Started from the bottom now... we are somewhere in the middle still climbing!
I know that’s not how Drake said it, but I will explain shortly why it makes sense. The day we stop changing and improving, is the day that we start decaying. You can “be here” for a little while, but its time to strap your boots, and run towards the next level of your life.
Change is great!, and I wanted to share some quick thoughts that will hopefully get your started on the road to self improvement.
Whether we like it or not, we are always changing. For instance:
When we get our first job, we change to conform to the responsibilities outlined on the job description. We start paying those dreaded bills. We strive to become self sufficient, and step away from our previous life investors, Mom and Pops!
When we enter a relationship, we change just by the fact that we let a stranger enter our bubble, or what we thought was our predefined life. I don’t subscribe to that thought that says “if someone likes me, they should take me as I am”. Well, not anymore. Trust me, I am as guilty as they come in that department. Before I met the angel of a woman that I am now looking to marry, I had serious selfish tendencies. She taught me to be more self-less, just because of who she is. I have never seen a woman who put others first as she does. I still have a long way to go, but I can feel I am not the same person I used to be three years ago.
I also know that when we get married, there are more changes that I need to make. Because we would go from being two people, to one unit.
When someone has kids, they definitely have to change. I don’t personally have kids, but I have plenty of friends who do, and trust me I’ve seen the change. We can’t even see a movie without permission of the wife and kids committee.
And finally, if we want to be the best we can be, high achievers, we have to make a massive change. Maybe we want to start our own business, and now we are stepping in the valley of uncertainty, we leave the warm blanket of a “secure” paycheck at the end of the week.
Sometimes we don’t even know when and where the next project will be coming from. Yet we make the change, because we know its worth it.
Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher said “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
This is a very powerful quote because it shows the ebbing flow of life and how everything is always changing. The river is never the same because it is always flowing. When we step into the river, we changed the river by having stepped into it, and we also changed by being touched by the waters. We are all familiar with the definition of insanity, doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. My hope for you as you read this, is to start the process of change in your life. To realize that it is ok to want to be better. To take daily actions that will lead you to the life you want to live. I will be right there with you taking the same steps!
Quick action plan:
Write down a paragraph with a vision for your life, and be as detailed as possible. For example, do you want a successful business?, a great marriage?, kids?, how do you want to dress?, how do you want to speak? As soon as you start writing, you will come up with a lot more possibilities for your life
Read Darren Hardy’s - Compound Effect. I love this book and read / listen to it at least twice a year. It outlines how small daily steps over a long period of time make the biggest difference in our lives.