Don't Wait For The World To Change

I recently discovered this song by John Mayer called Waiting for the World to Change and I just really like it. Though I suspect it was written to challenge the current political climate, I gravitated towards the title of the song because it speaks to something very different for me.

How many of us wake up in the morning and look at the day ahead not as what we get to do but what we have to do? What about how we look at the relationships we have which aren't quite going right but could if only the other person would change? How do we look at our careers and think if only the economy would change I could have confidence to start that business or apply for that new position? Or that lottery ticket and how much it would change my life if only they would call my number.

Are you waiting for the world to change so that your life can miraculously be better?

Just one question....How's that working for you?

I suspect you, like me, aren't seeing exactly the results that you had hoped for. But there is good news. You are in control. You have the ability to make the changes in your life and ultimately in your world that you want and need. You. No one else. You.

Don't wait for the world to change to meet your expectations, match your desires or bring the opportunities you seek. Take a small step today to make the kind of change you want to see in your world. Take a bigger step tomorrow. Take an even bigger step the day after tomorrow.

Before you know it the changes you want and need will be happening and ultimately the life, the career, the relationships, the rewards will be there bringing more Ripples to you can you could possibly imagine.

Stop waiting and start doing. No more excuses. No more waiting on the world to change.

Enjoy the video and as always.......

Ripple On!!!

The Smile Costs Me Nothing

I walk these streets surrounded by others
My smile looking for a home on just the face of one
Nothing

People pass by me as if I am not there but I am there
Shuffling here and there too busy for me I suppose
Missing

People stay to themselves as if afraid
But the fear of what I ponder
Me

I keep walking keep trying because there is no harm in trying
Just need to catch an eye if only for a second
Chance


At last there it is my smile has found its mark
Is it recognition or unique fascination either way it gets returned
Smile

Their step seems to glide smoother as our brief moment begins to fade
My step certainly has found a new purpose
Conquest

Time to do it all over again
Another smile launched towards an oncoming sea of faces
Searching

© Steve Harper

It's A Mission Statement...Not a Memo!

So Jerry Maguire is a favorite of movie of mine...in fact I am watching it right now as I sip on a fine adult beverage and pound on my laptop keyboard.

The movie as a whole lacks a little but where it lacks the music certainly makes up for it. Though the movie may be a little bit too cliché in some parts the message it delivers is clear...sometimes you just have to go find yourself. Shake things up a bit.

My favorite part of the movie is when Jerry writes the infamous memo....errr I mean mission statement (depicted in the video). His very public declaration of what's wrong with his industry, his approach and ultimately his life ultimately proves incredibly powerful.



What if you were to do a Jerry Maguire? What would your public declaration say about what is wrong with your career, your relationships, your life? What might it say about doing it better? Doing it ALL better?

Think about it. Better yet...do IT. You might just find that it is the very best damn memo....ummmm I mean Mission Statement you have ever written.

Ripple On!!!


Steve

Take Your Self-Limiting Beliefs to the Garbage

"I am not a morning person."

"I am not a people person."

"I am just not capable of (fill in the blank)."

"I have always been that way and I guess I will never change."

"I am horrible at math."

"I was never good at...."

These are power statements. That's right....I said power statements. If you have ever been caught using any one of them or something similar then you are powering yourself to exactly where you think you belong. Which I might add...is likely no where.

I used to obsess over what I thought I couldn't do. I didn't have enough education. I didn't have enough money. I didn't have enough important things to say so who would listen to me. I could never write a book, speak for a living or have people all over the world want to learn what I know; that would never happen.

I used to do it and found that by doing it I actually got quite good at it. Imagine that, being good at doing something that in all reality was so bad for me personally and professionally that it was actually killing my life.

Here's the thing....we all have self-limiting beliefs. We all worry about not being able to do something when called upon to do it. We worry about what the lack of experience means in terms of results. We worry about being labeled a loser or a freak for not doing something exactly right.

If I had allowed my self-limiting beliefs to take hold of me I would likely be dead right now. I am serious. My pity party at one point in my life was so bad and had so many invited guests that the tune of failure rang loud enough to keep the neighbors up at night. And you know what the more I allowed it to go on the bigger the party got.

That was until something happened.

Something so amazing and so enlightening that to this day it still fuels me to power through those rough self-doubt times......

What was it?

I DECIDED to tell my Self-Limiting beliefs to get the (insert whatever cuss word you want here) out of here. I no longer needed them. Like the stinky pair of shoes at the bottom of the closet I simply took them outside and placed them in the garbage. Go away. Don't come back.

Self-limiting beliefs are yours and you own them. Since you own them that means you control them too. It isn't the other way around. You have all the power. Remember that! You control the game. YOU.....

The power of being a different person...living a different life....having the career you really want is inside you right now. Fan that flame. Ignore the cold dark place in the pit of your stomach that says "You can't!" The hell you can't! Light that cold dark place with the seeds of possibility and warm it with the action you take to do what life has told you previously you can't.

Here's an exercise that might prove useful. Take out a piece of blank paper. Write down ever negative belief you have about yourself. Get it all out and really focus on why these beliefs are there. Then take that piece of paper and crumple it up and go toss it in the nearest garbage can. DECIDE that you no longer are going to allow those beliefs to control you. Announce to yourself and to the world that today those beliefs belong to someone else and that the vacancy sign of the good things to come is NOW hanging brightly in your eyes, heart and your mind.

This is your wake up call....it's time to clean house.

Ripple On!!!

Steve

Ripple Connection Question of the Week

Ripple Connection Questions are a unique way to engage people in conversation. Whether with a complete stranger or someone you already know, but want to know better, using Ripple Connection Questions (RCQ) accelerate the dialogue and deepen the connection. They are fun to ask and very revealing in the answers you will get and perhaps the answers you share.

Come on, break out of that shell yours and start Rippling. Trust me you will be glad you did!

This week's RCQ is all about what you can personally do this week to make your own personal impact out there in the world.

So with no further adieu.....

What are you going to do this
week to make a difference?

Good luck with this week's question and hope it brings about multiple Ripples for you and yours.

Ripple On!!!

Steve