Inspirational and Self Help Blog with a Save the World Complex...
Success doesn’t always happen as planned. In fact, more times than not, you have to take failure and bad luck and turn them into success.
The 9 Famous Success Stories in the infographic below are perfect examples of taking failure and turning it into success beyond your wildest dreams!
The word drastic is defined as “acting with force; violent” or “extremely severe or extensive.”
The definitions are nothing if not extreme themselves. Drastic even.
My own definition of drastic (straight from “Joi’s Southern Dictionary”) is this: A situation is drastic when nothing you throw at it sticks.
Unfortunately drastic situations can (and often do) show up anywhere. And everywhere:
The tougher the opponent (re-read drastic‘s definition to remind yourself of its toughness), the tougher YOU have to be. If your enemy is proving that it can stand the test of time, it may be time to switch up your approach.
Throw something tougher at it and see if it sticks.
A few examples (because who doesn’t like examples?):
Weight. If you struggle with your weight – or, more precisely, if the scale refuses to budge in the acceptable direction – it may be time to step up your efforts… maybe even WAY up.
Sports or Hobbies. If your hobby, sport, or favorite pastime refuses to succumb to your best efforts, first of all, consider better equipment. We can only be as good as the tools we use. I may be one of the only women in the world who encourages her golfing husband to buy better golf clubs. If you’re going to spend time on a hobby, you might as well do it right. If you aren’t doing as well as you’d like in your game (or hobby) of choice, maybe it’s because you aren’t setting yourself up for success.
Photography is another area where your results are directly related to your equipment.
If your equipment is about as good as it gets, ask yourself, “How much time am I putting into it?” The answer may shock you. If you aren’t devoting time to honing your craft, how in the world is it supposed to get better?!
If your equipment is about as good as it gets and you’re putting in a respectable amount of time, you might be a golden candidate for a few lessons or classes. An expert (teacher, instructor, coach..) may hold your key to success.
These are, of course, just a few examples. Irregardless of the situation, the approach is pretty much the same – if what you’re throwing isn’t sticking, change up your approach.
If there’s something that makes the fight a little tougher for you (health issues, medicinal side-effects, financial restraints…), you’re going to have to grab a big shovel and dig deep. Basically, you can either use an obstacle as a reason to try harder or as a reason to quit.
I once read about a woman with diabetes that very, very, very difficult to manage. Her moods, along with her sugar, would fly all over the place. She had to devise a system to control her emotions (and mouth!) before she drove everyone she loved away.
If you have extenuating circumstances, you will have to fight a little harder than the next person but it will, in the end, make you a little stronger than the next person.
Bottom Line: Other than acts of God, drastic situations only respond to one thing – Drastic actions. They’re like werewolves that can only be killed with one bullet – a silver bullet. Think about your own personal werewolves and see how many silver bullets you can come up with.
“Drastic results call for drastic action!”
Keep reaching!
~ Joi
Now we’ll have to make it a gazillion and four.
On an episode earlier this season, the queen of fitness, Jillian Michaels, was in a contestants face (I SO love it when she gets in faces – priceless). She was trying to get the contestant to push harder and do more than they thought they could do. She told them not to half-ass it. Then she told them to never half-ass anything in life.
The phrase has stuck with me, glued to my psyche.
Since then, I’ve challenged myself in different areas of my life. It’s as though an inner Jillian will get in my face, asking me, “Are you half-assing?!? I know you’re not half-assing, are you, goofball?!”
My inner Jillian’s a name-caller.
Truth be told, I’m afraid that all of us, at one time or another, half-asses whatever it is we’re doing. Whether we’re pressed for time or pressed for “give a darn,” only half of us shows up for duty. The other half phones it in and kicks back. Then we have the audacity to wonder why we aren’t achieving the level of success we’re looking for. Sometimes we think we’re busting our butts for a particular cause when, in all actuality, we’re only busting half our butts.
Half assing, if you will.
This is a short post – especially compared to the epic novelettes I normally write – but it isn’t intended to be a forum for me. It’s intended to be a thought provoker for anyone and everyone reading it. Basically I want to sow the seed (the words HALF-ASS) in the field (your mind) and allow you to harvest something spectacular. I want the words to encourage and challenge you the way they have me since they first came charging out of Jillian’s mouth. These words, and the concept behind them, take no prisoners, no excuses, and no b.s.
From here on, when you’re…
….. ask yourself, “AM I HALF-ASSING IT?” Simply challenging yourself with the question, alone, will make you extend your reach. You’ll work harder, stay longer, go further, and surpass a bar you may not have even reached. You’ll amaze yourself with what you can accomplish when you put your ALL into it as opposed to just half.
It’s amazing how motivational two little words can be. There’s magic in half ass… as long as you’re saying it and not doing it.
Give it your all or why even bother?
~ Joi
Today is, of course, Columbus Day. A day to celebrate the fact that Christopher Columbus officially discovered America. I know, I know, fellow history buffs, how do you discover something that’s already there? Simple, you point it out to the rest of the world. For example, I can tell you that you can get killer Catfish and ridiculously delicious hush puppies at Willow Pond in Aurora, Kentucky – I didn’t discover the catfish restaurant, but I DID tell you about a restaurant you otherwise wouldn’t be aware of. Unless you’re familiar with Kentucky’s beautiful Land Between the Lakes, you might not even know about Aurora.
Columbus sort of re-tweeted what the Native Americans were doing and, since he had more followers, news spread like wildfire.
We were meant to give our lives away. Spend more time living your legacy instead of worrying about leaving it. – Lee J. Colan
At any rate, I didn’t set out to necessarily post about Christopher Columbus OR to give myself a wicked craving for hush puppies. I was simply thinking about legacies today. When I was on Twitter this morning – enjoying the afterglow of the Denver Bronco’s stellar win – I noticed that two of the “hot topics” this morning were Christopher Columbus and Michael Jackson. The two names made me think about legacies… for better or worse.
Legacies.
When we walk along a wet beach, we leave our footprints behind us. In the same way, we leave our legacies behind us when we leave this world. However, there’s no tide to come and take away these impressions. We earn our reputations and we earn our legacy.
When we think of others, we think of things they stand for and issues that are important to them. We think of things they like, things they love, and things they detest. In the span of a few minutes, we can conjure up a pretty good impression of them. Depending upon the individual, the following words may come into play:
Usually, the impression we have of someone acts as a mirror – reflecting the impressions they leave behind… like footprints in the sand.
Have you given much thought to the legacy your building? Do you realize that you form your legacy each and every single day? Overwhelming, I know!
The good news is this: If you fear that your legacy comes up short of your expectations – as long as you still have breath in your body, you can do something about it! The only time it’s too late is when the breath is gone. Be absolutely still for a minute – are you breathing? Excellent, your legacy is still a work in progress!!!
Here’s an illustration: I love baseball. However, a few sensational players have been “stained” by wrongdoings. Think of Pete Rose and Barry Bonds. Incredible players who loved the game and had (have) absolutely countless fans. I loved to watch Barry Bonds at bat! Each had his own particular “misstep” along their walk…. come on, as we all do. But the thing, in my opinion, that most people absolutely cannot accept is when an individual doesn’t own up to their mistake. When they try to shift blame, act dumb, or keep saying, “I refuse to answer that question…” – our give a dang exceeds its limits and we no longer even give half a dang.
Their “sins” end up owning them in the end and they seal their legacy. However, if they would, sincerely, acknowledge their wrongs and apologize to their fans – their legacy would include the word “gut” rather than “guilty” as a sincere apology all but erases the i, the l, and the y.
He that visits the sick in hopes of a legacy, but is never so friendly in all other cases, I look upon him as being no better than a raven that watches a weak sheep only to peck out its eyes. – Seneca
What does this mean for the rest of us? Plenty. If you suspect that your legacy would include the word “hothead,” lighten the heck up! If you aren’t sure that you’d be remembered for your generosity, become more generous (but don’t become the sort of giver that resents the giving or gives just to receive pats on the back… you’re missing the boat and the legacy will be just out of reach).
Explorers, athletes, and entertainers who are no longer with us leave behind a legacy that will never leave. So will I. And so will you. Begin, today, crafting one you’ll be proud of. Most importantly, remember the quote by Seneca (above) – don’t focus on leaving your legacy, focus on living your legacy.
Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day. – Billy Graham
….. to yell when your favorite team loses.
….. to yell when the team you hate wins.
….. to wear white during winter.
….. to cry whenever you feel like crying.
…..to laugh whenever you feel like laughing.
….. to swing at the park, whatever your age.
….. to sing out loud with the radio.
….. to lose your cool.
….. to look at the world differently from everyone else.
…..to let other people have their own opinions.
….. to disagree with those opinions.
…..to be headstrong.
…..to have a strong will. Seriously, how could it not be okay to be strong.
…..to say no for no other reason than you feel like it.
…..to simply say, “I don’t know.”
…..make mistakes.
…..waste a little time each and every day.
….. dress how YOU want to dress. Wear your hair how YOU want to wear your hair.
….. tell the world where you stand.
…..walk away from a fight.
….. spend more for clothes, jewelry, food, furniture, and shoes than others think you should.
….. take “me” time.
….. cherish “”me” time.
….. watch cartoons.
….. to see things your way.
….. sleep late.
….. not to go simply because you don’t want to.
….. ask for help when you need it.
….. to just be YOU.