I wrote this piece after lying on the couch for days being extremely sick with a virus. During that time I was fully aware of the upcoming in-class test for my online statistics class and how the date kept creeping closer and I still felt no better.

Let me step back and describe my relationship with statistics, being an Econ major I have a love hate relationship with stat. I love how clean they lay everything out with order and sense, but man do I hate how hard they are to process! I have had 3 courses with “statistics” in the name somewhere and countless others that relied on them through my education.  I always did okay in my stat classes but never hit the home run if you will and I was headed into this class with the mind set of “here we go again time to grind it out for another so-so grade”.

Flash back to my couch two days before the test. Feeling as bad as ever I sit up open my computer and begin to complete the spreadsheets, knocking out three in just a few hours, which is more than I had ever completed in a day previously. I made it to test day with all my spreadsheets complete and the test was about as tough as I expected so I flip to the back page where I know I can always find a joke from the Prof and I laugh.

 It is then that I realize I just laughed after being sick for more than 5 days, fighting a class that is a just a slow grind, and even being stung by a bee in my truck. I realized there is no other place I would rather be right now, I was on a low with a chance to suck it up make no excuses and just get it done, challenge accepted!

I completely changed my view of the situation and because of that my situation completely changed. The “grind for a so-so grade” just became a chance to prove that I can blow this test and class away. I quickly go back to my test and realize that I know all of this.

The whole point of my post is that “perception is reality”. My perception went from love hate to I love to hate statistics, I love the challenge it offers; and that has made all the difference. I challenge you to go find something you hate to do and find a way to love it.

The mind is powerful and has the ability to retain information such as memories, experiences, pictures/images, feeling, emotions as well as control of the body both physically and mentally. 

There have been times in my life where I told myself I was going to fail and sure enough I failed but on the other hand there have been times I told myself I was going to be successful and sure enough I was successful. For those of you who don’t fully believe in the power of the mind you will not achieve your full potential, you may be successful but not as successful as you could be if you believed. You can try to act like you are successful by wearing expensive suits, driving luxury cars and using education etc but if your mind is in the wrong place you will always be pulled back to where your mind is…its like a yo-yo with just a flick of the wrist the yo-yo will extend and with another flick will come back to where it started. The same goes for your mind, you need to exercise positive thoughts on a regular basis and speaking positivity will keep the mind full of great energy. 

I ask that you gain control over your thoughts, gain control of what you allow to enter and leave your mind, gain control of the people you allow in and out your life and gain control of what you speak into the atmosphere… at that point you will gain control of your life.

A few months back I sent a message to my team royalty family that included a quote: “happiness is a motivation, not a destination”. The message talked about not dwelling on the little things that may not go your way and to focus on the bigger picture. Everything that happens is a stepping stone to our personal greatness. For example, taking some extra hours on the job you hate could give you the money needed for that new suit to the interview for the job of your dreams. Recently however, there were some events that caused me to forget that.

I have been working at my current job for the past three years. I love it because I’m passionate about it and I get along well with my co workers. The only downside was that I was not full time, but I figured if I performed at my best I would get a full time slot. When the opportunity arose I ended up losing it to a co worker who was a good guy but not as experienced as I am. A month later another opportunity arose for a management position. I figured that I was a shoe-in for this given my experience level and the low number of other applicants. Needless to say I was a little shocked to find that that I not only didn’t get the position, but it was given to the same co worker they had given full time to a month prior. I decided to focus on the positive and go for the full time slot that would be free once again, only to be denied for a third time. After that I struggled for a while, trying to make sense of the situation and deal with my emotions at the same time. I talked to many friends and family members for the advice that go me through and helped me continue at my job with a smile.

It was at that job that I ended up running into a friend of mine. We were talking and he asked me how everything was going. I told him about the recent disappointments I’ve been having and how I got through them. He then told me about his new job and how he was looking people to hire for part time assistant manager; they even had openings at a location close to home. I met with the manager at the local location and scheduled an interview. The interview went really well so I thought my chances of getting the position were high, my doubt started to kick in when I didn’t receive a call within the first three days that next week. I ended up receiving a call on the fourth day and was offered the job! They told me the reason it took longer was because they decided to offer me the FULL TIME ASSISTANT MANAGER POSITION. After the call, I truly felt excited, appreciated and genuinely happy. It was at that moment that I remembered the message that I sent my TR family. I realized that I had put extra stress on myself by not following my own advice. If I weren’t denied those times before I wouldn’t have ended in a totally better situation now. Feeling inspired, I sent out a new message celebrating my excitement and I came up with a new quote to add: “sometimes we answer the door thinking its opportunity, when really its patience telling us to hold on because greatness is on his way” I make a make point to remember this for further motivation when I need it; as well as remembering to practice what I preach.

I apologize for not posting in a while but the past few weeks haven't been too good. Car problems aside, my biggest hardship was losing my internet connection for a good five days. At first I was extremely upset and frustrated, but as I was forced to deal with it, it began to appear like more of a blessing in disguise.

My profession causes me to constantly be in front of my computer so I am dependent on my internet to work in order to be successful. I was already at a really frustrated point in my life so when my net went out I knew that I had two choices in the way I could have reacted. I thought to myself A) I could blow up and just become upset, angry, you name it. Or B) I could laugh, smile and take some time off.  Throughout the majority of my life I've chosen A) so this time I decided to do something different. After all, there was nothing I could do to fix the problem anyway so what would be the point of getting mad. That afternoon I went out and had fun. I continued to do the same for the remainder of the week and it sort of became like a mini vacation for me.  I played paintball, went to a BBQ,  hung out with some good friends, went to an amusement park, just to name a few. Needless to say, my mind was totally away from my business and it felt great.  Being out of the house and away from the various social networks I'm a part of also gave me a sense of freedom that I haven't had in a while. Honestly it brought me back to when I was a kid and instead of surfing the web, I was out playing sports and meeting up with friends.

Over the weekend I finally got my internet back on and I felt like I had a new perspective on not only my business, but on life as well. The previous frustration I had was all gone, and I was very excited about getting back to work.  A lot of us often work so much that we forget to enjoy the finer things in life. Sometimes taking a break and be the perfect solution to that problem.

I know that our writer D.R. also experienced a similar experience a few months ago, so hopefully he'll be able to write a follow up piece to share what was going through his mind at the time