Success Starts Here!

If there is one phrase which has held back the potential in so many people, it just has to be "I'm Gonna." We've all used it at some point and there are generally appropriate times to use it. Sadly, it is used far too often when in the context of goals and dreams. When I was working on my Masters degree, I was holding down two part time jobs, and a full-time Army career. As you might imagine, I didn't sleep much. I was dedicated towards completing this degree and knew the payoff was going to be well worth the sacrifice. I don't tell you this to toot my own horn (because so many people have done things far harder than lose a little sleep to accomplish their goals), but to frame what I'm about to say next. During the time I was working on my Masters and in fact most of my military career as I was working on my Associates, my Bachelors, and then my Masters, I had people come to me and say "I admire you so much for what you're doing, and I'm Gon

There was a time long ago, an ancient time before the dawn of social media when running around telling everyone your "goals" would have been considered the actions of a crazy person. Most of us would share our hopes, dreams, and goals with those people who truly mattered; our small inner-circle. Parents, spouses, significant others, brothers and sisters and close family and friends. That was long ago and far away. Today, most of us (guilty as charged) share SO much of ourselves in the social mediasphere few of us probably ever stop to wonder whether we're doing the right thing or not. I have always believed in the human connection. I am a spiritual person and believe there is positive and negative energy out there and while this might sound like the rambling of either an "old-school religious-type" or a "new-age weirdo", I submit if you search your heart, you too can probably think of those times when people said they wanted you to succeed, but mayb

It's funny how life goes. When I was a 19 year old kid I had pretty much started my adult life a hot mess. I had already failed out of college, had zero money, worked at a job as a line worker in a factory which sucked the soul out of my body, and figured this was about as good as it was going to get. I remember a chance encounter with a high school buddy Bobby LeBlanc. We just bumped into each other at a department store. I remember the genuine care in his eyes as he asked me how I was doing. I think I dumped on him a little bit and while he probably could have simply said "ok well yeah, talk to you later dude" and been done with my complaining self, he took a moment to encourage me and tell me he believed in me. He never really knew how that moment affected me. Bobby was one of those guys I looked up to in high school. The kind that got involved; the kind who would give a kid the shirt off his back if they needed it. He played sports, was a good student, and most imp