Motivational Monday

Good morning to all those tuning into Motivational Monday.

I sincerely hope this email finds you well as you put on your slacks, runners, and shirt for the day and prepare for the outstanding week that is ahead of us. 

I was out to eat with a great family friend and former teammate of Carly’s a few weeks back.  She shared with me true motivation. This man, Nick Vujicic, is an example of a man who truly loves life.  This man lives each day to its fullest, smiles big, take chances, and makes those around him or who come across his path better.  Some of you have watched or heard Nick’s words and testimony before.  If not, prepare to be inspired!

This man has been handed a bad deck of cards, right?  He sure doesn’t think so and nor should you if you heard his message and digested it fully.  He doesn’t have arms or legs.  He describes his leg in this clip as a “chicken drum-stick”.  Isn’t it crazy to reflect on your own life and think about all that you complain about and all the things you don’t have?  I am guilty of it just as much as the next person.  I complain about money, work, time, transportation, and other personal issues.  I complain about the guy flying by me on the interstate only to eventually end up at the same off ramp stop light.  I complain about not being able to play sports because I am working on my schooling.  The list goes on and on and on…

This clip makes me realize how selfish I am to be continually complaining about what I don’t have.  Don’t concentrate on the things that you wish you had.  Remember what you do have.  This should be motivation in itself because we all have a ton!  Let’s flip our state of mind this week together if you find yourself slipping into the negative direction and self talk.  You have plenty to be thankful for and you need to recognize it!   

I challenge you this week to work off Nick’s key points in his message.  Be thankful, take pride in your worth, and smile big! 

Let’s be great this week together.

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.”
Oprah Winfrey

A special thank you goes out to the individual who introduced me to Nick Vujicic’s messages.  You have and will continue to be an inspirational and motivational woman in my life and my families.

Motivational Monday

Good afternoon friends and family.

Motivational Monday is back!!!  I hope you are as pumped up as I am to get this week going and carry the positive attitude and positive momentum you left last week into this week that is upon us.  

This week’s message is a mixture of some of what I have shared with you already (maybe you missed it) and a few new messages.  I want to challenge you this week to go out and get what it is YOU want.  “If you want something, GO GET IT!” Pursuit of Happiness

You may not have realized so far that I love sports or maybe you have.  I have made every attempt to stay clear of them when looking for different motivational videos yet continue finding myself posting another clip with some form of athletics within them.   For me, the idea of athletics/team sports represents who I am and what I believe in.  This week’s video clip is marvelous.  It shows heart, determination, time, sacrifice, success stories, work ethic, and most importantly the importance of going and getting what it is you want for yourself! 

Sports may not be how you tick and that is great you recognize it.  There is a common goal that we both share however.  That is the ability to go out and get what it is you want.  You have the option to pursue a new career.  You are able to live a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally.  You have the talents to go out and start a new business.   You have tools necessary to lead.  You have the choice to be a better partner in your relationship.  You can earn respect from co-workers.  The list of things that YOU can go and get is endless.   What is on your list that you want?  It is your decision if you want something bad enough to go out and get it.

Warning: It isn’t easy.  It doesn’t come at a bat of an eye.  If it did, everyone would be doing it!  These things that you desire could take seconds, minutes, days, months, and possibly years to accomplish your end goal.  The ironic thing about goals is the feeling of exhaustion yet excitement when you accomplish them.  Wait…It gets better…It is at that moment that you celebrate that it is time to start a new goal.  Think about a champion or success stories that you have been a part of.  Think about something you really excelled in such as a job promotion or parenting.  Isn’t it funny how when you reach the pinnacle of what you have been striving for you immediately start to think about how you can repeat or do it better?  Please take time to relish in these opportunities that you go and get!  Put on your seat belt and push yourself for what it is you want to pursue this week and on. 

“You should live every day like it's your last day because one day you're gonna be right.”
Ray Charles

Motivational Monday

Good afternoon friends and family.

I hope you are all doing great today and continuing to change the lives of those who come in contact with you on an hourly basis.  I urge you to continue being change that you seek.  I previously mentioned that I would be posting this on a blog moving forward since too many were not receiving the email and/or loosing it in their spam/junk folders.  You can now find the weekly Motivational Monday at Carly's blog.  As always, this is just something that helps me as I reflect on my previous week and prepare mentally and physically for the week ahead.  The choice is yours if you continue to read. 

I was at church this weekend and we talked about ‘FAILURE’.  The message was powerful and one that can be interpreted many different ways.  We discussed this during the sermon and looked at the five bulleted points listed below.  1. Expect to fail 2. Own up to your failure 3. Grieve over your failure 4. Lift the lid of your failure and look deeper into your mistakes 5. Expect failure!!!  (Yes, this was mentioned twice.  That is how powerful it isJ)  Why would I possible be looking at such a powerful word often referred to in a negative connotation for what is supposed to be a motivational and electrifying message to start the week?

I believe, just as was preached, that failure is inevitable.  We must expect it; however, we to often selfishly deny it, grieve over it, and rarely look deeper into the mistake.  A wonderful example was provided and it has been changed slightly.  Ex: A CEO of the company was stepping down from his position.  As he was doing so, we told the individual taking his place that he/she will fail at least THREE times.  The young individual thought there was no way.  He/she was bright, innovative, energetic and a proven leader hence the promotion into greater power and responsibility.  The last day of work the CEO placed three envelopes in his/her top drawer for when the day came that a mistake had been made and off into the sunset the man went.  The new CEO steps in and is setting new company records, new financial accomplishments, culture changing attitudes, etc.  The life was great for this individual until his/her first failure.  The young CEO remembered his/her predecessor and scrambled for envelope number one which read “BLAME ME”.  The retired man said to blame him.  It is easy to do since he is no longer there to defend himself.  The young CEO did just that.  Time went on and failure number two happened and so the young CEO ran to the drawer for envelope two which read “BLAME THE BOARD”.  The new and young, innovative and bright CEO did just that since he/she was inherited these mistakes according to the old man.  That very week a third failure arose.  Out of habit, he/she ran to the top drawer for the envelope which read “MAKE THREE MORE ENVELOPES BECAUSE FAILURE WILL HAPPEN AGAIN AND IT IS TIME TO LOOK AT YOUR FAULURES”.  This leads me to my next point and the number one message I took from the sermon.

“How you face your failures will determine how you will shape your future.” 

This video below is a short one minute clip of famous failures.  These individuals who you will quickly recognize took failure, digested it, grieved, looked at how it could be changed and turned failure into SUCCESS. 

If you think I am saying that you will fail no matter what it is you do, you have missed the true meaning of this message and I urge you to email me at stevedus@gmail.com for any questions you may have! I challenge you this week to take smart and foolish RISKS knowing that what we do today affects tomorrow.  I want you to do something that is uncharacteristic and outside of your ‘comfort zone’ personally or professionally.  IF failure occurs, you now know how to turn it into motivation and success story.  Who knows…someone may be writing or making a video about you as a famous part of historyJ  I wish you all the best as I know those reading this are destined for great things and will unquestionably impact all those around you.

With Respect,

Dus

Stay tuned for a different message next week.

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”–Charles R. Swindoll

Motivational Monday

Good afternoon friends and family.

I hope this Motivational Monday finds you all well.  I have had a number of you asking me for motivational Monday emails from previous weeks via phone or email and making me aware that they haven’t been coming through or are getting hung up in your ‘spam’ folders.  I will be posting these to a blog in the weeks moving forward for ease of navigation if you choose to take part.  Please stay tuned as to where I am going from here. 

Please   read this article   first and then watch any clips that are embedded in the reading. 

Motivation comes in all different types of packages.  Have you ever done something for someone that makes you so gitty you want to jump for joy?  Have you ever watched someone struggle so much to finally overcome their obstacle and accomplish their goal?  Have you ever just done something and honestly never expected anything in return?  Honestly, selfless acts pump me!

This coach and his community are model examples of what one selfless act can do for the society we live in.  I am not going to summarize the article because it has already been written so well.  I will challenge you to go out this week and do something productive and life changing for someone in your community.  The simple things in life become infectious and have the ability to push people to live life in ways they may have never though imaginable. 

Go out this week and shower compliments on those you come across.  Tell a stranger you like their tie.  Tell a co-worker how great they are doing at their job.  Buy a lunch for a random person at the next stop you make.  Drop a duffle bag off with canned goods in it to a homeless person standing on the street asking for money.  Do something and seek no reward.  Seek no thank you.  Just do it because you can.  Put judgments aside and motivate that individual you helped be the change in the next person’s path he/she may come across.  YOU have the potential to be the change.  Let’s go out and tackle this together.

With Respect,

Dus

Motivational Monday

Good afternoon friends and family.

I hope this Motivational Monday finds you all throughout the world well as it is coming to you from a solid -5 degrees here in Minnesota late this evening.  I have challenged you the past two weeks to set goals and actively work on achieving them.  Reflect on your mission and respond honestly.  How are you doing?  You must reflect on this weekly?  The goals should be both personal and professional.  You dictate your life.  Aim high, early, and often.  Your goals are not dreams rather they WILL BE reality.  It is a mindset!     

See the clip below.  I ask you to LISTEN to the movie NOT watch it the first time through.

You have the choice to be great as I said back in week one.  So again, what are you doing to be extraordinary?  You must jump into whatever it is you choose to do although fear of failure is unquestionably within you.  You have put your heart and ambitions into these goals that you have set.  If you set out to be the best at your job, understand what that means and takes to complete.  If you set out to have the cleanest toilet amongst your friends, you better buy the most cleaner and commit to it dailyJ  If you want to be the best sales representative, you must be innovative, driven, and forward thinking.  It doesn’t matter what you want to be the best in.  What matters is that you stop saying and starting doing today. 

But Dus…this is scary!  I can’t disagree with you in the least.  “If your passionate and go full throttle, there is no doubt you will be good at it”.  People can’t tell you what you should be good at rather it must be an internal fire from within you!  YOU must dedicate yourself.  YOU must COMMITT yourself.  YOU must INSPIRE yourself.   So, what are you willing to do TODAY to achieve what you set out for? 

The video talks about exhaustion.  It describes it as the very point when it is so painful that you can’t push anymore.  It hurts so bad you can’t think straight.  It is reaching that point that you know you have done everything in your power to succeed.  Have you ever hit exhaustion?  I have and as I reflect back there isn’t anything that I would change as I accomplished my goals. 

I CHALLENGE you this week to give everything that you have in all that you do.  Failure will not be allowed because you are physically and mentally a machine.   Tell yourself this when you wake up tomorrow and tell others around you.  You will be GREAT!

Be the change.

With Respect,

Dus

Motivational Monday

Good afternoon friends and family.

I hope this email finds you well after a successful journey in the walk of life last week.  I threw out a challenge to all of you on this email thread to set and accomplish short term goals last week and set your eyes on long term accomplishments.  How did you do?  Find a mirror and ask yourself the question in private.  Reflect…answer yourself honestly.  The best part about this private conversation is it holds only you accountable.  Continue to strive towards your goals this week!

Watch this amazing clip below.  It lasts only 2 minutes and 38 seconds.  It represents so much!  Your heart is sure to be thumping!    

In video sequence, I see accomplishment (making track championship), practice, energy, training, commitment, determination and then the fall at the 1:07 marks.  The fall represents failure, disappointment, sadness, heart break, shame, embarrassment.  It took 3 seconds (1:10 mark) for this athlete to enter back into the picture.  Three seconds to stand up and take off.  See, this athlete is trained to settle for nothing but success just as you are and/or are capable of. 

There is something in your world that has happened to you in last day, month, year, or years.  You have suffered set back through a death in the family, a hospitalization, possible money issues, loss of job, failure at work, failure in a class, etc.  It has happened now get up like this athlete and take off and fix the problem. 

I would be telling you a complete lie if I said that this was easy to do.  At the 1:10 mark, she takes off focusing on one thing, the finish and the reward.  There wasn’t one time where she looked to her left or right.  She didn’t care about the other competitors.  She didn’t show the hurt she was feeling for three seconds.  She cared about the finish line and ran through it setting out what she accomplished to do, win!     

Run through this week aiming to accomplish your goals personally and professionally.  You may fall down.  You may suffer set back.  You may feel the sting.  Don’t dwell on it.  Remember your goals you set out to accomplish.  Now, you can either find a way to accomplish them or make a way.  The choice is yours!

Be the change.

With Respect,

Dus

Motivational Monday

Good Morning Friends and Family. 

I hope you are well after the holiday season.  Many of us have been back at the grind that is ‘LIFE’ since Christmas and need that Monday Motivation back in them to carry over throughout the week.  Again, this email is one of hundreds if not thousands that you may receive this week.  I challenge you to watch the clip, read, and listen.  Take the message you choose to receive and run with it throughout the week.  YOU have the ability to change lives in every interaction you have.  Equally important, the people you surround yourself with have the ability to change you.  

Here we go with Motivational Monday #3.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmaDtbQ1nuA

Some of you have most likely watched this clip when it was aired back in June.  What a powerful message.  This young boy, Matt, should be enough motivation for you to carry throughout the week and finish the race you are in strong.  Matt has ever reason not to run the race; however, the determination, resilience, strength, and courage he displays propel him to finish the race when all odds are stacked against him. 

There may be a time this week when something comes up and you want to quit.  There is a TEAM or COACH somewhere close to you whether you realize it or not just like the teacher and classmates were there for Matt.  That individual or individuals will push you to your end goal.  Conversely, you may be that coach or a member of that team.  Do not run and do not be afraid.  Receive the call for help and support that individual.  You were put in that situation for a reason.  

Challenge: Set short term goals this week for you to accomplish.  It may be something simple like opening a door for someone or buying a coffee for a friend.  It may be helping a co-worker complete their work if they are wearing their stress on their sleeve.  It may be simple words of encouragement.  It may be a reminder for you to complete something you have been consistently saying you are going to do but just never get around to it.  Set the goal and achieve the goal.  Don’t make this a secret.  Tell others your ambitions. 

Remember: Believe and you will achieve!

With Respect,

Dus

Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man.  Sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.  Vince Lombardi

Motivational Monday

Good day,

I hope this email finds you all well as we attack another week together in the marathon of life.  I know that many on this list are inundated with emails throughout the day at work, school, home, etc.  This is a fun email.  There isn’t a need to reply; however, there is a need for you to take time and reflect.  

Here we go with Motivational Monday #2.

I recently watched an absolutely wonderful clip on TEAM HOYT.  The team isn’t new to me as I have heard, watched, and read about them over the years.  I just always find myself coming back to them to watch the determination, motivation, heart, dedication, and overall joy in both of their eyes as they embark on a daily journey.  This inspirational and motivational story isn’t about the ‘oh, poor me’ or ‘If I could only’ attitudes.  Rather, it is about the perseverance of accomplishing goals in life.  Can’t isn’t in these two individuals vocabulary nor should it be in yours.  “If you can dream it, you can do it.”  Walt Disney

In short, the father/son team made up of Dick and Rick Hoyt is an inspirational video for all those who say that they can’t do something.  Rick (son) was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy at birth.  Doctors at that time recommended him to be institutionalized because of his minimal shot to live a normal life.  Dick and Judy (parents) refused to see his inabilities to do certain things as disabilities.  They lived an opportunistic life and as a family celebrated victory after victory such as Rick graduating from high school and later Boston University in Special Education.  The lists of accomplishments as a family are endless.  Remember, the words ‘can’t’ and ‘won’t’ didn’t exist in their vocabularies.  Today, this TEAM serves as inspiration to us to continue pushing forward in the marathon of life, running together, and seizing every opportunity. 

There are some on this list that I know will need a Kleenex. 

Challenge: I want you to go out and seize the week.  It may be excelling at something in your job, lifting weights, being a better parent, eating right, networking, being a better partner, seeking out employment, earning a solid grade, finding the perfect recruit for your team, etc.  You should wake up in the morning setting out to accomplish your goals and close your eyes knowing that you are one giant step closer to accomplishing them.  Ask yourself this week if you are closer to achieving the goals you are setting out to accomplish. 

Be well.

Respectfully,

Dus

Motivational Mondays

Steve has been writing Motivational Monday emails and I have been begging him for a long time to post them on my blog.  When I say beg I mean the constant ask everyday.  But he's stubborn so it wasn't until he realized that a lot of emails were going to people's spam folders that "he" came up with the solution to put them on my blog.

So with that being said there will be multiple posts today from his past Motivational Mondays.  Here is was his first week.

Motivational Monday #1

Good day,

I hope this email finds you all well Monday morning on a cold and snowy day here in Minnesota.  For years, I have been thinking about writing short/long motivational Monday emails to those who are a part of my life.  It is a way to get my week moving and turn dreading a Monday into looking forward for the opportunities that are a head.  As I sat in church this weekend and again shoveling snow this morning, I realized that my thoughts have been thoughts for far too long.  Why wouldn’t I send out what I am thinking or how I feel to those who are a part of my life in one way or another?  Why wouldn’t I pump up those around me who are living the same life that I am?  So here I go…

I have been blessed to be surrounded by people from different cultures, backgrounds, and upbringings that continue to mould and shape who I am and will become.  There are people attached on this email who come from ALL walks of life.  Some come from single parent homes, some from the streets, some have been adopted, and some in the ‘traditional’ upbringing.  There are people on this list who have started their career by picking up cigarette butts and are now doctors in some of our most prestige hospitals in the United States.  There are people on this list that are educators, entrepreneurs, coaches, truck drivers, warehouse employees, doctors, lawyers, accountants, mechanics, salesman, professional athletes, and MORE.  The people on this list have something in common.  You are a SUCCESS story and you have the ability to make those around you better! 

In my profession, I come across a multitude of people and stories.  I recently had a co-worker share this clip with me.  

There are numerous messages that you can take from this.  I only listed two below.  I challenge you to take 20 minutes to watch this video and relate it to YOUR life. 

1.      Emmit Smith said, “All men are created equal.  Some work harder in pre-season.” What are you doing today to be great?  In my world, it is always preseason.  I am always striving to reach new heights in my life.  For you, it may be working out, rehab, taking your child for a walk or kissing your significant other.  It may be giving the person next to you a compliment, holding a door, or offering them something you have and they desire.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO BE GREAT TODAY?

2.       “Pain is temporary.  It may last for a minute, an hour, or a day, or even a year but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.  If I quit, it will last forever!”  Eric Thomas  Our society accepts people who quit.  I refuse to quit and so should you.  I challenge you to conquer the obstacles you come across this week, month, or year.  YOU WILL NOT QUIT!

Eric Thomas said that when you want to succeed as bad you want to breathe then you will be successful!  I challenge you this week to make your ‘want’ of success become reality. 

Be well.

Respectfully,

Dus

Steve will continue to send out emails.  Please either comment below or send him an email at stevedus@gmail.com with your email address.