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Photo Courtesy of Reinante El Pintor de Fuego (flickr)

Lately, I have been experiencing extreme waves of doubt with every action I take.  I doubt the city I live in, the job I have, my so-called passion for running marathons, even my desire to write the book I’ve been working on for over a year.  I had a birthday recently and it seemed like just another day.  However, the day after I went to work angry.  I mean really, really angry.  I had no reason to feel that way.  There was no catalyst, no circumstance, no tragedy, mishap, or situation that could have sparked such animosity towards the world.  But, I felt angry anyway.  Does a person need a reason to feel angry?  Do I need a good reason to doubt everything I do?  No.  But it helps.  I want a reason.  I want to know why I feel the way I do.  I hate when I experience an emotion, a pain, or have any circumstance occur where I can’t nail down the cause immediately.  It’s like when you have a vague headache and you can’t describe with any detail to your doctor what hurts or where.  You know your head doesn’t feel normal and it’s driving you crazy, but you can’t seem to put your finger on it.  That’s exactly what this doubt thing is doing to me.  I have no real reason to feel the way I do, but it’s destroying my ability to function.

So, what options do I have?  Is there a magic doubt pill I can take?  Will my doctor prescribe me some adrenaline pumping Adoral if I just keep asking for it?  Will it do me any good?  I am in search of any answer about what direct action I can take to solve this doubt riddle.  I want my life to have meaning and I want to have the ability and desire to solve every problem that comes my way.  This vague problem, however, is not a dilemma to be solved with a one-two punch.  I have to dig deep.  I have to look for an answer in places I don’t normally look because this is a problem I don’t normally experience.  I am a confident guy.  I know what I want, when I want it, and I can bring those thoughts to life at the drop of a hat.  Doubt is a problem, a common one, and it can be solved by going back to the basics.

Principles

I live my life by principles.  I do the right thing when I know what it is.  I choose the (more…)

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Photo Courtesy of Armando Maynez (flickr)

I recently finished reading the book, GOALS! – How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy.  It’s a fantastic book if you’re at all interested in using your time wisely, staying focused, and accomplishing a ton of stuff.  In the book Brian discusses many ways to create goals that really allow you to reach your true potential instead of wasting your time on goals that don’t get you what you want.  If you’re stuck in a job you can’t stand, or are currently in the market for changing your life direction, or you simply want to double check that you’re actually on the correct life path, check out the goal-setting strategy below.  I’ve modified one of Brian’s strategies, so please credit him for this idea.  It’s an incredible exercise in figuring out what really matters and focusing on those things every day.  Let me know in the comments below what you think about it and what you would change.

Awesome Goal Setting Strategy

As you create each of the lists below, always write your dreams, goals, and strategies in the present tense and (more…)

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Photo Courtesy of Hamed Saber (flickr)

Immediately following graduation you will most likely find yourself wandering one big question, what’s next?  At the end of every semester, sometimes immediately following my last final exam, I would have this pit-in-the-stomach feeling that I had forgotten something.  I would have a mild panic attack and freak out as my mind and body came to terms with the fact that I was actually done with everything and could relax.  After your last semester of college you have every right to relax completely.  Don’t worry about what’s next, just yet.  This is the best time take up yoga, watch a good movie, go on vacation to Costa Rica, or lay out at the pool until you’re extra crispy.  Your parents will be hounding you to get a job, but don’t do that.  Seriously.  Take some time to chill out.  After you feel fully rejuvenated, and when you’re ready, begin to work through the next 3 steps.  Over the next few years just let your life take the course you were destined for.  Do your best to ignore advice from parents or anyone else who you believe doesn’t understand you.  This is your time to do some serious soul searching.  Getting a job at a bank just to please your parents won’t do you any good.

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance;

it is the illusion of knowledge.”

- Daniel J. Boorsti

(more…)

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Photo Courtesy of jcantroot (flickr)

The first weekend of May was supposed to include my first experience running the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon.  Well . . . my plans changed.  Instead, I spent three days stranded in a flood – literally.  I wasn’t clinging to a tree awaiting a rescue from the Coast Guard (which some people experienced firsthand), I was stranded in my apartment without cell phone service, internet, cable TV, and sometimes we lost power all together.  A couple weeks ago I had to cancel my marathon in Cincinnati because of a scheduling fiasco, financial limitations, and a startling realization at the Country Music Half Marathon that I wasn’t prepared for a full 26.2 miles.  You can read about the half marathon experience here.  I changed my plans for the weekend to include hanging out with my wife Tessa and our friend Kendall who drove up to Nashville from Chattanooga.  I knew the forecast included a few days of rain, but I wasn’t initially prepared for a catastrophic flood.  After the highway flooded, Kendall was stuck with us for the duration of the storm.  We made it work with lots of eating, reading, and trips to the Redbox for lots of new movies.

The Great Flood of Middle Tennessee

The flood, which brought in more than 17 inches of rain in some areas, caused widespread damage in the Nashville area and around (more…)

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Photo Courtesy of laverrue (flickr)

Successful people are very similar.  It doesn’t matter what industry they work in or what passion they’re pursuing, there are a few shared habits that nearly all successful people possess.  Habits are some of the most powerful forces in your life and it is incredibly easy to predict your future based on your recurring choices.  For our purposes we’ll define habits as a recurring pattern of behavior.  In other words, your actions.  It’s not just what you do, but what you do OFTEN that will inevitably determine your destiny.  In terms of success, I’ll use Earl Nightingale’s classic definition: “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”  In other words, your repeated progress towards something noble makes you successful.  By this definition, success is not an end destination, but instead it is something to be achieved on a daily basis.  That is why habits are so incredibly powerful, because they determine your level of success.  Ideally, you will make daily progress towards goals you have pre-determined to be worthy in your life. (more…)