Category Archives: Personal Success

Dec 17 2014
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Personal Success

Never a Shortage of Opportunities

A few months ago I wrote a post that mentioned a trip my wife (Cindy) and I had taken to Bermuda.

Some of the most rewarding aspects of any trip includes meeting new people, observing different ways of life and realizing just how many opportunities there are to earn our keep.

While Bermuda is one of our favorite places to visit, it is quite expensive. So, in order to be more frugal on this trip we decided to explore an idea shared with us by a local, on a prior visit. That is, rent a house or apartment from a resident to avoid the exorbitant costs charged by hotels for lodging and food.

This turned out to be MUCH simpler than we initially anticipated. As you might expect, we went online to do our research and quickly found a site (www.bermudarentals.com) that met our needs!

In summary, during our 5-day trip we stayed in 2 apartments: the first adjacent to and the second within the home of Bermuda families.

The first apartment was on the ocean with its own private / community beach, at which we snorkeled for hours! And, since it was during the workweek we had the entire beach all to ourselves 🙂

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The owners of this apartment also happen to own the world famous Swizzle Inn, which serves the best mussels I’ve ever had! Or, perhaps it relates to the free jug of swizzle (a rum-laced tropical concoction) they served us for staying in their apartment. Either way, it was all good 🙂

Another frugal step we took was to acquire 2 multi-day public transportation passes. These passes provided unlimited use of the bus and ferry system that will take you ANYWHERE on the island. Being that Bermuda is one of the safest places on the planet this unlimited transportation provided an easy way to do a self-guided tour with zero hassle or worry.

By now you may be asking: What does all this have to do with the title (Never a shortage of opportunities)?

During one of our excursions, exploring Bermuda’s Crystal and Fantasy Caves (highly recommended), we were speaking with the tour guide. He asked where we were staying, etc. After learning we were staying in the apartment of a local, he commented that this is an increasing trend they are seeing as travelers are realizing they can save a great deal of money by avoiding the island’s hotels and resorts.

He then asked if I had heard of Airbnb, which is a business based on this concept. I had not. And, I had completely forgotten about the conversation until just recently reading an article on Airbnb in the latest edition of Inc. Magazine, which you can access by clicking here.

The tag-line of the article on Airbnb reads:

Disruptive, brazen, and overall brilliant, the (possibly illegal) home-sharing empire has become the biggest lodging provider on Earth–earning it the title of Inc.’s 2014 Company of the Year.

Did you catch that? The biggest lodging provider on earth! All, from what would seem to have been a crazy idea that 3 guys ran with back in 2007. As stated in the article:

Seven years ago, they were guys with a website, three air mattresses, and ambitions that to many people sounded silly, naive, and reckless. Since then, they have revolutionized the way people think about travel, displaced the hospitality industry’s established players, and generated billions in revenue for themselves and their hosts.

In summary, Airbnb is now a mega-business based on the realized idea that individuals (like you and me, from around the world) can profit by making their property (an entire home or just a bedroom) available for rent via an online platform.

What is the value of doing so?

  • Provides travelers with lodging options that are much cheaper than a hotel.
  • Provides homeowners the opportunity to earn extra cash with their under-utilized assets (vacant home or bedroom(s)).

Just to reiterate. You too can do all of the above – RIGHT NOW!

So, what I had “thought” was a local / Bermuda-specific phenomena turns out to be a global trend that a company (Airbnb) has turned into a big/HUGE business! Sure, there are risks and obstacles in the business model. Show me a business that doesn’t have risks and obstacles!

Bottom-line: We live in a time when there are virtually unlimited opportunities to earn a living (and much, much more) by bringing new ideas to the marketplace, or by significantly improving products and services that are already available.

I’d suggest that a primary (but certainly not the ONLY) foundation for doing so would be building on what was covered in the prior post (The Future of Work – Is Here Now!). Airbnb certainly did!

In closing, realize this: Only YOU can take the necessary steps to live the life of YOUR dreams!

As such, you are encouraged to take your idea and RUN with it!

All the best!

Dec 15 2014
2 Comments
Personal Success

The Future of Work – Is Here Now!

Many years ago, while listening to a motivational program, the speaker predicted that with the proliferation of technology our workdays would become increasingly shorter (than the typical 9-to-5). At the time it seemed like a logical prediction.

Fast-forward to the present day and we find that the working day for many has actually increased as we humans try to keep up with the output of technology, and the fact that we can easily take our work home (or elsewhere).

The good news is that we can choose to look at things in a more positive light. That is, the true reality is that we have (the opportunity for) greater flexibility in our lives than ever before.

The inspiration for this post comes from a Forbes article titled: 2015 Forecast: You’ll Never Work the Same Way Again, which you are encouraged to read.

In summary, the article outlines current and emerging trends in the way we work. From my perspective, this is NOT a prediction. Instead, it outlines the way I’ve been working for the last dozen years, since launching my consulting business, and how many others I work with have configured their lives 🙂

As so clearly outlined in the closing paragraph:

It’s never been easier to strike out on your own and scale up your business, earn fees from both sharing your expertise and your stuff, and ply your craft from everywhere at anytime. We’re increasingly living in a world where passion, collaboration, and technology all play an equally crucial role in the way we make our living.

ANYONE can have this flexibility in their working lives, provided they are:

  1. Extremely valuable (in high demand) in the workplace
  2. Technologically savvy
  3. Of the appropriate frame of mind

Let’s cover each of these requirements.

Being In High Demand

This starts with being a “go-to person.” The first person people think of when something important needs to get done, regardless of how difficult the task may be!

This individual demonstrates personal initiative and has developed SIGNIFICANT expertise in a particular domain (or domains).

Instead of going further into this topic here, I’ll simply suggest that you click here to reference a prior post that covers this in great detail.

Technologically Savvy

Being technologically savvy does NOT mean that we must be a geek, coder or hacker. It does mean that we must be completely mobile (untethered), which requires that we own and are highly proficient in using:

  • A laptop or tablet
  • A smartphone
  • The common “office” applications
  • The virtually unlimited resource known as the Internet

For anyone who is not there yet, have no fear. Any technology that is not presently in your hands can be acquired quite inexpensively. And, there are numerous opportunities to learn how to use all of the above in training courses (at your local high school, community college, retail stores, online, etc.).

Appropriate Frame of Mind

The most important aspect of this topic is being in the appropriate frame of mind. That is, if/when you have nailed the first 2 requirements, it is now merely a decision to break away from the rest of the pack.

Realize that just because others jump in their car each morning for the commute to work, to spend the day inside a building grinding it out, to then jump in the car for the commute home does NOT mean you have to operate this way.

Being present (in a particular building) does NOT necessarily provide value. Yes, some jobs may require this. But, we do have a choice where we work.

Bottom-line: Delivering value simply means getting stuff done / moving a cause forward. And, as outlined in the article: 2015 Forecast: You’ll Never Work the Same Way Again with the right skills, passion and use of technology we can deliver value from virtually anywhere on the planet 🙂

Life is so good!

p.s. – If you are considering getting on this path you are encouraged to read the prior posts on Launching a Consulting Business. Even if you have no desire to become a consultant, this series of posts covers topics that apply to ANYONE who would like to “do their own thing.”

Dec 10 2014
1 Comment
Inspirational, Personal Success

Managing Our Own Worst Critic

In the prior post (Beat Down The Monday Morning Funk), the topic of being our own worst critic was mentioned. We’ll cover that now…

We all, at one or more points in our lives, have been our own worst critic.

To be clear, this is GOOD when our conscience is our guide and we are being reminded that we are off track and need to make a course correction. We certainly do not want to stifle this.

In this post we’ll cover the times when we unnecessarily beat ourselves up, for no good reason!

Have you noticed the CONSTANT dialog going on in your mind every minute, of every day? The question becomes: Is this inner dialog positive, uplifting, appropriately guiding and correcting our course or is it unnecessary, negative thinking?

Scenarios that can cause unnecessary, negative thinking include times when we:

  • Compare ourselves to others
  • Take things way too seriously
  • Consider aspects of our duties (school, work, home, church) as menial (below us)
  • Have nothing else to occupy our powerhouse mind – at the time

Realize, you are not alone. EVERY person on this planet has experienced this. The point is, we can control our thinking to create more positive outcomes in our lives.

Let’s now cover each of the scenarios that often generate negative thinking…

Comparing Ourselves to Others

There are 2 aspects of this scenario…

First, we’ve all measured ourselves against the great qualities in others whom we interact with on a daily basis. It is not bad to admire the qualities of others, even aspiring to improve ourselves. But, we must not beat ourselves up, as this person may be much further down their path of personal development, knowledge and experience.

Instead, we must give ourselves time. And, we must not forget that we have great qualities ourselves, that others may struggle with. In fact, others are looking on at us doing the same comparison resulting in the generation of their own negative thinking. Yep, it goes both ways.

I’m not suggesting that we should be prideful or boastful about our great qualities. Instead, we should simply acknowledge that each of us have God-given talents, skills and abilities. By focusing on and making best use of our own gifts, and continuously developing these and other gifts we wish to acquire, we will achieve our goals and dreams in a more timely manner.

The second aspect of this relates to the media’s portrayal of celebrities.

Have you noticed that, during talk shows, the host and their guests appear super-jovial (cheerful, jolly, happy, cheery, good-humored, outgoing, etc.). They “act” as if they had just won the lottery and everything said is a reason to laugh hilariously. Realize: this is NOT real. They are JUST LIKE you and me. While they may have achieved some big things with their talents and abilities, they have the same problems and challenges we do.

Think about this. At a very high-level, there are only a handful of human dramas, relating to the loss of:

  • Love (relationships)
  • Life (loved one’s passing)
  • Health (physical or mental)
  • Material resources (financial or otherwise)

Any of the above can lead to the loss of self-esteem (confidence in one’s own worth) if we consider these to be unique situations that only apply to us. Woe is me! No, no, no.

Every person on the planet has or will struggle with these human dramas in some form or fashion. So, as hard as it may seem, don’t take it personal. You are NOT alone!

Taking Things Way Too Seriously

Several months ago one of my sons and I were talking about his day at work (at a well-known coffee shop). He was observing that the shift supervisor was freaking out due to the volume of customers on a Saturday morning and a few mistakes made with orders.

The mental state of the shift supervisor would seem to have suggested that there was a dying patient lying on a table who needed immediate treatment and no-one was paying attention. To which my son said (in his mind) – “It is ONLY coffee.”

In saying this he wasn’t suggesting that he, or anyone else, should shirk their duties. What he WAS doing was appropriately guiding his inner dialog so that he too didn’t get all stressed out. So proud of my son 🙂

Have you heard of the fight or flight response? Psychologists tell us that this is a physiological reaction that occurs (to all creatures, humans included) in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. And, this results in our mind creating a “hormonal cascade” affecting how we react to stress.

It is suggested that we, in the civilized world, have few situations that would qualify as a harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. As such, we need to make sure we don’t unnecessarily “light up” this fight or flight response resulting in us taking things way too seriously.

Menial Duties

We’ll begin this scenario with an inspiring quote:

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ – Martin Luther King

Gives me goose bumps!

We will all, at times, have tasks or duties that are the equivalent of sweeping streets.

Do you remember the movie Karate Kid? Wipe on, wipe off. The kid was nearly going out of his mind to the point of rebelling against the master because he did not understand why he was being asked to do all those menial chores.

Over time, it became clear to all of us. Each task assigned by the master served to build the kid’s character, discipline, knowledge and abilities.

Quite a good life lesson for all of us. That is, EVERYTHING being learned in school or experienced in our job is serving to increase our knowledge and abilities – for the next. We may not know why it matters or how we will use the experience. Just realize – we will! There is a purpose for everything under the sun! Otherwise, it simply would not be…

As such, let’s perform each of our assigned duties to the best of our ability! And, realize that it serves a greater purpose – ALWAYS.

Unoccupied Mind

Our mind is a powerhouse. It wants / needs something to chew on. If we have something productive to think about our mind will run with it. And, given human nature, if we don’t have anything to productively occupy our mind it is very easy to plant and run with a negative thought (as outlined above).

What is a person to do? Control our inner dialog and focus on what we want to “bring forth” into our lives.

Since this post is already too long, I’ll close-out with a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED reading that directly relates to what we’ve covered here:

WTSWYTTYS

Make this a Christmas gift, to yourself! You’ll be glad you did!

Merry Christmas!

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