Big Is The New Small

Great illustration of how God, Faith & Focus will help you reach your God potential.

Share your thoughts on this video and how American Idol in general helps people reach their potential.

hus-tler : an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.

The more I understand the difference between those who succeed and those who simply talk about those who succeed, the more I understand the importance of being a hustler.  Hustlers make it happen, because they are determined to succeed.

Do you want to succeed? Maybe it’s time that you become a hustler.

“Things may come to those who wait… but only the things left by those who hustle.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Are you a hustler?  Who are some successful hustlers that come to mind?

en-tre-pre-neur: a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business,
usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Many people have a desire to become a flourishing entrepreneur; however only a small percentage are successful. Successful entrepreneurs exhibit 2 key characteristics: a.) They are willing to put forth considerable initiative  b.) They understand they can’t be successful without a willingness to take considerable risk.

Do you want to be a successful entrepreneur?  Get up, Step up, Show some initiative and be ready to take some considerable risk.

Is it really that simple?  Share your thoughts!

Laughter is good for the soul and there is nothing better than a good laugh.  Laughter is seriously a smile that can’t control itself.  The best kind of funny is the clean, witty type of funny.

“Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at.”  ~J. Wolfgang

• 1. @MichaelJrComedy
• 2. @BadBanana
• 3. @TalishaJanice
• 4. @MattFalkComedy
• 5. @RealJohnGray
• 6. @TimHawkinsComic
• 7. @StephenAtHome
• 8. @JimGaffigan
• 9. @KevOnStage
• 10. @BirBigs
• 11. @Jonacuff
• 12. @ComedianChris
• 13. @Rocdomz
• 14. @tysonramsdell
• 15. @PastorProblems
• 16. @JasonEarls (late addition)

These are simply to top names that were submitted in response to my tweet.  Kind of like My Peoples Choice Awards. “My Peoples” was an attempt to be funny.  Some of my peoples people didn’t make the list because they didn’t update often enough (like never), the names were submitted too late (I was finished writing this post) or something about them simply wasn’t funny (discretion).

Side-note: @Tysonramsdell & @PastorProblems submitted their own names… now that’s funny.

Feel free to add to the list in the comment section.  Seriously share the funniest people that keep it clean below.  Share their twitter name and any other information that you would like.  I’ll add the names to this list and maybe over the next few weeks we can get a comprehensive list.

Again, add to the list or share some of your favorites from the above list.

Don’t forget to laugh…

I’m a connector, and I love connecting people to people and people to opportunities.  What I mean by that is that I love connecting like-minded people to other like-minded people.  I also love connecting great people to mutually great opportunities.

I feel that we’re made to connect, as we are connecting beings.  Even introverts have a desire to connect with people; they just appreciate their time, space and alone time.

It’s important to be a connector of people, as these connections help the world go around.  Some people-connections lead to great job opportunities for others.  Other people-connections lead to college students choosing this university or that university.  Then you have those connections that lead to meaningful relationships that eventually turn into a marriage.

Some of the most meaningful people-connections are those connections that lead to people far from God visiting a friend’s church, or hearing a friend witness. Those connections ultimately lead to an intimate connection with Jesus and a life that’s forever transformed.

No matter how you slice it, connections matter — Be a connector.

Do You Think Being A People Connector Is Important?  Share your thoughts and experiences?

No matter how you slice it, encouragement means more than you know.  There are tons of success stories that were inspired by someone encouraging someone with simple words like this, “You have what it takes.”

I remember reading an article in Southwest Airline’s Spirit Magazine about Baltimore Ravens Offensive Tackle Michael Oher that brought truth and reality to this very thing.  Michael is the famous NFL player whose life inspired one of my favorite movies “The Blind Side.”

Michael mentioned how he remembered his 4^th grade teacher Ms. Logan saying, “Can’t never could and ain’t never would.”  He also said he remembered later on in his schooling times when he thought about giving up Miss Sue would say, “You can do it!”  Those simple words were empowering and still impact him today.

For as long as I can remember I have remembered my mom telling me, “Son, you can do absolutely anything.”  Each and every step of my life that I had questions, whether it be college, grad school, starting businesses, big-time leadership roles, being the youngest prison warden in the country…  When I had questions and doubts my mom never had doubts.  “Son, you can do absolutely anything.” 

Throughout the years I’ve had mentors that have said some version of the same thing.   This encouragement coupled with a genuine belief that God is saying, “Son, you can do anything” has made a believer out of me.

As a result, I always try to be a genuine believer in most everyone that I get to work closely with.  One of the pastors that I used to work with told me that I was “Barnabas” to him and that attribute of encouragement saved his career and ministry calling.

It’s pretty amazing how this simple cycle works – I believe in others and in return they believe in themselves.   I have been accused of believing in people too much and I’ll take that criticism any day.  Fortunately, I worship a God that believes in His children too much.

Encourage someone today…  It Means More Than You Know.

Do you make it a habit to encourage others?  Do you know someone that does a great job of encouraging?  Share your thoughts and experiences.

There are lots of formulas, ideas, techniques and thoughts on how to get repeat customers.  I think the formula is actually quite simple:

Repeat Customer Formula: Quality Product + Great Customer Service + Integrity + Unique Attributes x Raving Fans – Status Quo = Repeat Customers

That’s the formula to repeat customers.

Do you think this is a formula for repeat customers?  Share your thoughts and share your formula for repeat customers.

Life is all about the decisions that we make, as well as the decisions that we don’t make.  Unfortunately many people sit on the sidelines holding onto dreams that they have never attempted or have never even tried to put into play.

The bottom line is this, you were made for more; however you’ll never realize the more you were made to be by sitting idle.  You will not reach your potential if you don’t dream big and you simply settle for mediocrity.

The older I get and the more older, wiser and experienced people I talk to, the more I realize this statement to be true, “You will regret the things that you fail to try, way more than the things that you try and fail.”

“If you got a dream, you gotta protect it…  If you want something, go get it. Period!” ~Will Smith – Chris Gardner (Movie Pursuit of Happyness)

 Have you regretted things that you’ve failed to try?  Share your thoughts.

Belief in people is of paramount importance as it relates to the success that they will have.  As a matter of fact, believing in others is the fuel that propels them down the road to success.

What should you do when those around you don’t believe in you?  

You should find a different group of people to surround yourself with.  If the people that don’t believe in you are friends and family, limit your interactions with them, tell them they’re wrong and more importantly prove them wrong.

“Some are destined to succeed, some are determined to succeed.” ~H.H. Swami

You tend to become who those closest and most important to you think you will become. Choose those that are most important and closest to you wisely.

Share your thoughts and experiences with both sides of this coin.

I have lots of thoughts each and every day, as a matter of fact all of us do.  There is varying research that suggests how many thoughts a day the average human has.  Some research indicates that 100 years ago the average number of thoughts was 5,000 a day and today humans think around 55,000 thoughts per day.  I guess we have a lot more to think about in this overly stimulating age and time.

I’m not sure what the accurate number of thoughts per day is, however I’d be inclined to think that I’m more aligned with the 55,000 thoughts a day number.  I would also say that many of the thoughts that I have are ideas, dreams, visions and more ideas.

As a consultant the general deliverables for my clients primarily deal with ideas, connecting those ideas to strategy and moving that strategy into reality.  The “always on” thinking works perfect for the way that I’m wired, because I’m a thinker and thinking is how I orient my world.  I literally had 10 different business ideas, strategies, thoughts and aha’s on my drive home today.  I got home did some research and realized that a couple of them didn’t make sense and I will pursue the others further.

That’s the beauty of having many thoughts is the fact that you weed out the ones that need to be weeded out and you act on the others.  The more ideas you have the greater opportunity for some of those ideas to be great ones.

The beauty an idea is the fact that it forces you to wrestle the question of, “Is this idea good, bad or indifferent?”  Often times a bad idea has as much value and opportunities for learning as a good one.  Ideas all have potential, it’s what you do with those ideas that determines whether or not the potential of a particular idea is realized.  Potential unrealized is just potential.

What Is An Idea Worth?  The idea itself is not worth much.  The strategy, thoughts, wrestling and process of massaging that idea into something special is worth lots, maybe even million$ or gazillion$.

There are tons of success stories that simply began with an idea that was developed into something very special.   What Is An Idea Worth?  It depends on what the person that has the idea is willing to do with it?

Got Ideas?  Share your thoughts.