Pursue Your Greatness!

In 2015, I am going to help you Pursue Your Greatness!   "Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us." Wilma Rudolph .

Happy Friday and New Year!    When I began doing the Daily Crumbs, I wasn't exactly sure where I was headed, but I made  a commitment to do them for one year and see what evolved.  There is nothing scarier than hitting the "send" button each day on something that I sincerely desire to make a difference in people's lives and not always knowing if it is effective.  Your feedback and support has given me the courage to keep writing and to keep sending.  I just crossed that 12 month mark.  I look back on over 300 posts and smile, laugh, cry and cringe!  Through trial and error, hit or miss, I see the necessity for another evolution.  While I am still working on what that looks like, the overwhelming feedback points me in the direction to focus on... Life. We all have unique experiences and situations, but the commonality?  We all need inspiration and guidance to live our lives in a way that is authentic and brings enjoyment and fulfillment. I have not figured it all out and I do not have all the answers, but one of my gifts is helping people get on track to unleash their highest potential.  That is my focus for the next 12 months...Helping you Pursue Your Greatness. I will continue to send emails a couple of times a week (yes, I know daily blows up your inbox!) and make them relevant to that mission of greatness.  Over the next few weeks, I will be launching several new platforms & programs designed to help you.   I am excited about 2015 and the possibilities it holds for our mutual success.   Again, thank you for allowing me the awesome privilege to be a part of your life and success.  I dare you to dream BIG dreams, see an awesome vision for your life, and to have he audacity and courage to Pursue Your Greatness.   Until next time, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   Brandon

Missed It By That Much!

Happy New Year!   Not that I am rushing Father Time, but I am glad 2015 is upon us. Even with all of my rhetoric to get serious about goals and aspirations the last few weeks of 2014, I have to admit, the turning of the clock turned up the motivation meter!   The key to a great year is not to lose that momentum created at the end of 2014 and leverage the euphoria of getting a clean slate.   Yes, I remember, I had put myself on blast regarding my personal "pick one" goal of reaching 180lbs before the end of year.  I will confess that I did not reach my goal.   I could blame it on the all the holiday foods and chocolates that that are laying a out in a bounty all over the house since Thanksgiving.  I could blame it on a missed workout here and there.  There would easily be a series of excuses that I could give you...and most of them would sound rational and excusable.   I will also admit that this goal is one I have had for over a decade. Never mind that I did not reveal my "Before" picture (censoring committee said "No Way"!).  Just know that 3 years ago, I had topped 220lbs and come down to 185lb at my lowest.  When I made the "pick one" goal, it was 195lbs.  Improvement, but not perfection...not my best.   I did stick to many of my commitments and remained steadfast and disciplined 85% of the time.  The result;     Like they say in church,   "I may not be who I want to be, but thank God, I am not who I used to be!   I am now in striking distance of an elusive goal and it feels good to "have it on the run".  Sure, I am still in the middle of my "&"...but it feels good!   That is what life and a New Year is all about.  Get dissatisfied with your "Before", work your butt off (figuratively and literally depending on your goal) during your "&"and enjoy the fruits of your labor in the "After".  Hint: You also have to have joy during the "&" as that is where you will spend most of your life!   Ok, so maybe I chickened out a bit on my first ever selfie...I have a newfound respect for Kim Kardashian and Anthony Weiner (never thought I would say either of those things!).  Yes, I still have some work to do but I am ready.  (click here for the backstory on Shemar Moore!)   I have resolved that 2015 is the year to Pursue Your Greatness.  It is ok to reach high and fall a little (or a lot) short.  The key to getting things done is to believe they are possible and get started and keep pressing.  Who knows, you may reach every goal you set or next year you may say you...   Missed It By That Much!   Wishing you a prosperous and healthy 2015!

&!

It's New Years Eve.   Most of you are off of work today and getting ready for a night of festivities and pulling back the curtain on a new year...the dawn of a new beginning.   Yes, I know many of you are making resolutions and setting goals - that's a good thing.  Fitness, finances, family and fun should be a part of what you plan to be, do and have in 2015.   Can I give you "the secret" to achieving all of your goals?   It is the symbol to the left.  Its real name is Ampersand, it common name is "And" but many know it by it's symbol...   "&".   Handy little symbol that does a lot of neat things.  Its primary job is to combine things.   Peanut butter & Jelly, This & That, Yin & Yang, To & Fro, High & Low, Rich & Poor...ok, you get the picture.   How is this symbol the key to achieving all of your goals in 2015?  Its other job is to connect things.  As it relates to your best year ever it connects...   Before & After     Lets take a look at "Before".  Before is easy.  It is what we look like today with no effort.  The bank account could be $0 (or overdrawn!), the scale could be enemy #1, our marriage could be on the rocks or we could be addicted to libations on the rocks. Before doesn't require anything...it just is.     But "Before" is not what we want...we want "After".  More often than not, we try to hide our "Before".  We don't want people to know how bad things have gotten.  That we have allowed things to erode, living our lives along the path of least resistance. Deep down, we know what is wrong with our "Before" and what we allowed to get there. That also means we know what it will take to get out of it! That is why we make resolutions and set goals...to get to "After".  The "After" we are eager to show gets us positive attention.  It always basks in the light of adoration...a testament to the human will and the crowning achievement of persistence in the face of overwhelming odds and circumstances.  The Horatio Alger "Rags to Riches" story is always applauded - from the welfare mother who gets her first house, to Sara Blakely (Spanx) going from nothing to millions.  Jared is still famous (and rich!) from losing weight eating Subway sandwiches.  Millions of people still watch the "overnight success" opportunity presented by American Idol, The Voice and others. We all love a good "Before & After" story.  While we focus on the difference between the Before/After, it is what happened between them that really matters.  That is where the "&" comes in.  The "&" is where we put in the work, fight against old conditioning and habits. It is where we toil and struggle without fanfare or applause.  We have to encourage ourselves.  Do more squat, run one more mile, make one more phone call, write one more chapter, go on a date with your spouse, take your daughter to lunch...it isn't always glamorous, but the "&" is not supposed to be. The "&" represents time, energy, effort and focus.  It is a cocoon of safety and anonymity, where you can succeed, fail...and try again as many times as it takes to get to "After" - without peering eyes of judgment. It is the place of metamorphosis.  I am not interest in what you looked like "Before".  Not to burst your bubble, I am not that interested in your "After" either - though I will clap with everyone else.  I now understand that my mission in life is to cheerlead you through the private, inner battles of your metamorphosis. To exhort and encourage you when you want to give up, when the price of achievement seems to high and when you are looking for inspiration to make another go of this precious thing called life. Make 2015 The Year.  Take a real look at "Before"...set an audacious and bodacious "After" and know that you have more than what it takes to achieve it and make it through your    &!   For 2015 and beyond, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Truth or Dare!

Happy Monday!    Just 3 Days until 2015.    Are you excited?  Does the ushering of a New Year bring hope and renewed aspiration?    It should.     There is something about getting to wipe the slate clean that absolves people of the things they didn't do in the current year and that they can start afresh in the coming one. It's kind of like "kicking the can down the road"...except with champagne and parties! Hey, I am not being cynical  or pessimistic.  Quite the opposite.  It's just that my recent milestone of turning 50 has made me ultra sensitive to time and accomplishment.  As much I would like to say I completed in 2014, there were a lot of things I left undone.  My suspiscion is you have some things you didn't do in 2014, either.  Before we beat each other up, let's play a game. Truth or Dare.    I will break from the tradition of the game and not require that you tell me The Truth, but that you are honest with yourself about your unrealized goals.  Ask yourself 3 questions;   Did I do everything possible to accomplish this goal?  Am I still committed to this goal?  What am I going to do different about this goal in 2015? Again, breaking from the tradition of the game, I am not letting you off the hook just because you told The Truth!  I now want you to take The Dare.  1. I Dare You to believe at a higher level about your goal!  Not only see it as possible, but see it as already done.  Supreme faith always sees things in "the NOW"!  Flood your mind with positive images of completion, achievement and enjoyment.    2. I Dare You to do something radical toward the achievement of your goal!  For a moment, suspend the intellect - it always wants to take the "safe road".  Let your instincts have a shot at guiding you.  It is probably telling you to do something you have never done before. Go bananas...do it!   3. I Dare You to throw everything you have at your goal!  You don't have to be 50 to understand that time is precious.  Don't waste it by giving half-hearted efforts to the things that should matter most.  If you are not 110% committed, then maybe you should let it go and move on.  Still want it?  Then you will have to do the work, pay the price, and give all that you have!  It will be worth it!   I am not waiting for Thursday to play Truth or Dare...I am playing today.  Right now.  I am doing what I am asking you to do.  Is it scary?  Of course it is.  That is why people live in their Comfort Zones...to be comfortable.   Get out of the zone...time to play...    Truth or Dare!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!