“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” ~ John Wooden
John Wooden was one of the most revered coaches in the history of sports. During his tenure as head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row— an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games. He was named national coach of the year six times. He coached his players to be the absolute best they could be every day, not just in sports, but in every aspect of their lives. Wooden also believed we can always improve but should never compare ourselves to others. Their success does not define your success or your perceived lack thereof. I have compared myself to others successes most of my adult life. Even though I built 3 very successful businesses, I would always look at my competitors and think “They have achieved more than me, they built better shopping centers or developed nicer condominium projects than we did.
What I know is that comparing yourself to others only holds you back from believing that you can be the best you can be every day. You will only rise to the heights you think you can. So why not take every day to realize you are the best you can be. But in order to do that, you have to make a choice that you will put forth your best each day. At the end of the day when you reflect, you will know your best was good enough. Start the next day with an attitude of I am going to do better than my best from yesterday.
Every day, if you push yourself just a little more, you will eventually see quantum leaps in your level of success. So I ask you…Who is your competition – really?
“The same wind blows on us all. The economic wind, the social wind, the political wind. The same wind blows on everybody. The difference in where you arrive in one year, three years, five years, the difference in arrival is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sail.” ~ Jim Rohn
Sometimes, when we see an opportunity to make a big change in our lives, it’s a matter of changing the set of your sail. A colleague in my business, changed the set of her sail to change her life and her family’s. She was a very successful, busy executive with a large media company, commuting 4 hours a day from home to her job. By the time her day ended, she had very little time to spend with her two young daughters and her husband.
She wanted to be more involved in her family’s lives, but didn’t know how she could make that happen. Missing one of her daughter’s first steps was when she realized, something needed to change. A friend introduced her to a new business she could do part time and begin supplementing her income and eventually replace her executive salary, allowing her to make the change she wanted. At first, she resisted. She was already too busy. But when she thought about her future and what she really wanted, she made the decision to partner with her friend and take control of her life.
Today, she works her new business around commuting to work, watching her daughters play sports, just blending it into her life.
We all want to make the most of our lives. Thinking you are too busy to find a better way, or just not being open minded to new opportunities won’t always get you where you want to go. You don’t want to let any of the moments slip away, lost forever while you were waiting on a train, or for the clock to chime six, or for an opportunity to find you down the road. Don’t kick yourself a year from now for missing out on an opportunity that is in front of you today.
What are you going to do this week that can get you started towards really living the life you want? This isn’t a rhetorical question. Seriously take the time right now and decide what’s the one thing you’ll do this week to get started.
Leave a comment below and declare it publicly. There is power in public declaration.
What do you want your life to look like in 5 years? What are the plans you have for yourself and your family? Do you have dreams that you ignore and does your past define your future?
The first time I was asked that question, it really made me stop and think. I had no idea what I wanted my life to look like in 5 years. If you are like me and most of the rest of us, I was too busy building my businesses, with my blinders on, trying to keep my head above water. How could I fathom where I would be in 1 year, much less 5 years?
What I realized was I had stopped dreaming.
Remember when you were in kindergarten and you thought you could do and be anything you wanted; nothing could stop you? Then you started your career or a family and things didn’t turn out like you hoped. Then the doubt started creeping in. Will you succeed in your next project? Will you achieve the goals you have set for yourself or your company? Are you really a good parent, giving your child the right advice and direction? Those self doubts create limiting beliefs that stop you from achieving the greatness you were meant to achieve.
We stop dreaming about who and what we can be and what our future will look like. After all, we are just trying to do a little better at our tasks at hand each day.
I want to challenge you to make the same shift I did a few years ago. Step back, take a look at where you are, the great things you have accomplished. Don’t let what you have done in the past define where you are going. Your past can only define your future if you live there.
Write down what you want your life to look like in 5 years. Include your spouse, significant other and/or your children as you begin to dream about what your future will hold. Don’t be afraid to have some big audacious goals and dreams.
As you design the next five years, be specific, don’t just have a monetary goal. Decide what you want the money to do for you and your family. Where will your children go to college. Will you have their college tuition completely funded? What kind of cars will you be driving? What will your house look like? Where will you go on vacations? Do you want to fund mission trips or donate more to charities that you are passionate about?
This is your dream, so dream big! Your future is yours for the making! Why not you, why not now?
If you want to know more about making dreams come true, get in touch with me today so we can talk. I’d love to help you realize your dream life!
