Jan/100
limited possibility perspective?
Do you suffer from LPP? A lot of people do and don’t realize it. What is it?
Simply put… the Limited Possibility Perspective is thinking that you can’t, more than believing that you can. It is operating from a scarcity mentality that tells us that dreams cannot or do not come true.
Great things are accomplished by those who dare to dream.
Those who refuse to accept the status quo.
Those who take intelligent risks and live on purpose.
Those who embrace and expand their perspective of possibilities.
Those who courageously step out and take action over apprehension… often in the midst of adversity and uncertainty.
If all this sounds like a bunch of positive thinking, motivational and inspirational nonsense to you… then you are likely suffering from acute LPP right now.
Limiting our possibilities makes the world appear very small. Physics tells us that when spaces get small, the pressure goes up. The world of possibility is vast. Options and opportunities are everywhere. But you have to look for them. You have to see them. Sometimes “seeing things” is the best thing.
But this same world is full of nay-sayers and dream stealers ready and willing to tell the rest of us what can’t be done and isn’t possible in their opinion and from their perspective. It appears as though they get great joy from pounding and pouncing on others’ ambition when in fact they are just running scared themselves. Run from these people. Distance yourself from dream stealers and instead surround yourself with dreamers who decide to do each and everyday.
Regardless of our individual definitions of success, or the actual outcomes, greatness is reserved for those who pursue it. And this greatness exists within the pursuit of possibility.
“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who believed that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.” – Bruce Barton
©2010 Tom Leu
Aug/091
willing AND able?
The question is often asked… “are you willing and able?”
It’s usually posed as a single question, when in fact, there are two very distinct things at play here. Willingness and ability are not the same thing of course, though we’re often led to believe they should be.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
And just because you should doesn’t mean you can.
Ability. This is about skill, talent and know-how. If you’re not properly qualified or trained to perform certain tasks or undertakings, then your choices are two-fold: 1) Learn how to do what you want to do or 2) Don’t do it. Get educated or move on to something else that you’re qualified to accomplish successfully. Ability is largely external and, barring any mental or physical limitations, can be taught and learned.
Willingness. This is about desire, passion and interests. If you’re not willing to consistently do something… you won’t. Be honest with yourself when it comes to what you’re really willing to do in life. Whether it’s pertaining to a career, relationships, or hobbies, people only stick with things they are passionate about or significantly interested in. For long-term commitment, true willingness must be present. Willingness is primarily internal and generally cannot be taught. One can be forced to be willing temporarily, but this is more accurately called obedience, not willingness.
Four scenarios pertaining to willingess and ability exist:
1) Willing and Able = A calling… equals happiness, adventure, fulfillment, & contentment. (best case scenario)
2) Unwilling and Able = A job… equals stability, security, restlessness, boredom, & wonder. (head case scenario)
3) Willing and Unable = A dream… equals good intentions, excitement, fear, uncertainty, & unproductiveness. (head case scenario)
4) Unwilling and Unable = A waste of time… equals dread, angst, apathy, & loathing. (worst case scenario)
So what to do if you find yourself stuck in scenario 2, 3, or 4 - where either willingness or ability or both are absent? First, you may voluntarily leave the situation after you’ve had enough. Second, you may be asked to leave, or the situation may leave you after others have had enough. Or third, you may seek one or more vices, devices or distractions to cope with and endure the disconnect.
The moral of the story?
Pursue your passion that’s also your talent.
If you’re an “easier said than done” enthusiast, you’re likely sitting in scenario 2, 3, or 4 right now - and are likely a chronic excuse-maker and victim. The real question is… how long are you willing to stay there? Only when the pain is great enough to [exceed the need] for excuses can real change take place. Ask yourself if it’s a matter of can’t (unable) or won’t (unwilling). Big difference. Honestly answering this is the first step toward the solution.
©2009 Tom Leu
Jul/090
square peg-round hole syndrome
Got goals?
Got big dreams and plans that you’ve been harboring and hinting at for a long time?
Here’s a news flash:
Whatever your big plans or intentions are…
If you haven’t done it by now; if you haven’t acted on your aspirations; you probably aren’t going to.
Game over.
Get off the merry-go-round and get on with your life.
Move on and make room for what really matters to you.
The argument is that if it hasn’t happened yet, there’s a reason. And the likely reason is that you haven’t put the necessary time and effiort into it to make IT happen.
And the reason for that is because you don’t care enough about IT to do what’s necessary ongoing. You’re either not doing things right, or not doing enough of the right things.
You like the IDEA of it more than the REALITY of it. It sounds good in theory, but doesn’t play in the real world.
What truly matters to us is that which not only gets our attention, but gets our action. If it’s all talk, then it’s just crap. Intention without action is useless. There’s got to be consistent action taken over time to really make things happen. There has to be a commitment to the details in order for the dream to become the reality.
This only happens by focusing on and doing that which we really love. Letting go of the ought to’s and should do’s frees up space on our mental hard drives and affords us the opportunity to focus on that which we WILL do.
Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, correctly suggests that there may be a right time to QUIT certain things, at certain times, if they are no longer serving us. I agree.
The “square peg-round hole syndrome” results when people try to be something they’re not. To do something they’re not cut out to do. It occurs when people believe in an idea about themselves, or a version of themselves, that at the end of the day, isn’t who they really are, and thus never materializes.
It’s not that they’re bad or unintelligent or unmotivated. It’s that they’re trying to FORCE it. And when we force things… things usually get broken.
This often happens to people when they try living up to faulty internal or misguided external expectations that may be decades old.
If any of this is ringing true for you… it’s time to get out of fantasy and into reality.
It may be time to trim the fat, get focused, get free from the fantasy. It’s OK, really.
If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to get somewhere you thought you wanted to go, never seeming to arrive at your destination… it’s time to reconsider your destination and your motives for wanting to go there in the first place. Don’t try to be something you’re not.
Tell the truth. Be honest with yourself about what you like and don’t like; what you’re good at and what you’re not. Only undertake those things that really mean something to you. Those things that you’re truly passionate about. Those things that keep you up late at night and get you up early in the morning. Those things that you’d do for free. Marry that passion with your natural abilities and skills. Those things that you really have a knack for. Those things that others recognize you’re good at. Those things that you do as well, or better than most others.
Combine this passion and this talent… THIS is where you should be. THIS is what you should be doing. THIS is where you should live.
Maybe you’ll make a business out it. Maybe you won’t. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you will NOW have the peace of mind knowing you are in the right place, at the right time, doing that which you are supposed to be doing, for all the right reasons.
And that is worth more than money.
That is all there is to do. Because “doing” this… is “being” who you are supposed to be.
And that is what the ”richest” among us eventually come to understand.
Game on.
“It doesn’t matter how much you want. What really matters is how much you want it.” – Ralph Marston
©2009 Tom Leu
Sep/080
living on purpose
“The secret of success is constancy of purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli
A lot of people live life on accident instead of on purpose. In other words, we are reactive more than we are proactive. We are responding to life rather than creating it.
Living on purpose means to have, at least generally, an idea of where you want to go: a map → a plan → a goal. Writing down your purpose gives it life, and gives you direction and some accountability. This then gives your purpose more opportunity to become reality… which is what you want. When the unexpected twists and turns of life present themselves, we will regain our course sooner and with more certainty when we have a direction and a purpose for being. Got Purpose?
“We are all either building our own dreams or building somebody else’s.” – Jeff Olson
©2008 Tom Leu
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Tom Leu is a writer, speaker, and teacher with degrees in Psychology & Sociology. Tom's RockStar Way™ brand uncovers extraordinary "images" within music, marketing & motivation.
Paragon Productions, Inc. "RockStar Marketing & Multi-Media Brand Enhancement"
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