What do I want to do?

There are several goals I desire to accomplish in the next 5 years:

1) I want to publish a horror book

2) I want to buy a house in cash that I have

3) I want to create a multi-million dollar business

4) I want to start a philanthropy

5) I want to run a marathon

6) I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

7) I want to learn different types of dancing including swing dance

8) I want to learn a Stevie ray Vaughan song on guitar from start to finish

9) I want to be a skilled pianist

10) I want to go to Fiji and drink some real Fiji water from Fiji :)

Do I think I can accomplish all of these in 5 years? If I didn't think I could do it then they would not be my goals!

On My Failure

I have failed. My office has closed due to a combination of being kicked out by the landlord and never truly getting off the ground to launch myself out of financial ruin. As for me, I am retraining to open again next year whilst selling in the meantime.

I have taken a few days to make my transition. A few days of vegging out and resting. I must admit, taking this failure was hard on me. I am going to the shore for a few days and when I come back, I will be in full gear once again. Finally focused on selling and retraining. The one thing that made failing extremely hard was the relentless actions people have taken to make sure I realized I did not fail and I am not to blame. I don't like that. It made this much harder than it needed to be. I like to get straight to the point and admit my failure because that is the first step to leading a successful rebound. There is no point in blaming other people, factors, things, etc. It all comes down to you and how prepared you were to take on the challenges. When it really comes down to it: I was inadequately prepared for the situation I stepped into.

I want to share these thoughts because failure is necessary to learn. I learned a ton about myself from my failure. I learned my strengths and how I need to develop them more. This should be the approach we take for failing. We should not blame outside factors because you can step around those factors. That is all part of finding a way. Everybody who endeavors on a risky endeavor has outside factors tearing them at the seams. However, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs found ways around them, along with all other self-made millionaires.

When it comes down to it, will you accept the blame of your defeats or do you only want the credits for your victories?

On Key Habits

There are several key habits that successful people portray in their daily lives:

1) Write daily. Keep a journal, a blog, a whatever. Slowly write a book by writing a page per day. Write poetry as a hobby. Writing is extremely powerful. It allows you to organize your thoughts which prepares you for your day.

2) Read daily. If you are not reading, you are not growing. All it takes is ten minutes per day to read a few pages. Read with the intent to grow yourself!

3) Eat healthy and exercise. I have to admit that I falter here. I eat poorly and hardly exercise but it is a point of focus for me. Energy is not coffee, energy drinks, or soda. Energy comes from being healthy. Sustained energy that is.

4) Visualize your future. Picture where you will be in the future and it will help you realize it.

These are just a few basic things successful people practice. That, and waking up instead of pressing "snooze."

On Creativity

Creativity is essential in creating the life of your dreams. If you go through life following instructions, conforming to the status quo, and stifling your creative instincts in favor of safety, then you will lead a mediocre life, at best. If you really want to accomplish your dreams, then you must be creative in your pursuit of them.

Don't tell me, "Tim, I am not creative at all." That is because you don't PRACTICE it! Creativity is a skill! You must practice creativity to become creative. Robert Frost did not write "The Road Not Taken" the first time he ever decided to write a poem. He likely has hundreds of poems that he created which he finds terrible -and are terrible.

I am not saying you must write poetry, paint canvasses, or create ice sculptures. There are plenty of opportunities in your daily life to express creativity! What is your work place like? How can you make it different? What can you do creatively in your room? Your garden? Your voicemail?

Times have changed. It is no longer better to be safe than sorry. Allow your creativity to flow. Every person is naturally creative. I cannot tell you one kid who doesn't enjoy drawing. Let it flow. When you are creative, you are yourself.

On VoiceMails

I just redid my voicemail. I just realized how boring they are by calling my representatives and leaving messages. Also in The Little Red Book Of Selling, I remember Jeffrey Gittomer going on a rant about voicemails. And he is right.

What is the point of a voicemail that says "I cannot come to the phone right now but leave a message." I mean obviously you cannot come to the phone right now... either that or you are ignoring me. I called to talk to you, not to hear why you cannot answer.

Be creative with voicemail. The purpose of this blog is to promote being REMARKABLE and your voicemail can provide that!

Mine is:

"Hello, this is Tim Fenning, I am too busy swing dancing to answer the phone but leave your credit card information and I will be happy to put your order for a Cutco Kitchen through when I am done dancing."

Is yours off the wall?

On My Current Growth

Since I am currently running an office, I am learning SO much about myself. I am only beginning to really grab a footing on the basic operations of the business and really setting my office up for success. Most importantly, I am discovering things about myself that I didn't realize I truly had before. I can be very tough on somebody if I have to be, for example. Also, I am realizing key weaknesses. Not just weaknesses that somebody else can really make up for me. I mean weaknesses in my core character. I am developing these every day. I am trying to gain more integrity and honesty on a daily basis. 

It isn't until you leave your comfort zone until you truly learn about yourself. That is where you can truly grow into a better person. I am extremely excited because I know at the end of this year, I will have grown more than I ever had in previous years. And the goal is to grow more and more every single year.

Side Note: I am so thankful to all those who message me about my blog and thanking me for it. It really inspires me to keep going!

On Mental Strength

Whenever one approaches an endeavor, they must develop the mental strength to overcome the inevitable obstacles and things that go wrong. When overwhelmed with the tremors of adversity, you must remain calm. When thrown into the thrones of success, you must remain humble. These are basic aspects of leadership and how to truly succeed.

When adversity strikes, as we all know it will, if you react through panic then you will never regain your feet. The worst thing you can do is run away from the bear or swim away from the shark. Adversity can sense panic and that is when it clenches its jaws. You must stand your ground with the calmness and certainty that you will pull through, even when staring into the eyes of a tiger in the wide open meadow. You must make yourself bigger. You must make yourself grow. Push yourself past your natural limits and make some noise! Let the world know you are here and you are ready to conquer it. Even if you may think it as improbable as traveling the speed of light. Our mission is not merely to survive, but it is to thrive.

And finally, when success comes in tidal waves, we need not stand on top to show the world how we overcame the mighty wave... or we will fall and fall hard. Remember to be humble. There is nothing wrong with celebrating successes. The thrill is too good not to celebrate. However, it is another to attribute that success wholly to yourself. Nobody succeeds alone. Remember all those that helped you and even attribute your success to them. Then you will not merely attain a quick rise and hard fall story, but you will have your house built on a rock, ready to hold you up through the harshest waves.

How REMARKABLE do you want to be? How far do you want to push yourself to attain that? How much will you grow? How much mental strength will you attain? Will you build your house on sand or a rock? Will you panic or will you strike?