Monthly Archives: March 2014

HALF FULL, HALF EMPTY, NO MATTER

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Take a large tumbler glass, fill half of it with water.
Then, rather than ask yourself whether the glass is half full or half empty, hold the glass out as far as your arm will extend.
Holding the glass out there for a minute or two is no problem. If you hold it out there for five minutes straight, you’ll start to feel the weight.
If you hold it out there for several hours straight, your arm, shoulder and elbow will probably hurt.
Mike Lantz, a double platinum presidential with Team National, talked about this at the company’s convention in March 2014 in Kansas City, Mo.
Lantz attributed this illustration to a friend in his men’s group.
The point is that the water in the glass, which provides the weight, represents all your negative thoughts.
If you hold on to those thoughts for a long time, they will hurt you. As humans, negative thoughts naturally enter into our minds. How often have we said to ourselves: why me? Or, what did I do to deserve this? Or, even worse, woe is me! I can’t do this! I’m stuck in this miserable life!
Some of us tend to hold thoughts like this, or grudges, for a long time. That hurts our ability to change our lives.
Everyone has the ability to better himself or herself. Remember that being broke is temporary. Being poor is a state of mind.
If you think you can’t do anything about your situation, you are wrong. But, if you decide not to do anything about your situation, you have made a choice.
Certainly, things happen to us that are beyond our control. But even the most devastating occurrence doesn’t condemn us, unless we let it.
Some of us have trouble figuring out how to get out of a bad situation. There are a number of ways through which one can change his or her life. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. Other people, or circumstances, don’t have to rule you. You can put your life in your hands.
So think of the glass as half full, and think of the water as all your negative thoughts. Dump out the water and start with a clean glass. Then, drink in all the good you can create for yourself.

Peter

GETTING OLDER? REIMAGINE YOUR LIFE

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When we look at Jane Pauley, we think she has had a good life.
After all, she was the co-host of the “ Today” show and “Dateline NBC.” But, at age 63, her life is not done.
Pauley has written a book titled, “Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life.” Reporter Kerry Hannon discussed the book in a Feb. 5, 2014, article in USA Today.
The book encourages Baby Boomers to look at life anew as they move into their 50s and 60s. Pauley’s book takes a look at career paths others have taken in the belief that you will learn from their stories, Hannon writes.
We are living longer. We are getting older. But that doesn’t mean we should think about packing it in, heading to the rocking chair and await death.
Sure, some employers are downsizing. Some see older workers as expensive and less productive, despite their experience. Perhaps you’ve reached your 50s or 60s, and your employer has said goodbye to you.
But Pauley’s book looks at that as a second chance. “We’ve been given a second chance – to do the thing we’d always wanted to do, or never had a chance before to do, or never imagined we could. I think of these as ‘trying times,’ a time to try new things,” Hannon quotes from Pauley’s book.
So getting the boot from your employer could be the best thing that ever happened to you, if you choose to look at it that way. Perhaps the message was to pursue your dream, spend more time on a favorite hobby – perhaps even turn it into an income stream.
You see, it’s not about circumstances, because most circumstances are out of your control. But you have absolute control over how you respond to those circumstances.
Getting older is one such circumstance. You can’t do anything to stop it. You can’t relive what was, in your mind, the best time of your life. You need to train your mind to believe that the best years of your life are ahead.
So what’s ahead for you, if you have passed the half-century mark of life? Perhaps it is starting your own business. Perhaps it is going back to school. Perhaps it is enjoying your children and grandchildren.
Whatever you decide, do it with joy. Do it knowing that the past has passed, and the future is bright.
Of course, some of you may not know what you will do next. Don’t approach that with angst. Approach it with optimism. Keep looking for the opportunity to be inspired. There are lots of great opportunities out there. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll see a bunch of happy people of all ages pursuing their dreams.
Some people get bored in retirement. Others use retirement to pursue things they’ve always wanted to. Retirement is not a precursor to death. It can be an impetus for a new life.
Remember, too, that it may take time to find that new life. It took Pauley four years, Hannon writes. It’s been said that it’s not the success that matters. It’s the journey.
It also goes for younger people who find themselves at a crossroads – between jobs or downsized out. The modern world encourages constant invention and reinvention. You can accept circumstances as fate and die, or you can accept circumstances as another opportunity for reinvention.
As you get older, you can find a new you.
Peter

CHANGE ISN’T ALWAYS WHAT YOU WANT

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“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

Today, more than ever, change is constant.
Sometimes we see it coming. Often, we don’t. Regardless, we wonder what we could have done about it, presuming the change isn’t good.
Some things are beyond one’s control. Some things are totally within one’s control.
If change is beyond one’s control, how one responds to it is totally within one’s control.
One certainly can’t control the weather, and, as this is written, weather is severe in some parts of the United States. We can control how we prepare for and respond to severe weather.
Have you been through some change lately? If so, how are you dealing with it? Are you trying to reconstruct the past, or are you figuring out your place in the future?
Are you expecting change? What are you expecting? How do you feel about it? Is it going to help or hurt you? Most importantly, what are you doing now to prepare a response?
Are you expecting no change at all for the foreseeable future? Don’t be blindsided. Change IS coming. You may not know what the change will be. Therefore, you have to think of the worst change that could befall you, and prepare your response. What if you lose that job you think you are so secure in? What if your spouse walks out on you? What if there is an unexpected death close to you? What if YOU die?
All of these things will require a response. The good news: you can prepare a response in all these scenarios. At the time of the change, emotions will run high. That’s no time to think about how to respond. We don’t want things like these to happen, but they could – and they might. There are many prudent actions to take BEFORE they happen. Have a plan. Write it down. Have appropriate financial safeguards in place. Have appropriate insurance – yes, that goes for health insurance, even if you are young. Insurance is an investment, even if you don’t use it right away. Penalties are throwing money away.
Remember, in regard to your job, company ownership can change. You can get a really bad manager. Companies also reorganize a lot more frequently than in the past, because of changes in the marketplace, technology etc. Even if you have a great job, and are good at it, any one or more of the above changes could kill your career. How do you prepare to unexpectedly leave your job?
You can be a good saver. That certainly will help. You can be a very careful spender. Remember that money you don’t spend stays with you. However, remember the difference between being “cheap” and being frugal. (See health insurance vs. penalty above).
There are ways outside of a job to generate income. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. It may be something you’d never thought of, but getting into it while you have an income – and before you really need it – could pay handsome dividends if the worst happens. Heck, it could pay big dividends even if the worst doesn’t happen.
Harkening back to Gandhi, you may not like the world as it is. You may love the world as it is, but don’t expect it to stay that way. If it does, that’s your good fortune, since you can’t control “the world.” In either situation, there are things you can do to make the world a better place, and secure your place in the future.
Don’t let circumstances beat you. Prepare for the worst and expect the best. You will be so much better for it.
Peter

YOUNG VS. OLD IN A CHANGING WORLD

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It started in the 1960s.
Young people wanting something better than – or, at least, different from – what their parents had and cherished.
Some 1960s protests turned violent. Today, in countries all over the world, the protests are very violent. The police and military in many countries are turning on their own people – largely young people – for trying to change the status quo.
Reporters David Kirkpatrick and Mayy El Sheikh discussed the chasm between young and old in Egypt, which has already overthrown its longtime dictator. But in that country, the “new” government hasn’t given them what they want.
The reporters’ story was published in the Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, edition of The New York Times.
We see it in countries all over the world – Syria, Ukraine etc. Young people want more freedom. Young people want to be who they really are – not who their parents or other elders want them to be.
If you are young today, the world is very different from that in which your parents grew up. Jobs are scarce. Employers are reorganizing every five minutes. So, even if you are lucky enough to land a good job, you can’t expect it to last.
Your parents may not understand you. They want what’s best for you, but may not have a clue what that is. All they have to go on is what was best for THEM.
If you are older, you shake your head at the younger generation. After all, your “dream” was a secure job with benefits, some advancement potential and a pension when you retired. If you got that far and achieved that: congratulations. But those younger than you may never see that. They will really have to be diligent to have financial security when they are your age.
Yes, the world is an ocean liner. It is certainly not a cruise ship, but in many cases it turns just as slowly. Make no mistake, though. It is turning. Perhaps it is not turning as quickly as the younger people want, but it is turning. When it turns, it will go in a very different direction.
Companies and employers have experts watching the ship, and trying to determine which direction it will go. Unlike the world of the past, this world will be turning constantly, as innovation in communication, manufacturing and technology evolve, and re-evolve.
Innovation, combined with education, give young people the courage to be who they are, not who their parents or elders want them to be. They have different, and more modern, ideas about how to live. In their minds, if they are going to survive, they have to fight for what they believe in. They have to fight for the freedom to be what they want to be.
In a changing world, we – young and older – need to have a Plan B. If the world changes in a way we don’t like, we need something that will give us the security to be who we are, and want to be. We need something that will allow us the freedom to not be dependent on an ever-changing employment situation. There are many ways to accomplish this. For one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.
Meanwhile, fight to be who you are in an ever-changing world. At the same time, let others be who they are, as long as they mean you no harm. Throughout the world, give the young people the freedom they so crave. With freedom comes innovation. Innovation will come, whether we want it to or not. So let people innovate.
If you are older, you must realize that change isn’t all bad. If you are younger, remember that your elders are fighting to keep what is dear to them. When young and old understand each other, the world will be more peaceful and prosperous for all. As Paul McCartney’s mother told him years ago, “Let It Be.”
Peter