Family & Friends,
Last week I attended a seminar intended for Public Relations professionals and Entrepreneurs. One of the guest speakers said, “Retire many times when you are young.” I immediately felt the urge to jump to my feet and shout, “Bravo! Encore!”
About a month ago I retired from Corporate America to work for myself. Let me tell you, living with uncertainty has not been easy. I have been expecting and receiving a check consistently long before I was the legal age to work. I’m also back in school working on another degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science. Last night I received my midterm grade and let’s just say I have never scored so low on an exam. The truth is I’ve been everything but productive; I have been acting like the wrong percentage group, the 95 who won’t succeed.
There’s a new movie coming out with Robert Di Nero and Bradley Cooper called “Limitless.” According to the official synopsis, “Limitless” is about a struggling unpublished author (sounds familiar) who takes a designer drug that allows him to utilize 100 percent of his brain, enabling him to become the perfect version of himself. Studies show that most people use only 10 percent of their brain. We don’t need to look far to confirm this statement. But how do we walk away from this group?
Over the past several days I consulted with a few different friends and family members and was extremely disappointed to hear that there’s little to no improvement in their personal development. Some of you will know who and what I’m talking about. I ask why? Why not take that many classes? Why not see how many books you can read? Why not exercise your will power and stop smoking cigarettes? Why not run that extra mile? Why not do more than what you get paid for? Why not become more valuable to your family, to your community, to yourself? But how do we turn our life around?
Go for a walk. Go sit under a tree. Go to a place where you can have a conversation with yourself. Admit your mistakes to yourself. Pray—cry if you must; let it all out. Face your fears. That’s how you conquer them. We all make mistakes. You don’t have to repeat the last five years. You have to believe that you can develop that skill…you have to believe that you can overcome that challenge. You have to believe in your community, in your country, in your economy. You have to believe in yourself.
I’m an avid reader of self-help books. I absolutely love learning about leadership, success, challenges—skills that serve well for the future. Throughout the years I’ve learned that there are numbers in place that keep us on track. Ask yourself, when you’re alone –in your private moments, ask yourself, “how high is my FICO score? What is my current GPA? How much do I weigh?”
Demand integrity from yourself. Become more attractive. The more attractive you become the more attractive people you’ll attract. Conduct a thorough analysis of every aspect of your life. Who are your friends? Who are you dating? Who do you associate with? While present, your relationships play a powerful role in your life. We shouldn’t judge, but sometimes we can’t help it. People judge us by the actions we take and the promises we make. Working as an image consultant has got me thinking about my own reputation and values…who I am when no one is watching and who I wish to become.
How many of us have always wanted to run a marathon, to start a business, to write a book, to learn a new language or to climb Mt. Everest? How many of us have wanted to give up animal protein once and for all and become struggling vegans like me? I wish you would! As humans we have the power of choice. Ask yourself what experience do you want?
I’m talking to you…the person in the mirror. Take inventory of your time; be conservative with your time. Write down in detail how you’ve spent your day. Review your performance. Most of us are familiar with performance reviews given by an employer or institution we represent. I have made it a point to give myself weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual reviews.
Each year I begin with a set of goals. I break up all these goals into quarters. I then develop a plan or strategy on how I will meet those goals. Sometimes I lose focus and fall off track…that’s okay. I can clean up my errors and start again—from this day forward.
I went home thinking about my midterm and about my recent behavior. I couldn’t wait to get to my home office, roll up my sleeves and make up for lost time. By the time I got home I didn’t necessarily have a need for a “pick-me-up,” but I wanted to keep the momentum going and so I took out a list I put together of all of my accomplishments…I immediately felt better.
I purposely wrote this for you and me because I know most of us know someone who knows someone who has lost direction. I don’t know what ambitions, challenges or goals you have but I do believe that we don’t need a designer drug that will allow us to use 100 percent of our brain. We can make the choice to develop a stronger work ethic and become the perfect version of ourselves. Can you imagine what would happen if tonight you went to bed thinking tomorrow is going to be the best day of your life? You wouldn’t need an alarm to wake you up! You would be so pumped and ready to go you wouldn’t need legal addictive stimulants to keep you going. Your own mental vigor and attitude would suffice. Try it! Like the last rep in a great workout, make it count.
Have a fabulous February! Happy birthday to my baby sister, Elizabeth and happy 38th wedding anniversary to my parents, Roberto and Francisca Medina!
Iris Medina
The Medina Times
