CREATING YOUR OWN RED CARPET!!!

In January Glenna and I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Grammy’s. I had always wanted to attend an event like this! I thought this is going to be incredible! It was!

The show is completely different in person compared to seeing it on television. We also had the opportunity to go to the after party. That was a blast! The decorations were spectacular, the food great and the sights tremendous!

We attended with a group of likeminded business people trying to make a difference. They were really what made the trip so fantastic. I was honored to be a part of such a fine group of people! The part I found the most disappointing was walking the red carpet….. ok…..ok……….let me explain! I can already hear you saying,  ”Bart are you nuts?”

What we discovered are that there are TWO red carpets……………..one for the stars and one for everyone else! The stars’ red carpet is filled with reporters, TV staff, THE BIG STARS, cameras and the Grammy staff. The other red carpet runs parallel to the red carpet for the start. At many points there is a screen that really keeps you from seeing much! There is also a staff that keeps you moving fairly quickly until you get to the other end. I wanted to gawk……….not possible! The POWER OF THE RED CARPET DID NOT HIT ME UNTIL AFTER THE OSCARS!!!

Here’s what happened……………..I came to work on Monday morning after the Oscars on Sunday night. At least twenty people asked me if I went to the Oscars. I laughed and said NO!!! I asked why? They said well you walked one red carpet, we expected you to walk the next one! What followed was the most amazing part. Every person said, “I wish I could do that. The next time you go, can I go with you?”

It just reinforced the idea that everyone wants to walk their own red carpet. Every person wants to feel like they count for a reason. It is scary to walk down the red carpet by yourself. It is much easier if you can follow someone who has already walked down the red carpet. That is exactly what happens when someone follows their purpose. When someone follows their dreams, when someone steps on their own red carpet to the practice of Remarkability! People want to follow! Each of us has the responsibility of responding to the call of fulfilling our purpose. The consequences of not being true to ourselves is building houses that will not stand, relationships that will fail and dreams that will become nightmares. There are people waiting for you to lead the way. They are suffering, hurting, crying, and begging for you to show the way. They want to go with someone who has been seen that path. Once they walk the path of Remarkability, they too will show the way for others. It begins with YOU!!!! It never ends. This is you creating and living out your INTENTIONAL LEGACY! You see…………when you walk the red carpet of remarkability two things happen: One ………….you want to do it again!!!!!! Two………..others want to follow and go with you!!!!!!

I DARE YOU TO WALK DOWN YOUR OWN RED CARPET!!

I DARE YOU TO SHOW THE WAY FOR OTHERS!!!

Will you lead the way?

Let the Dreamers Wake the Nation! Our Job is to Start a Revolution!

Jim Rohn once said, “If you want to attract the committed………..you must be committed!” It is not possible for us to conquer our challenges if we are not committed. It is even more impossible for us to lead the way for others, no matter what we share or how we share it………………….if they don’t see us and hear us as committed. We don’t have the luxury of only talking the talk, we must walk the walk. This is not something for just every day, it is for EVERY MOMENT!

Each of us has a challenge that works to hold us back. We must be committed to work past it! This is the work we must do to lead the way for others.

A huge monster wave would scare a regular swimmer into not even trying the wave. He would stand on the shore and watch others. The surfer is different! For him the wave creates a tremendous thrill. He has ridden the waves. He knows the thrill of victory. He has conquered. He is the example for those on shore. Only because he has conqurered, can the future sufers conquer the waves!

Now apply that to your own circumstances. If we believe we have a gift to share, if you truly believe this is your purpose and life gift, if you believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt…..Then you must believe this! YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO CONQUER YOUR CHALLENGE! Let your challenge create a tremendous thrill in your life! Your are closer than you think to overcoming! You all are conquerors not is spite of the challenge. You are conquerors in the MIDST of the challenge!

We can’t expect others to follow if we are not willing to do our own work.

Make a commitment and a promise to YOUSELF to not let ANYTHING come between you and your purpose!

If you do the work, they will follow. If you build it, they will come. If you show the way, they will lead others!
NOW IS THE TIME TO AWAKEN A NATION! NOW IS THE TIME TO AWAKEN THE DREAMERS! NOW IS THE TIME TO START A REVOLUTION!! IT BEGINS WITH US!

WILL YOU JOIN OR WILL YOU STAND ON THE SHORE? YOUR CHOICE!

I dare you!

The Path to Remarkability!

The Paths Untaken- Both the Past and the Future!

I have had the privilege of helping two people over the last two weeks really identify their gift and life purpose.  It is an amazing experience to see the transformation, relief and hope that comes from gaining understanding why they feel they are here.

Time and time again I see people truly wanting to follow their heart, live out their dreams and live the life I believe they were meant to live.  We settle for so little!  We resign ourselves to having less! One of the women I was working with said it perfectly, “We may as well lie down and die!”  We may not be ‘laying down’ physically………………but we are doing it emotionally and spiritually.

Our lives are a journey.  A journey of discovery and learning.  The journey has a beginning, middle and an ending! The path is like climbing a mountain.  It has ups and downs, twist and turns.  For some of us reaching the top is easy, for others it is a struggle, painful and disappointing.

Most people would believe reaching the top is the goal.  To them it is the epitimy of success…………more money, bigger houses, more cars, more toys and more vacations.  The result of success is all those things and more.  It in my opinion is not the end.  It is purely the byproduct of following the path we have been called to walk.

I believe the real goal is not to reach the top of the mountain.  The real goal…………….is to see what is on the other side! The goal is to see where we have come from, to look from the top of the mountain….to see the paths we have taken and most importantly to see that paths that are our FUTURE! We climb the mountain to cross into the life we were meant to live. ……..to live bigger lives than we thought possible, to receive more than we thought was possible and to give more than we thought possible!!!

For all of us we have ‘paths not taken’ in our past and we have ‘paths not taken’ in our future. Most of us focus on the paths not taken in our past, instead of looking to the paths of the future.  Which are YOU focusing on?……..the paths not taken in your past or the paths not taken in your FUTURE?

Each of us has to climb at times in our lives some mountain of difficulty.  It can be relationships, medical issues, careers, financial, spiritual or something deeply personal.  We can’t avoid the mountains.  They will come.  These small mountains give us strength, they form who we are.  They are our experiences.  Each time we reached the top of the mountain, we looked two ways.  We looked to the path we have taken.  As we look back we see different paths we could have taken. Ones that might have been easier, ones that would have got us to the top of the mountain faster.  We learn.  We know which paths to avoid, which paths are better for us in our journey.  From the top of the mountain we can also see how to go down the mountain to the rich valley and see the next mountain that lies in our future……..our next goal.  Most likely it is a bigger taller mountain!  Our next chosen challenge……………….. we would not have the strength, or the experience, the knowledge, the wisdom to climb the next mountain if it were not for the the paths and mountains our past!

The problem is some of us never reach the top of the mountain.  All we see and focus on is the paths not taken in our past.  We see the regrets, the mistakes, the wrong turns, the wrong choices.  The top alludes us…………….the paths to the top of the mountain are not as easily seen.  They have hidden turns and twists.  They have obstacles in the way.  It seems too hard.  We give up.  We end up living on the side of the mountain instead of the top or crossing into the valley of our dreams.  We compromise for no reason.  We live in the paths not taken of the past!

Some people climb their mountains, reach the top and create the paths of their future.  For a select group of folks they reach the fork in their path that allows them to choose to climb the mountain of their purpose.  This will be the highest mountain they will ever climb.  This mountain will allow them to stand above the clouds.  This will allow them to see their lives like they have never seen before.  This will allow them to see all the paths not taken in their past, to see the paths they have taken and understand how they couldn’t have climbed their own Mount Everest without all those little mountains.

Most importantly, as you stand on the top of the mountain you get to see all the paths not taken in your future.  You have a choice.   The paths are limitless.  You are now in full control.  Now you are creating and choosing your destiny.  The path to the life you were meant to live is in full view.  It is reachable.  It is all downhill.  It is all for the taking

You now may say I have the ultimate success.  I have reached the top of the highest mountain in the world for me!  You are fifty percent correct.  Reaching this mountain and crossing into the valley comes with personal responsibility. Your job, your purpose, your life gift, your reason for being is now solely………………to help others reach their ultimate mountain top and show them the paths not taken into their future.

YOU ARE NOW ON THE PATH TO REMARKABILITY!

I dare you to reach your mountain top and take the paths not taken to your future!

Remarkability is Creating a Path and a Bridge from the Life You Live to the Life You were MEANT to Live

Remarkability Experts Bart Queen & Glenna Griffin at the Golden Gate Bridge

I have had the opportunity over the last year to see some pretty remarkable places. I stood at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. I saw the power of two oceans meeting each other creating some of the most dangerous passage areas in the world. I stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon. One can only stare in awe of something so magnificent. I stood on top of an ice glacier in Alaska. I saw the blue light come from the massive ice flow. Each of those was an amazing experience.

Last month I stood on the mountain overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge on the north side. It was early in the morning, the sun was peeking through the clouds, and the fog seemed to be interwoven into parts of the bridge. Some places you could see the bridge. At other points it was hidden. Standing at a distance it seemed scary for cars and pedestrians to keep moving forward not knowing where the bridge led. Did it end, what was at the other side? Would it take me in the right direction?

I stood in amazement as I watched the hundreds of cars zoom across the bridge with no hesitation or reservation. Their thoughts were not on the bridge, how it was built, what direction was it taking them, or did it end. They most likely were enjoying the beauty of crossing the bridge and of arriving at their final destination.

I sat in silence. I sat in awe of one of the greatest bridges in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge got its name from Captain John C. Fremont in 1846. The name really referred to the strait- the OPENINING that the bridge SPANNED. The strait led to some of the richest, fertile land along the western coast of the United States. California would become known as the fruit, vegetable and bread basket of the West.

The history and development is just as powerful. The idea of the bridge and its initial vision was passed in the California State Legislature on May 25, 1923. The final plans were submitted on August 27, 1930……….over 7 years later. Construction finally began on January 5th, 1933. The bridge opened on May 27, 1937 to pedestrians and the following day to automobiles.

From the vision to its REALIZATION ……………14 years! So what does that have to do with you and I?

I think there are two huge lessons we all can learn from about the building of the bridge: The first is your life represents a ‘golden gate’ to millions of others.  The second is your life is a safety net for those who will follow you. Your courage to LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK is the catalyst for others! We have no choice but TO BE PART OF A GLOBAL HUMAN REVOLUTION!

The first lesson:

I BELIEVE EACH OF US HAS A GOLDEN GATE. I BELIEVE EACH OF US HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO STAND AT THE OPENING OF A GOLDEN GATE. THE QUESTION ISN’T WHETHER WE HAVE a GATE! THE QUESTION YOU MUST ASK YOUR SELF IS…… “WILL YOU CROSS OVER, PASS THROUGH TO THE LIFE YOU TRULY WERE MEANT TO LIVE?”

For those of you who decide to take the journey, for those of you who leave the safety of the ‘known’….…for those of you who take the first step, then the second, then the third, you only have one option……………….YOU MUST FINSIH THE JOURNEY……….NO MATTER WHAT THE OBSTACLES OR THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES!

Imagine if the designers, builders, and workers stopped half-way as they were building the Golden Gate Bridge. What would have happened if they decided it was taking too long and too much effort? Imagine the impact for the last 73 years if we COULDN’T pass to the other side.

See………….. you don’t have a choice about letting your life speak. It is not something that is optional….. your gift, your life lesson is the bridge and path to help others. When we are not true to ourselves, we build homes that will not stand, we build relationships that will shatter and dreams that will become nightmares. YOU are the bridge to millions of people who will follow. You are the key link to helping others reach their destination. You will literally save someone’s life. Without you others will stand on the mountain, see the richness that is at their fingertips, but never taste the honey of the life they were meant to live.

It took 14 years to build one of the most awe inspiring bridges in the world. Fourteen short years to create an international symbol of hope to the millions who come to see and walk across it.

Yet……………WE quit before we even start. “It’s too hard, that won’t work, people will laugh at me, I have a family to support, I need more education, more skills, more money, I need to write a book first…..” We are not short on excuses. Why aren’t we as quick with reasons WHY to do it….to make a difference ….as we are with reasons why NOT to do it!!!…let’s focus on answers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you can do this!!!!!!! If we DO start………….we then quit because it takes too long. Our lives are not worth 14 years? The lives of others are not worth 14 years? You dedicate 18 years to your child, you HOPE for a life time with your spouse of significant other. DO we question that time?

 Is 14 years not worth leaving A LIFE OF INTENTIONAL LEGACY BEHIND, A PATH FOR OTHERS TO FIND THEIR WAY? IS NOT 14 YEARS WORTH LEAVING A GOLDEN GATE FOR OTHERS TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL? You need to understand that once the golden gate is created, once the bridge has been built……………IT STANDS FOREVER. YOU TRULY LEAVE A LEGACY BEHIND! You will become a bridge that others will cross on their way. They will cross with confidence, hope and determination.

We cannot allow TIME to be an excuse! Each day we must move forward no matter how small the step. Today will you take a step? Any step? Today will you take a step for someone else? Will you take a step for someone you don’t know? If we help only one ………….we have given our life tremendous value.

So I already know what you’re thinking. You’re scared. Your mind is coming up with more excuses than you had before. I know, because I have been there. I also know I get stronger every day.

Fear is the number one thing that keeps us from taking that step! There were 11 deaths in building the Golden Gate Bridge! They estimated there would be over 35. One death per million in construction costs. The reality was very few perished. The rate was so low because they put a safety net underneath the floor of the bridge. If someone did misstep the net would catch the men.

This is your second lesson from the bridge!

We too have a safety net. All those who have led the way in letting their lives speak have shown us we can do the same. We also must be the safety net for those who will follow behind us! When I think of a safety net, I think of the rope that supports it. They say a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Our strand is built upon three of the keys of remarkability- our vision of purpose, our belief in our gifts, and our ability to act. It will support us and those we carry, help and show the way too.

You must believe that failure is not an option.

You are the bridge and safety net for others. I want you to imagine yourself as the human bridge for thousands of people. Because of you others will cross without hesitation. They will speed to their destination………….confident that the bridge will carry them to the other side. For those who are gripped in fear, you will represent the safety net that will keep them from falling. Each of us has no idea how truly powerful we are. Each of us has no idea how much impact we can have on the world. Some of our impact we make out of choice, some of the impact comes from just being ourselves, from letting our lives speak

You must be true to your gift. If we are not ………….all those who have failed, lost, died in trying have died in vain.

You must be true to your gift. Your purpose is your gift….your gift is your calling, your calling is to save lives in a way only you can! This is the ultimate communication….your whole life speaking! Together we stand on one side of the golden gate…together we can cross. Together we can be the safety net. Together we can make a difference. Together we can save lives.

I dare you!

Overcome fear and follow your own yellow brick road!

Do you guard against the “fear of yourself”?

I have had one of those days when I feel like saying ”YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! THERE IS MORE?!”

Know what I mean?

It reminds me of those Saturday projects that start simple -  like cleaning your closet of clothes you don’t need -  and then takes a wrong turn – into completely remodeling the whole closet.  Sunday night arrives, you have clothes everywhere, the closet is torn apart, you’re tired, frustrated and you can’t believe you went from just cleaning out the closet to a whole bedroom makeover!

Even better…….I can remember helping Glenna move one time.  The move went from a simple move from one house to another,  to a garage sale, trip to Goodwill, bake sales for those attending, and a social get-together!  It just seemed to expand at an exponential level!

More recently, Glenna and I have been working on several projects all at once that fit this idea.  It seems like every time we get one part completed 10 more open up.

Have you ever had one of those experiences at home……….or maybe a project at work that seemed like it never stopped expanding?

We are working on creating a REMARKABILTY TV SHOW.  The show will highlight others who are out in their communities letting their lives speak and practicing remarkability.  As we plunged forward it seemed to get more difficult, emotionally harder and I began to ask myself if it was really all worth it…………………………………………………………….?

Then I realized I had only been practicing 2 of the 3 c’s of remarkability…

I have been missing a critical link to moving forward.  You have heard me talk about the first two many times: Clarity of vision and confidence in your belief!

Clarity of our vision relates to our life purpose.  Our vision for our lives -  how we want to make a difference – must be crystal clear.  You can’t have too much detail in your vision.  I use pictures of things I find to refine the picture in my head even more.  I kept a picture board in front of me every day so I can see it!  It keeps me focused on my life purpose and motivated to achieve success.  What the mind can envision, the body can create!

Confidence in ourselves seems to be a daily challenge for a lot of folks. Me included!! I once heard this definition of a lack of confidence: “A lack of confidence is doing just a little less than you know you can do.”  I break down my projects into activities, my activities in small action steps and my actions into steps that take less than an hour to complete.  When I break it down into small bite size pieces … I accomplish more, feel less frustrated and my confidence builds quickly.  This helps me avoid feeling frozen, stuck and unable to move!

But I have been leaving out the third “C” lately!

COURAGE is the missing component!!!!!!!

In his book Why Courage Matters John McCain wrote, “We are all afraid of something. Some have more fears than others. The one we must all guard against is the fear of ourselves. Fear is the opportunity for courage, not the proof of cowardice.”

Mother Teresa said,”To have courage for whatever comes in life- everything lies in that.”

John McCain also said that, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity for ACTION despite our fears.”

Now, I do not consider myself a brave man.  Many times I feel like I have taken the easier road.  Every time I have done that I regret that I didn’t take a different action.

Today I am going to take a different approach.  Today I am setting my fears aside.  Today I will replace fear with action.  Even if it is the smallest of steps.  Today I see my vision with new clarity.  Today I have a deeper belief in myself. Today I stand confident in where I am going. Today I know I can make a difference.  Today I replace one fear with one action.  Today I step into my courage!

How about you?

Will you take one action to begin?

Will you take one small step into your courage?

Will you be courageous for those around you?

Will lead the way for others to let their life speak?

Come on …

I DARE YOU!

BART

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Bart with the first bale of hay produced on Carolina Red Star Farms! A testament to Knowing the Vision and Acting with Deliberate Determination! Read more below!

Dwight Eisenhower was truly right when he said, “Whatever you hope to bring to pass in the world – MUST FIRST COME TO PASS IN YOUR HEART.”

But how do we bring something to pass in our hearts? How do we go from where we are to where we want to be? How do you build a bridge across the River of Unbelief, excuses, and lack of self-confidence to finally reach the Land of the Remarkable?!

As I see it, it comes down to three key ACTIONS on our part. Not ideas but actions! Here they are:

1. KNOW YOUR VISION

First, we can’t go anywhere without having a final destination in mind.  This may be large or small in scope.  For most of us our vision is too small.  For more ideas on BIG thinking read  Michael Port’s book , “THE BIG MANIFESTO.” It is an AWESOME read!  Write down the vision in the smallest details you can.  You can do this in any area of your life.  The more detail you give it the better!

2. BELIEVE WITH COMPLETE ABANDONMENT

This is the second action we must take.  This can seem fuzzy to most people, even a little childlike.  Can it be possible to turn childlike belief into faith?

I really like the old definition of faith.  “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.”  If you look up the word faith it is defined as “belief” or “trust in”.  It is also defined as “a strongly held set of beliefs or principles”.  I truly can’t think of a stronger set of beliefs than believing in yourself.  I also can’t think if anything harder to do than that for most of us!

Men and women who have made a difference believed in two things. They believe in themselves and in their vision.  We must speak the unspeakable!!!  When we say it ……..we put it out into the universe, when we say it we believe it.  “A man becomes what the thinks about most”.

I have faith in your purpose.  I have faith in you.  I have faith in your heart.  I have faith in what you feel you have been called to do.  I don’t know you personally, but I do know what my heart feels……if our hearts are similar we are marching to the same drum!

Now the ….“With complete abandonment.”  I can only speak for myself.  I can only tell you what I have learned.

Believing with complete abandonment………….is “TO YIELD WITHOUT RESTRAINT OR MODERATION” OR “TO FORSAKE UTTERLY, TO LEAVE COMPLETELY AND FINALLY.”   Acting as if you can’t fail……focusing on the goal so clearly that it is the only thing you see……

Most of us do not have that kind focus and belief.  I see it every day in myself at the gym.  I am lifting weights, doing any exercise and all of a sudden I want to quit.  The weight is heavy, my arms are tired. I feel the strain in my muscles.  The failure, the quitting starts in my head.  Then it travels to my muscles.  Then I quit!  Am I that weak-willed?  Is my faith that soft, is my belief so shallow that I quit that easily!!??

Yes……………at times it is!!!

The question is how do I get my “belief” to be stronger? There are three things we must do:

• Watch who we associate with.  Make sure you are spending time with people who believe in you and what you are doing.  Never underestimate the power of association.  People either give to you or take away from you.  Associate with people who reciprocate with you.  This is hard stuff.  You may find you don’t really have a lot of people in your life.

• Never quit………………keep going.  The secret to this is breaking your action steps into baby steps.  Steps that will show you are making progress.  Goals of action steps that are too big….don’t get done.  Keep moving………keep moving…………do the next right thing!

• Keep the vision in front of you every day.  Carry it with you, put it in your car….. read it every night, every morning.

3. ACT WITH DELIBERATE DETERMINATION

This is where we all fail…………period!  We fail to act, follow through AND complete the tasks in front of us!!

Why?  For me it is very simple.  I get over whelmed with what needs to be done.  Then I don’t know where to start……………..so I don’t!!  Ever felt that way???  Sometimes I may start………but then I quit.  Because I don’t see enough progress.  The frustration builds.  It is then a vicious cycle that never ends.  THEN I JUST STOP!

This morning I read……………….”BE STRONG…..DO THE WORK!”

Creating the life I was meant to live requires me doing three things:

• Know your vision and never look back!
• Believe with complete abandonment………
• Act with deliberate determination and conviction.

Every day that I practice on of these principles I move forward a step.  Each day I get closer to my goal of living the life I was meant to live.  YOU CAN TOO!!

Please comment below to share your journey and story.  Or send me an e-mail.  I would really like to know your story.

WHEN WHAT WE WANT BECOMES TRUE IN OUR HEARTS………..IT BECOMES TRUE IN THE WORLD!

I DARE YOU TO BELIEVE IT CAN COME TRUE IN YOUR HEART!

BART

Living My Life Purpose in Wikondiek, Kenya

As I talk to people every day I ask one simple question…………… “If you could be doing anything you want  - with no limitations! – what would that be?”

What would you be doing?

Ninety-seven percent of people say they would do something different!

Statistically 73% of people are unhappy in their jobs.

Henry Thoreau said,  “The mass of all men live lives of quiet desperation.”

Have we all resigned ourselves to second choices, second best and second class lives?!  Have we settled for something short of our dreams?  Have dreams, hopes and aspirations become like water through our hands……………we feel it, see it, but we can’t grasp it! WHERE AND WHEN DID WE LEARN TO SETTLE FOR SO MUCH LESS?????????????

Here is what I have come to believe…………..all of us want life to mean more than just material comforts.

We want to feel needed.

We want to feel we are making a contribution to the world.

We want to feel we make a difference.

We want to feel we have a life purpose.

We can feel and do all those things when we are true to ourselves and give our true service.  If we combine those two points we are truly letting our lives speak.  This is our life gift.  There are other people waiting for you to share your experience, wisdom, help, heart and soul.  They are going through what you have already gone through.  Your job is now to help them.  You are an expert in your gift!

You are needed! You are important!  You are necessary! You are the hope! You are the difference!

I remember standing in a classroom built with mud & cow dung walls in Kenya.  The floor was dirt.  There were windows, no glass only metal bars.  There were sixty students in the room.  They had all lost their parents to aids or malaria.  They had one set of clothes, some didn’t have shoes.  Most got one meal a day. They had no electricity or running water.  THEY LITERALY HAD NOTHING!!

What they DID have was themselves! Each student stood in front of the class and said, “Here I am world send me!”  Each shared how they would make a difference in their village, country and world.  The room sat in silence as sixty young people spoke their hearts.  They had so little…………..yet they had so much to give.

I often wonder why we have so much and give so little…..

The world awaits your gift. There is one person waiting for you to reach out, to push past your fears, to stop making excuses why you can’t.  There is one person waiting for you to say……………………. “Here I am, send me………….. here I am, USE ME!”

Mother Teresa said, “Become the change you seek.”

Barak Obama declared, “You are the change the world has been waiting for!”

Find your life purpose! Share your life gift! Let your life speak!  Practice remarkability!  Say, “Here I am world send me………..here I am USE ME!”

I DARE YOU!

~Bart

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THE EXCUSE OF ALL EXCUSES! “WHY I CAN’T……”

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO WHY I CAN!!!!!!!

I just had lunch with some of my colleagues.  These folks are truly my inspiration.  They probably don’t realize it …………they are the reason I keep going.  Their hope and heart is the fuel in my day!!  We all have people like that in our lives………I know you do too!  It had been a while since we all had gotten together.  It was awesome to catch up.

We listened to a short clip from Jim Rohn:  The magic of Part-time.  Jim Rohn talks about “working part time on your fortune while you work full time on your job!”  Go to YouTube…….search on Jim Rohn.  There are 60 clips to inspire you forward.  He is my mentor.  I heard him speak 30 years ago.  Don’t miss an opportunity to hear him.

Jim’s talk reminded me to two simple concepts:  Your moment of transition & your process of transformation.

If any of you have moved past the point of saying I want to do something different and are making some steps in that direction you can talk about your moment of transition.  The moment of transition is when you make the choice to change things, pursue your life purpose, follow a different path, change careers, lose weight or get fit!  It is that moment when you say I have had enough………..your brain shifts and going back is not an option!  All of us in this group having lunch together can pin point our moment of transition!

Where we are struggling is in the process of transformation.   We all may be in different places of transformation, but at times the process is painful and slow, heck …..most of the time it is!!!

We all went around the table sharing where we are in our transformation process.  For each of us the group offered ideas on areas where each of us seemed to be stumped.  The ideas were great!  The conversation was tremendous.  It was an awesome brainstorming session.

Here is what I began to hear with almost every idea…………….

“I have already tried that….”,  “That won’t work…”, “They would never let me do that……”, “Someone else already tried that…….”, “What would people think?…….”, “I’m not sure……”….and  the list goes on…….

The reasons why it would not work flowed like water down a mountain stream………..fast and furious.  I sat in amazement !!!!  Here were six of the most awesome people I know.  Each of us saying why it would not work, WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!!!!!  WHEN DID SELF SABATAGE BECOME SO STRONG?  REAL FAILURE COMES OUT OF DOING NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DOING NOTHING!!!!!!!  DOING NOTHING!!!

The next time you’re faced with the obstacle in your transformation process to becoming remarkable…………………ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION!

WHY I CAN…………………? WRITE DOWN THE 10 REASONS WHY YOU CAN, KEEP IT BY YOUR BED.  READ IT EVERY MORNING, READ IT EVERY NIGHT………….THEN GO DO IT!!!

I DARE YOU!

Bart

Bart and Apple

In one of my past blogs I talked about remarkable  places. In another I talked about remarkable people.  Well………….what about remarkable experiences!!!!

I have just returned from a trip to Alaska.  One of my highlights was being flown to the top of the glacier in a helicopter and going dog sledding.  Add this experience to your bucket list.  It is a must!!!!

The day was clear, the skies were bright blue and the sun was warm on my face. Skagway Alaska seemed more like a dream place than reality.  The helicopter ride was like watching peter pan fly in a Disney movie.  We floated higher and higher into the sky.  Everything seemed miniature below.  We crusted the top of the mountain and in the distance a small village could be barely seen.  Their tents were white and blended in so well with the snow.

What you could see were small dots covering the snow.  As we got closer what I realized was the dots were sled dogs……………..250 sled dogs lying across the snow.  Each tied to a stake with their own wooden dog house.  If you are a dog lover like I am ………..this is heaven.  We met the musher and the team of dogs that would glide us across the snow. Each dog had a distinct personality as much as you and I.  They couldn’t wait to be petted, rubbed and scratched.  Our musher Kim said meet all the dogs, love on each one………….just don’t get near the sled.  I Asked WHY? She said she would tell us after the sled tour was finished.

We headed out across the snow…………the dogs became quiet, focused and ran in the direction of the trail.  They made it look easy.  The Movie “IRON WILL” flashed in my head as I got to drive the team over a stretch of the snow.  It was exhilarating.  The awe of moment will forever be branded in my head.  I wanted it to last forever.  We made a huge loop around the dogsled camp and ended where we had started.  As soon as we stopped the dogs went crazy barking again.  Their barking seemed to stir the whole camp of dogs.  Their sounds soared over our voices, the mountain tops and seemed to float the heavens above.  I felt like I could have just reached up and touched the skies……………like I could grab a handful of clouds and take it back with me.

Kim walked us over to the last surprise of the tour.  Nine puppies had been born on top the mountain this summer.  They were nine weeks old ……………they couldn’t wait to be picked up and held.  I couldn’t wait either.  I got to hold apple!  This shiny cream colored sled dog.  You would lose her in the snow if you weren’t careful.  I left a piece of my heart on that mountain with apple.  We walked back to the flag pole to catch the helicopter back.  The American flag was flowing in the breeze perfectly.  We had only been on the mountain an hour, but it seemed to have been a lifetime.  I was frozen in time.

We said our goodbyes to Kim and headed to the helicopter.  I stopped half way back. I turned to wave goodbye and take one last look.  Kim was still standing and waving …………………..I yelled over the sounds of the copter rotors……………………..

WHY COULD NT WE GET NEAR THE SLED?  WHY DID THE DOGS GO COMPLETELY SILENT WHEN THEY STARTED TO RUN?

She yelled back…………….” BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEIR PURPOSE………..THEY LOVE TO RUN.THEY ARE SILENT BECAUSE THEY ARE FOCUSED ON ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY………..THEIR PURPOSE!

Her answer was simple. Her answer was overwhelming to me.  I sat in silence as we flew back to the heliport.  My mind could not let go of the simplicity.

Could it be that simple for you and me………………………………..?

What would our lives be like if we knew our purpose?

What would our lives be like if we lived out our purpose?

What would we be like and who would we be if we let our lives speak according to our purpose.

What if we were only focused on one thing and one thing only?

I have realized one thing over and over again………when you live out your purpose, when you share your life gift, when you let your life speak, when you practice remarkability………………you can not help but create remarkable experiences for others.  You can not help but to change lives.  I know because it just happened to me!

I dare you to live out your purpose with the same focus as the sled dogs of the Alaskan glacier!

I DARE YOU??!!

I am sitting on an airplane headed to San Luis Obispo to visit my mom. It is a trip that I have not been looking forward to…………..all of us at some point make these kinds of trips for our parents.

What I love the most is the quiet time I get on the plane. I feel that I get so little time to think and reflect. You all may be thinking …………….God help us if Bart is thinking!!!!! My thinking normally gets me in trouble. This time my thinking is getting me OUT of trouble, not bad trouble…………..just out of a rut that I feel like I have been in…………… a 60 day rut!!!!

I have realized our lives don’t pass us by a day at a time, but by a series of moments that we let pass us by………….small moments that become minutes, hours become days weeks and months. I can only break the cycle by conquering the moment. This is where Glenna would say something like “THE POWER OF CHOOSING THE MOMENT”!

SO HERE ON THIS PLANE I HAVE CHOSEN THIS MOMENT. HERE IS WHAT I HAVE LEARNED…..THE JOURNEY OF REMAKABILITY IS A PROCESS, HAS ITS OWN FLOW AND ITS OWN CLOCK SPEED.

My frustration is that most processes are too long, the flow is too slow and its timing is not my timing………………does this feel the same to you for anything you have ever tried to accomplish?
I hope I am not alone in this frustration……………please tell me someone has felt the same exact thing!!!

I realized this frustration for me comes from two things…………………the lack of DELIBERATE determination and SIN of unbelief.

If we are to achieve the practice of remarkability, if we are truly realize our life purpose, if we are going to be more, give more and share more…………..WE MUST OVERCOME THESE TWO THINGS.

One………….. “Our choice must be deliberate determination, it is not something that we, us, you, me, will automatically drift toward or in”.

This falls into three major buckets:

1. Those who have not started the remarkability journey or those who have not answered their own call to follow their heart, those who are not being true to themselves.

2. Those in the process of creating a life of remarkability.

3. And finally those who have stopped, given up, got tired and flat out quit!!

No matter which of those buckets you fall into the consequence is the same. Here is the consequence……………… “Our lives will be held in temporary suspension until we make the deliberate decision………thus life passes us by!” See ………what we resist persists!! I know this first hand.

Sometimes I think we have made the deliberate decision, but we truly haven’t. I can tell in my life as I look back…………hind sight is great…you probably can too …………..because I doubt my direction, become unsure of each step and sometimes become frozen…………not taking the next step. If we believe we have stepped on the path of our purpose why would you ever stop following it? Runners would finish the race; a farmer would finish plowing the field. They may slow down, they may walk, they may rest……………but they finish.

So today…………..I ask all of us to finish the journey, carry it through, for however long it takes.

I ask all of us to again make the DELIBERATE DECISION TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF YOUR LIFE PURPOSE!!! The result is the practice of remarkability.

NOW THE SECOND REASON……………..THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. I choose these words because it creates a gut reaction. Let me break this apart just a little.

The word SIN………..in many circles of faith, a common definition would be …………anything that separates us, you, me, from our higher power. It creates a gap, a hole, a gorge, a Grand Canyon between us and where we want to be, do, share, give and become! The sin of unbelief in ourselves must be huge. It is the killer of dreams, it is the king of regrets, it is truly what keeps us from taking even of smallest of steps. It is what keeps us form even trying. It is what lets us think that the pain of complacency is more comfortable than the fear of trying and failing. The sin of unbelief in ourselves is betrayal to who we are and who we will become. We do it every day. We do it without even realizing it!

The second part of “Unbelief”…………. A common definition again may be………… “a lack of faith” a lack of confidence, a lack of skills, a lack of education, a lack of talent. I am not so sure that unbelief shows up as pure unbelief, but more as a family of excuses. Our unbelief is what is sitting on our chairs. In my chair SITS 188 pounds of unbelief. The next time you give an excuse about why you can’t……………..replace your excuse with the word “belief”. For example………I don’t have enough belief, I don’t have a degree in belief, my family would never approve of my belief. HOW is it even fathomable to not believe in yourself?

If we suffer from the sin of unbelief……………..it is almost impossible to make a deliberate decision. So we spend our lives hanging in suspension of nothingness. Can there be anything more painful, more distressing, and more hopeless than spending our lives in nothingness?

Today………….. Make the conscious DELIBERATE DECISION to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

I DARE YOU!

Bart

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