One of the many pitfalls people encounter is getting up when they have been knocked down. During these challenging economic times, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with disappointments, financial struggles, spiraling debt, lack of confidence and security, with no end in sight.

I was in a similar situation several years ago. I had just graduated from high school and was a rising freshmen in college. That summer during a football camp, I had an accident that pretty much ended my football career forever. I was running across the field and stepped into a pot hole. I heard my knee go “snap, crackle, pop.” I tore the anterior cruciate ligament in my knee and needed reconstructive surgery to repair it.

We have all encountered people that have nothing positive to say. Each time you present them with an idea of hope, creativity, love, innovation, increase, they provide you with every reason or excuse in the book as to why your idea will not work. They tell you 10 negative reasons why something will not work or can’t be done and in the event they say something positive, you’ve already decided not to move forward with your desires.

The term self-discipline often causes some discomfort and resistance. You get the idea that it will be an unpleasant experience, difficult to attain, requires a lot of effort, or having to stop doing something. Well, it does require effort and the sacrifice is maintaining focus long enough to make it habit.

I recall the discussion my coach had with me about discipline. It was one of the first characteristics he instilled in me. My coach defined discipline as mental focus. Being able to focus all your thoughts on one subject until it becomes your only thought.  Read more....

Many of us can remember our first sexual encounter (OK, maybe not all of us.) An individual such as myself, can recall the one night stands, the booty calls and the so-called relationships that were pretty much about sex as well. So I really didn’t have a relationship that was of any substance and associated love with sex. (Typical guy huh?) Now I know that sex and love have nothing to do with one another. It took a lot of sexual experiences, heart ache, and messy break ups, to help me recognize my actions and thoughts were attracting these experiences into my life. I started recognizing a pattern. It was like a super fast roller coaster with a lot of 90 degree angle drops, loop to loop, upside down turns, dark underground tunnels, screaming, and tears.  Read more....

Are you familiar with the excuses and reasons we give for not being our best selves or having a meaningful and fulfilling life? We say things, like I’m not educated enough, I don’t know what to do, I don’t have enough money or time, the economy is bad, the weather, the President, my race, I’m afraid to win, it’s just not in the cards for me. What it really comes down to are 4 main reasons why people fail to achieve their full potential.

We’ve all had something to do and a certain time to do it by. That time came and went and now, we are playing caught up, running around like a chicken with its head cut off attempting to get things done. Like that school project or essay paper, or having the employee evaluations completed, or preparing the monthly audits, or planning a family gathering, or finding time to fix dinner at a decent hour, or having the house cleaned and ready for visitors during the holidays.

The first thing to understand is the basic failure/success model.  Like most people, this used to be my model: 

Failure <---------- ME ----------> Success  Read more....