What Box?^®

What ever you most desire you will create in your life. What ever you most desire you will create in your life. Wake up! This is an extremely powerful realization. When you align with “life increase” and pay attention to what you most desire, you will change your life for the better. What ever you most desire you will create in your life.

What do you most desire for your life?

Life increase is all about focusing your thoughts and energy on abundance, what is possible, positivity, giving back, and letting go. Jesus may have been the one person who has walked the earth and was most aligned with “life increase” even though he owned nothing of the material world except the shirt on his back he was willing to give it to those more in need. He knew that when you give it away you get it back tenfold. Life increase means that you realize that nothing is permanent. That what you have is to be shared and that when you give it away unexpected rewards are your reward.

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Mitch Albom

When your thoughts and energy are focused on life increase you realize the pie is getting bigger all the time. That for every loss there are 100 wins around the corner. You realize that each day is an opportunity to take one step closer to creating what it is you desire in your life.

What do you most desire for you life?

For some people what they most desire is overshadowed by doubt, negativity, hopelessness, and despair. This unproductive thinking is what they focus their thoughts and energy on. This is not what they most desire in their lives but it is what they focus their energy on. As a result this continued focus on a sense of hopelessness and despair is what they create for themselves. What you most desire you will create in your life. When you think you can’t you can’t, when you think you can you can. Sounds so simple doesn’t, it and yet it works so well.

“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not.” Oscar Wilde

This is not new information, some new stroke of genius or brilliant discovery. Since the beginning of time philosophers have been communicating the power of your mind to create what you want in your life. Why is it that so many people ignore this wisdom or worse yet continue to create despair in their lives?

What do you most desire for your life?

How can you focus your energy on life increase? Here is what I do. Each and every day I make a conscious effort to think about what positive difference I am going to make today. I look forward to giving back to the world. My agenda is not focused on what can I get out of the world today instead it is focused on what value can I create? How can I give back? How can I make a positive difference?

What I have discovered over time and through the trial and tribulations of life the more I focus on what I can give back and what value can I create the more I get back. The more I am able to create what I want in my life, what I most desire.  

In my life I have been depressed to the point of wanting to end it all. I have even attempted the ultimate finality because of this depression. As I would drive my car towards the edge of Highway One on the California coast imagining going over the edge I would stop short. There had to be something out there for me, some purpose to living beyond the moment. I focused my energy on hope, positivity and the potential that I was meant to do something in this world of value. Since those days I have learned that everything in life can change in a matter of seconds and nothing is so bad that it is worth taking your own life. I know have a saying whenever life gets me down, “Just wait 5 minutes.”

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” Benjamin Franklin

Even though I was depressed I still was able to muster the energy to focus on the positive, what could be, and what purpose I have in life. This is a key to life increase. Even when I have been down to my last penny and I have on more than one occasion I still was willing to give it away to the homeless person on the corner. As I gave my few cents to that person with great intention and energy I would say to myself, “With this money I am making a difference for this one person and am grateful to be able to do so.” Next thing you know I have a new gig and money to burn.

Life increase means doing things that don’t make sense to the average person. It means thinking outside-the-box. It means having intention and believing that everything will get better. That what I most desire will come true in my life. Life increase means being able to lose it all and know that you can get back again. Life increase means you are able to walk through life with an increased confidence you know that nothing can hurt you or cause you despair, at least for long.

What do you most desire in your life?

Boy, am I glad that I did not let the ocean take me back to where I came from. Because even though life is not always easy and the challenges are great I have had more dreams come true, more friends come into my life, and been able to impact so many lives through the power of life increase.

How are you increasing the value of your life?

Let me know what you think.

Remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.

Benjamin Franklin is one of my great mentors. His wisdom continues to teach me because it is as true now as it was in his time. Whenever I am in need of a little inspiration I visit a couple Franklin Websites that I have bookmarked or I will read pages from his autobiography. Franklin’s insights inspire me to think in new ways which enable me to uncover hidden opportunities and directions.

“A man without a goal is like shooting a gun without a target.” –Benjamin Franklin–

When it comes to goal setting I have always envied people who have been able to set their goals in life at an early age. Rachel Jones, an amazingly brilliant young woman from Zena, knew from early grade school she wanted to be a forensic scientist. Amazing! She focused her energy without ever taking her eyes off the ball, achieving the goal and then working to excel in her profession. This has not been the way life worked for me at all.

How many of you out there are still not quite sure what you want to be when you grow up?

Growing up I wanted to be a paleontologist, an advertising executive, or maybe a formula racecar driver. No, I know, a great author, or maybe an influential artist. Could I be the President of the United States? I continue to aspire to very lofty visions. These visions have allowed me to set my goals and direction in life. Without a strong vision goals are more like shooting at a target with a shotgun than a rifle.

I have been setting goals tied to my vision for over half my life now. Kristen and I have continued our tradition of collaborating on each other’s goals for each New Year. We break down these goals into manageable chunks so we can achieve them. The funny thing is that when we review these goals over the years we find that we have had way more goals not achieved than achieved, goals that when compared to our goals in 2004 and 2008 might not make our goal chart in subsequent years.

We have not been wasting our time on goals that would never be achieved or realized, quite the opposite. By going after these goals, even if only for a short time, new experiences have emerged which enabled us to learn. New doors to possibility have been opened resulting in goals being changed to align with our evolving life’s vision.

What is holding you back from living your vision and setting your life goals?

“Goals: There is no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There is no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There is no telling what will happen when you act upon them.” –Jim Rohn–

Put your goals in writing. If you can’t put it on a sheet of paper you probably can’t do what it takes to achieve the goal.

Here is a good starting point for you to set SMART goals.

Specific – stating precisely what is wanted

Measurable – achievement of the goal can be measured

Attainable – you can accomplish the goal; success is possible

Related to Vision – the goal is aligned with your life vision

Time Bound – the goal has a specific date by when it will be accomplished

Setting SMART goals elevates and supports your vision for a more meaningful life. Start Kicking butt with your life set some SMART goals.

Ready, set, GOals!

Let me know what you think.

Remember that the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

It was sometime during a 2:00AM full moon boat ride back to Zena from a Holiday party with some very special friends in Grove that I started to more fully awaken to my immortality.

Now mind you, I had thought in my teenager years that I would not survive past 30 years old. When I celebrated my 30^th birthday I asked myself, “Now what?” Why did I think I would not live past 30 years old? I began asking myself, “What lies ahead of me? Maybe I will live to be 100 years old, and if I do what kind of journey will I go through?”

Then all the sudden, just a few days ago, my immortality hit me. I was in pain walking up some stairs. My back was not doing so well. I found that I was almost not able to bend over at all. I was frantic to find a chiropractor. I could not sit down or even get up very easily. I was not happy. Not only were there way too many things to be done and not enough time to do them in, I was incapable of doing any of them at all.

Just sitting down at my desk and going through my emails was a challenge. I was in sad shape, and talking with clients and friends only highlighted the fact that my age, my lifestyle, and the decisions I had made in the past, were all contributing to the impact on my body in the “here and now.”

A drive to Grand Lake was going to have to wait, much to my dismay. I could not even bend over enough to put my pants on. I was in trouble and grateful to find a chiropractor open on a Friday to help by giving my aching-back an adjustment.

I started paying attention to the way I moved, the way I walked, the way I picked things up, and the way I sat. I began to take in the fact that I was not always making the best decisions to help my body stay healthy and safe.

I am one of those kinds of guys who just doesn’t do the best job when it comes to exercising. I realized that I was only paying attention to my body when it spoke up in distress and communicated, “Hey, I am in need of some focus over here!” All of a sudden I could see that I was not seeing my body as a temple, which if properly cared for, would enable me to accomplish the goals I had set forth for my life.

This is the time of year when my wife Kristen and I get together and plan our one-year goals on a large piece of paper. We have been doing this now for almost 10 years. We have quite a collection to reflect upon as we wallpaper the walls in preparation for our yearly goal setting session.

We begin by spending time reflecting upon what we have achieved and celebrate our successes. We explore those areas where we have changed direction and work together to understand why and how let go of goals that are no longer relevant in our lives and to transform those areas by setting new goals. We talk about our failures and the reality of our goals. Then we set down our new ambitious and powerful goals for the coming year, first individually and then together.

Taking care of and paying attention to my body has always been on my list of goals. Although it has been drawn in any number of ways and has ranked #1 on all of our murals, for years I have always managed to let it slip to the bottom of the list. I have done little or nothing to focus my time and energy on this goal, even though I have placed it #1.  I have achieved many of my life’s goals, but this one has continued to elude me.

It was during the full moon boat ride engaging with the moon and the awesomeness of the star lit Grand Lake sky that I started to awake to my immortality. I am getting older, things are changing, and each day is a treasure. This time was more intense than others and one that cried out, “Do Something!”

So this coming year of 2008 I am going to “Do Something” about improving the health of my body. I am committed to changing my behavior in such a way that exercise becomes a norm, a pattern, a groove in my life; that what I take into my body becomes something I pay attention to.  I am committed to making the health of my body a focus in the same way that I focus my attention on nature, creativity, and my spirit. I will focus my attention on all aspects of my being: the physical, the mental, the emotional and the spiritual.

This does not mean that I am not going to focus my attention on the other areas of my life. It just means that I am going to be putting more emphasis and time than I have in past years on creating a healthy environment for my body.

As I put together my list of goals for the coming year, I will be focusing on goal setting for the following areas of my life:

• • Family/Friends                        
  • Career/Business
  • Finance
  • Home Environment
  • Community
  • Fun/Recreation
  • Personal Growth

After I develop categories for each of these areas, I focus my energy and attention on each category, one at a time, writing down ideal goals and outcomes for the coming year.

If you decide to give this a try, take your time and write down as many aspirations as you can think of for the different aspects of your life. The key is not to over think your ideas. Usually the first thoughts you think of are what you truly desire.

It is through using all your creative skills that you will be able to understand and live your life your way. When you “Do Something” instead of “Thinking about Something” you will awaken the unlimited potential that lies within you.

My challenge for this year is to pay greater attention to the health of my body. This is no small task for I am a person that is quite disconnected from my body. My energies have always been focused on my mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions. I will have to be patient with myself, appreciate and celebrate my small steps, create a rhythm and regular patterns of healthy activities, track my goals, and allow for anything goes time. I will be able to do this with focus, persistence and determination. I have made a decision to change and now I just have to begin. I have to “Do Something.”

What is your “Do Something!” for 2008?

Now is the time to decide to do something about it.

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” Life’s Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Let me know what you think.

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.