“Confidence is preparation.
Everything else is beyond your control.”
- Richard Kline

A lot of the broader Life journey is beyond our control. Humans have an interesting obsession with trying to control everything from the weather, to rivers, to wildlife, to microbes – we even try really hard to control other people. The thing that really sucks about that is… most people are pretty bad about just controlling themselves.

I agree with the quote, Confidence is the Preparation we need to effectively face and work through the challenges before us. Yet the irony is, it is the process of Preparation that ultimately yields the Confidence we need to be most successful.

I was involved in Martial Arts when I was a kid. I remember being a beginner White Belt in Tae Know Do sitting in amazement watching individuals with advanced belts perform at what seemed to be impossible levels for me. I was clearly not prepared to perform this activity, and my confidence was limited that to fact that I knew I could at least walk and chew gum, beyond that it was all up hill.

It was after weeks of practice and preparation, then approval from my instructor that I was ready to be tested for the next belt. It was by recognizing my improvement and progress that I gained the small confidence to demonstrate my remedial skills on my quest to earn a Yellow Belt next. The beauty of the incremental learning is that I was able to focus on what I could do – feet here, arms there, block like this, punch like that – and this became the foundation of my preparation for the next level… and that progressively built my confidence.

The problem is when individuals focus on what they can’t control, they attach their happiness on things or other people beyond their control. These folks have prepared themselves for failure and disappointment. You can recognize them because they don’t sound confident… at all – this is what they have prepared themselves for, and they’re confident that they’ll get it. They scary parts is, in the light of self-fulfilling prophecy, is it any wonder they get what they’ve focused on?

When we focus on what we can control - our own thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, intentions, efforts – then we prepare ourselves with the confidence we need to be successful on the road for our Pursuit of Happiness.

What about you? What are you confidentally preparing yourself for in your Pursuit of Happiness?

“A person can grow only
as much as his horizon allows.”
- John Powell

I’ve often been accused of being a “dreamer” – there’s no doubt I have a big imagination. But I prefer to recognize that I have perspective allowing me to see a big picture – what I often refer to as the “realm of possibilities!”

I have come to realize that if we only have a short horizon, then our achievements always tend to fall within those boundaries that the short horizon dictate. Is it any wonder that low achievers always seem to have a limited perspective? There is a comforting side to this approach… they tend to fail less, and on those rare occasions when they do the repercussions tend to be smaller.

On the other hand, high achievers generally tend to be the big thinkers, they have a broad perspective and always aim really big. The downside is that when they fail, it’s usually big, can be painful, and sometimes embarassing! (Do I sound like I’m speaking from experience? On the upside, the big-thinking high-achievers are the ones that people see as making things happen, as moving mountains – and often their rewards can be much more significant.

So our aim should be to lift our head, cast our gaze on a far horizon, then explore everything in between where we are now and where we could eventually end up on that horizon. Anything less and we are selling oursleves short of our true potential in our Pursuit of Happiness!

What about you? How are you daring to see a big picture and a broad horizon on your own adventure in your Pursuit of Happiness?

“Without a humble but reasonable
confidence  in your own powers you
cannot be successful or happy.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

As I dig deeper into the essence of what I’ve learned about the Pursuit of Happiness in Life, I realize how important our own determination plays a significant part of our overall experience. There are those who Life happens to them, more the victim; while there are others in Life who endeavor to make things happen, more the victors.

Victims are not confident because they are merely the recipients of all the bad things that happen to them. On the other hand, Victors generally emerge as a result of being confident, proactive, and determined to make whatever they are involved in better.

Now don’t get me wrong, I completely recognize that unfortunate things happen… like getting cancer. To become a victim of criminal acts are clearly unfortunate. To be in the wrong place at the right time when a tree branch falls on your head, is unfortunate. I’m not speaking of those circumstances when we suffer some bad circumstance, as they can often happen in our lives.

A better example of being a preventable “victim” – especially in light of their own choices – is obesity. The brutal honesty is that everything that hangs on the hips entered our mouth. And last I checked, it’s our choice what we pick up and put in our mouth. It’s our choice what we do with our career. It’s our choice what we learn to do better in and with our lives.

What do you think… what about you – a Confident Victor or a Cop-out Victim?

What if You Had Six Months to Live?

Fortunately, my partner is not at that point of crisis in her medical condition, but the keen awareness of our mortality is heightened. This soul-searching has revived the message of The Notice in 2003 and how I lived my life for 183 Days that eventually led to me writing my first book, Engaging LIFE! In Your Pursuit of Happiness. I’m several years out from having put that book phase of my life journey on the shelf. Yet, an interesting stirring has been going on for several months that has now crystallized with yesterday’s news.

Ironically, The Notice first appeared in my life on April 1, 2003. The end of my 183 Days challenge ended on September 30, 2003 wherein I petitioned Life, with my own Declaration of Endeavor, that I deserved another six years - which would have ended in September, 2009. Throughout the winter and into spring 2010, I’ve repeatedly asked myself whether I’d live up to the first Life challenge of six, going on seven years ago?

Would I be so bold to take it seriously and relive 183 Days all over again in this new phase of my life, or would I be so arrogant to ignore the larger Life lessons being presented to me? Would I ignore the very essence of my message about Engaging Life and the Pursuit of Happiness, or would I embrace the call to share a new volume in the unfolding story of my life? Would I be a hypocrite and ignore the principles I espoused in the first book, or would I honor the wisdom and find ways to share it with others? Would I be so arrogant and selfish to only stay focused on my life, and the one I share with my partner, or would I raise my sights higher and find a way to inspire others in their Pursuit of Happiness?

My friends, reviving PursuitOfHappiness.com is my choice, and inviting you to join me on an unfolding journey of exploration is my response to the opportunity at hand. I ask you to join me on the adventure ahead… shall we…