Show #423: Why am I not changing?!

Show #423: Why am I not changing?!

We, as humans, often skip over the foundational step…the step of “being.” It comes before “doing,” and from that the end result…having. Zig makes two big points in this show, 1) We must first be (become) the right person, and 2) We must have vision. The clip from Zig is about 12 minutes, then we spend another 20 discussing the key points. Thanks to Autodesk for their support of this show!

Hi, everyone, this is Kevin, and this is Ziglar’s True Performance Show, episode 423. Today we have…Zig onstage. This is one of those messages that I need to hear or be reminded of…daily. Because every day I wake up and walk into the day seeing life with hope and inspiration and joy, or…I don’t. Zig cites that our reality and circumstances don’t dictate our view of our lives. It’s our view of our lives that dictates our reality and circumstances.

I live in a small town up in the Rocky Mountains. It’s a safe, pristine, massively inspiring place to live. From our front door we ride bikes, hike, kayak and more in a national park. I was once accused by an extended family member of having my family living in a bubble, not the real world. I busted my butt to raise my family in a place of inspiration, wonder, adventure, and health in order to give them the best chance to grow and strengthen and see the world and their lives with different eyes and expectations. We’re here to be meaningful to this world, but you’re darned straight -- we don’t have to be OF this world. We don’t have to accept what it offers. We have the dramatic privilege of crafting our reality.

This is Zig’s cry in his message today.

OK, folks, here is about 12 minutes of pure Zig…see if you can handle it!

Zig says, as he so often does:
You gotta be before you can do,
You gotta do before you can have

He repeats this so often, and even though I’ve given it focus before, it’s so easy to hear and not really let it hit you like it should. Let’s look at it really quickly:

You gotta be the kind of person who can do the necessary things to have all you desire or feel convicted in. You may not have a desire for wealth, but you would like to take care of your friends and family and be able to support those less privileged. To be able to help where there is true need that taps your heart.

Thus, right now, we all have…as much as possible, according to what we are doing. And we are doing all we can, according to who we are being.

So if we want to have more, we must become capable and believing in more from ourselves.

We like to skip the BE part. We would like to have…so we spend a lifetime and read and listen and strive to DO the right things to achieve what we want to have. But like Zig’s quote, we end up reverting back to normal, time and time again, because we are still being…the same person.

We know this for the most part, folks. We truly do. But we aren’t always naturally committed to…becoming something more. Pruning ourselves back to become more.

But we must. Which is why you are here! Journeying with me and the Ziglar family!

So I want to look at something about Zig and ourselves. He tells the story of getting his new bifocals and having his perception so adjusted he was high-stepping it to his car. He caught a reflection of himself and got tickled. And then he says, he got excited. He had an epiphany.

This is important, folks. How often do you go about your day with good, bad, or humorous happenings, and you have an epiphany worth writing down, remembering, and retelling -- and is life-altering?

Wouldn’t that be great? Do you view yourself as that type of person? My point here is looking at Zig -- an underprivileged guy with average IQ and stature. Not one reason at all for him to have any level of success beyond mere small-town existence.

But he got a glimpse of something more and decided to believe in something more. And he went about working on himself…daily. To breed himself for such an occurrence as this. To have an everyday happening…happen, and from it is birthed an idea and understanding that we are talking about decades later.

This is why we instill the daily habits of refining ourselves, growing ourselves, becoming more. So we can take the mundane occurrences of life and learn and launch from them!

This is a habit and exercise in itself. To be aware. Present. To look at the little instances of the day that strike an emotion, and…take them captive.

Next, Zig hones in on VISION. The power and necessity, if you want more than mediocrity of life, of having a vision. A goal, a desire. Something worth striving for.

Proverbs 29:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish

And, folks, it is my utmost opinion, based on experience with so many people seeking to inspire their true performance, that it’s better to have a vision for something ridiculous and goofy, than no vision at all…just existence. Anything that promotes drive, commitment, devotion, resolution, perseverance, joy and fulfillment, is worthwhile. It will eke out into the rest of your life and soul. I’ve, in my past, seen people devoted to…inane things, and judged them: “Life is too deep and serious and profound to squander it away on a pursuit that isn’t grand and altruistic and ultra-meaningful.”

But then I finally came to realize, for every one of them, there were a thousand people…pursuing nothing. Just existing. Good job, nice family, wanting for nothing…and just coasting. And bored, depressed, medicating with media, food, drink, busyness… Those with a pursuit had more depth, joy, fulfillment, and generally service and worth to others.

If you are worried about a vision being the right one, or worthwhile, please let me tell you…going after anything is better than going after nothing.

Pick a vision. Pick a pursuit. What if you have 20?

You have a song in you, and the point of all this personal development is to get your song out.

As I listened to this, though, a thought occurred to me. And it’s a thought that is relevant for me.

Sometimes…I have a vision for something. Achieving something. I’m willing to work hard. Sacrifice. Persevere. I may even have faith I’m capable. But in truth…the admission is…I don’t want to put myself out there and try to sing a song. I don’t want to risk that. I don’t want to be exposed. I don’t want to invest myself so much. It may be worth considering and even…admitting to. That realization may help. It does me. I like to reveal the true challenges and obstacles for what they are.

Retirement – generally a result of working at something you don’t find much meaning in. So work is simply a means to an end. Earn enough money to exist and save enough so you can stinkin’ quit as soon as possible. What a horrid existence we’ve adopted!