Thank God It's Monday®! Blog

My dad gave me $20 to go to college. I was 17 years old. I didn’t have a backup plan. I didn’t have somebody I could call home to and say, “Send the check.” At that point, I knew I had to figure it out. Three jobs while going full-time to college, it was just what I did because it was an opportunity. But I realized that my past circumstances were no indication of my destiny. I got to choose my destiny of what’s next based upon the fact that I was not going to accept what I had, but I wanted to have something better to move forward.

The same opportunity is there for every one of us, every day. Our past circumstances are not necessarily going to drive the trajectory of the rest of our lives. We simply have to intervene and decide what we want and decide to roll up our sleeves, get busy, make that happen, and develop ourselves in such a way that people will give us the chance to make those things happen. Your past circumstances are simply that. They are not your destiny.

Is this your last day on planet Earth? Probably not, hope not. And yet you never know. There is no guarantee how long we get to go around this planet. But the reality is that we can make every day we live on this planet our masterpiece by creating opportunities and seeing possibilities and living vivaciously as if this could be our last day on planet Earth. Yet many people plod along, they wake up in the morning, they make coffee, they drive to work, they punch in, they do their job, they punch out. They drive home, they watch television, they eat dinner, they go to sleep, they wake up, they make coffee, they drive to work, they punch in. They’re not making their life a masterpiece. We have one chance every single day to start from scratch, to create opportunities that could change our life forever. Decide to make today your masterpiece.

We’ve all heard the expression, “Debbie Downer,” but it wouldn’t be an expression if it wasn’t true, and if “Debbie Downers” didn’t exist in workplaces today.

They exist everywhere. Those people who, basically, try to suck the energy right out of you as you’re walking in. Now, here’s the thing, they exist, but that doesn’t mean that you need to let them into your planet. In your world, you’ve just got to find a space to be away from the people who are the “Debbie Downers,” and then decide to keep up your own spirit.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with the economy, with elections and other challenging things, with viruses and pandemics, and with other kinds of issues. Life is filled with all kinds of challenges. It just is what it is, and yet it’s a world full of beautiful things and opportunity, and the ability to make an impact on other people’s lives.

So, stay away from the “Debbie Downers,” decide to keep your nose clean of all those activities, and decide, hey, the sun will come up tomorrow, and it’s a great sun!

We all know those people who just basically do the core things required of the job. And yet, when we put ourselves in a state of assuming that we will do nothing short of excellence, we stand out. Not only that, we make a difference in people’s lives, we get noticed, we feel good about ourselves, and we go home. And yet, most people are trying to figure out how can they get away with the least amount possible, as opposed to, “how can I be a standard for excellence going above and beyond always, “plus-oneing” everything that I do, always making sure everything is accurate and perfect and above and beyond.” It’s an interesting way to live, isn’t it?

Maybe you read the book, “Everything is Figureoutable.” If you haven’t, it’s a great book. It inspires you to realize everything is “figureoutable.” So why are we always making a case for why something can’t be done? I’ve always heard the words, “When someone says you can’t do something, everything that follows behind the can’t is a lie.” In fact, change your language to “we can, if,” and then fill in the blank. That’s why we’re hired here to do the work that we do. To bring solutions, not to declare an obstacle is in the way and cannot be addressed. So, remember, everything is” figureoutable.” So what are you going to take on today?