Consistency is key!

I learned a very valuable lesson a few years ago when I created my training and development enterprise. I was working a full-time job and didn't have any extra time to start a business. With my family and employment demands I barely had time for the usual things. I remember reading about the importance of consistency and how the gorge we call the Grand Canyon wasn't created in a year or even a decade but over the course of thousands of years of consistency.

Lead as if someone were following you.

My youngest son and I learned a very valuable lesson today when we were following someone in the car today. The person that I was following was driving with no regard for the person in the car behind them; me! They made all of the classic 'I have absolutely no regard for the person following me' mistakes. They were weaving in and out of traffic. They would leave us at intersections when I caught a yellow or red light behind them and oh...they didn't give me the address of where we were going! Fortunately our destination was a popular landmark so I got there in spite of having a questionable guide. What lesson was reinforced? Never follow someone. Blaze your own trail!

It's your story. Live like you own it!

A new chapter in your story. I realized that our story is authored by our actions. Every page and every chapter is written by us. You may have help with certain chapters and you may have people who play an important role in your story, but it's your story. It can be an action story or a romance but it cannot be written by anyone else. Own it!

Sliding down the slippery slope.

God places certain challenges in our lives as a test. This is demonstrated vividly in the book of Job in the Bible. Some people believe that God repeats the test again until we pass it. I'm single and I'm a heterosexual man with a healthy desire for the female sex.
Scene 1: I enter the scene with my chest puffed out (pride) strutting around claiming that I keep my promise of celibacy intact on my own. I could handle the pressure because I'm a grown ass man! (pride comes before the fall)
Scene 2: I met a woman online and we begin to discuss things that we have in common healthwise. This website is not a dating site so I had no intention of trying to make a "love connection". Our online conversation transitioned to phone conversations and we quickly became fast friends. There was something unique about her and I was intrigued by her mind.
Scene 3: We quickly decided to take a trip and by the way, did I mention that she's married. Unhappily married, but married nonetheless. Kinda puts the situation in a whole different light doesn’t it? Don't judge me! Until this time I had a passing grade in this real life situation. What would you do?

The Path of Least Resistance

Along with my Bigger Fish To Fry Philosophy, I also tend to take the path of least resistance. If it seems like work it probably won’t happen! Laziness isn’t even a factor. It’s a matter of energy management. People can’t believe that I wrote this blog post on my Smartphone. I took the path of least resistance. Most people use a desktop computer or laptop. Using a desktop computer would restrict me to the house and a laptop isn’t the most convenient way to type in the bed or sitting in the car. A Smartphone on the other hand is very convenient. It’s simply a matter of getting used to a smaller screen and different techniques for typing paragraphs.

Bigger Fish To Fry Philosophy

A few years after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis I adopted a new perspective on the importance of things in my life. I call my new philosophy the Bigger Fish To Fry Philosophy.
I realized that the vast majority of events that I formerly thought were important weren't. I realized that most events would take place as scheduled whether I took part or didn't. It was kind of humbling. Again, it helps you put things in perspective.
It makes one ask themselves how important am I to the outcome of the event?

Why I don't believe in luck...

When you're about to take on a new endeavor it's common for someone to say, "Good luck!" With luck there's a chance that something could go wrong. Failure is an option with luck. That's why I don't believe in it and I refuse to use the word. It doesn't exist in my vocabulary.