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Weekend Challenge #04 (02/15/2020): READ A BOOK!

you weekend challenge has arrivedHERE IS YOUR WEEKEND CHALLENGE: READ A BOOK

This weekend’s challenge is probably one of the most difficult challenges I have issued. It is difficult in that everyone (myself included) perceive ourselves as NOT having enough time to read a book.

Then comes the inevitable excuse of which book to select?

Then comes some other lames ass excuse of they cost too much!

Did you know in just about every town and city in the United States there is one building that people can go to and find a book to read?

The Public Library

The public library was set up on the premise giving people an opportunity to read any book in their stacks and the opportunity to check out (borrow) the book to read at home. Then two weeks later the book is returned having been read cover to cover.

But what if you do not want to go to the library because it seems beneath you or some other excuse?

As you are reading this challenge, I know you have access to the Internet.

Therefore, allow me to introduce you to Amazon dot com. Amazon not only sells books at price set by the author or its publisher. Did you know that many of the authors that are selling their books through Amazon also sell them for the deep discounted price of $0.00?

That’s right, you can sign up for the Amazon Kindle app and soon you can be reading books at no cost to you.

But what about those that do not want to share their private information with a large mega corporation?

Uh, let me let you in on a little secret: Amazon, Google, and Yahoo probably already know more about you than you know about yourself. The information about your online habits and such is already made available to them by the analytics they can capture when you visit any of their sites or use their services.

So please stop with the excuse of not wanting to share your information. If you do not believe me about how much information you are sharing take a look at the itemized receipt from you last trip to the grocery store. Trust me when I say, just by looking at your receipt your grocer knows your shopping habits better than you.

They have the exact same information on that receipt which in turn they use to predict how many turkeys to order in time for Thanksgiving and when the cold and flu season is hitting your home. They can also extrapolate information such as the number of pets you have, when your kids are entering the teenage years of their lives, they can also tell when your kids leave the home. Do you see where I am going with this? Face it, they have plenty of information on you already.

Still not convinced? That’s fine there is one more service I would like to share with you: Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/)

Project Gutenberg is an eBook service with over 60,000 FREE selections. Seriously, who can turn down a free book to read? You can read it on your smart phone, android tablet, iPad, PC, heck you can even read it off your Internet enable television. WOW! Can you believe that? We NOW live in a future that we can read a book using the Television screen. Folks, this is the future and the future is wanting you to learn, to empower yourself, to make you a better person. The Future wants you to be BETTER than you were Yesterday.

There is NO EXCUSE to not read a book this weekend.

The ONLY real excuse is there is NO Excuse!

Thus, I CHALLENGE YOU to get yourself a real or virtual book and READ something new and exciting!

I CHALLENGE YOU to LEARN something new this weekend.

I CHALLENGE YOU to DISCOVER something different this weekend.

I CHALLENGE YOU to GO ON AN ADVENTURE this weekend.

I CHALLENGE YOU to tell me know what you are reading this weekend.

I CHALLENGE YOU to DO WHAT IT TAKES TO BE BETTER this weekend!

Get to Work!
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Weekend Challenge 03 (02/08.20): HOW AM I DOING?

you weekend challenge has arrived

Remember, we are supposed to be learning from out past. The choice we made can never be undone but those choices also serve to shape our future. For every action we take there is an outcome we may or may not like.

However, when we make what we perceive to be rational and sound choices then no matter the outcome we feel we made the right choice. Whether the outcome was what we expected or not. It is when we make hasty and rash decisions that are not worth the risk that…well we get what we deserve: a hasty, rash and unsound outcome. To avoid the outcomes that are not in our favor or not exactly what we expected we have to focus on being intentional with our decision making and be prepared to deliver on a decision that may sometimes not give us what we expect or want.

One way to be intentional in our future decision making is to review our past decisions. Please read carefully: TO REVIEW OUR PAST DECISIONS and NOT TO DWELL ON THOSE DECISIONS AND THEIR OUTCOMES.

Sadly, as I write this I know there are individuals that are going to only read the last seven words of the previous sentence and all that I am writing will go to waste (on them).

Good thing, you are not one of those that dwells on past decisions only to repeat making the decisions that CONTINUE to deliver the outcomes and expectations that are NOT what you expected or anticipated. As leaders, the only common thread to decision making is ensuring that whatever the decision it is something you will learn from and become better as a leader but also as a human being.

REVIEW YOUR DECISIONS
The weekend, is the perfect time to pour yourself a cup of coffee or a cuppa tea or a snifter of warm brandy or whatever you choose to drink, and reflect on the past seven (7) days.

Use this weekend to review the following and be HONEST with yourself:

  • What decisions were made?
  • What decisions did you not make?
  • Which decisions could have been better with more info?
  • Which decisions were made in haste?
  • Which decisions were made as a form of revenge (for example, I’ll show them)?
  • Which decisions changed your life for the better?
  • Which decisions changed your life for the worse?
  • How were your relationships made better by your decisions?
  • How were your relationships strained by your decisions?
  • Did the decisions you made have a negative impact on others?
  • Did the decisions you made have a lasting and positive impact on others?
  • NOW REALLY BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF: Did the decisions you made have a negative impact on YOU?

These questions are to be used solely to IMPROVE your future. The answers are yours and yours alone, you do not have to share them with anyone but you do have to think about them but not for too long. Thinking too long is where the dwelling begins and that is NOT a good thing.

In the answers, see what needs improvement, what needs to be removed, what needs to be modified and most importantly what needs to remain. However, this will only work if you are willing to be HONEST and TRUTHFUL with yourself. It can be difficult because there are far too many individuals that truly believe they do not need to improve but everyone around them does.

Thus, I challenge you to get rid of the bad, the nastiness, the bitterness, the sadness, the distrust, the anger, the destructive, scarcity mindset and yes WE all have them to some degree or another. In case you FAILED to read that right, I wrote WE which INCLUDES ME.

I Challenge You to be better, do better, because as an adult and leader, you already KNOW better.

I Challenge You to let the good, happiness, growth and the abundance mindset in, take root and grow inside you.

I Challenge You to find the way to let the best in you coming shining through. To be the best version of you that you can be.

This Decision Review Challenge is one that you must repeat every week. Repeat it so that you are constantly improving. This challenge is actually quite simple on the complexity scale of 1 to 10. I give this a 5. Five in that, it may be a bitter pill to swallow, at first, but once you find yourself asking and honestly answering these questions it will get better. I promise it will get better and you will become better. You become better because you are aware of your actions and behaviors.

You are better because YOU WANT TO BECOME BETTER.

Well there it is, YOUR WEEKEND CHALLENGE, now get to work!

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Humans are Irrational and emotional. Focus On The Rational by David Guerra (06/100)

When we are young one thing is certain: WE HAVE HUGE EGOS! Our egos are so huge that it is a miracle that we survived. As Stinger (James Tolkan) told Maverick (Tom Cruise) in the motion picture, TOP GUN (1986), “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash!” Lucky for Maverick, he never cashed in or out (depends on how you look at it.)

It was a matter of time before our ego caught up with us or we out grew the false bravado and façades to be come the rational and in-control individuals we have become.

There is one thing to remember: we never grow up. There is always something or someone that will trigger your ego and there we go with irrational, emotional behavior. Sad but true. For some, it may be quicker and for others it may take a little more prodding but it will happen.

That’s OK, we are only human after all. We are not perfect. Sure, many want to believe they are perfect. Yet, perfection is subjective and thus; no one is perfect. I am not perfect; you are not perfect. Did I mention I am not perfect?

By recognizing we are not perfect and there will be times when we become irrational & emotional, we can then to work on improving ourselves. We can begin work on the rational. By being aware and cognizant that by being rational focusing on that, we can accomplish more, we can be more.

By learning the valuable lessons that come with falling into the trap of being/becoming irrational then we can focus on the rational. The focus we have, built on the mistakes and actions of the past, will only work if we can admit to ourselves that we messed up, that we fell victim to our ego, that we cannot blame anyone else for our own failures and shortcomings.

It is not easy for some people to confront themselves over the fact that the ego can be manipulated, easily triggered. Once we can overcome that hurdle then can we make some serious change to our life process. That is if you want to make a conscious effort to improve and leave the lack of focus, the irrational and emotion in the past, then be ready to work.

While, you will never be completely emotionless. Remember, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Spock could not complete the Kolinahr, the Vulcan ritual to purge all emotions. He was half-human after all. So, what did he do? The only logical thing. This was to admit that he was also human and proceeded to live his life with his emotions. The learned that emotions were part of who he is and what he will be.

However, because he worked at controlling his emotions, the character of Spock, went on to be better and do better. The same can work for you and you do not have to be half-Vulcan. As a matter of fact, you can be 100% human and work on being clear and level headed.

You can do this by committing to being better, doing better, and working on focusing on the rational. It will serve you well when it comes dealing with people and situations that will tax you. Avoid them while you start the process of focusing on the rational. Of course, you cannot avoid people all the time. However, you can avoid those individuals that would be considered bumps in the road to your success.

Do what it takes with what you have but do not give up hope, deny patience, and most of all stick to your commitment to being successful.