Success Principle #1: LOVE LIFE! :)

I'll start off this blog, one of the first keys to being successful in life, with a couple cool quotes that I've heard recently and/or love. :)

"Don't blink... life goes faster than you think." - Kenny Chesney

"Love the life you have while creating the life of your dreams." - Hal Elrod

"I am not what I ought to be, not what I want to be, not what I am going to be, but thankful that I am not what I used to be." - John Wooden :)

Step one on being successful in life is focus on where you are right now. As the quote by Kenny Chesney attests to, life is short. There is really no reason to waste your time doing things that you derive no joy from. Therefore, you should enjoy every minute of your life (as Hal Elrod states) while you are making your life the life that you've always desired. In all likelihood, it would be easy to be depressed because there is some area of your life (like some areas in my life and everyone else's life) that you aren't performing at the level you want to be. It happens. It happens quite a lot actually. But that is no reason to keep you down. Because you are not what you used to be. You have grown, I have grown from where we were 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, maybe even one month or one week ago. However, it is quite easy to ignore the great progress that we have made...

It all comes down to who/what we compare ourselves to. If we focus on how far we've come and the significant progress we have made in life, we tend to feel pretty good about ourselves. Yet too often we compare ourselves to others (which by the way isn't in of itself bad) that are outperforming us making us feel not nearly as good. The key is the healthy medium where you are both happy where you are while striving for more. Give gratitude for the past success and all the great things in your life like I wrote about a week or so ago (that makes you happy). Then use the performances of others to motivate you to strive for more. They are the proof that it is possible for you to do it. Someone has already!

I remember my manager Dan Casetta for Vector Marketing (who I've referenced before) once told the team at our weekly meeting that we didn't have to be in school. After high school, we had the freedom to decide what do we want to do with our lives! He didn't understand why people in college complained about their workload. After understanding what he meant, I have definitely ceased complaining because I realized, this is where I want to be. Every day, I am going to classes that I want to be at, spending my time with friends I want to be around, and doing extra-curricular activities I love just as much.

I consciously choose where I spend my time (ok not ALL the time... but that is one of those things I'm striving for!). If I would die at the end of the next 6 months, I wouldn't change much about my life because I'm where I want to be. I love being in Davis. I love taking classes. I love my church and my friends there. I love the food that I buy and eat (especially at the Farmer's Market). I love my brothers in my fraternity. I love reading the different blogs/newsletters I subscribe to. I love the music that I listen to. I love the friends I have through the jobs I've had. I love the other friends I have in Davis too. (Side note, there are a few things I would change though: spend more time talking with my family, reading books, and relaxing in the beautiful outdoors).

I finish my posts with "I love my life!" for a reason! It is because I do! Soooo... If you are complaining about (or disliking or being frustrated about or etc) something in your life- or even your life in general. STOP. Everyone has problems. Accept it, fix it, or leave it. Life isn't going to be perfect, but you can still love it for all it's imperfections and be happy where you are. Yet, there isn't time to waste doing stuff you don't love either. I also encourage you to think about what you do love to do and consciously spend more time doing it.

-In all likelihood, my next post will be another key to success as well. :)

I love my life!