Every trip I take to visit friends in Colorado, I spend time listening to ‘self-improvement’ CDs.  “The Secret” has been one of those, but supporting CDs such as ______ have accompanied me in my drive.

Usually what I like to do is find a book and CD that ‘speaks to me’.  Browsing titles of books/CDs in the Self Improvement section, usually a title will jump out at me letting me know this is what I need to hear now.  “Hey pick me!  I’m what your soul needs at this moment!”  haha sounds silly but it works for me.  The latest CD to jump out at me is Tony Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within”.  Now I’ve known about Tony for many years….loved his enthusiasm, his ability to keep things simple, and his straight talk….but never had listened to any of his work intently.  So his CD talked to me and I listened and off to the register I went.

I drove home from Denver today and was able to get through 3 of the 10 CDs.  I would have gotten further but I took audio notes on my phone so was pausing and rewinding a LOT!

The first thing he talked about is something I have lived my life patterned after for quite sometime.  It’s been a positive and negative thing people say about me, but I’m driven for excellence.  Call it anal, a workaholic, too picky, or whatever….but when I do things, I strive to be the best.  Yes I realize I will never be the best….but, my standard of excellence is high within myself.  Do I ‘compete’ against others and/or against other companies?  Of course I do, but the key is I don’t consider my effort a pass/fail based on others.  My pass/fail grade is from within.  I have an extremely high level of excellence within myself.

Robbins talked about this in the beginning of the CD.   I demand more from myself than anyone or anything could ever demand of me.  And as Robbins asks….is my standard a must or a should?

Interesting question.  In my work life it is a must (for me anyway).  I’m often criticized by my boss, coworkers, family, and friends of my dedication to my career.  I take it in stride because this is the life I want.  I want to be the best in my profession, I want my company to be the best, I want to be the bar that others strive to achieve.  Why?….it’s not ego driven, it’s that if I myself can take the bar higher, then those around me or competing against me/us will raise their bar.  Everyone wins when we take ourselves and our companies to a higher level!

The flip side of my standard is my personal life which is where I need most attention.   Yes I still have the higher standard of excellence bar which is what I know I should do.  I’m a good person, give to others, tip well, etc but where I lack is the ‘must’ have to taking my personal life to the next level.

What the heck are you talking about Todd?  I know I should be more physically fit, eat better, sleep better, keep in contact better, eliminate clutter in my life/home, etc….but what I realized moreso through Robbins opening comments is “I must” do those things I value if I want to achieve my standards.  Simply knowing I should is not enough.  I’ve been complacent, knowing I should but not taking the next step.  My journey begins to turning the ‘should’ to a ‘must’.

Ever been sick and tired of being sick and tired?  I must have the life I envision.  I’m tired of treading this life that I appreciate, but have a higher standard of what I want my life to be.  My demand…my standard….is higher than what it is now.  I won’t live in the past four months, nor the past 46 years and make excuses.  It got me to this point now it’s time to set out on chasing the bar for the future I want.

~Destiny is your choice~

So I’ve spent some time through the years reading, re-reading, listening, and re-listening to books/cds about basicially making my life better…at least from an emotional standpoint.

Some of those lessons learned have been mentioned in my previous writings and some I just haven’t mentioned for one reason or another.  But I came to a point of almost proving to myself what life was like or is like if I veered away from my ‘newfound’ teachings.  I have spent the past four months doing just that….living my ‘old life’ to see if I could see a difference.

Well, I could see a huge difference in my life….and I don’t like what I see!!  Yes I always kept some of my lessons learned close inside which probably kept me sane through this process, but I really tried to live ‘my old life’.  So what have I learned this past four months?

Life had become ‘not as fun’.  I’ve been task driven and that has been my life.   Enjoyment of life?…not so much.  In fact it’s driven me into a state of depression.  It is absolutely crazy the power of the mind!  Thoughts become things, thoughts create you, thoughts have so much affect on oneself, ..it just goes on and on.   The bottom line is I don’t like what the past four months have produced and quite frankly don’t want to relive the bad thoughts and direction my life has been taking.  Perhaps when I have more time/energy to write I’ll go into detail…..but from this point forward I CHOOSE TO MOVE FORWARD and manifest the life I want, I need, I deserve, and more importantly get back to the main aspect of my life which is to help others.  I honestly believe, not just for my own life, but for everyone’s life, that doing good for the benefit of others can/will lift yourself to a higher state and therefore affect society as a whole.

So here we go….I’m buckled in and ready to enjoy the journey!

~Destiny is your choice~