Success – Page 16 – Dave Glardon

Break a Tradition to Find the Possibilities Hidden Inside

April 19, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning. It’s Friday! I hope your day is starting off well.

For many of us, this will be a weekend of religious observances, and a day with family accented by some traditional meals. For others, it’s just a normal springtime weekend to observe their own weekend traditions. Whatever your plans, I hope the weekend is just perfect.

It seems traditions work their way into our life, sometimes completely by accident. But once they become ingrained in us, it’s hard to deviate. But sometimes that deviation can lead to new traditions, or even a tradition of just seeing where life takes you. That can be fun as well.

Nearly twenty years ago when our girls were visiting a grandparent out of state, my wife and I decided to take a long weekend and go someplace. We didn’t know where we wanted to go – we just wanted to get away for a couple of days.

I remember as I was loading our luggage for the trip, I asked my wife, “So, which way are we going? North, south, east, or west?” She shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know – pick one.” We hit the road, with no real idea of where we’d end up. And we had one of the most incredibly relaxing and enjoyable weekends ever.

Traditions can be great (not that we’ve ever had a real “tradition” for weekend outings), but they can limit your imagination and lead to a somewhat mundane existence. When we go to any of several familiar restaurants, I rarely even look at the menu because I already know what I’ll be eating. And sure, I get something I really like each time. But I always wonder what I may be missing.

Traditions are nothing more than habits, but with a more celebrated existence. Our family tradition of baked ham and macaroni & cheese casserole on Easter Sunday is a habit. One I really enjoy, mind you, but still a habit. And one that limits other possibilities. Like this year, when the menu will be traditional summertime cookout fare – hamburgers, hot dogs, and potato salad.

Notice how one tradition just slipped in there over another? Pretty sneaky, if you ask me. But it happens, because we’re all creatures of habit. We have routines that have become comfortable, and when decisions need to be made, we naturally gravitate to them. So, instead of a single tradition, we have a few. Then it’s just a matter of drawing one out of the hat.

And we follow this routine through much of what we do in our lives. I have certain combinations of clothing I wear. When I put on my blue pants, there are just a couple of shirts I’ll wear with them. And, most of the time, those shirts only get worn with my blue pants. So, the only real decision I make each morning, is which pair of pants to put on. From there it’s eenie-meenie-miney-mo.

In yesterday’s message, I stressed the point that we need to be willing to try new things. And sometimes those new things are so far outside the box, we’d have never thought of them on our own. When somebody suggests them, our brain immediately comes up with a dozen different reasons to resist. And if those reasons aren’t good enough, there are a dozen more behind them.

It’s simply because what we’ve been doing to this point in life is coloring inside the lines, following a pre-defined path that we laid out for ourselves. But if we want to turn the current picture into a masterpiece, we have to be willing to color outside the lines. We have to be willing to change those habits that have restrained us to this point and find some that will lead us where we want to be.

I’m not bashing traditions. We all have them, and there are some we have no desire to change. I could go to a Chinese restaurant for Easter – I just choose not to. And that resistance to something new will keep me from ever knowing what may have been. It’ll keep me in the same silo in which I’ve lived to this point in life. And in this case, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

But if there are traditions and habits that are holding you back, change them. If something new could lead you to where you want to be, do it. The mind is like a parachute – it only works when it’s open. Be receptive to new ideas, new habits, and new traditions. And then shut your brain down long enough to get past those excuses and examine the possibilities. What a difference it can make!

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

When You Dream and Believe, Success is Inevitable

April 18, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.

I’ve been meeting friends for the past couple of weeks, having lunch with a different person just about every day. The weather has finally gotten a little nicer, so we’re not as prone to just sitting inside all day. And it’s been great catching up with people I don’t get to see as much as I’d like. We should all do that more often.

We sit and talk about any of a number of things. Invariably, we’ll share some of our visions for the year, especially in terms of vacations. Nothing gets people excited more than the prospect of some time away from work, relaxing and seeing something they normally don’t get to see. And let me tell you, some of these people are really adventuresome! I need to hang out with them a little more.

In my business, that’s what we do. We talk with people. We find out what they do, we talk about family, and we share dreams. You may think you know the things somebody wants, until they look at you and say, “I want to sell my house and move to Switzerland.” Okay, I didn’t see that one coming.

For each of us, there are different things that motivate us. And, here’s a concept we don’t often talk about. Money is not a motivator – we may believe we get up each day and work for money, but what we’re working for are the things money can buy. Food, shelter, security, health, and the ability to enjoy a little more of what this world has to offer.

I have a friend who was giving a presentation in Mexico years ago and, through a translator, he told his audience they should put a picture of their dream on their refrigerator. All at once, a woman in the back jumped up and started yelling excitedly. He asked the translator what she was saying, and he replied, “She has a dream! She wants … a refrigerator!” Sometimes, you just never know.

But regardless of whether our dream is to take a European vacation, a beachfront home, or to simply own a refrigerator, it’s something that feeds our hope of a better future. The problem for many of us is that we allow our dreams to simply exist in the back of our mind, and only bring them to the surface when a nosy friend asks about them over lunch. The rest of the time, they just sit there.

I’ve quoted Napoleon Hill before in these posts, but in ten words, he says everything I’m writing about here this morning. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Those are powerful words. It means if you can dream it up, and believe in yourself enough to go after it, your brain will find the way to make it happen.

I wish our schools would spend a little more time teaching positive reinforcement to our kids. Okay, I wish more parents would do that. When they’re little, we encourage every dream they have and celebrate every accomplishment. But somewhere in the teenage years, when family bonds mean all so much to them (insert sarcasm emoji here), that positive reinforcement seems to fade.

And that’s why it’s important as adults that we find a way to get it back. I don’t care how young or old you are, there is no point in your life when you should stop believing in yourself because there is no point in your life when you can’t begin to achieve whatever your heart desires. Success is simply a dream, belief, and a plan, repeated daily until the goal is achieved.

Dreams can get you up in the morning and make you do things you might not otherwise have done to achieve them. If your boss called you in tomorrow and said, “Give me an extra seven hours a week for the next two years, and I’ll buy you that beachfront home,” would you do it?

Then why not put in a few extra hours each week building something that will allow you to buy any home you want? To have something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. That may be putting in extra hours, going to a new church, starting a business, or simply having lunch with a different friend every day. Those little changes can be the start of something big.

Dream. Find something that makes you want to get up every morning. Then believe in yourself enough to work for it. Feed your brain with positive thoughts. Be willing to try something you’ve never done before. And, in those quiet moments of the day, listen to your mind. It’ll tell you what to do next.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Forget the Clouds and Focus on the Forecast

April 17, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Hump day! I hope your day is starting off well.

Those of you who have been following my posts for a while know I’ve been trying to lose weight. The bathroom scale knows how well I’ve been doing in that endeavor. For a while it was smiling at me almost every day. But over the past week or so, it hasn’t been quite so gracious. I’m thinking it needs a new battery. Maybe a few.

One of the reasons it’s so hard to lose weight is because the feedback is both instantaneous and brutally honest. The scale isn’t out to ruin your day or make you feel like a big fat loser. It has one job – report the facts. And the fact is, our weight can fluctuate from one day to the next. That’s why it’s important to focus on the overall trend instead of the daily feedback.

It’s that way with a lot of things in life. A couple of years ago, my grandson and I built a shed with nothing more than a pile of lumber and my own imagination. And let me tell you, nothing very gratifying took place in the first few days. Turning over the ground and leveled is not fun work, and at the end all you have is a rectangle of dirt and some patio stones to show for your effort.

But over the next few days it began to take shape. And what sits in my backyard now is something worthy of all that effort. But there was enough frustration early on in the project to make us both question our sanity in taking on such a project. It happens.

In our business, things don’t always go according to plan. I’ll do the work that needs to be done, and nothing happens. I’ll fill my calendar with appointments, and the gods of destruction will swoop in and fill everybody else’s calendar with something else. People I need to call are not available. Customers need a little more time to decide. It’s all part of the game.

And any one of those setbacks could be enough to make a pessimist point to them and say, “See? I told you this won’t work!” But the overall trend tells a different story. It says, “You’re moving, and in the right direction. Just stick with the plan and you’ll get there.”

Setbacks are inevitable in anything we try to do. The boss changes requirements of the job just as you’re almost finished. Parts break. Pipes leak. Fuses blow and lights burn out. And that all-important tool you just can’t do without is nowhere to be found. Sure, it’s frustrating. But do we throw up our hands and walk away, or keep pushing forward?

When it’s our daily job, we don’t have a lot of choice in the matter. We mumble under our breath, let out a sigh of exasperation, and get back to work. We may even spend our entire lunch break checking the local job boards. But, short of actually finding another job, we do what has to be done.

So why are we so quick to give up on the things that matter most to us? There’s something you need to do toward your goals, but by the time you get home from work you’re just too tired. Besides, there’s grass to mow, bills to pay, dinner to eat – who has time? Excuses, excuses, excuses.

And it’s even harder in the very beginning when progress is that much harder to see. If I’d already lost thirty pounds, a week of bad news each morning would be a minor setback. But looking at the scale every day and seeing your original weight is a little harder to overcome.

The closer you are to the beginning of your goal, the harder it can be to see progress. My grandson and I spent a lot of time getting the ground leveled for that shed, and our only visible reward was a rectangle of dirt. The foundational work isn’t very gratifying, but it still needs to be done. Because, until we’ve built that foundation, we can’t begin to build on top of it.

As you define your goal, remember that every little step you take is a step closer toward your eventual success. But you have to keep taking those steps. Setbacks are simply a reminder that, if this was easy, everybody would be doing it. They exist to give us those gentle course corrections we need from time to time. And they’re a reminder that we need to keep going, to work past them.

Don’t let setbacks keep you from reaching your goals … on the job, at home, on the drive, or in your personal endeavors. Just keep doing what you need to be doing, and you’ll get there. It works every time.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

What Do You Want to Be Good At?

April 15, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

I spent a good part of mine doing my taxes. It’s a necessary evil that could be made a lot simpler with technology, but that’s not the case. I was pleasantly surprised to find the main form (1040) much shorter than it used to be. But that was just an illusion, because additional forms have been added this year. So, what used to be on one form is now on several. That’s what I call progress.

And it’s also what I call a perfect opportunity for an accountant to earn some of my money next year. I remember the last time I replaced a front spindle on my truck, I told my wife that would be the last time. My days of climbing under a car are over. And the same is true of taxes. There’s a reason other people get paid to do this. And I’m about to find out.

I’ve always been proud of the fact that I’m willing to tackle just about any task. Okay, maybe even a little smug. I learned to work on cars because a basic set of tools is cheaper than a mechanic, and you can use the tools over and over again. I stuck my toe in the water with some oil changes and odd jobs like that. Then I rebuilt my first engine. It ran for almost a year after that. I’m just sayin’.

In that case, all of the repairs I did were done correctly. I just stopped short of removing the crankshaft to check for wear and, as it turned out, I should have kept going. So, you learn. But once again, I still remember the moment I decided that car had finally gotten the better of me. As oil poured from the top of the engine, I said those famous words … “That’s it! I’ve had enough!”

Well, you can add taxes to the growing list of things Dave won’t do again. Once upon a time, writing the checks was the hardest part. But there’s a reason judges don’t recommend that people represent themselves in court. There’s a reason airlines make us sit in the back of the plane. And there’s a reason hospitals won’t let you remove your own gall bladder.

There’s no job in the world that any of us couldn’t learn. It’s been said that we use roughly 3-4% of our mental capacity on a given day. That leaves a lot of brain power for learning new stuff. But learning it is one thing – getting good at it is another matter completely. That takes time, practice, and lots of experience making the same mistakes the rest of us would make.

I read something yesterday that said the only difference between the master and the student is that the master has failed more times than the student has tried. You could apply that same statement to the principles of success and say the difference between success and failure is the successful person has failed more times than the unsuccessful person will ever try.

As we learn new skills, mistakes are inevitable. In the pursuit of success, we will fail a lot. The difference is, failure is only temporary until we accept it as a way of life. Successful people just never made that choice. They have a goal that’s more powerful than any obstacle life can place in their way. And they glide over it like an Olympic hurdler. They make it look easy.

You look at them and think, “That person could go into a septic tank and come out with a pot of gold.” And, to a degree, that’s true. But it’s not a special skill they were born with. It’s simply the burning desire to find that pot of gold, no matter what. The reason they’re so good at it is because they’ve done it so many times.

There will be things in your life that are better left to the “experts.” You could learn to do any one of them, and if you put in the time to build those skills, you could be really good at them. The trick is deciding what you want to be good at, and what you’re willing to leave to somebody else.

As you drive past stately homes in “that” part of town, or see people getting on a plane for exotic locations you’ve only dreamed about, ask yourself a simple question – is this something I’m willing to leave to the experts, or is this something I want to take the time to learn? The answer to that question will shape the rest of your life.

Success isn’t a skill – it’s a choice. None of us can be great at everything, so be great at the things that matter to you most. And, once you’ve made that commitment, don’t let anything stand in your way.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Build Dreams on a Foundation of Possibilities

April 10, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is starting off well.

Last week, my wife and I took our grandson out to dinner. It’s been a while since we were able to share some special time with just him, and we enjoyed it. Besides, being new to living on his own, I’m pretty sure his diet consists of whatever junk food he can get his hands on, and not very much of that. So, we wanted to make sure he got at least one good meal.

During dinner, he began to share some of his dreams. He wants to buy a new car, or better still, a truck. Not just a truck, but a big one that sits up high enough to drive over Toyotas without even flinching. He wants to move from his apartment into a house. And he wants to do all this in the next three months.

There’s nothing wrong with those goals. In fact, they’re pretty impressive. Especially for a 19-year-old with less than $10 in his bank account. I said the goals are impressive, not that they’re overly realistic. But, instead of shooting them down, we offered him some alternatives. Maybe move into a little bigger apartment and fix the car he’s got until he can save for something a little newer.

I remember those days all too well. Actually, it’s easy for me because I still have visions of things I can’t afford today and a lifestyle that’s above my current means. I used to draw pictures of boats I’d own someday. People say you should find pictures of the things you want because our minds think in pictures. Well, let me tell you, nothing is more detailed than a picture you draw from scratch.

My dad would let me go off into La-La Land for a while before he felt the need to pull be back down to reality. “Boy, you’re a dreamer!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard those words, I’d have all those boats. In fact, it got to be such a comical thing to me that I started naming them – Dreamer. Why not? I think most people would get it. In fact, it may even inspire a few others to dream.

I talk about dreams a lot in these posts, and for good reason. They’re important. They’re a part of our very being and, whether we’ll admit it or not, we all have dreams. There’s something every one of us wants. People like to say, “Just give me a close family and good health and that’s all I need.” That may be true. But there are still things they want. We all do.

When kids are little, we listen to their dreams and tell them, “You can do anything you want to do!” It’s important to instill that belief in them at a young age. But at some point between childhood and young adulthood, we begin to take those dreams away. And worst of all, we do it in the name of love. We hurt them to keep them from getting hurt.

I’ve never fully understood that, but I have to admit, I’m as guilty of it as anybody reading this. We see somebody with their head just a little too high in the clouds and feel some kind of responsibility to assist gravity in bringing them back down. And sometimes, it’s necessary. But it can become a habit to the point that, instead of looking for possibilities, we look for pitfalls.

When somebody shares a dream with you, there’s a reason. It’s not because they’re bragging or because they don’t have a grip on reality. They know reality – they live it every day. What they want is for you to build their enthusiasm a little and help them figure out how to do it. They want you to believe in them, just like you want others to believe in you.

And here’s the cool thing – when you believe in somebody else, you’re sharing that same belief in yourself. When you share possibilities, you begin to see possibilities. When you help somebody else succeed, you uncover the path to your own success. You can’t find the good in somebody else’s dreams without seeing the good in your own. It’s inevitable.

When somebody comes to you with a dream, humor them. Feel honored that they chose to share it with you. Instead of looking for barriers, look for possibilities. It takes the same amount of creative thought, but the results can be so much better.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Commitment Will Win Over Excuses Every Time

April 9, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a good start.

Each morning, as I wake up, my brain starts searching for something to write about that day. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think about you folks as I’m going through my morning routine – showering, shaving, getting dressed, and making that all-important first cup of coffee.

Sometimes, I’ll go to bed knowing what I want to write about. If I’m really doing well, I get it written before I call it a night. But that doesn’t happen very often. When you’re 61 and get up before the sun each day, the brain starts slowing down not long after dinner. I always wondered why old people go to bed so early all the time. I’m starting to understand.

So, I get up in the morning and spill out my thoughts, hoping there’s some little thread of inspiration I can share. And I’ll admit, some days are better than others. There are days when the words just flow, and I get a little smug with pride when I’m done. And other days, I give it my best shot and think, “There’s always tomorrow.”

People have asked me how I’m able to do this each day. And the answer is pretty simple – I made a commitment. Sixteen months ago, I decided to get up each morning and share some words of inspiration. Worse yet, I let people get used to it. After a while, they began to expect it, maybe even look forward to it. And the last thing any of us wants is to let down a friend.

Two weeks ago, when we were on the road to Nebraska, I had to skip a day. I wasn’t really able to give advance notice, because it’s not always wise to let the world know you’re going out of town. But before noon that morning, an old friend sent a message saying she missed that day’s post. So, that night, I sat in the hotel and drafted a post for the next day. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

It’s that way with most things in life. Just wanting something isn’t enough. You have to want it badly enough that nothing can stand in your way. It’s all about commitment. Because, until you commit, you’re just thinking about it. You may even go through the motions, but excuses are easy to come by. And any time you need one, life will be more than happy to provide it.

Sure, there will be times when things legitimately get in the way. When I had brain surgery last year, I knew there would be a period of time that I wouldn’t be able to sit at the computer and write. And, thankfully, a close friend saw the dilemma before I even mentioned it and asked if she could fill in. For those of you who were blessed to read Mary’s words, I know you gained from it.

Making a commitment doesn’t mean challenges go away. In fact, they can multiply because you’re no longer just cruising along, taking life as it comes. You’re plowing forward through the defensive line with one objective – reaching the goal. And, trust me, that defensive line will throw some blocks. It may even try to tackle you. But when the goal is clear, none of that matters. You just press on.

I spoke to a friend over this past weekend. We’re in business together, and he’s my mentor. I shared my goals and made a commitment. Then I asked him for one thing – hold me accountable. Because when I’m only accountable to myself, I tend to make excuses. I’ve seen me do it.

But when you make yourself accountable to somebody else, things change. You know that call is coming every week, and the last thing you want to tell them is that you didn’t do any of the things you set out to do over the week. Whether we’ll admit it or not, we all want approval – on the job, at home, amongst family, and in most things we do. It’s just human nature.

It takes work to accomplish our goals. Some things require more effort than others, and the bigger the dream, the more you’ll have to do to achieve it. Until you make a commitment, it’s just a whim. And whims can never stand up to the weight of excuses. You have to decide that nothing can stand in your way – and then back that up with a resolve that can’t be shaken.

And one of the best ways to do that is to make yourself accountable to somebody else – somebody who has your best interests at heart and won’t let you get away with excuses. And maybe you can return the favor or do the same for somebody else. Because, in the act of helping another person succeed, you move closer to your own goals. And what a fantastic way to get there!

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

What Are You Waiting For?

April 3, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Hump Day! I hope your day is starting off right.

As I returned to work yesterday from a few days off, I was met by a barrage of emails from coworkers, some sharing the outcome of work they’d done, and some asking me to pitch in and help. I spent most of the day sifting through those messages and catching up on the work I’d missed. If I hadn’t, it would still be there waiting for me today. Isn’t it funny how that works?

Employers pay us to take time off because they know we need a sanity break every now. And they also know that, in many professions, the only thing they’re missing out on is our physical presence, because we’ll work extra hard to clean our plate before vacation, and then again after we return to catch what we missed. The same amount of work gets done, so it really doesn’t cost anything.

Many jobs are that way. The work you need to do isn’t going anywhere, and nobody else will step in and do it for you. They’ve got work of their own. And it’s pretty much expected that you’ll do whatever it takes to stay caught up. Most companies will forgive mistakes, but they expect an honest effort to get the job done. Inaction is simply not an option.

It’s the same with the things you want to do for yourself, your personal goals and dreams. None of them will just materialize on their own without any input from you. They require action, and in the absence of action, nothing happens. Even winning the lottery requires that you go out and buy a ticket.

If you’ve taken time to plan the means by which you’ll achieve your goals, you probably have a pretty extensive “to-do” list. Some of it may be things you need to do one time, like opening a savings account or getting a vendor’s license. Those are the easy ones. Other things are ongoing – you need to do them every day, because they are the activities that truly lead you to your goal.

Like any other job, that work will sit there until you do something about it. And that’s where most of us fall down. We have the best of intentions, but life gets in the way. You work late and come home tired, the kids need help with their homework, the kitchen sink backs up, the lawn needs to be mowed – a dozen different things that all require your immediate attention. So, what gives?

Well, it’s easy to set aside those things we need to do for ourselves because they’re just not quite as urgent. Sure, we know they need to be done and sooner or later we need to get back on track. Maybe tomorrow. Or next week, or next month. As soon as the current crisis is over and things settle down at work, we’ll get moving again. Sound familiar?

Part of what stands in our way is the fear of making a mistake. If it’s that hard to get the job done today, who has time to do it all over again because we blew it the first time? This is especially true of anything that involves money. Mistakes can be costly and set us back to square one. So, we wait until we’re absolutely certain we have the perfect approach.

Okay, let’s get this out of the way right now … mistakes will be made. There’s no way to learn something new without a few errors. And, as the saying goes, to have something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. It’s all new. And the whole way to your goal, you’ll have to stretch your boundaries and try new things.

But here’s the thing – the pursuit of your dreams will forgive mistakes. They may set you back a bit, and they may even cost a little money. But you can always undo a mistake. What your dreams won’t forgive is inactivity. You have to at least try.

It’s important to do the things you need to so you can be constantly moving closer to your goal. It may not go as quickly as you’d hoped, and there may be times you feel like you’re moving backward. But movement, in any direction, can always be corrected. Sitting still is a sin your dreams will never reward. You know what to do, so do it. Your dreams await. The next move is up to you.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Advice Can Change Dreams In An Instant

April 2, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.

Have you ever decided there was something you were going to do, a goal you wanted to accomplish, but you didn’t want to tell anybody else? Making the commitment to do something positive should be one of the happiest moments of our life (aside from actually accomplishing it), but all too often we hold it in because we don’t want to deal with the inevitable responses.

You see, when you share a dream with somebody, rarely do they just say, “That’s awesome!” There’s always a more in-depth response, usually focused in one of three directions. Quite often, they’ll try to talk you out of it, explaining all the reasons it’ll never happen. You know, “for your own good.”

Others will tell you what a great idea it is, and how much they hope you succeed, because they want to be in your inner circle in case you actually succeed. But all too often, those same people are having a laugh at your expense around the water cooler. “Did you hear what Jim’s trying to do? And he thinks he can pull it off! I think he’s got a screw loose.”

And then, there’s that very small group who gives your plans a little thought, and then says, “You know what? That’s awesome! And I know you can do this. How can I help?” Okay, it’s not usually a group, even a small one. If you could find one or two people who respond in that manner, you’re among the truly blessed. Hang onto friends like that. They’re pretty rare.

But consider this – when somebody shares their dreams with you, how do you react? Do you look at the possibilities instead of the challenges? Do you focus on the qualities of that person that makes them most likely to succeed? Do you point out those attributes? Do you build their confidence? Do you offer to help?

More often than not, the reason we don’t share our dreams with others is because we know how we’d respond if they shared the same dream with us. We mean well. But nobody wants to see a friend bang their head against the wall trying to accomplish something the whole civilized world knows is impossible. Right?

So, instead of offering help and encouragement, we offer advice … well-intended, but very often, badly misinformed. Because, unless you’ve already done what they’re trying to do, you really don’t know what it takes to be successful. You may have read stories or heard people talk of their own failures. But that’s all second-hand knowledge. In a court of law, it would be inadmissible.

And, in all honesty, it’s inadmissible in the mind of the person receiving your advice. They don’t want to hear it. They’ve already decided to do something grand, and the last thing they want to hear is a litany of reasons they can’t succeed. So, all that insight you shared so freely goes in one ear and out the other. You may as well have saved your breath.

It would be great if that’s how the story ends. But it’s not. Because when you share your thoughts with another person, they don’t just go in one ear and out the other. A little bit sticks somewhere in the middle, whether the recipient wants it or not. It falls onto the subconscious, a place in the brain where every thought is truth, and every opinion is fact.

You may not have talked your friend out of their dream, but you have planted the seeds of doubt in their mind. They begin to question something that, before you came along, seemed certain. Let a few other people share similar thoughts, and before long failure becomes the expected result. They can’t shake that nagging thought – “Why are you even trying this? You know it’ll never work!”

When you see somebody who’s about to make a huge mistake, it’s natural to speak up. But there’s a fine line between keeping somebody safe and holding them back. And here’s the question – is it a huge mistake in your mind, or in theirs? What is the real cost? A little time? Some money? The ridicule of people who don’t share their vision? Maybe that’s a risk they’re willing to take.

Before you offer that advice, consider the potential impact against your expertise and motives. As a friend often says, there are a lot of thousandaires offering advice on becoming a millionaire. And there are a lot of entry-level workers with opinions on what it takes to become an executive.

Keep that in mind, as you offer advice to others and as you receive it from them. Every thought that enters our brain, verbally or otherwise, finds a resting place where it can have a profound effect on our ability to succeed. Make sure the thoughts you share and receive are worthy of that power.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Feed Your Brain the Good Stuff

April 1, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope you all had a nice weekend.

We spent the weekend 1000 miles from home, with a group of friends and business associates we haven’t seen since last year. It was great getting back together, seeing familiar faces, and sharing our common goals. Nobody even cared about the snow outside. In fact, some were actually excited about it because they’d never seen snow before. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.

As I said in Friday’s message, there’s something about getting together with people who believe in the power of dreams. You feed off one another until there’s an energy in the room that just can’t be extinguished. And just in case anybody had doubts, we had an excellent lineup of speakers to reinforce that energy – people who have already accomplished more than most of us could even think about.

But you know, the reality is that not a one of those speakers has any special gifts or talents that set them apart from everybody else in the room. Sure, they have a more impressive list of accomplishments, and the confidence that comes from achieving those goals. But beyond that, they’re really no different than anybody else.

My mom always used to caution us against thinking too highly of somebody else, just because of their status or the things they’ve accomplished. “They put on their pants the same as you do, one leg at a time.” Okay, she had a couple of other analogies as well, but I won’t mention them here. Suffice to say she was pretty certain the bathroom exhaust fan works equally hard for all of us.

In my years as a stand-up comedian, I worked with several celebrities. Onstage, they were larger than life and the entire crowd was like putty in their hands. But back in the green room, they were no different than anybody else. They had the same hopes, the same fears, the same insecurities, and the same basic needs. No matter what a person has accomplished in life, that never changes.

Still, there was something about being able to sit in a room backstage and chat with somebody who knows how it feels to be on top of their game. Somebody who’s been where you are, knows what you’re up against, and has the benefit of experience to offer advice on avoiding some of the pitfalls and capitalizing on opportunities.

Something I’ve learned over the years is that, with very few exceptions, the people who are the most successful are the most willing to share their insight with others. They’ve grown past any feelings of concern that somebody else is out to take their place because they know that’s just not how it works. Besides, there are few compliments more sincere than somebody who’s willing to take your advice.

We all want to feel validated. That includes people who have racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, as well as those who are just beginning the journey. A sincere compliment can open the door for you to ask questions, maybe even ask for advice. And the validation they give you by sharing their insight in worth more than you may ever know. It tells you they believe in you.

Beyond that, there are the people seated at your table, who share some of the same goals and dreams. And the realization that you’re not alone, and that others want some of the same things you do, is a form of validation in itself. And if they believe they can do it, why shouldn’t you believe in yourself as well? Positive energy is as contagious as the flu. It’s just a matter of hanging around the right people.

A weekend conference of this type is worth whatever it takes to get there. But the fact is, these things only happen every now and then. The rest of the year, your positive affirmation is largely up to you. What you feed your mind in those quiet moments will shape the results you achieve. Feed it positive, reaffirming thoughts, and that’s the output you can expect. That’s when great things happen.

It’s been said that whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. You already have the dream. So, feed your belief. Read some good books, spend some time with people who are on the go, and celebrate those small wins as they occur. With every positive step you take, you’re that much closer to your goal. And just think of all the great friends you’ll make along the way.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Sunny Days Are Made, Not Born

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Hump Day! I hope your day is starting off really well.

Have you ever met one of those people who never seems to have a bad day? The person who walks into work with a smile, greeting everyone by name, telling everyone what a beautiful day it is, and they’re not even a politician? You wonder sometimes if they woke up on the same planet as everyone else, or if they’re just oblivious.

Okay, I’ll make a little confession here … I try to be that person. It doesn’t always work, and sometimes I’m suppressing how I really feel, because we all have our days when things just aren’t all glitter and puppy dogs. But I’ve found that if I keep those negative thoughts to myself, things just seem better. It’s a really old concept I learned as a teenager – fake it till you make it.

And there’s something to be said for that. We tend to believe what’s repeated, whether by ourselves or others. It’s the very basis of advertising. The more somebody tells us we need a certain product, that it’ll make our days better, our lives longer, and drive the opposite sex wild with desire, the more that message begins to wear on us. Before long, we’re out shopping for something we didn’t even know we needed.

It’s also the basis of misinformation, both intentional and unintentional. From politics to medicine, we’re constantly bombarded with “truths” somebody else wants us to know. Of course, some are much more factual than others, but when did that ever stop anybody from sharing an opinion as gospel? And, again, the more we hear the same message, the more believable it becomes.

I remember years ago, we tried an experiment in a leadership class. The instructor picked out one person in the room, and the rest of us were to convince that person that they didn’t look well. Naturally, that person had no idea what we were doing. He was just the unlucky soul who took a restroom break at the wrong time and left the rest of us to plot his demise.

When he returned, the instructor asked, “Do you feel okay? You look a little pale.” For the rest of the morning, several of us took turns doing the same thing. Or we’d point to the clouds and suggest a storm was coming or tell him we heard the company was getting ready to cancel vacations and force overtime. He didn’t even have vacation scheduled, but by lunchtime, he was visibly distressed.

Okay, it might have been fun to see how long we could ruin his day, but that wouldn’t have been very nice. Right before lunch, the instructor let him off the hook and explained how the repeated suggestion that things are not going well can change your perspective to the point that you overlook all the sun peeking through the clouds and only see a looming storm.

It’s been said that we all tend to live up to the expectations that others have set for us. Not demands, expectations. There’s a difference. A demand is something to which you’ll be held accountable. An expectation is a belief that it’ll happen simply because you’re the one in the driver’s seat. And we all tend to be a lot more successful when others genuinely expect us to succeed.

The same is true about our own perceptions. Put ten people in a room together, close the door, and walk away without saying a word. Just leave them to wonder what’s going on. Every one of those people is experiencing the same reality, but you can believe there are at least ten different ideas of what that means. At that point, they form a few expectations of their own.

And those expectations have a strong influence on our perception. While one person is waiting for the boss to walk in with a stack of pink slips, another sees little more than a chance to enjoy some quiet time among friends. And for both of them, until that door opens, and they find out what’s really going on, their perception is reality.

If you wake up in the morning expecting a gloomy day, you’re probably off to a real good start toward fulfilling that expectation. If, on the other hand, you wake up excited about the new day and look forward to it with anticipation of all the good things you can accomplish, the odds are much more in your favor.

That’s not to say nothing can come along to change your day. Storms will arise, things will go wrong, people will get upset, and some of that will try to rub off on you. But if you started the day happy and positive, it’ll take a lot more to get you down. It’s all about expectations. Set your expectations high, and you won’t have to look too hard to spot the good when it comes your way.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!