Only Time Will Tell

The last month or so has been pretty hard on me. I’ve had some great highs but also some deep lows. On the high side, I’ve been training for a marathon. This has probably been the most intense thing that I’ve been a part of. Every other morning I’ve had to rise out of my quite comfortable bed and beat my mind and body into submission. You see, it isn’t all glamorous being a runner. The stories of having throngs of well-wishers urging you on every morning are huge exaggerations. Not only is it a lonely and sometimes frustrating calling in life but getting out of the bed really sucks.

I’m finally past all of the mind games associated with running now but it took some time to cross than chasm. My weekend runs are now half marathons and better. Woohoo… but it would be nice to have a running partner to share in the pain.

On the low side of the past few months, we felt the loss of my blessed mother. A few weeks ago I received the call that Mom was going into the emergency room. When I arrived, she looked healthy and full of spirit but that was just a façade. My mom was shortly going to change from elderly to eternal and I would get to witness every last moment of it by her side.

That time passed like an eternity. What was only a few weeks felt like an endless parade of contradiction and confusion. I knew early on that this would be the last of my mom’s earthly life. There was that nagging feeling that her life would soon pass into eternity but it would take just a little more time. Maybe it was so that we could get our emotional minds around it. Maybe just so that our far off family could be make arrangements. Whatever the reason, Mom would linger for a full 2 weeks and then only a few hours after her priest gave her communion and her final prayers did she slip into the Fathers arms.

I received the call at 1am. Mom had passed away, come down and say goodbye.

The last few weeks have been a sobering reminder of my own mortality and legacy. How do I want to be remembered? What will I leave for my step-children and my wife? Who will remember me with fond memories? Will anyone come to my funeral?!!! Only time will tell. Only time will tell.

Sherman Ray is an author, speaker, radio personality and Leadership Development Coach. He is also the founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group. For more information on him or if you would like to book Sherman to speak at one of your company functions go to www.shermanray.com or www.redlettermedia.net.

Send Me My Flowers Now

As many of you are finding out, my blessed mother, who is nearly 92yrs of age has roundedthat corner of life. I recieved the call that she was being rushed to the hospital. For the next week theere would be a procession of well-wishers and sincerely interested friends and family members, all of them endeavoring to pay their respects and honor the women they had all come to know as the "Tough old Bird".

As Mom lay there I remembered a profound conversation I recently had with a dear client. She too was interested in the condition of my mom. I told her how confused and somewhat angry I was becoming. Mom was a proud women. She was tough and matt of fact about most of life. If you didn't want her opinion on a subject, then you probably shouldn't ask her. She was the kind of person who would walk up to those young boys who were wearing sagging jeans and pull them up for them.

Mom was truly her own person. You could say all you wanted and her methods but you always knew where you stood with Mom.

That's the Mom I wanted everyone to remember, not the shadow of herself but the vibrant Jamaican Bird. As people paraded into the darkened room and gasped at how far she had fallen all I could think was, "This is wrong!" If you wantec to convey your love and respect to MOM, then you had your chance.

I know it might sound harsh but when my time comes for me to go home please don't be surprised if visitors are not allowed. Spend the time now conveying your love, honor and respect. Send My Flowers Now while I can still appreciate their smell. When I am on deaths door the sweet smell of flowers won't do me any good. So friends Send Me My Flowers now...

The Capacity and Will of Man

As many of you know I've been training for a local marathon here in my home town. What that means is that I get up 3 or 4 times a week and beat the heck out of myself in a effort to condition my body for the ultimate test of endurance that only 1% of the people on this planet are willing to do.
It has been a very rewarding, if not pleasurable experience. Imagine if you will, leaving the cool comfort of a feathery soft bed. You've just gone into act three of a dream that we can't even discuss here in public. The pillow, whom we will call Sheila, is as close to you as the umbilical cord was before you came out of the womb. Ahhh...
Next, you are stretching in the parking lot. The pain of your joints is only eclipsed by the sound of your knees. Crunch, crunch, crunch. The sound briefly reminds you of a bag of Cheetohs.
The next thing you can think about is your lungs burning as you expel last nights revalry. I can recall it was Mexican food and a bottle of Nehi punch. Now all I can hope for is that the heartburn will only last for the first two or three miles, followed by the pressure of gas from the refried beans.

Five miles, then six miles pass as you start to feel a sense of confidence begin to surge within you. You say to yourself, "I can do this, I've gone much farther." Even the uphills seem relatively easy to you because once again you've traveled this road before.
Finally, your goal is in sight. No more need to stress and strain. You couldn't stop now even if you wanted to. Your pride at this point would carry you over the finish line. You imagine now the cool drink of water, the exhileration of knowing you've made the distance and finally, how sweet it will feel to tell everyone that you made your distance.

That is the capacity and will of man to do anything and everything that he puts his mind to. There is nothing that a man cannot do if given the right circumstnces and the right motivation. It is just up to you to figure out what those "WHY" reasons are.

Sherman Ray is a Motivational speaker, author, entreprenuer, radio personality and Founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group. To find out more information on Sherman go to www.ShermanRay.com

A Runners Lament

This gives me a lot of encouragement. I've been able to fight against my own demons to keep on a fairly regular schedule. It can be a monumental bridge to cross when you've got years of bad habits that don't want to let go and replace them with habits that literally add years to your life, build up your self-esteem and give you rock hard buns...  

             

Just an update for those of you who are keeping up with my training for the Las Vegas Marathon, scheduled for the end of 2012. I am currently up to 5 miles a day running. WooHoo... That means I've gone from barely being able to make it 400 yards without stopping in January, to consistently making it 5 miles in April. At this rate I will be up to a half marathon on the weekends for a few months way ahead of the date that the actual run is scheduled.
You would think that if we all knew the health benefits of running, swimming or bicycling there would be a line around the  corner to get at the latest gym equipment or workout tape. The truth is "No one wants to work for the good stuff, it hurts too much." As a future millionaire, philanthropist or father-in-law, you've got to get in the habit of doing not just the right things but the hard things in life.
Life is full of people who are satisfied with just getting by. They are at the grocery stores, in the the checkout lines, in the unemployment lines and the first ones in line for government handouts instead of doing everything they can to make it.
I recently listened to this wild man, his name escapes me, but he was all about self-determination, pulling up yourself by your own bootstraps and stuff like that. I love to hear that message being preached. People need to be encouraged to dig deep to get what they want.. Once they've tasted a bit of success and there is some affirmation, then they are more likely to continue.
Each morning when I get up and have to put on those running shoes I'm dreading the pain I know I will have to endure, the mental fatigue and the struggle within my body to stop but I am encouraged by the thought that it is only a mind thing. My body is still capable of making the distance, it's just my mind that needs to get with the program. So I just continue on knowing that if I just stop thinking myself out of victory, then victory is mine. It has to be.
You can have victory also in your life. Stop thinking yourself out of your victory. Refuse to allow self-doubt, self-pity or self-defense to ruin what you are destined for. The victory will be yours if you just continue to do the things that you know should work for good. Like making a cake with the right ingredients, heat and time the product must be a cake. Don't take it out before its time. Let it become what it is supposed to become.
A cake.
So here's to all the runners, emerging stars and success stories. A word of encouragement, that I hope you will take for what it is. You are destined to win, you are destined to rule and yes you are destined to become a great man or woman if you just get out of your own way and become the best YOU.

Spread the Love Grow Yourself

I'm currently working on my 6th seminar of this short 2012 season. It's been an exciting time in my life and the ideas are flowing like never before. In the past few months we've produced so much great stuff that I'm going broke buying journals.

This latest seminar is going to be on the subject of catapulting your business and personal into the stratosphere by using 8 critical steps. I'll just share one of them with you here. If you'd like the complete series I'll make it available in the next few weeks.

What is the one thing that sports athletes do when they get to the finish line? It is something that occurs no matter if the athlete is way out in front of they find themselves neck and neck with a competitor. That's right, they stretch to reach the finish line. This is what makes the difference between the person who wins and the person who WINS.

The winner in the game of life, business or whatever is the person who isn't satisfied with just winning. They make a mark on whatever they are doing by going the extra mile, foot or nose to get all they can out of the thing they are putting effort into. In order to really living a life of Dynamic Potential we have to go that extra mile, even when we've "Finally Arrived".

This concept is something that we'll explore in greater depth during my upcoming webinar. Be sure and request to be put on the mailing list so that you can receive all of the notifications on a timely basis.

Pain Is Temporary Quitting Lasts Forever

This year marks a milestone in my life. I'm 50+, developing a speaking career, working with some great business owners, who push me to be better every week and now I'm doing more writing and mentoring than ever before. Add to this mix, I've decided that those 40 extra ugly pounds of me have got to go.

Now I've been a long-distance runner for many years going back to my early 20's. I've run on almost every major continent, in all kinds of weather. The thrill of getting out there in the elements always makes me feel alive.

This year, things have been a bit different. I'm not the spring chicken that I was once, so now hitting that "wall" comes on a weekly basis rather than on a yearly basis. What do I mean by the wall? That's runner-speak for the limits of what you thought you were able to do. We've all experienced it before but this year has been different. In the past after a long lay-off from running, I would be able to get back in the swing of things fairly quickly. This time the breaking back in period has taken literally months. In order to get to the next level of competition, achievement or distance I have to begin to push myself, especially when I am approaching that "wall".

In our own personal lives we will hit the "wall" in many areas, whether it is financially, personally or in our employment, we will all hit the "wall". So what do we do when this occurs? Here are some keys to help you to become successful when hitting the wall.

1. Know that you aren't alone. Everyone hits the wall it is a natural thing we all go through.
2. Understand that it is rarely a physical pain we are experiencing. The "Wall" is mostly mental. Physically our bodies can adapt to the rigors of whatever we call upon it to perform.
3. People will try and help you quit. Our friends generally don't understand what must occur, so they will try and get you to stop, so you won't experience the pain.
4. Pain is weakness leaving your body. Pain, whether physical or mental is just the manifestation of weakness leaving your body. Let it hurt, hurt is good.
5. Know that once you've accomplished beating the "wall"you can do it again. Confidence is gained when each hurdle is passed. Push past this hurdle and you gain confidence to attempt the next.
6. Be reminded that Pain is only temporary, quitting last forever. You will quickly forget the pain of the run, the phone call, the reject, etc.. but you will long remember the fact that you quit attempting whatever was put before you to achieve. Don't ever quit, the scare that is left will last a lifetime.

Taking Tips from Every Situation

Recently, I was interviewing at a start-up here in Las Vegas. I haven't worked for someone else in nearly 3 years so I wasn't really keen on the idea of putting myself in that position but you have to do what you have to do. So could I turn this into a learning moment or just hold my nose and trudge my way through the whole experience?
A learning experience it is.
I'm always fascinated on how other entrepreneurs approach business. In this case it was an outsourcing company that contracted with one of the larger utilities. Here's how they put their business model together.

1. Find a product to sell
2. Contact the manufacturer and work out a reseller contract with the manufacturer
3. Find an office to work out of
4. Put out an ad to hire salespeople
5. Train the new staff in how to sell the product
6. Raise up managers from within the new sales staff to oversee the crew
7. Repeat

Wow!!! Sounds like business all over the world. Every business on the planet runs on this concept or business model. If this is such a simple model to analyze then why aren't more people doing it? FEAR.

Well, I'm tired of working for someone else. (It hasn't even been a day yet) but that doesn't matter. This simple business model is the backbone of business from time immemorial. All we have to do is get over the initial fear and the rest as they say, is a piece of cake.

Sherman Ray is a speaker, author and Leadership Coach. He is also founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group. For more information on corporate speaking events, tapes or webinars go to www.redlettermedia.net or email him at LeadershipInActionOnlne@gmail.com

What Business (Nation) Needs

What Business Needs

What business really needs is a shot in the arm, a shot of adrenalin, a purpose other than money. I call it jealousy.  

Back in the 1960’s JFK, then the President of the United States of America, gave our country a bold challenge, “To put a man on the moon in this decade”. I can almost still hear those words in my ears. It was such an innovative and far out their statement, that it sparked the interest of a collective nation. So what did we do? We began to build.

America needs a rallying cry once again. We need to have a focus that drives us to once again become the powerhouse that we once were. You see, a nation that has a focus, has the ability to solve any problem, achieve any goal and climb any mountain that is in front of it. We are that nation. We are those people.

As our country sees before it looming debt, failing schools, a weak economic climate and a fragile relationship with the rest of the world, it is time that we rise up and say, “Enough is enough.” Can you imagine right now a leader stepping forward and saying, “Let’s go to Mars in this decade”? The whole of society and I mean globally would take notice. You see once you have something, everybody wants what you have. They do whatever it takes to get it and as a result a collateral effect happens, invention and innovation start to happen.

Many of the inventions and innovations that we currently have came as a result of need and necessity but a huge number of these products came as a result of plain old fashion “Keeping up with the Joneses”. Spaceflight, Velcro, computers, missiles, guidance systems, Tang, Big Screen TV’s, etc… All of these inventions came as a result of man’s vanity. “I won’t be outdone by my competitor. So let’s give everyone something to shoot for.

Here are some things that you can do to spark innovation and invention. In your own neighborhood, locality or community, start a movement to become better. Get up earlier and start running, see if you don’t soon see others doing it too. Start an organization of like-minded-types. Meet at a local coffee shop and see if others don’t follow suit. There are tons of opportunities that are out there for you and me to get people jealous, jealous enough to start a wave of innovation and invention because business needs us.

Sherman Ray is an author, speaker and leadership development coach. He is also the Founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group and the Founder of Leadership In Action Online For more information about audio tapes, webinars or speaking opportunities go to www.redlettermedia.net.or www.shermanray.com. You can email to LeadershipInActionOnline@gmail.com

Unlimited You

Performing a back somersault on a motorcycle has been the holy grail for stunt-riders for many years. No one had ever attempted it because just the  thought of such a feat was challenging. But it was done.

Jumping from one New York building to the next was only something that was depicted in really bad Japanese Kung fu movies but that too became a reality.

Being able to recite the pi number sequence for more than 10 or 20 numbers was thought to be pushing the realm of human ability, once again that record has fallen.

Human beings are a fascinating breed. Within all of us is the unlimited ability to do just about anything that we can put our mind to. There has not been one record set by man that has been broken or is in the process of being attempted to be broken. That says a lot to the thinking of people. We know that if one person can do it, then so can they. That is why I can say with all confidence that you are Unlimited.

The only limitation on man is his own imagination. That imagination is what keeps us reaching for the stars and beyond. That imagination is what keeps people hopeful for the cure to dreaded diseases. That should give us all hope for the future because out there is someone who is just looking for an opportunity to share his talents with all of mankind.

So don't limit yourself to what you have now. You can do so much more. You are UNLIMITED...

Sherman Ray is a motivational speaker, Entrepreneur and Founder and President of the Diversity Networking Group. For copies of his seminars and ebooks go to www.redlettermedia.net or www.shermanray.com

Talk About Success

I have never been one to hold my thoughts. I mean when there is something on my mind I generally will let everyone know about it. This has made for a pretty exciting life. Something can be said for speaking out your dreams and aspirations. Whenever you put your inner thoughts on a celestial plane something magical happens. Those dreams, fears, hesitations, etc… all begin to manifest themselves in our physical world.

Now before you checkout on me and wonder if I have started to go metaphysical or something like that, let me assure you that this is not the case. We all have a power to transform our intangible words into tangible reality. This happens when we merely begin to speak those thoughts into existence.

Sports people call it visualization, MLMers call it get “Jacked Up”, Christians call it “Speaking those things into existence”. This principle is practiced on a daily basis in all walks of life and you can access it too. Here is how.

• 1.       Decide on what you would like to achieve.
• 2.       Write down the goal on a 3x5 index card.
• 3.       Begin to set your mind on the project (meditate on it)
• 4.        Every chance you have remind yourself of this goal by speaking out loud what your goal is.

Example:

“This year I am going to lose 40 pounds. I see myself as getting healthier because I am eating better. At the end of the year I will run in a marathon.”

Don’t worry about if you will achieve your goal or mission but concentrate on getting focus on it. In due time you will begin to experience what you are focusing on if you just systematically continue to focus on the your dream.