Tag: inspiration

Echo XII

“Well done is better than well said.”
– Benjamin Franklin

How often do you run into the problem of someone talking the talk, but struggling to walk the walk? This can be in anything, from your boss failing to lead after a required seminar on healthy leadership, to your partner saying they’ll do the dishes to lessen your load but they continue to pile up in the sink. As humans, we seek to fill a need within ourselves by making a promise of action, even if we know those words will never culminate in action.

If you say something, you must follow through. Period. Your word is everything. If you don’t put value into the things you say, wake up.

This is self-discipline. This is progress and growth. This is self-worth.

If you tell yourself that you’re done stopping at McDonalds on your way home, then stop swinging by to see ol’ McRonald. If you want to finally graduate college with your Bachelors degree, register for classes and get a side-hustle to help pay for it. If you promise your parents you’ll pay them back for some emergency loan, manage your finances enough to do so. Saying something means nothing if you don’t find the means to follow through.

Without action our words fall short. I can wake up tomorrow and say I’m an astronaut, or a doctor, or that I’m rich. Yet, am I? No. These things don’t evolve through words, they evolve through actions. Years and years of trial and error, hard work, studying – action. Successful people don’t become so through words. Successful people earn that adjective, that title, through action. The only people who literally find fame through words are motivational speakers and authors, and even they have a lifetime of actions to back them up. Well, and maybe the guys that make crossword puzzles… but regardless.

Don’t let yourself be known for words, they are worthless without a follow through. Tiger isn’t know for talking prior to the match, he is known for walking to the tee-box and winning tournaments. Life is the tournament, words are simply the press-conference following.

Echo XI

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
– Zig Ziglar

I want to be rich.

I want to own a beautiful house.

I want to drive a Ferrari.

I want to travel the world.

These things are goals, albeit common yet extreme goals. Everyone wants to be successful and have lots of money and lounge around all day while your stocks and bonds pay your bills. Yet, what do we get from it? Are we looking to achieve these goals for the shallow reason of simply being successful? Or are we looking to reach these goals to become a better person, a more helpful person, a better role model for others?

In 2018, Jeff Bezos gave over 2 billion dollars do charity.

Bill and Melinda Gates gave 4.2 billion.

These are two of the most successful humans to ever walk the Earth (if we classify success based on wealth and global impact), yet they found the time to spread their success to others. They became their goals by achieving their goals.

I don’t mean to say that you need to be rich to make change, to grow. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds by Summer, make that goal more specific to include the fact that a lower body-weight will not only make you feel more confident, but allow you an easier time playing with your kids. If your goal is to alleviate credit card debt over the next 2 years, realize that this frees up funds to continue your education, take your family on vacation, or send your kiddo to Summer Camp. Your goal could be as simple as not being late to work again, knowing this not only lessens your risk of unemployment but makes you a better employee.

Don’t strive for success simply for the sake of being successful; strive for success to be a better.

Echo X

“Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against all odds.”
– Jesse Jackson

Lets talk adversity. Adversity is simply a cool buzzword for the difficulties and hurdles we face in life. Someone can face adversity due to a wide array of things – their home life, their surroundings, their health, the list goes on and on. Adversity has one major flow – it is deathly afraid of action.

When faced with adversity, we must take action. Adversity simply creates a more difficult path for us to travel. Adversity may throw rocks at you, it may kick your knees out from under you and punch you square in the face. What adversity doesn’t prepare for is your action. Adversity cannot defeat actions. Adversity has a glass jaw, and actions are one hell of an uppercut.

You are the captain of your ship. Not your surroundings, not your education, not your upbringing, not your parents or siblings or spouse – you, and you alone. Sure, these factors may impact your path. They may be waves in the giant ocean that is life, but even an inexperienced captain can handle rough seas (where do you think experienced captains come from..?). Let life throw things your way, but know that none of it will change your course.

While you may not be able to dictate the things life throws at you, you are allowed and capable of dictating how you handle them. You can either succumb to the pressure and fall, or you may rise and act. Even if you do fall, it is irrelevant if you choose to rise once more.

Adversity is ill-prepared against action.

Actions are the salt to the ice that is adversity. A little bit of salt can melt a whole lot of ice, a little bit of action can overcome a whole lot adversity.

Echo IX

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill

Failure has become the most taboo piece of human nature. We fear failure, we laugh at those who have failed, we spend time ignoring the failures to pursue the success. Failure has become less empowering than success, and that is an issue. Sure, success is the ultimate goal – we long for it in every move we make. The money, the cars, the stability. Yet, we ignore the process required to find success.

Abraham Lincoln lost in 26 separate campaigns before he was elected to public office.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Steven Spielberg was rejected from USC’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television 3 separate times.

Yet, do we know these people for their failures? No, we know them for their successes – their changing of the world as we know. The Emancipation Proclamation, the free-throw line dunk, “E.T. phone home.” We don’t see these people and think of their failures, we see them and envision our own success and happiness. Yet, they’d be the first to tell you that what they have and what they’ve made weren’t by luck or skill. They were made through passion, hard-work, and countless failures.

We need to get back to a place where failure empowers us more than the thought of success. Our failures should teach us, motivate us, and drive us to success. They should be the stepping stones to the top, the ripples leading to a wave. Failure should be an exciting learning experience; failure shouldn’t be feared or ridiculed, it should be respected.

Folks don’t race Pike’s Peak for the ease and simplicity, they race it for the turns, corners, and grit. We should treat life the same, embracing the tight curves, the hard bumps, the gravel, knowing it is taking us to the top.

Echo VIII

“Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
– Albert Einstein

How often do you hear people complain about not having time? How often do you say you can’t because of a lack of time, or prioritize based on time? This is balance. As humans, we are constantly searching for a sense of balance. I’m speaking in the hypothetical sense of the word, not the “I can’t stand on one foot for more than 8 seconds” sense.

We are always longing for balance. We schedule our lives based around the hope that it will result in balance. Sadly, we often fail to find it. We prioritize our work, often times leading to neglect elsewhere. We miss out on opportunities and memories trying to please those who indirectly feed us. We sacrifice things in hopes of a more stable and balanced future, we sacrifice the now for a better then. We struggle to say no to others, and our balance begins to shift.

Yet, we still find a way to seek it. It is an undying desire of the human race to find balance. We long for it. You often hear, “I just haven’t had the time lately.” YOU must find the time, as it will never find you. Time is way too busy to seek you out, its your responsibility to find it. We offset our work time with movies and video games, we long for the subtle crunch of leaves under our feet while hiking. We have to find ways to offset the “musts” in life with the “wants.”

The issue arises when we fail to do so. We become stagnant – we lack movement. Once we stall, once we come to a stop, we become unbalanced in all aspects. Our feet don’t reach the ground and our bike falls over. Our priorities change, our mindset struggles, our outlook declines. We must maintain this sense of balance to survive. A slight slip of the foot is never a bad thing; imbalance keeps us on our toes and aware. It is how we recover from this imbalance, and become aware to the things that caused it.

Finding balance is crucial, but don’t let the path to finding it supersede life itself. You can’t catch yourself if at first you don’t fall.

Echo VII

“We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained.”
– Marie Curie

Born in 1867, Marie Curie thrived in a so-called “man’s world” and accomplished many things. For one, she was a two-time Nobel laureate in two different scientific disciplines (Physics & Chemistry). She was raised poor, but with core values invested in education and self-improvement.

This is a quote that speaks on dedication, and those who lack dedication are generally those living in dissatisfaction. People dissatisfied with their jobs, income, social-status, or self-proclaimed definition of “success”. If only they had dedication – instead of being upset with their situation, they’d rather be motivated to change it.

We have all lacked dedication at one point in our lives.

We tend to drift away from painful things, and instead gravitate to whatever gains us pleasure, but to what end? Dedication comes from having a purpose, which then gives our lives both meaning and direction. Gravitating to whatever fix you need is just wandering, and those without direction simply wander.

Now having confidence in yourself, that’s comes with a different context – or does it? I view confidence as something that fuels your dedication, and any advances you make toward the thing you are dedicated to, will fuel your confidence. It’s a cycle.

If you find you are struggling with confidence, dedication, self-improvement, or navigating through the mundane, I suggest you start creating tasks for yourself.

During my times of greatest depression, I found that just making my bed in the morning helped me feel as though I had accomplished a task.. i.e. making advancements => fueling confidence => fueling dedication.

So what are you gifted for? What is your higher purpose, and will you start building the dedication to attain it?

Alissa Geisse is a Ph.D. Student at THE Ohio State University, in the Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. She is a patent holding, Graduate degree obtaining, inspirational badass who I’m very thankful for.

Echo VI

“The thing about self-discipline is that it is necessary for everything you do in your life. You have to be self-disciplined.”
– Terry Crews

The simplest ingredient to success is self-discipline. It is your responsibility to make the best decisions, to strive for the greatest outcome, to find the purest form of self. Without your own sense of self-discipline you will struggle to find the path that you seek. You will fail early, and you will fail often. I consider failure a win if it leads to growth, but without self-discipline failure is simply failure.

We often favor comfortable hells over favorable heavens.

We find comfort in the normal. We, as a human race, have decided that the easiest way from point A to point B is a straight line. I’m not speaking in a mathematical or physics based way, I’m speaking in a self-motivation and hard-work way. We would rather be good enough than great. It is easier to dwell in a comfortable hell than to try and find a favorable heaven. We accept the drowning nature of stagnancy rather than striving to swim to the surface and pull ourselves from the sea. This could be anything from accepting the fact we aren’t happy in a relationship due to the fear of being alone, accepting heart disease because exercise is just too intimidating, accepting a failing grade because studying isn’t as fun as the 12 hour Stranger Things binge.

One of my favorite mantras I’ve ever heard is from the Marines, one of the most driven, motivated, and disciplined groups of humans. Let me preface this by saying it is an extreme example, but a fantastic one nonetheless.

“Everyone wants to get into heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

While this may seem extreme to some, its the truth. We all fear the process behind success, behind growth. We find nervousness, anxiety, fear in the simple thought of change. With self-discipline, these thoughts begin to fade. If we can somehow coach ourselves to never stop fighting for what it is that we are fighting for, no one can stop us. The words, actions, and thoughts of others mean nothing to the disciplined.

Echo V

“No one will believe in you unless you do.”
– Dr. Ivan Joseph

This is, and will continue to be, a common theme throughout Echoes. You are your biggest fan, best friend, closest ally, but also your toughest critic, hardest judge, and darkest enemy. Your words are the first and most profound thing to impact you as a whole. If you can’t find some wedge of belief in your own self, affirmation and love from others will never truly have an impact.

I heard Dr. Ivan Joseph’s TED talk on my way to work this morning. He is an extremely well spoken yet simple speaker, in the best of ways. This 14 minute talk was one that anyone could understand and grow from. These are my favorite sources of inspiration as anyone can grow from them. I want to build off of two things he said that not only relate directly to this Echo, but also to your own sense of being and light.

Dr. Joseph spoke on a list next to his mirror of things that make him who he is. Other humans will always find things to belittle you about, it is easy for people to make fun of your hair, your height, your clothes, your wealth, the list of easy targets is never-ending. To combat this, he places a list next to his bathroom mirror of things he is proud of, things he has accomplished that he deems to be crucial to his existence.

Secondly, and more importantly, Dr. Joseph carries a letter that he wrote to himself everywhere he goes. It may not be read for months or years, but it is always accessible when needed. It is simple – it is a basic reminder of who he is, what he has done, and where he came from. Thanking and congratulating himself for things that make him who he is: his educational successes, being a proud father and loving husband, a national championship winning coach, the list goes on. He willingly admits that he has had times in his life when he almost wore through this letter from how many times he read it, how many times he had to convince himself that he is who he wants to be. He jokingly states he has no idea how some kid that loved soccer and science became a Ph.D and National Championship winning coach. Yet he did, and deserves to be reminded of it.

So, I challenge you to do the same. Write yourself some notes on why you are who you are. It can be as simple as a list on a sticky note, or you can type up an elaborate dissertation and laminate it. The themes remain the same. Humans are much more likely to believe something they read, something tangible, than simple words. Tell yourself you’re beautiful, remind yourself of the speedbumps you have overcome to obtain your Bachelors, your Masters, even your GED, pump yourself up over those 15 pounds you’ve lost.

Echo III

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
– Cayla Mills

Imagine a world where we could decide when life would be rough. We could prepare ourselves for it, embrace the lingering doom. We could eat a good breakfast, wear something that makes us feel confident (almost like a modern suit of armor), and tackle this beast like a Spartan wrestling a foe.

This is an unrealistic expectation.

The hardest struggles of our lives hit us when we least see them coming. This is a big reason why they’re the hardest times of our lives. We prepare for the hook and get an uppercut, expected to keep our mouthguard in and push through the blood. We are never warned when our ship hits rough seas, we must simply weather our storm. While we may feel as if we’ve lost control of our ship, we remain at power as long as we stand on it’s deck.

This is what makes us strong. This unexpected, spontaneous, terrifying reality of being smashed by an unexpected hardship is the foundation of a strong self. No one ever learned anything from easy; truths are found in the dark, in the grittiest of situations.

Imagine a lion with a perfect mane, a perfect coat of flowing hair. No scars, no bruises, no patches. Now imagine a lion with facial scars from fights where he was the obvious victor, hair missing from the surprise swipe of a paw, a fresh kill still lingering in his teeth. While both are lions, which presents a more intimidating, stronger image? Which one makes you feel the pure drive and fire to survive, to carry on regardless of the things forced onto him?

Wear your scars, wear your battles, and remember that they are the dents in your armor that have made you victorious, not simply a fighter.

Dents, not holes.

Echo II

“Don’t confuse movement with progress. My mother told me, ‘you can run in place all of the time and never get anywhere.’”
– Denzel Washington

Often times we fall into a false sense of security, feeling certain that our actions are leading to our proposed outcome. We work our day away to push our line into the green rather than the red, to heal our patients, to build our structures, etc. We feel as though this movement is progress, we are progressing on something we have deemed important to finding success and satisfaction.

But are we progressing, or simply moving?

First, I’d like to set the precedent as to the meaning behind movement and progress in the simplest way I know possible:

Movement – an act of changing physical location or position or of having this changed; a change or development

Progress – forward or onward movement toward a destination; advance or development toward a better, more complete, or more modern condition

So, let’s first discuss the similarities. Both can be related to a development of some sort, and both are some type of change. The differences are what we are more interested in. If you notice, progress actually includes movement in its own definition, meaning it is encompassing movement. Secondly, progress literally says it is forward or onward – movement simple states a change in position. Lastly, and most importantly, progress leads toward a “better, more complete” condition. Movement can literally be a change without any forward motion, whereas the definition of progress literally states that it has forward and positive movement.

We all have movement days. We all have days where we wake up and simply want to make it through the day and existence, or to “go through the movements.” THAT IS FINE. You are allowed to have these days, and you’re allowed to have them often. The bigger picture is that if we have a “going through the movements” day, it must culminate in a “forward progress life.” We are a summation of our smaller pieces, our entity and life being the complete puzzle. We have to find a way to progress and not just move.

If that means obtaining a new certification or degree, applying for a position you might not feel you’re qualified for, asking for that raise you know you deserve, or simply stepping out of an airplane with a parachute strapped to your back to conquer your fears – we must find ways to progress.

Our life needs to be a stream forcing its way through rock, progressing deeper and deeper until it is the defining feature between the supposedly impenetrable walls of earth. Think about it – the Grand Canyon is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Without the driving force of water progressing deeper and deeper into that red rock, there would be 6 Natural Wonders. The progress (and subsequent movement) of the water created one of the most beautiful things on this planet.

Now it’s your turn to be that stream.