Hi, my name is.....(Chicka Chicka) Slim Shady

Hi kids, do you like violence? 

He is controversial and certainly not afraid to speak his mind. He is also one of my greatest inspirations and one of the most profound writers of all-time. Some of the greatest lessons on success and picking yourself up when you fall, come from the lyrical genius, Eminem….or as he calls himself….Chicka Chicka Slim Shady. Here are a few of my favorites:

I will not fall,

I will stand tall,

Feels like no one can beat me.

Eminem recognizes that power of confidence. The power of self-belief and recognizing the success that lies deep within you. Even if things are not going your way, stand tall and do not give any energy to the potential competitors.

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted. One moment

Would you capture it or just let it slip?

You must have an opportunistic mindset. You must look for opportunities and be ready to take action when they present themselves. Often times, opportunities are disguised as catastrophic failures and setbacks.

I’ve been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage

But I kept rhyming and stepped right into the next cypher

Best believe somebody’s paying the pied piper

Everyone fails. Everyone gets beat once in a while. You can give up or you can stay focused on the things that are in your control. Keep paying "the pied-piper" and stay productive. Work your way out of a slump. Keep facing your challenges head on.

You can do anything you set your mind to, man

Simply put, recognize the power of your mind. Recognize the power of transmuting your dreams into reality. They are dreams for a reason. They have deeply rooted reasoning and emotional connections that are imbedded internally.

I’m a man, I’ma make a new plan

Time for me to just stand up, and travel new land

Time for me to just take matters into my own hands

Once I’m over these tracks man I’ma never look back

When things do not work out the way you expected do no sit and sulk. Get back to work. Make new plans and keep moving forward with total relentlessness.

I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage

Like I already got the beat, all I need is the words

This is the best lesson of all. Wherever you are at, you have everything you need to be all that you want. There is no need to wait for better circumstances. They will never come. The time is now. Courageously face the world and fearlessly go after your dreams.  

Thank You - For My Life

Imagine living in a society where a small group of men, call them “The Societal Board”, determines what is best for you and everybody else. The Board determines what time you wake up and what time you go to bed. The Board assign you a “job”, not based on your skills or enjoyment, but based on societal necessity. You work long hours out of duty to your fellow societal members and are not allowed any breaks. If you are good at your job, you are not allowed to advance. Advancement is putting yourself above the other members of society, which is not allowed. You are not paid for your efforts because you have no decision-making capability anyway. Your work is your service to your country. It is your duty. Your ultimate goal is to sacrifice your wants, desires, and ambitions, to somebody else. It does not matter who the faceless person is that you are sacrificing to – that person’s life has a higher societal value than yours. Anything that you do for yourself is selfish and therefore, evil.

Food is rationed to provide the bare minimum for everybody’s subsistence. Anything more than this would be selfish. If your child is deathly ill and needs a rare medicine, it is more virtuous for you to give that medicine to another child, even if you were holding the medicine in your hand. You must put other’s first. The entire society is built on this principle. Anything you do for yourself is bad. Anything you do for others is good. Regardless of the outcome.

Our freedom protects us from the society above. Freedom is the protection of our individual rights. We are not pieces on a chess board being controlled by a group, or Board, with our best interests being determined by somebody else. We are all free to make our own choices. We are free to pursue our own happiness and be the person that we want to be. We are free to live. We are free to the ownership of our own life. Not all societies are granted this right. Today is a day to honor that.

Veteran’s Day is a day to honor all of the brave men and women, who put their own life on the line, to ensure that we all maintain ownership of ours. Our free society would not exist without the people who defend it – militarily and intellectually. My largest and most emphatic “Thank You” goes out to everybody who has served, or is serving in the military right now. You are not only defending the greatest country on earth, but you are defending the greatest idea ever conceived. I also send out another huge “Thank You” to anyone who has ever stood up to intellectually defend the smallest minority on earth – the individual.

Intentional Prosperity

The true reality is that there are no limitations in this world aside from the ones that we create for ourselves. We have unlimited potential – only limited by our vision. If we can focus on the 3 simple principles of: Being Intentional, Focusing on Desires, and Visualizing Success, we can truly have anything we want in this world.

Principle #1: Being Intentional

“Begin each day as if it were on purpose.” – Will Smith in “Hitch”

When you set out to sea you have a destination in mind. You are being intentional. You have a single focus, or goal, and that is to make it to your destination safely. You study maps, weather patterns and the mechanical components of your ship, because they all play a vital role in helping you accomplish your goal. When things happen, that are out of your control, you make adjustments. You alter your plans. Storms, rough patches of sea and even mechanical failures do not stop you from reaching your destination, they are only impedances. You find another route and another way to keep moving forward.

Life is the same. We do not have to know HOW we are going to accomplish something. Our main focus needs to be determining what we really want and then taking action – or being intentional. When we have large goals that we are chasing, we find ways to continuously make progress towards the fulfillment of those goals. Our internal compass, or our daily actions, are a function of the goals that we are chasing. We make decisions based on what is most important in our life. When we are intentional about how we live, we create favorable circumstances for ourselves. We do not wait for things to come to us, we go out and get them.

Principle #2: Focusing on Desires

“I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.” – Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa understood one of the most powerful concepts on earth. She recognized that being “anti-war”, instead of “pro-peace”, was only giving attention to something she did not support – war. The same is true with health, wealth and prosperity. You must only give attention to the things that you want in life. You must work hard every day to develop a relentless focus on abundance, positivity and success. Only then will you welcome more of it into your own life.

You have nothing to gain by thinking of, or even recognizing limitations, poverty or struggle. Those will only take energy away from your positive thoughts. Keep your mind fixated on all that you want and forget that which you do not want. Do not give any attention to negativity. Like the lesson we learned from Mother Teresa, don’t be anti-failure, be pro-success!

Principle #3: Visualizing Success

“The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, this you will become.” – James Allen

Visualization, like gravity, is a law of nature. It is often referred to as The Law of Attraction, which is simply: likes attract likes. This means that the things that we spend our time thinking about, and picturing, will be attracted to us. If we visualize ourselves doing great things, we will attract greatness. If we are constantly worried about bad things happening to us, we will attract bad things.

The Law of Attraction can be used to attract anything in the world. Use it to your advantage. Rather than allowing outside influences to dictate your life, choose what you want and dedicate time to visualizing it each day. You have total control over what you visualize, therefore, you have total control over your life and your success.  

By simply visualizing the things we want, staying focused on the positive outcomes and approaching each day with intention, the world is ours. There is nothing that is out of our reach. Stay focused on the things that you can control and go show the world your greatness. Each and every day.

(This blog was originally posted on AboutBoulder.com on the 29th of September 2014 in my column, "Matt's Motivational Mondays".)

Doing More By Doing Less

Have you ever ran into an old friend and asked how they were, only to hear the typical response, “I’ve been so busy”? Why is everyone so busy? Why does it always seem like there is not enough time in the day to finish everything we have on our plate?

The answer is simple. We do not prioritize well and we have no idea how to say, “No.” Any time someone asks us to do something we say yes. We don’t analyze how important each individual thing we do actual is. Most of us schedule our day based on other people’s priorities for us – not our own. Most of us do not proactively plan our day, we react to it. This creates stress, multi-tasking (which is not at all effective) and a constant feeling of overwhelm. So what is the cure to this ugly disease of busyness? Saying “No” to things that are not a top priority and doing less – consciously.

This goes against the programming of most of our brains, but we must identify our priorities for the following day by asking ourselves one simple question, “If I can only accomplish 2-3 things tomorrow, what are the most important?” Write them in order of importance. Multi-tasking must be abolished because it does not work. 100% of your energy needs to be focused on the first task on your list the second you get to work. Only when you finish that can you move on to task #2, and so on.

Nothing should detract your focus from accomplishing the 2-3 tasks on your list. Nothing should interrupt your focus. Checking email can wait. Your phone should be unplugged. Your email notifications should be shut off (permanently).

The only way to really be productive is to laser-focus your efforts on pre-determined tasks. This way you are dictating your day and you are ensuring that the most important tasks get accomplished. You are not allowing someone else’s email to dictate your schedule for the day. You are in command.

Becoming task-oriented, rather than time-oriented, ensures that you accomplish measurable items. An 8 hour day can easily pass without any clear accomplishments being fulfilled. When tasks are outlined, it forces you to carefully think of what is actually important, versus what seems to be important.

Once you have become task-oriented, you become better at telling people “No”. You become better at focusing on higher-margin activities and projects. You understand that most “work” is busy-work that really doesn’t contribute to the bottom-line. You start to see the bigger picture and create massive results without working harder. You become strategic. Like Abraham Lincoln used to say, “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 4 sharpening my axe.”

Start sharpening your axe and taking control of your day. Watch your stress levels decrease and your meaningful results go through the roof. Keep your to-do list to 2-3 items. Any more than that will be defeating the purpose. Share your results with everybody below in the comments. I have seen huge results from these minor modification and am positive, you will too.

The Law of Large Thoughts

“No matter how large the picture that you hold in mind, make it larger. The reason why so many people come to the point where they stop is that they come to a point where they stop growing in their own minds. They come to a point where they can see no more, thinking that because they have really done a big thing they should stop there. We must watch our thought for signs of inactivity. Nothing in the universe ever stops. Everything is built on a boundless basis, drawn from a limitless source, come forth from an Infinite sea of unmanifest life. We speak forth into this life and draw back from it all that we first think into it. Life is always limitless, and the only thing that limits us is our inability to conceive mentally, and we should draw more and more from that limitless source.” – Ernest Holmes

Take a long hard look at your goals. What are they? Write them down. Now take a look at those goals and ask yourself, “Why are they not bigger?”

We all do this. We set goals that seem realistic based on societal norms but we are only limiting ourselves. You can only grow as much as your mental image will permit. Think about that. You will never grow beyond that which can conceive in your mind. If you don’t picture yourself walking around in that perfectly in-shape body, you never will. If you don’t picture yourself driving a Lamborghini, guess what? You never will.

Progress stops wherever vision does. Anytime you are reaching a plateau, whether it is related to your personal or professional life, it can be broken through internally – by working to develop a bigger and stronger vision.

Take a second today to think of one goal that would absolutely scare you to death. Something that would bring you great joy but that you think is not possible in your life at this time. Now get an (erasable) marker and write it on your bathroom mirror. Read it out loud every morning and night and work to connect with it emotionally. Do this until you are sick of doing it and watch the transformation start to take place. You will start to develop belief in this “crazy” goal and you will start to accomplish it.

The mind is the most powerful faculty we have access to. We can leverage it to get whatever we want. Your wish is your mind’s command. Think bigger and keep fighting to not set limitations for yourself.

Greatness Bowing to Greatness

If anyone saw last night’s Thursday Night Football game, they are probably aware that Devin Hester broke Deion Sander’s “returned touchdowns” record. He surpassed Deion, aka PrimeTime with his 20^th touchdown on a 62-yard punt return. Records were made to broken, right?

If you have ever watched Deion Sanders play the game of football, he is an absolute bad-ass. He was one of the cockiest players in the league and took the first punt return he ever touched, to the house. He was more commonly known as PrimeTime for his performances under the lights on “PrimeTime” television. He played professional baseball AND professional football. He was absolutely one of the greatest cornerbacks and football players of all-time. He previously held the record with 19 returned touchdowns…..before Devin Hester came along.

Deion said, several years ago, that Devin Hester was the best return man of “all-time”. He said he was even better than himself in his “prime”… (pun intended) He recognized the potential of Devin Hester and was committed to mentoring this young kid to the top at the beginning of his career. He sure did a hell of a job.

There is nobody that could refute the greatness of Deion Sanders as a football player. He was absolutely electric to watch. So what really makes him so great?

What makes him so great, is that he was rooting for Devin Hester to break his record. A lot of players would congratulate someone who broke their record, secretly hoping that they would fail. Not Deion. Devin Hester told Deion in an interview last night that he really appreciated all of the encouraging texts that he received before football games over the last few years. Deion was constantly encouraging Devin to go out, do great things, and break his own record. That is true greatness. That is a man who is a true leader in this world. A man who roots for advancement and progress. A man who roots for someone better to come along. It doesn’t take away from the greatness of Deion Sanders – it adds to it.

Deion Sanders just proved to the world his greatness – again, and in a different capacity. I have always been a huge fan of Deion as a football player and I just became an even bigger fan of Deion Sanders – the man. The ultimate success in life is in mentoring and coaching people to become better than yourself. Rooting FOR people to break your records. That’s advancement. That’s progress. That is life.

My hat goes off to Deion Sanders. All the greatness in the world should bow to his greatness, just as he did to Devin Hester. Deion Sanders – you are the greatest of all-time. Thank you for your inspiration, self-esteem and for leading the world by example. 

The Little Girl and Her Dog

The other day I saw a little girl, about 4 years old, walking her dog. The dog was about 4 times as big as her, so the dog was really walking her. Anyways, she was totally elated. For no apparent reason. She was genuinely happy. Her dog was happy. They didn’t have a care in the world other than enjoying each other’s company. She ran down the sidewalk and looked up at me and gave me, a complete and total stranger, the biggest smile I have ever seen. I could not help but smile back. It made me very genuinely happy. Her happiness was infectious. It was probably one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.

That little girl made me think. We have all been carefree and happy like that before. I remember being a kid and all I cared about was playing outside. It didn’t matter if it was football, basketball, street baseball or creating chalk masterpieces on the driveway with my little sister. It was true happiness. How often do we adults just smile at each other for no reason? I catch myself paying no attention to people I pass on the streets. Occasionally, I’ll even shoot a disingenuous half-smile, but nothing like the smile that little girl gave me. As adults we are consumed with other things. We are stressed out. We are worried if we say “hello” and smile at a stranger, we might not get a response. That little girl couldn’t have cared less if I smiled back or not. Her happiness did not come from my response. Her happiness was internal. Her happiness was more powerful than anything I have ever seen before.

It still blows my mind how much power a little girl could possess. This little girl possesses the secret to riches and a lifetime of happiness. I hope she never loses that infectious enthusiasm. That enthusiasm will carry her to great heights. It will inspire others to be happier and more loving and caring. She can do amazing things by just holding onto her true-self. By not allowing others to convince her to be something other than herself. To follow her heart in all that she does. To maintain her authenticity at all cost. That’s what’s funny about the world and the law of attraction. We all want to be like people who are genuinely themselves – people who are authentic. You don’t need a reason to be happy. You don’t have to justify it. It doesn’t have to be difficult; it’s just a choice we all make every morning when we wake up. Wake up every day like the little kid inside of you wants you to. Be happy for no apparent reason. They always say, “When you smile at the world, the world smiles back at you.” Give the world your biggest and brightest smile – just like that little girl, and see who smiles back at you. J

Nothing Less Than Legendary

I remember preparing for the baseball tryouts my freshman year of high school. My dad told me that everyone had to know I was the best player at the tryout, BEFORE the tryout actually started. I didn’t really understand. I asked him “what do you mean?” He said, “when you are walking to the field, people have to know that you are a bad ass. When you are warming up, people have to know you’re a bad ass. When you are stretching, you want the coaches talking about you, asking ‘who is that kid?’ Before you ever take a groundball or get an at-bat people need to know who you are." This theme stuck with my sister and I throughout our high school years, into college…..and shoot, we are still the same at the local 5k race. It’s not cockiness – well maybe a little. Although my dad never promoted cockiness. He absolutely hated when we wore Nike wristbands, Underarmour sleeves and bright, flashy and obnoxious colors. We did it anyway because they looked cool. He would always say things like, “put up, or shut up”. Or, “don’t talk about how good you are, show everybody”. What my dad was talking about was a mindset. A belief in yourself. Walking into a situation that could be intimidating and not allowing it to get the best of you. Being a freshman walking into a tryout with a bunch of older guys and KNOWING that you can play with them. It’s swagger. It’s a quiet confidence. It doesn’t mean that you walk into the tryout being loud and obnoxious, but people can feel your energy when you know you belong. You are different than all the other nervous freshman wondering if they are good enough. I can’t thank my dad enough for instilling this powerful mental strength in me. I have called on it so many times in my athletic life and in my professional life. I used this when I played in an All-Conference game my senior year of high school and again walking onto the baseball team in college. I have used it giving presentations to professionals worth more than $30 million dollars. If you believe in your mind that you belong on the field, or in that boardroom. You do. People can sense it. It’s a real, physical frequency that you are emitting. It means nothing can truly intimidate you.

Nothing less than legendary, is a line in a T.I. song that I love. It’s the same mindset that my father instilled in my sister and I. It’s self-belief. If you believe you are legendary, you will be. Your actions will be legendary and therefore, so will the results. You have to believe things before you can accomplish them. Because of these incredible lessons my sister and I learned at a young age, we don’t limit our accomplishments. My sister has won several sprint triathlons and half marathons. She now has her sights set on winning a half-ironman. There is no doubt in my mind that she will. I want to become a professional racquetball player. I will accomplish that. There is no doubt. The possibilities are endless. Sometimes when my sister and I tell people of our plans, they are deemed “unrealistic”. But are they? We don’t believe that you can just dream of winning a triathlon, never train, and do it. But it all starts in the mind. You have to see yourself winning every race. You have to see yourself dominating a baseball tryout or absolutely crushing a sales presentation. That will fuel you during your training and preparation. When it hurts or when you get tired, you will keep pushing. When you want to quit, you won’t. If you get beat, you’ll be back. It’s a relentless mentality. A mentality that gets tougher with the circumstances. A mentality that craves people to not believe – giving you an opportunity to prove your greatness.

Life becomes incredibly exciting when you stop seeing limitations. Even if your situation isn’t particularly awesome, you see great things. I can’t understand people that stop dreaming. I am going be a child the rest of my life. I see the world as an endless place of opportunities. I will never run out of goals, whether it is becoming a professional racquetball player, starting businesses, advising entrepreneurs, being on the senior PGA tour or sailing a yacht around the world for a full year. These are things that are real. There are people that do these things. What makes them so special? They put their socks on the same way that you and I do. The difference is that they just believe in great things and know how to work hard towards accomplishing them.

Don’t escape your reality. That is all too common in this world. People give up. They give up on their health, their professional dreams, and their happiness. They quit chasing things that excite them and replace it with things that are detrimental, like drugs, alcohol, excessive eating, etc. There is nobody that really wants to weigh 600 pounds, yet there are plenty that do. There are tons of people that don’t want to hate their job, but do. I see it on Facebook every week. Everyone joking about “humpday” or saying things like “can’t wait for the weekend” or “I hate Mondays”. Change your perspective and your life will change. Being miserable 5 out of 7 days, every single week, for your entire life, doesn’t seem like much of a life to me.

When is enough, enough? When are people going to get pissed off and decide to do something great? When are they going to get pissed off and truly decide to follow their dreams? What’s stopping people? When are they going to get off their ass and stop accepting mediocre and normal? Do people get fed up not having everything they want? Is drifting aimlessly ok for most people? I just don’t get it. People would rather complain than do something about it. I get so fired up. I want to meet every person who is fed up and help them break through that wall of inertia. Whether it’s losing weight, quitting their job, writing a book, or becoming a division I athlete. Yes you can! I’m fucking sick of people saying you can’t. I’m fed up. I don’t buy into that bull shit. With planning and relentless action, you can do anything. I’ll prove it.

Winners win in their mind long before they win in public. They don’t accept failure as final, because it never is. You always have an opportunity to rebound. You can always get better and you can always do a little more. You can always think bigger and be more relentless. There are no limitations in this world. We create all of them for ourselves. Belief is reality. You become the person you see in your mind. It happens autonomously. Your subconscious mind propels you in the direction you see in your mind. You don’t even realize it is happening. You attract things that you hold in your heart and repel things that you don’t. If you believe in limitation, success will avoid you. If you don’t, it will find you. This can be applied to every single area of your life. Guard your thoughts like hell. Don’t allow these limitations to creep in. Don’t allow negativity to take over. Fight for positivity and accept nothing less than legendary, for your life. 

Something to Prove

Whatever it takes is what you have to do. If pain motivates you, then seek it out. If people doubting you lights your fire, find every doubter that you can. If proving people wrong is your motivation – then go out and prove the world wrong.

Having ‘something to prove’ is a mindset. It’s a dare to anyone who has ever questioned your greatness. To anyone who has ever tried to persuade you to do something safer or easier. Anyone who has tried to get you to lower your ambitions or be more like ‘everybody else’. To hell with that. I will never submit to that. My sister will never submit to that. Having confidence in your own abilities is your safety net. Safety is knowing, without any doubt, that no matter what happens to you – you will succeed. Safety is in knowing that you will rise to any occasion and overcome any adversity. In fact, you welcome adversity. Adversity is what toughens you. It makes you stronger and more confident. Even at your worst moments, or lowest points, you know you are the best.

They always say that intense motivation follows a moment of intense despair. Pain can be an ally of greatness. It can help you realize the things you don’t want in this world. It can be the necessary inertia that powers the change in your life. It can reconnect you with your true purpose. Think of a big loss in a major sporting event. Some people give up. Others are the first one in the gym the next day following a big loss. They are working to avoid that pain again. Which type are you?

Some people are not destined to find good jobs. They are destined to create huge opportunities. Some people have the will-power to push their body to the absolute limit. Some people will always believe in themselves. Some will not accept anything less than everything they want. Some people are built to prove a lot of people wrong. Some people spend every waking hour dreaming and working to create themselves. Some people are destined to break down the walls of possibility. Some people smile and grin through any pain they experience and keep pushing and moving towards their goals.

Some people ‘prove’ they are great.

Rejoice

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice”

-Native American Proverb

Any time somebody passes away it puts me in a very introspective state of mind. I take a look at the current trajectory of my life and do an evaluation. I wonder if the current path I am on is “good enough”. I don’t think that phrase really exists inside of me – in any regard. It’s my unique perspective on the world that has given me this gift. It is an insatiableness. It’s a boredom when I feel like something is too easy, or not challenging enough. It’s a desire to engage in unnecessary battles for battle’s sake. I’ve never been able to change it, so I’m not going to try. I can’t help but see opportunities for improvement everywhere I look. With my workout plans, my writing schedules, my diet, my sales techniques….literally everything. So what would make me rejoice? What is the end goal?

We all are born with one debt that we must repay. Death. We rent our body and our life for a fixed numbers of years. Those years are unknown. The only thing you can really do is live each day to the fullest. That sounds like the worst cliché in the world, and it is. But imagine someone had to give your eulogy today. What would you want them to say? Would you be proud of your life to this point?

Growth is my life. There is nothing else that matters to me. If I’m not growing, you might as well bury me today. I want to leave this world with a gift; a gift that keeps giving and giving. I want that gift to be inspiration and motivation for people to go do incredible things. My biggest inspiration is Muhammed Ali; I can’t help but dream of leaving a legacy as great as him. His legacy will live on for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. He will continue to inspire young men and women to believe in themselves. He will convince people that they too, are the greatest at whatever they want to be, if they believe it. He will continue doing this long after he leaves this world. Muhammed Ali was, and still is, a winner. He has battled Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years. He never plays the victim for his current situation. He has made the best of his situation and continues to inspire me and millions of others. A reporter asked him in a recent interview if Parkinson’s ever makes him feel “depressed?” In classic Ali fashion, he quickly responded with, “Depressed? Why would I be depressed? I am the 3-time heavyweight champion of the world.”

That is true legacy. That is true greatness. That is a man who made the best of an opportunity years ago and is continuing to do so. That is a hero. He is a token of exactly what he told the world he was at the age of 22 – The Greatest of All-time.

For me, rejoice would be the perpetuation of my ideas for thousands of years. To inspire people for thousands of years, long after I am gone, to continue fighting to get better each and every day. I want to be mentioned in the same breath as Aristotle, Muhammed Ali, and Ayn Rand. That is the kind of impact I intend to have. I want people to remember me as the guy who always made everyone feel incredible about themselves – whether in person or through my writing. I want to be the greatest ever at inspiring and motivating people to get better. I want to be second to no one when it comes to helping people move themselves past the immobilizing inertia that stops most people from being incredible. I want every person I meet to become a better person. I am going to continue fighting for the souls of brave men and women ready to make a change. People ready to place a bet on themselves and their own personal greatness. People who are ready to believe that they deserve greatness and all of the prosperity that this world has to offer.

Sometimes it takes a tough emotional experience to really awaken yourself. Every morning I say that I don’t end my day until I am exhausted, but is it really true? There are days where I don’t push myself like I need to. Where I don’t act like a bestselling author or a professional athlete. These are the days that are tough. The days that you have to look yourself in the mirror and make the necessary changes. The days you have to whoop your own ass into doing more. These are the days that it is necessary to set bigger weekly commitments. Or to put something on the line to ensure your progress and your further betterment. Accomplishment is the greatest joy we can experience in life. Accomplishment presumes the freedom to pursue your own convictions. We live in an incredible country. We should be thankful every day that we are free to pursue whatever we desire. Man is a hero. I am a hero. You are a hero. Everyone can be a hero. There are so many people that just need to meet the right person, or hear the right message at the right time. These are the people I am after. The people that are ready to make a little sacrifice to show the world how great they really are.  

Defiants

Trouble-makers. Rebellious and unconventional. Fighting to stay outside of the box. Going against the grain. Swimming upstream. Marching to the beat of their own drum.

These are the people that are crazy enough to know, without a doubt, that they can produce a platinum record or a bestselling book. The ones who believe that can be a starting quarterback in the NFL or the best shortstop in all of MLB. They are the people who have the strength to drown out all of the negative thoughts around them. They don’t believe in limitations and they always maintain forward progress. They are the people that breathe life into everyone around them. They are the catalysts for change. They inspire people to live more.

Life is meant to be lived. Growth is a necessity. If you are not aspiring to do great things, change it. You’ll never feel more alive, more motivated, or more excited than when you are chasing down something exciting. Don’t just go through the motions in life. There are way too many people that do that. They let their internal fire burn out. They lose the light in their eyes. Life becomes something to endure, not something to conquer. Conquer your daily habits. Give yourself time to work on your dream every day. Start with the small and you will become the big. Never believe anyone who says you can’t be big. Prove them wrong. Wake up every day believing you are the greatest. Everything starts in your mind. Your mind can be on your side or it can be your biggest opponent. Challenge your mind to grow.

Being big is a mindset. Reality begins internally – with your mind. You must work to think bigger. Every day. The world will attempt to limit your thinking. Don’t allow it to. Allow nothing but positivity, abundance and opportunity into your mind. Let everything else go in one ear and out the other. If you recognize negativity, you welcome more of it in your life. If you deny it access, it will go away. You attract that which you think about. If you work hard to plant the right seeds, you will gain conscious control of your thoughts. Your actions will closely follow.

Fight the negativity in the world. You are bigger than it. You are too big to concern yourself with it. Fight for control of your mind. Fight to change your daily habits and most importantly, fight to get a little bit better each day. Picture yourself with your hands in the air, in total victory of your life. Never let go of that image. It will propel you through the tough days. You will get up when you get knocked down. You will fight until you win.

21st Century Slavery - Breaking the Chains

Call me a trouble-maker. Call me a non-conformist. Call me an entrepreneur. Call me right, or call me wrong. Just don’t call me accepting of the arbitrary definition and schedule of work.

I think many people misinterpret the difference between work and adding value. The definition of work should be “Creating and adding value to somebody, somewhere”. Why does this have to be confined to such a rigid and miserable 9-5 schedule? Why does it have to be the bane of most people’s existence? Why can’t work become more a fluid concept integrating all of our passions – personal and professional? The answer is that it can. But will it? Well, it already is by a lot of people. Some people are too mentally lazy to really “work” to figure out what their passions are. Some people are afraid to take a risk – unsure if they can recover from an apparent failure. Is it not riskier to guarantee that your whole life will be miserable by doing something you hate for the most energized hours of your week and the most energized years of your life?

I am taking a stand today. I am saying that work is no longer a place you go. Or something that you hate doing every Monday morning. Or something that you can’t wait to end every Friday afternoon so that you can speed home and crack open a beer. To live in a constant state of wishing and waiting; wishing it was the weekend and waiting impatiently for it. If we can change the way we think about work, we can change this lifestyle – we can break the chains. If we just think of ways to add value, via a service or a new product, we can be a happier society. There are so many opportunities to distill and analyze information today. It is the best time EVER to become self-employed, to become an entrepreneur and even to just work remotely. You can become an expert in a lot of things from the comfort of your living room. You can share your unique perspectives and add tons of value to the marketplace.

Work doesn’t have to be a place you go. It especially does not have to be a place you hate. It can be an outlet for you to help people. This will create a deeper connection between you and your work. It will mean more to you. It will be more alive. You will be more productive because you enjoy it.

Instead of asking yourself “how do I find a job?” Ask yourself, “How do I take the things I know and love and share my perspective (value) with more people?” People are begging for fresh new perspectives and ideas. The opportunities are endless. Just because there are a certain number of jobs, doesn’t mean that can’t be changed. There are an infinite number of opportunities. There are so many jobs that are waiting to be created – why not by you? If you can’t find a job – create one. Create value and share it. Change your perspective, change your life. Work from a beach chair in Puerto Rico. The world can be this and if you believe it, it will be.

Don’t Stop Short like Frank Costanza

Today I found myself in an intense group fitness workout (total understatement). It was a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class that lasts 60 miserable minutes. It’s called “Chisel” for a reason. I hate it. It is taught by none other, than my mother. She is mean. I don’t like her a whole lot during those 60 minutes. But I see nothing but results from the 2 hours of hell she puts me through each week.

There are so many times during that workout that my mind tells me to quit. It tells me not to do all 10 burpees, to just do 8 or 9. That’s plenty, right? Probably. But what’s the real goal? To do “enough” or to do whatever it takes to get better? My mind is screaming at me to not go very deep on my squats or to not jump very high on our squat-reaches. It would be easy to do that. Everyone would understand. But I would only be cheating myself. Stopping short on the little things gives you the ability to stop short on the big things in life. To workout 3 days a week instead of 4. Then 2 instead of 3. This becomes a theme in your life. You always give yourself permission to not quite finish what you started. When I set the timer to write for an hour, the last 5 minutes are always the hardest to stay in the chair. I want to get up and leave so bad, but that would be “stopping short”. No one would even know, except me. That’s not the type of person I am striving to be.

I find the mental growth that occurs from a tough workout, much more rewarding than the physical gains. It is always a constant battle between you and your mind. Your mind always wants you to take the easy way out. It’s human nature - procrastination and laziness are hard-wired into our brains. You have to work every day to develop a mental toughness that will not allow to quit. That will not allow you to stop short of finishing something that you started.

We can constantly develop our mental toughness through repeated practice. Listen hard to what your mind is telling you during a workout. Most of the time it is saying “stop”, “you’re in too much pain”, or “you have done enough to this point”. All of this negative self-talk can be overcome if you choose to ignore it and fight through it. You will emerge stronger if you just tell yourself things like “yes I can” and “I won’t quit now”. Your mind always wants to give out before your body. Remember that. You can always push yourself a little bit harder. That’s what I love about sports. Your mind is the command-center for your body. You can control your thoughts. You can always dig a little deeper, get a little stronger, run a little harder, write a little longer, and be a little better.

I have only had my body give out 2 or 3 times and you know what? I was fine. Nothing bad happened. I just found out where my current limitations were. I reached it once on a timed 300-yard shuttle as a college freshman in a baseball workout. This is basically the worst run you can imagine. It is 5 consecutive 60-yard dashes with no break between. You accelerate, then decelerate, change directions and repeat way too many times. The last leg is the worst. As soon as you plant and touch the line with the last 60 yards to go, your legs feel like Jello. You still have 60 yards to sprint and your whole body is screaming at you to stop. So at 6:00am one morning in the gym at my college, the first time I ever ran this timed race, I stepped up to the line. The whistle blew and I took off. As hard as I could. This run was different for me than anyone else. I started stumbling with about 20 yards to go and wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the finish line. I ended up face-planted just past the finish line. I am not exaggerating when I say that my face actually hit the ground when I was running at full speed. My legs had collapsed on me. Physically, I had given that race my all. Everything I had in the tank. I posted the best time on the team. Prior to the run, the older guys on the team had told me to “make sure you save some energy. If you go all-out you won’t be able to finish.” I wanted to disprove their advice. I told them I wasn’t going to save anything. If I collapsed before the finish line, I would know my limit. I barely made it, but it made me realize that as painful as that experience was, I finished. I tested my body to the absolute limit. More importantly I defeated my mind telling me to slow down a bit the whole run. The next time we ran the timed 300-yard shuttle, I gave it my all again, the sole of my shoe actually tore off on the last leg, I didn’t collapse and I had shaved over 2 full seconds off of my previous time. I had broken through another personal barrier of mine.

You always have a little more in the tank than you think. Your mind will limit your physical and mental capacity if you allow it to. You can always find the energy to push a little harder; either that, or you will collapse in victory knowing that you gave it your all. You will be stronger the next time. You will break through a barrier. Breaking a physical barrier for yourself and creating another opportunity raises the ceiling for yourself. The same is true in everything we do in life. We can push ourselves to new levels and we will never be able to return to our original state. You really know how far you go until you push the envelope. There is greatness in all of us. There is so much untapped potential that most of us never realize, because we never get past the mental barriers. We never get past the little voice in our head telling us that we “should stop.” We never really allow our face to hit the ground in total exhaustion. Let’s test ourselves. Let’s find where our real limits are. I guarantee they will surprise you.

What mental barriers do you have that are getting in your way at the moment? Are they weight-loss limitations? Are they business related? Whatever they are, how can we knock the door down and get you to the other side? What more can you do to prevent yourself from stopping short of your own personal greatness?

One More Year

I am 28 minutes from turning 27 years old. I am incredibly thankful for the past year. I have grown a lot in the past 365 days. I have had a lot of down moments and have had a lot of successes. I have gotten knocked down and have picked myself up several times. I have met some incredible new people and read several phenomenal books. I have become a truer version of Matt Harris. I have taken huge steps in the direction of my dreams. My vision has become clearer. I have grown physically, intellectually, emotionally and mentally. 27 is my blow up year. It’s where all of the work I quietly do in silence will be manifested in the results.

You only have 365 days in a year. 104 of those are weekend days. If you aren’t working on your dreams on the weekends you are sacrificing 28.5% of your week, every week. I am not saying that you should be working 12 hours per day. I think that is dumb. You can leverage the 4-hour workweek principles and still maintain the positive forward momentum through creating activities that prevent you from voluntarily giving up your momentum. Even if it is as simple as reading a vision statement, or writing for 15 minutes. Anything you have to do to keep your brain immersed in your large vision. Keep yourself taking steps, even if they are baby steps, forward. In the direction of your dream-world.

This year I am asking myself one question: Why not me?

I have everything. I believe in myself. I understand the importance of big visions and small actions. I know how to implement and I know how to sell. I know about finance, networking, problem-solving and I have incredible people skills. There is literally nothing that can stop me except myself. I will not allow myself to get in my own way this year. I am a pot of water at 211 degrees right now. I have to keep applying the heat which will make that water start boiling this year. I am committed to my writing and committed to reading my vision statement. There is nothing that is going to stop me from doing that every single day. A bestselling book will come out of that activity. The proof is in the belief and the execution. My plan literally could not get any simpler. I have 2 daily activities that I do no matter what. The rest of my week is “extras”. I am not focusing on or trying to control outcomes. I am focusing on the process and letting the faith drive the results. Letting the world of the infinite handle the rest. All I can do is put the rubber to the road.

Today is a day to give thanks for the past year. 365 days that have made me stronger, more focused, and more relentless, with a much clearer vision. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have had to develop myself. To regain strength when I felt like I couldn’t. I am thankful for all of the tough days that made me stronger. The people that have always believed in me and have helped push me towards bigger and better things, knowing that I have the capability.

Nothing is better than being field tested for 365 days and then having the opportunity to reflect and be thankful. To see all the positives and growth that have occurred this year and every subsequent year. It is a post-game and a pre-game all rolled into one. Reflecting on the prior year and preparing for the upcoming year. I’ll take any opportunity I can to focus on the next 12 months coming up and really reflect on what went well each year. You can have the worst year of your life and your perspective on it can make the world of difference. If you fight to see the positives, things will start to turn your way. If you see every setback as an opportunity to learn and get better, failures and setbacks will stop existing in your world. You will see the world as it is; as a fruitful place with an infinite number of opportunities. If you can’t see this, none of that abundance will ever be yours. Every year on your birthday, reflect on all that you are thankful for. We all have so much to be thankful for and so many people, to thank. This is my way of saying thank you to everyone for their support over the past year. If you are reading this, you are one of them. Keep fighting for your dreams and keep being thankful for what you already have. Here is to you, and I, having our BEST YEAR EVER!

Intensity > Extensity

True intensity and rhythm, in harmony with your own internal voice, can go viral and reach a wide audience. It may take a while to reach your true target-audience, but you should never cater your material to the masses. You should aim deep versus wide. Meaning, you should look for a stronger connection with your readers, rather than more readers. The readers who truly connect with your writing, will be more likely to share it with their friends who are similar. There is always a small group of people that will identify with you and your message. That is where your true power is. Those will become true fans of your material, not just “likes” on Facebook that will never take action on your recommendations.

I have a burning desire to publish a book and become a New York Times Bestselling author. I am definitely not saying, “Don’t sell a ton of books”. I think you should absolutely sell a ton of books. But ask yourself how to maintain your intensity and authenticity and still have millions of people read your material. This is a problem a lot of authors have. They have a good book and think it will sell itself. They forget that their writing is a brand. Their voice is their sales-pitch. As soon as they start aiming to widen their appeal, they start losing their authenticity. They start to sound too much like everyone else. Great marketing, especially word-of-mouth marketing, happens when you are authentic to your own true voice. When you are real. When you take your experiences, perspectives, education and apply it with all of your heart to something you are passionate about. If you ever read the articles on Linkedin, (not mine of course) they are almost all garbage. They are all watered-down, blanket-statement-advice from people who may or may not know what the hell they are talking about. I’m sorry but there are never “3 steps to success” or “6 ways to create a marketing plan”. That shit bores me to death. Most the people on Linkedin just read it because they want a break from their actual work. You can totally tell that people are paid to write a certain number of articles per month on topics that they are not necessarily interested in. The writing is dead. There is no voice. They are creating content for business-development purposes only.

It is so obvious that content production is the new sales technique for most organizations. They think they are adding value to the marketplace when they are actually just diluting the pool of good, useful information, with a bunch of garbage. They know that a certain number of article views creates a certain number of website views, which ultimately creates a certain number of sales. I understand this. It’s incredibly inauthentic. There is no passion behind anything. If there was, sales would go through the roof. If they wrote one great article every month, instead of 4 crappy ones, they would establish a much stronger brand.

Isn’t that what they are after? Long-term relationships with people who will continuously buy their products. Isn’t that what every company and individual who does business, is after?  

So what is all this inauthenticity creating? It’s creating a huge opportunity for people with a unique voice, who actually have something valuable to say. It may be harder to get your work out there now, with more than 120 million blogs (I believe) out there. But if you stay true to your voice and create quality content, people will share and recommend it. Just like in face-to-face sales, meetings do not equal dollars. Just like Facebook ‘likes’ do not equal dollars. People who buy your book, equal dollars. People that can’t get enough of your writing, equal dollars. There are a handful of authors that I will gladly pay whatever they charge me for their next book. That’s what you should aim for. If you sacrifice the realness inside of you, you will bore your audience. Even if your audience is the 9-5’ers chained to their desk looking for something to do that isn’t “work”….don’t make them read your “3 steps for writing a crappy blog”.

If you have something to say, say it. You shouldn’t worry about who likes it and who doesn’t. The people that should find your content, will. It may take hundreds of blogs and several books, but the cool thing about content creation, is that if you stay true to your voice, your content is timeless. People who like your content in 3 years, will like your original content. As long as you maintain your authenticity.  

The world needs more authenticity. Stay true to yourself and your beliefs. Don’t change something because you think it might offend a couple of people. Your voice has the power to change the lives of so many people. See the positives. Inspire people to be more and lead by example. Get your message out to the world and be proud of it. 

6 Steps To...Blah, Blah, Blah. Iggy Azalea Rocks!

“I just can’t worry ‘bout no haters, gotta stay on my grind.” – Iggy Azalea

I know we have all (hopefully) heard this song, which is “Fancy”, by Iggy Azalea. If you haven’t, you aren’t living. This is one of those songs that you can catch me shamelessly singing along to on the highway. If you think I am completely off my rocker, you might be right. Don’t worry, that’s a saying, I think.

So when am I going to shift gears and write something relevant to success and entrepreneurship? I am not exactly sure but I am glad you asked.

When Iggy talks about not worrying about “haters” she is basically giving us all the most profound business lesson we could ever have. She is telling us to forget about all the people that don’t like our material – whether we are a musician, artist or salesperson. She is telling us to look past any rejection we may face and hold onto our grandest vision. She is begging us to be authentic. To not succumb to the pressures of society to become like everybody else. She wants us to be unapologetically, ourselves.

Staying on your “grind”, as Iggy puts it, means taking action and focusing on things that are controllable. Focus on activities, not results. You are never going to be able to fully control outcomes and you will only be discouraged if you worry too much about them. Whether you are writing new music and recording mixtapes or practicing your sales presentation. Stay focused on the “grind”. People are going to tell you no. If you are chasing a huge, ambitious goal, you are going to get a LOT of no’s. People are going to reject you as a person. They are going to reject your ideas. You have to keep yourself positive. Focus on the grind. The grind is the ONLY thing in your control.  

Iggy is telling us to take control, by taking action. She is telling us to remain positive and confident in our own abilities. We can read all the self-help books and motivational blogs we want, but we really don’t need ANY other advice to be successful. Remember, self-doubt and confidence cannot exist in the same environment. If you continue to feed one, the other will die.

Which one are you feeding?

I know Iggy is going to stay on her grind and keep pumping out jams! I am going to keep singing along. I hope you do the same. Take her advice straight to the bank. Focus on the things that you can control and forget about everything else. And everyone else. Do the best you can each day to move forward. Relentlessly. And next time you see a really cool dude (me) in a Jeep Wrangler, blasting this song….feel free to sing along.

Dreams = My Reality

Dreams are my reality. I live in the future. In a world I am developing in my mind. It keeps me excited and enables me to focus on the daily activities that I do not particularly enjoy. It tends to create anxiety, which I argue is a good thing. It is like the necessary compression it takes to fire an engine. Humans need a certain level of anxiety, or internal pressure, to drive themselves and their daily actions.

Living in the cloud or dreaming all day is not a bad thing. There is an unlimited number of opportunities in this world and they all belong to the people that believe they can have them. It cracks me up when I hear people tell other people to think more “realistically”. That word is a joke to me. The thought of anything being “realistic” is so limiting. Just because something has never been done, doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Did anyone think electricity was possible a few hundred years ago?

The universe is full of limitless potential. I have read tons of books documenting the powers of the universe and more specifically, the thoughts that we all have. A thought will literally manifest itself in a physical equivalent. That’s why bad things happen to people who expect them to. It’s so fascinating to me to hear of the possibilities in this world if you can just transform the way you think. If you can convince yourself, you will convince the world of your worthiness. This principle is so fascinating. It’s written about in The Secret, Think and Grow Rich, The Prosperity Bible, and countless other books I have read. Everyone should know this. The opportunities in this world are not finite. I will repeat, the opportunities in this world are NOT finite. Too many people have a scarcity mentality instead of an abundance mentality. There is no limit to the number of jobs that could exist. There is no limit to the amount of value each and every one of us can provide to others. This all starts with our beliefs and our dreams. If we can dream it, we can achieve it. We must reconnect with the things we were passionate about as children.

The children who never actually grow up, and still hold onto their dreams are the people that do incredible things in this world. Living in a “dream world” really just means that you are visualizing something that you would like to be a part of. Whether it is being a professional baseball player or an opera singer. Kids have a natural propensity for dreaming that most adults have lost. The sad part is that most kids go through the process of “growing up” and end up having their dreams shot down. People tell them that they can’t be a professional baseball player or can’t be in a Broadway show. Slowly, children lose their confidence and their dreams fade away. Then as they get into their 20s and get a regular job, they wonder why they are not happy. It’s simple, they are out of tune with their inner-frequency. They are not doing what they want.

So why can’t we encourage kids to dream more? I think we don’t because, most adults have already given up on their dreams. They aren’t intentionally trying to shoot down dreams, they just do it subconsciously. They really believe in the limitations of this world. Probably because they “tried” to be a professional baseball player themselves, and didn’t make it. They didn’t understand what it really took to get to that level. They didn’t actually believe that they could do it.

I just want to completely abolish this mentality. Having the right mental attitude regarding possibility and your own personal capabilities is so much more important than your education. You can literally think your way to success, but very few people understand this. They go through the day-to-day motions of struggling financially, not really enjoying their job, treating the weekends as the escape from their reality, hating Mondays, loving Fridays and just existing. That is my biggest fear in the entire world. Giving in to this illusion – The American Dream. It’s not for me. There is way more to life than spending one week per year on vacation. Why can’t you go for 3 months? For most people, it’s financially related. But financially most people don’t ever think outside of the “job” box in terms of making money. That is the only solution most people can come up with to make money. There are tons of other ways to make money outside of a traditional job. Money is purely a medium for people to exchange value. The only way to really get rich in this world, and stay rich, is to add value to a lot of people’s life. That’s where money comes from. Think about something that you know, that other people would enjoy knowing, then think outside the box and find a way to deliver it. You might find yourself with an additional income source and a lot more freedom to do the things that you really love.

Keep dreaming my friends. There is nothing out there that you cannot have. It all starts in your mind. Believe it and it's yours. 

Yes, you can.