There is an old Aesop fable of a man, a boy, and a donkey.

It is a story that has been told many times over.

Perhaps its longevity can be attributed to its far-reaching applicability. That is no misnomer.

The tale recounts three on a journey.

 While on their journey, a man, a boy, and a donkey, pass several people. Each person has an opinion on how they should proceed. And each time, they listen.

They make the changes!

  However, the changes are never enough.

 There is always someone else who knows better than they.

And, in the end, the result was a drowned donkey.

In listening to others, the man and boy lost something.

The moral of the story is, you can’t please everyone.

More valid words have not been spoken.

On life’s journey, you will meet many people.

Every person will have a different idea of how you should approach your journey.

Some advice will be well-meaning.

 Some advice will be positive, while other advice will be harmful.

You cannot base your decisions on the opinions of others.

If you do, use others as your catalyst for movement, you will lose soemthing.

You have to be assured of your path and follow it.

Advice is just that, advisement. 

You can take it into account when making your decision. The advice of others should never be the sole factor in your decision making.

You should not bind yourself by the advice of others.

Use discernment!

You will be happier knowing that your decisions were your own.

“The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them,” quote by Paul Coehlo.

This type of attitude is empowering.

Being able to stand with your own choices and decisions shows growth and maturity.

And, it feels great to take full responsibility for both your losses, and your wins

Being in the driver seat will put you on the path to being the best you that you can be.

What are you eating for breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

It replenishes the body and gives you the necessary fuel to carry out your daily activities.

It is a breaking of the nightly fast.

You could find a million models of what a breakfast of champions entails.

However, I want to contend that, a breakfast of champions does not only include appropriate foods for the body but also for the mind.

When you break your fast every morning It should include more than bodily nutrition.

 Do not aim to just wake up and energize your body, but also to recharge your mind and your spirit.

Read a few pages of a book!

Listen to an audiobook.

Tune in to a podcast.

Meditate

Build your resolve for the day so that you do not burn out before you get started.

In my reading I have learned that focus takes a lot of energy.

Stressors in life detract us from focus.

Stressor’s break-down our resolve and our will to resist the most basic of temptations.

You know, those things that prevent us from doing what is right and what is best.

Now a slight disclaimer here, “You cannot fully protect yourself against stress in life!”

However, you can prepare yourself to reduce stress, and improve your chances of success.

Harvey MacKay, author, wrote, “To be a champion you have to learn to handle stress and pressure. But if you have prepared mentally and physically, you don’t have to worry.”

No soldier goes into battle unarmored.

So, do not forget to put on your armor.

Become a well-rounded champion, and complement that nutritious breakfast for the body, with one for the mind and soul as well.   

Methods prevent Madness!

Order staves off chaos, and its unwanted compadres frustration and anxiety.

You must understand that randomness is not an underpinning of success.

Being good, skilled. or talented will not make you successful.

You will never find employment simply because you have a degree

Opportunity may knock, but success will not.

Success is an outcome of targeted effort.

And, the most successful people, became that way because they had a plan!

If you want to be successful

You must have a strategy, an approach.

That strategy should be concrete, it should be plain enough that you can break it down for others.

So, how do you build a strategy?

The first step is to always write everything down!

“Until you commit your goals to paper, you have intentions that are seeds without soil.” Quote by Brian Tracy

As celebrated author Stephen Covey surmises, “Begin with the end in mind”

Focus and create a mental picture of what your success or achievement looks like.

Be specific!

• Will it be a three -story home?
• A Best-selling novel
• A Record deal!
• A Business with multiple franchises
• Or a family?

Write down that vision in detail, make it as vivid as possible.

If necessary, find images representing your outcome.

 This helps to keep the vision in front of you

Then use that vision and work backwards.

The question you want to answer is how do I get what I want?

Determine what major milestones you must accomplish to fulfill that vision.

Then break down each milestone (creating subgoals) to fulfillment of each one.

Then take each subgoal and determine what you need to do daily, weekly, monthly.

From that point you can begin to act

Chart your progress along the way.

Creating a strategy is not an easy process.

It will take time and effort.

But isn’t it completely worth it!

A vast majority of the work you must do to prepare for success is inner work.

 What is on display externally: habits, work ethic, attitude, is all an expression of ones inner condition.

How you think (your mindset), perceive, form ideas based on that perception ( perspective), are emotionally conditioned and respond in lieu of that conditioning, are  components of your internal framework.

It is easy to put on a pretense in the short term,

It is far from difficult, to project that you have a robust and healthy external framework.

However, that pretense is not sustainable in the long-term.

You might do the right things for a small period of time.

You may be able to display a positive attitude and outlook temporarily.

Nevertheless, If the inner framework does not adequately support the external then it will falter.

Recently, I had an appointment.

I knew that based on some surfacing pain, that there were some internal issues.

However, everything appeared good from the external, at least from my perspective.

But despite the surface appearance, the underlying pain was a signal that everything was not okay.

From a basic examination it looked as if there were only a few issues. Superficially, to even an outside party, everything seemed okay.

However after a deeper examination, where the internal could be fully explored, it was determined that a vast amount of work needed to be done.

 While the external had not fully reflected what was happening within it would only be a matter of time before it would.

And furthermore, It would be no small thing to fix.

The moral of this anecdotal account is that attentiveness to the inner environment is as equally as important, if not more important, than attentiveness to the external.

In fact, the outside will start to take care of itself once the inside is properly attended to.

Spend time examining your mindset, perceptions, perspectives, belief systems, and emotional conditioning.

Work to clean out the rot, and strengthen the areas that don’t reflect what you wish them to reflect externally.

 Work hard on creating that alignment where your inner nature is in balance with your outer nature.

Robin S. Sharma acclaimed author once said, “It wasn’t until I began to work on my inner life and know myself that my life changed. Success really does begin within. The size and quality of your outer life is only limited by the size and quality of your inner life.” -Quote by Robin S. Sharma