The universe is apathetic.
It does not care if your life is easy, or difficult. It does not care whether you choose to persist, or choose to give up on your dreams.
It will not fight you or keep you down.
It will not help you and pick you up.
Whether you fail or succeed, the sun will set, the sun will rise, and the universe will remain unconcerned.
However, The Fact Is….
You were born with gifts unavailable to anyone else.
You have the power to do things that nobody else can do, because nobody else possesses your rare combination of abilities – and nobody else will come across the same opportunities you will.
For about 5 seconds, there is total silence, as we absorb the words, meaning and emotion and soak in the experience…
Then the entire theater breaks out in thunderous applause and yelling as I leap out of my seat slapping my palms together high above my head.
The poet takes a bow and drifts stage left while artists paint scenes from Hawaii behind her, and the resident DJ turns up the music.
Kealoha, a nationally ranked slam poet himself, is the emcee. He jumps on stage and hugs her before taking the microphone from her hands.
Brushing his long hair from his eyes, Kealoha steps into the spotlight and calls out to the audience.
“That was Bridget Gray everyone,” Kealoha’s voice rings out , “make some nooo-oooise.”
The pulsing crowd goes wild again, filling the whole room with energy that the poets feed off of.
“Keep the love going, coming on stage we have Dar’ron – and waiting in the wings is Jess Kroll. Jess Kroll, you are up next. Dar’ron, coming to the stage.”
And just like that, it was Dar’ron’s turn.
“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.”
- Coria Kent
We’re all dying one minute, one hour and one day at a time – but time flies by so fast that we often aren’t aware of just how fleeting our moments really are.
We wake up one day and can’t believe another year or decade has gone by, and we ask ourselves – where did the time go? How did we not notice it passing?
I have a trick I’ve been using that really makes me value every moment, and today I’m going to share this trick with you.
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus (loosely translated)
How many times have you run into an old friend, perhaps years after you’d seen them last – and realized that while some things have changed, so much stays the same?
And other times, you’ve seen people drastically alter themselves (and perhaps the course of their lives) in just months, weeks or even days.
What causes this? Why is it that some people change and grow suddenly, while others remain the same? Why is it that some people make it seem effortless, while others struggle and never seem to get out of their rut?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I think I’ve found the answer.
Regardless of whether it’s a small or massive change, there’s always a consistent catalyst. There’s a secret that governs all the personal growth and changes in our attitudes, outlook and even our motivation. And today, I’m going to share this secret with you – and how you can bring about this catalyst for change in your own life.
Half hearted attempts will only get you 10% of the results.
It takes you…
- 40% of effort just to maintain
- 50% of effort gets you 10% beyond where you were
100% of effort is the only way to make real progress
“It is a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.”
– W. Somerset Maugham
Do you have standards for what you will accept in life – and what you won’t?
And my followup question: given the standards you set, do you actually follow them?
Having standards is the easy part – it’s sticking to them and enforcing them that’s hard.
As Alfred Adler once said “It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.”
But I’ve got news for you -
If you don’t defend your standards, no one will.
