Reflections on a historical night

As the phone calls and text messages came pouring in shouting in victory of what is truly an amazing night in history. I feel myself impacted in a way that is somewhat hard to explain. I'm sure just like you, there is a feeling coming over you right now. I feeling of hope, a feeling of what will be able to be accomplished and seen in our lifetimes.
Think about it, we were all alive before the Internet, text messages, cell phones, facebook, and many of the things that have become part of our daily activities that are now common place to so many.

Now we are all around to experience the first president of color take the most coveted position in America.

I have one important message to leave you with as you high-five your neighbors and do the running man cabbage patch victory dance (don't act like you didn't do a jig).

The worst thing about success is a little bit. My biggest fear is that too many people will feel like, yes we made it, we have succeeded and then think the real work is done. What is the worse thing for us to do right now as a people is to feel like "We made it". The truth is, now is the most important time for us to look deep within ourselves and start taking the action that we know we should be taking to better our lives and our country.

What do I mean the worst thing about success is a little bit? What I mean is that so many times when the first sign of success hits, we want to bask in all of its glory. We want to kick back and marvel at what has happened. Yes this has its time and place but when you rest too much, and get too lazy that is when you lose your edge and begin to live in a habit of failure. It's easy to fall back into old habits and it's hard to stay consistent with positive change when the old habits seem so appealing and "easy". It may be easy, but trust me it is not fulfilling.

One thing I bet, is that you won't see Obama letting up, he will move forward and keep his presence and his message strong. I ask that you do the same. If you are reading this right now, I believe it is for a reason, I believe that there is something great inside of you that you feel swelling up. Don't rest, don't ignore it, don't sit back too much and watch. Stand up, make this upcoming year, this upcoming month, this upcoming day the most important of your life so far. Live every day knowing that you have the power of unlimited potential in you.

So...how will you be remembered?

Getting back into the swing of things

Will you stop putting that off already!?!


So, if you started reading my blog posts awhile back you might have noticed that it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. And it made me realize something about consistency and how we go about doing things in our lives.

I once heard that we actually don’t forget to do things, we don’t want to do them, and that’s why we forget.

I have something to admit, I don’t enjoy the writing process that much.
I LOVE speaking, just ask anyone who has ever seen me at one of my speaking engagements (done over 300 so far) that when I get into a groove I can talk for hours (and sometimes I do!). But when it comes to writing, I really don’t like to do it.

There is some kind of disconnect between my brain and my fingertips, I think the synapses in my brain can only reach to my lips, but not all the way down to my fingers, that’s what I’m hoping my chiropractor will help with, among many other things :)

But I find something to be very interesting, that once I get over the initial hurdle of writing, I actually really like it. I feel this tunnel vision come over me and I just start going… and keep going . It’s not always good, but at least I’m doing it.

Then I started thinking about other things in life that are similar to this. I don’t enjoy the act of working out too much, especially since I started doing the H.I.T workout . So I think about going to the gym and I wince, but once I’m in the gym, I feel like staying there forever. Just one more set, let me do just 10 more push ups etc.


So here’s my belief. Most things that we know we can do, but we don’t love to do seem a lot scarier in our minds than in actuality. The fear of going to your professor for help when you are falling behind is a lot less scary than the actual act of talking with him. The fear of asking out that special someone is a lot scarier than the actual act of asking.

So here’s what I want you to do. Think about that thing that you know you have been putting off because it seems like a HUGE daunting task. You know what I’m talking about. That thing that you have already started but is just sitting there unfinished waiting for your kind return. And promise to stop worrying about the anticipation and get it done.

But here’s the deal, if you really want to get back into the swing of things, tell a friend, you can even tell me (just send me a FB message and I’ll hold you accountable, for real, test me). Because there is absolutely nothing more important than accountability (The explanation of why accountability is the ONLY real way to get things done will be for next time, and trust me you will want to read this next post)

And please leave some comments below on your thoughts on the following statement, “we actually don’t forget to do things, we don’t want to do them, and that’s why we forget.”


****************************************************************************************
It's my life's purpose to make the lives of others better and more richer. That why I created The College Success Program, the most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in school. Help bring CSP to your school by Clicking Here

Getting comfortable with yourself and having a paradigm shift

The Little Known Secret of the Successful

I heard of this amazing concept the other day and it has just stuck in my head since I’ve learned it so I wanted to share it with you.

So I heard this very interesting concept about what separates successful people from everyone else. Is it some magic skill or gift from birth? Nope. It actually is so simple you might not believe me. It’s called the “slight edge”.

What makes us successful is not the HUGE once in awhile things we do, but the little consistent things we do everyday. Think about it for a second, I want you to really think about this.

There is no one action you could do ONLY ONCE that would make you successful. But one small action done over and over again definitely can lead to success.

The real secret to continued success is to get in the habit of doing successful activities daily. And don’t make it big things. When we make it to big then it seems like a huge task/burden and we don’t do it.

Here’s a personal example. Awhile back I wanted to get back into great shape. And with my busy travel schedule, it’s really hard to hit the gym as consistently as I want. So I made a goal of every day doing just 10 pushups as soon as I woke up. No matter what, just 10 pushups so if I didn’t hit the gym that day at least I got something in. I mean that’s not hard to do right? Well with little extra effort I’m up to 100 pushups in the morning and to be honest with you it never really seemed hard to get to.

By just doing one simple thing everyday over time will give you the slight edge in success. To really understand the power of the slight edge, Jeff Olson broke the math down like this: If you were only to improve 3/10 of one percent a day, a very Slight Edge-and you kept that up for the next five years, here's what would happen to you:

The first year, you would improve 100 percent (you would already be twice what you are today The second, you would improve 200 percent. The third year, 400 percent. And the fourth, 800 percent. And by the end of year five-by simply improving 3/10 of one percent each day-you will have magnified your value, your skills, and the results you accomplished 1,600 percent. That's 22 times more than you are today.
So how does this apply to you? Think about what you want to obtain, in school, your professional life, relationships etc. And think about one so simple, so easy, so quick, that you wouldn’t even think it was a big deal but would move you toward some of your goals.

Some examples could be 1. Reading 10 pages of your textbook every day 2. Drinking 8 glasses of water 3. Write in your journal for 5 minutes. 4. Calling one person a day to say hi… it could be anything


My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

This inspired me...

So I was watching the Democratic National Convention last night (two quick side notes, I have never really cared about politics until this election, I think this election really is bringing younger people into politics and two the picture quality of the online stream from was insanely crystal clear, I was really amazed).

Okay I’m back from my digression. I was watching the convention to hear Michelle Obama. I was really interested to know what she had to say and more about her. As she finished her speech, which was very very good, I youtubed Barack Obama’s 2004 Convention Keynote. That speech really inspired me.

What I took away from it and what I want to share with you is the idea of what greatness means for you. We all have goals and things we want to achieve, but are they great? Are they worthy of us? It’s real easy to get blinded by the daily tasks that we have to do and forget about the bigger picture. What are our lives really about? That purpose, that driving force in you that will make you get up when you are down. That will make you walk over broken glass and then swim in a pool of alcohol. That drive. That feeling that will make you move ferociously toward your goals.

What are you doing? What are you waiting for? What are you letting stop you? If a “skinny boy with a funny name” can go from absolutely nowhere to the next possible president, what can you achieve?

And here’s a little insight for you to sit and think about. Do you want to know why people fail in life? It’s not because they aim to high and miss, it’s because they aim too low and hit it! (take a second to think about that line again). Think and act big. However here is my one caveat. This is the point that most people miss. Celebrate the journey.

The problem with big goals is that, at points the journey there will be hard. And you will fail a lot, it’s normal. But if you don’t celebrate the journey, if you don’t acknowledge what you have achieved, your goal will beat you down because “you’re not there yet”. You’ll always focus on what you don’t have and what your missing instead of realizing what you’ve already accomplished.
Set big goals, think big, take action, celebrate the journey. That’s It. You’re Awesome

Your Action Step:
Acknowledge where you were last year today to where you are this year today. Notice what you are proud that you’ve done and what you need to work harder doing. Enjoy the journey

My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

Completing a Life's Goal...

What is something you've ALWAYS wanted to do?

The plane takes off and starts creeping skyward a few hundred feet per minute. The higher I get the more everything below looks surreal. When we get to the point where cars can’t even be seen, I know that we are at the point of no return, and that’s when Juliano says, “5,000 feet, we still got 5,000 more to go” I’m thinking WTF, we are going higher than this!?!?!?! The plane gets to the highest point and reality is really starting to sink in when the plane door unexpectedly flies open and the wind is whipping into the plane like a screaming banshee and then the unthinkable happens…

Whoa whoa whoa, let me back up. I think I’m getting ahead of myself. Like you, there are things that I want to do in my life time to make sure I live life to the fullest. After following my own advice some time ago, I made a list of all things I want to Be, Do, and Have. Making that list was really exciting for me and what has been more exciting is being able to cross things off of the list (YES!)

I’ve always wanted to go skydiving, but really never thought I would actually do it. It was always one of those “Yeah, I should do that someday” However last time I checked someday is not a day of the week! The thrill of conquering the fear of falling. knowing that I looking potential death in the face has been on my list of things to do since I was a small boy (some people might think this to be crazy, be hey, what are you gonna do?). But actually when I would do it never really struck me.

At the beginning of the summer I was looking at my list and then the thought struck me, what am I waiting for? What is stopping me from doing this now? Well, where would I go, how much would it cost, could I get others to go with me? (Trust me, not something you want to do alone, it’s a group outing) Well with some help I was able to answer all of the above questions in about 1 hour. This again proves to me that the things we procrastinate on the most because they will take so long really aren’t that bad.

With all things lined up, I had my two best friends and my brother committing to jump out of a plane with me. Some of the best guys in my life right now. Is this really happening?

Fast forward to the door swinging open. My legs get sucked out of the airplane and get pressed up against the side of the plane. Without any 1-2-3 JUMP or anything, Juliano, my skydiving instructor, pushes me out of the plane and I commence to scream like Michael Jackson. After doing a few flips in the air I was able to orientate myself and feel the amazing rush and beauty of the world from a perspective I have never had before. There really is no way to explain the feeling of free falling at over 350 mph. It’s intense.

The whole time I was trying to think of the most profound life changing thoughts but all I could think or say was “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”
Then the parachute opens and I realize where I am, in mid air floating and drifting in the beautiful sky.

And that is when the epiphany hit me. Sometimes life isn’t about the planning or saying the right words or being perfect in action, life is just about committing and then making the jump. Sometimes things can’t be put into words because words are too limiting to express them fully. But when you feel it, you know it’s amazingly awesome. And I can rest assure knowing that I will never be one of those people who said “You know I always wanted to go sky diving”. By far regret is the heaviest weight to bear.

I’d like to challenge you to think of something that you’ve always wanted to do in your life and commit to doing it this year. And when, not if, but when you do it, just experience it and let it soak in.

Life really is beautiful.



My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

You Can't Control the Outcomes, Just Your Behavior

So I don’t know about you but sometimes I can get frustrated in certain areas of my life when things don’t go “according to plan.” Can you think of a time when things didn’t turn out exactly how you expected? I’m sure you can think of many.
So what happens? You do something expecting a certain outcome and then BAM, not what you want, and then you get messed up. We all know we are suppose to “bounce back”, how does the old adage go, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again” right? But what is the truth?

When you don’t succeed it takes some wind out of your sails and you have to regroup. So what happens you start getting less and less productive and then you find yourself in the vicious cycle of feeling like you are not productive and becoming unhappy.

Here is the secret to overcoming that wind that gets taken out of your sails. You have to understand that you cannot control the outcome of anything; all you can control is your behavior. Before you say yeah, yeah, I know that, take a minute to really think about what this means, it could be the most important thing you do today toward your life… You cannot control the outcomes, you can just control your behaviors.

So what does that mean? Well let’s say you want to ask out that special someone. You can’t make them say yes. All you can control is asking. If you ever had to do sales, you can’t control whether your potential customer will buy your product/service. All you can control is how you present what you have.

When you focus just on the outcome, you get caught up, lose motivation and then when things don’t go your way you might say “Well, I guess I’m not just cut out for this” That’s bull doo-doo. You are awesome!

Okay now what? This is why this is so important. When we go through fixated on controlling the outcome we lose site of what we really have control over. Our behaviors. So the best way to move toward your success is to focus on what specific behaviors you have to do every day to help move you toward your goals. If you study any successful person, there’s a good chance they do certain things everyday that moves them toward their specific goals. They don’t succeed every time but they do these activities, whether it be exercising, making cold calls, studying. It has to be a commitment to yourself.

It’s much better to do a little everyday consistently then to do a lot once in awhile. The first thing to know is exactly WHAT you should be doing everyday and then do it. With my program, the College Success Program, we focus on exactly what makes a student successful and what steps they need to be taking daily to ensure victory in college. You have to figure out what is right for you.

Since it’s still the summer, how do you apply what you want to do when you don’t have a test to study for or paper to write?

Here’s your Action Step Assignment:
Think about the goal that you really want to achieve right now. What consistent steps can you take every day no matter what to reach those goals? For example, if you want to lose weight but hate working out, Commit to doing 20 pushups everyday and eating at least one carrot. That’s it. If you commit to doing those little steps, you will get in great shape and lose weight (the real key is that once it becomes a habit you want to do more…and even if you fall off the horse, you know you still did your daily commitment to yourself). So go ahead, think about what success step you need to take daily. Do it, and focus on your behavior not on the outcome. And of course WRITE IT DOWN in your calendar!

My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students find their purpose with the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com