The Essential Need for Progress

Well, we are quickly approaching the last days of summer. I hope that your summer has been filled with relaxation, rest, and rejuvenation. I believe these final days of summer present us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the last few months. More importantly, I think that the final days of summer give us all the incredible space to set the course for what we want the end of 2021 to look like. In this piece, I want to share just a few insights with you on how to move your life forward. We are getting ready to head into the fourth quarter of 2021. This year is almost over and we need to make the most of the time that we have left. I hope these insights will empower you to make adjustments, advance, and achieve new levels of success and prosperity in your life. It’s time to progress and embrace new possibilities!

• You must understand that we all desire to progress. As a leading voice of empowerment, I want to make it very clear that we all desire to progress. In fact, I believe one of the most essential needs of every human being on this planet is the need for progress, growth, and development. Frustration often signals to us that something in our lives needs to change. More importantly, frustration is a prophetic indicator that it is time to move forward with our lives. The lack of progress can be painful and even paralyzing to the seed of your potential. As a high achiever, I am a person that has always been very focused on results. When I do not see results or progress it has often frustrated me. However, it is not enough to be frustrated. I have discovered that frustration must become the friction point that fuels all progress and evolution in our lives. I want you to spend some time thinking back over the last three months. I know that many have been traveling, taking time off from work, and enjoying the fun of summer. At the same time, I know that summer is a time where productivity drops, goals are put on the shelf and fun takes precedent over focus. It can be challenging to stay focused with warm weather and the sound of the ocean calling us. I would never tell you that you should not be having fun with your life. On the other hand, I am saying that you cannot afford to allow fun to become an enemy to your future. Prioritize your activities but always remember that progress must be the area that you give your undivided attention. Progress will determine the possibilities and the opportunities of your life.
• You must be committed to making progress. If you have followed my work for any length of time, then you know that I am a highly respected thought leader that has empowered people around the world to fulfill purpose and maximize their greatest potential. While I believe that many factors contribute to the success or failure of our lives, I believe that commitment is the great bridge between aspiration and the actualization of our dreams. Commitment is what separates the dreamers from the doers. Most people spend a lifetime talking about all the great things that they are going to do. Unfortunately, very few of those individuals go on to achieve the things that they said they were going to do. One thing I know to be true is that you will never complete anything that you have not committed to. Commitment is not something that can be done verbally. Commitment is something that has to be done volitionally. In other words, commitment is a choice that you have to make because commitment is an act of your will. Notice that I did not say that commitment was an act of your emotions. That means that you have to be committed even when you do not feel like it and well beyond when you have lost enthusiasm. Commitment has nothing to do with how you feel and everything to do with what you want to see manifest in your life. Commitment will carry you beyond feelings of fatigue, weariness, or even exhaustion. Commitment will empower you to break through every limitation and barrier that is standing in the way of the life of your dreams. Most of all, commitment will challenge your excuses and give you the consistency to execute your goals daily. Commitment is what will ultimately empower your victory.
• You must come to the realization that you cannot make progress without a clear strategy. If you are feeling stuck and frustrated about your life, then I want you to take the time to assess whether or not you have a clear strategy. I have worked with leaders all around the world. The common denominator that I have discovered is that everyone has plans but very few people have a strategy. Plans are nothing more than heart desires written down on paper. On the contrary, strategies are clearly defined, time-driven, tactically approached, and measurable action steps taken in the direction of a vision, dream, or goal. In other words, strategy closes the gap between aspiration and achievement. Strategy empowers you to execute your plans and engineer the possibilities of your life. Plans are useless without a strategy. In other words, your vision will never work and your future will never manifest without a clear strategy. The problem with the world is that we have so many people with ambition and very few people of action. Action is the doorway into your tomorrow. Action is how you move from hope to manifestation. Furthermore, action is the magnet that attracts success, prosperity, and abundance into your world. You will never awaken to the possibilities of what your life could become without taking action in the direction of your purpose. Action breaks cycles of mediocrity and calls into existence those realities not yet born to time. Action not only shapes your tomorrow but action summons your prophetic future and brings it into the now. Strategy is the password that will unlock the next season of your life.
• You must come to terms with the fact that growth is not optional. Some people will lie to you and tell you that simply having strategies will make you successful. However, I have seen many people with strategies that are still stuck, stagnant, and living a defeated life. After you have executed strategies, I want you to promise me that you will remain committed to growth. In this era of self-help gurus and personal development masters, I want you to realize that a defeated paradigm will never produce a victorious life. Often times I watch people even when I am giving keynotes and I see them taking copious notes. Unfortunately, I also see that beyond the notebooks and inspirational thrills many of these individuals are living adjusted to an old paradigm. What I know from over three decades of personal experience is that you cannot pack new information on top of an unrenewed mind. New information with an old paradigm will only produce repeated cycles and familiar patterns. Conversely, new information with a new paradigm will break cycles and propel breakthroughs in every area of our lives. The problem in the world today is not a lack of information. The challenge is that we are attempting to filter new information through a mind that is still adjusted to an old paradigm. While we may intellectually understand concepts, we are still imprisoned to the same cycles in our lives. Growth begins with a quality decision to shift your paradigm. As you shift your paradigm, your perception changes, and you are able to process information through an expanded mind. Growth demands the eradication of old psychological constructs so you propel change and engineer new possibilities and realities for your life.