This past weekend, I was in Cape May, New Jersey for the first time.  What a beautiful, wonderful place pulsating with history.  A little known fact about Cape May is it is the only ‘entire’ town to be declared a historic landmark in all of the USA.

Cape May is also a beautiful beach town and America’s first summer getaway.  Perfectly located where the Delaware Bay feeds into the Atlantic Ocean, it is a town that benefits tremendously from its thriving sea ports. It was at one of these where my wife and I purchased tickets to take a boat out to see dolphins and other animal life.  The tour took us out of the cape and through the nutrient rich waters off the southern tip of NJ, until we finally found a group of dolphins.

Sometimes we can forget what’s really important in life.

It’s meeting people like John Challis that helps put things back into perspective.  His message is Courage + Believe= Life.  It is a message we should all live by every day of our lives.  So go ahead and watch the video, but be forewarned:

Meeting John Challis will definitely change your perspective on life.

America is a giant competitive country built on a dream.  Any person has a chance to make a fortune and everyone is chasing it, especially where I live in the Northeast.  While being financially sound is a necessary goal, the path to getting there may not be as clear.  As a matter of fact, I believe it is hidden for good reason.  But instead of chasing the dollar, what if you could make the money find you?  Sounds crazy?  Maybe not.

Let’s break it down to basics.  You grow up, leave your nest (some earlier than others), and are forced to sink or swim.  Each of us have many options and ways of making money.  What happens is, we tend to focus on the short term.  I need $2000 for expenses this month, therefore where can i get a job making $2000 or more.  Though this seems logical, and it may very well be, but it is extremely short sighted.

Today, after training this morning, I was driving home by myself.  My Jiu Jitsu school is located about a good 25 minutes away from my house.  The ride is quiet, through the backroads and farmland of North Brunswick, Jamesburg, Monroe Township, and Englishtown NJ.  There is not much to see except some old houses and lots of empty land.

I had the radio off and my mind was just wondering.  I was trying to drive and type in some notes on my phone to remember some of the thoughts I had.  This is not recommended.  However, it got me thinking.  Most of my blog ideas, my creative inspirations, and all sorts of ideas, come to me during my alone time.

…continued from yesterday’s post…

The next lesson on how to better read people is a phrase you have probably heard a 1000 times.

Actions speak louder than words.

This is a well known phrase everyone has heard at one time or another. However, I don’t think people realize how useful it is on a daily basis.  Think of it like this: If actions speak louder than words, than you should be hearing people’s ‘actions’, not listening to what ‘words’ they use.  I have written before about how people use excuses to rationalize what they ‘feel’ like doing instead of what they ’should’ do.  Think of a dieting person who says ‘I’ve been good all day.  I deserve a snack‘.

When I went to college in the mid 90s, I had a very good friend I met in my freshman dorm.  He was an Armenian young man, strong as an ox with an unmatched resolve.  He was also incredibly smart at anything he put his mind to.  However, the one thing I learned from him more than anything else is how to read people.

My friend had a gift for it.  He seemed to know things before they happened.  He was like Vito Corleone telling his Consigliore Tom exactly what every gangster would do before they did it.  He opened up my mind to a whole other world of communication I had no idea existed.  It consisted of reading others body language, responses, and actions. It was honestly the single most important thing I learned in my two years at the University of Maryland.  It is a skill I have been developing ever since.

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athletes of our time. The man has pushed the boundaries of his sport all while maintaining full integrity with the whole world. He is an inspiration to us all

I came across this Nike Commercial on the net and was floored. As only a father can, Earl Woods explains how Tiger grew to be the man he is.  The theme is every dedicated, living dad can make a difference, one child at a time.

We can all learn something from this advice.

What does it mean to be truly ‘great’ at something?

People talk all the time about how they want to be great, but what exactly are they hoping for?  It’s not always the same b/c people’s definition of greatness varies.  However, there is one quality that is found in all great people.  It is the one quality that we all should strive for as our top priority, yet many of us never do.

Before we get to the quality though, let’s define greatness.  Oxford American dictionaries defines it as ‘the quality of being great, distinguished or eminent.‘  Basically I would interpret that to mean being well known for your continued success.  To be great, you have to be better than everyone else.  You have to raise the bar to a new level of success by continually winning time and time again.

The number one problem I think most people have is a lack of confidence.  So I have come up with a list of reasons why everyone should be confident in themselves.  Be proud of who you are by understanding exactly what, who, and where you stand in the grand scheme of things.

This list is based on a theory of mine.  The theory goes something like this:  We are all living during this time period on the earth.  Everything right now seems of major importance.  There are wars all over the world, hunger, crime, terrorism, corruption and all sorts of terrible things.  Each day, the news brings up the devastating events from the day before.  For each person involved in those events, the memories can scar for a lifetime.

When I read a title like the one above I always laugh at the finality of it. It makes it sound as if your life will be changed forever into everything you ever dreamed simply by reading this. As if reading something can have that significant of an affect on someone.

Well what if it could? What if I told you that not only by reading this, but by actually following it, you can have anything you want in life? Anything at all. Would you believe it?

Me neither, so I’m not making any drastic promises.

But I am going to tell you that the following, although not much of a secret, can help you achieve any goal you have. I am going to talk about a not so secret key to everything you want in life. It is called ‘Self-Discipline’, something we all could use a little more of.