What’s Your Personal Ideology? There’s a lot of talk about “ideology” these days, and it’s usually not in a good way.  But what about YOUR ideology?  Do you know who you are? Before I go on, ideology is simply a creed, culture, dogma, outlook, philosophy, theory, or view. And let’s not forget ideas, principles, and tenants. At the end of the day, an ideology is what you stand for in this world. And, if you do it well, it’s also how other people know what you stand for in this world. It’s also up to you to decide that for yourself. After all… If you don’t know who you are and tell the world, the world will decide who you are and tell you who to be. That’s why I have a living document that establishes who I am, what I believe, and serves as a foundation of growth and change as I live and evolve. I call it my “Who I Am” document. It’s all mine, and I share who I am through my actions. How do you see yourself? How do others see you? How do you act in situations? What do you believe? What kind of people do you hang out with? What are the rules you follow for YOU? This list is endless and should be. After all, you are a complicated and ever-changing person.  Can I make you a promise? It’s easy these days to seek sources outside of yourself to find out who you are on the inside. It’s also easy to let the agenda of others infiltrate your thinking and pull you down a path that isn’t who you are meant to be in this life. The very instant that you sit down and document who you are and want to be, nothing else will matter. And the more dedicated you are to documenting YOU… the more you will get to be YOU. How do you do it? That’s easy too. Just ask yourself who you are in every area of your life, document your answer, and live it daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creating Your Wonderful Life With the holiday season on its way, wouldn't it be great if you received the gift of the wonderful life of your dreams?  What if you could have lots of free time, less stress, more money, and great relationships?  In my years of coaching folks all over the world, I've learned a few things about lifestyle design: 1) Everything begins when you become aware of what you want and accept that it's up to you to get it. 2) If you believe your dream can be real as soon as you start living it - it will be. 3) You are the Boss of you, so there's no reason for a delay. Stop planning and start doing. Forget wishing, hoping, and dreaming. Start with little bits of happiness and work toward living your dream every day.  Most people are drifting in the winds of life. True happiness arrives when you start driving through life. Living your wonderful life is entirely up to you. Be aware of the change you desire; believe it can be yours, and start living it now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It happens to all of us. We're going about our day, hot on the trail of checking off items on our never-ending To-Do list. Then, we discover that we didn't get everything done before time ran out.  When my son was entering the workforce, we would often find time to catch up on weekends. He was trying to navigate the business world while balancing his life. He had an exceptionally fact-paced job and had become a productivity ninja. He was proud of his color-coded To-Do list and calendar, but he had a problem - "Dad, no matter how organized I am, I still can't get everything done. I writing everything down, and I'm working through it, and I still run out of time. What am I not doing right?" My first thought was how happy I was that he had the clarity of mind to look beyond the obvious solution. Then, I had a few questions - You say you have accounted for everything. How much time did you allocate for eating lunch or running down the coffee shop today? How many times did you visit the restroom, and how long did it take? On your commute, how much time did you spend at the traffic lights? I stopped. "What does that have to do with my getting my work done?" he asked. Nothing, but you still have to get that stuff done. And thanks for making my point. What my son had discovered is what I call "Non-Ops" — the non-optional things of life.  Non-Ops are a never-ending string of activities that require our attention. They never go away and suck up time without you even knowing. If you don't account for the basics of life, you'll never get to the big stuff of life. After all, you can only go so long without eating, drinking, or sleeping - which makes everything else is the real optional thing in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices