5 Things Winners Do When Bad Things Happen

“Oh, my god,” I said, clasping my head in my hands; a look of horror flooding my face. While checking in at the airport I was informed that I had messed up on some paperwork and one of my kids would miss the flight.

I had planned well, prepared way in advance, and made sure everything was in order for the international trip three of my kids would be taking to be with their mother. How could I have been so careless? Now that was a big mistake, and I felt like a huge failure. (more…)

3 Things I Learned from Mandela

What is Nelson Mandela’s legacy? I’ll leave writing that up, to others who definitely know better, but here are three takeaway’s from his life you can use to change your part of the world, locally or globally.

  • Believe, never stop believing in what you can do, and remember to dream big. Even if you are alone at first. Lead the way and others will follow.
  • Persist, go just beyond that point when you feel like quitting. Go on for just another 5 min, just one more day, just one more try.
  • Forgive, yes, forgive even those who are not sorry, because in the end you are freeing yourself from the prison of resentment. You cannot control what happens to you but you have complete control over how you feel and react. Who do you want to be?

Earlier this year I watched the movie Invictus, which highlighted the early days of his presidency and all I can remember is the deep impact it had on me. I was moved to tears. (more…)

Ask, “Really?” and Take Charge

It happened. The unexpected came to pass and now you’re screwed. Really? Something happened. So what? Are you gonna go through door number one, door number two or door number three? As crazy at it may seem, you’ve simply been presented with   choice.

Yes, those crazy things that come at us can be so frustrating. Problems may come from our boss or a relative, or even a complete stranger. Maybe there it’s just a failure or mistake on our part. In the end there’s nothing you or I can do about what happens.

This is the fascinating thing though, we always have a choice in how we react. Our mind is an incredible meaning machine. (more…)

You Are Not the Problem – Got It?

What happened? Where did you go wrong? What’s got you thinking, “Now that’s a problem”? I know I hate the feeling, when I realize I have a problem. Why is that?

We can get emotionally caught up, trying to figure out what’s wrong with us. I know I do. Self-talk kicks in.

I’m too late.

I can’t do this after all.

I don’t have what it takes.

I’m such a failure.

Something funny started happening to me recently. My thinking has shifted, and I’m slowly starting to feel challenged and excited by problems. This didn’t come overnight. (more…)

What You Can Do About the Paradigm Holding You Back

That feeling in your gut can be terrifying. You know, the one that comes at a moment when you need to choose. “Do I want to stay where I am in life, or do I want to move on to something else?” Myself, I wanted to dance. I didn’t know how to, but I wanted to be were people were having fun. So how did I make that happen?  What keeps some people from taking that kind of a leap?

Photo courtesy of www.istockphoto.com

As I look back, I realize something. When I was young it was easier to make changes or do something new. Why? I was growing, learning, and finding out about life.

As I’ve gotten older, those choices and the decisions I’ve made, have formed into my paradigm. In our youth we are still very engaged in the process.  Then, we settle over time. (more…)

Perception, What is Your Paradigm?

I watched the video by Bob Proctor about perception on the Six Minutes to Success site. I had heard of or read about the topic before, regarding paradigms and the need to be aware of different points of view and how to change them. And felt I got it and was doing fine. Good presentation! I knew it related well to something I have to do today! I accepted that and found five very different unique points of view which I was not accepting, as I was focused on only one. Wow! What and eye opener!

Later I was going through Bob’s articles and I saw one that caught my attention. “It isn’t easy to make money”. Curious, I opened it and started to read. Very good content about the wrong beliefs regarding making money. The funny thing is, that actually, by the end of the article it seemed easy to make money. “What’s wrong with the title”, I thought. I looked again. Whoa, it’s actually titled “It’s easy to make money”. Alarm bells went off!

I realized how little self-awareness I have on the topic of perception. I’ve prided myself in being a very perceptive person, very open and able to see the bigger picture easily. But here I was, I had a very narrow focus obstructing my ability to see anything else, literally. Going back in time a little, I’d been in a thought pattern of lack and concerned about mounting bills and expenses, and not being able to pull out or get on top. I was trying a couple of new ideas to make more money and it was just not happening. So my perception was being influenced by these thoughts and I read words that weren’t even there. Difficulty and lack were my paradigm, my limiting belief.

How many times I must have done this in my life! I’m happy that I stayed with the article long enough to get a different perspective. I could have just spotted the title I thought I saw, agreed with what I thought I read and moved on. But I stayed, looked at the topic a bit more, and by taking time to read and pay attention to what was being said in the article, my perception changed. What’s more important is, that not only did my perception change regarding the article, but I was made aware of how I was filtering things through and negative, limiting belief, which I believe in turn was affecting the results I was getting, and would have continued getting, had I not made this adjustment.

Life is now great and full of opportunities. I’m looking forward to my day and going into it with a new perception. A new belief. A new paradigm. I know things will be different because I’m not holding on to the limitations I was insisting were so real.