Car Battery...

A car battery has two posts; one positive and the other negative. What happens if you mix those two up? You fry the cables and are left with one big disaster.

Same is true in your life as you have a life battery with a negative and a positive options. Every single day, you and you alone, have a choice. Nobody else can make it for you. No situation can dictate your choice. It's all on you to make this very simple choice...and that is either I am going to positive or negative.

Being real for a moment...most of us tend to slide into the negative. We find more wrong that right. This is so wrong when you think about it. But when we don't consciously think about it, we drift to the negative.

To avoid this and go on the positive, we need to always be thinking positive. Put positive thoughts in the front of your mind.

Vision

What is the vision for your life? Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life! So given that...what do you want to do with your life?

Paint the picture! Be specific. Include pictures...like the one above. Sights, sounds, colors, smells, moods, lights....include all those things when detailing the picture called YOUR LIFE!

How do I do this? As simple as getting out paper and a pen and begin writing. All great companies have a vision statement. But why don't people have vision statements? DO ONE! Now...It is the best thing you can do. After all, if you can't get excited about the picture called YOUR LIFE...then what do you get excited about?

Above is a picture of the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Great time meeting a 20 year buddy Mark. He is just one of those guys I can hang with all the time. I wish we lived closer together because he is just a great friend.

Car sickness

Your life and car sickness

Have you ever noticed that people don't get car sick when they are driving? But put people in the passenger seat and many will get car sick. Why? It's all about the control. When you are driving and in control, you don't get car sick. Well, the same is true with your life. When you are in control of your life and driving your life bus, it feels so much better and you avoid getting life sickness.

But why do so many people let others drive their life bus? Why do people allow others paint their life's picture? Why do people allow others to write their life's book? Question: In the movie called Our Life; should we not be the leading role? OF COURSE!

To avoid getting life sickness, you need to be in control and driving your life...just like driving and car sickness. This means you have:

• Your Life Vision clearly defined and the picture is painted
• Goals set to make the vision and picture come to life
• Responsibility and Accountability
• All in...Be all in on your life
• Play and active participant rather than watching life go by

So take a look at your life today. Are you in control? Are you the author? Are you the painter? Are you driving your life bus? If not...make a change today! Simply, write down what you want to do for the rest of your life. Clearly define and paint that picture. This is the first step. You need to put you first and really meditate on what you want to do with the rest of your life. This is the first step in getting control of your life car and behind the wheel of your life.

Easter...A Victorious Day.

Happy Easter!

The greatest victory there ever was or ever will be...

Get in the game of life!

Wholeheartedness!

My thought: People and businesses are defeated, not because they lack ability or talent, but rather for a lack of wholeheartedness. They get beat due to the fact they are not "all in" on their life or business. For whatever reasons, their heart is just not into it. They just go through the motions. And when you just go through the motions in life or business, you lose. Harsh as that. Simple as that.

To get positive results, you must give it all you got. You must first, find that passion in your life or career. What exactly is it that you want to do? What is it that you love to do? What does your ideal day look like? First define it very clearly. Paint the picture of your ideal life and business. You must start with this beautiful image and perfect picture...called YOUR LIFE OR YOUR BUSINESS!

Second; make it so. Once you have the picture painted, then execute to make it come to life. You have to DO THINGS! It is not enough just to have the perfect picture in your mind and then lay on the couch eating chips and dip. You must do things to make it come true. And when you do these things, to do them properly, you must hold nothing back. Don't be a holdout in life. Get on the field and play the game. Every minute, every second.

Great results will come once you become wholehearted! Life and dreams come to those who give it their all....every day, every time!

Today's Thought

Today!

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Have you ever thought about that? Most people don't; but if you do, you see the world through a much more beautiful lens. Today is going to be a great day. I am so grateful for today. Why?

• 90 degrees! Yes 90 degrees and pure sunshine with blue sky in Austin TX. The coolest place to live on the planet.
• I choose to work at Greenlight Solutions... My own company where it's a privilege to work. Helping people, companies and speaking is not work! It's a blast.
• I can make a positive difference today. And I going to do it!
• Spending this afternoon with Teddy, my 3 year old miracle son...we are going downtown and to Lady Bird Lake. Does it get any better than that?
• SXSW in Austin...
• Tonight, spending time with my family...grilling out...walking outside....watching the sunset!

Take some time to think about this thought: Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Given that, how do you view today? What do you want to get done? The past is the past....forget about it and focus on today! Be a leader. Leaders never live in the past but rather maximize today and have a target for tomorrow.

Water faucet and Your Life...

Increase the Production!

If you want more increases in your results, you need to increase the production. Sounds simple because it is simple. But simple things are sometimes the hardest do accomplish. This is one of them. Easy to say but hard to do.

For me (read my notes below):

• More sales = More sales calls = More production on things to get sales calls
• Read more...more production on page turning
• More production on planning and quiet time..make sure plan is solid and being executed properly...This thing called MY LIFE...I am serious about it and have an agenda!
• More production on writing...put pen to paper more often
• More production on helping others....I have volunteer engagements upcoming..can't wait!
• More production on Teddy and Tate...next 10 days fill it up

That is my list. You should make a list on things you want to increase production on. Neat trick: When you turn open the water faucet, more water comes out...same is true in your life. Open up your life faucet and you get more out of it!

Change...Make moves

If you do what you always have done, you will get what you have always gotten..

Isn't really silly, when you deeply think about it, that we do the same things over and over but yet we want and even expect, to improve. I see this all the time that people want to make progress in business or life but don't want to change. NOT! Doesn't work that way...thanks for playing.

The way to improve is to change. Change for many people is a four letter word. Most hate change. I hear business prospects tell me they want to start their own business and are ready to jump in and take the risk as long as nothing changes in their life. They will risk everything as long as their income stays the same, the house stays, same cars..etc. Yeah right; who wouldn't do that deal. But that is not real world. Real world is about change.

Look at your life and see how much change there is. I have a phrase that I live by and that is I want to be Comfortably Uncomfortable. I want to change and keep inventing and re-inventing. I don't want the same things over and over so I must change to get different results. That means sometimes I will swing and miss. It's OK. Failure to me is not trying. I actually am proud of some of my belly flops...they make me stronger!

Change. Change today! You will get different results. If you stay the same, the same you will be.

Meet my new friends!

I want to introduce you all to an incredible group of inspiring people. Last week I taught this wonderful group of 15 for one week in Galveston TX.

Thank you so much my new friends! I had a blast last week and will never forget it. I want to thank you for teaching me far more than I could ever teach you. Things I learned from you that all readers can learn from:

• Maximize each day.
• Trust in your faith!
• Community is so important...We all need to help each other out.
• We are all built relationally and hard wired to connect relationally
• We all can keep learning and growing every single day...but its up to us to make that choice
• SMILE!
• Laugh.....and laugh often

Priscilla is an awesome leader and she has a great group! Keep driving your life bus and make sure to keep having those Ah-Ha moments. Hope to see all you soon. If I can do anything for any of you, just let me know! I miss you guys...

Chris

Oil Change and Your Mind

On a regular schedule we must change the oil in our cars. Why? Because our cars need to the flush out the dirty oil and replace it with clean oil that will properly lubricate the engine. If we leave the dirty oil in the engine, it will not properly lubricate and lead to failure. We have all heard the importance of changing the oil in your car.

Same is true with our minds. We need to remove the dirty/negative thoughts from our minds and replace them with clean/positive thoughts. Our minds, just like a car engine, will run much better and perform beautifully when properly lubricated with clean thoughts. But yet how many of us actually take time daily to properly lubricate our minds by removing the dirty oil and replacing it with clean oil? Not many is right. In today's world of hustle and bustle with gadget this and gadget that...it is nearly impossible to spend time on our minds and purposefully change the oil. I suggest planning. Plan some time daily to remove negative thinking and then immediately replace it with positive thoughts. Why immediately replace? Because once we spend time emptying our minds, thoughts will start to replace them. Our minds are not to be empty so they will fill up on purpose. So when empty, right away put in positive thinking.

The result for me has been much more positive thinking...clarity of thought...and purposefully living. Change the oil of your mind every day. It works!

A good plan is to have a back up plan

PLAN B!

The best leaders and best performers in life are the ones that are best at Plan B. Rarely does Plan A goes exactly as we planned. Most of the time we need to make adjustments, if not complete overhauls, to the original plans. When this happens, real leadership comes to the top...cream rises to the top. Great leaders and good life performers, put in Plan B immediately and with confidence when Plan A does not go...well as planned.

But I have to tell you how rare this is to see. Most of the time, in real life, we freeze and don't act when Plan A does not work out. We wait....wait again...wait some more without any action. Don't do this. As a leader, have the courage and strength to put in Plan B and make it happen.

Also as a note. Great leaders always have a plan B to begin with. Great leaders and life performers know that back up plans are needed and thought out. If you don't ever use them, good for you. You are an exception. For most of us, we need a Plan B, so prepare for it. And when A does not work out, put Plan B in and keep moving forward. That is what leadership is all about. Keep moving the ball forward in life and business.

To worry or not to worry

You can't worry if you can't control it...

There is so much to worry about if we want to. We can be consumed with worries without much effort. But here is a good way to get rid of a bunch of worries. My rule is this: You can't worry about anything that you can not directly control.

When you really stop and think about it, why do we worry about things we can't control? It does not make any sense. It's such a waste of precious time and limited energy. Plus it just leads to more and more worries. No sense.

So stop the madness and stop focusing on things out of your control. If you can control it then you can worry about it. Things like your attitude, your choices, your thoughts, and your actions are things to use mind power on.....but how others act, others dirty laundry, other people's opinions...those are all off limits. Do not spend time and energy on these!

Do this: Do an audit of yourself. Audit what you worry about. Then grade yourself: Are you using time and energy on things you can control or things outside of your control? I know you will find this to be a valuable exercise. Once you make this list, then put in action plans to make sure you remove things that you can not control.

Chris