Unlocking Your Success

Have you ever seen someone racing through life as though the goal is to reach the other end quickly? I used to be that guy. Missing birthdays, not taking care of myself and people in my life. That is not a recipe for a successful life. Sometimes God reminds us that there are only so many sunsets, walks, sunrises, and birthdays in this lifetime.

If you need to go out of your way to compliment someone, do it
If you have an opportunity to go to a kid's game, do it (they're looking for you)
If you have an opportunity to watch a sunset with someone you love, do it
If you have an opportunity to star lurk, do it. (More on that one later)

Send someone a note, pick up the phone, bring someone a cake. Whatever. I realize this is a little out there today, but I'm feeling very karma-esque! By the way, check out the www.sendoutcards/theshef for an opportunity to send some love, on me!

So often people look to others to help them establish their credibility. We often discount non traditional forms of learning and continuing education.

I am a college dropout. Yet I invest nearly $15,000 year in and year out to continue my education. Many times when I speak to high school and college students, I hear them say things like, "I can't wait until I'm done learning!" I don't know if they have a bit of Nostradamus in them, or if they know that they will get killed by an ice cream truck immediately after my presentation. Life is all about learning. You either learn that you are proactive, or you learn that you are reactive.

Many people in the state of change that our economy and other things are in are wishing they could have been a bit more proactive. Keep your ears and eyes open!

We have all heard people say things like, "I can't help it." or "It's not my fault". All of these statements give pass to an amazing passiveness towards life. In the US, we have the opportunity to do and be anything. If you are poor and want to be rich, do it. If you are in a bad relationship and hate it, get out. If you are bigger than you want to be and want to change it, do it.

My hope is that you all take today as the battle cry for everything that life has to offer.

Shelly and I were with Morgan Spurlock, the guy who did Supersize Me. This man is all about being in command of your life. If you have not seen the movie, check it out!!

"Too many irons in the fire" We have all heard this one. If you are doing 9 things that are totally unrelated and you aren't doing any of them real well, you need to scale back. There are a few things that I observe about this statement.

1. The less you do, the more you make. If you are in sales or are a business owner, take the amount of time that you would spend doing something else and focus on doing your highest revenue producing activity.
2. It's OK to have multiple irons in the fire; as long as they're in the same fire. Do what you can do to have multiple streams of income. Our educational system in the United States teaches students to go work for a company and get a watch after 30 years. That world does not exist any more (other than in government). The most un-secure thing in the world is a secure job.
3. Continue to better yourself. People who are successful don't wait to get to a certain level before they start on a personal development program. Start now. This is the foundation for anything successful.

It is also great to have people around who support you in your goals. Get excited about their accomplishments and victories.

Fire it up!

visit www.theshef.com

Greetings from Des Moines! I am honored to be a part of the Monument Builders convention at the downtown Marriott. What an amazing group of people. Many of you know I over-trained in preparation for the Quad Cities Marathon. Now I get to walk around with a knee injury that makes me look like an injured gazelle!

I found out that this could have been prevented. (yes, I'm in a tremendous amount of pain. The acupuncture really helps though) If I would have followed the recommended training program and incrementally increased my training instead of going "all out". I do realize that my girlfriend has run countless marathons and warned me about this from day 1, but I knew better (right guys!)

If you are growing your business, you must understand that it is a process. While you may not be growing as fast as you would like, you need to build strength. LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AROUND YOU WHO ARE EXPERTS!

For more business building tips, visit www.theshef.com