Experiencing Growth Pain

As a parent it is always interesting to see your children grow and go through all of the stages of development.  Some of it is amusing to experience while some of it can be down right painful.  I remember experiencing growth pains in my legs as I grew taller.  It was not all that enjoyable because I did not understand the reason for the pain until my mother explained to me what was happening.  I can also remember the emotional growth pains I experienced wanting to be my own person and making my own decisions.  Although we are now adults we still experience growth pains.  Growth is a constant in life and if we ever stop growing we start to experience death and with growth there sometimes comes pain. This pain has a purpose and when we realize this we can begin to focus on the end result instead of the discomfort.  Many people often give up during the growth process because the pain and discomfort is too much to bear which is a travesty because many times the finished line was very close.  Learning how to endure to the end is key to allowing the growth process to work because life is a long distance race and not a sprint.  Focus on your vision and most of all never lose hope and keep the faith. 

Living Big: Vertical Living

Have you ever had the feeling that there was more to life than what it is?  If you are like me you have.  The feeling of dissatisfaction and knowing that you were meant for more.  Most people settle into the routine of living linear lives which is graduating from high school, maybe go to college, get a job, get married, have kids and retire.  For most living a linear life is reality and the measure of success but the problem with this mindset is that it is so easy to run into disappointment.  In order for the linear life to work everything has to go perfectly.  There have been so many who have faced disappointment due to unexpected things in life happening such as serious illness, death of a loved one, losing a job and many other things that can mess up the plan.  Linear living works for some and that is great but isn't there much more to life other than the predicable? 

On the other hand, living big opens the door to living a life of satisfaction.  Living big requires a different way of thinking which is vertical living which can provide a much more satisfied life.  The vertical life doesn't require you to meet certain goals in order to be successful and it also makes allowances for the unexpected things life.  Vertical living requires you to dream big, live by faith and take bold steps because the measure of success is you reaching your potential rather than completing general goals set for everyone.  The major difference between the linear life and the vertical life is that the linear life focuses on you alone.  The vertical life not only allows you to focus on you but it will also change other lives as well because in order for you to reach your potential you are helping someone else.    What is so amazing about fruit trees is that they do not exist just for themselves.  From one seed comes a tree that produces fruit for years and years and it provides food for the life in its habitat.  Vertical living will cause you to understand that everything you do is not just for you but also for others.  So your marriage, your career, and everything you do is also for others because our lives are interconnected.  So vertical living is about finding your purpose and in doing so you reach your potential.  Then what you have to offer others will add significantly to others lives and just like a fruit tree you are giving more than you take but you will always have more than what you need.

Character Key of the Day: Being Prepared

Many of us are looking for the right opportunity to come along hoping that it will bring success along with it.  Opportunities present themselves in life every day and we really do not have to look to hard to find them.  The key is knowing when to recognize opportunities and most importantly being prepared for them.  It really makes no sense to come across an opportunity for success and not be able to seize it because you were not prepared for it.  Preparing means that you have to invest in yourself through reading, taking courses, networking and whatever else is required.  In preparing for opportunities when they come you will be able to recognize them when you see them. 

It is Better to Give than to Receive

In our society we mostly look for what can benefit us or get us ahead because we think of that as a part of success.  What is it that actually gets us ahead in life?  It is actually a simple answer but a complicated thing to do.  The answer is giving.   Anyone who has become wealthy or has obtained any type of success is really due to what they have to give.  It really does not matter what arena you are in it is a matter of giving something that is worth something of value to someone else.  When you come to understand this and also understand the fact that we are all interconnected you can begin to find success.  The key then is to have something of value that adds to others lives where they benefit from it rather than you.  Success for you then becomes a natural by-product rather than the end goal.   The statement, "It is better to give than receive, " takes on a whole new meaning.  To give something of value that adds to others lives requires that you have to be invested in whatever it is that you give to others.  What you want for yourself  is going to be what you want for others.  Not giving because you want to do a good deed so that you can feel good about yourself or any other motivation.  That is when success becomes a by-product of what you offer rather than the goal.  This will be true whether you are in business or any other venture.  The law of reciprocity then takes effect in a totally different way because you begin to get for yourself what you wanted for others.  So remember it is always better to give than to receive.

Adjust Your Aim

When I went through Army Basic Training one of the major things we had to learn as recruits was how to fire a weapon.  We learned that your weapon is your number one tool as a soldier so we learned not only how to use it but also how to take of it.  I remember firing my weapon for the first time and not hitting the target so I had to adjust my aim. This meant that I had to adjust the sight and windage.  After doing that I was able to hit the target and go on to qualify as a marksman.  When we are not achieving the results we want in life or relationships sometimes all we have to do is adjust our aim.  Many times we want to start over but is that really necessary?  Adjusting your aim can mean adjusting your attitude.  Do you have a positive attitude or is there some negativity there? Adjusting your actions can mean you may have to do something different such as getting up earlier or whatever is required to get the results you are looking for.  Adjusting your expectations may mean you have to refine them by seeing if he ar realistic or if they need to be more specific.  This is especially true of relationships.  People will often have unrealistic expectations which leads to relationships going from good to bad.  Look to adjust your aim so that you can begin to hit what you are looking to achieve.

Character Key of the Day: Determination

When things seem like they are not going well it is very important to maintain your determination to succeed.  Keeping your eye on your vision is what will carry you though any difficulty that may be present.  Look at your vision for success, whatever it may be, as a marathon and stay in the race.