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Copyright © 1999-2011 AspireNow. All rights reserved. Want more? Subscribe to the A-Blog. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

Taking Purposeful Chances To Succeed Wildly

I once took a vacation to New York City. While in New York on the first night, we went to Iridium, a jazz club in downtown Manhattan, to hear a terrific trumpter, Wallace Roney, perform with his band. It was fabulous!

Yet, while our original plan was to entertain ourselves at the jazz club, we left the latter portion of the evening wide-open to adventure into Times Square and whatever else might catch our attention. After our fun photo shoot in Times Square, what ended up catching my attention was a bar called St. Andrews. Well, with my last name being "Andrews" how could I possibly resist? Three words for St. Andrews: "Scotch lovers heaven."

Another story I read about today featured Dewitt Jones, a nationally popular photographer with National Geographic, who shared that one of his greatest shots came from a random moment. He was experiencing a rough day where none of his shots were turning out interesting. So, he made a random chance choice to just shoot whatever was in front of him. At first, he took pictures of the parking lot, grass, shrubbery. But these pictures led him to a path, which he followed. He continued to shoot, then at the top of the path, emerged onto a vista. From that point, he shot an amazing photo of a lake nestled between the hills of mountains and surrounded by autumn leaves, mist rising from the surface from the dawn air, with two fishermen sitting serenely in their boat with lines cast gently in the water.

A point Dewitt Jones teaches is that you can have MULTIPLE RIGHT ANSWERS by simply SHIFTING YOUR PERSPECTIVE.



What I love about this video is how Dewitt shows how preparedness combined with random chance ends up creating an opportunity to be nationally famous. Perspective often becomes EXTRAORDINARY when we SHIFT our POINT OF VIEW.

Be prepared, then try shifting a few minor details, and see how it impacts your life. If it improves, shift a little more, until you find something AMAZING.
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Copyright © 1999-2011 AspireNow. Video Copyright © Dewitt Jones. All rights reserved. Want more? Subscribe to the A-Blog. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

A Message From The Other Side

I presided over a gathering to remember my dear friend, Shari Carr, who worked with Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, Harv Eker, and many other greats in the self-help industry. Shari was a connecting rod who knew and loved so many people, and she passed away during the July 4th weekend this year.

While I will refrain from sharing everything I spoke at the bonfire gathering in Avila Beach (I did post this as a note on my Facebook wall), I will share words from a conversation that took place today. Another good friend, Steve Burgess, who has helped me with data forensics work and saved my data off my broken/corrupted computer on more than one occasion, spoke with me about Shari's gathering, as he is a mutual friend who also shared many experiences with Shari.

After we discussed this a bit on Facebook IM, he sent me these words:

"I just sat and looked/listened to see if I had a message from Shari to you. Here's what I got: 'It's enough that you loved me. It's enough that you cared for me. All caring is love. What else is there that matters? Nothing.' And then a blown kiss."

When I read this my eyes burst with tears. But these are not tears of sadness, but tears of joy: joy for having known and been blessed by this loving person, joy for knowing my own journey even more clearly through her passing - as if a torch of light was passed to me, reinvigorating me in my mission, and joy for the experience of loving others and the chance to GET it RIGHT.

There is something profoundly wise about this statement Shari made to me from the other side: 

"All caring is love. What else is there that matters? Nothing."

Do you realize what a beautiful place your true spirit IS when it is connected to source?

In the words of the poet/musician, Ben Harper, "you look like GOLD."

Like the greatest joy at a music concert, the happiness during birth of a baby, the smiles and laughter of children laughing, the thrill of diving into clear, warm, Hawaii water, the excitement of a perfectly baked piece of pie, the release of sexual satisfaction, the deep smile in the eyes of a loved one, the rays of sunshine coming through the clouds, the gently blowing breeze, the soft nuzzle from a puppy's nose, the playful rub from a kitten's tail, and so many other beautiful things we experience... imagine these in pure spirit form. In this form, you realize, it is ALL LOVE.

I believe Shari is right. All caring is love. What else is there that matters?

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Picture (above) is Shari with Anthony Robbins at a Tony Robbins event, possibly Copyright Shari Carr and Anthony Robbins (this was on her Facebook wall, and used with previous permission). Copyright © 1999-2011 AspireNow. All rights reserved. Want more? Subscribe to the A-Blog. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

How Great People Persuade Others

You may have noticed that the greatest people in the world often rise up to positions of leadership because of their mastery over their communication skills. Clearly, proficiency in one's native tongue is an essential key to success. As such, it is wise to learn as much as you can about the best ways to communicate.

One of the forms of communication vital to success in any endeavor is that of persuasion.

Considering many of the World's greatest leaders needed to persuade others to a cause, whether Gandhi, Churchill, Lincoln, or even the negative leaders like Hitler, they were ALL considered masters of persuasion.

Yet, how did they persuade?

I'll give you a quick secret: through telling stories.

Most great leaders were also great story tellers. A story can convey a point better than any other plea. In studying the Chief Executive in corporate America back in the late 1990's, I discovered that almost EVERY CEO I heard speak would use more metaphor and story telling in their speeches than statistics, financial figures, or other mundane details about their company, market, or competition. Why? Because they knew that we are motivated through something we understand and relate to - both on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level.

When Churchill needed to persuade, he spoke in metaphor. Part of what helped John F. Kennedy win election as President was his earlier "story" published about his PT-109 experiences during the war. Lincoln often told stories to his generals to encourage them to noble action. In fact, almost every great movie we view in the theater FIRST starts as a novel or screenplay - in essence, a story.

So, learn to tell stories. Use metaphors, and see if your ability to persuade and lead others does not improve with the growth.

Have you had success through telling stories? Drop me a note and share how!
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Copyright © 1999-2011 AspireNow. All rights reserved. Want more? Subscribe to the A-Blog. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!

What's The Meaning of Life?

"We are but a small spec of sand in the grand cosmos of the Universe. Yet, we matter, we love and are loved, we are spirits with wings to fly and soar past the seeming giants looming before us, leaving them as smaller specks in the distance. What we see with our eyes fades away but what is unseen lasts forever."

I just finished posting this to my Facebook wall after writing a three page letter to read at a gather for my friend who passed away during Fourth of July weekend celebrations. This friend was also a self-help colleague; in fact, she worked with Tony Robbins for a number of years. 

After writing the letter, the first thing I wanted to do was share with you at AspireNow. No, I haven't forgotten you. I've just been busy working on several launches this past year. First, for other companies, second, for ARRiiVE, creating first Cold to Gold, then Intelligent Social Networking,  and lately also for SLO Jazz Festival. 

But, through all of this, my core belief system that I must share a message of hope, faith, and love perseveres. I do know I am supposed to write books, speak, and share what I've learned about life, overcoming challenges, and love. I am supposed to share it with many thousands of people. 

So, I will. I am recommitting to at least posting SOMETHING here at the blog on a daily basis, to the extent possible. Wish me luck, but for sure please comment, share with friends, and pass the word along!

Thanks for sticking with AspireNow - can you believe it has been TEN YEARS!? Exciting! Maybe we'll throw a little party to celebrate! haha...

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Copyright © 1999-2011 AspireNow. All rights reserved. Want more? Subscribe to the A-Blog. Like it? Share on del.icio.us or Stumble Upon!