Once upon a time…

Once upon a time (about eight years ago) I sat at my J.O.B. and began to dream of a better future.

I remember one day my boss announced he had given me a raise. Not wanting to sound ungrateful, I smiled back at him and said, "thank you." As I walked away, my self talk sounded more like this… "WOW a whole quarter!", "Is that all I'm worth.", "So this is what I get for all my hard work.", "I guess it's better than nothing."

Here I was at a dead-end job - no place to be promoted to since I was basically at the top already and I had been subjected to "thanking" my boss for giving me a twenty-five cent an hour raise. That works out to a gross raise of a whole 10 bucks a week and after taxes, probably about $7.50.

Impressive, huh?

Right then, I had one of those "light-bulb" moments, or as my friend Kristi would say, "a flat forehead moment." I knew then I had to take charge… I had to become the master of my destiny… I had to do something different.

Perhaps you've heard the definition of insanity….
"Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result."

The only problem was… I didn't have a clue what I needed to do different. Oh, I could go look for another job (that's what most people do, right?) but I'd probably just be replacing one boss giving meager raises for another one.

There had to be a better way!

Then, it began to become clearer to me. There were all these other people living their dreams… buying homes, cars, boats, vacations, etc., etc. and paying CASH. I began asking myself, "What do they know that I don't know?"

So, I began reading. I picked up one of those "Opportunity" magazines at the grocery store and began reading about average folks like myself who had struggled as I had… yet did something that changed their lives.

What I discovered was these "successful" people really didn't have anything I didn't already possess…. so what was the difference? Like myself, they had reached a point in their lives where they wanted MORE.

And, what was it they DID differently?

Answer: They studied successful people who went before them.

Now there's a concept! Perhaps I could learn from other people's success and simply mimic what they did. Most of these folks were not all that different from myself… but they did things differently and were getting different results. Like me, they were in dead-end jobs and now breaking free. They were in debt over their heads and now getting debt free. They were struggling to make ends meet and now were taking vacations that I could only dream about.

I wanted what they had!

As I poured over everything I could get my hands on… books, tapes, internet sites, and teleconference calls - my attitude began to change. I began to learn what these successful folks had and what they were doing to get what they wanted.

Then came my next lesson in success: TAKE ACTION.

It wasn't enough to JUST hear about what they did. I needed to begin DOING the things they were doing.

Successful people make a HABIT of doing things unsuccessful people don't FEEL like doing.

Was it uncomfortable at first to step outside my comfort zone and do these new things? It sure was! It felt so unnatural and I was sooooo nervous. But, I did it anyway because I knew
I didn't want to settle for 25 cent raises the rest of my life.

FAST FOWARD to today…

Over eight years later and hundreds of hours of reading and listening to tapes, etc. - TODAY things have changed!

I didn't have to drag myself out of bed this morning to drive to that unfulfilling J.O.B. I don't have to spend the day or the week doing things that make a boss rich. Instead, I get to look out my office window across the deck into my back yard and ask myself, "What am I going to do today?" It's my CHOICE!

I like asking myself as I begin each day, "What is ONE thing I can DO today to move my business forward?" Then, I go about doing that ONE thing… and you know what? After about three years of doing those "one" things… my life has changed!

Have I accomplished EVERYTHING and do I have EVERYTHING I want? No way! But, I'm on the road to getting there.

The Bible says, "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I have already come along way from that day smiling at my boss after getting a 25 cent raise. In January 2000, I once again smiled at my boss… only this time I said, "I'm quitting."

WOW… what a different feeling I had when I walked away.

Instead of looking forward to Friday when I got a check with an additional $7.50, now I could see visions of FREEDOM! Instead of $.25 raises, my raises every month have more numbers before the decimal point. Instead of a J.O.B. with a dead-end, I have a future with unimaginable abundance.

And, how did it all begin?

I made a decision to learn from those who've gone before me.

There is so much available to you to help you begin to make a positive difference in your life. Read all you can from people like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Allen, Doug Firebaugh, and many others. Get their tapes and listen while in your car or when you're excercising. Visit their websites and get their newsletters. LEARN from those who've gone before you. Begin to ACT like they do. Begin to CHANGE your future.

Make a commitment to YOURSELF right now. Take charge of YOUR destiny.

Your circumstances won't change until YOU change.