This month we are masterminding through The Men Who Built America, a DVD produced by the History Channel along with Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill to compliment the mini-series built around some of the great early leaders and entrepreneurs that help build the United States into a world power at the end of the 19th Century.

If you don’t know the back story on how these two connect together, Napoleon Hill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to study the most successful people and find out what resulted in their success.  The men who built America were among many of the 20,000+ that Hill interviewed over the twenty year period it took him to write the book.

This month we are going take a look at Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, JP Morgan and Henry Ford.  In this, the second of four posts, we will take a look at JP Morgan.

Morgan, most recognized a revolutionizing the way America deals with finance never settled for “good enough.”  He partnered with Edison and became a major player in the power industry and later became a master of consolidating organizations to create bigger profits and greater impact.

So why did a man who was born into wealth and never knew what it was like to be in need, risk it all and become “one of the men who built America?”

I Don’t Know Why, But It Just Doesn’t Feel Right.

THE SIXTH SENSE

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you will be able to see farther.” – JP Morgan

It would be hard to argue that Morgan “had it all” from day one, yet he was never satisfied.  Driven by the success of Carnegie and Rockefeller, Morgan worked off what he believed could be done.

Even through great opposition from his father, he risked the family wealth to pursue the development of electrical power.  Even when successful organizations already existed, Morgan’s sixth sense helped him to realize that by combining forces, an even greater business could be developed as seen in General Electric and US Steel.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know.

DECISION

“A man typically has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason” – JP Morgan

Time and time again, Morgan was faced with difficult decisions.  His father was against much of what he did and his vision often included the success of others such as Edison.  That being said, he always stood behind his decisions and maintained a forward movement.  Why?  Because he made a decision.  Right or wrong, a decision was made to move forward.  If an adjustment needed to be made, he made it.  The point is, that Morgan never let the details or fear hold him back.  It was not a matter if it was going to be done, simply how.

Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan!

ORGANIZED PLANNING

“No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form.  The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking.” – JP Morgan

No one better exemplified the art of organized planning than Morgan.  Early on, he successfully planned many activities related to the family financial business.  Some actually helped to keep America on it’s feet.  Realizing that he could be more powerful by partnering with other individuals and corporations, Morgan put together the necessary plan to take both successful and struggling businesses to new levels of success.  This was done by creating a plan that worked and then working that plan.

Tony Robbins said; “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)

The men who build America made both good and bad decisions along their way to power and wealth.  The difference – they always made a decision.  They all realized that doing nothing would produce exactly that – nothing.

We are faced with decisions every day.  Fear has a tendency to keep us from making the difficult ones.  My challenge today – choose something you have been struggling with in making a decision and make one.  No progress will be made by standing still. There is no neutral in life – you are either moving forwards or backwards. (Tweet This)

What difficult decision will you make today?

• Click here to read Part 1 on Andrew Carnegie
• Click here to read Part 2 on Thomas Edison

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“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”  

So how about it?  If the bell rang for you tomorrow, what would you take with you? Seriously – does this hit home for you at all? Back in February of 2012, I was at a John Maxwell event and John introduced his father Melvin to the stage and said this; “I want to introduce you to the most important man to me here on earth, some time ago my father decided he was going to live until he died.”

I’m Gonna Live Until I Die

Well at 80+ years of age, Melvin Maxwell showed us what it meant to live as he ignited the crowd of over 500 with the energy and enthusiasm rarely displayed by men half his age.  That experience challenged me to take a hard look at what I was doing in my own life.

I can honestly say that at the time, I was not living, I was merely existing.  Can anyone relate to that?  I changed a lot of things in my life after that day.  I was determined that I would live until I died.  I was no longer going to let life happen to me, I was going to start to happen to life.

I made the decision to start chasing after my dreams.  To believe that I could accomplish things that I had never done before – many that I had not even thought about trying.  A new identity built around who I was instead of what I did.  A new job that got me up in the morning instead of keeping me up at night.  I was achieving my dreams!

Defining Moment In A Foreign Country

Last June, I was part of a team that impacted the Country of Guatemala.  I found out what it’s like to feel like you’ve never felt before, doing something you’ve never done before, in a place you’ve never been before, with people you’ve never met before. The three greatest defining moments in my life were the day I said “I do” and the two times I heard “It’s a boy.”  The fourth came in Guatemala City on June 15th, 2013, when I discovered my purpose and clarified my mission to leave nothing behind.

I have an author page on Amazon and later this spring I will publish my first book.  I collaborate everyday with like-minded leaders all over the world.  I am making a difference in the lives of others that want to achieve the same thing.  This is the 250th blog post by someone who barely made it out of English class.

Getting Outside My Comfort Zone

I don’t say any of these things to impress you.  Trust me, I had many people pushing and pulling me along the way.  I do say them to impress upon you that there is no reason you can’t do the same.  I would not been able to achieve any of these things if I was not willing to stretch outside my comfort zone and do what I never thought possible, heck, I didn’t even think about them period!

So that is my challenge for you today.  Start removing the limits you have put on yourself.  Start believing that the impossible is possible and that the only thing holding you back is the fear of taking that first step – just like Les said.

Whoever said “You can’t take it with you” was wrong. (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)

There are all kinds of things you can take with you – the question is WILL YOU?

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If that’s not enough, check out this thought provoking video ==>

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One of the great things about being a coach is that you get to collaborate with other coaches and mentors on a regular basis.  Honestly, I think having a coach or mentor – someone to hold you accountable – is the best way to achieve any goal.  Speaking from personal experience I can say that my results increase dramatically when I have someone holding me accountable to doing what I say I am going to do.

One of my mentors, Kary Oberbrunner, recently posted this on his Day Job to Dream Job blog:

The purpose of your dream is not in achieving the dream itself, but rather the person you become in the process of achieving it.

I think I heard something like this before but it clearly did not stick.  This time it did.  I get this now.  It makes so much sense.  It’s really no different for goals.  When the goal is the goal, the focus is on the destination.  When the goal is about changing who you are, the goal becomes the bi-product of the transformation you go through.

I Don’t Want To Be What I Used To Be!

Maybe it’s the transformation that I have gone through over the past few years in my own life that has brought clarity to this concept.  But now that I understand it, everything I do has more meaning.  And not just to me, but to those around me as well.

In Guatemala last June, John Maxwell told me that; “Once you get a taste of significance, you will never settle for success.” (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)  Think about that one for a minute!

OK, so why does any of this matter?  If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned that today in National Quit Day.  The average day that most people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions.  Do you possibly think that the reason they give up is because they are focused on the destination and let’s be honest, how much change can possibly take place in ten days?

I Want To Be Who I Am Going To Be!

OK – Problem identified.  Now let’s get to the solution.  Here is my advice.  The next time you set a goal, use the one you set ten days ago if you want, spend some additional time writing down (YES, I SAID WRITING DOWN) the person you hope to become in achieving that goal.

We are ten days into 2014 and I will go out on a limb here and assume that most of you have made some type of list of the things you want to achieve this year.  My guess is very few of you have written down who you would like to become this year.

I Can’t Find The Easy Button

Are you going to measure the success of this year by how well you achieve your goals? What if you fail?  What if life happens and you simply can’t attain your goals because of your circumstances?

Here is the good news about focusing on the journey instead of the destination. Setting out to change yourself does not really have much to do with achieving the goal. We can learn through adversity and we can change during the difficult times.  We can grow every day in any situation.  It doesn’t matter what life throws at us.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche may give the best goal setting advice there is.  The problem is that most people don’t get stronger.  They give up or simply change direction because “it makes more sense.”  

As far as I am concerned, this may be the most important question I ask this year. “Who do you want to become?”  How about a bonus question to celebrate National Quit Day?  “What will you do to become that person?”

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This month we are masterminding through The Men Who Built America, a DVD produced by the History Channel along with Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill to compliment the mini-series built around some of the great early leaders and entrepreneurs that help build the United States into a world power at the end of the 19th Century.

If you don’t know the back story on how these two connect together, Napoleon Hill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to study the most successful people and find out what resulted in their success.  The men who built America were among many of the 20,000+ that Hill interviewed over the twenty year period it took him to write the book.

This month we are going take a look at Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, JP Morgan and Henry Ford.  In this, the first of four posts, we will take a look at Andrew Carnegie.

Carnegie is most recognized for the steel empire he built that would later become the U.S. Steel Company after being sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for the equivalent of 13.5 Billion Dollars in today’s economy.  But there is much more to Carnegie’s story.

So what was it that took a boy born into poverty in the Country of Scotland to become one of the wealthiest men in the America?  Lets take a look at three of the things that Napoleon Hill discovered:

Rags To Riches

DESIRE

“Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.” – Andrew Carnegie

Carnegie spent his early years in business watching men like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Thomas Scott.  He watched them build their empires and when his opportunity came, he knew exactly what he wanted and that desire never left. From one venture to the next his desire empowered him to find a way to achieve it.

Is It Time To Get A Bigger Box?

IMAGINATION

“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!” – Andrew Carnegie

One of the events showcased in the mini-series is when Thomas Scott, Carnegie’s mentor and boss,  asked Carnegie to build and oversee the design and construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River.  Scott suggested a man who according to Scott, “could do anything”, to design it.  As it turned out, the designer said it was impossible.  Carnegie responded with a emphatic “Nothing is Impossible.”  From there he imagined the construction of the bridge using steel and thus began the legacy of Carnegie Steel.

Just When You Think You’ve Had Enough …

PERSISTENCE

“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie

All these men, including Carnegie, defined the spirit on entrepreneurship.  I won’t suggest that they came up with entirely new ideas (except for possibly Edison) but they figured out entirely new ways to use what was already there, how to use it more efficiently, or how to produce it quicker and cheaper.  None of these advances came with failure.  10,000 tries at the light bulb ring any bells for you?  But all these men, especially Carnegie refused to quit.  They persisted until they succeeded.

Most equate the success of these men to industry and the technological advances of their time.  I believe what really made them more successful than anyone else of their time was their entrepreneurial spirit.  They were visionaries.  They saw what other didn’t and did what others couldn’t and achieved the impossible.  (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)

This will be a great mastermind study.  None of these men were angels, but one thing about them – they never let anyone else limit what they could do.

So I have a question for you to ponder today.  What limits are holding you back for doing what you want to do and becoming who you want to be?

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Burkus has totally changed the way I think about the topic of creativity.  He does an outstanding job of describing ten myths that I believe clearly demonstrate that there is creativity within all of us. Most of us just don’t know it.

Many of you know that I am constantly reading.  One of the reasons I read is that I think being constantly subjected to the ideas of others helps me to expand my own thinking.  Burkus takes this same thought process and shows how our collaboration with others is the real key behind innovative creativity.

I found one of his myths, the Originality Myth, quite interesting.  He uses two stories, one about Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone and the other about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates regarding “windows” and the graphical user interface (GUI).  If asked “who invented the telephone or the “windows” on your computer, most people would answer with one of the names above.  If you want to know the truth – order the book!

But here is the point.  All creativity, innovation and all good ideas are really the product of what someone did before them.  Bell simply refined what had already been discovered in the telegraph.  Gates and Jobs merely expanded on what Xerox had done years before.

In all honesty, I knew there was more to these stories before reading the book, however, my understanding of what creativity really is and how we get creative has changed considerably.

Burkus discusses these ten myths that are really limiting beliefs that keep us from innovation at both the personal and organizational levels.  Not only does he reveal these myths, but he provides clear direction on how to overcome the challenges that hold us back.  You know I love anyone who battles against limiting beliefs!

I look at myself and the things I have been doing over the last few years.  I have been doing things that I never dreamed I would be doing.  Creating my own content, developing an entire new career and identity and even constructing this website.  I know – nothing special – but it’s mine; I created it.

But here is the point that Burkus makes.  None of this was my idea.  It is simply a combination of watching, learning, and applying what other people know into what I do. Now here is the sweet stuff – if creativity is really the organization of what other people have already done, in a new way, there is no limit to what we can do.

I have only really pulled the thoughts from one of the myths that Burkus offers in this book.  If you have any desire to expand your ability to come up with good ideas and how to turn that into major achievement, grab a copy of  The Myths Of Creativity.

My challenge for you today; Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with others.  Even if it does not make sense or seem possible, it may spur some similar thinking in someone else and who knows what you might collectively come up with.  After reading this book, I realize that no good idea was the product of one thought by one individual.  Be that catalyst to the next major breakthrough that comes along.  What do you have to lose?

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The post The Myths Of Creativity – Who’s Idea Is It Anyway? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

The main premise of John’s 74th book is that we don’t have to lose.  Rather, we can learn from our failures and mistakes.  John shares some of his greatest blunders and simply stated, he kept a positive attitude when it could have been just as easy to give in or give up.

I’ll admit that I used to be that way when things went wrong.  Blame it on the circumstances or possibly even on someone else just so I wouldn’t look bad.  I am over that mindset now.  Now I realize that failure is actually part of success.  When we understand this, we are able to maintain a positive attitude which allows us to remain focused on the original goal or objective we set out to achieve.

I want to discuss four ways that our “attitude” impacts our life.  These are not just opinions, these are thoughts based on my own failure and success.  I used to try and hide my failures and losses from others.  Now I wear them like battle scars and love to share with others, what I learned from the experience.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

This could be your spouse, significant other, or even one of your kids.  If there is a problem in the relationship, I promise you that it has something to do with the attitude of one, or both of you.  My advice, remember this is based on experience, own your behavior and act in a way focuses on a solution.  A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world and may be your only hope to finding resolution.

BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

I have watched it over and over, attitudes are contagious.  Much of the success we have in the business world relates in one way or another to teamwork.  When you are part of a team, you have a responsibility to your teammates to be an addition to the team.  This never happens with a negative attitude.  One single bad attitude can divide an entire team.  That being said, one positive attitude can be the catalyst to team success.

HEALTH

We all know that stress is bad for us, and on many different levels.  I am not breaking any ground here by telling you that your attitude will determine your stress level.  Notice that I didn’t say your stress will determine your attitude, even though it might, but here is the deal. When we have a positive attitude, we reduce stress.  A negative attitude creates stress.  Our attitude is our choice – something we have control over.  Stress is the result of our choosing to have a poor attitude or by allowing others to control our decisions.

SUCCESS

Here is the important piece to all of this.  What if you never lost?  What if everything you did was a win or a learn?  How would that impact your attitude?  Look, I get it, sometimes there is so much stacked against and we feel so overwhelmed that it is nearly impossible to maintain a positive attitude.  But this is what happens when we have that “positive attitude” mindset – we look at things differently and some of the things that used to get us down, now get us excited.  Excited to learn and apply that lesson to do or get better.  That is how we succeed.

So a challenge for you today.  Identify something in your life, right now, that has you frustrated or even angry.  Take a moment to reflect on what it is and what you can learn from going through this experience.  As John says in his new book; “Success lies not in eliminating our troubles and mistakes but in growing through and with them.”  

We all will experience difficulties in our life.  I believe our attitudes will make the difference between winning and losing.  So no more losing, only learning!

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You can still see the encore presentation of the Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn webcast by clicking here.

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Barry Smith    10/12/13   photo courtesy of Amazon   © Building What Matters 2013

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A great effort by Maruska and Perry. They have really provided a usable framework to discover, develop  and fulfill your potential.  It has only been the last few years that I have really started to understand my own potential and I owe most of that credit to the coaching process.

Most understand the idea of potential – it’s always there, it simply needs to be understood and acted upon.  I think this is where most fail to “reach their” potential.  They simply don’t know what they don’t know and it often takes an outside perspective with open ended questions to dig that potential out.

I will break their three “Keys” down using the chapters as a guideline.  There is not near enough room in this post to cover the abundance of insight provided here to take charge of your talent and start thriving in your career, organization and life.

KEY #1  POWER UP YOUR TALENT STORY

Be Your Own Hero

The authors build around the idea that we can all be an everyday hero.  All it takes is the belief that we can, and the confidence to do something about it.  Fears and limiting beliefs are what hold many of us back.  Embrace your talent and build on it.

Explore a Talent Catalyst Conversation

The authors suggest that it takes a Catalyst Conversation to incite change in the discovery of your potential.  I mentioned the coaching process earlier.  Having those conversations in which new questions can be presented.  Questions that help you change the way you think are what can take you to a level you didn’t even know existed.

Connect with a Catalyst

I agree with the authors that discovery is not enough.  There has to be accountability if you want to achieve success.  Your Catalyst Connection may be a coach, mentor or simply an accountability partner – but if you want to succeed, you better have someone!

KEY #2  ACCELERATE THROUGH OBSTACLES

Keep Your Hopes Humming

Fill in the blank; “I hope that ______.”  How many times have you said that?  I really appreciated this chapter.  Maruska and Perry make some great observations that when we are creatively thinking and maintaining a positive attitude, it keeps our hopes alive.  Every small win helps build our confidence which builds positive momentum.  There is a great figure in the book which portrays the cycle of Hopes==>Opportunities==>Actions==>Hopes and so on.

Grab Opportunities to Grow

Clearly our success begins with opportunity – some provided and some created.  Either way, you need to be operating at a level of awareness that will allow you to identify those opportunities and seize them.  If you are going to grow, you need to get better every day. Opportunities allow for this growth but only when we see them.

Challenge Yourself to Stretch

How many opportunites do you have inside your comfort zone?  Whatever your answer is, do you really expect it to change if you stay right where you are?  Simple to understand but difficult to achieve, stretching beyond where you are will result in opportunities that you don’t even know exist.  In order to be more, you need to be willing to do more.

KEY #3  MULTIPLY THE PAYOFFS FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS

Create Enduring Career Assets

How do you create more wealth?  You make yourself more valuable.  Survival in life really depends on what you can provide to others.  So here is the big question; what skills or talents to you have and what is their value to others?  Consider how you can take what you know and use it to allow others to succeed.

Share the Wealth and Everyone Wins

This chapter, at least in my opinion, is really about legacy and more importantly, the legacy we leave behind.  When you truly embrace and maximize your talents, you can create a legacy that will continue to add value after you are gone.  Winning doesn’t have to end when you do!

Champion a Take-Charge Talent Culture

The final chapter is really a call to action.  I would suggest the question “What do you want?” When you realize what you want and do something about it, you can achieve it.  But there is a catch – Hope without a plan is nothing more than a dream.  Taking the steps to maximize the gifts and talents that you have will allow you to become more than you thought possible.

This was a great book and well worth investing the time to read it!  A lot of fresh ideas and examples that make you think.  There is so much to be gained, and given, when we apply what we know and use what we have to become all we can.  Maruska and Perry have provided the framework now it’s up to you.

Today’s question and challenge: “Have you taken charge of the talent you have and what are you dong to be your own catalyst to thriving in your career, organization and life?”

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Barry Smith    10/2/13   photo courtesy of the Launch Team   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Take Charge Of Your Talent – Unlocking Your Potential appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

If you have been following me for a while, you probably know that I transitioned from a 30 year career in Construction to become a coach, speaker, trainer and author focused on Communication, Growth and Leadership.

Part of the reason I chose this change was because I want to create a legacy that will be remembered and I want to make a difference “that makes a difference.”  One way to do that is to be a FRED.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Oahu to visit our oldest son Scott, who will be graduating from the University of Hawaii in December.  On the flight over I read Mark Sanborn’s “The Fred Factor” and on the return flight finished the sequel, “Fred 2.0.”

This is the second of three posts on Fred 2.0.  For those looking to read Fred 2.0, I would suggest reading the original first.  You really need to know the story behind Fred to appreciate what Sanborn delivers in 2.0.

Sanborn gives a pretty good summary of the book with the subtitle, “New Ideas On How To Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results.”

In a nutshell, the original Fred was Sanborn’s postman, and Fred went over and above to be more than just ordinary.  Fred’s commitment to “going the extra mile,” was Sanborn’s inspiration for the first book.

In 2.0, Sanborn takes a deeper look at the four basic Fred principles:

1. Everybody makes a difference.
2. It is all built on relationship.
3. You can add value to everything you do.
4. You can reinvent yourself continually.

Through these three posts, I will give a key thought from each of the books’ 15 chapters.

CULTIVATE YOUR CREATIVITY

Sanborn suggests that our first choice in doing things is typically “the way they’ve always been done.”  He goes on to suggest ten ways we can spark our creativity every day.  My favorite – “If you don’t know, ask.”  Asking curious, challenging and open ended questions, usually results in an answer that has some creative value.

DEVELOP YOUR DIFFERENCE

More specifically, “Discovering Your Signature Difference.”  How do we do this?  Sanborn suggests asking these questions:

1. What is your unique style?
2. What are your signature strengths?
3. What are your true passions?
4. What do you want to be remembered for?

BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS

Sanborn provides six steps to building better relationships:

1. It isn’t enough to build relationships if you don’t maintain them.
2. It doesn’t have to take much time.
3. Friendliness is a choice, not a response.
4. Employees rarely treat customers better than their employer treats them.
5. Nice isn’t enough if you’re not competent.
6. Relationships aren’t built in a day.

ELEVATE YOUR EXPERIENCE

One great way to make a difference is the make the experience more memorable.  Here are 4 elements to consider when influencing someone:

1. They are surprised – in a good way.
2. They are happier after the experience than they were before.
3. They feel like they’ve received value.
4. They want to tell others about their experience.

Sanborn provides a great acronym to think about: C.A.R.E.: Create A Rare Experience

RENEW YOUR RESOLVE

Honestly, we all might want to be a FRED, but it takes intentionality to stay a FRED.  Sanborn gives us five ways to remind ourselves to be a FRED.

1. Stamp it into your memory – literally.
2. Let Fred become music to your ears.
3. Learn from the Freds of the past.
4. Recognize the Freds you encounter each day.
5. Review regularly.

The basic logic here is that we can all step our game up.  Even if it is just a little bit, we can still make a difference in someone’s life today.

My question for the day; “How can you take the ordinary, make it extraordinary and make a difference “that makes a difference” in someone’s life today?”

Click here to read Part 1 of Fred 2.0

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Barry Smith    5/15/13   photo courtesy of michaelhyatt.com    © Building What Matters 2013

The post Fred 2.0 – Part 2: How To Be A Fred appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

The more I have studied the idea of potential, the more I realize how difficult it really is to identify.  There have been studies done on the idea of potential and it has been determined that there is really no way to measure the potential that we are capable of.  The same studies have estimated that we only reach 10% of our potential during our lifetime.

I don’t really understand how they can say we only reach 10% when they can’t identify the limit but nonetheless, these are two concepts worth discussing.

I understand that they can’t identify our true potential because there really is no way to identify what we are capable of achieving.  The 10% raises a lot of questions for me. Not so much if it is wrong or right but the fact that it is so low.

So why do so many of us fail to achieve what we are capable of?  That is what bothers me.  If we are only achieving 10% of our potential, then 90% of the opportunities we have simply slip by.

Here is what I think.  I think it is because we have a tendency to get comfortable in what we are doing and who we are.  I think a lot of people think being stuck is OK. What do I mean?  I am saying that many people learn a certain skill set, make in income that pays the bills, and have the mind-set that they have reached the top. When we can get by, we have completed the mission.

Why can I say this?  Because I used to be that guy.  Then a series of events happened in my life and I realized I was example of someone living that 10%.  Sure I was contributing, but only on a small scale.  There was an entire world out there that I could make a difference in if I applied what I was capable of.

What does that take?  Courage!  Courage to stretch where you have not stretched before.  Courage to get outside of your comfort zone.  Courage to make decisions that scare the crap out of you.  Most importantly, courage to become someone that everyone else doesn’t believe you can become.

We all have a story.  That story needs to be shared if we are to reach our potential. Why?  Because our story is the footprint we will leave on this earth.  I believe that everyone matters and their story can help others.  Living a life without becoming what you are capable of is really a story untold.

Carl Jung said “The greatest tragedy of the family is the unlived lives of the parents.”   I believe the greatest tragedy in life is the unfulfilled potential of a person. Why?  Because we miss an opportunity to make a difference in the life of another. What if  that other person is you!

Life isn’t easy and life isn’t fair but Imagine what you could do if you could do all you can?

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Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 4/16/13 photo by author

The post Having The Courage To Unlock Your Potential appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

The more important question, for those who identified some level of success, is how did you get there.  I would guess that most would say hard work, some might say luck (if you have been following my blog, you know how I feel about luck … when preparation and opportunity collide) but most would most likely identify some kind of action on their part that led to their accomplishments.

My point is this, successful people all have in common, that they were proactive in becoming successful.  I get tired of people that do nothing but make excuses why they can’t do this or can’t do that.  If it weren’t for ….., I could be successful.  if only ….., then I could accomplish what I want to.  Do you know this person?  Maybe you are this person.

I used to be this person.  Making excuses for all the things that were holding me back.  All the reasons why I have a list a mile long of things I want to do but didn’t.  Then one day I realized that the only one that was ever going to change this was me.  One of my favorite quotes:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

— Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

I didn’t see the message in this picture until after I took it.  Follow me on this:

1.  THE MIRROR

When you look into a mirror what do you see?  A reflection of yourself.  You are the only one that you see.  You are the only one that controls your destiny.  You are responsible for the way you act, the people you spend your time with and ultimately, each and every decision you make.  There is no one else in the mirror that will make decisions for you and no one else to do it for you.

2.  THE SWITCH ON THE WALL

What will be your switch?  More importantly, what will be the catalyst for you to flip that switch?  We all want to be successful at something and I am not here to tell you what that something is but some kind of decision needs to be made to flip that switch.  Think about how many times you walk by switches during the day and don’t flip them.  Isn’t life pretty much like that?  We have opportunities to flip the switch all the time and most of the time we walk right by it.

3.  THE DOORWAY

There is an open doorway in the picture.  I have come to appreciate the idea that anything is possible.  Now I acknowledge that there are some things that just won’t happen but work with me here.  It is our own self-limiting beliefs that hold us back, that keep us from flipping the switch and keep us from walking through the doorway of opportunity.  We can see what’s on the other side of the door but we simply take a look and keep on walking.

Alright, I know this is a little deeper than I usually get, but what can I say, sometimes you just throw out what’s on your mind.  My message though, is simple.

Take responsibility for your life, flip the switch and walk through the door.  The success you have been looking for might just be on the other side.

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Barry Smith   www.buildingwhatmatters.com   10/11/12            photo by author

The post Still Looking For Success? Look In The Mirror! appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.