— Robert Brault
Eric had a million and one things to do. He was behind at work, and his to-do list at home was also several pages long. So what was he doing? Babysitting.
He sat across from his three-year-old nephew at the kitchen table.
“So what do you want for breakfast, big boy?” Eric asked the child.
“Everything.”
Eric laughed. He forgot about all of the things he “should” be doing and enjoyed the unplanned play day with his sister’s kids. He would look back on this day years later at his nephew’s graduation and realize that he had strung together a lot of little, special times with his niece and nephew. Before he knew it, all those seemingly small things turned into one very big thing—an abundance of love and a family bond that was stronger than ever.
Pay attention to the little things in your life today. Don’t put off a chance to help, a chance to love, a chance to laugh. Open the windows and enjoy a beautiful spring day. Stop in a gallery just to look at the artwork. Ask a co-worker who’s going through a tough time if there’s anything you can do. Buy those Girl Scout cookies when your nine-year-old neighbor shows up at the door. Little things become big things. You don’t get abundance all at once. It comes in unexpected increments from all angles when you least expect it.
DAY
339
“You only live once. If you don’t enjoy it, it’s your fault, nobody else’s.”
— Duncan Bannatyne
Brace yourself—here comes one of the most important themes of this book: you are responsible for your life. If you want to blame someone or something else for your state of affairs, then toss this book in the trash and get on with your miserable life. If you aren’t having fun yet, it’s your own fault.
That may sound a little harsh, but we don’t have a lot of days left in this year to get that point across. It’s time to look at the bottom line. If you have not yet chosen to enjoy life, your time is up. Do it today. Stop concentrating on the negative things and start enjoying where you are right now. Stop wishing for whatever you don’t have, and start being grateful for what belongs to you at this moment. You cannot achieve success if you don’t believe you deserve happiness, and you can’t be happy if you continue to focus on the negative aspects of your life.
Every single time a negative, self-deprecating thought comes to the forefront of your mind today, knock it out of the ballpark. Stop and replace it with a positive thought. You have to practice happiness if it doesn’t come naturally. If negative thoughts are overwhelming you, then get out of yourself completely by doing something for someone else.
Do you really want to achieve your dreams? Then you must get down to the business of enjoying life every single day from here on out. Live a life full of joy, and your dreams will have fertile ground to grow.
DAY
340
“If you can’t learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly.”
— Ashleigh Brilliant
You have spent a lot of time throughout this year discovering your talents and pursuing them in various ways in order to achieve success. What if there is something you enjoy doing, but you display no talent for it whatsoever? Do you have to leave it behind, because you’ll probably never be the best? Not necessarily.
Roger was a horrible singer. He could barely carry a tune. But he loved to sing, and yodeling in the shower just wasn’t enough. Was he destined to sit on the sidelines and never experience the joy of making music with others? Absolutely not. Roger joined a very large community choir. He surrounded himself with singers, and there was safety in numbers. He sat right between two strong basses, and they helped anchor him to the correct pitch (or drowned him out when he was completely off key). Roger was finally able to achieve his dream of singing. He participated in numerous successful choral events with the group, and he contributed a kind of enthusiasm for music that boosted morale even in the most tedious rehearsals. He didn’t have natural talent to bring to the table, but Roger did have unbridled joy and a passion for music that was contagious. He became an important member of the group.
If you can’t learn to do something well, don’t worry about it. You can learn to enjoy doing it badly! Or you can become a supporter of those who do have talent in that area. Get a little creative and find alternate ways to fulfill your dreams if the first route doesn’t work.
DAY
341
“We make zero percent of the shots we don’t take.”
— Michael Jordan
Wouldn’t it be nice if achievement just landed in your lap or showed up in your mailbox one day? Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. You have to practice success. You must work on the skills you need to achieve a victory, and really, that’s part of the fun. As Michael Jordan states in the quote above, you make zero percent of the shots you don’t take. If you want to capture your dreams, you have to get out there and make the shots. No one will sink those baskets for you. You have to reach for your own goals.
The question for you today is: are you taking the shots? Are you actively pursuing success or just dreaming about how nice it would be to have it? Let today be another “Reality Check Day,” just like the habit you started on Day 257. Take some inventory and honestly assess whether or not you are truly reaching for your dreams. Is there anything you’ve been putting off that would bring you closer to your goals? Now is the time to do it.
Get out there and take the shots. Practice success. You won’t improve if you don’t put your ideas into practice. Instead of dreading the work it will take to achieve your dreams, try enjoying the experience. Practice can be fun. Think about how great you feel after a good workout at the gym. It might be hard to get there, but the experience is invigorating. You will need to practice new skills in order to achieve success, but that’s exciting. It can be fun to learn something new. Train your mind to enjoy the process as much as the result. Then you can have fun during every play, not just at the end of the game.
DAY
342
“The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.”
— Frank Herbert
You’ve seen the ads: Get rich quick using the Internet! Find financial freedom through this pyramid scheme! Lose weight by eating only peanut butter for a month! What do you think when you read those headlines? Are you instantly skeptical? Good!
You will not achieve success through a single course of action. It’s a fact. Get over it. Everyone wants that quick fix, and that’s one of the reasons there aren’t as many successful people in the world as there could be. You are actually going to have to put a bit more effort into real success. Shortcuts just don’t work in the grand scheme of things.
Your assignment today is to make a commitment to get in this journey for the long haul. You have your whole life ahead of you. Stop looking for band-aid solutions and start building a solid foundation for success.