Success – Page 16 – Dave Glardon

When One Wins, We All Win

April 24, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is starting off just right.

Ever have one of those nights when you were so excited you just couldn’t get to sleep? That’s been the story of my life for the past couple of weeks. It’s been a common theme, and you would think after a while the thought train would just slow down and whatever was keeping me awake would begin to fade.

I guess if it was the same exact thing every night, that would be the case. But it’s a little different every night, and I finally figured out why. Ladies, relax – I’m not going “there.” Yes, this is about an active imagination, but one of a completely different kind. It’s about seeing not only the dreams, but the possibilities. It’s about visualizing the means of accomplishing those dreams.

And here’s the secret – it all comes from focusing on somebody else. It comes from listening to a friend share a thought, concern, problem, or dream, and then taking an active interest in helping them come up with solutions. Because, in doing that, you inadvertently stumble upon some of the answers to your own challenges.

We’ve talked before about this concept of success through helping others succeed. When you take a vested interest in somebody else’s dreams, their dreams become your own. Not in the sense that you want the same things for yourself, but the two of you share a common goal of seeing them succeed in their own quest. And you know what they say – two heads are better than one.

Employers like to encourage us to think outside the box. As a business analyst, I often ask people why they do things a certain way. Is that the only way to do it? Is there a legal or regulatory compliance issue in doing it differently? Or is that just the way it’s always been done? Quite often, the answer is hiding behind door #3.

We laugh at images of people walking into the same door over and over, each time hoping the door will magically open. It’s even funnier when there are two doors and the one they’re banging into is clearly marked “Out.” All they’d have to do is take two steps to the side and the other door would open on the first try.

It’s easy to get tunnel vision, especially when we’re so focused on a goal (like getting inside that door) that we can’t see the possibilities right next to us. Because we’re trained to do things a certain way. In fact, we hammer it into our kids’ heads – “There’s only one way to tie your shoes! Get creative, and you’ll just make a mess. Do it the way I showed you!”

So, it’s only natural that when a person is trying to work toward a goal, they tend to get stuck on a certain path. And the road to success is rarely a straight highway with no intersections. More often than not, we have to get off that highway and take some of the less traveled roads to get where we want to be. But unless we’ve been down those roads before, we may need a little help.

And here’s where it gets to be fun. When you’re trying to solve your own problems, your willingness to try something new is pretty slim. You want to stick to the tried and true method. You know, the one that got you exactly where you are. But when you’re helping somebody else solve their problems, you can step back and view the landscape from a much higher level. You can see beyond the trees.

In helping somebody work toward their own goals, your brain is a little more willing to think outside the box and come up with ideas they’d have never thought of on their own. That gets them excited and, next thing you know, they’re thinking outside the box. And the two of you are coming up with solutions to problems you don’t even have. Today.

But you never know what you’ll run into down the road. And, believe me, the day will come when one of those ideas the two of you hammered out in a moment of desperation will be exactly what you need to overcome your own challenges. With every idea you come up with for somebody else, you come up with a few more for yourself. And that’s pretty exciting.

If you thought I was going to tell you how to fall asleep faster, I’m sorry. But hopefully, you’ll sleep a little better knowing you helped a friend, and you’ll wake up more energized knowing exactly what you need to do next. And it all comes from taking an active interest in somebody else and helping them achieve their own dreams.

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

The ‘Perfect’ Time Is Now

April 23, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

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

Until last week, I was using a desktop computer to write these posts. But my daughter works from home, and her job requires a dedicated, enclosed office. So, short of buying a new house, the only option was for us to share the office. If you’ve never tried that, let me give you the condensed version – “Dad has to find someplace else to work.”

I’m not complaining. All through life, we learn to adapt. And that’s especially true as parents. In this case, the first adaptation was my monitor sitting on the dining room table with the PC in a chair next to it. We all know how well that works, especially with young grandchildren running around the house. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a laptop. It was inevitable.

So, now I’m trying to get used to this keyboard that was designed for somebody wearing handcuffs instead of the big ergonomic keyboard I’ve used for so many years. And yes, I know I could connect that keyboard to the laptop, but then I’d have to clear everything off the table again and have my aging eyes that much further from the monitor. Kind of defeats the purpose.

Again, we adapt. We make do with what we’ve got until a more ideal situation presents itself. For me, that situation looks an awful lot like a brand-new, sprawling desk in a corner of the basement where nobody but me will ever see it. Only one catch – I have to disassemble the gym equipment I put up for my grandson to make room for it. You know, the gym he never used.

We touched on this yesterday, but no matter what you want to accomplish, there is never a perfect time and the surrounding circumstances will always be something less than ideal. We can try to minimize the challenges to give ourselves the best possible chance of success, but the longer we wait for things to get better, the longer they’ll stay the same. Except nothing ever stays the same.

And you know how the chorus to that song begins. “As soon as …” Those three words take the heat for more unfulfilled dreams than anything in our vocabulary. “As soon as I graduate; As soon as winter is over; As soon as things at work settle down; As soon as this baby is born; As soon as we get that new house; As soon as the kids are gone; As soon as I retire.” Are you seeing a trend here?

And the trend is this – “As soon as” never happens. Because as soon as (like how I threw that in there?) one task is completed, one event is over, or one situation clears up, something else comes along to take its place. Next thing you know, you’re sitting in a wheelchair in the TV room of a nursing home saying, “As soon as I get out of here …” We all know how that story ends.

Things will never be perfect. Situations come and go, and as soon as one leaves, another one takes its place. You’ll never have the perfect combination of skills and experience. With everything in life, there comes a point where you just have to hold your nose, say a prayer, and dive in. Unless you’re a surgeon or airline pilot in a story that includes me, and then none of these rules apply.

But even the surgeon and pilot had to take a leap of faith at one point. Thankfully, they have much more experienced mentors at their side to keep them from doing something really stupid, but there’s still a very real element of risk. And whenever you put your life in their hands, you can be thankful they were willing to take that risk.

Instead of waiting for things to be perfect, assess what you’ve got right now and start putting it to use. Improve the situation as you go instead of waiting for it to change. Learn new skills on the job, find out if things work by trying them, set fears aside by working through them. Instead of striving for perfection, learn to appreciate “good enough.”

Every day you wait, life is passing you by. If there’s something you want, a burning desire so strong you can’t quench it, then get up, dust yourself off, and get started. You already have everything you need, and the situation is as perfect as it’ll ever be. The rest is simply up to you.

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

You Always Get More Than One Try

April 22, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope you all had an awesome weekend! Mine was everything I hoped it would be.

Last weekend I cut the grass and, wouldn’t you know it, I had to do it again yesterday. Seems it works that way this time of year. Mowing the lawn is one of those jobs you don’t get to do once and say “it’s done” because before you can even put the lawn mower away, it’s growing again already.

Of course, the nice part about that is if I miss a spot or gouge a certain area, the mistake will only be visible until next week. No matter what, you always get a chance to do it again. So, I guess mowing the lawn isn’t as much a job as a dress-rehearsal … one that repeats itself over and over and over, from spring until the onset of winter.

Now you know the one thing I look forward to each year when the weather turns cold. At least twice during September, I’ll mow the lawn and proudly proclaim, “That’s probably the last one until next year.” Then we get another week of unseasonably warm weather and I get to do it all over again. Like I’d complain about another week of sunshine. Not in this life.

Every time I get a haircut, as the stylist asks twenty questions to figure out exactly what I want done, I always tell them the same thing – “If you take off too much, it’ll grow back.” Now, for some men, that may not be the case. And I know others are a bit more particular about their hair. As long as mine looks reasonably presentable, I know the results are never permanent.

It’s that way with a lot of things in life. No matter how badly you’ve messed things up, you can usually undo the damage and try again. Relationships are a bit trickier in that respect, and losing a job for insubordination can leave you in a bit of a bind. But beyond that, most things can be fixed. And for those that can’t, you’ll usually get another chance to start from scratch.

Monday mornings are a good time to remember that. Whatever mistakes you made last week, no matter how dire they seemed at the moment, have faded somewhat. This week will bring new challenges and, no matter how badly you messed up last week, you can rest assured somebody else will top that feat before Friday. It happens every time.

Meanwhile, you’ve got a little time and a fresh mind to go back and fix whatever you messed up. Or the whole cycle starts over and you get a chance to get it right this time. And when you do, nobody will even remember last week’s mistake. Never once has one of my neighbors stopped by after a weekly grass clipping and said, “Nice to see you didn’t blow it this time!”

Still, we put such pressure on ourselves to be perfect, that it often keeps us from taking chances that can lead us to better things. And the greater the potential reward for doing the job well, the more we tend to talk ourselves out of even trying until we’ve rehearsed to the point that failure would be a welcome reprieve. At least we could move on to something more worthy of our abilities.

Of course, the problem is that we never get the job done and we never know what might have been. Moving from where we are right now requires doing something we’ve never done. Or maybe we’ve done it a thousand times, but never before on this particular day and in this exact setting. The great job you did last week is in the past. It’s what you do this week that counts.

If there’s something you need to do, especially something you find a little intimidating, just do it. If you wait until you can perform to perfection, you’ll be waiting a long time. Odds are, if you blow it this time, you’ll get another chance. And with each one of those opportunities, you’ll get better and better until you wonder why you were ever afraid in the first place.

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

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!