Archive for courage

Who is the Bully Now?

We hear a lot about bullying in the news these days and we probably all experienced bullying growing up or at least witnessed it. You may worry about it happening to your kids. You know how horrible it can make someone feel and the devastating effect it can have on how one feels about themselves and their ability to accomplish things.

But I wonder are you letting someone bully you now? Possibly someone you know very well, maybe your very own self?

With taunts like…

No one will buy from you.

You do not know enough to do that.

You look awful today.

Why haven’t you lost weight yet? You just can’t do it.

You are not good enough for that.

Why even try, you know you failed before.

You are not smart enough for that.

You cannot do it as good as ______.

It is all your fault.

If only you had _______.

What do you think, are you allowing a different type of bullying as an adult?

Isn’t it time we stopped tolerating this kind of bullying too?

 

 

How Do the Little Things Make Such A Big Difference?

Just returning from attending an event hosted by Dixie “Dynamite” Gillaspie in St. Louis this weekend I sat down to catch up on some of my favorite blogs and read the following phrase: “quite often it’s the obscure things that we do…that we don’t even notice…that are meaningful and memorable to others…” this saying, from one of my new favorite blogs by Jane Carroll, a dear and inspiring friend, really got me to thinking about the weekend and an incredible thing that happened. It seemed like such a small thing unfolding, kind of like the phrase above, it really wasn’t a part of the big picture, yet it made a huge impact.

One of the other attendees had spoken with one of the presenters, Tom Ruwitch, who happened to remember meeting him just over two years ago. Tom being the amazing person he is started the conversation by asking about the project he had been working on at that time. Yes, Tom remembered the details of a project of someone he had not seen or spoken with in over two years. In fact, the attendee himself had actually forgotten the project. Today, he was at a point where he was struggling with how to put together what he was doing with what he loved, that was one of his motivations for even attending this event. Once Tom reminded him of the project it was a total lightbulb moment; he now knew exactly how it all fit together and what he wanted to do. His vision had returned, he was excited and completely focused. Amazing isn’t it? Something so small as remembering a detail about the other person totally impacted their life.

This had nothing to do with what Tom was presenting on, his specialty is marketing, yet Tom wasn’t thinking about himself or what was in it for him. Two years ago when he met the attendee he took the time to really listen for a few seemingly insignificant moments and those few moments would eventually make a tremendous impact.

Sometimes it’s the little things we do that make the biggest difference, has this ever happened to you?

I Wanna Make Lots of Mistakes!

mistakesI want to make lots of mistakes. I just don’t want to keep making the same mistake over and over.

We are taught or conditioned that we need to get to this place where we make no mistakes. If you are learning, growing and trying things you have never done odds are you will make mistakes. The more things you step out of your comfort zone and try the more you risk mistakes. Keep doing the same thing again and again, going the same places the less risk of mistake.

Being willing to make mistakes doesn’t mean I won’t pay attention, put in hours of practice or try my best at what I do. It means I am willing to risk making mistakes to keep trying to stretch further and go outside my comfort zone in everything I do.

So mistakes are a natural part of the learning process that need not be feared. Learning from them gives you the opportunity to go even further the next time.

What do you think, does learning from a mistake make it worth it?

 

What Happens When You Fail?

So many things we don’t try for fear of failing. Often getting caught up in the what ifs.

This week Diana Nyad “failed” to accomplish her goal of being the first to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.

This was no small goal, Diana is 61 years old, it took two years of planning and training and many people involved to make it happen. Her journey is totally inspiring.

 

When we imagine failing to reach our goal we often imagine the absolute worst situation. Her attitude after ending this quest is as inspiring as the journey itself. I was brought to tears at the end of this video, when Diana is not at all caught up in what was her journey or goal, she is busy supporting others around her, she is one amazingly courageous woman!

Did she fail? Her goal was to swim from Cuba to Florida and she didn’t accomplish that, she did however accomplish so many things that would not have happened otherwise; it shows just how much success can come from failing. While she may feel disappointment at not reaching the goal, the biggest disappointment would be in never having tried.  Accomplishing a goal is not always about just reaching the goal even when you do. It is about the person you become in order to reach it and all the impact you make in working toward it.  What will you step out and do?

What Do You Really Believe In?

Memorial Day really is more than the beginning of summer or a reason to promote your business with a sale.

Today as I consider and feel gratitude for those that died defending the freedoms I hold so dearly, I realize how much belief and courage it took for them to do just that.

They did it because they believed in something so much it was worth risking and losing their life for.

Can you imagine believing in something so much you would be willing to risk your life for it? Fortunately we do not have to fight our enemies with guns and risk losing our lives every day for what we believe in.

Do you believe in your business, your purpose or your goal so much you are willing to not let the small things stop you? Are you willing to do whatever it takes or do you make excuses at the first sign of resistance?

This Memorial Day, I am thankful for all those that believed enough to fight and to give their life so we could all live and enjoy the freedom and opportunities that we do today.

Can we use that courage and belief to make a difference in our lives today?

What do you believe in so much you would be willing to risk your life for it?

Do You Have the Courage to “Strikeout”?

You gotta be willing to strikeout if you want to hit home runs.

Have you ever seen someone doing something successfully and thought, I want to do that? How many people want to be Oprah?

But how many times do you give something a try only to hit a few strikes and decide it is not for you?
Or maybe you decide even before you try, you know it is not for you because (fill in the blank).

Have you ever asked Steven Spielberg or Tom Brady how many times they struck out? We often see the results and miss the process.

Fear of not being good enough, not doing or knowing the right thing, not (fill in the blank) keeps us from trying so many things in our lives.

What would you do if you knew striking out did not matter?

(Steven Spielberg applied to University of Southern California, School of Film three times and was not admitted. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick, the 199th player picked in the 2000 draft. Not exactly home run starts.)