September 2010

This week I began working with friends on a terrific project that will be absolutely transformational to the lives of a select group of individuals who have had about enough.

Enough waiting… enough stress… enough procrastination. Enough average and mediocre and ordinary.

Enough settling for second best.

Enough of others expectations… enough conformity and limitations. Enough unfulfilled potential and putting off dreams. Enough living in the future… enough living in history.

Enough of the same work with the same results and the same rewards.

Enough despair and frustration… enough judgment and ridicule. Enough fronts and faking and one-ups and game playing.

Enough fear and guilt and shame and pain and silence and loneliness… enough hopelessness and blame. Enough.

And so I’m wondering… is it possible, that you too, have had enough?

 
Photo Credit:

Alyssa Miller

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“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read.”

- David Ogilvy

A few hours ago, I glanced at my computer screen and saw the above quote tweeted from a friend of mine named Dave who lives just down the road about twenty-five minutes.

Now, that was interesting for several reasons.

First, I do read every @stevebuelow that is sent on Twitter. However, with tens of thousands of followers and hundreds of messages per minute hitting the home page, the chance of seeing any particular post that refreshes on the timeline (especially from a friend) is remote at best.

So I thought that was pretty cool… but it was more than that.

You see, over time, I’ve read a fair amount of Ogilvy, but my friend, Dave, is not in the advertising business. On the contrary, he happens to be an engineer with a firm that makes… well, I think I’ll let him tell you himself some time. Let’s just say that his current position definitely DOES NOT appear to be his life’s calling, and probably doesn’t lend itself to reading much from the historical advertising icons.

But I do love the quote… and I love the fact that it was important to my friend, Dave.

For well over twenty years, I have used a similar thought process as a foundational principle in deciding what to do, where to go, what to watch, what to read, and how to speak.

When my life revolved around the corporate boardroom, I maintained an open door policy. Being home-schoolers at the time, my wife and daughter were around more than not. When I had my radio show, my audience ALWAYS included members of my family, friends and closest business and church associates.

And as I write this blog and engage in social media, we sometimes necessarily hit on some tough subjects, but my hope and prayer is that it is always done with respect for you and your family and friends… and for mine.

Thank you for your friendship… I look forward to speaking with you.

 
Photo Credit:

Michael Hodge

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Were you ever asked a question, the answer to which was so obvious, that you just knew there had to be a catch?

Sometimes I hate those questions, and other times I love them… here is one that I remember from years ago.

“So there are two frogs sitting on a log and one decides to jump off… how many are left?” a friend asked.

“Uh… one…,” came my response, followed immediately by his exclamation, “WRONG!”

As I said, sometimes I really hate those questions :)

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My friend then explained that DECIDING to do something and ACTUALLY DOING IT can be mutually exclusive events. In fact, the doing could come years later, and often comes NOT AT ALL.

Hmm… so there were still two frogs sitting there after all.

Who knew? The truth is, the stories I REALLY don’t like are the ones where, as the listener, you suddenly realize you’re the frog… but alas, I digress.

But this is important.

I spoke in the previous article about the first key to success being the belief that we CAN achieve whatever it is we want to achieve, and the second and more critical component being the DECISION to act.

But like our little frog friend, there can be a huge disparity between the decision to act… and the acting itself.

In fact, it wasn’t until some time later that I realized that belief in our ability to achieve, and the resolve to some day act on that belief, are present in virtually every dream that was ever accomplished, and… in all those dreams that weren’t.

That’s right… the belief and resolve are often present in the goals and dreams that sit idle… that want for action.

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Procrastination is a dream stealer… a powerful force that keeps frogs on logs and people in ruts.

Simply put, nothing gets done… when nothing gets done.

So there is a third component… the act of taking action. To be sure, until we are doing, we are dreaming only. And if we never get around to acting, that dream may be better identified as an hallucination :)

Not good.

So what then? Certainly, the I CAN spirit is necessary… as in, I CAN do this thing! Likewise, the I WILL component is critical… as in, I know that I CAN and have now decided that I WILL do this thing!

Finally, there is just one way to push it forward, and that is to act. Success in any endeavor begins to taste real when we put away the “should’s” and “some days”, the “gonna’s” and “going to’s”, and honestly proclaim, “This is what I AM currently doing!”

I Can… I Will… I Am.

“Don’t tell me what you’re going to do,” a mentor once prodded. “Tell me what you’ve done, and what you are doing now… period.”

P-e-r-i-o-d… depending on the context, I sometimes don’t like that term either… but I’m learning :)

I look forward to speaking with you.

 
Photo Credit:

Clearly Ambiguous

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