The Sun

Ahhhh..... a weekend away with my beautiful wife. It was our last day and it was time to go home. I woke up early to catch one last run from our condo in Clearwater, Florida and when I walked to the patio this is what I saw:

It wasn't the luck of catching a perfect sunrise that inspired me the most. It wasn't the memory of amazing quality time with my wife. It wasn't the weather; it wasn't any of that.

It was the thought that went through my mind as I snapped the picture that really meant something on that Monday morning. 

The thought was this: the sun comes up the same for all of us and it comes up EVERY day.

Simple and mundane yes but powerful and prolific as well. 

You see, to many people have way to much concern for things they have no control over. People often are stuck where they are not because they are actually stuck but because they don't realize that they can change. You can change almost any circumstance.

The sun coming up...that you can't change.

So many people are stuck in a job they hate to buy stuff they don't need to impress people they don't like. 

We get tied to an idea that was fed to us when we were young yet has never been proven. You "need" X,Y and Z so that you can A,B and C. None of this is truth.

The sun comes up and the sun goes down. THAT is truth. That you can't not change. Your relationships, your happiness, your lot in life...well that is all up to you. CHANGE it.

Do you LOVE what you are doing? Change your attitude or change what you are doing!

It is up to you. Just because conventional wisdom says to do certain things why do you have to follow that? You don't! 

Change the things you can change. Don't worry about the things that you cannot change. If "everybody" doesn't seem to follow you maybe it's you. Change! Your future is perfect. 

The sun goes up and the sun goes down but it is up to you to live your life.

Start today. Stop blaming the world for your problems. Stop pretending that your job or your life is like the sun going up and the sun going down. Your life is yours to lead and it is up to you to control. Program your life the way you want it to be programmed. It is up to you! Really it is! 

Start today. Stop complaining about things that you cannot change. You don't complain about the sun going down so why do you complain about your weight? Nobody wants to hear you complain.

Start today. Accept responsibility for your life and get to work. You may not have say in when the sun comes up tomorrow but you sure have a say in how you are going to approach the day. Right?

Take this opportunity that we call life and live it. Live today and live tomorrow. Make something of yourself. Make a difference. Be somebody more. Do something more. 

Now. Today. Get to work. The sun is going down later. When it comes back up try being a better you. It's YOUR choice....

Stop quitting

I see it so much but sometimes, like TODAY, it just pushes me over the edge.

If you are tired of starting over. If you are disgusted by some facet of you life. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired then.... STOP QUITTING.

Really. It's kind of ridiculous and I see it more than I care to even comment on.

Yes, the quitting drives me absolutely nuts but that isn't the big thing. We all quit because sometimes we have to. Sometimes whatever we quit has run its course and we must move on. I have quit many times. I quit the military. I quit pursuing my dreams in Colorado. I've quit jobs, I quit paying for things... I quit my marriage.

Who has't quit something BIG.

That is not it.

Quitting can be OK.

The excuses that we use are not and to the trained eye it is obvious why you quit something. Usually it is a character flaw. Usually we refuse to stand up and admit that we are lazy, or tired, or we don't have what it takes...

No. Most of the time we find someone to blame. We make excuses for our own flaws by blaming someone or something or some product or some system or our knee or our kids or our spouse...the list goes on and on.

It's not their fault; it's YOURS. You quit for whatever reason. You quit and you try to pass the buck.

Why not admit to yourself at least why you quit and not try to blame the world?

In 1998 I was pursuing my dreams in Colorado but ran back to Massachusetts with my tail between my legs. Why? At the time I did not have what it takes to be success. I was failing and I didn't have enough character to figure out how to move forward without walking away.

That was 14 years, a lifetime ago. but the fact remains that I quit. I can admit now that it was 100% on me but at least I now admit it.

A few years ago I quit my marriage. Why? I didn't invest what I should have to create a successful marriage that would last forever. Can I blame my former spouse? Or the kids? Or the economy? I could but I will not. It was my fault and I walked away and admit to my character flaws now caused that result.

Truth today is that most people aren't ready to give their absolute best. Most people run when the going gets tough. Most people see the first possible excuse to blame this or that and THEY TAKE IT.

"That right there is the excuse that I cam going to use so that I don't have to accept responsibility".

People don't say that but it is the truth.

STOP doing that.

Set you sites and go after what you want.

Want to lose weight? Do not give up until you lose the weight. Want to run or walk 100 miles in the month of October? Why is your TV on EVER if you are behind schedule?

I've been on Facebook for about 4 years now. This is long enough to see some of the same people cycle through and claim to be "on a diet" or doing some sort of weight loss plan. I know people that I have seen do this 3 or 4 times. It's OK to not succeed every time. One of these days you need to figure out that you need to stop quitting but stop blaming and complaining. It's on you. It is 100% on you.

I could go on all day but I don't want to. I have hopefully made my point.

Does this blog post make you mad? GOOD. Go out and prove me wrong. Tell yourself that you are not going to quit no matter what and go out there and GET IT DONE.

Fight till the end and don't accept the excuses that you will be handed along the way. Just tell the excuses, "Thank you but my plans to succeed don't include you."

I don't profess to be perfect or even any better than you or anyone else. Frankly I am sick to my stomach over how many people that I care about quit and aren't honest about the reasons. Stand tall and admit that you just don't have what it takes then get to work FINDING what it takes.

Did you hear me? GET. TO. WORK! Rock on.