Dan Waldschmidt's Blog, page 6

30 Qualities That All Successful Leaders Share.

There are a lot of things that make certain leaders great — excellent timing, a mind for numbers, ruthless efficiency, awesome sales skills, and much more.

Great leaders become great because they are intentional about doing things that feel uncomfortable and seem silly and insignificant at the time but lead to greatness.

Here’s the cool thing — despite all the individual strengths that make these leaders bring to the game, all great leaders share a few of the same qualities.

And here are 30 of them.

They get started.They question everything.They are incredibly resilient. They crave feedback.They refuse to hang out with negative people.They don’t rationalize or trivialize failure.They don’t confuse their job with their identity.They focus their effort on things that matter.They start what they finish.They practice what they preach. They are comfortable with change.They work hard to stay in shape personally.They hang around like-minded people.They build great teams.They are ambitious and driven.They play to their specific strengths .They have clarity about what they want.They innovate rather than imitate.They are life-long readersThey are optimistic by choice.They find opportunity.They don’t tolerate excuses.They focus on what is in their control.They are aware of their emotions.They take pleasure in helping others achieve success.They are humble and quick to admit mistakes.They don’t need constant approval. They set high standards for themselves.They take risks.They don’t quit quickly.



Where do you stack up?

What do you need to start working on? Where do you need to improve?

You aren’t going to be the best at everything, but you should be improving each of these qualities all the time.

The post 30 Qualities That All Successful Leaders Share. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt.

It’s Going To Take You Longer Than You Think It Will. And What To Do About It.

Achieving success is going to take you longer than you think it is.

Despite what you’ve heard from experts that want you to believe that if you follow a series of proven steps success is an easy outcome — nothing can be further from the truth.

And that’s absolutely not because you’re not dedicated or driven. It’s not because you’re lacking something or don’t care about achieving success.

Even if you are doing your best, the time it takes to do big things has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with life. And reality.

And the hard truth about achieving legendary success is that it takes time. More time than you can ever imagine or want to know right now.

It takes time to learn. It takes time to improve. It takes time for you to figure out exactly what you want. It takes time to do what it takes to get there.

Which is why you need to be prepared for that time.

You have to be ready to go to the extra distance.

I first realized that I wanted to try ultra-running in 2012. I had done some moderate distances like half marathons and I wanted to see how I can do pushing the limits of a distance that was quite a bit further.

When I signed up for my first 50k, and then a 55K right behind it, I was surprised at my ability to get across to finish line at the front of the pack.

Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t running against elite athletes. I was testing myself against people who are running because they loved it.

I thought I special because I wasn’t at the back of the pack. For most everyone else there, being outside was enough. That was a real contest. Enjoying the experience.

So I pushed a bit further.

My 100-miler was in Arkansas. It took me 19 and a half hours to finish that race. I didn’t know how to run. I just knew that I probably shouldn’t stop moving. And so I did that — all the way to a 4th place finish.

But then, just when I was thought I was getting good at this “ultra-running thing”, I noticed something pretty alarming. In the more competitive races, I wasn’t coming out on top. I was finishing 4th or 3rd, sometimes 2nd place, and a bunch of top 10s. But winning — that wasn’t happening.

So, I heard a coach. Then a second coach. Then a third coach.

I read books about running. I changed my diet. I lost weight and changed up my schedule. I started running hills and laps around a high school race track.

And none of it seemed to be really working. Day-to-day, I was still the same runner that started shuffling about in 2012.

Looking back I can see that something began to happen over the months of my focused training. That consistent effort turned into something meaningful — something that you could spot as improvement year over a year.

My body began to get stronger. I begin to realize the impact of different foods on my performance. I began to realize the warning signs of dehydration and lack of calories. The things that used to stop me cold didn’t stop me anymore.

And, it only took me 17,000 miles and more than 2,500 days of trying to figure it out.

I thought it might take me 25 days at first. Maybe 250. But 10 times that amount? I would have called you a liar had you told me that up front. I would have told you that I’m special. That I work harder than most people. That for me, it’s going to be a faster process.

But it wasn’t. And it won’t be for you.

Because greatness takes time. Progress of any sort takes time. So be ready to learn. Be prepared to be resilient. Develop your “get back up” muscles. Build your “rainy years” fund.

You’re going to make it. Let’s just be realistic about how long it’s going to take you.

So what can you do? What should you do?

Here are a few suggestions for navigating the long journey to the finish line:

Save way more money than you think is necessary. The number one reason why people give up on their dreams is that they run out of money and can’t afford to keep going.Develop friendships with people who’ve been there before. Don’t copy them. But it is smart to get their advice from time to time.Cultivate endless curiousness. Make reading books and learning new things your top priority. You’ll move faster if you know what you didn’t know.Don’t lie to yourself about failure. It makes no sense to cover up a mistake. Shorten the gap between when you learn and when you start to adapt.Be clear about what you really want. Surround yourself with pictures of your goal. Share your vision with as many people as possible. Put yourself in a position where you can only go forward.Get some sleep. There’s always another task to do. That fire that you’re putting out is going to restart itself again earlier than you expect. It makes no sense to burn out physically.Get hooked on exercise. Whether it’s squats, a boot camp, cycling, swimming, or just kicking a heavy bag — working up a sweat helps you handle stress and focus is your mind on what really matters.Make time on your schedule to do nothing. Your biggest breakthroughs will always come after a moment of quietness. That’s what your brain needs to work. So feed it what it wants.

You have probably heard the saying many times that: “Success is a marathon, not a sprint. “

That’s true, but here’s another truth you might not have considered — you don’t know what mile you’re on. Your journey doesn’t come with mile markers.

The most frustrating part about success is that you can’t predict exactly when you’re going to experience breakthrough.

You might be on mile 25 right now. Or mile 3.5. Either way, your mission is still the same, to keep moving forward.

Just don’t expect it to be easy. Don’t expect it to be fast. Don’t set your heart on unrealistic expectations for success.

Be tough enough to realize that you’ll make it. Be smart enough to know that you’ll figure it out. Be determined enough to fight through every obstacle that stands in front of you.

I have every expectation that you’re going to get to exactly where you want to be. I believe in you.

Now you believe in you. No matter how bumpy the path ahead might be.

The post It’s Going To Take You Longer Than You Think It Will. And What To Do About It. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt.

If You Can Tough It Out You Will Figure It Out.

You’re tougher than you think you are. You can work longer than you think you can work.

You can keep trying a few more times before you’re all out of ideas.

You can think harder than you’re thinking right now.

You can figure out a way to fix your financial problems no matter how troubling they are.

You can lose weight this time even though you have struggled to do it all those other times in the past.

You can learn more about what you’re already an expert in. Don’t let the battle beat you down.

Stop talking yourself out of doing what needs to be done before you even get to the point where you’re out of options.

That is just fear and panic taking over. And it usually isn’t for your benefit.

Talking yourself out of a stressful situation before you even get started is a recipe for never getting started at all.

When challenges arise and problems seem insurmountable, your challenge is not to have all the solutions all the time, it’s just to remind yourself that no matter the obstacle in your way, you are tough enough to figure it out.

You’re strong enough to keep trying. You’re tenacious and determined enough to do whatever it takes.

That won’t change the size or scariness the obstacle in your way, but it will remind you about the most important part of being successful.

If you can tough it out you’ll figure it out.

I know first-hand the power of that.

I’m not a gifted intellectual — or a business savant. But by putting in the work, I have figured out what works.

It is a process that keeps on giving value — to everyone with which I engage.

Here are a few of those lessons that I have learned. Maybe they will help you figure it out, while you’re toughing it out.

The people in your life always end up mattering more than the amount of money you have in your bank account. But more effort into the people you claim to love the most.The critics in your life aren’t there to give you a logical and helpful path towards success. They want to destroy you — or at least hold you back until your dream is destroyed. There is a difference between having an idea and doing whatever it takes to turn that idea into success. Be an effort person — not an idea person. If you can be both, do it.You won’t be able to listen to other people’s negative opinions about you for long and still remain motivated. Avoid negativity like the plague that it is. Anything that brings you down is the enemy of awesome.Usually, the biggest difference between success and failure is that small detail you didn’t think really mattered. Pay attention to the tiny details that you can use as leverage to level upYou won’t even know how to begin to work smart until you’ve exhausted all your options for working hard. Stop trying to make the perfect decision and just take the first step.Time has a perfect track record of righting all wrongs and rewarding those who deserve it most. Don’t let yourself get stressed out by a lack of fairness. They will get what is coming to them. So will you.You can spend your time fighting for other people to think you’re awesome or you can just do the work to be awesome. The short term solution feels good for a short while. The long term play is legendary.Being passive aggressive is a guaranteed shortcut to living a life that is as unsuccessful as it is uninspired. If you feel something, say something. Be candid. Be kind. You can do both at the same time.The best way to make massive amounts of money is to deliver massive amounts of value to those who need it most. Think first about what other people get out of their interactions with you.There isn’t much in your life that isn’t completely within your control to change right now if you want to. You are, in truth, the master of your destiny — for good or bad or crazy. Blaming others is a waste of time.

Life comes at you fast. Failure seems scary. The path forward can be cloudy and gray. 

Just remember that with enough time you will figure it out. So tough it out until then.

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74 Miles, 12 Lessons, 3 Broken Toes And 1 Finish Line.

I weighed 168 pounds. With all my gear on. 

The only reason why I know that is because I was required to step on a scale and be measured. It was the Arkansas Traveller 100 — and my first 100-mile ultra-marathon. 

The reason for being weighed sounds absurd at first. But if you lose too much weight during the event, the race officials automatically force you to quit, as that is usually a sign of rapid dehydration. And then death. 

Flash forward 5 years and I’ve attempted a whole bunch of ultra events — from races to setting records and a few other crazy things in between. 

I’ve always been prepared for my races.

At least as much as you can be. 

Physically, your body goes through massive amounts of struggle to complete an ultra event. 

Ar first you feel fine. And then you don’t — for a long time. Being prepared physically prepares your body for the inevitable pounding that it’s going to receive. 

The mental side of these challenges needs just as much preparation. But if you know you’re prepared physically that certainly helps what you think about while you’re running. 

Obviously, if you haven’t trained well and don’t feel like you are capable of finishing, your mind is going to remind you of that every step of the way. 

It’s all crazy and ridiculous to most people — but I’ve just not found anything else in life that mirrors the journey to success like running an ultra-marathon. 

I tell you all of that to share a few important lessons I learned a week ago running the hardest ultra-marathon I’ve ever attempted. 

Aptly called the Georgia Death Race, it lived up to its name. 

I had to drop out last year after 13 miles due to what we thought was a broken leg. Thankfully, it just turned out to be a bunch of broken ligaments and an extreme strain on my right ankle. 

Going into the race, I can’t say that my fitness has been as strong as it has been in the past. 

Far from it. I’ve been so busy with work and family that I’ve cut my running miles each week in half. 

Imagine getting ready to run the toughest race of your life and knowing that you are not physically ready to attempt to challenge.

And, you’re at least 10 pounds out of fighting shape. 

To say I was nervous was an understatement. I had basically decided in my head that I was going to drop out of the race a few days before the race instead of making a fool out of myself by quitting in the middle of it. 

But Sara pushed me hard to not take the easy way out. Multiple times she kept telling me: “You’re stronger than you think you are. Just go out there and do it.”

Over and over again. She kept reminding me

It wasn’t until a few days before the race that I actually committed in my head to make it happen. You’ve been there before — where you just get angry at yourself for thinking like a loser — and you decide to do something about it.

It was decided.

My longtime running buddy, Will, and I were going to take on this race together — all 74-ish miles. 

And we did. He finished in 33rd place, and I was 2 seconds behind, in 34th place — where 50% of the people who started the race quit, despite the beautiful weather. 

About 25 miles into the race I rolled my left ankle. We took a few minutes to walk it out and then we kept running. Two miles after that I tripped over a rock sticking out of the ground and smashed up three of the toes on my left foot. An hour later, all the toes on that foot were numb. 

As Will, who was in better shape than me, surged ahead throughout the day, a single thought kept racing through my mind: “Stay with him. Stay with him. Find it inside yourself. Just stay with him.” 

You start the day by counting the aid stations. Then, you start by taking off the miles. At some point you just find yourself taking one step after another.

Whatever it takes to get across to finish line. 

I started running that morning at 5:00 a.m. It was 18 hours, and a few minutes — just after 11:00 p.m. — that I finished. 

I can’t even begin to express to you how painful it was. My head was full of negative baggage. My body felt clunky and out of sync. And I just wanted to be anywhere else but in the hills of Georgia running an impossible race. 

To say I learned a few lessons would be an understatement. 

Life is about lessons. A painful moment like that is about transformation.

Here are a couple of key takeaways that were reinforced:

You don’t have to be in perfect shape to accomplish an outrageous goal. You just have to be willing to try.Go out of your way to surround yourself with friends and influences who push you out of your comfort zone.You can’t wait until you feel ready to commit. Commit now and then work towards getting ready.When you feel like quitting, tell yourself to do it later. It’s easier than saying no and accomplishes the same thing.The moment you quit everything feels better. You either have to live with the shame of giving up on yourself or the glory of having crossed to finish line.Most people give up on themselves too soon. Don’t be one of those people.Confidence in one part of your life always helps the other parts of your life. Use what you’re good at to build up the areas in your life that you need to improve.Whatever it takes is always what it takes. Plan for your journey to be a lot more painful than you expected.You’re tougher than you think you are. No matter what you think right now.Every starting line has a finish line. Every dark evening has a bright morning. It has to get better eventually.It’s not your fault if you think about quitting. But it is your fault if you actually let yourself do it.You’re probably going to find out that what you thought you knew about what you would have to do is going to have to change for you to get to where you want to be. So change.

I had been running for more than 50 miles when I saw a sign on the side of the trail. I was nearing an aid station but not really sure how far away I was.

You’re in the middle of the woods after all. It’s not an exact science, even if you have a smart GPS watch on. 

The sign on the side of the trail said. “You are almost there. 1 mile until you get there.” 

One mile until I could grab some food. One mile until I could throw down tiny bathroom-cup-sized portions of flat Coca-Cola and ginger ale. 

When you’re in that position you start imagining how you’re going to feel and what you’re going to do. You get a little bit excited. You might even jog a little bit faster. 

A mile later, there was a chair on the side of the trail with the sign taped to it. A single word on a large piece of poster board. 

It just said: “There”. 

I had been warned a mile earlier that I was almost there. But now that I was at the chair, I was there.

For a race named the Georgia Death Race such gameplay seems fitting. The same is true for life. 

What you think will be won’t always be. It’s going to get a lot harder before it gets a bit easier. Despite how you might be feeling now, know that within you is everything you need to cross the finish line. 

You have the resilience. You have the skill. You have the toughness. You have it all. 

Even if it seems like you’re out of shape. Even if you look around and it seems like there are so many other people more qualified or capable. 

Take another step. Move in the direction you want to be. 

The biggest lesson I learned finishing this race is the same lesson that keeps surprising me every day of my life.

It’s a simple concept. 

One that often gets overlooked because it’s not sexy, glamorous, or trendy.

It’s simply that activity is your greatest superpower. 

Taking action right now is your fastest path towards breakthrough. 

Stop thinking about it. Stop complicating it. Take action.

BTW, if you are curious about this nonsense, here are a few pics:

fueling at 20 milesleaving 20 mile aheadwhat happened?
the finish linewtf did we just do?crossing the riverthe night before… waiting for “death”
don’t let the beauty fool you

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The Opposite of Success Isn’t Losing. It’s Not Caring In The First Place.

The opposite of success isn’t losing. It’s not failure. Or loss.

The opposite of success is apathy. Not caring.

But it hurts to care. It’s painful to want to be successful and end up in a different place.

It’s hard to believe that you’re meant for a bigger purpose, but not be able to achieve the results you envision.

Just know that losing isn’t the worst position to be in. The worst position in which to find yourself is when you have stopped caring.

When you stop trying.

When you give in to passive aggression and making excuses.

When you stop daring to lay it all on the line in the hopes that it won’t hurt so bad if you end up not being successful.

Something happens to us as adults where we begin to mask apathy as wisdom. It’s a devilish thing — trying to pretend that caring is a sign of immaturity and weakness.

And in a certain sense, it’s not wrong.

When you’re young and naive, you care about everything. It matters when you turn the lights out at night, the color of the icing on your birthday cake, and what your friends at school think about you.

You don’t have to be a parent for long to find yourself in these sort of amusingly absurd conversations — with a child in tears weeping genuinely about a part of their life that seems to make no sense.

Yet for them it is important. It is critical. It’s something they care about. In that moment, deeply.

It was Helen Keller who said that “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”

Maybe she would have changed her mind had she been able to see.

But her perspective still rings powerfully true.

Before you see success, you feel it. Before you hear about great outcomes, you already feel them.

Even if you’re not an especially intuitive person, you can tell by someone’s expression or how their eyes look away from you quickly how they feel about you.

You feel it. You can’t explain it, but you know it to be true.

Think about how miserable and misguided your life would be if you weren’t able to feel these things.

So why turn that off when it comes to your pursuit of success? Why stop yourself from feeling the misery of setbacks and not getting to where you want to be?

Peter Bregman and his powerful book on leadership, Leading With Emotional Courage: How to Have Hard Conversations, Create Accountability, And Inspire Action On Your Most Important Work, wrote that “leaders need to feel, even when they don’t enjoy the feelings they feel.”

The same as true for you.

You can’t truly appreciate triumph until you’re vulnerable enough to experience the discomfort and sadness that comes with losing along the way.

Feel it. Feel it all.

You don’t have to enjoy it. But it’s better than feeling nothing.

It is those feelings of loss and discomfort that enable you to make the hard decisions that ultimately lead to successful outcomes. Remember that.

When you’re feeling like nothing is ever going to be good again, ask yourself what’s wrong.

And then be honest enough to make the hard changes that progress demands.

Regardless of how you feel.

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Surrender And Thrive: The New Formula For Living Your Best Life Yet.

Surrender seems like the opposite of success. Surrendering feels like giving up. Like quitting. Like going back on your word.

It feels wrong. Like you’re leaving behind your life’s purpose, your mission, and your mantra.

But what if surrender is actually the doorway to achieving those things?

Being courageous enough to learn from whatever life brings you is the beginning of the best days of your life.

It’s been about two years now since I read The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection by Michael Singer.

It wasn’t a book that I went looking for. It was a suggestion from a close friend, Bill Cortright.

And the story that Michael goes on to tell about his own life of surrendering opened my eyes to a new perspective for engaging in the battle for success.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of the take-no-prisoners, whatever-it-takes mode of attacking progress.

If you have a dream of any size, you know how important it is that you keep fighting for it. You know the importance of never backing down. Never quitting.

You have learned that stubbornness is a benefit. If you can practice resilience, you’ll end up being more successful than just about anyone else you’ll ever meet. But it doesn’t mean you’ll achieve your true potential.

That’s where the idea of surrender comes in.

See, being better requires that you learn lessons from your less fortunate life experiences — not just the times you come out on top. Those lessons for surrender are all around you. And me.

Instead of brooding about travel plans that go horribly wrong, take a moment and ask yourself what lesson you can learn from where you are right now. Instead of obsessing about why you’re in the mess that you’re in right now, took a step back and appreciate how much stronger you’ll be in the future when you face the same tough circumstances. Instead of trying to convince everyone who disagrees with you, practice empathy. Actively. Remember that you have bad days too.

Your options for surrender are endless. Every frustration is an opportunity. Every shortcoming is an opportunity. Every time you miss the mark is an opportunity.

Every delay. Every annoyance. Every fear.

Almost every moment is an opportunity for you to surrender to your next lesson from life.

By the way, if that back part of your brain is kicking in right now, telling you that surrender is giving up on yourself, let’s take a moment and squash those primal ambitions.

Doing something is the most basic level of ambition. Doing more is the next level. Beyond that is doing whatever it takes. This idea of surrendering is the final level.

It’s not about doing less.

It’s about still doing whatever it takes, but at the same time consciously surrendering to the opportunities that come your way disguised as frustration and setbacks.

Your greatest strengths come from your greatest trials.

Look back at your life and you’ll see that the dotted lines of growth are all connected by misfortune and annoyance.

Building requires brokenness.

To stretch yourself, you have to let go.

Surrender — it’s the final frontier.

Your best is on the other side of that breathless moment you decide to accept without question anything life brings you. That you will, with open arms, embrace the frustrations and trials that come to you at the worst possible time.

This isn’t magic, so you won’t be able to make the decision one time and then live your life peacefully. You’re going to have to surrender on a daily basis. Sometimes on an hourly basis. You might have days where you are actively surrendering minute by minute situation.

Not giving up. Growing up.

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Life Lessons, Hard Goals, And Being Enough To Master It All.

“Was it as easy as it looked?”

Sitting across from Chris were four rich white men. Supremely successful in every way. They smiled at him. 

And as they ask the question, redness forms in the corners of Chris’s eyes. Tears began to form. Within his soul, deep satisfaction began to overwhelm him. 

His life flashed before him. The agony. The struggle. The homeless nights and hungry days when there wasn’t anything for him to eat. 

The fights with his ex-wife and the fear that consumed him about what would become of his young son. 

“Was it easy?” 

The answer was simple. A single syllable uttered from the depths of a man who had been put through life’s toughest test. 

“No,” he replied softly. 

I can imagine that he wanted to say something more. 

He wanted to tell the story of what it took to get to this point. He wanted to burst out in tears a joy that everything he had been through up to this moment was enough to springboard him towards his future. 

Instead, he did none of that. He kept it inside and walked away. He had passed the test. 

That man was Chris Gardner. That scene was the closing three minutes of the wildly popular movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.”  

(You can read the rest of his story here)

For those of us watching the movie, it all has a feel-good, happy ending. The drama and storyline consume only two hours of viewing time. From sadness to happiness in mere minutes. 

But for Chris and for you, the tests you will have to take in life don’t happen so quickly. 

Things don’t get tough for minutes. They stay that way for months. And sometimes longer. 

Which is why if you want a different reality than you’re living in now, you are going to have to get comfortable being tested uncomfortably. That’s a different lesson

A lesson I learned the hard way. I used to think I was good at taking tests. 

After all, I not only graduated top two in my class in high school, I scored very high on my college entrance exams and had a 4.0 or higher through five years of college — at two different universities. 

For those first two decades of my life, I was pretty successful at learning information and spitting it back at the teacher in whatever form they were testing me. 

But the tests that you need to pass in life — the ones that really matter — they aren’t based on memorization. 

That’s what Chris learned.

I wrote in my book, EDGY Conversations, about one of the toughest struggles in my life — a moment in time where I contemplated suicide. 

In the opening chapter, I wrote about the pain and anguish that I was feeling at that time. 

In truth, that moment was a test. 

But the only reason that test happened, was because I had failed to learn a bunch of important lessons. 

I realized that having a good answer isn’t the same as passing the test. 

And in that moment of depression, I was being tested as a new husband and young father. I was being tested as a salesperson and business leader. My faith in something bigger than me was being tested. My faith in others was being tested. 

My belief in myself was being tested. 

Often, when I find myself struggling, I turn inward and ask myself what I am doing that has caused the current pain I am experiencing. 

“What can I do better?” 

“What have I missed?”

“Who can help me avoid feeling this way in the future?”

I have come to realize that the answers to these questions reveal the truth about being tested. 

Like Chris Gardner lived out in his inspiring life story, it’s never as easy as it looks. In fact, you better believe that it’s always harder than you can ever imagine. That it requires all you have and then some more. 

hat you can do better is impossibly endless. And what you have missed is nothing at all. By daring to dream and by expecting more for yourself, you automatically open yourself up to learn and grow and thrive — and to be tested. 

In the end, you realize that you are enough. And despite the pain and fear you feel, within you is the resilience you will need to meet the test with open arms — and pass from the darkness into light. 

I am enough. 

You are enough. 

To pass the test. 

Especially when it’s not easy.

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The Surprisingly Sad (And Simple) Reason Why Success Isn’t For Everyone.

I’ve finally come to realize that success isn’t for everyone. 

Don’t get me wrong, the possibility to be successful is for everyone. 

The truth is that not everyone makes that choice on their own. 

Let me clarify that further. 

No one goes out of their way to own the space of being unsuccessful. 

No one chooses to be a loser proactively. 

If the choices are winning or losing — no one puts any effort whatsoever into selecting the losing option. 

Most of us claim to want to be winners. We talked about it as if it’s who we are. Something we are born with already. A condition of our humanity. 

But success isn’t achieved by not selecting the opposite option.

You don’t select losing and end up winning. 

Being successful is about proactively correcting the habits that stop you from making the horrible mistakes that will ultimately rob you of the success you can achieve otherwise. 

It’s bad habits like not being able to control your emotions. 

Or laziness. Lack of preparation. Thinking that you are always right. Not listening to the advice other people give you. It’s about making the choice to waste your time rather than investing it and ideas and training that makes you better. 

Remember this —  Your smallest weakness is more powerful than your greatest strength.

How many times have you seen someone who has spent a lifetime achieving wealth, credibility or expertise throw it all away in a few minutes making bad choices? 

How many times have you done that yourself?

Can we agree to stop that?

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How To Pass The Ownership Test of Your Life.

You think differently about your home when you own it. 

It’s not someone else’s problem to fix. It’s all yours. The good, the bad, and the worse. 

It’s completely your responsibility. 

The handprints on the wall. The stains on the carpet. The landscaping outside. 
You make every choice about whether to clean up, invest in improvement, or to just let things die slowly. 

You are the owner. 

That means you’re responsible. Everything. No matter what. You’re the owner. That means it’s on you to figure it out. 

That’s not the case with being a renter. It is someone else’s problem when you’re a renter. 

You might have the same problems or find yourself in similar circumstances. In the same house, no less. But you’re role determines your perspective. 

Who cares about the landscaping. It’s not adding any value to your life. That fresh coat of paint. That new upgrade. You don’t do it. 

You’re not the owner. You complain to the owner. 

You beg the owner for help. The matter is out of your hands. 

The best you can hope for is that the person who does make the decision is as interested in your success as you are. 

Being the owner makes all the difference. 

Sometimes the difference between being an owner and a renter is a matter of fact. But quite a bit more often, it’s a matter of perspective. A matter of attitude.

In truth, most of your life is about things that you own. 

You own your attitude. 

You own your actions. And reactions. 

You own your thoughts. Maybe not your first one, when you’re in reaction mode — but thoughts two, three, all the way to infinity are all about the choices you make in owning every part of your life. 

Chances are, there are times you’re acting like a renter in your own body. You’re pretending like somebody else makes the decision for what you do and where you go, and the results that you accept. 

Not sure where you stand?

An owner is responsible for his own attitude and actions. A renter blames other people for “making him feel that way”.An owner is proactive about learning and growing. A renter falls back on old ideas and biased thinking.An owner asks questions and seeks to know the perspective of others. A renter is always right and doesn’t care about others.An owner is always looking for growth — personally and professionally. A renter refuses to be uncomfortable.An owner builds wealth by looking for ways to be valuable to others. A renter makes it all about himself.An owner invests in ideas and people that make them better. A renter pursues interests that only enrich them personally.An owner saves money for when things get tough. A renter plans to save — but never gets around to doing it.An owner takes time to clear his mind and heal. A renter just releases his emotions on others without a second thought.An owner is willing to be coached and counseled on the path to sucess. A renter knows it all already.An owner is all in. A renter always has a good excuse about why he isn’t doing “the hard things”.

Any of these sound familiar?

Chances are that you are owning parts of your life and living as a renter in other parts. Fixing that is a matter of leveling up.

Own your attitude and your actions, your thoughts, your finances, your confidence, your resilience, determination, and effort. 

And when you’re done owning those things, own the other things that seem like they’re out of your control. 

Find a way to change the game. 

Stop being the renter. Start being the owner. 

First it’s a mindset. Then it’s an attitude. Finally, it becomes your reality.

The post How To Pass The Ownership Test of Your Life. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt.

Making It Out Of The “During” Stage.

There are a lot of untold stories in business. Have you noticed that?

Most books about business success or self-improvement, in general, spend a lot of time on two parts of the journey — the beginning and the end.

If you’re overweight and feel lousy, here’s what you need to do so so that eventually you’ll have six-pack abs and be proud to take off your shirt.

In fact, you don’t have to go far on Instagram to see countless pictures of people sharing their before and after pics. Right?

What’s always missing from this conversation are the “during pics”.

THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE.

When did you read a book that just talked about what goes on in the middle, where you are stuck between the “getting started” day and the end line.

See, that’s where you spend most of your time.

The”not there yet” stage is 99% of your journey.

…………The beginning is an instant.

…………The ending is an instant.

But everything else is your day-to-day existence.

That’s true whether you’re trying to go from fat to fit or broke to wealthy. It’s true whether you’re trying to get a new job, land a big client, meet your sales goals, grow your business, or just have a little bit more free time to spend with your kids.

What’s happening now and where you want to be are small moments in time.

IT’S YOUR CHOICES IN THE “DURING” STAGE THAT DECIDE YOUR OUTCOME.

That’s important to remember because you’ll be around other people who are sharing their finish line photos and you’ll feel like you’re doing something wrong.

You will feel like someone else is more fit than you or more successful than you or they seem to be more popular than you — and as you think about it, you start to think that you’re a loser.

You ask yourself crazy questions:

Why don’t I have those finish line photos? Why aren’t I more successful? Why don’t I have that same level of “cewebrity”?

Before you give up on all the progress you’ve made so far, take a deep breath and be grateful for where you are right now.

You’re in the “during” stage. The in-between stage. The “I’m working really hard and if I keep working really hard I’ll end up with some finish line photos” stage.

DON’T BE DISTRACTED BY OTHER PEOPLE’S SUCCESS.

Don’t be intimidated by other people winning. Don’t be unnecessarily competitive and combative when you see others with their finish line photos.

Stay focused on your thing. Stay committed to being the best you possible.

You’ll get there. One foot in front of the other. That’s how it works.

I’m guessing that the simplicity of that wouldn’t make a long book. After all, it’s really three simple words: Try. Improve. Repeat.

The post Making It Out Of The “During” Stage. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt.