
	Dashing Thru the Week : November 30, 2003

Get Fed Up This Holiday Season :

Recently, I read that the average American gains 7 pounds during the holiday season. This is in just over a month. If we were to eat like this all year, we would gain an average of 84 pounds in a year. We are literally digging early graves - with our teeth.

Fortunately for me, I read this statistic just before Thanksgiving. In years past, I would sit down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving and not get up until I had eaten everything but the table cloth (I was saving that for dessert). Perhaps, that explains why three years ago, I was 60 pounds (or 8.5 holiday seasons) overweight. However, now, when I get "fed up," it's time to get up.

My question for you is "Are you fed up yet?" And I'm not just referring to food. Are you fed up with a poor relationship with your spouse or kids? Are you fed up with do-nothing friends? Are you fed up with spending day after day engaged in meaningless activities? And most importantly, are you fed up with you?

The most significant day of my life was the day I got "fed up" with my own mediocrity. I simply got tired of settling for less - less money, less love, less joy and less meaning in my life. I got to the place of being broke, busted and disgusted. This is a truly magical place. It's the place where you will discover what I discovered - there is more in you than you could ever know.


	Quick Quote : "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny." Ronald Reagan

Broke, Busted and Disgusted :

By being "broke," I mean having just enough to get by. From a financial point of view, this is where your paycheck just covers your living expenses. Of course, you may be experiencing financial abundance right now but that doesn't mean you're not broke in some area of your life. We don't just get broke in our bank accounts. Sometimes, we get broke in our relationships and careers and even, in our health. We have just enough peace, love and understand to make our relationships tolerable. Or we have just enough satisfaction, meaning and joy in our careers to make them bearable. Or we have just enough energy and drive to make it through the day, but by 6 p.m., we are exhausted.

The problem with being broke is that it inevitably leads to being busted. For instance, if you are living from paycheck to paycheck, you run into trouble when an unexpected expense arises, such as a car repair. Likewise, if your relationship is broke, you may not have enough love and understanding when the challenging times arise (and they will). The same thing applies to your career and your health.

Sadly, many people live their whole lives in this situation. They struggle to just keep their heads above water. Then, when trouble comes, they find themselves submerged and spend months (or years), trying to break the surface. When they finally do, they go right back to treading water again. Unfortunately for these people, they never reach the third plateau -- being disgusted.

To really make a major breakthrough in life, you must hit "rock bottom." And please keep in mind that rock bottom doesn't necessarily mean that you are living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass. You can be living in a mansion and hit "rock bottom" (trust me on this one). Rock bottom is simply the place where you are simply no longer willing to accept being broke in any area of your life. Once you reach this place, you will finally convince yourself that you deserve abundance in every area of your life and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to experience it. You are willing to forego immediate gratification in order to secure your financial future. You are willing to be more loving, kind and generous with your family. You are willing to play the games at work, go back to school or step out into a new line of work. You are willing to eat sensibly and exercise regularly for your health. In short, you are willing to do anything but be broke, busted and disgusted. As 2004 approaches, it's time for each of us to get "fed up" with the broken and busted areas of our lives. It's time for us to push back from the table of mediocrity and to start dashing into our destiny.

Thoughts for Your Dash :

Determination

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."

Frank Lloyd Wright

Attitude

"Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture."

William James

Success

"The conditions of conquest are always easy. We have but to toil awhile, endure awhile, believe always, and never turn back."

Marcus Annaeus Seneca

Happiness

"Happiness is not pleasure, it is victory."

Zig Ziglar


	Quick Quote : "If we all did the things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves." Thomas Edison

| Back to the Newsletter Archive |