Never Settle For Less

Yesterday I was sitting at the departure gate of my apartment complex getting ready to leave for work.  For some strange reason the gate takes a ridiculous amount of time to open (nearly 30 seconds at my last count).  That time is normally good to clear my head, get in the right mind frame to work out, or reflect on some things.  I chose option number 3.

Time as it relates to the past, present, and future tends to dominate my thoughts.  As the gears to my apartment gate squeaked and rotated my thoughts began to drift.

• What happened to me yesterday?
• What impact will I make today?
• What do I plan on doing tomorrow?
• Am I forgetting anything?

As I pondered on what I was forgetting the gate opened.  The wooden bar at the gate rose slowly.  A loud honk erupted from the car behind me.  I snapped back into life from my daydreaming and sped through the gate.  The driver behind me was incredibly angry.  Apparently I had stolen the most important 8 seconds of his life.  He rolled his window down and gestured for my attention.
“You wanna wake up buddy??!!!” he screamed.  He appeared to be very frustrated.  I gazed at him for a few seconds sizing him up for a response.  Finally, after 15 seconds or so I replied.

“The day just started.  I don’t really know you but its 6:30 am and I’m sure more important things have happened, will happen to you today, and in the future.  As soon as you press the gas again you’ll forget about this.  Have a great day ” I said.

He was genuinely confused.  I was happy.  I smiled and drove off to continue my day.  My point to him was things happen, they have an outcome, and then they are over.  That incident wasn’t worth the 3 minutes we spent on it.

View yesterday, today, and tomorrow the same way because in fact the wheels keep turning every day.

Yesterday is a Memory

History does have its place in society and in our hearts.  Without the past we’d have no foundation to build on.  It’s impossible to truly measure the impact of all the things that have happened in our lives (positive or negative).  With that said, why bother?  The opportunity to correct the past lies in today and tomorrow.  That’s exactly why the past is just that…the past.

An amazing amount of time is spent everyday wondering about things we can no longer impact.  Wondering with the what if’s, maybe I should have’s, and I really wish’s are wasteful.  Whenever I drift into this mode I picture myself as a hamster trapped in its wheel.  That hamster is working hard to put forth his best effort.  Unfortunately, he’s making no progress.  He’s on the wheel getting all worked up to go nowhere and do nothing.  Clinging to the past is like putting yourself on that hamster’s wheel.  All sweat, no return.

The impact of things past has already been made and is largely out of your hands.  One big thing sticks out to me about the past…IT’S GONE.  It can never be altered so I live in my present and future.

Today is Yours

Wake up with enthusiasm and hope every day for 3 main reasons:

1. You’re alive and able bodied
2. You can control 95% of what happens TODAY
3. You can be as creative as you desire

1 –> Breathing and Able Bodied

There’s something amazing and undervalued about being both alive and able bodied.  Having the ability to get up and go as you please is a privilege.  Viable health and strength give you the freedom to go and come as you please.  Do you know how powerful that really is?
There are so many people who have debilitating ailments that leave them bedridden, hospitalized, or incapable of enjoying all that life has to offer.  It’s utterly ridiculous for me to complain about the complications of my life (car payments, house payments, job nuisances) when there are people suffering from broken bones, cancer, and paralysis.
Celebrate my health and strength by making the most of it.

2 –> I Can Control 95% of What happens to me Today

That’s an incredibly powerful statement.  To prove it I’m going to brainstorm the things that can affect me in a day that I have absolutely no control over.

• Weather
• Traffic
• Gas Prices
• Other People’s Attitudes

It’s a relatively short list.
Now here’s the list of things I can control

• My Salary
• My Clothes
• The places I go
• People I Interact with
• Challenges I Undertake
• Workout or not
• Speed I travel on the Highway
• Amount of Work I do
• Foods I Eat
• Extracurricular activities
• Places I Spend my Money
• Things I Say
• What I Learn
• The Impact I Leave On Society
• My Attitude
• My Image
• The Opportunities I Create

The possibility to influence so many things on a day to day basis is exciting.  Each day presents a thousand opportunities for something dramatic to come into your life.

Case in point.  I’m always interested in finding new people to congregate with.  Age, race, sexual orientation, height, and religion are all arbitrary to me.  I enjoy the company of people who bring energy to life.  As a result my circle is rather unorthodox.  My friends range from young blue collar workers to nearly retired Fortune 25 executives.  To me people are people.

Today I couldn’t make it to the gym in the morning so I went in the afternoon.  During my routine I noticed someone working out that I had casually met a few weeks earlier in a sports bar.  I finished up my last exercise and was preparing to leave.  As I walked away from my machine our eyes connected for a split second.  He looked at me and I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to communicate.  I took my earphones out and the conversation began. I was in no way prepared for how strange it would be!

When the conversation was over I’d been intrigued, complimented, humored, and enlightened. My new found friend had

• Complimented my physique
• Complimented my background as an engineer
• Asked why I wasn’t a model
• Offered to help me start a career as a male dancer
• Requested that I expand my circle to himself and his friends
• Explained his business ideas to me
• Given me his full biography
• Offered to take me to some places I’d never seen in Atlanta
• Provided encouragement for my aspirations to speak professionally

Did I mention the conversation lasted a mere 4 minutes?  My new friend proved to be an interesting character.  He was very direct and forward with his compliments and questions.  Instead of being put off by him and his off centered nature I was refreshed.  I’m always searching for new and unique companions and he proved to be just that.  I quickly took down his contact information and made plans to meet up later.  I’m 100% sure I’ll learn something valuable from him and be able to draw on the positive energy he brings to life.

This happened because I took advantage of the opportunity I was presented with TODAY.

3 –> Creativity

Creativity is a precious cornerstone of existence.  Without creative thoughts and expressions our life would be bland.  Music, TV, blogs, computers, businesses, restaurants, college degrees, amusement parks, government structures, and holidays would all be non-existent if human beings lacked creativity.

Anyone can be as creative as they like.  By tapping into my own creativity I’ve began to create workout programs, stories,  movie ideas, blogs, business ideas/plans, poems, speeches, and non profit ideas that I plan to unleash on the world.  Those thoughts and ideas keep each day fresh and exciting.

Tap into your creativity.  You’ll find yourself refreshed and excited about the day at hand.  You never know, you could change the world while you’re at it.

Tomorrow is Priceless

I have an endless love affair with the possibilities of tomorrow.  Tomorrow I can see the results of what I’ve done yesterday and today come to life.  My blood, sweat, and tears can bear fruit tomorrow.  The new friendship that I created today can pay a thousand dividends tomorrow.  The new workout plan I started can help me shed weight and be ready for the beach tomorrow.  The blog I write can reach 1, 10, 100, 1,000 or 1,000,000 people tomorrow.   You never know .

Conclusion

The wheels of life turn every day.  They move at a steady pace that we can’t control.  Every second, hour, and day that passes us by is part of our history. While our past is important we can’t live there forever.

Today is our greatest asset.  Today you can create change.  Today you can meet new people.  Today you can re-establish relationships.  Today you can be creative.  Today you can correct any mistakes you’ve made. Today you can laugh, cry, frown, or smile at your own discretion.

Tomorrow gives us the opportunity to see everything we do, think, and believe come together.  A better tomorrow is created yesterday and today.

Everyday we live will at some point be a yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  With that knowledge live life to the fullest by respecting yesterday, living today, and being prepared for tomorrow. The wheels of life keep turning…don’t be left behind.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at 8:35 am and is filed under Motivation, Personal Development, Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.