Mitch’s Blog

In different forums, I’ve posted these links for people to see, most probably through email. I’ve decided to put them all here for others to see also, and it helps me because now I’ll know that I have them all in one place.

So, here we go. First, the first 20 minutes of The Secret.

Second, a video on how one really doesn’t know their own capacity for achievement until they try.

Third, a video called Lessons From Water.

Fourth, a video called The Race, once again about testing ones own limitations.

Fifth, a video called Living Luminaries, about some known and unknown folks who have achieved great things in life.

All about motivation today!

On Monday, in another forum, I presented this video as something that was motivational. Basically, it’s a video of a football coach showing one of his players that he could push himself more than he might have ever imagined with the right, well, motivation.

The posting of the video link got all positive reviews initially. Then, out of nowhere, a couple of people had problems with the video, saying it showed coaches and athletics in its worst light because, as they saw it, it showed how coaches don’t really care about those who they mentor, and how unimaginable it was that anyone could do that to a kid.

As someone who played a lot of sports, and as someone who found the video nothing but inspiring, I was taken aback by the criticism. To me, they had missed the point of the video, which was that all of us can probably do more than we believe we can. It was the video that led me, in a way, to write my last newsletter (even though it was originally sparked by a conversation with a friend of mine). I really do believe that most of us find reasons “not” to do something rather than to get it done, and sometimes we need the help of someone else to push us to those things we say we want in our lives.

And, of course, this is on the heels of what seems to be growing criticism from many areas on the success of The Secret DVD, and now the book. Some are saying that it’s irresponsible to tell people that positive thinking can get them anything, and that, if bad things happen, it’s their fault, even if they have no idea how it was manifested.

It’s easy to look at a good thing and beat it down. From what I’ve seen, most of the people who are complaining don’t have anything good to say about anything else either, so I take most of it as I take movie reviewers; with a grain of salt. And that’s what I needed to do when reading the negative posts that came from the video I posted above. Luckily, before I got there a couple other people had something to say themselves. Not everyone wants to hear or see someone putting down something that they saw as inspiring.

And that’s the reality of it all, then. It’s hard to find your positivity, then have someone else try to take it away from you. Naysayers say they’re trying to protect you from pain and harm; maybe they are. But having a little encouragement works a lot better for someone like me in trying to reach my goals and dreams; I’m betting there are more people like me than the opposite in this regard.

The latest T. T. Mitchell Consulting Newsletter is now available, Titled Sabotage; What Holds Us Back, it takes a look at that may hold us back from being more successful than we are, and what we might need to do in order to move beyond it. Enjoy.

I was reading something on an online networking site that said every day one should contact at least 5 people within their sphere of influence that they don’t see every day, just to keep in touch, without asking for anything.

I had to think about that one for a bit because, on the surface, I don’t see myself as having that large a sphere of influence. Even the term begs consideration; is this a circle I have influence on, or one that has influence on me?

So I send a message to the originator of the statement for clarification, because sometimes I tend to be a bit literal. Her answer was that every person on that page who has me listed as a special contact (on this site, Ryze, they’re listed as friends), each one of those people were within my sphere of influence. Every person in every organization I belong to is in my sphere of influence. Every person who’s in my list of business contacts, or for whom I have business cards for, is within my sphere of influence. She said my sphere of influence was vast, and that I should take advantage of it.

That one got me thinking more, but I understood what she was saying. We sometimes meet people who we might have some kind of connection with, and suddenly they’re out of our lives without another thought. There are business people I’ve met and talked to often at networking events, but suddenly I don’t see them for awhile; sometimes I wonder, sometimes I just forget about them. And that’s a shame.

No one in business, work, family, or friends can really stand to lose that connection all that often. Sure, we get locked into our personal and professional lives and it seems like we never have enough time to get to everything. We also can’t remember everything. Still, there are times when the connections we make aren’t only for us. We could contact someone on a day when things are going badly for them, and your reaching out could make their day. Often, we contact someone who says they were just thinking about us, and that makes us feel pretty good also.

I think I’m going to try to adopt that idea for one week, just to see if I can consciously keep it up. This follows connecting, though briefly, with someone last week who’s one of my oldest friends, over 35 years. If I couldn’t take time out for him, I don’t deserve the right to have time for anyone.

I found this to be interesting, and just wanted to share it:

I came upon a blog post by a guy named Kevin Eikenberry titled What’s Your Excuse. He talks about how, when Martin Luther King, Jr, was in school, he actually got a C in public speaking, and how he obviously didn’t let it stop him from achieving great things.

Reading it first reminded me of an old blog post of mine titled Who Defines Your Success, where I talked about how many times we allow someone else to have the power over what may be deemed successful instead of taking the reins ourselves and just getting it done.

There are always excuses why you may not succeed at something at a certain time, many of them legitimate. There’s never an excuse not to try. That line reminds me of something I was reading in Michael Masterson’s blog, where he was talking about comments people made on his books and how they would break into two camps, those being people who loved it, the majority, and people who were negative, not because they thought he wrote badly, but because they couldn’t see for themselves how possibly following what made him rich could work for them.

Even on my last leg, I’m never going to give up trying. As Captain Kirk says in the Wrath of Khan: “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.”

Have you ever had the feeling that there’s one person who just doesn’t like you for some reason? Where you get that feeling that this other person seems to act as if you’re not in their league, or that you have nothing to contribute to the conversation, or that they wish you had never been born?

I know one person who seems to do that to me. Whenever I’m in the room, he seems to try to make sure we don’t make eye contact. I belong to two organizations with this same person, yet, whenever he’s mentioning to people in one group about the other group and naming names, my name never comes up. Whenever I’ve had a reason to talk to him he’ll look at me initially, then look everywhere except at me during the rest of the conversation.

I could be sensitive about this, but it doesn’t happen with anyone else. The very first time we talked years ago, which was over the phone, he said to me “I see us as competition, and I don’t think it’s in my best interest to help you out.” What a blow that was! I don’t view anyone as competition, just as someone else who provides some of the same services I provide. The world is big enough for all of us.

So, how would you handle something like this? Would you get mad and upset? Would it inspire you to do better things? Would you stop trying to talk to this person? Would you tell everyone you knew about this person?

What have I done? Well, I haven’t gone out of my way to find reasons to talk to him, but I don’t avoid him either. I have found ways in one of our joined organizations to stand out in the crowd, garnering lots of positive attention from the other members, so he can’t totally ignore me He even had to compliment me and ask me questions on a topic that I presented to this group, one that he possibly reluctantly had to own up to a lack of knowledge in, so that he could learn something he needed to know.

In other words, I analyzed it for what it was, and I moved on. One thing we all have to learn is that our success or well being doesn’t depend on one person’s approval, no matter what it is. If that person is prominent, so what; you just do your thing, and if you’re lucky, you’ll gain your own prominence. If you’re in business for yourself, or you have a job and report to someone else, as long as you’re doing your best and achieving things along the way, you don’t have to take a step back for anyone, and you will be recognized eventually, even if begrudgingly.

And imagine the big smile you’ll have on your face!

We’re 12 days into the new year, and it’s already proven to be a year like, and unlike, other years.

I begin the year at home, which hasn’t happened in a couple of years. I know, at some point, I’ll probably be off to some odd location or two, but it would be nice if, for once, I could earn the bulk of my income at home. Yeah, the main word is “bulk”.

I have been a writing fool. I have written 7 articles for various sources, as I work towards getting more publicity for what I do across the board. These aren’t including the regular productions of my two newsletters, the latest which can be accessed here for those who don’t subscribe but might be thinking about it. Oh yes, the newsletter went through a redesign, which I’d attempted before but wasn’t quite sure how to keep them whole. Sometimes, technology isn’t even my friend. But the original newsletter wasn’t easily viewable for everyone; it should be now.

I also have a personal blog, separate from this one for when I just need to let off steam. I’ve written 13 entries in 11 days, not counting today, where I haven’t written anything thus far, but probably will.

I have made changes to all three of my websites, and totally revamped another website, for which I’m the webmaster. I have learned rudimentary CSS (cascading style sheets) and put it into practice on two of my sites. I have read 2 other books thus far, as well as two magazines from beginning to end. I have sent out 20 marketing letters and 20 marketing postcards; that’s the new thing in business marketing.

I also cleaned my room. I have a new picture. And I’ve worked out every day except two, half the times twice a day. I haven’t lost any more weight, but I believe the routine of working out has finally taken hold, as, when I don’t do it, I feel a strange sense of loss.

One bad habit I’ve fallen back into is staying up real late into the evening, and waking up too early in the morning. Yet, I don’t feel bad; I was told that, because of the exercising and the working out, I would hae more energy, but also find it harder to shut my mind down. So, I’m rolling with it, because weight loss and getting in shape is most important.

None of these things have anything to do with my resolutions for the new year, except for working out. It does show, however, that there are always things that change, and always opportunities to produce and move forward, rather than sitting around waiting for things to happen. I keep moving forward, reinventing, and producing, because I have things to say and, hopefully, more things to do.

I meet many people who say they want to do many things, but most of them end up not doing anything. Some call it “analysis paralysis”; I think it goes further than that. Many people don’t vote because they think their vote won’t make a difference. Many people don’t try something else because they believe there’s nothing they can do to change their circumstances. I hope that, in my own way, I can help to prove that one can always try to do more if they choose to try to do more.

I have two friends I’m supposed to be writing books with. Unfortunately, because I’ve given them my word, kind of, I can’t just write them myself. But I will keep progressing on my own book, the story I’m writing on my own. And, while I’m at it, I’ll keep writing the story of my life; the one I want to live, as well as the one I’m dreaming about living.

I’m not sure if this will be my last post of 2006 or not, but I thought I’d try to get a leg up on at least half the general populace and come up with my new years resolutions for 2007. Of course, I was beaten by Kimberly & Albrecht Powell, but so be it; theirs was very nice also, though it wasn’t really all about them.

Now, I have to admit that every year I do come up with at least a few things that I want to work on for the coming year, and like most people, I fail miserably at them. I’ve wondered why, since I’m usually pretty good at at least striving for goals at other times of the year, and I figured that, like almost anything else, I tend to not be as accountable to myself as I might be to others. I also don’t always have a written plan, as discussed by MyGoals.com, for sticking to a plan.

I also realized that having a generic type of goal, such as the types mentioned on FirstGov.gov, don’t really work well, because you could call yourself a success without really having done much of anything. Not specific enough, if you catch my drift.

So, without further ado, here are some of my real life goals, or resolutions, for 2007:

1. Lose 35 pounds. I figure I’m already on my way, since I’ve lost 28 pounds already since July. It’s been harder during the holiday season, so I allowed myself a little bit of leeway in saying that if I gained 3 to 5 pounds during this period I’m not going to beat myself up over it as I would have in the past, but just pick up from wherever I left off and get back into the true swing of things come the new year. Through a minor change in eating habits and a major change in activity, I lost the initial weight. And, I really have more than 35 pounds that I want to lose. I have a number in mind that I want to be at by the end of next December, and if I’m lower than that, even better.

2. Have $50,000 sitting in a savings account. I’ve done fairly well over the last three years, but there are bills, taxes, etc, that eat into one’s cash. I also have some money in stocks and such, but it’s not quite the same as being able to check one’s bank account and see this pot of cash just sitting there, ready to be used at a moment’s notice, without having to jump through hoops to get to it. Having cash puts one’s mind at ease, and allows one to be ever more creative. Now, how am I going to do all of this?

3. Create/start/obtain two more businesses. What, am I trying to drive myself crazy? Or am I just feeling the spirit of entrepreneurship, looking for multiple streams of income, tapping into the secrets of the millionaire mind? I have three businesses now, addressing four different fields. I hope to either start a new one or acquire a pre-existing business with a partner of mine along the lines of medical billing, where, finally, I’ll have actual employees. Not that this has been a big dream of mine; matter of fact, it’s never been even a minor wish. However, I’m learning that one can make a lot of money by oneself, but it’s harder and takes a lot more time. The second business,… well, I have many ideas on that one, but I have time.

4. Donate $2,000 to charities this year. The spirit of giving has always been a part of me, but the wallet hasn’t always been able to accommodate. Sure, I give $10 here and there, and whenever I’m in my favorite store, Wegmans, I almost always pull off one of these little tags they have at the checkout counter and have them swipe the extra $1,19 or $1,98, I’m not sure which, to help feed someone who can’t fend for themselves. But setting an actual budgeted goal of giving just feels right, especially since, if I hit the figure, will be the most I’ve ever given in one year.

5. Introduce a new fruit or vegetable into my diet this year. I don’t like either, so I eat very few of either. However, early last year I introduced broccoli into my diet because, well, I’m getting older, and recognize I’m going to need more roughage along the way. I still don’t like it, but I find that if I cover it up with something else or eat it with something else at the same time that I can get it down. Fruit is another story, because it’s not something one can usually eat with something else. Maybe with Jello, but I don’t like Jello. If I could get away with eating banana pudding every day, or sweet potato pie every day, I might have a chance, but that would defeat the first goal. I’m thinking it’s either going to be bananas or green beans right now; either choice isn’t making me smile with glee right now. The things we do for our health.

I think that’s enough. Now they’re out here in cyberspace for all to see, and it will be interesting to see how close I come to those particular goals. Then again, I could take The Onion’s way out; at least it would be funnier.

Last night, my wife and I went to see the movie Happy Feet. It’s an animated feature about a penguin who doesn’t know how to sing, but dances instead. This is a problem because it’s how penguins communicate, and how they find the one that they’re going to create new life with. I’ve waited 18 months for this movie, and it didn’t disappoint me. I laughed, felt the rhythm of the music, and just thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with this movie, and neither could my wife.

However, while walking out, feeling really good, I heard one young girl say “It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.” To which another girl said “You say that about everything; there’s just nothing you really like.” Then I got home, decided to read some movie reviews, and was shocked to see how some people rated this movie. There were people who hated it because they thought it was too sexual (obviously they’d never seen March of the Penguins), too preachy (there is a minor environmental message in the movie), hated the music (personal choice; personally, it was fine) and thought the storyline was lame (if you think a storyline is going to be lame, why even plunk down your money to begin with?).

To me, if you went to a movie like this and walked out with a negative thought, you didn’t want to go in the first place. As I said, I waited 18 months for this movie, without really knowing what it was going to be about; I just knew it looked like something that I’d love. But I’m the type of person, in my adult life that is, who’s only ever gone to one movie that I really didn’t want to see, and I didn’t enjoy it at the time; that movie was E.T., and when I watched it again 10 years later, I absolutely loved it and wondered what the heck was wrong with me the first time. I realized it was that I just didn’t want to see it, I’d heard so much about it, so I was already predisposed to not like it.

Some people go into situations with the thought that they’re already going to hate something, and most of the time it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. What they unintentionally seek is what they get. And it’s a shame, because it shows we waste our time on negatives things, which brings us down, versus positive things, which not only uplifts ourselves, but others.

I walked out of that movie with happy feet and a big smile on my face. Who doesn’t want to feel like that all the time?