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If you could focus on one idea that would make your life a better place to live starting tomorrow, would you do it?
If that one thing had a positive effect not only on you but on someone else in direct proximity to your life, would you be even more motivated to do it?
Do you know what time it is?
It's never too late to get started.
Or is it?
Sweat equity is the personal time investment we make in something or someone that does not offer an immediate return. Most often the return on our investment of sweat equity takes place over a longer period of time and it's not always tied to financial gains. Raising children is a great example of investing with sweat equity. In many ways so is personal blogging, photography, creating art or starting a home business. I'm sure you can add to this list with a dozen other examples. Sweat
equity ventures are typically projects that take place after working your regular job.
Our culture demands that we justify a financial return on any significant investment made with our time. It's not acceptable to spend money and extended time on your passion without some plan of how you will be paid back fast. The goal has to be making money or it makes no sense. Share with anyone your passion for writing or show them your paintings or photographs, most often the next question that follows is; "do you sell your work?" or "are you making money with ads on your blog? It's an epidemic of faulty thinking and misguided expectations running rampant in our current culture. "If you build it, it must make money! Is that the truth?
More absurd than being willing to watch the remake of "Hairspray" at the 10:20 PM showing on a Sunday night in my sleepy little suburb, was the fact that I was even willing to pay any money at all to watch "Hairspray" one more time. Being dragged to this misadventure by my seventeen year old daughter made the experience more bearable than I had planned, because she loved it. I did not share her enthusiasm.
I was quite happy with the memory of Divine, Ricki Lake and Debbie Harry in the John Waters film version back in 1988. I was content with the great seats I had watching "Hairspray" performed on Broadway when my daughter turned sweet sixteen in 2006. Both occasions are still vivid in my mind and bring back a smile. By comparison "Hairspray" 2007 fell flat.
Most of us find it difficult to get started. Started with that great idea, home business, blog, website or that project laying dormant in the garage. For some, it's fulfilling the desire to self-publish your first book.
I believe that sometimes we simply need permission to start small. I get trapped in thinking so big when I'm nurturing new ideas, that I lose sight of the best place to start. If you look closely you will find a way to move your idea along on a smaller scale, allowing you time to learn and make the necessary adjustments as you grow it.
It's OK to think big, really big! As long as thinking big does not get in the way of starting small or starting today. Why not start today? Why not launch this weekend? What's holding you back? I'm giving you permission to start small. Get going with those desires you've kept swirling around in your brain. Let them out to get some air. The safe choice is to never start at all, then there is no risk of failure. But that's not you, you're so much bigger than that.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain
I found a very simple truth lying at the heart of the David & Goliath story. You can't conquer what you won't confront. It's true.
The story tells us that day after day a Philistine warrior named Goliath came out before the army of Israel to taunt them and challenge them to bring forward a worthy opponent. The army of Israel, convinced there was no way to best this giant chose to not confront him at all. Fear had gripped their hearts, making Goliath appear even larger with every day that passed. That was until young David came along and did the one thing the army would not, confront the problem up close and personal. As the story goes, David beat Goliath with one sharp stone lodged into the giants forehead, using a slingshot with impeccable aim. Some years after that battle David became the King of all Israel.
One giant I have battled has been my weight. For several key health reasons I've needed to drop at least 35 pounds for almost two years. I have finally confronted this area in my life. I'm down a few belt sizes and better than fifteen pounds already. It feels so good to finally see progress and I know there is hope for even greater success.
What personal giants are you facing today? What part of your life comes out every day taunting you to take action? What has kept you in fear? I encourage you to meet your Goliath head on, because life after overcoming a giant will change the way you look at every challenge going forward. There will be no holding you back. I know you can do this.
"You can't conquer what you won't confront." Ray Basile
"Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with eachother" Rene Yasnek
There is not a simpler way of spreading the power of love than viewing photos of people kissing, smooching, kissing their pets, kissing their babies and of course each other. We created the Best Kisses website to promote the power of love by featuring user-generated photos and photo art focused on kissing. It's simple! It's art! It's your life in a kiss. Making Best Kisses a place that focuses on the lives of our contributors creates a true community.
My wife Terri and I wanted to develop a fun website that we could partner
in together as a labor of love after three kids and twenty three years
of marriage. We brainstormed about creating something positive that
would
brighten our day. When we started viewing the photos submitted it became difficult for us to stop smiling.
Here's your invitation to visit Best Kisses and experience for yourself the great feeling that follows life in a kiss. But here's my disclaimer; I take no responsibility for any subsequent joy that follows your visit.
Consider sending us your best kisses. Cheers!
(Puppy Love by Nancy Harris) Best Kisses is a safe community friendly website
When it comes to dating and meeting someone new, it's an accepted practice to take it one date at a time and see what happens. No profound expectations and no pushing. The goal is to have fun and get to know each other, allowing things to progress organically without forcing it.
Why is it that this same practice is not applied when we are starting a new job or developing a new idea for a website? What's the rush when we are making plans to get back into shape or raising our kids? Why is it that in these areas where we have so much more to lose, we cannot take it one day at a time and see what happens? Why can't we still have fun and enjoy the ride without the expectations, allowing things to progress organically without forcing something to happen?
I think we can. It takes honesty to confront our own haste and anxiousness. It takes stopping long enough to make the choice to do it another way, letting go of fear. It works for dating. Most of us married the person that started as a first date. I did. Sometimes it's not even a good first date, but still it turns into a lifetime. Think about it.
When the flying monkeys show up you can be sure they were sent to keep you
from getting to your desired destination. They are usually deployed as
a distraction or more importantly a hindrance at a time when you are getting close to accomplishing your goal. The idea is for
you to become weary of the constant attacks (challenges) coming from all sides and eventually give up.
While you're busy doing battle you lose focus on your original goal.
In 'The Wizard of Oz' the flying monkeys were sent after Dorothy to keep her from getting to Oz when she was dangerously close to succeeding. Her three friends gave her the brains, the heart and the much needed courage to press onward. That’s what friends are for. It took the combined strength of four friends to finally see breakthrough.
We have lift-off!
If you missed the huge launch of the iPhone recently, check your pulse, you may already be dead. I am a committed Apple user, I own more than ten Apple products. That qualifies me as a certified fanatic. With iPhone I chose to take a back seat. I learned after owning the original Bondi iMac, the original iPod, the original Nano and the second addition iBook, that Apple makes upgrades, fixes and product changes very quickly. Sexy changes that I find impossible to resist. It's the cult of Apple! I am anticipating the same path with the iPhone, making version two and three far superior.
