Life Lessons: The Ultimate Question?
How do you want to live and define your life?

Throughout our lives we are faced with many decisions, some of them are very difficult and present themselves at crucial points along the way. Many of the decisions we are faced with will ultimately shape and define the course of our lives; and, the become life lessons!

These choices, when they present themselves, are almost never easy and usually have to do with a price that must be paid, at times a high price, in order to achieve a certain goal or result. In most cases, the result or goal we are seeking is something we must trade for, something we will receive in return for something we must give of ourselves….and others, directly or indirectly.

In other words, in order to achieve the goal or goals we view to be so important, we may have to pay a heavy price.

Interestingly, the decisions we must make and the commitments we are required to make along with them, for goals we are (or were) actively pursuing, goals we had determined to be essential to our overall success in life, may not be the same decisions and/or commitments we would make in retrospect, with the added 20/20 perspective only hindsight can provide.

Not only do many of the goals seem unimportant once we achieve them, we may also question the decision making that went into such a quest to begin with.

Once again, many of these goals come at a significant cost, not only to ourselves, but also to those we love and care for.

I am often reminded of the saying:

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it!

This is so true!

Significantly, many of the career and life goals we set out to achieve early in our careers, the goals we set for ourselves and for our family, come at too high a price.

In many instances, when faced with the ultimate question:

Success at what price?

Many would be unwilling to pay the price if they knew then what they only come to know much later.

Goals and Material Things

This is particularly true when the goals in life are linked to material goods or “things.” Many of the “things” we attach so much significance to when we are young just do not appear to have the same value later in life. Many of the material “things” are generally not worth the price that must be paid by ourselves and those we love to attain, achieve, and/or acquire them.

This realization is generally viewed from a perspective of time and proximity!

In other words, the closer we get to whatever it is we once believed to crucial to our success, the achievement of a goal that will in some way define us and transform our lives, and those of our loved ones, the more likely we are to see it in an entirely different light.

Additionally, the more severe the cost, particularly in terms of the human cost, trading our time (our absence) for an object or a gratifying moment, the less apt we would be to pay for it had we to do it over again.

Think for a moment about that before getting defensive and saying “You are just being negative!”

Do you know what Sam Walton’s last 3 words were?

One of the most “successful” men on the planet and the founder of Wal-Mart said this:

“I blew it!”

Thanks to my friend Marc Warnke, author of Family First Entrepreneurship (awesome book about time, proximity, and family!) for that video!

What we have invested in, usually our blood, sweat, tears, and time may no longer seem important…or even appropriate given time and proximity.

Perhaps an example will help!

In 1984 I got a job with an advertising and marketing company and immediately went to a solid 6 figure income. I had just walked away from a business I founded and still owned part of because I had become the Dunkin Donuts guy! Remember him? Talk about a memorable USP (unique selling proposition)!

“I made the donuts!”

Well, I was that guy. I was working 16 to 18 hours a day 6 days a week and then doing paperwork for several hours on Sunday…just to catch up. Only to begin again on Monday. What had once been my baby and the most important thing in my life had turned into something akin to the entrepreneurial version of the Bataan Death March, in both physical and psychological terms!

The havoc that schedule was wreaking on my health after three years was noticeable and the effect and impact on my mental outlook was nothing short of disastrous. I was beginning a new life, my son was still young, and I didn’t want the rest of my life to be an everyday death march, passing myself coming and going 365 days a year.

So I got out!

Not right away, mind you..but I knew something had to change. It took getting sick, mononucleosis as a matter of fact.  Mono seemed particularly appropriate for some reason because I owned a health club and trained athletes. But what mono really did for me was it allowed me to step away from the trees long enough to see the forest. Once I did, the decision was easy. I was killing myself bit by bit but was so invested in the “ownership” of the concept the business was built up0on I lost sight of the fact that the business no longer looked anything like the one I started 4 years earlier.

And, I had indeed become The Dunkin Donuts Guy!

The decision was made easier when a friend, Dave M, walked into my office and put his paycheck on the table. He knew I was one of those people you call a “born salesman,” even though I hate conventional sales tactics, and particularly script selling. Dave also knew I was thinking about moving on to a new venture….but what?

Well, Dave looked me in the eye and asked me how long I was going to continue to kill myself when he knew for a fact that I could make at least as much as he had put in front of me, week in and week out and not work half as hard. The paycheck, for a 4 and 1/2 day workweek was in the mid-4 figures.

Now, when I started my business we were bringing in between $20,000 and $30,000 a month, during the late 70s and early 80s recession, but that was channeled right back into the business and I rarely took a dime. As time went on, although the business was doing well, I never bothered to take a paycheck because the business was mine, until I started taking on partners (big mistake and the topic for another post), and I really didn’t need the money.

Nice, huh?

But I was intrigued with Dave’s offer!

I said I would think about it, talked to Connie about the traveling involved in a advertising and marketing gig and the stress of a marketing job like that, and decided to go ahead with it.

That 6 figure position came complete with a road map to the good life. I had a new direction to my life, a direction based on a decision made at a time when I wasn’t really thinking clearly. But the decision seemed to be a good one. I was on my way, set new goals, and even said “I do!”

New job, new life, new wife, new home in my home town of Bay Village…what more could one ask for?

My attorney notified me after two months with the firm that I was officially making enough money to put me in the top 5% of all wage earners in the country!

All seemed right with the world!

“Then Depression Set In! Bill Murray in Stripes

I’ll never forget that line!

Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken into account how taxing the travel would be, 3 weeks out of every month on the road, home for the weekend only to go back on the road Sunday night or early Monday morning. Yes, Connie traveled with me from time to time but it was distracting and I felt guilty leaving her for extended periods at the hotel. Here we were, newlyweds and I was leaving 3 of every 4 weeks in the month. And I wasn’t traveling to postcard destinations!

I was going to Buffalo, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and, heaven help me, Ashtabula and Chillicothe, Ohio. Yes, the money was super and we were put up in Las Vegas on the company for as few days and I was routinely in the top 5 in the country…but the traveling was a downer.

I also hadn’t realized how much I would hate the prospecting part of the business, it had been presented quite differently! I was often making cold calls for 3-5 hours a day, Tuesday through Thursday, in order to set up my afternoon sales appointments and presentations. I got to the point where I could not pick up the telephone without getting physically ill and would be in a bad mood all day Sunday, knowing I had to go back on the road Sunday night or Monday.

Talk about hating the phone and cold calling! Something I still haven’t overcome!

I was the Dunkin Donuts guy again!

I finally came to the realization, just as I had with my own business, that regardless of the money and the commitment, I had to quit!

This was way before Seth Godin’s popularity but we would have been on the same page:

This wasn’t a Dip, this was a cliff! And, there was nothing else to do but QUIT!

The stress of being in a Type A environment and being a Type A personality, I was doomed to repeat this sort of scenario over and over again. I was selling myself to the highest bidder for a paycheck.

I needed something else…something more…or the cycle would repeat itself over and over again for the rest of my life!

The cost of pursuing that lifestyle came at a such a high price to myself and family, both in terms of time away from the family but also in terms of the high stress carryover into our family’s day-to-day affairs, it just wasn’t worth it.

Our loved ones suffer, often silently, as they watch us burn the candle at both ends, as well as in the middle, just to provide more material “things.”

Something had to change!

You know, most families would rather have us home and happy versus killing ourselves for a few bucks more in a paycheck…and a house with too many bedrooms.

Time, Proximity, and Do-Overs

Sadly, time and proximity are tough to buck!

Unless you buy into the whole Back to the Future thing and have access to a Flux Capacitor and an old DeLorean, hindsight is pretty much going to remain hindsight.

I have talked about do-overs here before and I was granted a do-over. New family, new educational opportunities, a new lease on life, literally. I got my do-over and so far have not squandered it…so far. Funny thing about time, it does things to you memory and may even alter perspective, it is a trap.

The old saying:

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it!

I will not forget the lessons of my past. The things I thought were so crucial? The goals and the things I believed important? The things that would define my success and provide the lifestyle I had envisioned for my family?

I was wrong!

I hope you are able to benefit from my hindsight. “Choose wisely Grasshopper!” Many of the goals we set for ourselves are based on what someone else pushed into our heads from early on in our lives and the things we think precious? They are right in front of you when you sit at the dinner table. They are next to you when you say good night. They are on the other end of the telephone saying “I love you Dad!” when they are away from home.

The most important things in life, the life lessons?

It’s the intangibles!

The rest is scrap! The rest is replaceable, breaks, rusts, burns down, gets stolen, is devalued or is otherwise impermanent.

We come into this world naked and we are going out the same way. The only thing permanent you will have with you as you face your maker, and Sam Walton found this out too late (I wonder how much he would have paid for a do-over? My bet? Anything! )  is the love of those you have touched…that is your immortality!

Your ultimate success will be defined in terms of how others remember you. Your ultimate success will be viewed in terms of the TIME you spent with those you love and who love you! Your success will be recognized in terms of the PROXIMITY you allowed others to have to you!

Time and Proximity

Unfortunately, as most of your moms have probably said about you, and mine said about me, we seem to have to learn things for ourselves…the hard way! I hope not!

Do you want to be able to say:

I got it right…I nailed it! My life had value and meaning!

Or will you say what so many others have said before you:

I blew it!

Thanks for taking the time to get through this. I know it took some time and I hope you feel it was well invested. If so, please pass this along, comment, provide feedback…including your own anecdotes!

Thanks!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004 (office)
440-821-7018 (cell)
Skype: johnzajaros1
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email address)

PS, Join me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!

Where Do We Fail? The Death of Dreams

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we end up, where we end up. It may be a consequence of my getting older, notice I didn’t say “old,” but I believe there is more to life. How do we define success and what defines a failure?

Perhaps it has grown out of my own life experiences, combined with my experiences, hopes, desires, and even frustrations as a parent. I don’t know, perhaps it is just one of those things we begin to think about as we age? But for whatever reason, I think it is a subject worth writing about…so here goes!

Question:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the little boy or girl you used to be? You know the one I am talking about, don’t you?

The dreamer, the little kid who wanted to be a fireman or a doctor or an astronaut or even the President of the United States! We have all been there, or almost all of us…haven’t we?

Yes, some of us are those things but, unfortunately, most of us have settled for less, much less than we once dreamed of becoming. At some point on our journey through life, we threw in the towel!

So, what happened to that person?

I know, I know!

We grew up, right? Life intrudes. We got older and more responsible.

Wrong, that’s a cop out!

Or, more plainly…horse manure!

The fact is, we get beat up…at least the majority of us anyway. Now, I’m not talking about a physical beating, although that is certainly part of it for some, unfortunately, I am talking about the way the system (i.e., schools, friends, and even well-meaning family members) systematically teach us to be “realistic” and “practical” over a lifetime until we finally settle for less than we had once envisioned.

The dreams of our childhood become the flights of fancy, youthful exuberance, not to be taken seriously. We are taught to fit in, to be good team members, to tow the line. Our creativity and imagination are sytematically attacked and ultimately dismantled, until the dreams and visions of childhood are a fleeting memory.

Sad but true!

How many grow up saying:

“I want to be a middle manager at a downtown warehouse!”

Or:

“I really want to be a short-order cook for the greasy spoon down by the highway!”

Right, me too!

NOT!

Now, imagine being in your 40s or 50s and looking back, wondering what happened. Interestingly, while many of us have had these moments, not many talk about them. Heck, no one will even admit to having these thoughts!

Why?

Because to do so is an admission, we are saying that somewhere along the line something went wrong, terribly wrong, we settled, we allowed others to derail our grand designs for an exciting life…we allowed life to define us instead defining our lives!

So, you are 40 or 60 or 70 and you look back at your life and you don’t like what you see.

Welcome to the club!

Are you too late? Is it too late?

Many would believe it is, many would have you believe it is, and many would tell you it is. Significantly, those closest to you will argue it is; and, that you need to be “practical” and “realistic!”

Remember those well-meaning friends and relatives?

Yup!

They are also the same ones who have shot down every new idea you have had over the span of a lifetime.

Why?

Not for you!

For them!

Because, after all, what if you do succeed? What if you do something amazing? What will that say about them and their lives?

Do not kid yourself, most people at a very primitive level, do not want you to succeed because that would make them feel bad!

Interestingly, it is not too late, that there is plenty of time. You can, and should, step back and reassess the tragectory of you life, beginning anew. To do otherwise is a waste of life!

Let me ask you this?

Let’s say you are 40 years old. And, let’s say you are miserable, that you dread waking up in the morning and facing another day of your life as it is, that you can’t understand where you went wrong but you are ceratin of one thing…it is all wrong!

If you do nothing, how old will you be in 20 years? 30 years?

Yup!

You will be 60 or 70 years old!

Right?

Now, you have a choice, you can be 60 or 70 years of age and have enjoyed the past 20 or 30 years, doing what you want, what excites you, and what makes you happy. Or, you can be 60 or 70 years of age and have lived, if you actually survive another two or three decades doing something you dread each and every day, facing even more of what you have dreaded for decades, the life you despise.

What life-trajectory would you choose?

Now, let’s say you are 30 or 40?

You have at the very least 4 decades of your life ahead of you!

Do you wake up every day glad to be alive? Are you doing something that excites and fulfills you?

If not, bail!

Do it yesterday!

I know, I know!

Here’s the party-line, what the majority will think and respond with:

“But I have a family, I have obligations, I can’t just walk away from my responsibilities!”

Poppycock!

Your family will be there for you, if they truly love you and want the best for you, they will support you. If your family is so caught up in their life own lives that they cannot see you are suffering, that you are in terrible pain (the cave you are in), then it is time to look hard at your relationship.

Do you honestly believe anyone who truly loves you will have you live another 30 or 40 years doing something you detest each and every day?

That, in and of itself, is a death sentence!

Somewhere along the line, some of us, many of us, have allowed someone, or more likely a series of someones, to derail our hopes and dreams for an amazing life. We went along with what they were selling and, when we woke up half of our life was gone.

I am telling you today you can still have it, you can have it all! It is not too late!

We have all heard the Colonel Saunders story. Broke and on Social Security he carved out a new life selling his chicken recipe.

Limiting beliefs?

You can do it again and you can do it all over, beginning today!

Just like when we were kids, you get a do-over each and every day. It is up to you how you use it. You can never go back but the wealth of knowledge you have collected over a lifetime makes you a better person, more likely to succeed at whatever it is you want to accomplish.

Again, it is up to you.

I call do-over!

From this moment forward you can cave in and forever resign yourself to an existence as a resident of Plato’s cave…or you can step out into the light of life and do something amazing. True, you might not qualify for astronaurt training but I understand Richard Branson is taking reservations for Virgin Galactic!

Do-over!

Call it out…begin anew…begin today!

Contact me anytime!

John Zajaros

216-712-6526 (home)
440-821-7018 (cell)
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

PS, If you have children, guard their dreams carefully and nurture their imagination and their creativity. The people who can truly think creatively and imaginatively will be in demand throughout their lives. Heck, they are already! Seth Godin calls them Linchpins, I call them indispensable!

I was watching and listening to the HBO Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Rock Concert from Madison Square Garden this morning.

Watching the 25th Rock Hall Concert, I still can’t get over the aging rockers refusing to give in to age and, perhaps more inspiring, conventionality. I think the thing that struck me most as I watched was the diversity of talent, every man and woman, each solo artist and group all have their individual style and grace…their own voice.

Bruce and Bono!

As I was watched The Boss and Bono, along with the rest of U2, I was struck by their very different styles. These rock and roll legends, these men whom have done as much for others behind the scenes, in terms of philanthropy, as any two men alive; and there, side by side singing about life, love, and hope.

Interestingly, while engaged in the same profession, and with many of the same qualities, humanity, compassion, and empathy, they are still as far apart stylistically as two entertainers can be.

As I watched, and it was in watching, much more than listening, that their real differences became apparent, I was struck by the fact that these two men, so very successful in the same endeavor, were so different from one another in the same moment.

Bono and The Boss, as different as night and day, yet both creating beautiful music in their own distinct fashion, their own style. These two mythic performers, deities of the rock and roll era, standing side by side and singing in complete harmony were as different in how they deliver their message, their performance, as any two performers can be; and yet, their harmony was incredible.

Both performers clearly belong on the same stage, however different their stylistic expression may be. All you have to do is watch, and then listen, but mainly watch these two performers, so different and yet so much the same to get a real sense of the contrast between them.

So, what is it all about?

It’s about finding your own voice! Both men have found their calling, their love for their work, their love of life, their voice…literally and figuratively.

While watching night and day on the same stage, both creating something beautiful, individually and collectively, something different and yet uniquely the same, I was moved. The collective voice they created was something uniquely theirs in that moment.

Success in Life

Because each of these rockers had given himself permission to express his voice in his own way, they both seem at one with themselves, with their true nature.

One only has to watch The Boss and Bono standing side by side, so very different, and each succeeding in ways unimaginable only a few years ago, to know that all things are possible if you give rise to your own voice, your passion, that one thing we are all put this planet to do.

The one thing!

It is in finding that one thing, and giving yourself permission to explore and express your voice, that true success is achieved.

Success in business and in life is certainly a progression, a journey, but more than that, it is a consequence of finding your voice and allowing it to do what only you can do with it, in very much the same way The Boss and Bono have….

Sing!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (office)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com

Life, Paying it Forward, Success, The Power of One, and Infinite Intelligence!

It is always darkest before the dawn. Cliche´ or not, it is true!

When I think back to last November, just 12 months ago, I quite literally thought I would be gone by now. I was making final arrangements and wanted to leave behind some sort of legacy…helping people, “Paying it Forward,” whatever.

I had it all wrong!

Instead of improving my life and the lives of those closest to me, I was fixated on some “larger purpose,” this notion of a legacy.

Silly?

Yes!

But when faced with your own mortality, “The End,” rational thought isn’t always available, particularly when the mind is clouded by all sorts of medications. Not to mention being scared out of your wits! But somehow, I got through it and came out the other end.

Nothing short of a miracle!

I firmly believe the entire battle for life and battles of life are won or lost in the mind, basically in our will.

Free Will?

We either continue and press on…or we give up and give in!

It is during the toughest times of our lives that we are forged into whatever it is we are becoming. The test of an individual, the real test of our mettle, is in being able to make it through these life altering, life changing, even life threatening events a better person.

Profound! Huh?

But true!

There are many people who have never made it, lost it, and have had to make it all over again. It is in facing failure, financial ruin, even death, we find out who we are and what we are made of. It is in working through failure and triumphing in spite of the possibility of ruin and death that we are reborn and forever altered…hardened and focused in a way others cannot, will not understand.

You see, I don’t think we are in full control of where we are going…or why. I believe control is an illusion. Without the illusion, many of us could not, would not be able to make sense of the reality of our existence, either as individuals or collectively, as a species here on Earth.

Many of us, “control freaks” or not, would simply crash and burn without this illusion.

And yet?

And yet control is an illusion!

Why?

Well, there are so many variables impacting and affecting our lives, we simply can’t account for all of them, much less control them. Any researcher will tell you control is an illusion. You may attempt to set up controls but there are so many confounding variables, events and occurrences simply unaccounted for, unable to be accounted for, that complete control is an unattainable construct…it is simply not possible.

And yet we are all fixated on control!

The fact is we can’t even control ourselves. The example many of the 12 Step programs are happy to offer up is about a certain bodily function:

If you think you have control, try controlling yourself when you have (the runs)!

It’s not a pretty example but it is one that brings the point home.

When faced with adversity and with events seemingly beyond our control, it is up to us to press on, get through, and be wise enough to realize that whatever we come out the other side as…it is what was meant to be. Not in the sense that that was the only outcome…it is simply the only outcome you have, the one you must make use of and build upon.

After all, what’s the alternative? There isn’t one!

You are faced with certain events, issues, and obstacles in your life and your success or failure depends solely on how you deal with them…or not!

I am not a fatalist or a determinist…at least I don’t think I am?

I am something of a realist. At least I think I am?

However, being a realist is a difficult thing to be. Realistically speaking, of course! Just look up “Realism” on Wikipedia. Talk about a smorgasbord! You can, quite literally, have it any way you want it, fit the word to just about any classification and definition…within reason, of course.

But we are getting off the subject.

I believe that somehow, someway, as long as we persevere, we triumph. I don’t believe that is predetermined or preordained. I believe it is up to us, we are actively engaged in our own lives, or not, by and through the decisions we make every day.

The decisions we make!

That’s about as close to control as we get. However, our decisions are affected by a myriad of circumstances, many beyond our control. Thus, we are back to the illusion!

The alternative?

If we don’t believe we have the ability to shape and reshape our lives?

We are doomed to continually relive the difficulties of our past…or our present!

I believe there is a synergy of energy, ours and that of Collective Consciousness…or Collective Unconscious (as some people refer to it).

Meaning?

Well, without getting all mystical on you, we all have our own, undeniable energy and power, a certain irresistible force within us and, when we combine our force, our power with that of the collective energy, power, and focus of the Universe, whether you call it a Collective Consciousness, a Higher Power, God, or whatever, the results are incredibly powerful, particularly when focused in our lives…again, both individually and collectively.

An example (and not the greatest, I’ll admit):

Have you ever met a person with what is referred to as charisma or personal magnetism? Have you ever met an individual you were immediately drawn to; their power, energy, drive, and magnetism palpable? I believe we all have that quality, that power within us, it’s just that some people are more adept at tapping into it, focusing it in their lives, either for personal gain or for the “greater good.” The topic of another article, to be sure. We all know this kind of person and we have felt this awesome power.

An integral aspect of success, the linchpin if you will, is knowledge of Self and the ability to focus on, and tap into, this reservoir of power. Significantly, I sincerely believe this resource is available to all of us. Many people fail to understand this power and others are simply ignorant of it, ignorant in the sense that they simply have no idea this sort of power exists, much less being available to them in their own lives.

We all talk about persistence and determination as the crucial ingredients, the key components making success possible. In my opinion, it is this wellspring of Infinite Power, combined with Self-knowledge, determination, and persistence, that defines us and our ability to reshape our lives.

We have all heard the Yogi Berra quotes. Interestingly, many of these quotes are very insightful. Part of Yogi’s charm is the kernel of truth, or at least the reflection of how we perceive the world, in many of his quotes:

1) “If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
2) “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
3) “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

This is precisely how most of us view the world and live our lives…

“Whether we are 100% aware of it 50% of the time!” (Yours Truly)

Or maybe…

50% aware of it 100% of the time!

No, that would make sense and be fairly accurate.

But seriously folks…

Think about numbers 2 and 3 for just a moment. This is how many of us live our lives!

Number 2? We get to a fork in the road, we have to make a decision and we make it…over and done! Little thought given to the actual decision. Just Do It! The end result will be what may.

Number 3? This is how 80%, 90% or 95% of the world lives their lives each and every day. The range between 80% and 95%? That’s simply a reflection of research and writer bias. One author or researcher says 80% live this way, others say the number is as high as 95%. I think it is probably closer to the latter than the former but the actual numbers are impossible to know and are irrelevant for this example. The important thing here is that most of us live rudderless lives, being blown this way and that by the strength of current “hot trends” and latest occurrences.

So?

Without a clear destination, mapped out in the form of clearly defined goals and a plan of action, we may take the wrong fork in the road and may be blown repeatedly off course by the slightest wind…or adversity. If we define who we are and what we wish to accomplish, we are ahead of 80-95% of the population! We are on our way to success in our lives.

Now, there comes a point in our lives when we find out just how much control we really have. This loss of control, or the illusion of control, may hit us as an illness, an economic setback, the loss of someone important in our lives or some other unforeseen catastrophic event. It is at this point we must have Faith is something greater and larger than ourselves or we will not make it through, regardless of how much power you may think have and how goal directed you may be.

There comes a point when you must say I need help, this is bigger than I am capable of handling on my own and I need help!

For some, the help will come in the form of organized religion, others will find solace and strength in a personal spirituality and a belief in the power of an Inner Self, still others will find strength in family and friends, and finally, others may have access to a mastermind group of some sort, a group of like-minded

Individuals focusing on similar goals by creating a Collective Consciousness, a mind greater than any one mind…a very powerful concept suggested and developed by Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich.

Regardless of the specific strategy, there comes a time when, if we don’t learn to turn to a source of power outside ourselves, if we aren’t smart enough to “turn it all over” to that group or Higher Power and say, “Help me!” or “Your will be done!”, you will fail.

I am not a religious man, or at least I thought I wasn’t. However, I have witnessed too many amazing things, been provided with second, third, and twentieth chances when I didn’t think I was going to make it through the day, much less be here twelve months later, for me to believe their isn’t this wellspring of Power, in all of our lives and at many different levels. It is up to you to understand it, develop it, and access it for your personal benefit and for the benefit of those around you.

Significantly, this last year started with the overwhelming urge to Pay it Forward, reinforced by a challenge from a good man, and developed by education, not only education in the traditional sense but in the “other worldly” sense. There is something greater, something more profound, something infinitely more powerful than any one of us understand alone. However, collectively we are more than One, we are more than the Group.

When we access this “Infinite Intelligence,” this “Higher Power,” we become greater, in fact we become great, and we begin to realize that indeed:

“All things are possible!”

By understanding that, as William Shakespeare wrote in 1601:

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (Hamlet to Horatio, Act I Scene V)

In combination, these final quotes bring it all together. We must first accept that indeed “All things are possible!” And, once accepted, we must be willing to accept the belief, and this is where the real power rests, in belief that there is more in heaven and earth…and that it is available to us if we will only act, and believe.

Because:

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve!” Napoleon Hill (my personal favorite)

Belief, in combination with Faith, Persistence, Determination, and Infinite Intelligence, however Infinite Intelligence manifests itself in your life, is an irresistible combination. When combined with a goal directed life and the recognition of the many being greater than any one individual, anything is possible because:

“All things are possible!”

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com

The Meaning of Life and The Definition of Success

Life is funny sometimes!

Life is funny…as in peculiar, perplexing, uncertain, difficult, a conundrum. And yes, sometimes life is also funny, as in ha-ha, amusing, and downright hysterical! Very often, it is somewhere in between.

Success in life, on the other hand, is elusive, perplexing, rewarding, frustrating, and amazing. In other words, success is the ultimate paradox, disconcerting and awesome, often all in the same moment, at times in the same breath.

Success is elusive because most people don’t understand what success is, perplexing because they are chasing something they think will define success, without actually understanding that success is nothing close to what they envisioned or imagined.

Success is rewarding because, when it comes, and regardless of how fleeting it may be, it validates our efforts and is one of the most amazing experiences we can have as human beings…providing we recognize it along the way!

Success is a paradox because it is often accompanied by incredible heartbreak, even failure; and, it tests our mettle in ways we never imagined, in the fires of life.
While exploring the rain forests of Central America we used to say Heaven and Hell were one in the same, around every bend, in every experience, in each and every moment.

The reason for this?

We had to endure incredible hardship on our way to amazing experiences. We had to endure incredible physical trials in order to get to pristine locations, places where few people had been for hundreds of years, untouched and unspoiled by humans. We had to endure bugs that would literally turn any exposed skin into sores, sores that, if scratched, increased in discomfort exponentially, all the while taking in some of the most incredible experiences of our lives. We had to endure intense heat and humidity, enough to stagger many in our party, only to jump into a river, clothes and all, a river so clean you can drink from it without fear of any of one hundred possible diseases or infestations. Imagine snakes and tarantulas along side of the most amazing lightening bugs imaginable, as big as silver dollars lighting up the sky. Imagine one hundred different tests each and every day while experiencing the time of your life, in each and every moment!

Life is like that!

Success is like that!

We often hear people say that life is a process, a progression, but deep down inside many still assign success to things instead of to experiences. Success, like life, is experiential!

Why is success experiential? Because it is a process!

That’s why people say it is a progression. Success is very much like life, in that as we progress through it we can either live one year 30 times or we can live 30 years.

Life, like success, is a process, a learning opportunity we are not meant to survive…but it can be amazing along the way. The end result is the same! It is up to each of us how we progress, how we experience the tests along the way.

I often mention Tony Robbins when I talk about success because I have been listening to Tony and people like him for decades. Napoleon Hill, then Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziglar, J Douglas Edwards, Wayne Dyer, and others all have the same message, enunciated in different ways…but there is a common theme.

The theme?

Build one day upon the one before!

*Whether as a template for a lifetime, as Napoleon Hill suggests.
*As a 30 day all out quest, repeated again and again, as Earl Nightingale challenges us to do.
*Or as CANI! Constant and never ending improvement! as Tony Robbins suggests.

The result is the same, an incremental approach to life. The method is similar, using forward motion, baby steps to build something amazing!

Baby steps?

What About Bob? is one of my all-time favorite movies and does the whole baby steps thing in such a great way! Take the time, Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus at their best!

While we are on the subject of movies, and Bill Murray, watch Groundhog Day! Talk about a message cloaked in comedy! Do it over until you get it right, can you imagine? Can you imagine being given the chance to live every day until you get it just right?

You do!

You are!

Each and every day is a major do-over!

We have two choices, we can go on into the next day, week, month, year, decade in the same way as the one before…or we can have a do-over. Because every day we live is in essence a chance to reshoot the day before, to get it right…Groundhog Day!

If you haven’t watched those two movies, do so! They will not only make you laugh until you cry, therapy in and of itself, but you will learn something about life and do-overs! We all get them each and every day…it is all about perspective and about living each moment and building upon the one before, learning from our successes and our failures on the way to CANI!

Constant and Never Ending Improvement!

Well, enough for now! The video below will help you get a sense for the mindset I have been developing over a lifetime. I thought I might share a little of it.
Remember! Build, remember, and make it better each and every day. Your life will be amazing and success will be a done deal!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com

johnz@ultimateinternetmarketing.info
Video Title:
Life, Success. and a Sculpture on Halloween!