Desire vs Discipline

When I first started my business, I believed that Desire was enough to get me from where I was to where I wanted to be.  I met and worked with, some of the greatest motivational speakers in the world. 

If you don't master Desire...you'll give up when it comes to Discipline.  Some people go from Desire to Discipline very quickly. They get therapy. They get an MBA.  They get started. But for the longest time, I thought I was lost.  I wasn't lost...I just wasn't ready.  

"I'm not lost, I'm exploring." -Jana Stanfield

It wasn't until I got to a place in my life where I realized my definition of Success was not a big salary and private office working for someone else.  I still want those things...but I want them from working for myself.  So I've entered Phase 2:  DISCIPLINE. (More on that later.)

Everyone's path is uniquely their own. Life is a Journey...It's not a Destination. I spent over 20 years in Phase I and I took some pretty fun turns. Curious?  Here's my Phase I roadmap:

1. EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

The first sales book I ever read was, "Greatest Salesman in the World" by Og Mandino.  I started my first company, after my dad made the comment, "Sales are too tricky for girls!"

2.  PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER/SPOKESWOMAN

I attended my first business conference, Uncommon Women on Common Ground, hosted in NYC by Women Inc.  (They later invited me to become their first National Spokeswoman.)

3.  LINK MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL

I merged Extraordinary People with a PR firm in Edmonton, Alberta.  The terrorist attacks on 9/11 profoundly changed all of our lives. Forever.

4.  PASSIONATE FUNDRAISER

I spent several years raising my children, while honing my sales skills. I was room-mom, PTA President, and Art-Club/Science Club co-founder. (I even home-schooled. Briefly.)

5.  LEVERAGED NETWORKING

I moved to Memphis in 2005 and reconnected with Alan Gompers, author, "Maximum Security: The True Meaning of Freedom."  Together we got his memoir published, produced a meditation CD, pitched Lionsgate, and helped several other extraordinary people along the way.

6.  LIFE IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION - Ralph Waldo Emerson

As I "on ramped,*" I volunteered at church, waited on tables, worked in Commercial Real Estate, and managed a Wholesale Flooring Distribution Center. I am forever grateful for every person I met along the way (friends, customers, colleagues, and CEOs.)

*The phrase "on ramper" comes from "Women in High Gear," by Amy Howell & Anne Deeter Gallaher

Simply the Bill "Best"

I caught a quote on Twitter retweeted by @MDRtweet from the Million Dollar Round Table Annual Meeting in Toronto Canada, June 8-11th.  "Talk to strangers. You don't know who is going to be the person to give you the best idea." 

Twenty years ago (in 1994) while stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, our young family drove to Normandy, France. A WWII historian, my husband, Markus, was thrilled at the opportunity to join in the 50-year celebration of D-Day. The kids, too little for pre-school, had fun playing in the sand.

Near our French hotel, Markus ran into a lovely and sprite British veteran who was in town to receive a medal from the French Government. He didn't land on the first day, but rather the 2nd day. We offered to give him a ride to the awards ceremony. He shared his story with us and History was never the same. He gifted us with his first hand stories and this photo. 

He told us that when he got off the boat, he did two things: 1.) he threw up and 2.) he turned around and snapped this picture: Hearing his experience first hand was overwhelming. Below are the notes he included with the photo.

"I’m enclosing herewith a photo copy of the picture I took as we landed from the Landing Craft. As O.C I was first off (we had to back on) and headed the tank column, so I took the opportunity to get my picture. The regiment was approximately 700 strong and I believe this was the only photo taken. The two rods sticking up are the radio aerials." - Bill Best

I've lived an extraordinary life by meeting strangers in the most unlikely of places.

Advice for the day: Life is a journey, not a destination. Be sure to spend each day listening for HisStory and HerStory.