Whoever thinks they’ve gone alone or are doing what they doing today because of themselves and/or have a belief that they will go it alone in the future to attain their goals and capture their success is delusional.

We cannot deny our personal efforts and work ethic, but anyone on this earth who has accomplished something of worth has done it only because we all are standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.

Today is no different. Family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances and yes, even strangers have come to our aid at one point in time to pull us up from our bootstraps.

Whether it’s the roads we travel to get to our meetings, to the pen and paper we use once we arrive or the plane we take to tropical islands for our vacations. We could not in any way benefit from where we are today without the tireless work of those who came before us.

Maybe the next time we’re out there in that great big world, we can remind ourselves of that. Maybe – just maybe it might inspire us to help someone else get to where they want to go.

What a gift.

Reoccurring problems most likely return because we’re bringing the same tired old perspective to the table hoping to get a different outcome.

When I dig deep with my creative solutions and neutral attitude at worst, I’ve found success in solving issues that seem to turn up in my life over and over.

Once resolved with this new found genius, those roadblocks seem to disappear from my life.

Or maybe it’s because now I just blow by them.

Pete Carroll was the former coach of the Seattle Seahawks for 14 years and went to the playoffs for 10 of those years, including two Superbowl appearances and one Championship and a total of 170 wins.

If you know anything about Pete, one of his mantra’s that can be heard bouncing off the walls of the locker room after a win is how you can’t win a game in the first, second or third quarter. It can only be one in the fourth.

As true in life, we can learn from one of the greats; This journey in this thing called life, has many twists and turns, up’s and down’s and moments of stumbling. But, we can learn a lot about ourselves and others along the way if we chose. We can make adjustments after the first quarter – halftime or even going into the fourth quarter that may make all the difference.

The key is this: we’re still in the game, so we always have a chance.

Go Hawks!

Engaging in the process – whatever that may be – and throwing your expectations out the window has always been a good recipe for me to not get discouraged and/or give up too quickly.

Often times, we have the ability to talk ourselves out of the game before it’s begun. Approaching our task – our goals – our challenges with the proper mental perspective can make all the difference.

What is that perspective? Staying neutral and diving deep into the process of doing. Of acting. Committing. No problems are resolved faster than when we are fully committed to engaging in the process with the intention of resolving it.

These are when the gem of ideas fill our mind as we arrive on the other side of our problem with grace and ease.

I’m sure this goes without saying . . . . but, I’m going to say it anyway because I’m thinking about it and it’s important for me to remember. After all, part of the reason why I started writing this blog was for me to solidify ideas that are rolling around in this hollow head of mine and remind me of what’s important in my life. In addition, to continue to implement these gems in my daily life and not just theorize about them.

I’ve always found it fascinating that it takes a loved one dying due to illness – cancer, natural causes or a horrific accident in order to have a completely stripped-down starkly honest conversation with two people who care for one another. Why is that?

Why does it take someone to be on their deathbed in order for the us to finally see – and hopefully – abundantly clearly what is important in life?

Why are we not able to look at someone in the eyes on a ‘regular’ Monday morning after a great weekend and tell them how much they mean to you and how grateful you are to have them in your life? Or to let a dear friend know you were wrong several years ago when you chose NOT to go to their wedding. Even if it was their second.

Why must we wait until the fragility of our own lives are at stake before dropping our masks – our ego – and be real? What if we were able to live truthfully – honestly every day while sharing our deepest feelings with those around us who we love? How much would those relationships be enriched?

I can only imagine.

And then risk.