Time to remove those training wheels

Do you remember when you got the training wheels taken off your bike?

This was a defining moment in your life.  You were scared and you doubted your abilities but you knew for sure you wanted to ride that bike like the bigger kids.
Your life is also filled with defining moments that can make you who you are.  Keeping your eyes open to these opportunities is the key. 

Let's look at your career as an example.  I'm sure there many aspects of your job you hate, the daily tasks are boring and mundane.  Then one day you could be asked to take on a task that you have no idea could change your whole career.  Do you take it or do you leave it?

I remember a few years ago,  it was a cold December day when we all got an e mail asking who would like to head out on the road for a little over a month.  This of course would mean being away from my family for Christmas.  I thought hard about the opportunity and  jumped on it.  I was terrified, sad and alone but I did it.  I got through it just fine and now I get to work across Canada with some great people and see things I wouldn't have gotten to see if I would have never said yes to the opportunity I was given.

Look at the opportunities that you are handed and if it scares the hell out of you, it means you should do it.  Look at "healthy fears" as motives to get you ahead in your career, life, relationships and even your day-to-day living. 
Look at fear as fear and not as failure.  Know you can do what is handed to you as best as you can, because all eyes are on you to succeed.  You will regret the things you don't do more that the actions you try.

Stay motivated
Shane C

The helper

Has anyone ever accused you of putting everyone's needs in front of your own?  This shouldn't be looked at as a compliment.

In life we deal with so drama that comes our way we often never know the answers on how to deal with our own problems.  Yet we often feel compelled to give everyone else the answers on how they should be living there lives.  There comes a time when you need to forget about every one's problems and only focus on yourself.
If you get a high from helping people by giving them advice and your always doing more for them then you do yourself.  You will eventually forget about the most important person in your life-yourself.

It is your right to feel good about yourself by focusing strictly on yourself.  We have a lot to deal with let alone someone else's problems.  You can give friendly words of advice but the plan is not to solve other peoples problems, logistically it can never happen. We can only ever come to the right answers by trial and error.

Just recently I was faced with a decision I could not make, I went to 5 different people and got 5 different answers.  Only when I sat down and thought about what to do, did I come up with the right answer for my own needs.

Not all answers will work the same for everybody's needs, so sometimes you must stop yourself from helping others make life decisions.  Don't worry, eventually they will find the answer.  Just as you will when the time comes that you are a little confused about life.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

4 minute mile

The last time you reviewed your goal how impossible did it seem?

Looking at your goal you may put up barriers such as money, time, resources and connections.  Sometimes we feel it is easy to put these barriers as a reason that we cannot reach our goal.  I am listing 3 people who have given it there all despite hardships.  If they can do it so can you.

Roger Bannister- The first man to break the 4 minute mile.  Until he ran a mile in 4 minutes, nobody else had done this.  Mr Bannister has set the bar for athletes who now break the 4 minute mile.  Nobody believed it could be done.  Always question your beliefs.
J.K. Rowling- The person behind the Harry Potter series.  A single mother who lived on social assistance, losing her mother to multiple sclorosis she put herself to work on the biggest book series that has led to movies and got her millions in the end.  When you feel your world is falling apart it may be time to prove your beliefs wrong.

Chris Gardner- The inspiration for the movie "The pursuit of happyness".  A struggling salesman, who lost his home, his spouse and through it all had to care for his son while sleeping in a public washroom.  Chris made it through to become the owner and CEO of a very succesful company.  Chris kept going against all odds.

These people took things one step at a time and got over the biggest hurdles in their lives.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

What is success?

How can you achieve success if you have no idea what it looks like?

When you hear the word success what do you envision? 

A big house
Money
Cars
Fame
Planes

These are some ideas of success that are flashed to us all the time but what if YOUR visions of success are not even close to these.  We all see success as something different but sometimes we don't know how to express it.

I want you to stop and think deeply what your vision is, this could take a day, a week even a month.  Write down what your definition of success in the following categories so you know which direction you are headed.

Health
Relationships
Family
Career
Financial
Leisure

The day you write them down, you will know where you are headed.  Along the way you do have the option to change your definition, it's entirely up to you.  Go ahead and start thinking then write it out.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Mastering your emotions

Wouldn't you agree that if certain emotions did not exist we could get a lot more done?

Our emotions get in the way sometimes of making the right decisions.  We base what we want to do on how we feel instead of how things need to be done.  Don't believe me, ask yourself this:

The last time you were sad did you have the urge to eat a large salad and ensured you were drinking sufficient amounts of water?
The answer is probably "no", you wanted comfort food to fill the void.  This is what I mean by making decisions based on emotions.  It doesn't matter which emotion you are feeling, you may have certain behaviors that may be getting in the way of successful actions.

Here are 4 steps to help you overcome the emotions that may be affecting your judgement.

First you need to understand there are two different events happening around you.  Outside and inside....

Outside forces
The great thing about an outside force is that it is exactly that...an outside force... it has no emotional effect on you.

Inside forces
It's the emotions you feel based on how you assess the outside forces.

Here are the 4 steps:

1. Ask yourself what meaning I'm I giving to this outside influence and why?

2. What can I learn from myself by being exposed to this outside influence?

3.  How can I use this lesson in life?

4.  How can I teach others the lesson I've learned from this experience?

You will see that helping others overcome issues you have gone through can be very therapeutic in mastering emotions.  This is why step 4 is so important.

When you are overwhelmed, step away from yourself and observe the situation.  You can never think properly when emotions get in the way.

Stay motivated
Shane C.