Do you stretch like a rubber band?

What is the sole purpose of a rubber band? The sole purpose of a rubber band is to stretch; if a rubber band does not stretch, it is very much useless. So what do we have in common with a rubber band? Well, we have to stretch too; meaning that we have to keep growing, learning and striving every single day to become a better person. The best way to become more valuable can only be done by stretching. If you do not stretch, then what is your purpose? If we do not keep changing, then what are we doing? In fact, change and growth are the only evidence things are alive. So be alive! I am 26 years old and I am definitely not the same person I was when I was 21. I definitely did not think the same way as I do now. Also I did not lead the same, and in fact I made some really dumb decisions. Now, 5 years later, I make less dumb decisions, but I know for sure that I’m not that same 21-year-old kid. Furthermore, 5 years from now, I will also be different and hopefully I make even fewer dumb decisions. Imagine how you will change also in the next 5 or even 10 years! Maybe you will even be unrecognizable. The point is that we should be constantly changing. The world changes so we must change with it. However, people only truly change when they want to, or they hurt so much that they have to. But it is always a conscious choice. One difference between successful people and normal people is that they learn from their mistakes, they say “never again!” or “I will never go back.” Remember GROWTH=CHANGE. In the end, life is just a big wheel of change, embrace it, and always keep stretching.

Thanks for reading.
Quote of the week.

Five years from now you will be the same person you are, except for the books your read and the people you meet

What makes us or breaks us

Check out the following poem

I am your constant companion,
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well turn over to me
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed –
you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great people;
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great,
I have made great.
Those who are failures,
I have made failures.
I am not a machine,
though I work with all the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a human.
You may run me for a profit or run me for ruin –
it makes no difference to me.
Take me,
train me,
be firm with me,
And I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me,
and I will destroy you.

WHO AM I?

A HABIT.

Author (unknown)

I read this poem the other day and I completely loved it. I realized that what we do everyday either makes us or breaks us. You can definitely learn a lot about a person by looking at what they do through out the day or their daily agenda. As I started thinking about habits after I read the poem, I firmly believe 2 things about habits;

1. We ARE our habits

2. We CHOOSE our habits

I think the latter is the most important statement because we can choose our habits, therefore choose who we are; we can choose what to do or what not to do. I believe everything starts with our dreams, after our dreams are established, we then we set our goals and ultimately, our habits are what take us to our goals and dreams. However, habits do take time, and they require a lot on consistent work. Habits are both hard to form and equally hard to break, like the popular saying, “old habits die hard.” The good news is that in the end, it’s all up to us. If you really want to change, just look at the person that stares back at you every day in the mirror.

Tip of the Week:
Is there something you want to make a habit? Even if it is something small, you can start today. It takes around 31 days to make a habit, so see if you can do it for that whole period of time. Mark on your calendar today and then cross out the days until you hit 31.

Thanks for reading! I hoped you liked the poem! If you enjoyed this blog please subscribe.

2 Basic Truths of Life That You Must Know

1. Life is difficult- Life is, and will always be difficult. Throughout our lives there will be challenges and curveballs thrown at us. We can never know what lies ahead. As I’m sure we have all experienced, we might have a great week, and then the following week have a completely crappy week. One second you are on top of the world and the next you are in the bottom of the barrel. That is what life is; a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs, that in a sense are necessary, because sometimes it takes bad moments, in order to appreciate the good ones. Furthermore, we have to be real, and accept that life its not hassle free, we must accept the challenges that life brings and enjoy the journey with the good and the bad. Even through bad experiences, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

2. The difficulty of life applies to everyone- Yes, everyone, even though you might think that certain people have the perfect life; they actually don’t. Their lives are filled with problems just like yours and mine. We all have problems, problems are not exceptions, they happen to every single person on this earth. However, the scope of the problems and the frequency might be different for each individual person, but believe me, they are there. So don’t beat yourself up thinking others have it better, and stop wishing you had a life like theirs, because sometimes other people could be experiencing problems worse than the ones that you are going through. Ultimately, we all experience life’s problems, failures, and losses.

In conclusion, accept these two facts of life, so you become better equipped to take on the challenges that life will bring you. Know that life is difficult and it’s not fair, but you have to face it head on, in order to grow. Know that with every problem comes an opportunity, and with every opportunity comes a problem. Also, we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others; it is really not productive for us. Lastly, there will never be an easy way through life; there are no shortcuts, we will all struggle, and we will all face a series of problems through our journey. The problems will vary on our journey, but know that they will be there.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe.

PS- It always nice to hear that my words can inspire someone. I have always said that even if I just inspire one person then this blog is a success.

Simple might not be sexy, but it gets the job done

We all know that we live in a complex world; the beauty in this world of ours is that the simpler we live our lives, the better. If we live simple we will enjoy the process; we will enjoy our lives. I don’t know if you are familiar with the story about the fox and the hedgehog? In this story, the author, Isaiah Berlin, breaks down all the people in this world into 2 categories: hedgehogs and foxes. Foxes are complex creatures that try to do many things at once, but rarely accomplish anything. Foxes are beautiful, with their nice furry tales and pointy ears. On the other hand, hedgehogs are weird-looking creatures, but they are simple; they just look for food and take care of their home, but they are really good at it. I believe about 95 percent of the population are Foxes. These are people that try to do many things, people that live complicated lives, people that think they know everything and that everything they do is exactly right. The other 5 percent are hedgehogs; the simple people, the ones that have one vision and a purpose in life. Contemporary geniuses, like Freud in psychology and Einstein in physics, were hedgehogs; Freud with his concept of the subconscious and Einstein with his theory of relativity. These two men were not flashy, they were in fact not even considered attractive; however, they knew the world and its complexity, but they broke down this complexity in their mind to something simpler. Furthermore, the footprint they have left in this world will stay until the end of our civilization. Let’s now think about our lives, are they complex or simple? Think of the categories in the wheel of life.

1. Physical- do you have a fairly simple diet and exercise program? Or are you always worried about your weight and diet patterns?
2. Social- How are your relationships? Full of drama or pretty clear cut? Do you still act as if you were in high school filled with gossip and worrying about what others think?
3. Spiritual- Either you are a believer or your not? Pick a side don’t believe just what benefits you.
4. Financial- Handling finances might seem like a complicated matter but is not, live below your means, save, spend, invest and give. That’s it! No need to worry about how the market is or all the media frenzy about the economy.
5. Career- Are you doing what you love, are you good at it? Does it make you money? Or are you unsatisfied with your job and jumping from place to place looking for the better dollar? Are you constantly thinking of different things to do for a living and just looking for the next better “job”?
6. Intellectual- Are you continuously improving yourself? Or did you think education ended with your formal education?
7. Family- I left family at the end because it is the toughest in my opinion to control. The other 6 we can choose, but we can’t really choose our family, we are born into it. However, do try to live as simple as you can, leave drama out, don’t get so caught up in grudges or stupid fights, set your boundaries and be supportive without enabling bad behavior.

I hope all these questions make you think a bit, and I would like to leave you with one last question;

Are you a fox or a hedgehog?

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FACTS ARE BETTER THAN DREAMS

It is extremely important to have faith and to be optimistic—but equally important, is to be a realist and understand where you stand in life. This, in fact, is a paradox; you must be a dreamer and think of big things, but at the same time you have to face the brutal facts of your situation. I have always advocated that we could see the world through two sets of eyes, optimistic and pessimistic, glass half full or half empty. However, we must always have our feet planted in our reality. In order to go out there and reach for our dreams, we must have a solid benchmark of where we are starting and from there see what is attainable. For example, a child born in a foreign country could have been brought to the US as a baby, grow here, love this country, serve in the military, become a politician, but will never be the president of the United States. Unless the law, only a US born person can be president, changes, this is impossible. I believe this statue will probably never change; so he or she will never become president. Does that mean they give up? Well no, but they can’t focus all their attention into becoming president, it would be an unrealistic goal. Another example would be if I tried to play in the NBA. I don’t consider myself short in normal standards, but compared to those guys I would look like a little kid playing basketball with grown ups. With this is mind, it is probably wise for me to do something other than basketball for a living. These two might seem like very general examples, but my goal is to get you thinking in reference to your own personal goals and aspirations. I don’t know what those are, so you are going to have to write them down, face your current facts and be completely honest with yourself. Ask yourself the question; are these realistic? Sometimes only until we are completely real and honest with ourselves, is when we begin to change.

Tip of the week: Think of a situation in which you have not faced the facts. Maybe you are in denial or just don’t want to believe it, but remember facts are better then dreams, so face the facts and take action.

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to subscribe.

I don’t want a good life

I’m reading this great business book called Good to Great by Jim Collins. The book is fantastic and should definitely be read by anyone with a business mind. Collins and his colleagues studied companies that suddenly sky-rocketed and went from GOOD TO GREAT. The purpose was to find out what the secret of these companies was and what moves were made by these companies that gave them their breakthrough. I am only a few chapters into the book, but what I want to focus on today on a particular topic that Collins analyzes in the very first Chapter: GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT. Think about it, Collins says why don’t we have great schools? To which he responds, because we have good schools, why don’t we have a great government? Because we have a good government, and more profoundly, WHY DON’T WE HAVE GREAT LIVES? Because we rather settle for good lives. I am almost 100 percent sure that everybody wants to live a good life, and I think everybody will agree with me on the 3 things that we all generally want out of life:

1. Be Happy
2. Be Healthy
3. Be reasonably Wealthy.

Frankly, I do want these 3 things and I do want a good life, but after reading this chapter it challenged me to stop thinking about wanting a good life; I don’t want a good life, I want a GREAT life. We only get one shot at this life so why should we settle for good when we can have great? Why settle and conform rather than becoming the best we can be? As they say, be the change you want to see in the world. If you want to have a better life be a better person, if you want better friends be a better friend, if you want a better relationship with your spouse be a better husband or wife, if you want better kids, then be a better parent, if you want a better boss, then be a better employee. It goes back to the law of reciprocity, that exactly what you send out is exactly what you get back. I think if we keep aiming higher every time and try to continuously be better, we will reach greatness.

One quick tip: When we are asked “Hi how are you?” we generally say “Good and you?” If you want to live a great life, then I challenge you to change your answer and from now on when people ask how are you doing respond “Great and you?” It is a very simple and subtle change, but it can make a big difference on the way you are perceived by the other person and it can set a tone for a completely different mood.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this blog and want to go from good to great together please subscribe.

I have a right not to go to school

Although every person has the right to not go to school or to not get a degree; I believe, we do not have the right to not get an education. We need to be consistently learning; always asking questions, because there are always people out there that know things that we do not know. Technology has changed the face of education at such a tremendous magnitude that we literally have knowledge at our fingertips. Any question we have can be quickly answered trough a “google” search. During times of change, only the learners will move on and be successful. Just like in business: if you keep doing business like yesterday, you will not be in business tomorrow. The only constant in this world is change. As we carry on in this journey called life, we need to be learning every single day. We need to accept the fact that learning will be a never-ending battle. You might have finished your formal education, but you are definitely not done learning. We need to possess a teachable spirit. Being teachable is a choice, you decide intentionally to have the right attitude and mindset to keep learning in life. We need to have an open mind because a close mind will not create opportunities. For example, I want to know everything there is to life, I try to have a beginner’s mindset for everything and try to listen all I can. However, I am realistic and I will not know everything in this world, but I do know that I will continue to learn everyday and that I will die asking questions. Wisdom is gained through a lifetime of listening and asking questions. Ultimately, we learn by asking questions. In formal education, we are giving tests full of questions to find out if we know the material, but in life we must ask our own questions and test ourselves. Asking questions at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day will help us reflect on the learning opportunities each day brings us.

A changing Capitalism: When Money is not enough.

I believe there is a major shift happening in our Capitalism in which profit has stopped being the sole purpose of doing business. Traditional Capitalism is just strictly focused on making a buck, ignoring even your own team members and customers needs. However, this new Capitalism that is boiling, has intertwined profit with purpose. New business leaders and entrepreneurs are looking for a higher purpose, they want to make the world better, as Steve Jobs once said, make a “dent” in the Universe. Furthermore, not only are they looking out in delivering greater value for the customer, but also they want to be servant leaders, and actually improve the lives of their team members and the community. I believe this will take our business culture in a better path and create a society that will use profits to shape a better world. It will create a world that promotes giving and generosity. They use to say that at the end of the day you take money to the bank not the customer’s smiles, but I think in the future we will need to have customer’s smiles in order to take money to the bank.

 

What can we take from this new approach in Capitalism, and make it relevant to our personal jobs or careers? We want to be doing something that has a purpose. We want to know we are making a difference, and our efforts are appreciated. Money cannot be the only motivating factor dragging you to work, because I will almost guarantee it will lead to job dissatisfaction and burnout. Surprisingly the top 3 reasons people quit their jobs is not because of the money, the top 3 reasons are:

 

1. Lack of appreciation

2. Inability to grow

3. The co-workers

 

Thanks for reading!

 

PS- My sincere apologies for not being as active in my blog. I will not make excuses or say I didn’t have time, because saying “ I didn’t have time” simply means it wasn’t important enough.

I have my goals. Now what?

Last blog, I wrote about the importance of having goals in the 7 different areas of our lives. (Career, Financial, Physical, Intellectual, Social, Family, and Religion) So what’s next after setting up your goals? WRITING THEM DOWN. It is crucial to write down your goals because you need something to aim at, if you don’t have a target you will miss 100% of the time. Secondly, and more importantly, is actually creating a plan of action in order to achieve those goals. It is the how and the what, How I’m I going to hit those goals? What do I need to do in order to achieve them? Napoleon Hill said that action is the real measure of intelligence, so the best metric for our intelligence is not our IQ or GPA, but rather it is the actual action we take towards achieving our goals. I am sure we all know smart people that don’t do anything, so in order for us to prove how smart we are we must DO something. I believe that we are not measured by school degrees, but rather by the way of our thinking and our actions. Everybody wants to win in life, but how many of us are actually taking action. We all have goals, but we need a plan of action in order to achieve them. I read that a plan of action will separate you from the 97% of the people you meet. And I believe this is true; about two years ago I started to see that most people want certain things, however they absolutely do nothing to attain them. Everybody wants to lose weight, everybody wants to make more money, everybody wants better quality relationships, but what are you actually DOING daily in order to achieve those wants? Furthermore, remember that is really important to track your progress in order to get traction. Goals are usually attained gradually by building certain habits; rarely do they happen from one day to the other.  In short, here are 3 steps that can help you achieve your goals:

1. Write down your goal- You need to know what you’re aiming at

2. Create a plan of action- Have a plan and work diligently

3. Track your progress- Set deadlines and review goals daily

THANKS FOR READING!

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How do you want next year to be?

How do you want next year to be?

 

As the year comes to a close, I hope all of you are already planning what next year is going to look like. If we don’t plan and determine what the next year will bring for us, it will just simply be a repetition of this year. It is imperative that we make clear goals for what we need to accomplish next year in the following 7 areas:

 

1. Career

2. Financial

3. Physical

4. Social

5. Intellectual

6. Family

7. Spiritual

 

These 7 areas make up the wheel of life, and we need to be working on all of these areas diligently in order to have an overall fulfilling life. We cannot just focus in on one specific area because then the other areas will start to slack. The key is prioritizing what needs to be done, but without leaving the other areas uncared for. I encourage you to take an inventory of where you currently sit in all these areas, and where do you want to go next year. Then write down specific goals you want to accomplish in all the areas. For example:

 

1. Career- finish school, get a promotion, get a bigger salary

2. Financial- pay off debt, save for a car/house

3. Physical- lose 10 pounds

4. Social- hang out with my friend “Zack” at least 6 times this year

5. Intellectual- read 10 books a year

6. Family- Call my mom once a week

7. Spiritual- Attend church every Sunday

 

These are just some examples that can help you think of what your goals might be, your goals should be tailored to what your wants are, just remember that your goals need to be SMART, and that is:

 

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

ACTIONABLE

REALISTIC

TIME BOUND

 

It is important that we budget our time in order to meet our goals in life, because that is the only way we will dictate how our life turns out instead of wondering where it went. Remember we are the both the director and the main actor in this movie that is called life.

 

To end this blog, I will like to thank every single person that is following me and has read this blog. I really hoped I had some type of impact this year in your life, even if it was really small.  Even a small impact through the words I write in this blog, for me is a total success. I hope you continue along with me, and I promise to give you even more food for thought, more information that will not only help change our culture, but also help change the person you see everyday in the mirror. Thank you for reading, thank you for your time, and I’m sure next year will be your best year yet.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

-Jose