“Everything that happens to me is the best thing that could happen to me” Jim Carey

There are about as many ways of saying ‘look on the bright side’ as there are people who say it.  Not that that’s a bad thing…hell I once heard that Hawaian’s have a bunch of ways to say ‘I love you’ and no way to say ‘war’…given how powerful language is, that says a lot about the culture (not to mention I’m a fan of going anywhere that getting ‘lei’d’ is complementary).  The question I have for you is this, “Is positive thinking just a fortune cookie to you or does it lead to positive ACTION?”

Case in point:  My day…

I was dropping off my oldest boy for a playdate today and noticed my brakes were making a noise we could call…well, undesirable.  Choice number one:

1. Get pissed off.
2. Be thankful for the early warning and…TAKE SOME ACTION!

I opted for number 2.  Now, thankfully I work as a consultant (which you already know…) and I had nothing ‘on location’ today, so I just went to the mechanic from my old neighbourhood which happened to be close to my son’s playdate.  There I find out I need about $800 of work done and about 4hours wait.  Leading to choice number two:

1. Get pissed off.
2. Be thankful for the availibility and…TAKE SOME ACTION!

Well, number 2 wins again and I’m now typing this while sipping some decent coffee at a restaurant I used to manage once upon a time…since it happens to be a stone’s throw from the garage.  I love my life

So I want you to pay attention to the previous couple of choices because they say tons about the way I think and pretty much run my life these days.  First of all, I only gave myself two options: “On or Off” or “Plugged in/Turned on” which, if you’ve read some of my other ramblings…is self explanatory.  I don’t like to complicate things.  I have a pretty simple internal chain of command that I follow.  I put my most important priorities at the top and everything else below.

1. The Loves of My Life:  My incredible kids, my amazing girlfriend (she is, trust me), and her wonderful kids
2. Everything Else…

Do we see a pattern developing

The problem with most people, is that they overcomplicate things to the point of inactivity.  Occam’s Razor rules my friends…when faced with a challenge, always choose the simplest solution that works.  It will get you moving in the right direction sooner and, generally speaking, offer you more energy, happiness and peace of mind.  Not bad for just employing the ‘KISS’ method.

So the lesson for today, is to look at the things in your life that you’re making WAAAAAY too complicated and see how you can whittle them down to a simple ‘this or that’ or, a series of them if you really have to.  Even if your one issue becomes a series of 10 action steps, at least you’ll GET MOVING…and use that ’secret’ hidden in “The Secret”…

AttrACTION

So go get you some…

Phil Hughes

www.philhughes.tv