Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Failure Builds Character

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Character, failure, Learning, motivation, Persistence, primitive brains, Success

Image by yogesh more from Pixabay

“You Learn More From Failure Than From Success. Don’t Let It Stop You. Failure Builds Character.” – Unknown

Quote courtesy of http://www.briantracy.com

Failure. We all fear it. It’s interesting when you think about how our brains work. The brain doesn’t like change. It doesn’t like trying new things. It doesn’t like this because change is fearful to that part of our brain that warns us about danger.

Why? Well, our ancestors needed to be warned about everything by their primitive brains because mistakes could be deadly, particularly when there were creatures all around that wanted a meal. The brain’s warning system worked pretty good. We are still here after all.

How do you counteract this part of your brain to try new things? Our brains are much different from our ancestors’ brains. Our brains are much larger and have evolved to a point that we can override this prehistoric brain. We can choose to make changes despite our brain’s warnings.

Our ability to direct ourselves to do things that are unknown or challenging is a gift. We still have to deal with the fear of failure and all the rest, but now we have the ability to reason with ourselves. We can evaluate an action and deem it safe, despite the risks for failure and move forward. This is challenging, but possible. It merely requires us to be persistent and push forward with our goals.

All of us are unique. Some of us see a threat while others see an opportunity. What I have found to ease my angst is to get out there and learn from other people. I learn from books, online courses, and YouTube videos. If you see someone else doing something you want to do, the fear dissipates somewhat. I say to myself, “If they can do it, so can I.”

Then there’s practice. It’s hard to learn something new without getting your hands dirty. You can read about a topic, learn about a topic, and even watch someone else does something, but it is so much different when you do it. You will make mistakes. You will mess up. Each time you mess up, you learn. You learn that this is not the way. Then, if you are paying attention, you’ll avoid that mistake in the future and go on to the next step.

Fail. There is nothing wrong with it. Learn from it. Start again. Persist. You can’t lose if you don’t quit.

This week is a busy one. I’ve got a few books to finish, a chapter to write in my book, workouts to do, and of course, posting to this blog. It’ll be a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – 8 Secrets of Success

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3-minutes, Interview, questions, Richard St. John, Secrets, Success, Synopsis, Ted Talk

In this funny, 3-minute talk, Richard St. John presents the 8 things that bring success. He derived these 8 things from interviewing 500 members of TED. Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk – Alain de Botton – Philosophy of Success

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Alain de Botton, Caste System, Labels, Loser, Meritocracy, Philosophy of Success, Success, Ted Talk, Winner

Photo Credit: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Enjoy today’s Ted Talk, presented by Alain De Botton, who prescribes that each of us has our own definition of success. We should pursue that, not what society (advertisers and marketers) describes. Success should be your own, not someone else’s definition.

Have a great Tuesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – The Empowered vs. Disempowered Life

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Achievement, Disempowerment, Empowerment, Goals, motivation, Persistence, Striving, Success

“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” Unknown

Read more at: Brainy Quote

Every wonder why people live in the past? It is something I have recognized in the people I associate with and started wondering why people torture themselves over actions and events they can’t change? I recently learned during a course I am taking currently. It is because they are disempowered.

Disempowered people worry about things outside of their control. They worry about the weather, what other people are going to do or not do, they relive their past daily, particularly if that past event or action is traumatic. They just can’t let go of it. Subsequently, they gloss over the great things that are happening now or miss out on things that are great and working in their life. It is like they are wearing special sun glasses that taint everything that is wrong in the past and paint their present and future with the same filtered view. Why would anyone do that? It is because the brain has wired itself to be protective against a traumatic event that may occur now or again in the future. Instead of starting a new day and living fully in the present, they constantly worry that something bad will happen to them. This, in turn, becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Their lives do turn out the way their internal wiring dictates.

It is tough to leave the state of disempowerment. To some, being a victim is a profession. They can’t find the right job. Everyone is out to get them. They can’t find a lover. How could anyone love them like they are? They can’t set or achieve any goals. Why? I’ll fail anyway. This is a dismal way to live, wouldn’t you agree? Victimhood is their comfort zone. It is comfortable because if everything in their life is the fault of some outside entity; they are not responsible. Their life is one HUGE blame game. I can’t lose weight because everyone around me eats garbage. I can’t learn anything new because I sucked at school.

The opposite of a disempowered person is the person who is empowered. They take responsibility for their lives. They realized that they are in control. They are realistic, however. They do know that life will throw them curve balls. It is part of life, after all. Instead of being thwarted, they recognize it is something out of their control and learn ways to overcome the adversity. If they are out of shape, they learn about getting into shape. If they are lacking a skill, they learn how to gain that skill. If they are not finding the right people in their lives, they put themselves out there and meet new people. See the difference?

Choose a life of empowerment. Choose to take responsibility for your life. Choose to accept the things you cannot change and either live with these things or come up with solutions to overcome them. There is always a way—always. You just have to persist and keep trying. Simple, isn’t it?

This week I’ll continue working toward all my goals in writing, reading, learning, meditation, and exercise. I enjoy the daily routine of journaling, blogging, and working on my book. I enjoy the satisfaction of leaving a gym after a grueling workout. I enjoy reading and learning. I enjoy the solitude of getting quiet during meditation.

I hope all of you have a productive and terrific week! If any of you need any advice or help, feel free to reach out. I have some pretty awesome planning and execution hacks I’d love to share in all the areas I am pursuing. See you at the finish line!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday

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Adorable, Delayed Gratification, Funny, Joachim De Posada, Marshmallow experiment, Self-discipline, Success

This is a short video featuring Joachim De Posada and the famous marshmallow experiment that demonstrates the importance of being able to delay our gratification for better things. It is really short and the videos of the kids in these experiments are absolutely adorable. Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

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Books, Consistency, improvement, Learning, Movies, Small wins, Success, Tamara Taylor

“As long as you keep going, you’ll keep getting better. And as you get better, you gain more confidence. That alone is success.” – Tamara Taylor

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/tamara_taylor_884736?src=t_success

All of us start out in different places. This is what makes us human. You may a great artist; I may be a great speaker. The key is to recognize where you are starting from, set your sights on getting beyond your current talents to improve them.

Some advocate that we concentrate on our strengths and forget our weaknesses. I’m old school. Why should I fix what isn’t broken? Why should I neglect the parts of my make up that are not as strong as the others? I know what my weaknesses are, and I want to bring them up a bit, so they are no longer weaknesses.

Deciding is the key. Decide what you want. Decide what you want to work on. Decide on where you want to go and be. Then, formulate a plan, break it down into easy steps, and start working on each step daily. You’ll get where you want to go in no time.

Here’s what I’ve done this week:

Exercise Program:

Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size – (www.bodybuilding.com) – I’ve done this workout before and returning to it because it is just a good all-around weight routine. It’s 8 weeks in length, a 4-day split with 3 rest/cardio days mixed in.

Books:

Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Classes:

De-mystifying Mindfulness Course – Coursera – I’ve completed all the coursework so far and waiting until Nov 4, 2018, for the course to continue. One drawback of Coursera is the scheduling. Udemy allows you to buy the whole course, complete the whole course on your schedule and provide a certificate at the end.

Documentaries:

Movies:

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix – Season 2!

House of Cards – Netflix – Final Season. This was ok, but they ran out of gas. There were a lot of loose ends in the series and well, that’s all I got. I’d stick with the first few seasons and bail after that. Kevin Spacey made the show. After his trouble in the media and the law, the show would not survive.

Interesting Apps:

I hope all of you are having a terrific week! See you tomorrow for Funny Friday!!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Changing, Colin Powell, Exercising, Hard Work, Improving, Learning, Success, Writing

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/colin_powell_386437?src=t_learning

I really enjoy learning new things and doing what I can to improve all areas of my life. I have learned over time that it’s the little things that lead to big things. A consistent effort in small chunks delivers huge results.

I run across people all the time that struggle with improving themselves. Once I begin asking questions it is easy to see why they struggle. They are not vested in change. They are unhappy with their personal circumstances but fail to act. Why? They want reality to change for them.

We cannot affect change outside of us. We must change ourselves to achieve different results. If you want to lose weight, eat right and eat less. If you want to get in shape and feel better, get consistent sleep, eat right, and exercise (cardio and strength). If you want to do something with yourself, take the time to brainstorm, formulate a plan, organize your time around that plan, and execute. This is the same thing you will read about in book after book after book.

If you want your life to change, you must change—that’s it. Nothing outside of you will bend or adjust to you. The outside reality is what it is. Accept it and live with it or change yourself and alter your circumstances.

Below are the things I’m doing to improve and change. I hope all of you have a great week!!

Exercise Program:

Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size – (www.bodybuilding.com) – I’ve done this workout before and returning to it because it is just a good all-around weight routine. It’s 8 weeks in length, a 4-day split with 3 rest/cardio days mixed in.

Books:

Armor, Steakley – Recommended by an Army Buddy. A terrific book so far.

Ethics, Aristotle – Almost done with this one.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe – Still plugging away on this one. I’ve put it on hold, not because it is a bad book but due to the nonfiction reading, I’m taking on (I love nonfiction books more than fiction).

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni. I just started this book in conjunction with the author’s course on Coursera – This is a nice read. I don’t know if I’d buy the book by itself. It is the companion book for the Science of Success course below and it’s well worth it if you take the course in conjunction with it. It’ll run you around $5 for the Kindle version.

Classes:

Web Development Path – Codecademy – Currently learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Mindfulness Course – Coursera

Documentaries:

Inside the Free Masons – Netflix – Good documentary, but you’ll want to be interested in secret societies and such. It’s a very interesting documentary.

Movies:

Venom (Another Marvel Movie) – I saw this on my birthday. If you’re a Marvel Comics fan, this is a must see. Lots of action and terrific effects.

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix (in the cue) – Re-watching Season 1 to remind me what’s going on. I’ll kick into Season 2 when I’m back on track with this one.

Madam Secretary (Netflix) – I’m enjoying this one. I’m on the third season (there are four). Each season is about 20+ shows. If you like political dramas, you’ll like this one. Great cast and great writing.

Interesting Apps:

Codecademy – I’m currently pursuing a bucket list item and learning to code. I’m starting with HTML and having a great time so far. The first coding project is creating a blog from scratch—how ironic, right? The interface is awesome! You’ll need to be prepared to pay the $19.99/month to truly enjoy this one. The $19.99 version allows you to work on projects, take quizzes, and offers a whole bunch of bonus material not available in the free version.

Weight Watchers – I’m still on a quest to lose weight. After reading some research in an e-book published by Scientific American, this was one of the diet services that they believed were effective (mentioned in more than one of the enclosed articles). It runs $19.99/month and you are obligated to 3 months minimum (there is a penalty for quitting early). You can look up food, get your daily points (they use points for the types of food you eat), and have access to recipes, and all kinds of bonus content.

I truly wish the very best to all of your pursuits to improve and change for the better. Have a great, rest of the week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wednesday Wisdom – You Must Pay the Price

Tags

Accomplishment, Discipline, Goals, Paying the price, Self-delusion, Success

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn

Dictionary.com defines discipline as an activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill. But I think it is so much more than this. Discipline is about doing what is necessary or needed, regardless of whether a person likes doing what is necessary or not. I think this definition is much more accurate.

Discipline is nothing more than the price that must be paid to attain something. Nothing in this world is free. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that believe they can “cheat” the system. Lie to a customer, lie to your wife or partner, lie to yourself. Of these three, the most insidious of these lies is oneself.

Lying to yourself will bring you a lot of pain and suffering. You will succeed at everything in your mind, but in reality, fail in everything. What satisfaction is there in achieving something that is easy to attain? Nothing. There is no victory when there is no challenge, no risk, and no possibility of failure. The victory in these circumstances is empty–meaningless.

When we embark on working toward a goal or establishing a new habit we have to make a decision. Do I want to pay that price? If you are comfortable with doing that, then go for it. If you are not willing to pay the price your goal or new habit requires, drop it and do something else. If you are not willing to pay the price you will NEVER attain the goal or establish the habit you are shooting for. There are no shortcuts to meaning.

I like using exercise as a metaphor to explain myself. Exercise is the one area you cannot cheat. The gym, the equipment, and the weights do not lie. You can either curl a 25lb dumbbell or you cannot. You can run on the treadmill at 10 miles an hour or you cannot. You can squat 200lbs or you cannot. The gym will not let you cheat, nor will the scale when you weigh yourself.

If you want to lose weight, it’s simple. Eat less of what you are currently eating and eat nutritious and dense foods that are NOT processed. I don’t care what label you find on that cereal box or dinner. I don’t care if the meal is labeled low-fat, low-carb, or organic. Processed food is processed food. It is horrible for you. It will put chemicals into your body you can’t even pronounce and labeling today is such that most companies aren’t even truthful about what they are putting in your meals. That is one price you must pay. Eat healthy food. In other words, food that is not in a box.

If you want to be healthy, drink water, eat unprocessed foods, take your vitamins and other supplements, get enough sleep, and make sure you align your diet with the appropriate protein, carbohydrate, and fat levels. Is it easy to measure out your food? No. But it’s another price you must pay on the road to health.

Do you drink? Do you do drugs? Do you smoke? Again, all this needs to go away. You won’t be healthy doing any of these things. Your body will take it and one day you’ll wake up with heart disease, cancer, or maybe even a stroke. You drop these things and your road to health and weight loss are yours.

You want to make gains in the gym, track what you do. If you do not document what you are doing you have no idea where you are and where to push to. It’s like traveling in a foreign land without a map. You will not gain as much as you would have had you documented what you did.

These are just some of the prices a healthy body and decent weight cost. Are you willing to pay this price? If so, bravo. If not, do something else and save your time.

This may be harsh, but it is the reality of the situation. If you want something, look at what other people have done to achieve it. Follow in their footsteps. They have shown you how to do it, how much it costs in coin, sweat, and tears. You have all the information you need. Then it’s up to you. Do you really want to pay that price? If so, it’s yours. If not, don’t lie to yourself. You won’t achieve the same results. Find something else to pursue.

Discipline is truly the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk – John Wooden

Tags

John Wooden, Success, Winning

What better person to discuss winning and succeeding than John Wooden, one of the most winning coaches in College Basketball. This talk explains the simple things Coach Wooden used to measure success and how his early beginnings helped form his philosophy for years to come.

I hope you enjoy it!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Anger, Drinking, Drugs, Fear, habits, Opportunities, Quote, Smoking, Sophia Amoruso, Success

Today’s Quote:

“Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities.” – Sophia Amoruso

Makes sense doesn’t it?

Why would you continue to do anything that is harmful or hurting your chances of moving forward with your goals?

Well, let’s talk addictions for a moment. If you are exercising and using drugs, tobacco, or drinking, you’re actually working against yourself. These would be a few things I would abandon now, rather than later, if I was serious about a healthy, long-lasting existence.

What’s another major inhibitor for moving forward? Fear. A close friend of fear is anger. If you are angry and afraid you will be mad that you aren’t moving forward and fearful of doing so. Crazy right? But this is another huge trap for people. Fear will paralyze you, anger will alienate you.

So what does this quote teach us? It teaches us to let go of anger and fear. It teaches us to let go of toxic relationships. It teaches us to let go of bad habits like smoking, drinking, and drugs. It teaches us to let go of thoughts and feelings that tell us that we’re not good enough, not strong enough, or not pretty or handsome enough.

I hope all of you can achieve what you are striving for.

Until next time…