Do you remember what it was like to be in 1st grade?

It was a time when everybody lavished you with encouragement for being YOU - and because you finished your art project without eating the glue.

Those were beautiful times. But you may have noticed things have changed since you were okay to take a nap in the middle of class. You grew up.

Yes, growing into an adult brings many mentors your way. They do their best to motivate and inspire you. But you know in your heart that they can only do so much. It's up to you to drive yourself in the direction of your dreams. That's called adulting.

I say it's time to PYOTB, my friend!  

YOU are your own BEST Cheerleader. Don't sit around waiting for somebody to make you feel good. Pat yourself on the butt. Scream, "I done GOOD!"  

It's going to be the best day ever!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, you are going to have opportunities to communicate.  

Here’s how to create conversations that connect:

1) Meet folks where they are. Please pay attention to how their day is going. Step into their NOW.

2) Establishing something in common. “Wow! Has this day been crazy for you too?”

3) Establish an undeniable truth. “I promise it’s going to get crazier with the holidays coming.” 

4) Move the conversation toward an idea that everybody can agree on. “Holidays are coming

fast. We should get ahead of it and do some planning.”  

5) Bring a new idea into the conversation. “I have a system that will work for both of us. Do you want to see it?”  

You will always get more of what you want when your communication moves toward a common goal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could maintain never-ending momentum while you work toward your goals? No matter how long it took?

The 'MTM Rolling 7' is the solution you need to get the life you've always said you wanted.  

It works like this:

1) Set your short-term and long-term goals.  

2) Decide what past achievements you enjoy and that you want to defend. Many current successes must be maintained while you pursue your new adventures.

3) Decide what future goals you are ready to 'activate' and achieve.

4) Next week begins this week. On Thursday of this week, make your plan for how you will defend, activate, and create your dream life next week.

Spend the next few days thinking about your plan. You'll amaze yourself at how you begin making progress one week at a time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it me, or does living life these days make you feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day? 

When it comes to working toward goals, that can be a tremendous asset. It's also something that will break you free when things don't feel like they are going your way.

Everybody has ups and downs. Up days are lots of fun. Down days make you want to crawl under a rock. But like the movie, with the right mindset, you always get another chance to try again.

How would you feel if every day was a chance to tweak, adjust, flex, or reinvent your approach to living?

What if everything got more comfortable as you built your knowledge of what works best for you?

How empowered would you feel if you knew that every day was a do-over day?

As long as the sun rises and the sun sets, it doesn't matter if you succeed or fail the previous day. Today is always a new day for making your dreams come true.

That'll make you get out of bed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've struggled to stay on track daily, your happiness creation skill is out of balance.

Before I go on, happiness creation is more than a slogan; it is not automatically activated upon birth. 

Rising into your Happiness is a personal choice. It is a decision followed by discipline to become a complete person instead of a narrowly focused human stumbling through life.

It is a power that arrives when you realize that the sum is better than the parts.

It's not about your health, relationships, or how much money you make.

It's not about your spiritual beliefs, values, or your integrity.

It's not about how you treat your children, spouse, or friends.

Happiness is about all of them.

It is about mastering every aspect of your life into YOU. And the best part is - you can do that every day.

Every characteristic of your life is essential. When you balance them with focused synchronicity, your Happiness rises, and you become the person you were meant to be. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clarity Eliminates Confusion

Have you noticed we live in an age when what you hear and see is not necessarily happening? 

It seems our shorter attention spans and social media have elevated attention-grabbing to the point where it overtakes the clarity of the message.

One of my mentors is Donald Miller, the creator of Story Brand. He says, “If you make somebody burn too many calories to understand you, they will never understand you, and they’ll move on to an easier choice.”

Another one of my mentors is my son, Austin. He’s an intelligent young man these days, but I remember when he was five years old and taught me a lesson about clarity - when Disney released a new movie.

Like most kids, Austin was excited and wouldn’t stop talking about it. One day, I asked, in a very adult way, “Okay, where are we going to see this movie?” He answered, “At a theater near you!”

Yes. His answer was correct for a five-year-old without worrying about which theater had the film. After all, that’s Dad’s job.

When your answer to questions creates more questions, everybody gets confused.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Painting Your Way to Success

My wife and I are settling into our home, and she has assigned herself to paint every inch of the house. Not because we couldn’t hire somebody to do the job. Strangely, it’s because she loves to paint. 

I’ll admit that I’ve felt a little guilty leaving her with a rolling brush and a couple of gallons while I find something more interesting to do - which is pretty much anything. Still, I offered to join the painting party and speed up progress in the largest and most challenging room; she accepted my offer, and off we went.

If I haven’t made it clear, I don’t love painting. The only thing more painful for me is listening to a boring conversation I’ve heard a thousand times before. Still, brush in hand, I began my journey that day while sharing my philosophy with my wife. 

She gets that for locking herself in a room with me and a paintbrush.

While it played out over a couple of hours, here’s what I said —

I’m okay with painting. I am. I see every situation in life, like painting a vast and complex room. You know, a room with lots of windows, corners, and trim. One that requires physical contortions to reach every inch you would never do in real life. If you want to get the job done - heck, if you’re going to get anything done - you keep painting.

Keep painting. Keep painting. Keep painting.

If you keep painting, you’ll eventually be finished and get what you want. If you stop, not only will your room be a mess, but you won’t get what you want.

So, whatever you paint in your life, keep rolling until it’s done. No grind. No hustle and no glamour or drama. Just painting. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relative Time Management

In my entire life, I've always found it interesting that there never seems to be enough time in the day. Still, most days, everything seems to get done. If it doesn't, the world didn't come to an end, and I survived to check off another item from my to-do list tomorrow.

I know I'm not the first human on the planet to face the problem of time, but I do think I'm one of those smartypants people that have figured out how our time works in real life. And it was 180 degrees from what I felt that time was all about.

Pay attention now. How you look at time is about to change.

First, when you run as fast as possible to get things done, time moves quicker, and less gets done. Even worse, with every minute filled, there is never enough time to do the things that make your heart sing. If you're like me, that will eventually lead you to sabotage your list so you can do something fun for yourself. It's a never-ending cycle.

On the other hand, when you slow down, hold space for yourself, and focus on results relevant to your goals, time slows down, and you get more done. Not only that, you magically find yourself with lots of free time that you need to fill. Finally, a chance to read a book, binge on Netflix, or hang out with family and friends. The choice is yours.

Of course, if you've ever studied Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, this sounds familiar. As he determined—time is relative. In other words, the rate at which time passes depends on your frame of reference. 

So, what is your frame of reference?

In our case, I'm not asking whether you are moving fast or slow; I want to know if you are focused on the essential things in life that matter to you? Everything else disappears when you do, times slow down, and you enjoy your day like you were born to do.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leaders Look For Conflict

I admit that the title, 'Leaders Look for Conflict,' might be a bit over-the-top. But, I know that you want to be a better leader. I also know that you hate and don't want anything to do with conflict - especially since I can hear you saying —

"Why can't we all get along?"

I get it. Saying the word "No" is hard enough. Saying "Yes" when others agree or disagree with your choice can be more difficult.

"Why can't we all get along?"

The answer is that we can. However, the truth is that conflict will always happen whenever more than two people get together. Especially when there is a common goal and everyone is on the same page. Conflict will always play a role in your success.

What?

We're on the same page, agree with each other, and want the same result, but there's still conflict.

"Why can't we all get along?"

It's not that. It's just that no matter how positive your project is, everybody has a different idea of how to reach the outcome. Everybody has a different right way and wrong way.

As a leader, things change when you approach conflict as a simple “Y” on the road to progress. It becomes a decision that is part of the process and leads to the outcome everybody desires.

Leaders, managers, moms and dads - anyone responsible for moving forward eventually learns to accept conflict.

Leaders don't get emotionally fired up, yell and scream, or freak out in some other creative way. Conflict is another step in the process.

The faster you accept conflict, the sooner you can resolve the obstacle and reach your goal. Everybody will respect and appreciate you. They will also remember you for helping all involved achieve success.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stoic Happiness

I'm a fan of Stoic Philosophy. While it may be over 2,000 years old, its practicality is still useful.

These rules to live by will help you have a happier life:

1. If you're going to learn and succeed, be humble. There is always someone smarter, more successful, and wiser.  

2. Find the right scene. Choose your friends and situations. If you want to rise in life, you can't allow yourself to be held down by others.

3. Protect your time. Seneca said, "We're tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers." Life is short.

4. Never do anything out of habit. Always think about how you can do things better and always question yourself. 

5. Keep it simple — do your job. Approach every task as if it were your last because it very well could be. 

6. Adapt and learn from failure. Using your success to justify complacency is common. It's also easy, which is why most people do it. You can do more and be better.

7. Live below your means. The more you need to work to maintain your needs, the less you will enjoy what you have.

Everything in life comes down to keeping things simple and mastering the basics. That's how you get the success you deserve.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decision-Making Accelerator

No matter what you desire in your life, everything starts as a thought in your mind. It will demand your attention.

You have three options:

1) Deny it and keep moving.

2) Accept it and put it into action.

3) Delay it and drive yourself crazy.

Deny it. Deal with it. Delay it. The quality of your life will be a result of your choice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices