I cleaned my car this past weekend… washed, waxed, vacuumed, tires & rims gleaming…  I love it.

The thing is, when I was up close cleaning the car, I noticed all the little dings, scratches and imperfections that even the best maintained 8 year old car would have.

While focusing on these I became frustrated because I would find a new scratch or think… “this car ain’t what it use to be” or how bad it looked.

Later that day I took the car out for an errand…  I noticed a few guys looking enviously at my over sized rims and shiny car while stopped at a light.

Then when I came out of the store I saw my shiny new car parked off in the distance and said… wow, I love my car, it looks awesome!

What does this mean to you? How do you view your body, home, finances, career/business, relationships etc?

Most people up close will pick out every imperfection, what is wrong, missing, what is is not working… they focus on the gap.  When they zoom in, just like my car… they see everything they don’t like.

What would happen if you ZOOMED OUT?

When I saw my car from a distance… I was happy and proud to call it mine.  When the guys were admiring it, I saw it through their eyes and was happy I was sitting in that car.

Odds are your circumstances are not as “terrible” as you judge them to be. People compliment you all the time on how beautiful your “____” is or how lucky you are to have “___.”  You just have trouble receiving it.

Problem is you are zoomed in so close you cannot get the perspective you deserve to see.

This week pick a few areas of your life and ZOOM OUT to see what new perspectives you gain and how it feels.

I would love to have you share by clicking the yellow “comments” button up top.

Over the years I have learned, through practice, how to coach MYSELF into a relaxed state in stressful situations.

I do this with my coaching clients and my wife and I even teach it to our 4 year old son, Keaton.

Over the past 3 years when he is frustrated or begins to become anxious over a situation, we have taught him how to breathe and relax himself.  Especially when he loses a certain car or his favorite Lamb that he sleeps with, I very often take him, ask him to breathe and say: “relax, it will show up.”

Sure enough it always does!

The other day I was taking Keaton to the hobby shop to look at the BIG TRUCKS and I could not find my keys.  I had become a bit flustered when my son looked at me and said, “Relax Dad, it will show up.”

Sure enough it was right in my pocket!

I hope this brought a smile to your face as it did mine.  I now have a few questions for you:

1) How do you relax yourself in stressful situations?   You deserve to understand how YOU do it… and if you don’t know how to yet…

2) Discover what your process is to shift from a state of being stressed to relaxed?  You might require assistance from a friend, spouse or coach on developing this.

3) Who is the person that can assist you with these situations?  (a coach, spouse, mentor or child)

Feel free to share this post with others and I would love to read your comments on what this did for you.

As a business owner I connect with people all day, whether it be in person, e-mail or on the phone.

If someone answers the phone when I call I always ask if they have a moment to talk.

What I don’t understand is when people say: “No I don’t” and proceed to tell me they are in a meeting or in the middle of something important.

They are either trying to avoid me and really don’t want to talk, or they really cannot talk.

Assuming they are not trying to avoid me, my question is… why do they answer the phone when clearly they are unable to talk?

I find this interesting because above all it distracts people from focusing on what is really important.

There are times to be connected to the world with technology and times where we should not. Take a look at your world this week and determine when you will be connected and when you disconnect and are unavailable.

If you never set these boundaries and make them clear, your world will be filled with interruptions and distractions and you will always be saying: “Where did the time go?” or “I wish I had more time.” or “There is not enough time in the day.”

PS: On May 24th I am speaking on a topic for business owners titled: How To Better Serve Your Clients & Increase Revenue. Learn More

I bought a book a while ago for $19.97, read it and received huge value from it.

The other day I was in the book store and saw that same book in the “Clearance Bin” for only $5.

It was weird because seeing this book on sale, I felt cheapened my experience that previously had been so valuable.

It made me realize that part of the way we value experiences in life is through the cost associated with a product or service.

When we get things for a “discount” or “on clearance” we tend to value it less.

What do you do in life or business that devalues yourself or your service?

How do you put yourself in the Clearance Bin?

Maybe it is not following through with what you say, not respecting your time or health.  Maybe it is discounting your product or service for a potential client that says they “don’t have the money.”  Possibly even doing things that you don’t believe in or not speaking how you truly feel in a situation.

Whatever it is, determine what you value the most and the value of what you have and consider what it would take to keep yourself selling at “full price.”

Last week I sent out an e-mail to my database sharing an opportunity to coach with me as I am seeking one new coaching client for April who is motivated to create better results but knows they cannot do it alone.

In the e-mail I wrote: I am offering 5 complimentary coaching sessions to the first five people who connect with me and feel they want to experience coaching.

I did not realize that someone could read it two ways:

1) I was offering five people, five complimentary sessions EACH.

2) I was offering five people, one complimentary session EACH.

My intention was number two, yet after this awareness I could easily see how people could have either perspective.

Unless someone asks questions to clarify, they could assume the wrong thing or interpret it a certain way which leads to mis-communication.

How often does mis-communication happen in your world?  How often have you assumed or interpreted a situation or conversation that has lead to unproductive results?

This week see what it feels like to clarify what people are saying by asking them more questions.  “What did you mean when you said…?”  “Can you clarify your statement…”

I would be curious to know what understanding and new perspectives you gain by clarifying more this week through your comments.

PS: I still have two of those five complimentary session open for the taking!  If you are curious how coaching can assist your results, e-mail me now to set up that session TrueYouNow@Live.com

It was the first 80 degree weekend in Massachusetts since last summer and it was like the population came out of hibernation.

It was a great weekend for yard work, washing cars, playing and exercising outside and even lying in the sun getting a little color!

I remember taking my shirt off to soak up some sun and feeling confident with my body.  I also remembered many times in the past when I kept my shirt on because I felt embarrassed about my body.

What about you?  If you were to hit the beach today, how would you feel about your body?

Confident, embarrassed, apprehensive or just not caring.

If your feeling was less than warming, what are your plans to change that?  Most people wait till a vacation, an event or until it just gets unbearable to do anything about it.

What is one step you will take NOW that will begin the process of feeling the way you DESERVE to feel about yourself?

I would love for you to share one step you took as a result of this post by clicking the comments button.

PS: If you are seeking assistance, I have some complimentary nutrition education for you to listen to now. Click Here: Listen to Step 1 & 2

You might be well aware by now that you become like the people you spend the most time with.

You earn about as much money, have a similar level of fitness and your philosophy on life is pretty much aligned.

I have three questions for you that are very important for you to consider based upon what type of results you are shooting for in your future.

1) Who do I hang around with?

2) What is that doing to me?

3) Is that okay?

Please share what you learn as you reflect upon the last question.

PS: Looking to release weight, improve your energy?

Consider attending our Complimentary Nutrition Seminar on 3-24 Learn More

The USA Today newspaper did a poll and they asked people how they were going to increase their savings.

About 20 percent answered the lottery!  The next option was selling possessions.

How is that for a plan? I trust yours is better!

So what it takes to reach success in anything?

I know for a fact that success occurs regardless of obstacles, circumstances, education or background…  so what is it?

I believe success occurs with two key components:

1) When you are willing to do what the average person is not

2) When you do it long enough to become somebody as a result of that process.

Bottom line, it is not what you get that makes you valuable, it is who you become.

With your daily actions ask yourself… who am I becoming?  Is that the person who deserves the type of results you are seeking?

I would love to hear your thoughts on what you feel it takes to create success by clicking the comment button.

My son received $5 as a gift from my parents on Valentines Day to purchase something he wanted.

I took him to the toy store last night, asked him what he wanted and he replied, “A blue oil tanker truck.”

We both were equally excited to look at all the toys to see what his $5 gift could buy… ideally this blue oil truck.

In our excitement at the store, a woman with a clipboard interrupted me and began rambling on about some contest and I only had to give her my e-mail, take a survey and I could win $25,000.

Meanwhile my son is ecstatically tugging on my arm saying “Look Daddy, how cool is this truck!”  and this woman, though very nice was still rambling on.

I politely cut her off in mid sentence and said that this was a very special time for me with my son tonight and I was all set with what she had.

She replied: “but sir, isn’t it worth 5 minutes of your time in exchange for the opportunity to win $25,000?”

I replied: “No actually because those 5 minutes with my son right now are worth much more than $25,000.”  and I turned back to my son.

Today we have far too many distractions that pull us away from what is most important in life.

I ask you, what is most important for you to honor in each area of your life this week?

I would love for you to comment on how this story impacted you.

2010 is in full swing and results are waiting to be created.

I wanted to share something that I have struggled with BIG TIME and have learned to overcome.

I bet you struggle with the same thing and it is the reason for much stress and keeps you from awesome results.

PS: The #1 New Year’s Resolution is to Lose Weight… Check out a possible solution if you desire to eat better, improve your energy and release weight.

We have a FREE live seminar on 1/20/10 and begin a 4-Week Program on 2/1/10.