Envy, we all have it!

Wikipedia states that envy is the resentment caused by another person having something that one does not have, but desires for oneself.

There is rarely a time in my life that I am not flirting with Envy!  I guess I can blame Facebook for some of it! 

How many times have you looked at other’s post and silently confessed to yourself, you wish you were doing that! 

For me, I just ratify the feelings with I have hundreds of friends on Facebook and surely “some” are doing cooler things than me right now!

It is quite simple to see greener grass somewhere else other than your own back yard.  Recently I had the opportunity to spend time in that yard and guess what I found out?

I like the color of my own grass!  Simply walking in other's greener pastures, I often find things I should not step in!  It was a good dose of a life lesson.

I have often said “Normal people are simply people that you don’t know well.”  It is so simple to capture a single moment out of someone else’s life and be envious of that moment!  Understand however we all have a large deposit of those types of moments!  You are simply observing someone else’s good times!  …and good on them for having them!

Choose to celebrate with others in their good times and enjoy their good fortune alongside of them.  You simply don’t know what the rest of their day is going to be like or their life for that matter!

I learned a big lesson many years ago!  You become what you pursue! 

I choose to focus on assets that allow me to grow as a person and attract them into my life.  I have discovered that what I treasure most are the things I can give away to others.

I guess the only advice that I can give to myself and others is “when envy is on your radar screen, choose a larger perspective.”  The broader view often points out a more realistic reality that you just might not be so envious of!

If envy persists, then make a decision to change the direction of your life and pursue the goals that make you more of a complete person.  The emptiness inside is the purveyor of need and want!

NobleOne

Rome was not built in a day!

How many times do you watch something in amazement and contemplate, how in the world did?  Luck and timing are typically my first responses however after investigating I usually find out a whole lot more!

It is quite frustrating for me not to put my foot on the gas and make things go faster, however when I do, someone just gets run over.  

The great things take time!  

 My last blog I wrote about expectations and how destructive they can be when imposed by uninformed people.  I consider this more of the same. 

Ponder this however, “you first need a vision of Rome before it is built”... then you need a visionary to see it through with the passion and the persistence to pull it off over time.  

Rome also needs to be admired by others so they too can participate in the building of something great.

Are any of you involved in a project that will last beyond your generation?  It makes you think different.  You are no longer looking for that immediate gratification that fuels so much of our interest.  Interpretations and understandings will be tested by time and history. 

I watched my son learn to play a guitar and I was impressed that he never gave up.   Through the years I have watched him take interest in everything from Taekwondo to computer games.   I was reluctant to support the guitar however over time he understood that music was in his soul and worthy of the long term commitment.

Some folks say “never give up on the things you think about every day.”  It is often not an easy pursuit!  It is however in some cases the one thing you were put on this earth to do! 

Wouldn't it be ashamed to miss out on that gig?

I encourage all of you to go after your dreams and understand it may take more than one night to get them accomplished!

NobleOne

DANGER Expectations Ahead!

In 6^th grade I was told I was a disappointment by a teacher at Linkhorn Park Elementary School.  The year before that same teacher had the pleasure of teaching my older brother Richard.  You see, she had unrealistic expectations that I would be just like my brother. 

That moment occurred 45 years ago and I can see and feel it to this day.  I truly did not know how to respond. 

I hold the opinion that having expectations for yourself is much better than exercising those you may have for others. 

How many marriages and relationships fail as a result of expectations that will not or should not ever be met? Perhaps I would even extend that to expectations we all place on our son’s and daughter’s lives. 

Everyone has their own life to live and it’s damn tough enough.   When someone chooses to place expectations on us for one thing or another, while well intended, can destroy the journey.

William Shakespeare stated it very well, “expectation is the root of all heartbreak.”

In businesses over the years I have watched managers and owners inflict sales forecasts and matrix that could never be attained.  They would simply use old formulas that no longer apply to a changing environment.   

I love the wisdom of Wayne Dyer, “If you are always striving you are never arriving.”  No one can predict the future and we all know you can’t change the past.  The only cool place that you can make the magic happen is by observing what’s going on right now! 

I listen to Minute with Maxwell (John Maxwell) most mornings and interestingly enough his word yesterday was “expectation” and he told the story of an old man watching a young man fish.  He notices that the boy throws back all the big fish and only keeps the small ones.  When asked about this strange practice the boy told the old man that he only had a 7” frying pan.  The lesson is; don’t limit your own expectations go out and get a bigger frying pan! 

Just don’t use that ‘frying pan” to beat up on others!  

Keep your expectations to yourself and focus your energies on making the environment better for all folks to meet and exceed their own expectations! 

NobleOne