Michael Hyatt: YOUR LIFE IS THE SUM OF YOUR CHOICES

YOUR LIFE IS THE SUM OF YOUR CHOICES

I signed up to run the Country Music Half Marathon in January. The big race was on Saturday, April 28th. But I didn't run.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/eyetoeyePIX

With the launch of my new book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, and several other projects in the works, I just didn't have the time to do the distance training I needed to do in order to participate. (I have kept up with my normal running routine; I just haven't done the extended distance work.)

On Saturday, several friends asked me how the half marathon had gone, including Andy Traub. Here was my exchange with him on Twitter.

This situation made me realize again the importance of owning my choices.

We can't always choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we respond. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist who survived two-and-a-half years in Nazi concentration camps, made this case in his bestselling book, Man's Search for Meaning.

It's easy to subscribe to this in theory, but what about your specific situation? Are you willing to own it?

For example:

• Are you in a job you hate, living for the weekends?
• Are you unemployed or can't find a job?
• Are you stuck in a bad marriage or going through a divorce?
• Are you overweight, out of shape, or sick?
• Are you lacking deep, meaningful friendships?

I am not asking these questions to shame you. I have gone through my share of setbacks and failures.

• I have been fired (more than once).
• I have gone through a business failure.
• I have felt stuck in a job I hated.
• I have gone through a protracted and expensive IRS audit.
• I had to have emergency surgery when my gall bladder ruptured.
• I have had a child in rebellion and on drugs.
• I have had two daughters with chronic illnesses.
• I have lost money on three out of four houses I've owned.

No, my life has not been a bed of roses. I'll bet yours hasn't either.

But blaming our circumstances or other people—even when they are partly or almost totally responsible—only makes us victims. It robs us of our freedom and keeps us stuck.

There is a better way. Change is possible. It can begin today.

You don't have to stay stuck in the state you are in.

But first, you must own your specific situation and take responsibility for the choices that led to it. Only then can you begin to create a different future.

Question: What situation do you need to own? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Micheal Hyatt: IS IT TIME FOR CALENDAR TRIAGE?

IS IT TIME FOR CALENDAR TRIAGE?

Do you ever feel like you are running out of bandwidth? I do. I am in one of those periods right now. The last several weeks have been crazy.

My new book, Platform, is about to be published. My speaking calendar is full for the next several weeks. And I have a daughter getting married at the end of this month.

As a result, I feel like I am falling further and further behind, especially as I try to keep up with my e-mail load and meeting requests. Something has to go.

This weekend, I am planning to go through my calendar and engage in a little calendar triage. In case you are not familiar with it, triage is a battlefield term. Medics have to decide where to apply their limited resources. They can't help everyone.

According to Dictionary.com, "triage" is

the process of sorting victims, as of a battle or disaster, to determine medical priority in order to increase the number of survivors."

In other words, some patients will survive without medical care. Some won't survive even if they have medical care. Triage means ignoring these two groups and focusing on those that will only survive with medical care.

With regard to your calendar, it means you must know which things you can safely be canceled or rescheduled which things demand your participation.

I've done this before and here's how it works:

1. Protect the basics. I will look at my current priorities and make sure I have allocated time for them in my schedule. I especially have to build-in time in the alone zone, so that I have time to actually get my work done. I will schedule these as appointments. (This is particularly important as you get busier.)
2. Eliminate the non-essentials. Sometimes I make commitments that seem to be important when I schedule them. However, after further reflection, I realize that they aren't that important. So, to the extent possible, I am going to either cancel these meetings or see if I can handle them another way.
3. Re-schedule some of what remains. Some things are important, but they are not important now. I like to get things done as soon as possible, but this some times works against me. So, I plan to go through my calendar and see what can be postponed without significant consequences.

Hopefully, with a little planning, I can regain my equilibrium and carve out a little more margin for myself.

Question: Do you need to do a little calendar triage, too? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Michael Hyatt: HOW TO LIVE YOUR DREAM WHEN YOU’RE SCARED TO DEATH

HOW TO LIVE YOUR DREAM WHEN YOU'RE SCARED TO DEATH

This is a guest post by Jeff Goins. Jeff is a writer who lives in Nashville. He works for Adventures in Missions and recently released an eBook called You Are a Writer. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelineshere.

There is a tragedy in our world today. Most people aren't living their dreams, and the reason is simple: fear. They're scared to be who they are.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/richvintage

When you endeavor to find your life's work, there is a lot at risk:

• You could fail.
• You could lose the respect of your friends.
• You could go broke.

You could mess up in a hundred different ways. But—and this is important—you could also succeed. And until you start living into your calling, you're robbing the world of a gift.

After years of procrastinating, I finally pursued my dream. I decided tobecome a writer. To my surprise, I saw success far more quickly than expected: I launched a popular blog, got a publishing contract, and found my true fans—all within a year.

How did this happen? Simple. I believed in the dream before it happened. I didn't wait for fear to go away; I started living into the reality I was longing for.

If you're going to live and lead intentionally, you'll have to do the same. There are three steps you need to take if you're going to pursue your passion.

Step 1: Declare it. Although I've written for most of my life, I never considered myself a writer—not until recently.

When a friend asked what my dream was and I told him I didn't have one, he said, "That's funny… because I would've thought it was to be a writer." I said that was probably true.

Then he said something I'll never forget:

You don't have to want to be a writer; you are a writer. You just need to write."

The words resonated in my soul. I realized that before I could expect others to believe something about me, first I would have to believe it myself.

Step 2: Believe it. Friends and family often notice our gifts before we do. They acknowledge the talents and resources we've been doubting and dismissing.

The only way to find your dream is to trust the gifts you've been given. I'm not talking about a misguided "name it and claim it" philosophy. You need to accept the value you offer, not invent it. But at some point, you need to stop doubting yourself.

There is a word for this: it's called faith.

Before the ancient Hebrews saw the Promised Land, they believed in it. They trusted in a place they hadn't yet seen, which brought them through the desert and into their destiny.

You need to grasp the possibility of achieving your dream before it happens. You'll have to believe it before you see it.

Step 3: Do it. A few years ago, my wife and I attended a concert, and halfway through the show, a man clumsily spilled beer on her coat. I complained to one of the ushers, and he warned the man, but no further action was taken.

Later, I went to the bathroom and returned to a crying wife. She wanted to leave. On our way out of the auditorium, she told me the man had harassed her while I was gone. I was outraged.

Turning around, I marched back into the auditorium, and confronted the man. It was, honestly, one of the scariest things I've done as an adult.

I hadn't stood up to a bully since the second grade, and there I was—in front of a towering, muscle-bound beefcake, calling him an idiot.

With my heart racing and my palms sweating, I demanded respect and an apology. And then something incredible happened.

He said he was sorry.

In that moment, I learned an important lesson: until we act, our values are just dreams. I believed in my wife's honor—in theory—but until I stood up for her, it was just a good idea.

This is an essential takeaway for all of us called to meaningful work. Although we are not merely what we do, we become what we practice. And if you're practicing insecurity and fear, what does that make you?

If you have a dream or calling you're not yet living into, it's time to get to work:

1. Declare you are what you're waiting to be.
2. Believe in your dream before you see it.
3. And then do it.

Remember: Until you start living it, you're only dreaming.

Question: When was the last time you pursued a passion in spite of fear? Leave a comment by clicking here.