Tag: advice

Do you want to be an amateur or a professional?

Amateurs do what they want. They do what feels good or right at that particular moment in time. Amateurs don’t get paid. Professionals have a plan and follow it. They practice daily and they get compensated as a result.

Professionals are experts. They know what works and they put the majority of their efforts in the tried and true. Once they’ve mastered that, they’re willing to take calculated risks by branching out to try other ideas. But they don’t do this as it comes to them. Even when they are thinking outside the box, they plan and calculate before taking action. And all the while, they are still repeating the process that helped them become experts in the first place.

So next time you get bored or tired of doing what you know produces results, do it anyways. Follow a plan (or formulate one based on facts if you must) and stick to it. You’ll never gain traction if you keep switching from one idea to the next without rhyme or reason. Don’t be an amateur. Be a professional. Be an expert.

Influence vs. control

You can influence others, but you can’t control them. Others can influence you, but they can’t control you. You get to decide what you do or don’t do. Don’t blame someone else for “making” you do something or feel some way. They may have influence over you, but only you get to determine if they control you or not.

Let’s take that a step further and apply it to life circumstances. We don’t get to control what happens in our environment. We can influence it to an extent and it can influence us but we don’t control it and it doesn’t control us.

Don’t blame the economy, the government, the president, your boss, or anyone else for something that isn’t right in your life. They’re only a small part of the problem. The bigger part of the problem is your attitude and your actions.

The good news is that if you’re the majority of the problem, you’re also the majority of the solution. Work on fixing yourself and your life will get better. No matter the circumstances, you can always try to improve your situation by improving your attitude, being prepared, working hard, and being kind to others. If you do this everyday, you’ll soon find out that outside circumstances eventually have less and less influence (and absolutely no control) on your life.

Embarrassment

Never be embarrassed by where you are in life – by what car you’re driving or what house you live in. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you’re going to be embarrassed about anything, be embarrassed about if you’re taking a victim mentality and blaming others for your situation.

Instead of being complacent, how are you using ambition and drive to improve your situation? Just because you’re somewhere right now, it doesn’t mean that you have to stay there. But if you don’t take action, chances are you’re not going to be in a very different spot a few years from now.

So if you don’t like where you’re at, again, you shouldn’t be embarrassed or ashamed of it. But that means that you’re not happy with the results of what you’ve done so far. Now is the time to change. Take action everyday to improve and you’ll be amazed at how far you’ll go in a short period of time.

Take a shot, take a chance

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

This quote isn’t just about hockey, or basketball, or any other sport for that matter This quote is a metaphor for life. If you want something more for yourself or your family, you have to take a shot at it. You might miss. It might be embarrassing. But if you don’t take the shot, and you “play it safe,” eventually you’ll realize that playing it safe wasn’t so safe after all.

Courage

Should courage be the foundation of everyone’s core values? I believe justice, integrity, generosity, and perseverance are also very important values to have, but without the courage to act on what we need to do, will any of those virtues be followed in times of trouble?

We need to be courageous to face uncomfortable situations. Without courage, we are more likely to default to whatever is easiest. Sometimes, to be courageous will require us to confront others, whether they are our peers, someone in a position of authority, or maybe someone you are supposed to be leading. Hopefully we don’t need to confront others often, but it will be necessary at some point in life, regardless of who you are.

Are we standing up for what we believe in, even if it means that we may suffer for doing so? Without courage, we won’t speak up when we see injustice. Without courage, we won’t do what we know is right just because there are roadblocks (like other people). Without courage, maybe we will be less likely to give because we fear we won’t have enough. Without courage, we will give up at the first sign of struggle.

Practice being courageous. It will take time and we will mess up many times along the way. But if we give ourselves some grace, and keep trying to do what is right no matter the consequences, eventually being courageous will become easier for us. Then, not only will we be able to sleep better at night knowing we stood up for what we believe, but we will also gain the respect/admiration of others.