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Day Five: Hook ’Em With a Quote

At work, I go to the bank to make our daily deposits. When I pass by the mailroom, there’s always one of these signs by the entrance with a new quote or insightful message.

This was the quote from sometime last week:

Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged. -Frederick W. Smith (CEO of FedEx)

I love this quote for three reasons:

1. Leaders aren’t managers, they don’t lead from the back. They go out in front and lead by example. This means they’re also assumably one of the best in their field.

2. Life is all about standards. We don’t reach our expectations, we fall to the level of our training. How we do anything is how we do everything. Excellence is a habit.

3. Leaders don’t worry about following or judging by anyone else’s standards other than their own. Too many of us worry about what others think, yet don’t question the validity of the standards other people live by. Live by your own standards.

Be the change you want to see in the world, right?

Day Four: A Story in a Single Image

At many points in our lives, we stand at major crossroads and junctions. Everyday, we make micro decisions that effect our lives on a small scale. However, we don’t see the effects of these small decisions until we’re way down the line.

Think of it like we’re navigating a train station. We might read and follow the signs, we might not. Sometimes we want to just explore. We turn right here, make a left here, stop at a dead end and turn around. We might ask for directions from people who seem like they know their way around. We might find out that they’re just as lost as we are.

Sometimes we get on a train. We don’t know where it’s going, but we go because we see other people get on. Then sometimes we sit on that train and are too comfortable to get off. Even if it’s going someplace we won’t want to, sometimes we don’t know because we aren’t paying attention.

Sometimes we find the courage to get off the train, locate the right terminal, and get in the right train. We’re sad, annoyed, or frustrated that we’ve been going the wrong way for years and years. But we don’t realize that it doesn’t matter how long we’ve been going the wrong way. All that matters is we’re going in the right direction.

So what do we do when we feel lost? How do we find our way to our destination?

First, we need to know where we want to go and what we really want. What we want comes from knowing what we value. Knowing what we value comes from knowing who we are.

Funny thing is, if you know who you are, it doesn’t matter where you’re going. You’re probably already there.

I think the journey is simply finding out who you are.

Day Three: One-Word Inspiration

“Abundance”

I chose this word out of the other choices (hope, regret, home, choice, and secret) because I’m so adamant about the “abundance” vs “scarcity” paradigms that shape our decisions.

Whenever we face a tough decision, we can usually evaluate our decision based on having an abundance mentality or a scarcity mentality.

For example, people who less inclined to share or give away valuable things (food, money, possessions, time, attention) usually operate with a scarcity mindset. People who are stingy are afraid that they might not have enough or get more of the thing they’re scared of losing, so they try their best to hide it or not share with others.

On the other hand, someone who operates in abundance is not afraid of spending money on something valuable or helping another in need because she knows more will be available.

Many people work at jobs where their primary motivator for performing is not losing their job. They’re so afraid of losing their job that they make decision based on avoiding that outcome. They’re scared that job security is low and the economy makes it tough for those in the job market.

Someone who operates from an abundance mindset isn’t scared of losing their job because they know there are always job openings. They’re not afraid of job security because they know they can provide high value wherever they go, and that there’s not a lack of available jobs, but qualified applicants. This is true through good and bad economies.

I think the more we operate with abundance, the less greedy and selfish we’d be. We would give more, share more, help more, cooperate more, and find commonalities.

Life is not a zero sum game. The more we cooperate and create together, the more there is to go around.

Day One: I write because…

I’m very excited to start this new series of Everyday Inspiration 😁

So last month, I committed to doing 30 days of writing using the daily prompt on the Daily Post. I’m happy to say that I’ve successfully completed that challenge as of yesterday! Today’s posts will kick off with day one of this new series to help me along my writing journey 🙂

Thank you to everyone who joins me on this adventure. As usual, I’d love to hear your comments and insights, as I read and respond to them all.

Day One: I write because…

Writing helps me put my thoughts into words. I feel like I have so many ideas in my head, writing helps me organize my thoughts while also being an outlet for the thoughts and emotions I would alternatively bottle up inside.

In some sense, writing for me is therapeutic.

Although I’m new to the blogging scene, I’m not new to writing. I used to be heavily involved in journalism back in high school as an editor for the school newspaper three years in a row. I’ve also been journaling almost on a daily basis for several years now.

For me, journaling not only helps with my mental clarity and emotional release, but also a priceless snapshot into my daily life and thought process for my future self. I think it’s one of those things that you would wish to have when you get older to revisit the past with more rich details than you could remember on pure memory.

The reason why I’m transitioning into a public space like the blogosphere is because I feel like I can add so much value to others. I know that I have certain experiences and insights that could help someone else who might be going through something I’ve overcome. Or maybe I can provide a unique perspective to an issue their facing.

Ultimately, I see blogging as a platform, maybe even one of many stepping stones, to help people on a massive scale years down the line. My hope is to take baby steps and develop my craft of writing, storytelling, and delivering a powerful enough message that can touch someone enough to make a difference in their life. My goal then is to keep elevating those skills and abilities to higher and bigger stages to make an even greater impact on my fellow human beings.

Once again, thank you for those who are and will follow me on this journey. I hope that this will be just as valuable for you as it already is for me, and that maybe this will be a fun and interesting account that I can look back on years from now and see where I started and how far I’ve come 🙂

How a “Muse” business can change your life

Muse – Daily writing prompt

When I first heard about The 4-Hour Workweek, I definitely had my reservations. The title definitely sounds like a scam.

However, it was on many top reading lists so I decided to have an open mind going in.

I was blown away when I got to the part about building a “muse” business. These are basically businesses that once properly structured, will generate automated income without any, or hardly any, management on your end.

The automatic marketing, manufacturing, shipping, payment processing, and customer service made available by today’s technology allows someone to essentially generate income that allows a person to spend a few hours a week checking in, but essentially unplugged from the business. This removes the need to make money, and allows the owner to have time, money, and location freedom. By doing so, they are able to travel or pursue other interests.

The reason these businesses are called “muse businesses” is that they aren’t the end-all-be-all of a persons life. It’s mainly used to take money off of the table.

I’m currently taking an online course by best-selling author and entrepreneur Ramit Sethi called Zero to Launch, which teaches aspiring entrepreneurs like myself how to turn your passion into a fully operational and profitable online business.

To be honest, I’m so stoked to be on this path to learning and creating a system that will generate income on something I am passionate about. So I guess this won’t technically be a muse business, but I imagine it’ll work the same way.

I’ll definitely be updating my progress on my blog, so be sure to follow to be a part of my journey! 🙂

The most “Profound” piece of advice

Profound – Daily writing prompt

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received drastically changed the way I looked at life.

A few years ago, I had just graduated college and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was thousands of dollars in debt, I was living on my parents’ couch after moving back home, and I didn’t know where my life was headed.

I thought I had wanted to work for the government and that the best way to do so would be to serve in the armed forces.

Long story short, that didn’t work out, haha.

Fortunately, I soon met up with a college friend who introduced me to the world of entrepreneurship. Several more meetings within the course of a year, I had met a bunch of very high-level, successful entrepreneurs who kept giving the same advice:

Always keep learning and growing.

There’s a quote by Ray Croc that goes, “If you’re green you’re growing, if you’re ripe you’re rotting”

Jack Canfield mentions in The Success Principles the idea of C.A.N.I. = Constant and Never-ending Improvement.

In Japanese, this idea of constant improvement is called kaizen.

I learned from one of my mentors that the key to obtaining your goals is to grow and expand your comfort zone.

Instead of shrinking our goals to match our reality, we gave to grow ourselves to encompass everything we want to achieve.

It was empowering to learn that I had the potential to achieve anything, as long as commit long term to grow myself on a daily basis and constantly pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone.

I work out 5-6 times a week to keep expanding my physical comfort zone. I read almost 1 book a week to expand my knowledge. I attend church weekly in order to expand my spiritual knowledge. I am constantly setting goals and deadlines on when to achieve them to see if I’m on track. I visit my long term goals everyday so I’m always in tuned with my life vision.

Today, I can honestly say I’m happy because I always feel like I’m growing. I’m also pumped to know I’m making steady progress instead of being stuck or feeling stagnant.

Whats your most profound piece of advice? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! I respond to all comments so feel free 🙂

Why it’s hard to “Apologize”

Apology – daily writing prompt

Whenever I find myself in the wrong in a despite between myself and someone else, I always find it hard to say sorry. Even though I know it’s the right thing to do, its not always an easy task.

Obviously depending on the context, it can be easier or harder. But generally, the more emotions put into it, the harder it is to admit fault.

We all believe we’re the good guys, by the way.

So why is it so hard to say sorry? It’s pretty simple.

Ego.

Our ego is what makes us selfish. It’s what gives us our pride and makes us stubborn to admit fault. Our ego is what pushes others away instead of trying to understand them.

Truthfully, if we all had a bit more humility and a lot less ego, conflicts wouldn’t arise so easily. And when conflicts do occur, it would be substantially easier to resolve.

Next time you’re in a conflict with someone, try to put your ego aside and empathize with the other person. Recognize that you’re wrong and apologize from the heart.

In every conflict where there’s a winner and a loser, both will end up losers in the long run from the strained relationship.

On the flip side, those who can apologize, will spur forgiveness on the other side. That way, both sides will win.