Facing Our Realities-

Our New Beginning...

The year 2008, brought the beginning of a major series of human and economic altering events. Including what many thought would be the collapse of the American banking and financial system. This series of financial events marked a critical hinge point in our pursuit of earthly desires. Erased was the methodology of the era. Eliminated were the rules of the game which guided many through the days of overindulgence. It was as if, in one single day, unannounced, someone reset the rules of human pursuit and obtainment.

If you have failed to recognize this hinge point and the development of a new set of rules you are being left behind. The rules of the era past WILL NOT return! Facing this reality you will understand that a new set of rules are in order. It IS YOUR responsibility to learn these rules. In the ensuing decades we will only be left with those that Have, and those that Have Not. And with each passing day the caravan of those who HAVE draws further from your view. So, the choice is all yours... which will it be - fall behind, get left behind in a world of Have Not or read this book series and apply its lessons? In the following pages, you will be given the opportunity to learn and practice the new rules of Pursuit and Obtainment. Here, you will learn to uncover your highest potential; leading you to that place where you can Be, Do or Have, anything that You desire.

Are we together on this?  Good!

Let’s get going, there is much to cover and we will need to accelerate to avoid being left behind. It will be very important to first review a few details surrounding the creation and pursuit of desires...

First things First...

Each living being is in pursuit of something. For simplicity,  let's divide ‘living beings’ into plants and animals. In common, both plants and animals exist through a fixed genetic cycle. So what differentiates the plants from animals?  Most significantly, the brain!  Buried in the human brain are the key differentiators which promote a life of continued learning. The most significant of these differentiators, being... the animal instinct of fight or flight.  This is part of the survival code implanted within each of us, passed-on through the millennium, allowing the creation of a path of extended survival. As we exit the era of overindulgence we find that this instinct has been compromised through excess and convenience. After all, with the availability of many things in excess, and the convenience of immediate satisfaction there is no need to fight for survival and there is nothing to flight from.

In the days ahead excess and convenience will be scarce. If you do not believe me, ask the twelve+ million United States unemployed who are wondering where the cash will come from to the feed their family, to put gas into their tank, to make their next mortgage payment. Or ask the 3+ million college graduates who will continue to walk aimlessly into a non-existent job market. So, let’s keep reading... there are lives at stake here - agreed?

// Unedited excerpt: SYSTEM ERROR! Abort, Retry, Ignore - 7 Essential Steps on How to REBOOT the Human Operating System.  Author: Phillip A. Lopez  ~ Kindle/Amazon - Available Spring 2013 //

The Unexamined Life...

"The Unexamined Life is not worth Living" ~Socrates

The Question of the day is - how well have you done on holding-up your 2012 New Year Resolutions?

In all truthfulness, I am not a big New Year Resolution kind of guy.  This may seem surprising to you, especially from a person so dedicated to Highest Human Potential, so let me explain...

It is not that I am against goal setting or more strongly, against Ambitious goal setting. To the contrary, we should all be driving towards something! And, with only one life to live, we should drive Ambitiously. This is it folks... This is your life - there is no dress rehearsal here. One performance and it is Live.

So why no New Years Resolutions? After all, the beauty of life stems from the resolution that we Can - Have, Be or Do, Anything that we Desire. 

No New Year Resolutions is just a personal choice, for me.  I wake-up everyday, I am filled with gratitude that I am able to wake rested; I slide my foot under the covers to feel that my loving wife is still laying next to me, throw back the covers and I start charging. For me, I choose to see everyday as a start to a New Year.  If you take a look around you there are many who share this ambitious opportunity.

My wife, Janice and I, just finished our 2012 holiday with a 16-day tour starting in Paris - headed south into Italy - and back out through Paris. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to run-across some amazing individuals... living some pretty amazing (and ambitious) Live Performances. And they did not wait for the changing of a calendar to get started...

Most memorable was my airport shuttle driver, Samuel. Samuel woke-up one morning and decided the time had come - it was time for him to leave everything he had and everyone he loved. He had enough of a war torn life in Ethiopia. He decided on that day, that he would change his dedication and direction. He could only think of one place to turn, America!  He shared with me the fire that continues to burn within him; the fire that freedom brings!

Easy? I never heard this word cross Samuel's lips in the 50-minute conversation that we shared. After 15 years of an uncertain life change, I did hear Grateful, Dedicated, Thankful and Loving. Loving? Yes! Samuel shared with me a story of how one day as he was walking into a grocery store near his home and he kept hearing some person shouting out his name. As the voice got closer, he turned to see a boyhood friend from his Ethiopian village. Samuel said at that moment he was filled with more love than he could hold! Thousands of miles from home, millions and millions of people between him and his village, he would run into a boyhood friend. The two men remain in constant contact, encouraging each other to believe that they CAN - that they Can do the things that they WILL to do.

Today begins your New Year! I encourage you to rise every morning with an attitude of NEW. 

Take the time to live the 'Examined' life. Think about the things that mean the most to you - celebrate them. Imagine the life that you dream to live - memorize this. Remain in resolve to attain your dream life! Renew your pursuit with the start of each new day as if, there was no tomorrow. This is your life - there is no dress rehearsal. One performance and it is Live.

The 'A' Word...

I had the weirdest dream the other night...  


In this dream the phone was ringing - Being a dream, I got up to answer it.  When I picked-up, there was a silent pause on the other end - Great I thought!  Another Political candidate survey.  Boy, was I off base on this one...

Hello?
   - Yes, is Mr. Lopez available?
Yes, this is Phil...
   - This is not a paid or sponsored call.
Ok, well - Who is this?  I didn't catch your name-
   - Mr. Lopez,  this is the Universe...
        -  And we want to know when you are going to deliver your highest potential?
Ahhh---
   - If you don't want to deliver that's ok, I guess, but the universe needs the purpose that is inside you. If you won't deliver it, we'll have to pass your purpose to someone else!
What?!
   - Yeah -that's right, the universe - we need to know if YOU are going to deliver...  !

I sprang out of bed!  Heart racing 12bazzillion miles per hour.
That little voice, from within was shouting - "Don't freak!! - Don't Freak!"  Keep Breathing!!!!I ran to the bathroom - turned on the light... looked into the mirror and said, "We need to go over a few things and we better hurry!" ---


There is no need for you to worry, I got your back on this one... I will make sure that your phone doesn't ring.   In the  next few paragraphs I will walk you to delivering your universal potential.  You, just keep reading!!

One Nugget of Gold...

Oddly enough, just a few days earlier, I ran across the following little nugget of gold...

"In the Universe, there are no spare pieces. 

Everyone is here because they have a place to fill, 

and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle."

-Deepak Chopra

We have to find this statement very reassuring.  It's claim supports the fact that my purpose  and your purpose (our Highest Potential), the pieces;  are universally important! That if indeed the universe is trying to piece a puzzle together, it WILL, at some point in time, need the purpose placed within us.

Now let's think about this for just a moment...  in my mind, the universe is very mighty-full -and because of this might, I am pretty confident that it is Not going to be denied the competion of the puzzle; simply because you or I decide to withhold our piece (our potential).  Agreed?  ...    Good! So then, what next?

Let's Get Started!!!

We have agree that delivering the purpose within us is a good thing.  Now, the question becomes, HOW!   HOW, do we got off the sofa and in-to-action in order to deliver our Highest Potential? After all, We probably do not want to piss-off or disapoint the universe.

You will need to have a clear understanding of your purpose.  Purpose comes to you in the form of an idea. You then formulated that idea into a plan. That plan requires Action...  On a daily basis that action transmutes itself into achievement.  Ok, hang-on...  you do know what initiates achievement, right?   NO...  I didn't think so  ---

The Great Initiator...

All Success is obtained through achievement.  Achievement is not just one single action, on one single day, in one single moment.  Achievement is the string of action taken moment-by-moment, day-after-day.  In this way, Success is the accumulation of achievement(s). Success then comes through the pursuit of a worthy purpose.  Think of Success as - Winning the NBA Championship. Achievement is then the accumulation of wins. The goal is to accumulate as many wins as possible and as many wins in a row as possible.  So HOW do we do this?

Look, the universe needs us to deliver our piece, our Highest Potential, right?  Well then the universe must have supplied us with a tool, or forged a trail for us to follow.  Indeed, it did!  The universe provided to us, AMBITION.

The A word...

Ambition is the great initiator!!  Without Ambition you park your A-- in the sofa and you never put down the remote.

Ambition is at the core of your Highest Human Potential. Ambition leads you to the good life; turning your hopes and dreams into reality. Ambition is the pathway traveled between impossible and possible.  True Ambition keeps you on course.

You don't need to feel embarrassed by your Ambitious desires. True Ambition is an ally which keeps you grounded. True Ambition roots itself in the service of others, not in the expense of others.  True Ambition says, If I want to deliver my highest potential tomorrow, then I better prepare for it today.

Created in Ambition...

Ambition has created the likes of Ford, Carniege, Edison, Rosa Parks, Gates, Oprah, Jobs, MLK, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Ambition is responsible for Great Parenting, Loving Relationships and Raised Spiritual Awareness. Ambition will lead us to the cures of disease, to peace, to greater love and understanding.

The Universe Will Not be denied.

Regardless, of your purpose, you deliver it through Ambition.  Imagine for one moment that you have no limitations on what you can Have, Be, or Do...  Ambition can take you there!!

I appreciate the fact that the universe has given us the choice to deliver or not to deliver.  I don't know about you but, I can't see it as such a good thing if we choose to withhold our piece, our potential.  I'm kind-a thinking that the Puzzle IS going to get completed... with or without you!  If you decide to withhold   -the universe WILL simply deny you the  opportunity to deliver your potential; handing your opportunity of success to somebody else and allow them to ambitiously deliver in your place. 

Pursuit... Your Divine Right-

Yes, It is Time to Choose!

- Get on the bus or, 

get left behind. 

If you miss this bus it will be more of the same; missed economic opportunities, hopelessness amid aimless wondering. Your job is to catch this bus! In the next few paragraphs we will buy you a ticket and find you a seat.

So let's establish the fundamentals to assure the obtainment of your desire.  

- In its most rudimentary form Success can be defined as; the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. If a man is working towards a predetermined goal and knows what he is doing... That person is a success! If they are not doing that then they are failing.

- The opposite of courage is not cowardice.  No, the opposite of courage is conformity. It takes no courage to conform; to do the same thing as everybody else, to think like everybody else, to achieve as everybody else.  Courage begins when you decide to differentiate your life from others.  To our demise, conformity will erase achievement...

- Every human has been given the Divine right to pursuit something.  Indeed, the creator allows each of us to Have, Be or Do, anything that we desire.  It is this fact that supports our existence.  Life then becomes a mission. On this mission, we all have something to pursuit!  It then becomes our duty to un-cover our purpose... To un-cover the 'something' that we pursuit.

- Everyone in serious pursuit of a goal,  at some point in life we all uncover this truth;  Success is an inside job!  Once discovered, it is what we do with this realization that greatly improves your odds of obtaining your desire.

If it is our Divine duty in life to un-cover our 'something', our pursuit, and if success is an inside job, then we must be self equipped with the features to succeed. So what then is the missing link between have something to pursue and Obtainment?

You're Gonna LOVE this...

Intention Rules the Universe-

There should be little doubt on our minds surrounding the truth of this statement. As it is The Creator's intention that all Human life attain their Highest Potential; The Creator has placed every living creature, at the footsteps of mankind. In a spirit of attainment, The Creator then embellishes mankind with the greatest of all gifts... Freedom of Choice. Indeed, it is the intention of The Creator, that Humankind be given the Choice to Have, Be or Do, Anything that He/She Desires.

Anything?  ANYTHING!!!   -  Pretty Remarkable!!  Don’t You Agree?
  Don’t you just LOVE it????   ---   Anything!... -  Your Choice...  -  Think BIG!!

Support of this fundamental, comes through the Natural Laws of Physics and MetaPhysics... Newton’s Laws of Action / Reaction, Cause and Effect, Motion and Equilibrium; Einstein’s Relativity, even the natural Law of Attraction.

In a simplified format, the Law of Attraction simply states that;

• We Attract to us, that which we think about.

WAIT... This is Powerful stuff... Let me read this again  ------    Ok.  

Think about what is being said here. Thoughts of Opulence and Abundance, yields Opulence and Abundance. Conversely, thoughts of Doom and Despair, can only yield the same. Thoughts of Spirituality, increase your attainment of a life of Spirituality. Thoughts of Destruction, increase your attainment of a life of Destruction.

The Law of Attraction is not a feel good principle. It is ‘ON’ - 24/7/365... Like gravity. It is available for your use from your first breath, until your last breath. If you fully understand this You begin to realize; the value of the things that you think and say, and the POWERFUL consequences of Negative self-talk.

You WILL become what you Think about  -  Suddenly, you realize the impact of thoughts like...  Man, these jeans make me look fat... Of course I got a bad grade, I can’t believe- I am soo Stupid... It figures I’d get dumped on - I can Never find Anybody who will treat me right...  OMG, I think my throat is sore, great; now I am going to get sick.  ---   HELLO? - McFly, ya in there?  YOU MUST STOP THIS!  ---  You Become what You Think About!

WAIT... WAIT... Wait...

• Are you saying that if I want to become the world’s best Digital Marketing resource, I can?  YES!
• Are you saying that I can move from Buffalo, WY, to Bozeman, MT, find a family to stay with, earn a Full Ride college scholarship, find the girl of my dreams, marry her, start a new business and lead it to profitability?  YES!

Yes, I am saying that you WILL become what you think about. Oh don’t get me wrong, these things do not just start falling out of the heavens...  You’re gonna have to work to achieve them. Just recognize the work will need to be proportional to the thought. Big Thought - Big Work. Little Thought, Little Work. No Thought, No Work. But, achieving your thoughts - you CAN do that!

In the next Blog, we will uncover the rules of engagement in the development of your Highest Potential. In the meantime - Do yourself a favor... Grab a couple of Post-it notes, write this down and place the Post-its where you can see them throughout the day... Nightstand, Bathroom Mirror, Wallet, Computer monitor, Laptop Keyboard, Smart Phone screensaver  -  Ready?  Write this Down--


I, (  your name  ), WILL receive an Abundance of ALL Good Things!   ex. I, Phil Lopez, WILL receive an Abundance of ALL Good Things!   -Attract this thought for a week!!!   Enjoy the results...  Continued SUCCESS in all that you Do.

3 Steps; How to Guarantee Highest Potential

--  I was recently asked to address the graduating class for an adult based trade school. I thought you might find benefit in my message. --

Graduating Class, I wish to congratulate you!

But before I address you, I wanted to say something to your fans. 

FANS -  I am so proud of each of you!!  Your encouragement and support has turned a life around.

You see, "there is No investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to encourage and to support a friend."  These graduates, despite there own hard work and dedication over the past few months, have succeeded because YOU cared.  This is a powerful day –and you should applaud each other.

GRADUATES -  Tonight I want to address your future but before we go there  -let’s recap the last 12mos…

• You woke-up one day and made an Assessment – that’s right, you took inventory of what you had in your pocket – After finding only a few pieces of pocket lint; you decided that was not good enough for you, and that you wanted a brighter future.

• Then, You had a Thought… gee, if I could get a little education and learned a trade; I just might improve what I find in my pocket.

• Finally, You decided to take some Action… You enrolled at NTMA and disciplined yourself enough so that tonight you could walk into this Community Center to the warm applause of your fans  - your family and friends.

 ASSESSMENT - THOUGHT - ACTION

- pretty simple -

wouldn't you agree?

Now, Before I ask you what you are going to do tomorrow.  I wanted to ask you;  Did you know that this pattern of;  Assessment, Thought, Action; are the very same steps that Thomas Edison took to create the light bulb?  The same steps that Henry Ford followed to mass produce automobiles, that Andrew Carnegie used to amass of fortune in wealth. Did you know that this same pattern were the same steps that Steve Jobs took to create every Apple product?

You see besides teaching you a trade,  your education at NTMA has introduced you to a NEVER Failing process. In the short time frame of 12 months, you have learned and experienced a 3-step process; guaranteed to deliver a lifetime of Highest Potential. A process so Powerful, that all you have to do is repeat it beginning tomorrow. And, if you are courageous enough to do this – You Can Be, Do or Have Anything, that you Desire.

 ASSESSMENT - THOUGHT - ACTION

So now, let me ask…  What are you going to do tomorrow?

Class Congratulations!!    NTMA Staff Congratulations!!    I will let you continue on with tonight’s great event.    Thank-You and Continued SUCCESS to all of you.

Zig-Zag-Zoom -Part III: HOW, Staying out of the Weeds.

   As we voyage the seas of Highest Human Potential, we sail from Port-to-Port. Our long term survival depends on our ability to continuously review the sailing maps.  The sailing maps- outline for us the things that we cannot see; the diversions and distractions; aka, The weed beds and rock formations.

  The weed beds are the distractions and inefficiencies of our day-to-day actions. The rock formations are the short-term successes that tear a hole in the hull, the short term positive results that keep us from sailing the full course we have set for ourselves.  Gaining a complete understanding of your sailing map is just as important as guarding against Pacing, or being mindful of your WHO values. The challenge is to recognize that your sailing map is just that... Individual, personal and will vary according to your profitability and objectives.

 To avoid the loss of momentum or capsizing, you need to give specific thought to your sailing map.  Your watch words should be self-discipline and self-control.  You do not want to attempt to correct your course while in the middle of your voyage, in the middle of a Port-to-Port heading.  If you get tangled in the weeds at this point, at the very least it will lead to delays; at the very worst, it could include a loss of passengers and significant cargo. In all cases, Profitability will be impacted.

  Your sailing map needs to identify the things you feel are significant to avoid. I went to a few of my seasoned entrepreneurial captains, to collect their look-out points.  Here are a few to guide you...

 - I will not get involved in a business that goes against my moral compass.

 - I will not work with people I do not enjoy.  This includes customers, vendors, or an employee.

 - I will not make or sign on a personal guarantee, on a business that I do not personally control.

 - I will not jeopardize the financial stability of my family home.

 - I will not let anyone into my circle that does not fit with my WHO values.

 Utimately, You CAN sail the Seas of Highest Potential!   Your voyage begins with a single step filled with faith.  Your WHO values establish the set of your sails and will determine the speed at which you sail from Port-to-Port.  Your Capitains log will allow you a repeat-able course of direction, allowing you to load passengers and to add needed cargo. Your sailing map will guide you to avoid the weeds and rock formations.


In this Life - You CAN, Be, Do or Have, anything that you Desire!!

I wish you continued success and clear waters!  I hope that you found this 3-Part post to be insightful and useful.

Publishers reading recommendations...
 - Bootstrap Business by Rich Christiansen and Ron E. Porter
 - The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
 - Poke the Box by Seth Godin

Zig-Zag-Zoom - Part II(b); WHAT... Before How

Are you ready to pull up anchor? Are you prepared to begin your voyage, along the Seas of Highest Potential? As you push a way from the dock, you will

undoubtedly hear a small voice in your head and feel just a little queasy.  You may even be tempted to drop the anchor and abandon ship. Not to worry!  For many, this is a normal reaction - You are experiencing what  others before you have experienced.  The phenomenon is known as Fear of the Unknown. Our fear of the unknown, leads to undue stress and potential procrastination. Procrastination then, increases stress, amplifing your fear level, which just brings on More Stress... and the cycle can go on and on and on.  So let's break the cycle - let's eliminate some unknowns.  To accomplish this we will set-up a Captains log. The Captains Log will give you direction and purpose and establish measurable guide-points of progress. Your maiden voyage will guide you through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability.   


A Journey through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability  
  Port #1.  The beauty of aiming for a Port is that it allows you to have a clear direction and destination. Your first business-for-self Port is "Profitability."  Initially, you should define profitability as the ability to pay all your bills and have enough cash to move forward.  While money does not insure happiness, being broke can surely be traced back as the root cause of stress, which typically assure's unhappiness.  
  As you aim for Port #1, you have two principles which guide you;

1. You are not aiming for perfection, you are aiming for profitability.  Your focus here is getting your vessel out of the harbor and out to open water. You spend your time and money in accordance with the 80/20 rule. This means that you focus your time and money on the 20% activities, that will yield 80% of the results that you are looking for.
2. You are working against time. This means you need to know when to Stop.  Give yourself a profitability deadline and stick to it.  If you are unwilling to stop, you will fail at a point in time which may have long term devastating consequences, emotionally and financially.

  Port #2, Having achieved a first level of Profitability we are now ready to take on Passengers and add Cargo. Your passengers are your employees and your cargo becomes things like capital equipment, and proprietary processes.
At this point  you have grown accustomed to micromanaging the details.  A self delusional thought that you carry is, 'only I can get this right.'   After all, this is your baby, this is your pride and hard work. Most importantly, this is your income stream! For many it is hard to let go!  Port #2 assures that you abandon this thought!  To insure that you maintain balance and control you do things like:
a) Reassess what you have in your pocket.  Make a list of the things that you
are good at, and compare it to the list of WHAT is needed in order to get to Port #2.
b) Hire the right people. Reference your WHO values list, and select this 
critical hire, based on the list of things that you are not good at. You can't
sail to your Highest Potential alone! It takes teamwork... Somebody has to; 
chart the course, man the rudder, trim the sail, yes, even swab the decks.   
c) Document the process that led to your profitability and train someone else
in that process. In today's business world, you cannot achieve your highest
potential by doing it alone. So take a deep breath, and recognize this to be
a simple task. There is only one wrong way here... that would be; not 
breaking down the process into chew-able pieces. You can always adjust
the size of the pieces to meet the knowledge and passion level of your
employee.

  Port #3. With profitability intact, filled with passengers and sufficient cargo- let's point ourselves toward Port #3; Scaling.  


WHAT does Scaling refer to?  Scaling refers to the development of your business model. In it's most simplified form, Scaling refers to two components;
1) a business model that you can replicate quickly and,
2) a business model which allows you to quickly get your product or service to market.


Scaling is a deliberate planning event.  It is an acedemic, cereberal  process. To over come the pit-falls of Scaling you need to adjust your mind-set. To this point your voyage looks like this...
- At Port #1, it's all about You - You are working hard and doing everything.
- At Port #2, You are defining the process and cheerleading others to do the work
- At Port #3,  You are looking for systematic growth. You are working with others to create the system which replicates the process and moves product.


It will take practice to Captain a vessel. And although each vessel has it's own unique characteristics, you CAN safely and prudently guide yourself, passengers and cargo toward your Highest Potential. The Port's outlined above give you a repeat-able and trainable courses to navigate. Find the other Captains, seek advise if you need it. Most importantly, don't forget to celebrate!


In Part III, we will review the sailing maps, looking for the diversions and distractions. As you sail toward your Highest Potential we will want to keep you out of the weeds.


Continued Success!!

Zig-Zag-Zoom - Part II(a); WHAT... Before How

I am sure that at some time in your life, you have been blindfolded and asked to walk forward. Or have had to enter an unfamiliar room with no lights.  I am confident we can agree that, these were not comfortable circumstances. 

Reaching your Business-for-Self, Highest Potential, has much in common with walking around blindfolded or having to walk through a pitch-dark room.  Suddenly, you run into things that you had no idea even existed.  Even if you are headed in the right direction, clear of obstacles, you remain filled with anxiety, self-doubt and uncertainty.  If you remain in this state for an extended period, FEAR creeps-in, to distort your thinking, paralyze your intuition, and eventually render all action as useless. This is NOT a Good Place to be!!

So let's put into place a firm thought foundation that will afford you a course of repeatable and trainable action.  We have 3 fundamentals in the understanding of WHAT... Before How.  These include;

• The Need for Pacing
•  Creating Your Lighthouse in the Fog and
•  The Journey through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability / Part II(b)

The Need for Pacing
As we covered in Part I; WHO... Before What,  CHARGING is a highly desirable entrepreneurial trait. When you are ready to combine Action with watch words such as Focus, Determination, Attention-to-Detail, and Patience, you can begin to move forward. Filled with the need to Succeed, the tendency will be to CHARGE HARD. Attempting to move straight forward, rapidly, often without regard to potential negative effects. 

Pacing is required to insure three things;

1. You don't develop shaky knees and wobbly legs; which inhibit you from taking daily action. The world is filled with hopeful ambitions and dreams that never clear the runway. But, You are No Longer Dreaming! You are No Longer content to sit on the sidelines! You want your 767 to take-off, to clear the runway. You are willing to wake-up every morning take responsibility for the things that you do, and the things that you choose not to do.  As an entrepreneur, You are creating your reality.  
2. You are able to maintain a high level of Mental, Physical and Spiritual fortitude.  You don't want to charge so hard that you get halfway there and run out of resources. 
3. Pacing allows you to collect data, analyze the data, and then make corrective steps to maintain balance and forward progress. Remember, that your target is moving. Collecting and Analyzing data assures that you are running your race without blinders.  You need to look side-to-side; you’re attempting to fulfil an opportunity marked by time.  With the passage of time, the target may have moved, and if you are not prepared, the opportunity will be missed. Pacing affords you the flexibility to adjust in preparation for this.

 
The first critical Pacing step is Assessing Resources.  You need to have a firm inventory of what is in your pocket.  This is not a financially based statement. Many assume that they need money to succeed in business.  This is the wrong - CHARGE HARD mentality to adopt as you begin to undertake whatever you have set your sights on. YES, money, at some point, is often needed to reach the end.  More significant than money are the resources of knowledge, passion and relationships. This thought foundation is influenced by the factual success of many businesses that started in a basement or college dorm room with little more than a Passion.  Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard...  all started with little more than the smarts and the passion of their founders.  These founders achieved their Highest Potential by moving side-to-side; zig-zagging if you will, stringing together smarts, passion and the network of their friends and their financial resources. 
  Your ability to build relationships is the most important resource that you carry in your pocket. Money does not yield knowledge, passion or relationships. Knowledge, passion and relationships, will always yield money. While you attempt to build and maintain relationships, you are able to reduce stress if you remember two things... a) Do the right things for the right reasons.  b) NEVER use People - Have a genuine concern for others and constantly be on the lookout for ways that your product or service can serve those around you.

Creating Your Lighthouse in the Fog
As you prepare to set sail toward your highest potential, rest assured that there are many who will attempt to dissuade you.  So you need to be on guard!  You are looking for three types here: (1) Those that Never Do,   (2) Those that wish they could and are hoping that you don't, and,     (3) Those that say, You can't do it.  So, WHAT do you need to keep on course while you endure the fog of dissuasion?

Every Achiever, in order to claim their success, has had a set of values to work from.  Let’s go back to Part I, WHO... Before What - Your WHO Values are a set of behavioral traits that must be in place as you build toward your goal.  These behavioral traits, are Your Lighthouse in the Fog. Always shining in front of you, they keep you from running aground.  Tested through time they evolve to be the cultural foundation of your business. They serve to clearly define the rules you follow and they outline the direction that you are headed.
If you refuse to first establish your WHO behavioral traits, you leave yourself in jeopardy of allowing just anyone to join your efforts.  The goal here is to never let anyone into your intimate circle that does not fit with your values. Period! This applies to everyone - your important hires, your friends, your partners... everyone.

In Part II(b) of WHAT, before How...  We will pull up anchor and journey, along the Seas of Highest Potential. Our journey will lead us through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability...

Zig-Zag-Zoom / Part I; WHO, before What...

This week I found Great inspiration from a friend who is actively pursuing her Highest Potential, through the start-up of her own business.  During our phone conversation, she reveled to me that, she is pursuing this business start-up having never stepped into a business class while she was a college student.   Laughingly, I asked if she understood the term "huevos grande".  On a more serious note, business-for-self is not a laughing matter.  At times we find it difficult, but in most cases it is not impossible...

For today's College Grad, the traditional job market remains difficult to penetrate. In this environment, I am finding more and more of my college-aged friends faced with taking the plunge into business ownership. A comforting fact here is, there is a trainable and repeatable course of action to follow. This course of action greatly improves your potential to succeed. In order to cover this I will need to break this blog post into three parts:
       - Zig / Part I;  WHO, before What...
       - Zag / Part II;  WHAT, before How!
       - Zoom / Part III; HOW, Staying out of the Weeds.

So let's go over a few WHO details to help tip the success odds in your favor...

• On the path to claiming your Highest Potential, we know that the journey begins with a single step. It never hurts to load that first single step, filled with faith.  Faith is rooted in knowing that you ARE doing the right thing, for the right reasons. I often resolve myself to understanding that the universe has reveled to me an opportunity of need, I have accepted the opportunity to fill the need, and in this vein the universe will not allow me to fail.
• Balance;  guides your Attitude and Actions. The pursuit of your Highest Potential will require tremendous balance.   Avoid thinking of balance as an old-school, play-ground teeter-totter. Balance is more like a tripod. Think camera tripod... with three adjustable legs.  Rarely, have I seen a tripod tip over.  On your tripod, each leg has a name and each leg serves a specific purpose. The legs of your tripod are named;  Mental Growth, Physical Growth, and Spiritual Growth.  The tripod concept serves to maintain your balance in all terrain. It works like this - what you cannot understand Mentally, gains clarity Physically and Spiritually  -  what you cannot comprehend Physically, will appear  Mentally and Spiritually  -  what remains hidden from you Spiritually, will gain consciousness Physically and Mentally. 
• As you work to uncover your Business-for-self potential, you will need to arm yourself with watch words such as Focus, Determination, Attention-to-Detail, Patience, and Action.  Why are these watch words so important?  They are important because, Your values will always serve as the foundation for everything that you do. Staying with-in your values allows you the freedom to step on the accelerator while maintaining your balance.  Outside your values, you lose balance - increasing the potential of having to hit the brakes, stopping, backing-up, or killing the motor all together!

• In the physical world we know that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  This principle holds true for the self-employed world also.  Often we are inclined to CHARGE straight forward. CHARGING forward is an entrepreneurial requirement, but you must use caution. When CHARGING too hard, we may deplete our resources too rapidly as well as  bulldoze over others. Bulldozing increases in the odds of crashing and burning, and we may lose the love and respect of those who mean the most to us. 

Keeping these fundamentals in place and before you, not only assures your footing, but they also serve as the turning point as you move from Zig, and set-up to Zag. In Part II; WHAT, before How, we will come to understand that Zig-Zagging is a deliberate process. Trainable and repeatable, this process will allow to you attain smaller goals first, while collecting data; which is used to correct and modify your course.

There are No Elevators to Success...

Do you find yourself looking for a shortcut to the reach the top of the ladder?  Are you thinking that you can find the elevator... if you just keep looking?

You're not alone...  near 95% of us suffer from this elevator mentality.  It doesn't matter if you are trying to shed a few pounds, start business, parent your children or reconstruct a relationship. We keep looking for the elevator in hopes that our pursuit of life ambitions will be easier.  You have to come to the realization that in your search to find an easier way, you are making things worse. The problem is that your elevator mentality is crushing your confidence and paralyzing the actions that you must take to truly achieve your success.  Come On - You deserve  better than this!!

So let's face our reality -Success isn't easy. Success rarely, if ever, comes overnight. Success is not ordinary!  Not a rosie picture is it?  I say YES... It IS a rosie picture.  Think about it, 90-95% of your colleagues will not face this reality.  They will continue looking for the elevator.  They will keep looking for a 'break' or a chance at 'luck'.  That's right, most of your colleagues will keep on looking for the elevator, hoping to capture lightening in a bottle.

You on the other hand, now posses the knowledge that Success isn't easy, Success rarely comes overnight, and Success is not ordinary! This is powerful knowledge! It leads you away from the crowd that is looking for the elevator.  Now you have begun to differentiated yourself from the ordinary. You now understand that becoming successful requires us to do the things that are not easy, to do the things that people will not ordinarily do.

Today is a BIG day long the path to the progressive achievement of your Highest Potential.  Today you came to realize that success comes from taking little steps. Today, you decided to take the first step; to stop looking for the elevator. Today you reintroduced yourself to works like - self-discipline, self-control, persistence, determination and focus on the end goal.

Today you came to realize that - There are no elevators to success... I must take the stairs!

These days of Anxiety...

Anxiety - The Hope Zapper

Well, here we stand at the threshold of a New Year.  As with many years in the past, 2012 has not been without it's moments of Anxiety... Senseless Boarder Wars, Victim filled mass shootings, A EURO that continues to flounder, a US economy that appears driven aimlessly, Terrorist acts conducted in zealot spirituality. When I recall such moments I am overwhelmed with the resilience of human nature.

Let's face facts; we Cannot Stop moving forward! By now we all recognize that 'time waits for no man.' But in the constant bombardment of terrify news, or caught aimlessly drifting in the sea of despair, HOW will we ever cross the 2013 threshold? HOW will we renew our resolution; the improvement of the human condition?

We live by Faith or we do not live at all...
- Either we venture or we vegetate. If we venture we do so by Faith! Simply because we cannot know the end of anything at its beginning. Marriage, by Faith; or stay single. Professional achievement, by Faith; or we give-up before we start. Personal Growth, by Faith we move mountains or opposition; or we are stopped by mole hills. Improvement of the Human Condition, only by Faith can we venture, boldly forward.

Faith however is not tranquil and steady. At its foundation, this is the beauty of Faith. In Faith, You control the volume... Bounce level - Sleep level. You are in complete control! Faith has the ability to ebb and flow like the tides of the restless sea. It is ALWAYS there for your use. Never FAILING, waiting on your beckoned call.

Every triumph of the human spirit began with a single step taken in Faith. This single step serves as the small handle to great matters. In the pursuit of your worthy ambition you must learn to hang on to your handle of Faith, even if for just 5 more minutes. This is how you deliver your resolution.

My encouragement to you; make 2013 the year in which you venture in Faith, the year which marks your contribution to the improvement of the human condition.

Have, Be or Do... Anything that You Desire?

When somebody makes a statement as BOLD as, In this life You CAN Have, Be or Do, Anything that You Desire. That person better be ready to defend themselves against, every Nay-Sayer, Pessimist, Glass Half Full'r and 2/3rds of the Universe! It's alright if, at first, you find this statement hard to believe. I won't hold it against you. I too almost found it impossible to comprehend when I first ran across this concept almost 24yrs ago. All I will ask is that you finish reading this blog... then decide. Good?

Can you remember back to your first bike or skate board? Do you remember wondering how you were ever going to learn the skill of balance, so that you could ride with the wind in your hair. Can you remember back to your first day in Algebra class? I can! I remember that I had just finished mastering the skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Mysteriously, I got through Algebra, and in doing so I moved on to Calculus. When I got to Calculus I found it a bit foreign and abstract. Truthfully, I was not very good at it. In fact, I struggled!! But, I wanted to earn my Bachelors Degree in Engineering and therefore I had few choice's. I could either figure out a way to master the principles of Calculus or I could watch my dreams of becoming an Engineer wash away. In your life, to Have, Be or Do, Anything that YOU Desire - is absolutely no different than learning to balance as you rode your bike or my mastering the principles of Calculus and Yes, earn my Bachelors Degree in Engineering. So let's break it down...

The starting point of ALL achievement is Desire. One single thought is all it takes! That's right - Your Desire or Dream is just One thought Away. At this point, it becomes important for you to realize that, thoughts are things. These thoughts, are things that You control. We started with fun things, fun thoughts... I want to learn to ride a bike. I want to learn to ride a skate board. We moved on to mind expanding things... I want to learn a foreign language, I want to be the valedictorian of my class. We might have athletic thoughts... I want to be the fastest 200 Butterflier at Junior Olympics - you can have this thought just as easy as you can have the following thought, - I want to be the World Record Holder in the 200 Butterfly. Having trouble believing that it is this simple to Have, Be or Do, Anything that You Desire? Remember this; Michel Phelps had one thought - I want to earn 8 Gold Medals at the 2008 Olympic Games. This is what Michael wanted to Have, Be, or Do - I'd say he did pretty well.

The beauty of your Desires and Dreams is that thinking never ends. We can advance our thoughts to career things... I want to Be the first person in my family to earn a Law Degree from Harvard, I want to learn great entrepreneurial skills from Stanford University, I want to learn to Be a great Mother/Father. Maybe your Dreams become financial; I want to Have an annual net income of $150,000, or I want to Do $10 million dollars in product sales, How about - I want to Have a business of my own, where I give excellent customer service.

Can you see how easy it really is to Have, Be, or Do, Anything that You Desire? To get started... all you have to do is... THINK! Afraid to start thinking? Don't be afraid - the universe will support your thoughts. Besides you were made to think. The ability to think and reason is what separates humans from all the other creatures on the face of the earth. So, start being human and start thinking - grab a tablet, or create a word file titled DREAMS, or start a journal and start writing these thoughts down. Don't freak out when you start thinking about how - Just keep thinking, and keep writing - we'll take care of how later - First, WHAT!

I encourage you to please, post you Desire or Dream in the comment box. We'll then take that Desire and work on making that Thought, Your Reality!

RECAP: At any given time, you must simply know what You want. You must have one thought, that is what You want to Have, Be or Do! You get started by simply writing down your desire(s).

Closing words of encouragement...
"First have a Dream. And by a Dream, I mean a day-dream - A glorious, wonderful, day-dream. Then ask yourself, what would it be like if it were true? That I am now the man (person) I am dreaming I would like to be. What would it be like... Then catch the mood of this wish fulfilled and drench yourself with that feeling!" -Neville Goddard, 1905-1972.