Imagine yourself on the highway and every car is passing you. A tugging feeling starts urging you to speed up, right? In the highway of life, peers are the clutch to your drive. Seeing what gear your peers were in, gauges your pace. Are you near the front or back? Let us discover the virtue of fostering friendly competition.
First, clear your mind of picturing competition with bloody visions of hockey games. View competition as a bright spotlight. Competing gives insight to limiting abilities and areas of improvement. You never lose when you learn.
There are ample opportunities for your star to shine. Do not fret over yesterday's loss. The universe is every expanding, and so are you! Realize that competition is the fire which ignites ambition. Ambition to do a little better each and every day builds you closer to your goal.
Just imagine playing soccer with David Beckham for 45 minutes. Feel the high energy skills you would learn! The wise and truly brave invite equal or higher competitors. Are you going to sit on the sidelines or start kicking some goals? Go for it baby!
Help us all learn: tell me about when you technically lost a competition/bid/job/election yet felt like a winner.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
What the Real Estate Market Shows Us about Valuing Ourselves
In the housing market, there’s a bit of sage advice. Find the nicest neighborhood you can afford. Then buy the cheapest house. It’s about location, not the pool or granite counter tops. When your neighbor sells for $100k more than you paid, your equity gets a free boost. Being close in price to the cheapest lot on block, if not the cheapest, allows a greater upward range of valuation.
If you want to increase your life’s potential, meaning high career goals, bigger pay checks, more social connections, do an appraisal of your inner circle. Are your friends pushing your value up?
In college, I tried very hard yet I did not easily absorb Steel Design. When the professor passed out the first tests, I was heart-sunken, disappointed, and bleakly frustrated with a C. Yet I saw light. This one guy in the front row got an A+. "Wow!," my mind yelled, "that guy is super smart." Everyone around me thought my C was grand, for they got the same or worst. The consoling was nice, yet I knew if I wanted to a better grade, I need to change my real estate to the front row, to be more like Mr. A+. I had hung out in the back with the oft half-asleep, other times dueling the crossword puzzles kids long enough.
With determination in my holster, I parked my wagon up front, next to Mr. A+. There were ample seats open, imagine that. Mr. A+’s name was Bill. I settled in, got used to how close the chalkboard was, and said "Hi Bill." I was a stranger in a foreign row, just Bill and me. I was the new neighbor, hoping my test value would go up based on location.
Simply being in the front row changed my view literally and mentally about Steel. When you are inches from the professor, you pay extreme attention. I become a focused sponge.
Politeness was also my strong suit, so I’d make small talk with Bill before each class. We’d just joke about whatever. Soon, we were eating lunch, and studying together. He’d push me to do my homework thoroughly. He was my superior in Steel. He got it quicker, while I was slow as gin.
I saw Bill as someone who could help me improve. I really wished to be "A+Bill" smart. I learned more Steel Design than I could on my own. He pushed me to learn a subject I didn’t love, for my betterment. 15 years later, I still call Bill one of my best friends and motivators ever.
How can you, today, increase your value? First, answer what do you value? Do you value education, money, connections, love?
Education hungry? Hang out with people much smarter than you. Like the cheapest house on the block, your intellectual value will increase just by being in the proximity of their conversations.
Money motivated? Seek the clubs or organizations the wealthy belong to. Ones without a huge annual fee are trade associations, leadership clubs like Rotary, and even non-profit charities. Most all board members of charities are big players with big wallets. Being in their club, professional association, or charity gets you in their line of sight. Say hi to them at every meeting possible, reintroduce yourself 15 times, how ever long it takes for them to remember you as the person they keep seeing. This is the first step in getting their attention. I’ll speak more about getting into someone’s calendar in my next topic.
Connections savvy? Try out every professional club you can. Usually the first meeting is free to newbies. Befriend everyone, for they will tell you other clubs they are members of. Soon you’ll see which clubs house the power connections.
Look around and find an "A+ Bill" to befriend. You have no place to go but up. Good luck baby!
Help us all learn: tell me about your "A+Bill".
If you want to increase your life’s potential, meaning high career goals, bigger pay checks, more social connections, do an appraisal of your inner circle. Are your friends pushing your value up?
In college, I tried very hard yet I did not easily absorb Steel Design. When the professor passed out the first tests, I was heart-sunken, disappointed, and bleakly frustrated with a C. Yet I saw light. This one guy in the front row got an A+. "Wow!," my mind yelled, "that guy is super smart." Everyone around me thought my C was grand, for they got the same or worst. The consoling was nice, yet I knew if I wanted to a better grade, I need to change my real estate to the front row, to be more like Mr. A+. I had hung out in the back with the oft half-asleep, other times dueling the crossword puzzles kids long enough.
With determination in my holster, I parked my wagon up front, next to Mr. A+. There were ample seats open, imagine that. Mr. A+’s name was Bill. I settled in, got used to how close the chalkboard was, and said "Hi Bill." I was a stranger in a foreign row, just Bill and me. I was the new neighbor, hoping my test value would go up based on location.
Simply being in the front row changed my view literally and mentally about Steel. When you are inches from the professor, you pay extreme attention. I become a focused sponge.
Politeness was also my strong suit, so I’d make small talk with Bill before each class. We’d just joke about whatever. Soon, we were eating lunch, and studying together. He’d push me to do my homework thoroughly. He was my superior in Steel. He got it quicker, while I was slow as gin.
I saw Bill as someone who could help me improve. I really wished to be "A+Bill" smart. I learned more Steel Design than I could on my own. He pushed me to learn a subject I didn’t love, for my betterment. 15 years later, I still call Bill one of my best friends and motivators ever.
How can you, today, increase your value? First, answer what do you value? Do you value education, money, connections, love?
Education hungry? Hang out with people much smarter than you. Like the cheapest house on the block, your intellectual value will increase just by being in the proximity of their conversations.
Money motivated? Seek the clubs or organizations the wealthy belong to. Ones without a huge annual fee are trade associations, leadership clubs like Rotary, and even non-profit charities. Most all board members of charities are big players with big wallets. Being in their club, professional association, or charity gets you in their line of sight. Say hi to them at every meeting possible, reintroduce yourself 15 times, how ever long it takes for them to remember you as the person they keep seeing. This is the first step in getting their attention. I’ll speak more about getting into someone’s calendar in my next topic.
Connections savvy? Try out every professional club you can. Usually the first meeting is free to newbies. Befriend everyone, for they will tell you other clubs they are members of. Soon you’ll see which clubs house the power connections.
Love struck? Find a group of friends in your same situation with a POSITIVE attitude about love. There are ample comiserates to avoid like capri jeans. Those who love love will keep your mental state in a bright light as you travel thru the dating paths.
If you are serious about improving your life exponential, start by looking at your circle of friends. If you are the richest, most driven, most ambitious, most well-read, most open minded,... Is it time to seek a new cul-de-sac of acquaintances? The circle where you will be the one with the least of all those attributes so your surroundings naturally pull you up. Your life value, like real estate, will increase or decrease based on your surroundings.Look around and find an "A+ Bill" to befriend. You have no place to go but up. Good luck baby!
Help us all learn: tell me about your "A+Bill".
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