Dan Waldschmidt's Blog, page 56

Just Do It (Your Own Way). [EPTV]

Who do you turn to when you need answers to the tough questions in life? Your spouse? A close friend? The internet?

Except here’s the “dirty little secret” that nobody will tell you — you’re not going to become extraordinary by following someone else’s plan. What worked for them will not work for you. You’ve got to figure it out on your own. You’re the only one who can chart your path to awesomeness.

It has to be you. That’s what our 5th episode is all about.

We took some of the top questions on Quora.com, questions that you’ve already asked us, to give you a peek behind the curtain of what it really takes to be successful. Questions on money and the handful of “skills” you need for your entire life that will guarantee amazingness.

And why those questions don’t really matter. All on the 5th installment of The EDGY Perspective:

The post Just Do It (Your Own Way). [EPTV] appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Just Do It (Your Own Way) [EPTV]

Who do you turn to when you need answers to the tough questions in life? Your spouse? A close friend? The internet?

Except here’s the “dirty little secret” that nobody will tell you — you’re not going to become extraordinary by following someone else’s plan. What worked for them will not work for you. You’ve got to figure it out on your own. You’re the only one who can chart your path to awesomeness.

It has to be you. That’s what our 5th episode is all about.

We took some of the top questions on Quora.com, questions that you’ve already asked us, to give you a peek behind the curtain of what it really takes to be successful. Questions on money and the handful of “skills” you need for your entire life that will guarantee amazingness.

And why those questions don’t really matter. All on the 5th installment of The EDGY Perspective:

The post Just Do It (Your Own Way) [EPTV] appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

The Big Lie You Want To Believe.

You not having enough options isn’t the reason why you’re not as successful as you want to be.

You have enough options to be awesome right now.

Having more money or working for a different boss, earning a higher degree or getting “certified” isn’t opening any more doors than you can open right now with a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of passion.

More options doesn’t mean automatic success.

Having more money doesn’t mean you are better prepared to fall in love. Earning a new certification doesn’t make you better qualified for a promotion. Moving to a new company doesn’t mean you’re not going to face the same challenges you face in your old one.

When you’re feeling discouraged it’s natural to look around at all the things you don’t have and wonder if what you’re missing is the antidote for what ails you.

It’s natural to feel that if you only had “more” that you would be closer to your dreams — that life wouldn’t be so tough for you.

That’s your brain telling lies to you.

Life is tough for everyone. It’s unfair, at times. Brutal. A daily grind.

The only thing you need more of is your will to win. If you want it bad enough you’ll find a way. No amount of certification or extra missing options can replace your will to rise above your own limitations to achieve success — in whatever ways you define that right now.

You being awesome starts with realizing that there are no automatics. There are no magic options that make the journey easy.

Stop looking outside for answers and start realizing that everything you need to be amazing is already bottled up inside you — ready to explode.

You’re already a winner. Start acting like it.

The post The Big Lie You Want To Believe. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

You Can’t Sleep When You’re Dead.

You can’t sleep when you’re dead.

You can’t get healthy, lose weight, spend more time with the people you love, or pursue your dreams with a passion. When you’re dead, you’re dead. What you didn’t get done, won’t ever get done.

It’s easy to throw around colloquial phrases as an excuse to do what you want to do right now.

Just don’t confuse fun with facts.

Don’t buy into the notion that you can do it all, all the time. You have your limits. There is a point at which you will break — mentally and physically. Getting healthy after you reach that point is so much more difficult than just staying healthy all along.

Specifically, getting some sleep. You might not need as much sleep as the guy next to you, but you need enough to keep your body recharged.

Some really crazy stuff happens internally when you power down.

Your brain begins to heal itself.

Like a battery, it recharges. Heals itself. So does the rest of your body.

The number one reason why people can’t lose weight, besides not cutting calories and working out, is a lack of sleep. Your body is so stressed out and overworked that it doesn’t have enough energy to get healthy.

You need sleep to be mentally strong. You need sleep to be healthy and motivated.

Not getting enough sleep yourself?

Try taking a power nap in the middle of the day.

Take 20 minutes where you shut your eyes, tune out the noise, and let yourself recharge. Throw on some headphones to block out office noise and set a timer so you don’t let things get too carried away.

You’ll be surprised at how refreshed and energetic you are heading into the afternoon. You’ll be more creative, more insightful in your meetings, more energetic in your phone calls, sales pitches, and business presentations — and you’ll get more done.

Unless you have a plan to recharge, your big ideas and raw ambition will wither under the demands of your daily grind.

Do what it takes to be amazing. Rest up.

The battle is a big one.

The post You Can’t Sleep When You’re Dead. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Run Away.

Being around negative people will destroy your dreams faster than anything else in the world — faster than you being broke, stupid, arrogant, or unwilling to change.

They will steal your dream and crush your motivation. They will rob you of your purpose. They will make you feel insignificant, unworthy, and incapable of changing the world in all the ways that you care most about.

Run away.

Your best chance at outrageous success is to just  get as far away as possible from people like this. Avoid negative people like your life depends upon it. It actually does.

Don’t waste time trading critical sentiments. Don’t spend time convincing them that they have you all wrong. Don’t try to reason with them or whine or make them see the error of their ways.

Run away.

Just get away. Stay away. Don’t go back — not now at least.

Negative people will crush you — from the inside out.

The problem is it that negative people are all around you. They are at your church. In your community. Where you work. In your family and your circle of friends. Everywhere you want and need to be — you’ll find them there.

Run away.

It’s not easy to stay away. Sometimes it feels like you’re running away from a fight that you should be having.

Even though you’re feeling that way, you need to believe how dangerous to your dreams these negative people really are. And then think about how precious and premature your dream is right now.

It could all go away too quickly.

Run away.

You might have to do some things now that you won’t need to do later when you are already where you want to be.

Right now, to stay focused and motivated and happy and healthy you just need to get away. 

Protect your dream. Don’t let the pettiness of others around you rob you of outrageous success.

Run away.

The post Run Away. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

That’s When Your Life Changes.

Being motivated isn’t you feeling happy or excited.It’s not “fluff” or unrealistic goal setting.

Being motivated is a fire that burns deep in your soul. It’s the oxygen that fills your lungs and keep you from drowning. It’s not an optional asset to life — it’s the essence of life itself.

You won’t go far if you’re not motivated.

In fact, if you’re not motivated you won’t go anywhere at all.

Without the courage to try something or the quiet resolve to keep trying even when things blow up around you, you’ll just make excuses for your dirty little secret for losing — you’re just not motivated.

You can’t fake being motivated.

You can pretend like you’re excited or jump up and down with everyone else around you and talk about your big goals and wild aspirations for the future, but being motivated is something that is deeply personal.

It’s not a show or an act or a gimmick. It’s the quiet drive that compels you to keep trying long after the initial moment of excitement has passed. It’s attached to a higher goal for yourself than just surviving.

Motivation has to be life-or-death, or nothing at all.

It’s not optional. It’s not a nice-to-have quality. Its the only thing that really matters.

Motivation is like oxygen. You only knows it missing when you’re gasping for more of it.

And only you can do the work that leads to being motivated.

Simply, it’s a choice. A decision.

It’s you deciding that getting to where you want to be is the only thing you want right now. It’s the only acceptable option you’ll allow for your life.

When you come to that point in your life — when you make that decision — that’s when your life will change.

Forever.

The post That’s When Your Life Changes. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Come Back Stronger [EPTV]

You can’t find one person in all of history who successfully accomplished whatever they were trying to do the first time, every time. You can’t.

That person does not exist.

So a large part of the discussion around success involves what to do when you get knocked down.

Winners get back up. Winners come back stronger.

Maybe you need to a lesson on how to stand back up.

You’re going to get knocked down fighting for your dreams. Again. And again. And again. And again. And even when you make it, people are still going to try to knock you down.

You need to understand how forgiveness makes you stronger.
You need to be able to recognize when the “problem” isn’t the problem (maybe it’s your fault).
You need to harness the importance of living mentally fit.

Join us. Watch. Share. But most importantly.

Come back stronger.

The post Come Back Stronger [EPTV] appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

What Should Really Scare You.

What if the bad habits you are tolerating in your life right now cripple your ability to be amazing in the future?

What if this is the last moment you will ever have to accomplish your dream and you’re wasting it?

What if you never reach your full potential because you just don’t ever try hard enough?

What if today was the day you were supposed to win and you never showed up to compete?

What if right now is the only chance you’ll ever get and you’re not prepared to do your best?

 

The post What Should Really Scare You. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

What You Do Matters.

Do you know why it’s so difficult to convince teenagers that smoking will kill them? Because they’re not 70 years old, bent over a sink, hacking their lungs out — trying to catch one more breath.

Just because a bad decision doesn’t lead to bad results right away doesn’t mean it wasn’t a bad decision in the first place.

Life is what you make it.

Your actions have consequences. If you work hard for long enough you can achieve just about anything you can ever dream up — even though it can seem like what you’re doing isn’t making a difference, for good or bad.

You will often feel like despite all your hard work and dedication that your effort isn’t making a difference.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

That’s just a lie your brain is telling your soul so that you won’t have to be concerned with your behavior.

Replacing fatty foods with vegetables and working out each day will have a huge impact over a year of your life. But for the first few weeks and months, you can feel like your new healthy habits aren’t really making a difference in your life.

Most people who make a New Years resolution about getting in shape give up on those goals by the first week in February.

They give up.

Why? Because changing your eating habits and exercise patterns for a few weeks don’t add up to a huge difference right now.

It takes months for your body to start operating differently. The same is true with spending habits, rebuilding personal relationships, taking on more responsibility at work, looking for a new job, trying to get promoted, investing, building a business, or any other goal that you’re working on right now.

If you do good things you’ll get good results.

If you stop doing good things, you might still have it good right now because of the good things you did in the past. Don’t be fooled — not doing good things means you’re going to experience bad results shortly.

Think about that next time you want to throw up your hands and complain about your bad luck.

Bad luck isn’t your problem.

You are right now exactly where you put yourself in the weeks and months before today. You will be tomorrow where you’re working on putting yourself right now.

The real question is: Will you be in a place that you want to be when you wind up there?

The post What You Do Matters. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

The Surprising Secret To Getting Unstuck.

There are days as a leader when you just feel stuck.

The situation in front of you isn’t necessarily bad or uncomfortable, but you still feel like there is no clear path to get to where you want to be.

You’re stuck where you are.

At least that’s how it feels. If you’re not there right now in your life then you’re guaranteed to feel that way some time soon in your quest to be successful.

So what do you do? How do you “unstick” stuck?

1. Be brutally honest about your current situation.

Things might not be as bad as you imagine them to be. In fact, you might be a whole lot better than you feel like you are right now.

Take a quiet moment to think through the logical pros, cons, and possibilities for taking action in your life. Take out a pen and paper and start writing down what you are thinking right now.

Don’t do anything just yet. Just be honest about where you are.

2. Reach out to people who can give you a different perspective.

Often, someone else’s critical thinking is all you need to figure out what’s bothering you. A wise mentor or coach can often steer you in a direction that you hadn’t thought about yet.

Listen to the people in your life that can help you. Reach out to people you trust — people who have your best interests at heart. Explain where you are, where you want to be, and the obstacles that seem to be holding you back.

You’ll be surprised at the insights you get back — almost instantaneously.

3. Take a step back from the chaos.

Complex problems demand extra creative solutions.

You can’t be creative when you’re surrounded by the chaos and stress that is holding you captive in the moment. Push back from your desk. Walk around. Go for a run. Get some exercise. Grab a cup of coffee. Go smell the flowers. Take the rest of the day off. Go to an art museum.

There are a lot of ways to distance yourself from the nonsense that confuses your brain and tells you you need to freak out. Be deliberate about pushing it to the back of your brain for a few minutes while you recharge the creative part of your brain.

4. Challenge yourself in another area of your life.

Feeling stuck usually isn’t about all parts of your life blowing up at the same time. It’s about one big thing. You might be stuck financially or stuck physically or stuck emotionally. Usually there is one big obstacle in your way.

Challenge yourself to do better where you’re already doing better. For example, if you’re doing well financially, you should challenge yourself to invest more, save more, give more, and spend less. Take things to the next level.

That added confidence might be motivation to take on the real challenge that is bothering you.

5. Get busy doing something.

The longer you think about your frustration, the more stuck you’re going to feel. You have to do something.

It may not be the perfect action to take — it may not even be the best action to take — but action always trumps inaction. Do the best thing you know to do. That’s probably pretty close to perfect anyways.

You can adjust down the road. But taking action, even in small ways, is the antidote to the fear and confusion your brain is over-producing.

Getting unstuck is a choice.

It’s a challenge you’re going to face many times in your life — especially if you attempt to achieve audacious goals.

To be successful, you need to be a master at moving past obstacles, talking yourself down from the crazy thoughts that make you want to give up, and surrounding yourself with allies who are willing to go to battle with you at any cost.

The surprising secret to getting unstuck yourself is helping those around you get unstuck themselves.

Ultimately, healing others has an amazing way of making you whole yourself.

Fight on. lead on. Keep your hands up. Keep on swinging until the round is over.

That’s what winners do.

The post The Surprising Secret To Getting Unstuck. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...