Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Thoughts from the treadmill (no really, I was on my blackberry on the treadmill...hehe)

So I was always told throughout my life that I was a dreamer. I remember as a child my mother telling me that I had better be rich or I'd be in trouble. My mother was also a woman who valued the natural beauties that life had to offer...things like music, love, family, friends, art; in fact she was also the only person who when she said that she wanted a simple life, with little money and full of love, well, I believed her. And when I grew older, I believe I was in college attempting to build my businesses, she told my father that my problem was that I believed that this world owed me success.... You see guys, over the past few years I started to realize that what my mom was trying to tell me was that I deserved to achieve the goals that I had set out for myself. And after years of playing around with start up ideas and projects, I realized that it was about the journey and what we become in the process. It was about achieving little goals some days, and huge ones others. You see, as I see it, success is a personal decision. For some it's building businesses and for others its being the best on the playing field. On that note, I find that there are so many parallels between sports and business. One commonality is the idea that things will get tough; real tough. And its the people who reach that extra inch that ultimately succeed. And see guys, succeeding doesn't always mean winning. In fact, many times losing the game is inevitable. Yet the key factor is leaving it all on the field. Its knowing that you have tried your hardest to succeed. And if you can look yourself in the eye and hold your head up high, and know that you have given your all, then you are a winner. We all have obstacles in our lives. In fact, if you haven't dealt with many yet, get ready, because you have a hard road ahead! You see, these obstacles make our journey ever so gratifying. Its overcoming adversity that makes success ever so sweet. I remember hearing stories, while I was selling books door to door, of top salespeople having their best days, yet those days being the toughest mentally and having the most adversity. What I learned was that it was their ability to overcome these mini obstacles that made their day so great. So as we sit in our beds tonight reflecting on our goals, dreams, passions, not matter what they are, let us make the decision to succeed and to push our hardest; no matter how hard things get. Internalize that obstacles are inevitable, and that our ability to overcome and continue to strive forward will define our greatness...it will define our success! Tonight I challenge ourselves to identify a tough moment in our lives this week and simply overcome like a champion. Remember that success is ours for the taking...