Author: CLFurlong

As you learn to defeat more and more obstacles, your confidence, your skills and your maturity in wisdom will increase.

You just need to make sure you don’t doubt your ability to actually do it… Even if it does take time. Time will build you. So get out there and conquer!

I have said this numerous times… You are your own worst enemy and you are the only thing stopping you from stepping over an obstacle.

Ask yourself: What do you desire? What makes you itch? What sort of situation would you like? 

If you have talents and skills that you know you can do:

• Do them.
• Show them. 
• Share them.
• Build them.
• Expose them.

Even if they are basic, small and not even at a professional level, these are still skills, talents and things others cannot do.

As you continue to develop these, you will only become BETTER and soon enough you will be a MASTER.

There will always be a need or a want to have someone who has experience to teach and educate others. Even if your experience is little. It is more than them.
So imagine what people will want from you or be willing to give you/pay for when you are a MASTER.

Don’t limit your chances, don’t limit your potential and don’t limit your possibilities just because you don’t think something is good enough.

It is good enough. Believe it and know it. 

I’m so frustrated by the opportunities, the hidden potential, the amazing skills I see that people have. Yet they choose to hide them, lower them, diminish them, because they are scared it isn’t good enough.

I understand you may lack the confidence in your own creation. But if you don’t start trusting yourself, how will you ever be able to make decisions.

Take a chance with being yourself and what you can do. Yes you may have some set backs, some tough times and some failures. But once you have counteracted these, grown through these and conquered these; you will be better than ever and I will guarantee that you will be happier too.

That’s everybody is – somebody is interested in everything, anything you can be interested in, you will find others will. But it’s absolutely stupid to spend your time doing things you don’t like, in order to go on spending things you don’t like, doing things you don’t like and to teach our children to follow in the same track. – Alan Watts

Here’s your chance to take action…

I would love to hear and have you share what it is you do, or wish to do.
Even if you don’t believe it yet, I dare you to take a chance to share with me what it is you like to do.

However, when it comes to living a dream you won’t always get what you want. Living a dream or more so living out your dream, all comes down to you and your ability to stick to it. But first you must do it!

If I can give any advice for when it comes to pursuing your dreams. It is to JUST START.

Start doing something, and the rest will follow.

The below 9 tips are ways to start doing rather than just dreaming.

1. Accept responsibility for your own actions
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” -Arthur Ashe

2. Give and receive love and forgiveness
“Learn how to fill your day with POSITIVITY. Think of how your ideas CAN work, not how it won’t work.” -Steve Harvey

3. Accept yourself
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

4. Choose who you surround yourself with wisely
“We met for a reason, either you’re a blessing or a lesson.” -LoveQuotesPlus

5. Learn to ignore the negativity from others
“I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” -Bill Cosby

6. Carefully layout your plans
“Failure is not the opposite of success, inaction is.” -Rois Liano

7. Do SOMETHING, ANYTHING
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” -Henry David Thoreau

8. Embrace failures and detours along the way
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Thomas Edison

9. Network and use resources to your advantage
“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” -Chris Grosser

Dreams are like floating down a lazy river. The path to success is like riding a roller coaster. Find the courage to get on the roller coaster, and stay on the ride until you puke. – Margaux Daughtry

Regardless of your status today, there are a couple of things I want to remind you of.

For those who are single – this primarily goes out to you – but it is just as good for those who are taken.

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. – Thich Nhat Hanh

• Remind yourself today of who you are. Single? Yes. But that’s OK.
• Remind yourself that any sense of love is found within and you are that love.
• Remind yourself that the love you dream of, should be a mere enfolding and reflection of your own affection and appreciation.
• Remind yourself of your passion, of your heart. What is it you love to do?
• Take away your money and your job and what is it that you would do each day, every day?
• Remind yourself to breathe. To relax. Let go into the calmness.
• Stop fighting against yourself by thinking and desiring people and events in your life should be different.
• Own your potential. Love yourself enough to know you have opportunities at every corner.
• Take action today and create a beautiful life for yourself. You should have this already.
• Do what honors and respects you. Don’t do the things that bring you down.
• Remove the toxic from your life.
• Focus on the positive. It makes all the difference.

If you are keen to spread some love today, you don’t need to be ‘taken’ or have a Valentine to do so.

Do this by:

• Smiling
• Buy a coffee or meal for someone – a stranger even
• Give when you haven’t been asked to
• Believe in making a difference and do so
• Have faith and believe in someones dreams
• Encourage
• Compliment from the heart
• Forgive the grudges – Let it go!
• Spend your time. Spend it wisely

I was recently reminded – that if you take a chance with Valentines Day, the worse thing that can happen, is you will be right back where you started.

With this in mind. Everyday we have a chance to be the someone you are, to make an impact to the world. You have a chance to attempt to be better, to make a difference, to follow your dreams, to take action. If you fail – well you may have to start again. But you still went for it. Now you can do it again, but better.

We all have love, we all have passions. This love and passion, doesn’t need to be through a valentine.

You can express love through doing your passion. Do it and do it wholeheartedly!

Anyway – you know what they say… When you are single:

You’ll find someone when you stop looking.

We will have set backs, delays and hurdles to conquer, but this doesn’t mean it is the end.

All these should be seen as opportunities.

Opportunities to reach out and discover new ways of doing and approaching the very things we do each day, and the things we are learning to conquer.

When you fail – don’t lay on the ground waiting to be picked up.

Pick yourself up and get back to it. Get back to it better than you were before.

Come back with an attitude, determined to be better.

You can either be setback or you can use it as a launching pad into something more. Something great. Something greater.

When you struggle with trying to capture the results you are looking for, the best approach is to identify that you have hit a point requiring a change.

Accepting defeat and realizing the battle is lost, is OK… only if you accept that you need to make come back and fight and push harder.

This will be a step closer to becoming a greater you.

Let me remind you:

You may never be the best. But you can always be your best. – Chris Furlong

We can’t learn and grow without mistakes. It is as simple as that.

A bird learns to fly after falling a million times — but it never gives up.

If you fail once this does not mean you will fail every time.

Are you who you say you are?

Are you the same person everywhere you go?

Are you lying to yourself? What do you have to prove?

I know it is a common cliché these days to say “be yourself” but seriously… What is wrong with being yourself?

You are unique and special in your own individual way. Don’t be shy to shine that light of yours.

Don’t wish to be someone else with the mindset that the grass is always greener on the other side as if you change into someone you are not, you’re only going to find being yourself was always greener!

Our crazed up society has people setting the expectation of who, how and what someone else should be.

I love being myself.

I may be different, I may be odd, but I know for sure my ways are effective and true – especially in representing myself.

If I was who the world told me to be, there would be more of a single type of person and less of me.

I’m no one important to the world, but I am making a dint and a ripple.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

You are making a dint and ripple.

Keep doing exactly that and eventually the walls will come rushing down and you will be not known for being something you’re not, but known for being the someone you are. You!

Remove all the labels, the stories and judgement you put upon yourself. Put these aside and ask yourself this:

“How would I act right now if I had no care or worry of what others thought of me?”

This will help you naturally identify that who you are without anything else added is perfectly okay.

Perfectly OK because it is you.

• How amazing the world we live in really is
• The people we share it with
• The moments created that we experience

The fact is…
– we become so work orientated
– so focused on the tasks at hand
– so frustrated by the lack of results
– and so exhausted by the ongoing grind… that we miss the special things all around us.

I have always found that it is the little moments which we remember that count and these are the memories we will enjoy.

The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. – William Morris

Take a further look down at the details:

• Have you ever noticed the clarity of your reflection in the window on the train?
• Have you noticed how sometimes that the smiles around you bring the brightness, not the sun?
• Have you ever watched and noticed how we all laugh differently and see the joy and happiness which is expressed in this action?
• What about how over-tiredness creates this sense of charm. A sense which says I’m so over this but I’m going to smile anyway.
• What about how we dance to the beat or simply to the rhythm of our excitement?

These are just some random daily details we can experience or see, if we pay attention. 

All I can say is that there seems to be more than what meets the eye wherever you go and there will always seems be that pretty tone to the world around you.

But then again we see what we want to see.

So if you choose to see the little things, or more so, if you want to, then you will.

• Take some time to see these things.
• Think about the things around you.
• Think about who and what people are doing.

Take care in your thought and you will be amazed at the results.

With this in mind, this is the same way to go about building and creating your dreams to a reality.

The simple fact is – it takes time to get to the top. BUT! In that time you have the opportunity to make the most of it.

There is no point waiting around for someone to do it for you, to help you, to push you or support you.

These people will come as you start. And as you make a dint to the world, you will be loud enough and people will notice.

The point is; if things are taking time, continue to pursue your dreams as one day, they will just click and you will be happy you never stopped.

Time will go on regardless, so time wasted can never be found again. Don’t miss out.

This is your chance to take ownership.

To decide to make a difference. To decide that today is going to be better. To decide that this week is going to be better.

This is your chance to step it up. To step into a new mindset, a new goal, a new challenge.

You and everyone else has a chance to reset the clock and to do a new week fresh and new.

You have a chance to make it what it is.

You have a chance to be greater than the week before, to be a step closer in your journey to greatness.

Monday was yesterday, maybe it went smooth, maybe it didn’t. However today you still have the power to make this week better than ever. Forget yesterday as a whole, but take the foundation of it’s best and build from that. This should be the starting point for today. 

However I hope this week has kick-started with an attitude of delight. An attitude of optimism ready to take new opportunities and new ways to challenge who you are.

If you haven’t… Then listen in.

In order to continue into this week with an attitude of optimism, then there a number of things I always have checked and ready:

1. A Smile On My Face
2. A Positive Attitude
3. A Mission and Plan
4. Confidence – Even If You Lack It
5. A Bounce

What are these? Let me explain:

1. A Smile On My Face

The first and most important thing to any good morning and a good week is a smile.
You put that smile on and I can assure you instantly you will feel alive.
It just feels right. Try it. Try it now.

2. A Positive Attitude

What are you expecting today? What are you expecting this week?
What you expect is only going to reflect in your actions, your attitude and your tone.
I always come expecting the best, but prepared for the worst.

3. A Mission and Plan

Know what your game plan is each day.
What will be the challenges?
What will be the high points?
Have your to do list ready.

4. Confidence – Even If You Lack It

Walk in like you own the place. Pump your tunes.
Know who you are, what you’re doing and show it.
Even if you don’t think you are – well fake it. – Trust me, it works.

5. A Bounce

More Tunes = More Bounce
A Smile = More Bounce
A Positive Attitude = More Bounce
A Game Plan = More Bounce
Confidence = More Bounce
In essence; take these and own them. Make them yours.
How you do it is up to you. But bring these with you and bring them with a bounce.

Expect the best and be prepared for the worst. Own the day. – Chris Furlong

As we grow in maturity, we begin to identify and reflect on how we have lived our lives.

We can begin to clearly see the bad, the good, the great and the many things we have done.

But when it comes to being good or being great – what would you choose?

John D. Rockefeller as summed it up well:

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

What this implies, is that we identify the good as something great, when really it is the tip of iceberg of what great really is.

Think of it this way – if you are responsible to deliver a piece of work would you want it to be ‘good’ or ‘great’?

I can tell you your boss will settle for the good depending on the circumstance, but he would much rather the great.

In my mind settling for the good is like saying, I am not going to step it up and go for great.

Compare this scenario through the different lenses of life and you will start to see how relevant this is…

• Exercise:
  • Good: You have 10 mins to do a workout so you rush through, but still work up a sweat.
  • Great: You have 10 mins to do a workout so you continue to ensure you keep proper and a quality form. There will still be sweat.
• Skills (through education/training):
  • Good: You have entry-level skills to enable you to do work.
  • Great: You have advanced level skills to enable you to exceed expectations and a more valued result.
• Healthy Diet:
  • Good: You have cut back on the junk food and you are having more salads.
  • Great: (1 example) You have cut out the unnecessary, if not majority sugar, fats and processed additives across all your eating.

These are just some examples, but if you take the similar thinking and apply it to the rest of your life, you will be sure to see some changes.

You are good, you are also great. To be your best, you need to be more than good. – Chris Furlong

The choice is yours and so is the risk. But don’t be afraid to skip the good if it means you will have the great! It will be worth it each time.