We were able to climb the pyramids with no supervision and explore as we desired…of course responsibly, knowing these ruins were hundreds if not thousands of years old. Also, the armed guards at the entrance lent to our desire to be responsible. But seriously, we went where we wanted and explored what we wanted and took pictures as we wanted.

It was a wonderful time! We were all so very happy and appreciative of this opportunity we had been blessed with. As we left I commented on what further explorations and information I wanted cover the next time we went to Altun Ha.

The next time we were in Belize, we were tied-up doing other things and never made it to Altun Ha. As we left, I said, “Next year.”

It’s been several years now, and some of us will never be able to go again. I’ve lost my sister and my brother in the last year. While my sister was fighting cancer and chemo, I tried to spend as much time with her as I could…and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to do just that.

But, it made me think…Back to the top of that pyramid in Altun Ha. I know I had a huge smile on my face. The sun was breaking through the the overcast sky as we reached the top. We all gathered for high-fives and pictures and walked around to all sides, looking out over the Belize jungle in amazement. What a moment in time that was.

And we have moments like that everyday of our lives.

“Once in a lifetime” moments. You see, every moment we live is a “once in a lifetime” moment. We can never live that moment again. Try as we may, it will never happen. We can never relive a moment. It’s gone forever.

Wow! That was a staggering revelation for me. I have wasted so many moments thinking there is always going to be another chance to do it again…

…another chance to do it right…another chance…

This I know, the question is not whether I will ever get to Altun Ha again. The question is, if I do get to Altun Ha again, will I live for the moment as if it’s a “once in a lifetime moment”? Will I put every ounce of living I have into that moment?

The answer is, YES, into that moment and every moment in my life.

Keep Believing…

Try again…

Some days it seems like everything goes wrong. The alarm doesn’t go off. The toast burns. You catch all the lights. A message from your boss saying, “I need to see you” was waiting at your desk when you arrived at work. 

The list can go on and on. Some days all you can do is hold on and make it through the day. These are the days that require courage. Courage not to give up. Courage to try again. Like Mary Ann Radmacher said, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.”

That’s what you have to do…Try again tomorrow!

Tomorrow is going to give you another chance to win. Tomorrow is going to give you another chance to be happy. Tomorrow is going to give you another chance to smile…laugh…hit that home run.

Just don’t let fear get in the way. You can do it! Striking out doesn’t mean you can’t hit a home run next time.

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” Babe Ruth

Keep Believing…

That being said, here we go…

1) Stop hating. I removed the word “hate” from my vocabulary. So many of us spend so much of our energy, time and thoughts on what we hate.
“I hate it when drivers cut me off.”
“I hate spinach.”
“I hate being late.”
“I hate how you talk.”

When we stop focusing so much on what, who, how, why we hate, it changes our perspective.

2) Write down what you’re thankful for. Okay, it may take some time but make a list of at least 20 things you’re thankful for. When I say ‘things” I don’t necessarily mean “things”. People, situations, GOD, start your mind thinking about what is “right” in your life.

3) Start expressing gratitude. You can start with the list you just made. BUT, don’t stop with the list you just made. Gratitude is always appreciated. Spread it around. Gratitude is an asset which you alone control in your life. You can spend as much of it as you like. Be extravagant with gratitude.

4) Every day of your life, take some time in your day to dream. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Larry Niven said, “Everything starts as somebody’s daydream.” Just close your eyes and dream.

5) If you’re going to dream, dream big, baby! Stretch your imagination. Enlarge your hopes and aspirations. Dream big and have hope in that dream. A life without hope is like a flower without the perfume.

6) Help someone else. Be the answer to someone else’s prayer. Do some good deed expecting nothing in return.

7) Let the wind blow on your face and smile. Smile because of the wind. Smile because you can feel it. Smile because you’re cognizant of what the wind is and the feeling of it caressing your face.Smile because Psalm 104:4 says “The winds are your messengers…”

8) Learn something new everyday.

9) Tell the people you love. Let them know every day, if possible, or as often as you see them or speak with them that you love them. The most sad thing I’ve seen at the funerals I’ve spoken at are all the “love” declarations left unsaid. Don’t be a wimp! If you love someone, tell them so.

10) LAUGH!

“But Bille, you don’t know what I’m going through.” You’re right, I don’t. Laugh anyway. Read something…watch something…listen to something…Or let your mind go back to some time in your life when you were “happy” and laughed about something and experience it all over again. Just laugh…it will change your life.

Keep Believing…

Hang in there!

Remember, when you hit bottom there’s no where to go but up! I know it’s hard. That’s why it’s called adversity. If it was easy it’d be called something sweet like comfort…or happiness…or health…or peace…or something like success.

But it’s called ADVERSITY. Because its adverse to comfort…its adverse to happiness…its adverse to health…its adverse to peace…its adverse to success. In fact, whatever it is that would make your life easier, adversity is adverse to.

So you’re in adversity right now. This very year. This very week. This very day. This very moment. You’re experiencing adversity. What do you do?

You go through it!

As Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

I’d say it like this, “If your going through hell, why stop? Why slow down? Why loiter? If you’re going through hell…RUN!!! Get through it and get out of hell!!!”

You understand that adversity cannot last forever. Adversity cannot defeat you unless you give up and quit. Adversity precedes awesomeness!

The adversity of labor pains precedes the awesomeness of a child being born.

The adversity of cramming for exams all night precedes the awesomeness of graduation.

The adversity of a broken heart precedes the awesomeness of knowing love again.

The adversity of knowing lack precedes the awesomeness of knowing how to be thankful.

I like how Oprah Winfrey put it. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

Learn something from the adversity and move on. Move on to AWESOMENESS!!!

Well if you don’t and you’re reading this do a Google search on it and listen to it.

Okay, so now you’ve heard it and you do remember it. Well remember in the song he keeps singing, “Can’t touch this?”

Whether you like the song or not, the “Can’t touch this” part is quite catchy and stays in your head for a while.

That’s a good thing. In fact if you need to go listen to it a few more times, do it now. I want the words “Can’t touch this” to be planted in your mind.

“Bille, why on earth would I want those words to be in my mind?”

I’m so glad you asked. Thank you for asking! It’s because I want you to get it on the inside of you. A simple little reminder that your dreams, your plans, your future, your hopes, your wishes, your life, are yours, not anyone else’s.

When someone attempts to kill your dreams, turn into MC Hammer and sing, “Can’t touch this!”

When someone pooh poohs your plans…Can’t touch this!

When someone belittles your future…Can’t touch this!

When someone crushes your hopes…Can’t touch this!

When someone laughs at your wishes…Can’t touch this!

When someone wants to destroy your life…Can’t touch this!

Don’t allow it to happen…Can’t touch this!

Live your life…Wish your wishes…Hope your hopes…Create your future…Make your plans…Dream your dreams…Be who you want to be…You’re the only one who can!

Keep Believing…

You know what I’m talking about. Most of us tend to wait until some point or time in the future to do or try to do that thing which we really wanted to do all of our life.

WHY?!?

Today is just as good as any day we have. In fact today is the only day we can be sure we have. We don’t know that we will have tomorrow or next week or next year or someday when I retire.

BUT

We do have today…don’t waste it!

Go for it!!!

Live life!

Someone smarter than me said, “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Robert H. Schuller

Most of us are VERY SUCCESSFUL at attempting to do nothing because we’re afraid. Afraid we will fail. Big freaking deal if we fail…

Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

The Beatles were turned down by Decca Records and Columbia Records.

Clint Eastwood was told he squinted too much and his Adam’s Apple was too big.

Elvis Presley was fired by the manager of the Grand Ole Opry who told him “You ain’t going nowhere, son.”

Thomas Edison was “too stupid to learn anything” according to his teacher.

Henry Ford went broke 5 times.

Abraham Lincoln lost every election he entered until he was elected President.

Don’t keep waiting…live life now…GO FOR IT

Keep Believing…

Me & my brother being Authentic

In my last post I touched on your “online personality” and asked, “What personality type are you?” I promised I would tell you how to get more followers in this post.

Are you ready to learn how? Here’s one answer:

BE AUTHENTIC!

Be who you are. Find your voice and be the man or woman you truly are. This really simplifies things and takes a load of pressure off of you. When you’re trying to be something or someone you’re not, its hard work. Being you is easy.

Mark Twain put it like this, ““If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”

Telling the truth is part of being authentic. Now, let me say here, all the truth doesn’t always have to be told.

Bille, are you saying to lie? NO!

I’m saying some true things are better not said. For instance, let’s say you are at a friend’s home and they serve you dinner. If the meal isn’t the best in the world, do you think you have to tell them that? Are you required to “tell them the truth?”

If you want to be invited back, you might want to start your food critic career at a later time. I am not saying to lie. I am saying be positive. Is there any positive thing you can say about the meal?

If not, have you considered being quiet? A wise proverb says, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.”

It’s not against the law to occasionally keep your opinion to yourself.

What does this have to do with social media, your online personality, or getting more followers?

I’m glad you asked!

Most of us appreciate authenticity. In fact, it’s been said, “Achievement is not the most important thing — authenticity is.”

To get followers on Twitter or friends on Facebook or any other social platform, you have to be invited back into their home. You can’t just force your way in. You have to be invited.

So if you choose to constantly rant about one negative thing after the other, don’t be surprised if no one invites you back into their home, or reads your blog, or follows you on Twitter, or friends you on Facebook, or supports you anywhere else in cyberspace or in the brick and mortar world.

Let me add another point here before I close. Being authentic means using a relatively recent picture for your avatar. Don’t use a picture from high school…1977! Be real. All of us change and mature and gain weight and lose weight. Welcome to living. Use a real picture…of you. People like to see real pictures of who they communicate with online. Plus it helps when you meet in person.

In my next post I’ll give you “10 Ways To Get Invited Back.”

Keep Believing…

I’m asked quite often, “How do I get more followers on my social sites?”

My answer is, “What personality type are you?”

I often get an “Uhhhhhm” type of answer.

If you want to develop a base of followers for your social sites or blogs, you have to develop your online personality. Your personality is like your brand. In fact many corporations are using the terms “brand” and “personality” interchangeably and/or together, bringing human characteristics to the “brand.” Developing “brand personality” is the goal of many, if not most advertising campaigns.

So back to you, if advertisers use human characteristics to give “personality” to a “brand”, and you are HUMAN, what “personality” are you branding? You see, everything you do online defines what your “online personality” actually is.

And this “online personality” is your brand, so to speak.

Are you developing an “online personality” you want to promote? Are you developing an “online personality” you can market and monetize? Are you developing an “online personality” for strictly personal use?

Whatever answers you gave, know this, it’s a lot easier to make a mistake than it is to fix one.

Here’s what I mean. Everything you do online is here for the whole world to see, read, know and remember. The next time you feel like going off on someone and giving them a “piece of your mind”:
1) make sure you have enough to share
2) you can’t ask Google to retract that
3) who are you really talking to
4) will you feel the same way, tomorrow
5) will you feel the same way in 5 years
6) will you feel the same way in 5 minutes
7) is it good for business

Well, I’m not in business” you my say. Okay, is it good for your life?

I know someone who is in the business of “coaching” others with many things, including EFT. Online, I consistently see this person fight with other people, belittle other people, complain about EVERYTHING, cuss, moan, rant, rave.

I have consulted with this person about problems they are having earning a living from their business. The problem is the personality they have created is NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE.

Please be careful not to do the same…Unless your goal is to create a negative personality. Then, by all means, be as horrible as you can. I’m sure someone will reciprocate. Maybe the EFT person I just spoke of.

So the answer to “What personality type are you?” is also the answer to “How do I get more followers on my social sites?”

I’ll explain in the next post.

Keep Believing…

P.S. Let me know if you have questions or comments…unless you’re the EFT person.

This whole experience has been one of serendipitous cosmic alignment, the likes of which you would  have to be an eyewitness to fully appreciate. We have come together from all over the nation to meet at the Microsoft Executive Conference Center, many of us meeting “face-to-face” for the first time,  having an intimacy as friends and collaborators which developed because of the very Social Media we’re here to talk about.

This is totally amazing!

Tonight at dinner we met some folks who will be attending tomorrow. The level of excitement they showed made those of us who have been involved since this event’s inception fully understand what kind of demand there is for legitimate, quality help with Social Media. A demand which will only grow as new horizons quickly come into view and new products and services come to market. It’s an exciting time to experience. I’m glad to be a part of it.

Social Media 201 is being streamed live, in HD around the world. Watch for the links which will be released tomorrow morning. The entire event is being recorded and will be available in some form after the event is finished. There will be live updates, videos, pictures, interviews, and more available during the event and posted on all of our blogs and websites as quickly as we are able to update.

You can go to http://www.SocialMedia201.com to get the information on the links and to see some of the folks who have put this all together.

If you’re going to be here, stop by and let’s get a picture together!

Keep Believing…

I was TIRED.

My family went to bed while I was WORKING.

I missed 1/2 my dinner…OKAY that was a good thing. I can lose some/lots of weight.

I am still working 2 hours later because I got BEHIND.

Is that a BAD thing? Not really. I enjoy helping others. REALLY. I don’t think you can really be too giving  when it comes to helping others. I know that there have been times in my life when I really needed  someone to tell me “Tomorrow will be better.”

Thanks to all the friends and family who have been those “Tomorrow will be better” people in my life.  Now, I have a chance to make sure  you know, “Tomorrow will be better.”

Can you hang on just one more night? Can you believe it can get better? Can you expect things to  change…for the better?

Robert Schuller put it this way, “Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are  today.”

Press on! Tomorrow will be better. Remember this, “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.  It is already tomorrow in Australia.” Charles M. Schulz

Keep Believing…