This post isn’t what you think.  I am not going to talk about the Pagan vs. Christianity debate about Easter or how ironic it is that we have chosen large pink bunnies and chocolate eggs to somehow represent Jesus rising from the dead.

That stuff is funny enough on it’s own.

But as I sit here Easter Sunday morning looking over my backyard in full bloom, the sun bouncing off the pool and a light breeze flowing in through a set of oversized windows…I started thinking about something else.

I love celebrations.  It really doesn’t matter to me what they are for…I just love to celebrate.  I love to celebrate events, accomplishments and most of all…I like to celebrate people.

I started thinking about all the efforts we put into the holidays and occasions mainly because they have become traditions in our families or religions.  We bust out the decorations, rush to the stores (repeatedly) and create elaborate stories for our children.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I think it’s great.  I love holidays.  More specifically, I love what they have the power to support us doing.  They inspire connection.  They cultivate the desire for people to come together.  They get us to stop the noise, sit back for even just a few minutes…and reflect about life and the relationships we have with each other.

What I am sitting here pondering this morning is what we need to do as a species to genuinely celebrate ourselves more often.  To honor ourselves, our connection to each other, our need for each other, our divinely guided creativity, and our ability to truly make this world whatever we choose it to be.

I am up for THAT holiday.

What if we took just a little bit of that special something (I may call it love) that the holidays seem to inspire in us and choose to be aware of it every day?

Can we possibly hold this much love in our hearts next Thursday when there are no menorahs to light, no Cadbury eggs to eat, no jolly fat men in funny suits to sit on, no fireworks in the sky to watch, no dead prophets to remember and no feasts to devour?

I know for most people it’s far easier to celebrate some “thing” or “event” than themselves or another person.  We get to change that.

We are worth celebrating.

You are worth celebrating.

I am worth celebrating.

So as we move through this year of 2010 amidst one of the most interesting times our generations have ever known, I want to make this one simple request of you…

Start celebrating life every day.

Take the same energy you put into getting the house ready for the holidays and put it into your kids every day, your work every day…your SELF every day.

For me, this is what these celebrations were designed to do…reconnect us to the divine love that is within us all and our power as human beings when we choose to realize just how amazing we all are.

Celebrate life.

Please share your thoughts and share this post with everyone you truly celebrate.

No, this isn’t about Og Mandino’s classic book.

It’s about my 5 yr old son, Brennan, and his talent for persuasiveness.

Many people talk about how they “aren’t a salesman” or a “salesy type person,” with great pride as if being in sales is a disease to get rid of.

The reality is, we are all in sales.  Some are just in denial.

If you are a teacher, you are constantly selling and reselling your students as to why it’s so important to learn, why each lesson is valuable and why they need to put their best effort in.

If you are a police officer, you are maneuvering for premium shifts, promotions and persuading people to follow your hunches and instincts.

If you are in a relationship…well, don’t even get me started.

If you are a parent, then your salesmanship is constantly being tested.

Unfortunately for us, we are out manned, out skilled and out worked by our kids.

Kids are naturals and my son is no exception.  He is relentless and doesn’t take no for an answer.

It’s 10:45 am and he has already asked me for a lolly pop 5 times.  5 times.

Did he get his feelings hurt when I said no the first 4 times?  Nope.

Did he take it personally? Not even a little.

Did he use other tactics like cute faces, pitched voices and the promise to “be my best friend?”  Of course he did, and he did it with style.

Did it matter to Brennan that I said no 5 times?  Absolutely not.  What mattered was what he wanted.  He was singularly focused.  He was intentional.  He was committed to getting what he wanted.

And you should be too.

We so often in life allow the circumstances of our world to impact our choices.  We react as opposed to respond.  We let temporary feedback throw us off course.

The surest way to get anything in this lifetime is to decide what it is you want, set a clear intention that you will attain it and go after it with passion until it’s yours.

Don’t stop until it’s yours or you decide you really don’t want it any more.  Awaken your inner 5 yr old incredibly powerful, always persuasive, wonderfully present little salesperson and get to work on accomplishing your goals and dreams.

Now, excuse me…I need to go deliver a lolly pop.  Brennan is riding his big wheel in the rain and being beautifully a kid.  He just shouted…”I want a lolly pop,” with a huge smile on his face.

Hey…just because I teach it, doesn’t mean I can resist it.  I think he wants a red one. (Don’t worry…it’s organic.)

We have heard it a million times in business, school, relationships and life in general.

It’s the small things that make the difference.

Then why do the vast majority of people keep searching for that magic bullet, that secret ingredient, that special something to catapult them to success?

Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Vince was a pretty talented guy. You know, Starry Nights, Irisis and like a gazillion other amazing masterpieces. We remember him for great things. Monumental things. Brilliant things.

And yet he says it was all about the small things.

Thoreau said this, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand. Simplify, simplify.”

Henry was a pretty talented guy too and produced some literary masterpieces on his own.

Now, I am not suggesting you go cut off your ear or go find a cabin in the middle of the woods and close yourself off from the world. I mean, if you think that’s what you need, go for it…but there are likely other routes to take.

In our insanely fast paced world, we often try and do it all. We imagine ourselves into this huge life and often think we are going to get their with one great leap forward as if there is that one thing that will propel us forward into greatness.

It doesn’t work that way.

Of course, there are exceptions. There are those occasional one-hit-wonders in life. There are the Tin Tin’s of business and entrepreneurship. (anyone who didn’t grow up in the 80’s is now Googling “Tin Tin.”)

People who struck it big on seemingly a single attempt. “Kiss Me” by Tin Tin was said to be written in 24 hrs after the band was signed by their label. It’s still on the radio today. Yeah, I know Tin Tin is the guy who went on to form Duran Duran…but he wasn’t at the time…he was just a dude who wrote a song.

It happens…but very, very, very, very rarely. Did I use enough “very’s” to make the point?

More often, it’s the Sinatra’s who make it. I tried to find exactly how many songs he recorded, but it was tough to find the exact number. The most accurate account I could find was 1285.

1285!

And that’s probably a little low.

Wow! That’s a serious body of work. That’s 25+ songs a year over a 50-year career.

That’s enough to make you feel lazy, isn’t it?

It was the countless number of hours writing and recording in the studio, consistently over his career that made The Chairman great.

It was the countless performances he gave to crowds of all sizes that made him great.

When he was first starting, he played rooms where only a dozen people showed up.  He sang his ass off anyway.

It was the thousands of martinis he drank and women he flirted with…

Okay, I got carried away.

So, what’s our lesson here?

Small forwarding, positive actions over time create enduring success.

Or as Jeff Olson calls it in his bestselling book…the Slight Edge.

It’s the seemingly insignificant things that when we do them don’t seem to make a difference that over time either create greatness or perpetuate mediocrity.

In relationships with ourselves and others…

It’s getting off work a little early once a week to pick your kids up from school and spend some uninterrupted time together.

It’s having family dinner consistently together so you can just talk.

It’s bringing home flowers on a Tuesday…that’s not her birthday, anniversary or mother’s day.

It’s rubbing his shoulders without being asked.

It’s setting aside “us time” and “me time” consistently…not just when you can’t take it any more.

It’s meditating, working out and reading…at least a few times EVERY WEEK.

It’s eating that one raw meal a day.

These are all seemingly insignificant things that add up over time…and over time they contribute to the body of work that is our lives.

In business and marketing…

It’s making new contacts and exposures to your business every single day.

It’s putting out 1 single piece of good content online every day.

It’s being of value in the social media space with your dialogue and interactions.

It’s stepping up to lead even when you may not think you are ready.

It’s stretching yourself past your comfort zone…and doing it with joy.

It’s doing the thing NOW, not tomorrow or next week, but NOW!

I know that we sometimes seem to get a lot of conflicting information in the world of personal development. Some advice teaches us to focus on getting the big parts of our lives in order, to focus on vision, to make sure the most important things are our priorities.

These things are all true.

But we don’t get where we are going by leaping the chasm. We get there by putting one foot in front of the other and simply taking a step forward.

It’s really not that hard.

And that’s the challenge.

It’s simple.

So most people miss it.

Do the small things anyway.

Choose what you want. Create the vision. Decide what things need to be done to move your forward towards your goals.

Then just get started…and stay consistent…even when you don’t feel like it.

Hold your vision in mind while focusing on what’s next. What is the next thing you need to do? Then just do it.

Check it off the To-Do list.

This is so much more than just staying in action. It’s adopting a belief system that success is the culmination of many small influences and actions. It’s “a knowing” that the thing you are doing right now is either moving you closer to or further away from what you want.

Let’s go get it done.

But please, please, please…do it with style. Put YOU into your daily actions. If you are going to show up…SHOW UP!

Show up with 100% of who you are – whether it’s parenting, being intimate, marketing, training, talking to a prospect, learning from a mentor, taking care of yourself, working out, being quiet or making a difference for someone.

So what are you waiting for?

Go get jiggy with it.

Here’s one way right now for you to get jiggy. ReTweet this post for me to your followers. Be valuable for other people and repost a link to this article for your Facebook friends.

Looking forward to seeing your version of “My Way.”

Is Richard Branson teaching a class on network marketing?

No, he isn’t.

Honestly, since I have never even seen anything published by him on the subject, I couldn’t honestly say what he thinks about the industry.

But I have built a large part of my life around the study of successful people and success itself and key fundamentals hold true regardless of the industry.  If you take a look at Sir Richard’s life and look at how he’s lived it and how he runs   his businesses, you will find many nuggets to pull out for your daily use.  Assuming you are a network marketer, these lessons can support you in growing a massive, long term business…and enjoy every step of the ride.

Take Risks
If Branson’s life has been about anything it’s been about taking the leap first, then figuring out what to do.  Sure, he has planned and executed extremely well, but throughout his career he was constantly faced with challenges.  Those challenges always brought choice.

Branson has consistently chosen the biggest possible direction, regardless of whether he knew exactly how he was going to do it at the time.  He’s followed the motto – commit first, then figure it out.

We often think we need to study this, learn that, be this or be that before we can really get after growing a huge business.  Just go for it.  Life rewards the courageous.

Push Through Your Perceived Limits
Branson can almost be viewed as an adventure extremist. Whether it’s the hot air balloon journey’s attempting to circumnavigate the globe or the transatlantic crossing in an open hull Hobie cat, he has constantly push his own personal limits.  He’s not only done the above feats once, but numerous times.  He’s a man that, even still at 60 years old, is constantly pushing himself to learn more, do more, become more and achieve more.

In MLM, this stops people in their tracks.  People get to a point of uncomfortable and shrink.  It’s only on the other side of the turbulent atmosphere that we get to enjoy the peacefulness of outer space.  Push through your self-imposed limitation and you will surprise the hell out of yourself as to what you are capable of.

Delegate & Empower People
As of this article in January 2010, it’s reported that the Virgin Brand now owns more than 200 companies.  I have also heard from reliable sources (although I couldn’t confirm) that Sir Richard himself owns 432 companies.  Let’s just take the 200 number.  That’s 200 companies; all with infrastructure, products, employees, salaries, benefits, customers, marketing…you get the picture.  And it’s not like they are all in related industries…the Virgin brand owns pursuits in music, aviation, beverage, finance, literature, mobile technology, radio, wines…and don’t forget…SPACE TRAVEL!

There is simply no way to build an empire like that if you hold on too tight.  Branson often says he hires incredible people and believes in their ability to carry out their jobs.  You have to let people surprise you.  They often will if you empower them to do so.

Build your team up. Give them the tools to be successful and let them step up and lead.  Get new people involved early and see what they can do.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Surround Yourself With People You Trust
The Virgin Group of companies is run in a very unique way.  Individual companies are entrusted to carry out their daily functions and run their business.  These companies are all part of the Virgin brand and at some level, that brand has an identity all its own.  The Virgin brand is managed by an advisory and special sector teams around the world.  They support all the companies on finance, marketing, branding and customer experience.

In every aspect though, Branson has put amazing teams together and even though they have 50,000+ employees in 29 countries, they work as an excited, tight family birthing new companies all the time.

There is nothing that will crash a team faster than people in leadership roles who don’t have integrity.  Keep your core group in close contact and build together with the same core values, purpose and mission.

Take Really Good Care Of Your Customers
Anyone who has ever done business with a Virgin company knows there is something a little different going on at these businesses.  There is a feeling of fun, energy and passion.  Take a look at the limo-like cabin of a Virgin America plane.

On Virgin Atlantic flights, you can even get foot massages!  With the Virgin brand, it goes deeper than that.  They started a program on international flight that people can donate their loose international currency.

Virgin team members would collect in and donate out into the countries it came from.  A simple, yet brilliant idea to make a difference with a massive amount of people.

Make sure you are communicating actively with your team.  Send them gifts if you can.  At the very least, send them cards and notes with things you know are of interest to them.  Treat them with unprecedented respect and courtesy.

Build Your Brand
Branson, very early on in his career, went on a quest to make Virgin the most recognizable brand in the world.  I don’t know if he has done that yet, but he is certainly well on his way.  Everything they do is about furthering their brand.

They have clearly identified what Virgin stands for and that message is alive in every single thing they do.  It’s incredibly obvious.  From customer service to manufacturing to packaging…who they are comes shining through.

Have you figured out what you are all about?  How do you want people to experience you?  What do you want them to say about you when you aren’t there to listen? Get clear on your core values…choose your niche and start building your brand.

Always Find A Way
If you read Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson’s first book, he tells the story of the beginnings of the Virgin brand.  At age 15, he started a magazine called Student and in it, they started selling records through direct mail.  Well, one day the mail carriers were poised to go on strike.  Branson knew he had to do something to keep distribution going on the records so he found a 2^nd story space and opened the  first Virgin record store.  Over the years, he opened just a couple more of those things!

This resiliency is inherent to who Branson is.  He just finds a way to get it done.  When you are that committed, the Universe conspires on your behalf and you often get rewarded many times over for your efforts.

What do you allow you to stop you in your business?  Do a few “no’s” send you into a self-destructive tizzy?  Or, do you just figure out how to win and get it done?

Have Fun While Building Your Business
If you learn anything from Branson it should be this.  Enjoy the fricken journey.  He works his tail off and plays just as hard.  In fact, fun is such an inherent part of the Virgin brand it’s virtually impossible not to have some play mixed with their work.

Early in growing his empire, he bought Necker Island, an island in the British Virgin Islands (of course) as a remote getaway and escape.  He has spent a ton of time there and now, actually, you can too if you want.

Building a business is a lot of work.  Things that are worth having in life are worth working for.  I honestly believe that the more we can wrap fun and joy into our work lives the more successful we are and the faster we’ll grow a business that we love.

Millionaire maker T. Harv Ekar believes in putting 10% of your net income after taxes into a “Play Account” to do just that…PLAY.  This account MUST be emptied every month or every quarter.

Branson on MLM
An early mentor of mine used to say, “Success leaves clues.”  Meaning if you look at successful people, there are clues everywhere as to what makes them that way.  Figuring out the clues is the easy part.  The question is…will you do the things you need to do to grow your business and transform your life?

The education and training to build an incredibly lucrative and joy-filled business is readily available.  Whether you apply what you learn is another story altogether.  The world needs people like you to step into their power and be great.  Mediocrity won’t change the world.  Choose greatness.

If you haven’t opted-in yet, do so now to stay up to date with all of my latest posts.

With the New Year upon us, planning is everywhere.  Everyone is talking about it.  New Year’s resolutions are like the ultimate peer pressure for success.

The “Success Drug Dealer” on the playground coaxing all of the kids, “Come on, everyone is doing it, plan some goals.  Just try it.  Johnny planned some goals yesterday…you want to be like Johnny, don’t you?”

We have heard all of the success quotes on planning.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“To be prepared is half the victory.”

“It pays to plan ahead, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”  (that is assuming you believe there actually was an ark but that is another story entirely!)

Planning is essential.  Planning is important.  Planning supports the effort and energy you put out.

But I want to caution you to not get stuck underneath the weight of your plans that you lose your ability to follow creative inspiration, intuition and purposeful impulsiveness.

Just like anything in life, planning has a dual nature.

Planning can be liberating and it also can be restricting.

It is entirely up to how you relate to your plans.

Can you stay committed to your plans while providing the space to follow your intuitive guidance system?  Remember, we can never dream our biggest future by focusing on our past.

Unfortunately, most of us plan by looking backwards.  We look at past results and experiences and see how we can tweak, change and improve.  It’s a very male dominated, left brain, analytical approach to manifestation.

Well, we live in a quantum world that isn’t linear.  Our lives don’t exist upon a straight line.  That is to say, they certainly don’t have to.

I’ve used a process of setting up core values for myself and my business for years.  These core values create a foundation under all plans and they drive my daily activities.  In my coaching with Success Coach Lisa Jimenez, we built our entire business plan on top of these core values.

My core values are: Freedom, Self-Mastery & Playfulness.

These values underscore everything I do and if a project, plan, activity, relationship or anything, doesn’t bring those three values alive, I generally don’t do it.

Chris Brogan is another one of my favorite online writers.  He uses a process that he calls “Three Words.”  This is a bit different than core values and I like them both.  These three words are structural reminders of your primary business plans.  They don’t have to mean anything to anyone else but yourself.

My three words for 2010 are: Authenticity, Tribes & Beauty

These are reminders for me, guideposts if you will, to support how I interact with my surroundings and what I am up to for the year.

Authenticity is about keeping it real, making it real and living real.  If I am not honoring what is real for me at my core then what’s the point? ‘Nuff said.  Or as Forest Gump says, “That’s all I’m gonna say ’bout that.”

Tribes is about growing my network and always focusing on providing real, tangible value for the people I am in relationship with personally and professionally.  It reminds me that people follow me not because of ME…but because of THEM and the contribution they feel in their own lives.

Beauty for me is honoring the natural simplicity, grace and value that is inherent in everything.  I choose to keep things simple.  I don’t mind difficult, but I want simple, uncomplicated, straight-line approaches.  I strive to continuously look for ways things can add value to my situation and it prompts me to explore opportunities at a deeper level before deciding on my direction.  It’s about knowing that I am attracting amazing people & resources to my life.

So what does all this have to do with Ready, Fire, Aim?

It’s simple. (see, beauty is abound!)

If you haven’t already, go plan your ass off.  Lay out your goals for the year and put plans in place under each of those goals.

I encourage you though, to stay open to the natural flow of life and allow yourself to also feel your way through your plans, actions and activities.  If you set your goals and plans up, craft your core values and choose your three words, you are well on your way.

Inevitably, though, you will be presented with opportunities throughout the year that you simply can’t plan for.  There is no way you could have anticipated them.

Often in life, it’s what you choose to do in these moments that make the difference between moderate success and massive success.  It’s in these moments where you may just need to go for it without the benefit of any real plans.

Ready, Fire…

You can always go back and adjust your sites once you have the benefit of feedback from your focused action.

Fire away, baby, Fire away!

What are YOUR core values and what are your three words for 2010?  I would LOVE for you to share.

Remember high school? For some people it was at absolute blast and for others it was four years of torturous hell. For most people it was some of both.

What I remember most about high school was the feeling of not quite fitting in. I was popular and all and had many external successes, but as you know, our mind often creates an entirely different reality.

I spent a lot of energy trying to be like other people that I thought were cooler, better looking, smarter, funnier, had a better body…you fill in the blank.

It wasn’t until years later as I dove into personal development work that I found out many, many people experienced very similar things. Like me, tons of people lived (and are still living) through comparing themselves to others.

What’s the deal with that?

It’s fricken exhausting, isn’t it?

Why do we run from our own self-expression?

Many people have been doing it their entire lives.

At some level, many people would rather imitate others than just be who they are, as if somehow, the knock-off version of someone else is better than the original version of themselves.

From a business and marketing perspective, this is a slow death. It would be easy to say that this happens because we teach people to model successful people. We say to find someone that has what you want and model them.

Doing what successful people do is certainly a way to success, but unless you model successful habits while developing your authentic self-expression, it’s easy to lose yourself in the process.

Is success worth it if you are just a carbon copy of a bunch of other people?

I think this is one of the big reasons people fail in this world. They don’t trust themselves.

I can speak from personal experience that I have had many incredible ideas that I stuffed away for fear of whether they were good enough, only to act on them years later when I got the balls.

Waiting doesn’t work.

Filtering your ideas against what the rest of the world is doing only dilutes your value.

Vanilla is a pretty boring flavor.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman

Yes, come alive.  That is it.

When it comes to marketing, blogging, copyrighting and presenting your business…sure there are some fundamentals that you want to learn and put in place, but nothing and I mean nothing, can replace your spirit.

If all of your articles, posts and blogs read just like a hundred other people in your niche…why would anyone follow you?

Be fricken original.

We see this all the time online. People model others but forget to make their work their own. The result is bland, boring copy.

Don’t be that guy.

Find your sweet spot. Identify what really lights you up.

Then, focus on letting your own light shine instead of trying to borrow a tiny bit of someone else’s.

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.”
- Martha Graham

So, my dear friends, it’s time to get jiggy with it. Go get your freak on! Your authentic, true to yourself, completely original, flava boiling over…self-expression.

Choose today, right now, to do ONE THING that celebrates your self-expression. Let the tiger (or tigress) out of the cage. We want to hear you roar.

It’s time the world sees what you (the one and only you) are really made of.

Please comment if you connected with this post and tweet/re-post to your heart’s desires.

Something strange has happened to me recently.  I started feeling stuff.

I started feeling stuff that I didn’t know was there.

You see…it was about 14 months ago that I got divorced from my wife of 6 years.  By divorce standards it was rather simple and over quickly.  We agreed on things and got it done.

It’s not really necessary for me to go into what happened that caused our divorce because it is always cumulative to some degree.  What happened isn’t nearly as important as how I felt about what happened.

I was obviously angry – really, really angry and hurt.  My family was being turned upside down, but tried to balance it all and not get caught up in all of the emotion as I didn’t think it would serve me well.

I processed a lot, but that was more intellectual than emotional.

I am not sure if it is due to the holidays or what, but for the first time since my divorce, I am experiencing sadness.

It just sort of hit me one day.

It’s been a bit painful.

I am in a coaching program that has a mastermind group and we got onto this conversation the other day about feeling our feelings, shifting off of them, learning our lessons and our perception of it all.

Here is my take.

You have to feel.  You have to give yourself the space to connect with what is going on for you.  Feel it…and feel it fully.

For me, I want to embrace all of my emotions and not stuff or deny any of them.  If I am sad, I get to feel sadness.

If I am angry, I get to feel anger.  If I am joyous, I get to feel joy.

In my experience, denying the emotion does not get rid of it; it just tucks it away to resurface later. By the contrast, the times when I really let myself feel however I am feeling fully…I often get to the other side of it.

When I went through my divorce, I never felt sad.  I am not sure I needed to at the moment, but I certainly never let myself feel it.  I just got pissed and moved on.

So often we seek to deny our emotions and get back to “our priorities and things that really matter.”  I believe that there are times when feeling our emotions fully is what matters most.

I have so spent much time in personal development programs that talk about “shifting” so you aren’t feeling anything that isn’t productive.  “Shift,” “Get over it,” “Get off of it.”

Sound familiar?

Feeling an emotion fully is the only thing I have ever experienced that has allowed me to be done with it.

I mean, really done with it.

If we go back to my divorce, let’s face it.  My family broke up…that is fricken sad.  I never felt it…I buried it in anger.  It came back and it paralyzed me.

So feel people feel!

Don’t judge your emotion or why you are feeling it.  Just know that’s what you are supposed to be experiencing.  Feel it fully so you can see clearly from the other side.

Then, once you have given yourself that gift, start looking at how you can frame the experience for your greatest learning and value.

Choose a world-view that empowers you.  Choose to see what value you have brought into your life through this experience.

Feel it fully.  Let it go.  Embrace the learning.

Please comment and share your thoughts and feel free to send this to anyone you “feel” would benefit.

There’s a cultural phenomenon that’s been sweeping the land:  poker as a spectator sport.  My gosh, is this a great country, or what?  Poker is America’s newest spectator sport.

It gives new meaning to the term “couch potato.”  We can now sit in the comfort of our living rooms and watch, with no physical exertion on our own, men and women sit around a table and play cards.

Let me be the first to admit that I find myself occasionally hooked by the high drama of watching people playing poker for big money.  Poker’s got everything – deception, intrigue, fear, and a generous dose of showing off.  

There is usually a wide range of personality types around that final table where some winner will take it all.  There’s the obnoxious, loud-mouth braggart that you love to hate.  There’s the mysterious young dude in sunglasses who doesn’t let on that he’s even breathing.  There’s the woman who played her way through the male dominated poker world to take her rightful place with the masters.  Then there’s the old guy in the cowboy hat that is beloved by all, including his competitors.  It’s pretty much everything you need for a great night’s entertainment on the big screen TV.

Recently Rev. Jim Kitchens, the minister of our church and a self-confessed poker fan, gave a sermon on the concept of “going all in.”  This is the moment of truth for a poker player.  It’s when she bets every last chip on one hand.

She’ll either win the pot and live to play another hand, possibly win everything and be the champion, or lose it all and go home empty-handed.  It’s an electric moment and it’s what poker players and fans live for – the feeling of everything being on the line with nothing held back.

Jim used “going all in” as a metaphor for depth of commitment.  It was one of those sermons that make you squirm in your seat because it forces you to take an honest look at your life and what you claim is truly important to you.  You have to see if what you say matches up with how you live.

I think it’s useful to do an inventory of whether or not I’ve gone all in with what I say I value.  In my work, am I all in when it comes to being of service to my customers?

How about my loyalty to my co-workers or colleagues?

Am I all in when it comes to following my own dreams and goals?

Have I put every chip in the pot in terms of my family?  My faith?  My community?  My friends?

Am I all in?

I’ve spent almost three decades working with companies and individuals on how to improve performance.  If I could give you just one idea on creating optimum personal performance, it would be this:

Go all in.

Whatever your skill level, expertise, advantages or disadvantages, if you or your team are truly all in, then there is no way that I would bet against you.  I’ve seen it over and over in countless examples of a person or team, seemingly unlikely to achieve their stated goal, not only achieve it, but exceed it.  The most important factor in their success was that they were completely and totally committed with all of their hearts.

Look at your own experience.  You may be just getting by in your work but you are the star of the weekend softball team.  What’s the difference?  I would wager almost anything that you’re all in on the softball but half-hearted about the work.  If that’s the case, then what’s the answer?  How can you be as good at the work as you are at the softball?

You either go all in with the work you’ve got or find some other work that you can go all in with. If your choice is to find other work, then get busy.  Take the steps that will lead you to a more fulfilling job.  If you feel like you should stay where you are, then get busy creating the “all in” mindset towards it.  For a lot of people this is a monster challenge.

I understand it.  I have experienced it.  I sometimes still experience it.

One thing that has always irritated me is this idea that if you just “follow your passion” the windows of heaven will open up and shower you with success and peace of mind and life will be a bowl of self-actualized cherries.

Right.  If only it were that simple.

My problem is that I’m not completely sure what my passion is when it comes to work.  I like writing a lot.  I enjoy giving speeches.  But what I’m truly passionate about is my family and friends.  Maybe I’m a slacker at heart.

My passion lies in hanging out with people I like.  Rather than quit work and go on a sabbatical to discover some burning career passion, which, by the way, might be just the ticket for some people, I’ve decided to go all in with my work because, well, it’s my work.

Seriously.  I decided that whatever work I do can be a source of fulfillment and even joy, depending on the extent to which I go all in with it.

It can be a chicken-or-egg question.  Should I wait until I find work that I love before I commit to go all in?  Or should I go all in so that I will begin to love the work that I’ve got?

It’s like the street sweeper who decides to be the best street sweeper in the history of the world because it just doesn’t make any sense to approach it any other way.  Why would I conceivably not want to be the best I can be at whatever I’m doing?

I like the idea that whether I’m sweeping a street, weeding my yard, playing drums in a band, teaching a class, taking photos at a wedding, working as a customer service representative, selling insurance, washing cars, running a company, being a personal fitness trainer, bagging groceries, or writing a book that I take the attitude that I will knock your socks off with how I do what I do.

Or maybe it’s my own socks that I want to knock off.

It’s why people climb mountains.  Because they’re there.  Why would I want to go all in with my work?  Because it’s there.  That is all the reason that anyone needs.  The bigger question is, why would you not go all in?

Guest Post by:

Joe Calloway – Bestselling Author of “Becoming A Category Of One”

Connect with my friend Joe on Facebook – http://facebook.com/joe-calloway

http://joecalloway.com

Fo Shizzle Manizzle!

Our homey Webster describes Gratitude this way…

“Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful”

This is the time of year that we are culturally reminded to “Give Thanks.”

Or as the urban dictionary says… Give “Fanks”

“An alternative to “thank you,” Fanks is the ultimate gratitude of one individual towards another.”

So today, right now, this Thanksgiving Week…where are you at in relationship to being grateful for all of the things in your life?  Who or what are you giving Fanks to?

Are you resisting or being present to the natural flow of the Universe?

Are you taking responsibility for your manifestations or are you blaming others, the economy or the government?

What have you created this year that you are grateful for?  Your answer should be quite simple.

EVERYTHING!

Yes, that’s right G money…everything.

Can you lift yourself high enough to stand in the wake of all of your results and truly have gratitude for every single success, setback, celebration and challenge?

If so, you are becoming a master of your world.

You understand that in partnership with the Divine…you are at cause.

You create your world with every thought you think, emotion you feel, intention you set and action you take.

In life it’s really simple…

We can be the Victim or the Victorous.

Do you own your responsibility to live at your highest self-expression?  Do you accept your connection to Divine inspiration, energy and creative power?

It’s completely up to you.  Victim or Victorious.

It seems so simple, right?

Most people choose to play Victim.  They think it’s easier.

I just don’t get it.  If you are like me, you have at some point in your life seen a glimpse as to what’s possible.  You have a knowing within you that you are called forward to be and do something great.  You have connected with a purpose or passion bigger than yourself.

If you resonate with any of those statements above, NOT living them out is certainly NOT easier.

It’s like being buried alive.  A slow, painful, self-sabotaging death.

Mandela (originally Marianne Williamson) said...

“It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be.”

Who are you not to be?  Indeed.  Fo Sho.

What if we chose to live our lives as if we are a miracle placed on this earth with a divine purpose?  What if we came from THAT perspective?

What if you knew you were a miracle manifester?

What if you understood and knew with every cell in your body that you were literally calling your world into being at every moment of every day?

Would you choose more supportive and empowering thoughts?

Would you react differently to the things that showed up?

Would you practice more Gra Ti Tood for your results?

I hope you choose to.  Really, that’s what I want for you, home skillet.

My gift to you today, this week for Giving Thanks, is to let you know what a gift you are to me.  In your unique way, you have enriched my life.  Think about it…there really is no other option.  If you didn’t enrich my life, you wouldn’t be in it.

So today, please understand this about yourself…

YOU ARE A FRICKEN MIRACLE.

That’s right, Dawg, you rock steady.  Go celebrate yourself and give thanks for the power you have within you to manifest your world.

Give yourself a huge hug right now.  You are amazing and you deserve it.

What are your thoughts?  What are you grateful for?  Let’s make sure everyone we know is clear that they are a miracle.  Send this to everyone you care about.