying a heavy backpack full of textbooks around campus. The books can be downloaded to any device and read with the Kindle app.

Forrest loves his AirPods and Audible Membership.

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind And Defy The Oddsby David Goggins. I really enjoyed read this book and I found it very relatable. If you want to become more than you are today, read this book. After you finish there will be no excuses. David is just an ordinary guy who made the decision to be extraordinary and was determined.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. A must read for anyone wanting to change their habits. A great book for managers and leaders. Covey teaches you how to transform your thoughts to not on help you but also to help others. These are 7 principles to definitely incorporate into your life.

I appreciate every like, follow, comment and share. Keep’em coming.

May 14, 2020April 3, 2022

InspireChief7 Comments

The Art Of Moving Forward

How To Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

We all face challenges every day. In my post, A Flying Rat’s Ass, I talk about how life is constantly throwing obstacles at us that we must overcome. Why is it that so many people never overcome these challenges and remain the same? Others overcome great odds to change their life and live the life the Bible tells us is possible. It is a life of happiness and abundance. Why can’t we all do that? The answer is simple, comfort. Our current situation, no matter how bad it may be, is comfortable. Once it becomes so uncomfortable that we can’t stand it, only then do we take the steps to do something about it. There is a story about a man who walks into a store and sees a dog laying on the floor. The dog will moan and squirm just a little then lay still for a while. The dog keeps moaning and squirming the whole time the man is in the store. As the man is purchasing his goods, he asks the shopkeeper, “what’s wrong with your dog?” The shopkeeper replies, “nothing, he’s just laying on a nail.” The man says, “then why doesn’t he move?” The shopkeeper answers, “because he’s just not uncomfortable enough yet. When it becomes so uncomfortable he can’t stand it, he’ll go live someplace else.”

Photo by Александр Македонский on Pexels.com

As humans, we gravitate towards comfort, we like to be in situations that make us feel good. Sometimes, we will forget about the bad things going on in our life so that we can remain feeling comfortable. Those bad things, no matter what they are, must be locked in a closet so that we can pretend our lives are comfortable. It is called a comfort zone for a reason because it is a warm and fuzzy place that makes us feel good. When we have things such as mounting debt, are involved in a toxic relationship, or are fighting an addiction, those things can be painful for a short period of time. We then have to forget about them to get back to our comfort zone. Just like the dog in the story, it is only when it becomes so uncomfortable that we can’t stand it that we do something about it.

Everything is fine until the kids want to go to college.

In order to move forward, we have to make the uncomfortable comfortable. That means we have to face the demons in our lives and defeat them. We have to make a decision to change the things in our lives that have got us to where we are now and accept that we are worthy and deserving of a better life. If you are doing the same daily routine, whether it’s working or not, it becomes your comfort zone. If you want to change your situation, you have to leave that comfort zone and venture out to places you’re not familiar with. The jungle is a place where the vegetation is so thick that you literally can’t see someone standing five feet away from you. When we were walking through the jungle it was comfortable to walk on a path. Many times though, the paths didn’t lead to our destination and we would have to cut our way through the jungle to get there. This was uncomfortable, slow, and painful but we eventually arrived. The more we had to do this, the more comfortable and routine it became. When you venture out of your comfort zone, at first it can be frightening, but eventually, your new routine becomes comfortable. You know your destination and you don’t care whether your new routine is showing results or not. If you believe in your heart that what you’re doing is the right thing for you then the results will come.

Ahhhhh……

The art of moving forward is simple, you just can’t go backward. If you’re standing with your back to a wall, there’s no other place to go except forward. In the jungle, we always moved forward. If we turned around and tried to go back, we would’ve probably got lost. Yesterday I listened to the podcast, The Quote of the Day Show by Sean Croxton. He played a clip from a seminar given by Bob Proctor in which he talked about the story of “Burning the Ships.” This story has been told many times and has different versions. Bob researched the story and found out that in 711 A.D. a man named Tariq ibn Ziyad traveled from Arabia to Northwest Africa. When he arrived he recruited a group of Moors and Berbers and he had them build wooden ships. He then sailed across the small body of water that separates Northwest Africa from Spain. When they arrived, he ordered all the men off the ships and set fire to the ships. He then went ashore and told his people that they had a choice. They could go forward to victory or they could go back to the ocean and drown. He led his men to capture Spain against ridiculous odds and rule Spain for a little over 500 years.

We all have the same decision to make in our lives. Are we going to move forward to victory or are we going back to our old lives and drown? Once you make the decision to change your life, you will find yourself in an uncomfortable place. You will have to develop new routines and maybe even have to cut some people out of your life. People can pull you upwards to victory or they can be anchors and pull you down to drown in your same life. Cut yourself away from the anchor and rise up to the surface. If you’re going through challenges right now or not living the life you want to live, then make that decision to change your situation. Get off the path, take out your machete, and start cutting yourself a new path. A great life is promised to you and is awaiting you if you are willing to do what it takes to go get it. Get out of your comfort zone, be willing to take the hits, and never go backward.

You Gotta Be Willing To Take The Hits

Are you willing to burn your ships? The art of moving forward is simple, make it the only direction you can go. My train only moves forward, so if you get on, bring everything you have with you because we can’t go back and get it. If you are being challenged by life now or in the past, just keep moving forward. Every day, just keep making a little progress forward. Don’t worry about the results, genuinely believe they are coming into your heart and they will arrive. If you have overcome anything in your life or are needing encouragement, please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you. If you like this post please click the little star and if you think you could help someone feel free to share it. If you would like to support my blog, please click on the links or product icons. Even if you are looking for something different on Amazon, if you purchase anything within 24 hours of connecting through any of the links on my page I will get credit for the sale and make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

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May 12, 2020April 3, 2022

InspireChief21 Comments

I Have Lied To My Kids

Yes, I have lied to my kids. I am blessed to have a son and two daughters. I don’t know if they would feel the same about having me as a father since I’ve lied to them their whole life. I didn’t do it maliciously or even consciously, just like my father never consciously lied to me. I just told my kids the same information that my father told me and his father told him. Our thoughts about wealth, success and even happiness are ingrained in us as we are growing up. These thoughts are based on what we are told by other people, including our parents. I now work very hard to replace everything I told them with what I now know is the truth.

I have lied to my kids and here are 10 lies that I told my kids:

You have to work hard.
Life is hard.
We can’t afford that.
You can’t have that.
Only a small percentage of people succeed in that business.
Your scores are too low to get into that college.
You have to pay your dues.
It takes five years on average for a business to succeed.
It takes years to build wealth.
If you keep frowning your face will stay that way permanently. Yes, I have lied to my kids.

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Now here are the truths:

You have to have a good work ethic but you do not have to work hard. A lot of people make seven-figure incomes without working really hard. The definition of hard work is different for different people. When I was in the jungle, I saw people who work very hard. They have to work from sunup to sundown just to have something to eat for that day. I make a lot of money and only work 2 to 3 hours a day. Those 2 to 3 hours are spent sitting down, researching, and writing. This is not hard work.
Life is only hard if you think it’s hard and allow it to be hard. Life is great. It’s a pleasure and a blessing to live life every day. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. There’s nothing hard about that. In the military, we always had a saying, “It’s a great day to be alive.”
We can afford anything that our heart desires. If we change our mindset from someone who has limited income to someone who has unlimited income, then the price is no object. If you change your thinking to thoughts of creating wealth then the process of obtaining the money will come to you.
Everything can be obtained or achieved as long as you believe that you are worthy of it. Our limitations are placed on us by the programming we have gone through growing up. The words and the thoughts that we speak and think are the only things holding us back from achieving our goals and dreams.
If we look at statistics it will show us that a small percentage of people ever achieve fame or succeed in their chosen field. The entertainment industry, the sports industry, and business show that one percent or less of the people in that industry make it to the top. One percent of the population makes up 96 percent of the world’s wealth. The statistics look grim. Why would anybody want to attempt to make it in these industries? The reason is that the other 99 percent never made the decision to rise to the top. The competition is very small.
My children are very good students but when it came to taking comprehensive tests, their scores were average. We took them on college tours and my youngest daughter fell in love with the University of Alabama. During the tour, we were told that the average test scores needed to gain admission were a lot higher than my daughter’s scores. Several months later, she came to me and said she wanted to apply to the University of Alabama. I laughed and told her to go ahead and apply but there was no way she would get in due to her test scores. A month later, she came to me and said that she thought she got in because, in her account, her status had changed to admitted. Stupid me told her that she would know if she got in because she would receive an email saying, “Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Alabama.” An hour later, guess what email she got? That’s right, her acceptance email. All it took was belief and not listening to her dad.
Back when I was growing up, you had to start at the lowest level and work your way up at any job or business. We called that, “Paying your dues.” That is not the case anymore. Today in this environment you can learn ways to make money in a short amount of time.
I think every person in business I ever talked to told me that it takes five years on average for a business to succeed. I don’t find that to be true anymore. There are countless examples of people who start a conventional or online business and turn it into a success in a few months.
It doesn’t take years to build wealth. All you have to do is go online and you can find individuals in their 20s who are making 6-7 figure incomes quickly. They just have the right mindset, desire, and work ethic. 30 years ago when you got on a plane, everyone in first class had gray hair. Nowadays there’s always a mixture of young and old. Young people are making a lot of money very quickly.
None of my children’s faces ever remained with a permanent frown. Today they smile a lot because of the lives they created for themselves. All it takes to turn a frown into a smile is laughter. Find a funny show, read a funny story, or listen to your favorite comedian, anything that makes you laugh. You should laugh every day. One of the great truths is, “Laughter is the best medicine.” If you’re not feeling well, laugh. It will remove the stress in your body and cure whatever ails you.

Yes, I have lied to my kids but I do appreciate every like, follow, comment and share. Keep’em coming.

April 30, 2020April 3, 2022

InspireChief3 Comments