8 Reasons People Don’t Change Their Story

 Reason #2:  Fear

Fear of Failure, and Fear of Success

What are we so afraid of? We’re afraid to fail because we may look like a stupid, naïve dreamer, and we’re afraid to succeed because we’re so unfamiliar with it.

Let’s talk about Fear of Failure first. I believe that the root of fear of failure is Pride. Failing would threaten the public, and private perception of who we are, the way other people see us, and the way we view ourselves. Failure would blow our cover and reveal our gaping vulnerabilities that no one ever knew we had. Fear also tells us that we’ll fail Big!…not just a little misstep, but massive public humiliation – so let’s just play it safe.

Fear of Failure often keeps us from even taking that first step because we’re afraid our Dream will go public. Yes, other people will now find out that we have a Big Hairy Dream!. Let’s face it, it’s uncomfortable to let people know that we’re breaking out of the status quo…they can stay behind if they want to, but we’re moving forward. We don’t want people to think we’re being ridiculous with our Big Dream especially if we fail and need to be consoled by them later.

When it comes right down to it, our fear of failure has more to do with what people are going to think of us than the actual failure itself. If we can keep failure in the proper perspective and view it as the necessary steps to climbing the mountain of success we’ll be able to conquer this fear and stop hiding behind our pile of failures, and begin standing on top of them…we’ll be that much closer to the top.

And then there is the Fear of Success. It may be hard to believe, but the fear of success is just as prevalent as the fear of failure. One of the reasons we may fear success is that we have an incorrect idea of what success really is. If we, or our peers have held successful people in distain, it stands to reason that we would fear the assumptions that other people have about us. Success could be defined simply as accomplishing a goal that we have set for ourselves in any area of our life, but for a broader view, and for the purpose of this discussion, I’ll define success…Continually progressing to improve ourselves in the most important roles of our lives, while joyfully pursuing and achieving the life and mission our Creator has called us to. Knowing, understanding, and communicating this mission, and the necessary achievements to be successful in it can bring us great fear and anxiety.

What will our friends and family think of the “new Successful Us”?

Why do I deserve to be successful anyway?

If I’m successful, what am I going to do next?

We all understand that with Success, comes, Responsibility…are we ready for it?

Can we handle the new expectations and demands on our time?

For most of us, we’re not going to go from a complete unknown to being on all the network TV shows overnight, but I truly believe that it’s our Creator’s desire that we be successful in the mission He has planned for us, let’s not allow our Fears sabotage His plans.

One small step is the beginning to pushing fear out of the way, start small and keep going, you will Change Your Story…When You Change Your Story, You Change Your World.

Blessings,

Randell

8 Reasons People Don’t Change Their Story

I will be doing a series over the next several blog posts about; Why people don’t change their story. For the purpose of our series, I’ve identified 8 key reasons…Here they are in no particular order.

1. Incorrect view of Humility
2. Fear of failure or success
3. Blame circumstances
4. Lack of Vision
5. Allowing the wrong Influences
6. The Trap of Perfection
7. Trying to “go-it” Alone
8. Lack of Focus

Reason #1:

We often have an incorrect view of  Humility

I am completely convinced that one of the main reasons we don’t change our story is because we underestimate our value to the world…we have a false sense, or incorrect view of Humility.

Humility is NOT thinking less of ourselves than we should, or seeing our value as not important…A more accurate view of humility is Knowing our true self and understanding that our Creator has given us gifts to share with the world. The definition that I offer is a compilation a several sources. Humility is: Seeing ourselves as God sees us, and understanding that our gifts flow through us and not from us. I believe our God has a mission for each of us, and the gifts that He’s blessed us with are the tools to accomplish the mission.

We often try so hard to have humility that we loose sight of our incredible gifts. We don’t want to appear to be prideful, haughty, or egotistical, so we downplay, overlook, or refuse to acknowledge that we are amazing – each of us have been gifted to serve others. Consider this; when our Creator gifted us, those gifts were not given to us for us…they were given to us to serve others, in effect, our gifts are really a gift to the world.

In his book “It’s Your Call”, Author Gary Barkalow says…”humility is seeing that you’ve been given something extraordinary that others will need…You have been given something glorious that the world needs, don’t diminish and disregard it, Receive and offer it as a gift from God to you and for others” Pg. 182

Let’s not let a false sense of humility stop us from living the story we were created to live, we need to share our unique giftedness with the world, that is precisely why we have it in the first place. When we share our gift, we may put someone on the path to changing their story, when we Change Our Story, We Change Our World!

Next time we’ll look into Reason #2: Fear of Failure or Success

Blessings,

Randell

Even Hungry Birds Keep Coming To An Empty Birdfeeder

Why do birds keep coming back to  an empty feeder? I have four birdfeeders at my house that I keep full of birdseed all winter long, but come late spring I stop refilling them until the following fall. I’ve noticed something a bit interesting to me – the birds keep coming all summer long, even though the feeder is completely empty.

I will watch the same bird land on the feeder, examine it intently, and fly back to a tree branch 30 or 40 feet away. He will sit on the tree branch for a moment and then fly back to the same feeder and examine it again. This same bird will do this over and over again until I just stop watching…it’s probably doing it right now.

Why would a bird continue to waste it’s energy returning to something that is unfulfilling, and completely unsatisfying. It seems that he would realize that this opportunity has dried up, and he could better feed his family searching among the berries and seeds of the field…it’s got to be better than the store bought food anyway.

This bird has allowed something that was once a promising opportunity, trap him in a life of mediocrity that will eventually lead to his destruction if he doesn’t make a change soon.

Opportunity Or Trap?

This blog post was inspired by a piece I read in Andy Andrews book, Mastering The Seven Decisions. Andy says: “Way too many people trade out their freedom for security, and they don’t even realize it. There’s a difference between an opportunity you seize and a trap you walk into.”

Not every door that is opened for us is the right door for us to walk through, it could even be a trap. I am currently working with a gentleman who is considering a new position with a huge international company. It’s a GREAT opportunity…or is it? Here’s the deal – this move would require that he relocate and leave an area that he loves. This occupation is also 180 degrees from his true passion, which is medical research. But, But, But…It’s a GREAT opportunity, with GREAT benefits,  with a GREAT income, with a chance to advance with the company, and probably move around some more.

This Is How We Get Trapped!

The problem with chasing the wrong opportunities is that they can trap us in a mediocre life, we’ve all heard the saying that Good is the Enemy of Great…and it’s true. We tend to settle for goodness to the point that we miss real opportunities for Greatness! When we pursue the wrong opportunities it’s kind of like boarding the Titanic…it looks so promising, but in the end it is so destructive. We long to be free and live the life we were born to live, and until we are, we are not really living fully alive.

Avoid The Trap!

Here are 3 quick tips to avoid the trap:

1. Know Yourself…Understand what you’re Passionate about, and what it is that you Value most. Uncover your Personality traits, Do you like to be around people? Do you enjoy a fast paced life or prefer a little more relaxed pace? Are you a big picture thinker, or would you rather focus on the details? Determine your Skills and Abilities.
2. Evaluate Every Opportunity…Run every opportunity through the filter of the answers to item #1. Is it an opportunity you’re passionate about, and does it align with your Values? Does it lend well to your Personality? Do you have the Skills and Abilities to carry out the functions of this opportunity with Excellence?
3. Will it meet the needs of your Family…Financially, Socially, Spiritually, Enviromentally, and Relationally?

If you Evaluate every opportunity against these criteria, you are well on your way to Avoiding the Trap, and being more Intentional About Your Legacy.

Blessings,

~Randell

What does IQ really stand for?

I’m sure we are all familiar with the term IQ, it is commonly accepted as the term to identify one’s intelligence, thus,” Intelligence Quotient“, or IQ. However, is there perhaps an even more important value we could measure and designate in a similar way? Maybe we could examine our Real IQ and refer to it as  RIQ… “Real Impact Quotient”. I do not want to get into the discussion of the value of IQ versus the value of  RIQ other than to say this… If I had to choose, I would choose Real Impact over intelligence any day, fortunately I believe we can share both.

What’s this all about?

I was considering the value of time,  time spent, time invested, time wasted, time lived, and most important, time still yet to live. So I did what any logical human being would do, I went to Google. As it turns out, according to the U.S. Census Bureau the projected life expectancy in 2010 was 78.3 years.

That statistic got my attention Big Time because I realized that I had most likely already lived more than 60% of my life. Quite honestly it scared me, I started wondering… what difference have I made, what impact have I had, and how have I changed this world. I began to question the amount of time I still had left, and would the  amount of Time I had left  be the deciding factor in the ultimate impact I would have on my family, my community, my clients, and this world?

I Loved The Answer

The great news is that our RIQ is not limited by time. I have spent a very limited amount of time with some people that have had a major impact on my life, and to the contrary, I have also spent a great deal of time with some people who had practically no positive impact on my life at all. Sometimes just a word or phrase can change a persons life. Zig Ziglar said that his whole life changed when someone simply told him that “he could do it”, and believed in him…hard telling what kind of RIQ Zig Ziglar has had on this world, and it all started with someone caring enough to instill confidence in a struggling salesman.

How Can We Increase Our RIQ?

• Discover your Purpose, your Calling…The best way to have the most Impact is to know what you were born to do. Pay attention to your desires…they were not put in you to taunt you, they are in you to guide you.

• Develop your natural strengths, skills, and abilities…The best way to enhance your Impact, is to leverage the things you are already naturally good at and have interests in.

• Put together a Plan…Allow your Passions, Dreams, and Values to guide your Goals and begin to layout a Plan of Action.

• Take Action…Make deposits of service in peoples lives. Ultimate Impact is a result of unselfish service.

Real Impact Quotient…RIQ Goes On Forever

Your RIQ becomes your Legacy. There is no doubt that we could make a pretty impressive list of famous people who have profoundly impacted this world, but my hunch is that the ones with the most Amazing RIQs, are the ones quietly serving and sharing there gifts among us everyday…Maybe It’s You!

Begin today growing your Impact, enhance your Real IQ and be more Intentional about your Legacy!

Blessings,

Randell

Yes, I’ve actually been held at Gunpoint

When I was 18 years old, my first job right out of high school was working in a small plastics factory in a not so good area of town. I worked a night shift where we started at 6 PM and worked until 6 AM, we would work three days on and then we would have the next three days off, at which point we would start another three day cycle.

One night at about 2 AM a man came in the building and was talking to a fellow employee, the rest of us assumed he was a friend bringing lunch or something. There was only three of us working that night so when our fellow employee called us over to his workstation we thought he was going to introduce us to his friend.

When we arrived at his workstation the intruder pulled out a gun, held us at gunpoint and demanded we hand over our wallets. Once he had our wallets in hand, he had all three of us line up against the wall, and then he had us lay on our bellies with our hands straight out in front of us…

My Life Passed Before My Eyes

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that just before you die, your entire life passes before your eyes. Well, I’m here to tell you, that’s the truth, thousands of freeze-frame moments passed before my eyes in a split second, I literally saw my entire life in slow motion in the blink of an eye.

Obviously  the intruder finally left and we were all still alive, yet in that moment we were frozen while our life passed before us. We were “held up”, but we were not in control. Most of the time in life, when we are “held up” its of our own making.

So what’s your Hold-Up?

What’s holding you up while your life passes by? Is it fear? Is a lack of confidence? Lack of knowledge? Are you too young? Or are you too old?… Whatever it is, now is the time to take action.  Start today by taking one step, every journey starts with the first step, stop waiting for everything to be perfect, start where you’re at today, and activate the gifts and talents you already have by taking that first step and change your world.

Stop waiting…It’s Time to Pull the Trigger

An Extraordinary Legacy doesn’t just happen…We must be Intentional, Start today by taking the first step towards an Intentional Legacy!!!

Blessings,

~Randell

Believe It Or Not…It Can Happen

I was talking to a friend of mine just the other day and I was telling him about some of the new strategies I was planning on using to market my business. Now this friend also owns his own business as well so what he said next really struck me, he said this. “So you are growing your business to do more of what you hate”

I was blown away, I said to him immediately, no I am growing my business to do more of what I love. I told him, that I can’t wait to be able to share the message I have with more and more people, and help others realize that work doesn’t have to be a chore, work doesn’t need to be something we hate, but rather our work should be a reflection of who we truly are and what we were born to do.

The Sad Reality

The sad truth is, that whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur,  if you hate your work it is impossible to live a full life.   How can a person spend 50 or 60% of their waking hours doing something that they hate and truly be alive. I don’t think it is possible, but the real question is this.  If you are not living fully alive, who then is missing out on the real you? Who is being robbed of your real personality, your passions, your dreams, your values. Who is missing out on your talents, your skills, and your abilities. I think it’s really quite simply everybody. The world is missing out on the real you, and you are missing the joy of living a full and abundant life, the life that you were born to live.

If YOU Hate Your Work

If you’re an employee who hates his job, or if you’re a worn out, beat up, overwhelmed, and overworked entrepreneur, it’s time to Get Your Life Back. It’s time to discover who you are, and why you’re here.  It’s time to once again experience Joy, Confidence, Freedom, and a Great Smile to share with the world.

What Now?

If you want to talk about it, I’d love to chat with you at no charge Click Here and drop me a note…We’ll jump on the phone and chat for a while.

I’ve got the bounce back in my step, and you can too!

Blessings,

Randell

The very first thing the frustrated, discouraged, overwhelmed, burned out, and beat up entrepreneur needs to do before moving forward to a place of freedom is Get Your Head Right!!!

You need to realize that “YOU” are more than your business. “YOU” were “YOU” long before you went into business, and that your business doesn’t define who “YOU” are, or what your true value is.

What many struggling entrepreneurs tend to do is let every difficulty, failure, bad decision, and unmet goal in business reflect who they are as a person, I know because I do it myself. This behavior will not only sabotage your business, it will cut the legs right out from underneath your own self image making everyday tougher than the day before.

When we personalize every business mistake it becomes impossible to learn from those mistakes because we take the blame as who we are rather than what we did to cause the mistake, and this is a huge distinction. When we see a mistake as an incorrect action, we can learn from it, make the necessary changes to avoid making the same mistake again and ultimately have greater opportunity for success.

On The Other Hand

On the other hand, if we see the mistake as a reflection of who we are we blow huge holes in our confidence, and create doubt in our ability to make wise decisions in the future. When we can’t make decisions with confidence we become paralyzed, and difficulties in our business only become worse, which compounds the situation even more, and creates a perpetual cycle of lack of confidence, fear, and paralysis…over and over and over, and eventually we come to a point where we believe we’re failures, and we failed because of who we are.

Not True

Photo from ideavist.com

Failing, and being a failure are not the same thing. We need to understand that we sometimes fail because of something we did, not because of who we are…the “Who We Are” is best displayed by how we react to our failures. We can beat ourselves up and feel worthless and stupid, or we can look at the facts, make corrections and move forward with confidence knowing we’ve got something of real value to offer, just because of who we are.

If You’re At Your Wit’s End In Your Business

The first thing you need to do is look in the mirror a say “I Am Valuable, I am here for a reason, and my Creator didn’t make any junk” Realize that you have skills and abilities, a personality suited for success, and passions, values, and dreams that are part of your mission.

Go For It With Confidence!!!

“Randell Mark” Olson

This week I am honored to share a guest post from my good friend Cindy Hirch.  I hope you enjoy her insightful perspective on a wonderful personal story.  I’m sure you’ll see things a little differently as I did, and wonder what you may have been missing, as well. To get to know Cindy better, check out “About us” page at Pursuing Your Calling.com. THANKS CINDY!

Lesson Learned from Picking Blueberries

One of my favorite summertime activities is an annual trip to a local blueberry farm each July, to pick many pounds of berries for eating and freezing for winter baking. This has been an activity I’ve engaged in since I was a young girl visiting my Grandma each summer in the coal region of PA. In my youth, picking was more of a chore than pleasure. Back then I never appreciated the peaceful feeling experienced in the midst of that activity, or the opportunity to commune with God. I never saw the sun streaming down in the early morning hours with the dew fresh on the fruit and leaves. At the time I never realized the valuable lesson I would learn much later in life.

Yesterday marked the day for picking and I was excited. This farm has rows and rows of berries and I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Arriving at my spot, I looked at the one bush and quickly assessed that it had been picked over. Moving to  the next one, only a couple of feet away, an amazing discovery was made. A new angle, and small shift allowed me to see all the fruit that was actually on the bush I had just walked away from. Lifting a branch, and moving a leaf allowed me to see what wasn’t obvious earlier.

How often do we, in attempting to discover our calling, miss seeing opportunities because we only have one way of viewing a situation? We spend precious time looking straight ahead when all we have to do is shift a bit, or move something to gain a whole new perspective. The lamp provides the necessary light to take the next step.

What are you missing on the road to discovering your calling  because you are looking for the neon light instead of the lamp that is already at your feet softly lighting the way?

You Can’t Outrun It Anyhow!

Have you ever watched a cartoon chase? You know the ones I’m talking about, where one character is chasing the other, and the first one goes around a corner and quickly slips, unnoticed  into a doorway while the chaser dashes past and keeps running down the hall.  You can almost sense the first ones relief while he sits there trying to catch his breath, and planning his next move.

As a small business owner, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to just run away from my business, or at least hide from it long enough to plan my next move.  I would think to myself…if I could just get far enough ahead to Think, to Breath, to Rest, and figure out what to do next.

The business I thought was my Dream, was now more like a Prison. It wasn’t like being between a rock and a hard place, at least there you know where you’re at.  This was worse, because it was like being nowhere at all.  Sounds kind of strange, but the fact is that I didn’t know where I was going, and really didn’t know how I even ended up where I was.

If You’re Still Reading This, You’ve Been There Too

The problem is,  if we don’t address it, we’ll sabotage our business, and likely ourselves as well. I fought this battle on and off for years, only to realize that the business itself wasn’t really the problem, it had more to do with me.  I had to face the fact that I needed to take a good hard look inside of myself, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.

The Path To Getting Your Life Back

The first step towards living completely alive is getting to know yourself.  You have to ask yourself why you went into this business in the first place.  Was it just to make an income, or did you have a dream that was bigger than just money.

If you had a dream that was bigger than money, chances are you can recapture that vision,  re-ignite that passion, and begin to experience real joy in your business again.

However, if money was the driving force for  your business start up, it is also probably what is driving your frustration.  You see to stay the course through thick and thin it takes a stronger passion than money. You may discover that you have no passion for your business at all, and it’s time to make a change, remember it starts by looking inward to clarify your strongest passions, and deepest desires.

If you can start your business from there, you will change your world and leave a Legacy of Greatness!

My good friend Rob Clinton and I have been working together for several months now on a particular project called IPO 2 Greatness. We are extremely excited about it! IPO 2 Greatness will begin with a podcast this year prior to releasing the actual book. In the meantime, you will be entertained with its rich content over the air and the interviews from other people who have achieved a level of fulfillment through greatness in their lives. Joining the podcast, you will have the opportunity to download our actual first inspirational book release which comes out this summer entitled, “Stop Working and Start Creating”.

Basically, we’ve discovered a way to make your journey through this life much simpler. Life is still challenging, but we’ve learned how to leverage that, to use those challenges to our benefit. We’ve discovered that anyone can lead a successful life starting right from where they are right now, but it’s going to take that shift in perception using a very strategic method for uncovering your greatness.

Anyone can achieve greatness! I don’t care who you, or where you’ve come from. The opportunity to make your life sing is now, and we’re going to help you get there. Better yet, once you understand something that we want to teach you, you will be so fired up with a joy that surpasses all understanding to start going after life like you deserve it!