JUST DO IT, AND DO IT NOW!

"Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better" 

- Émile Coué

A New Year, a new set of goals?  Not really.  Most of us have goals in our mind at all points of every year.  What makes the New Year so appealing to try and put those plans into action is the idea of a fresh start, a clean slate.  While this is noble, and worth while in pursuit, I challenge all who read this to see each day a New Year's day!  

Every day on waking should live the breath of a new moment in our history on which we can make those much needed personal improvements.  None among us is so perfected that we don't have things about ourselves which we cannot change or do better.  Waking in the morning should be the genesis of inspiration.  If starting a diet yesterday didn't happen when you tore open the package of Oreos last night, why not today?  If quitting smoking has eluded you, then why not today?   If repairing relationships with family or friends is renting space in your head, then it is time to evict those ugly tenants!  

Each day is opportunity (please refer to my previous post on the beauty of opportunity!)  Each day is a gift to do whatever we set our minds to doing.  The problem, if you're anything like me is, how do I get started?  How do I do it?  There is no simpler answer than this: Just do it!  Stop making excuses, the timing will never be right, and the longer it goes unchanged, the longer it negatively impacts our self-esteem.  We become mired in negative self-talk, and believe ourselves to be failures.  The fact is, you cannot fail at anything unless you try, and once you've tried, you are no longer a failure; even if the outcome isn't as you expected.  You see, the winning is in the attempt.  The victory is in the dedication and persistence to do whatever it takes to change. 

I could go on ad nauseam  about how we go about accomplishing any of our resolutions, however, the best speech ever given on how we achieve our goals, our resolutions, our desires, our purpose has already been given, by billionaire Art Williams:

Work in progress

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 

It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us."
-Marianne Williamson 

The greatest quotes are the ones that are self-evident.  It's not that they are not profound, but it's that they reveal universal truths about human nature.  It is assumed that some how we all abide or listen to our nature, but rather I find that we most often try and avoid our human nature or at the very least distract ourselves from it.

What is it about expectations that causes anxiety?  It would seem that when we have the capacity to be great, we should fulfill it at every given moment.  However, how many people can say that they live and perform to their ultimate capacity everyday?

I know that for myself I often find that I work to my ability, but not my capacity.  I started this blog to push myself at my writing.  I love to write, and I love words; yet so often I find myself going months without putting meaningful thought down to (virtual) paper.  Is it a lack of something to say?  No.  It's allowing life to take over and dominate my routine.  I can at any instant add something into my life if I maintain a burning desire for its fruition.

You see, we all have passion for something.  We are all greater than what we do.  However, we most often get side tracked by life into doing those things that are part of the routine, and believe me the routine for many of us is so weighty that when we do get any hours that are personal we simply want to "veg-out," and "chill."

Right now, my son is sleeping, and I am writing.  I am on winter break from my j.o.b., and I could be using this time to pick-up the house, organize the bills or clean out a closet.  But I am not!  I am doing what makes me fulfilled.  How often do you think that we take time to do what makes us fulfilled?  Yes, my kids fulfill my life in many amazing ways, and yes my wife is simply astounding, however, this doesn't speak to my inner desire to create, make, or do something that is intrinsically mine (probably because somebody told me somewhere along the lines that this is "selfish," which is just hogwash.) 

The funny thing is, that as I age, I learn that my time is valuable and needs to be focused.  I spend a little time each day building a business, blogging, playing with my kids, talking with my wife, even work on the j.ob. outside of work (which is cruel and unusual punishment when you're a salaried employee!)  The fact is, if I don't push myself, I am easily made lazy.  I am easily sacked by life.

To achieve maximum results in life, I must constantly put out maximum effort.  I must be vigilant and concious of my thoughts, my actions, and my words, and make sure they are in harmony.  I must write down what I want to accomplish, when I should accomplish it by, and what results I would like to manifest from this effort.  Now, this is not something that I've been doing my whole life, but rather, something I've started to apply over the last year.  I am constantly derailed in my effort to stay focused.  Does this mean I should stop?

Here is where most of us find our perception of failure.  We stop doing what is good for us, because we can't sustain it at the level we expect from oursleves.  We often think, "if I can't do it the best from the start, I'm not going to do it at all."  And, we quit.  It happens to me or rather it use to happen to me.  Now, when I see that I'm not doing something, that I was previously doing and achieving resluts, that I know are beneficial to my life and my well being, instead of saying, "what's the point," I turn it back on and start doing it again.  Life isn't a series of do it once and I'm an expert, but rather it is a series of practices, and disciplines, that I fully acknowledge I will do inconsistantly until a habit has been formed, and it (whatever it is) becomes integral and automatic to my daily functioning.

I have often considered myself an author who doesn't write.  Every time I go back to writing I feel better, like somehow I am fulfilling part of my full capacity.  My question to you is, what can you do that you don't do?  What part of your full(filling) capacity do you ignore on a daily basis, and how do you get it back in your life?

Please feel free to respond, and know that I am simply a voice, practicing a craft, that I believe will reach out into the universe and change how we approach life.  I want us all to achieve maximum results, and know that each day, when I put my head on the pillow, that I can say to my creator - I did the best I possible could today, thank you for the gift of me!

Be well and live inspired!

Michael Cordin
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THE MOST FEARED WORD - "Opportunity"

The most feared word in the social network or in life for that matter is opportunity. The word itself seems to inspire a sense of fear and loathing, and to some extent I can see why. However, I firmly resolve to use the word opportunity in my lexicon. The word itself means: 1. a favorable juncture of circumstances, 2. a good chance for advancement or progress (this according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.)

Based on the definition of the word, there should be no reason why anyone wouldn’t want to have opportunities abound in their life. Based upon most people’s experience they hear the word opportunity, but feel the word scam. It is shame that over the course of time that the word has become so bastardized.

All that being said, most people who have been presented with an opportunity have given little time to the person who is presenting the opportunity; they run, ignore, or pick a fight just to defeat the person wanting to share information with them. There was time when I was fully entrenched in the running or ignoring camp, however, I was finally “duped” into sitting down with a friend who wanted to share his opportunity. Tired of ignoring him, and afraid of the strain it had put on our relationship – we had been friends for some twenty plus years, I decided to listen. What I came to see was something amazing. He didn’t care if I did it or didn’t do it. He wanted to present to me the information he had, and let me be the judge for myself.

This was converse to my whole thinking on people who had “opportunities” to show me. I wasn’t sold, I didn’t sign up that day, I took my time and thought about how what he had shared with me could improve or be detrimental to my life. I did my research, and looked into his “opportunity,” and discovered something amazing. I discovered that it made sense for me to try this out. It made financial sense, and it made me explore new areas of my life that had yet to be discovered.

Over the last 9 months I have received a new education, a desired education. I have learned about the 2 tax systems, the one to keep me poor, and the one to help me achieve wealth. I have personally developed into a more open person, someone who is willing to look at himself and address his flaws. I am gaining financial literacy. I have met some of the most amazing people, who earn 10, 50, 100 times what I earn in teaching, yet extend their help at any turn I need it. I have learned that it isn’t easy, that it isn’t for everyone, and that people I talk to should meet certain qualifications in order to be successful business builders. I have learned that a product can substantially improve the quality of your life.

Perhaps, the most amazing thing I’ve learned by allowing the word opportunity to become a part of my life is that I can achieve anything. At this very moment and time I am building an amazing company with my best friend, that isn’t a part of the original opportunity I was presented with, but allowed me to be open to listening and seeing the things that are right there to be seized. In the process we have one mission, to give others the opportunity to create a life for themselves, to give them the tools necessary to build their future in the way they desire, to unchain them from building others’ fortunes, and become the pioneers of their own life, with a full awareness that opportunities are not for everyone.

Most people won’t believe that I believe that my friend and I are creating a Fortune 500 company. They will think, “who are you to have such lofty goals,” “you’re dreaming,” “you’re an idiot if you think that’s possible.” I challenge them to open their minds and see what happens when you start to embrace and see the boundless opportunity given freely to each of us each day.

I firmly believe that nothing is chance; we meet everyone we do for a reason. We are all absolutely interconnected for a reason. If we can manage to get out of our own way, and allow nature to do its job, we will see that absolutely nothing is chance, and that we are the ones who ignore or tune out the most fundamental fabric of how we are supposed to be a benefit to one another. The acorn doesn’t grow into a lemon tree, it always grows into an Oak. The sun doesn’t sometimes rise, it always rises. Why do we not do what we were exactly meant to do, take each opportunity that presents itself, and run with it like our pants are on fire!

Be well and live inspired,

Michael Cordin
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NO SUCH THING AS SECURITY

I have a wonderful friend who told me a long time ago that there's no such thing as security. It took me some time wrap my head around what exactly he meant. My friend is a veteran of Vietnam, and has some of the greatest insights to share about life, and the events that contribute to the formation of the way we perceive our world. One of the greatest lessons he has ever taught me comes from the insight that only a veteran can teach, and that is the nature of our reality living in a country like ours. When you have seen the things he has seen, when you have lived moment to moment with the knowledge that the next could absolutely be your last, when you have ducked your head momentarily only to watch a friend get his skull blown off, you come to a place that is decidedly real.

We constantly fill our lives with ideas of importance, and perceived needs. We place layers upon layers of seemingly harmless desires over necessity. He has often said, "to see the deer, you must look between the trees." How often do we find ourselves looking in the right direction, but focusing on the wrong thing. It is the space in between that is important and gives definition to life. Without the space in between the trees, the trees would have no form.

Security is false hope, it is the notion that if I do "X" I will be okay, and some how I have insured a future moment of existence. The fact is, no matter how many layers of perceived security we layer on to our lives, stocks, bonds, 401k's, jobs, friends, life insurance (which should be called death insurance,) we are no closer to security than the man who shakes his cup on the corner. I can exercise, and eat well, I can take supplements, and fortify my body, however, none of these things guarantees anything. Security is a fallacy we use to hide the true nature of life.

The sooner we come to expect uncertainty, the quicker we tune in to being alive. The only moment that exists is the moment you're in, and therefore what is to be cherished is now. It is my chief aim and purpose to experience each "now" as the greatest event of my life. Those experiences that came before have served their purpose, and any yet to come will be exactly as they were meant to be, based on the appreciation of "now."

It is not a pessimistic attitude that says, each breath could be my last, but rather the total opposite. When one truly embraces the moment as the last, true living, appreciation, and gratitude are experienced. Life is a precious gift, as cliche as that may sound. However, most of us are so busy building a perceived future, that what escapes us is the perfection and beauty of being exactly where we are in the moment we are experiencing. Every cherished now will take care of the busy tomorrow, and when we get out of our planning, and out of our head, we come to reality. Every abundant future started with seeing and appreciating what was presented at the moment. As my friend also says to me, "sometimes you have to go out of your mind, to come to your senses."

Be well, and live inspired,

Michael
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Snow Days: 3 Reasons to be Grateful

I was outside shoveling my rather short driveway which still seems rather big. I got to thinking as shoveling doesn't require as much brain as it does brawn.

Gratitude can be found at any moment at any time. I found myself being grateful for the following while shoveling:

1) I have the strength and health to shovel.
2) Shoveling the drive way makes it easier for my wife and kids to get in and out of the house, keeping them safer.
3) Shoveling is a perfect opportunity to let negative thoughts go and feel the beautiful cold air, allowing for almost perfect meditative conditions.

There are an abundance of opportunities to embrace reflection and let negativity go. We are given unlimited moments to stop and restart our day. Will you take the chance to abandon a bad moment?

How do you let the negativity go? Simple. You just do. Ask yourself, does my current state of mind make me feel the way I want to feel? If it does not, then why do you persist in holding on?

Go forth and be productive, live fully and with passion! Much love and serenity,

Michael
mcordin73@gmail.com
http://afterthebeeppeople.blogspot.com

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Informal Poll

So I am curious. I've been doing a ton of work on my perspective and I am trying to fill my brain with only positive messages. Yes, that means I watch almost no news and need to avoid most people! I jest, (sort of.)

Why are we drawn so easily to negative thinking? (The caveat to this is that your responses should not focus on external circumstances.)

Wishing you an abundance of peace and prosperity!

Michael
mcordin73@gmail.com
http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com



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All Areas Abundant

To have abundance we must condition our minds to think abundantly. How many times have I said, "at least I have what counts." This in always in relationship to love and family, and even to extent my teaching career. However, this abundance has never been connected to my net worth, financially speaking.

Why not abundance in all areas? Why don't we ALWAYS demand abundance financially? I have always thought for myself that money will be something other people will have, but me, I'm just destined to be a working Joe, a 9-5, hard and tireless working man. This attitude has served to define my beliefs on work to a tee, until recently.

It doesn't make sense to hold this belief. In fact no one should hold this belief. Not that hard work isn't a good quality of strong moral character, but rather that money is something others can have, and I can only hope for what is given and determined by an other. I may always be receiving a check from a company, but who's to say that that is the only way I will get paid? Why can't I generate more financial abundance, using my talents and skills? What many people forget to remember is that what we are capable of doing is amazing, but what we will do is rather limiting.

The fact is, we all deserve monetary abundance as much as we deserve family and love in abundance. We can continue to use our God given gifts at current capacity, through work or jobs, or we can develop and hone our talents in pursuit of the creation of the life and financial wealth that our dreams so often tell us are unrealistic.

This does require some major shifts in our mental orientation, and that is, we must believe in the power of self and our talents. This is scary; not only for me, but for the hundreds of others I know that are filled with amazing talents and gifts. In order to achieve our greatness we must believe in ourselves. This is often the most difficult part, self-belief or self-worth. I know for myself, that trusting that I have something amazing to share with the world is hard concept to swallow. The doubting voice of, "what makes you special, what can you possibly offer others," immediately screams out and wants to knock me down. We must remember that our net worth will never exceed our self-worth. We must trust that God has given us something amazing to share with others, and each second that we don't put this gift to work in maximum capacity we are living in the bondage of human limitations. When I work on myself and trust that I am a creation of infinite goodness, I believe that I can achieve anything and do anything.

I set forward a task to any who reads this: what would you do for a living if you had the choice? If you could put yourself to work, in the way that you know you were meant to be of service, what would you give to this world and how would you deliver it? When we see that "thing" that creates happiness and inspires others and ourselves, our abundance begins! Mix in desire and purpose of aim, and your future becomes a series of limitless possibilities. You need only to remain receptive to the universe and its calling.

Be well, and treat others kindly!

Michael
http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com
mcordin73@gmail.com



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Service to others

-Lou Holtz : "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."

Every night I fall asleep and I can see the attitude I left on the table. While most of the day I cultivate a "can do, grateful" attitude, I will slip into the dealing in minor things as if somehow I can change the circumstance to fit my need, rather than looking at circumstance and seeing how I can change.

We are often given to these lapses where where the minutia of life is too much to handle and we give in. I suggest that while we are in such frames of mind that we stop and examine our larger goal or purpose; we will find that they are are often incongruent. So the question becomes, how do I more quickly get back to harmonizing my thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

The fastest and easiest way to return to this harmony is by helping others. I get out of my mind and into some form of service.

Right now I am trying to introduce people to new ways to lose weight, http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com however, at other moments I am listening and sharing experience strength and hope in the area of addiction. When we stop and look for where we can be of service to others we naturally drop the preoccupations that cause us the greatest discomfort.

I still get lost in moments and couldn't think myself out of a paper bag, but the duration and intensity of these moments diminishes as I learn to apply the attitude of gratitude to others in all facets of my life.

Be well, and find ways to be useful to those around you,

Michael




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More to come

I recently decided to change or focus my blog writing. Please keep an eye out for future posts. It is my hope that anyone who follows my blog will be excited to get more consistent posts, that I will try to keep shorter and more frequent.

Be well and enjoy this amazing day!

Michael


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Low self esteem or the negative internal monologue

Saturday, August 7, 2010
6:25am

Where? My mind.

It's interesting the internal monologue that each of uses on a daily basis, and I use the word uses very liberally, most of us don't use our internal monologue, but rather are controlled by this negative part of our psyche. The internal monologue is the conversation that occurs between your ears. It is the voice that is constantly pecking at you, and directing your actions. It is the you that most people never see, and most likely don't want to see. In an ideal world our internal monologue would be our greatest champion, it would believe anything is possible, and constantly tell you to go for it. As a kid our internal monologue is quiet, it's there, but it's pretty much in sync with who we are - it says lets have some fun, and we have some fun; it says we can do anything, and we believe that we can do anything (even hang upside down from branches in trees that are 20 feet up! Or fly space ships to distant galaxies named after famous thinkers! What adult would do that?)

Ultimately our internal monologue gets more sophisticated as we develop, and that is the problem. It begins to limit us, and tell us that we can't do something versus we can do anything. It becomes our biggest critic versus our biggest advocate. If you think about it logically, wouldn't you like your internal self talk to tell you something positive instead of constantly telling you how ugly you are, how fat you are, how poor and broke you are, how stupid you are, how you shouldn't try, how you'll never be good enough, how you're never going to find happiness or love. Why do we allow such an intricate part of who we are remain so negative and run our lives?

A family member recently responded to something I wrote about my job and my new business by saying the following, "Dude no offense but they call it work for a reason and its not what you love to do. Someone once told me if you love what you do then your not working hard enough. Dan Sainz millionaire!!!" I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to prove, other than he has been programed to believe that you're not working unless you're angry or resentful. His internal monologue is so negative that he can't help but be affected by a positive message or statement about work. I believe in working smarter not harder. Just because I can work an 18 hour day doesn't mean I should; and quite frankly during the school year I work 18 hours days, and I don't like it - it pulls me away from spending time with my family and friends.

Our internal monologue is shaped as we grow, and is heavily influenced by who and what plugs into us, and programs us - our parents, our family, our teachers, our TV habits, our music... All of these people sat at the keyboard in our mind and hammered away on our keys - they told you what you were worth, they told you what to value, what de-value, what to like and what to hate, etc. etc.

It is amazing that as adults, and "independent" people, to realize just how much we are still controlled by the voice that was programmed into us so long ago (or not so long ago depending on how old you are.) It's amazing that so many of us accept this voice as an unchangeable immutable force and piece of who we are. I remember when I was in my twenties, out there (and I mean out there,) and I was using alcohol and drugs (and becoming a slave to them,) my internal monologue became a voice that continually told me I was worthless, that I wasn't going to achieve anything, that I couldn't achieve anything, that I shouldn't be happy, that I didn't deserve to be happy, that I ought to just die. This is a part of me, telling me that I should die. How insane is that? I am lucky enough to be given life, and somewhere along the lines things get so bad that a part of me begins to tell me to kill my self.

However, there is good news! You can change. I changed, and I continue to change every day (it is the one constant in a rather inconsistent life.) You can change that little voice in your head or at least learn to evaluate it's message and make better choices. You CAN DO amazing things, and quit listening to the internal voice tells you that you WILL DO mediocre or safe things. I don't know if there is a secret recipe to changing the internal monologue, however, recognizing it's message and strength is the first step. When that voice turns up the volume, and is controlling your thinking, you need to ask yourself, why? Be aware of this voice, and evaluate it's message. If you don't like its message then simply say, "I don't like your message," and move on - go for it.

I don't know how to make the world a better place, however, I know that I can be a better person. If I change, the world changes - even if just by a fraction. Pay attention to your internal monologue, don't let it inhibit the person you could be or want to be - tell the inner monologue to shove it, and do the opposite of what it tells you to do. This is a practice that will take time and repetition, and won't be changed over night. It took years to program it to where it is now, the reverse process can be quicker, especially if we want change! Just remember - change yourself, change your world.

Monday Again

In honor of Monday's everywhere I have decided to boost the self-esteem of a day that goes regularly into peoples vernacular as the most hated day of the week. Monday has no choice on its placement in the week, and I'm sure would choose to be Friday if it could. The top 10 reasons to love Monday:

10) It's the first day of your best week at work.
9) The first day of the school week, allowing your kids or yourself to get educated
8) The first day closer to the next weekend
7) The first day that you evaluate weather or not you want to find a new job
6) The first day to buy fresh flowers for your special someone
5) The first day to see a movie w/o all of the weekend crowds
4) 1/2 price tickets at Sox home games!
3) The first day to make a vow to quit a habit that's holding you back.
2) The first day to start a week out with optimism and hope fueled by the freedom of a weekend.
1) The best day to extend a fantastic weekend by playing hooky!

Now, this assumes that you don't work weekends, which I do (sometimes.) However, the point is, have you ever tried to find the positive in a negative? Have you ever considered the power of perspective. If I think Monday is going to suck, then Monday is probably going to suck. I'll admit, it wasn't easy coming up with a top 10 reasons to love Monday list, but doesn't Monday deserve it? Don't you deserve it? The only way to change our circumstances is to change our attitude and reactions to those circumstances.

Monday will always be Monday. Bosses and Employees will still come to work with attitudes and hangovers, and baggage from their lives. The only recourse you have is to change your reaction, your response, your attitude, and your actions. There is nothing that you do to make others bend to your will.

Be grateful it's Monday, if you have a job, be grateful you have a job to hate Monday's for. If you don't have a job, be grateful that you have the power to get a job - that you woke up with the opportunity to find a job, that you have all the power you need to generate the energy and hope that an employer needs. Or maybe, just maybe, the reason you don't have a job is greater than that - maybe you're supposed to be doing something amazing, maybe you're supposed to be your own boss, maybe you're supposed to be employing others. Maybe that idea that has been swimming in your mind for years is supposed to be taking root in reality.

Whatever you have today, do the best with it! If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got. Maybe that's good enough for some of you, but for most of us it means that we need to look inside and make a call to action. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

Monday's don't deserve our wrath, they should be greeted with same enthusiasm as Friday or Wednesday, or Sunday or whatever your favorite day happens to be. Remember Monday is an idea, just like your attitude is an idea, and an idea is only as strong as the belief in the idea. Change your belief, change your life!

Be well, and have a wonderful day, unless you have other plans.

Michael

EXPOSED FEARS

6:59am - Friday, July 23, 2010

What is fear? Why do we have fear? It serves a purpose, but also serves to dominate lives. Recently I ran into a fear. I wasn't aware that this fear was such a controlling feature in my life. One of the reasons that I write a blog is to reveal aspects of my personality to myself, most often if I'm only thinking about something it stays between my ears, and anything that's in my brain isn't real. It's an idea that I can rationalize, misplace, ignore, or generally minimize or maximize and allow to act as a controlling factor in my life.

I'm 37, I am well educated; I feel that I am well spoken, and have great life experience and spiritual experience to share with others - I considered, until recently, myself to be a personally confident person.

However, I have to see that I have a flaw that is limiting my ability to achieve and suceed. Now pay attention, if you can believe this, my defect in character is that I seek the approval of others at cost to my personal growth, success, or feelings. What does this mean? It means that I'm afraid you won't like me, and I would rather be liked, than stand up for what I believe in. Where did I learn this? From life. It wasn't something exposed to me by a CD or self improvement book.

In my quest to move forward in my life, and begin something new, I have run into one massive road block - me. I am my biggest obstacle. My programming has given me rather low self esteem, the need to please others, and negative self talk that minimizes my personal accomplishments.

Why do I care what others think of me? Why do I want you to like me? Why is the approval of others a controlling factor in my life? These are all questions that I must address and conquer as I push forward in my life.

My first response to this discovery was irritability, however, as I thought about it, I realized that I had a great opportunity on my hands. Discovering faults, becoming aware of personal deficits is the key to overcoming them and turning a liability into an asset. All perceived deficits are assets in hiding. They are what makes us stronger as people. It all goes back to the same principle that how would you know happiness if you didn't experience sadness or pain? The same applies to all areas of improvement - those areas which are perceived as negative have an opposition that is positive, and when you've experience both, you can share both, you have a story to tell that others will relate to, and perhaps even see a brighter future for themselves.

Creating a better future is what we all (ought) strive for; complacency and apathy are the disease of the 21st Century. They only way to overcome and treat them is to through self discovery and self improvement, and helping others.

Until I post again, have a great day - unless you have other plans.

- Michael