What Do You Expect?

I've had a small epiphany. I'm sure you've already had this one and this post is just a reminder for you. You generally perform at about the level you expect out of yourself.  I've been a lot more productive in this past week and I've only made one change.  I've expected to be.

So much of how we perform is based only on one thing - our expectations for our performance.  Do you recall the Roger Bannister 4-Minute Mile thing?  Nobody thought it could be done.  Once Bannister broke the barrier there was a shift in expectations.  Now, if you can't run a mile in four minutes, you're not even taken seriously as a runner.  In the same way, many of your current limits are totally arbitrary.  No reason you can't raise them!  
Time for me to get back to work.  It's been a productive day, but I can do better.  In fact, I will do better!  I'm expecting a lot more from myself and it feels good!  Subscribe to this blog.  Let's see what's ahead together!

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Make Plan "A" Your Only Plan!

Make PLAN A your only plan...especially if you say God gave you the vision.  Most people don’t need a Plan B; they need to fully dedicate themselves to Plan A! How can it be that God’s plan for your life has an alternative? He hasn’t changed His mind. Once you tap into His plan for you, neither should you. Diligence is what most of our plans require, not alternatives.

Be diligent. To quote my Pastor, Thaddeus Eastland, diligence is best defined as "thinking it through, then getting after it and then staying after it." Work as hard as you can. Respond to customers and opportunities quickly. The best ones don't wait for you. Diligence isn't just about working hard, however. It's about rising early and looking for every possible opportunity to achieve a goal – uncovering every rock. The Bible says that "the hand of the diligent makes rich" in Proverbs 10:4. This is just one of the many encouragements in the Bible towards diligence in all that we do.

They say money never sleeps. It does. But it gets up early. This is closely related to the concept of diligence. A word study on diligence uncovers that it carries with it the idea of getting out of bed and getting started early. Personally, I know that my most productive days and "seasons" have been when I've been most intentional about rising and getting to work before everyone else. When I get up late, I often feel like the whole day is close to being wasted. Get up early and get after it. You will be rewarded!

Make joining me on Facebook and subscribing to this blog a part of your plan!  Let's progress together!

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Walking Funny

I was out looking at real estate recently. The agent was walking me to look at condos but she had a funny way of walking. As I followed behind her, I found her extremely difficult to follow because she kind of stopped and started and even swung her legs in a way that it looked like she was about to change directions. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement!  I am a naturally fast walker. I almost ran over her at least twice!  She had said the unit was towards the back of the property but didn't tell me where. I wasn't sure where we were going or I might have gone ahead or walked in front.

Imagine trying to follow or even walk with someone when you aren't sure what direction they're going even moment to moment? I'm still mad thinking about it. I never called her back if I'm honest about it. I really don't want to deal with that stress.  Maybe I'm making too much of it, but you weren't there!

Anyway, here's the point to my true story: do the people around you - those relying upon you for direction - know what direction you're going?  Do you look like you're going one way and then swing back the other at the last second? Do people even know your intended destination?  If not, they might be feeling pretty frustrated right now. I'm sure they love you, so they aren't mad. They might even want to help you get there.  But they have a hard time when you're walking funny instead of walking straight.

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Breathe

Pray for me. No, really. Pray for me!!

Do you ever have those days or weeks where you feel stressed out of your mind?! There has been so much coming at me this week (in a good way) and that's where I am a little bit. I'm blogging this right now as a way to stop and force myself to breathe, de-stress and meditate on God's promises over my life? Too religious for some people, I'm sure.

Still...the reality is I have those times just like everyone else. Maybe more than some. Therefore, I am going to do four things before I get back to work:

1. Take several deep, very deep breaths.
2. Force myself to smile.
3. Remind myself of all the promises the Lord has made me regarding my future.
4. Take a step in that direction.

I posted on my Facebook page and I've blogged about it before how sometimes the challenges that we have in front of us look not only challenging, but overwhelming! "How can I do THAT!? I don't even know where to start!" I'm going to do the only thing any of us can do in those moments: breathe, smile, trust God and move forward.

I've already prayed asking the Lord for wisdom, guidance and favor. As a Believer, I have to trust that God hears and answers my prayers...that they aren't just exercises in speaking words into the air. Therefore, the only thing left is to add the only two ingredients I can inject into the equation: faith and action.

I hope you're doing the same!

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Changing Direction

Indiana Jones taking the walk of faith...

There is no great lesson packed into this blog entry today. It's just me talking...writing. I'm not even sure what direction the next sentence will go. All I know is I am busting my butt working on taking my life in a new direction after years in hard money real estate lending...which I still plan to do lightly...and this is the toughest set of challenges I've ever faced in my life.

...and I feel like I'm doing it in front of the world. I get a lot of support from family, friends and even church members, but I know about half of them are holding their breath trying to see what happens with me. I've got a few "haters" too. Everybody trying to do anything significant has haters. The only way to make sure you don't have haters is to disappear from society. That's not an option.

So...I'm accepting speaking engagements and speaking. E-mail me! I'm rounding out my event calendar for the Fall. They've been going well so far. People like me. On the inside I feel like my heart is going to pop out of my chest because I know I'm learning on the job. I hope it doesn't show too much but I keep reminding myself "Every Master was once a disaster." as T. Harv Eker says.

I'm finishing my first book. It's done. I am preparing it for editing and publication. This ought to be interesting! I know I've got at least five more inside of me. I sent out early drafts of a few chapters a couple of days ago. That was terrifying. You want to know fear and judgment? Pour your heart into learning a new skill, perform it in PUBLIC and then ask people for their honest opinions!

I've also got to figure out how to make all of this make money. But I'm not interested in making money. I'm interested in earning MONEY!!!! I'm comforted by the fact that I'm moving in a direction that allows me to leverage my time, talent and energy much better. That's a good start. I know you can't get rich trading time for money. I've done that for years. I've earned a lot of money in my life, but there's always a limit because if (WHEN!) you run low on energy, time or health, you cut off your earning potential. I'm going to the right direction now.

I'm also doing the things I know I've been created to do. This makes me not only the Founder but the "First Student" of Live BIG! Die Empty. and I want it that way. I will build my career by writing, speaking and teaching on things I've experienced myself and put into practice. There's more integrity in doing things that way.

So, that's all. I can't think of anything else I want to share right now. Pray for me. If you want to support me, pre-order my book. There is some really, really good stuff in it. If there isn't, I'm sure people will let me know!

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The 10,000 Hour Rule

What is the difference between good and great? Malcolm Gladwell says about 10,000 hours...10,000 hours of practice and serious application. In his outstanding book, Outliers, Gladwell suggests that many of the most accomplished men and women in several fields had to invest that much time into their craft before achieving true excellence:

Bill Gates in programming software
The Beatles in music
Athletes
Teachers
Professional speakers
Bloggers

There is scientific research indicating that to prepare someone for THE opportunity that one day will come, he or she should already have gone through a minimum 10,000 hours of practice. This is roughly equivalent to 3-hours of practice everyday for about 10 years. It makes sense in this way: only those with the determination and focus to stick with a specific mission will be successful, while those who jump around from one thing to another will likely fail. Gladwell reminds us with several examples that raw talent and pure intelligence are only a small part of manifesting success. They only matter up to a certain degree.

Bruce Lee once said, “I’m not afraid of a person who practice 1000 kicks one time, but I’m afraid of a person who practice one kick 1000 times.”

I'll be honest. I don't necessarily know how to measure all the hours I'm involved in the activities most important to my future. However, I know I'm well short of 10,000 hours of speaking, writing and teaching. By this rule, I'm not yet approaching "greatness", but I'm making up for lost time. This blog is proof! My other writings are proof. I'm committed to getting my hours in so I'm ready for those doors that are opening for me.

Need a speaker for your next event? Guess what? I'm more available than you think because I need to get more hours in! Tell me. Are you getting your hours in? Post your comments below!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:

Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
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Click HERE for information on Mark as a speaker or presenter and HERE to learn about coaching programs to help you realize your potential and live more prosperously!

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