First Monday Motivation Of The Year!

MONDAY’S CUP OF MOTIVATION:

This is the start of the first full week of 2014.  As with every year, we come into the new year full of resolutions.  We start a diet, we go to the gym, we get refocused on our careers.  We need to be careful not to swing the pendulum too far from where it is right now.  We are naturally wired a certain way.  While trying to change who we are and what we do is a natural goal for self-improvement, drastically changing too fast is what ultimately does not allow us to achieve this long term change.  We need to slowly work on change and improvement.  At our age, anything drastic does not last.  If we truly want lasting change, then let’s slowly implement a routine that will get us there.  We did not get where we are at overnight.  Why then do we believe we can make changes overnight?  We need to minimize the potential for quick burn out or we will become discouraged due to the unrealistic expectations we have set for ourselves.  As always, let’s start the new year by planning our vacations for the year now and then plan our business around that.  Family first always.  We want more than to simply make a living.  We want to make a life for ourselves and our families.  The one word that we need to focus on as we make some changes in our lives is balance.  Let’s find that perfect balance of work and relaxation.  Let’s make this year’s goal one where we strive to find peace and harmony in our lives.  Let’s not focus on success or failure.  Let’s focus on doing the best we can do in each aspect of our life and in return, we will achieve true success with our career and our family.  Have an amazing week and a phenomenal 2014.

ENCOURAGEMENT CORNER…

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.
So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”

Neil Gaiman

EXTRA ENCOURAGEMENT FOR 2014…

Every good thing that has ever been achieved began with an idea—a dream that something better is actually possible. Skeptics likely doubted, friends wondered, and still the idea survived. Our society depends upon ordinary people to think the extraordinary–someone to simply ask, even in the face of criticism, why not? Could a cure for an incurable disease exist, how far is too far to travel, can children’s hunger be alleviated, can everyone get a good education? John Lennon’s “Imagine” provides a thoughtful and inspiring backdrop for you to Imagine… the Possibilities.

You may say I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us,
and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger.
A brotherhood of man.

Imagine all the people,
sharing all the world.

You may say I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us,
and the world will be live as one.

John Lennon,  Imagine

WORDS TO LIVE BY…

The great’s weren’t great because at birth they could paint; the greats were great cause they paint…a lot.

Mackelmore
To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.

Ludwig van Beethoven

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.

Bob Moawad

There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.

Kenneth Blanchard

Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart, and success will come to you.
Oprah Winfrey

If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.
Anna Quindlen
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.

Nido Qubein

This week, let’s find that balance in our lives!