Preparation

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars

Most people spend an enormous amount of time preparing for the future. I think that preparation can be a very good thing to do.

But the older I get, the less time I spend preparing. Awhile back, I figured out that what I think is going to happen never quite turns out the way I thought.

So if I can't predict the future, it doesn't make sense for me to prepare for what I don't know!

Today, I'm prepared to be surprised by life and to trust that I have the ability to make good decisions in the moment. My life is so much simpler this way!

Excuses or Choices?

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars Inc.

I'm jealous of people who are going through Life Success's Basic seminar for the first time. Most of us carry so much drama. We believe it's true. We all have a story that we use so we don't have to risk in life.

And why is the first time in Basic so exciting? You have an opportunity to put down the drama and move on.

When I went to Basic, I had what I thought were really good reasons. But this is what they really were: excuses. After I finished Basic, I tried to convince myself that my excuses were what kept me from moving forward.

I eventually realized that my excuses didn't make me do or not do anything. Everything in life is a choice. You can do it or not do it, regardless of your excuses.

Honk!

"Close your eyes and go to your workshop" is a phrase familiar to grads of Life Success Seminars. It's a tool you can use from the workshop centering we do during our Basic seminar.

But "Close your eyes and go to your workshop" doesn't work very well when you're driving and someone cuts you off. Returning the favor by cutting them off while sending finger signals doesn't work that well, either. Honk!

Driving can be one of the most stressful parts of our day, so you can expect that things are going to happen. What options do you have besides reacting?

Try new ways to use your driving time to benefit you. You can drive slower. You can leave 10 minutes earlier and get on a different schedule than "that jerk." But here's a warning: There'll probably be a jerk in the new time slot, too!

Do what you can to stay calm while you drive, like listening to a book on CD or your favorite relaxing music. And leave the honking to the jerks!

Center vs. Middle

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director

In Life Success's Basic seminar, people often talk about how they're stressed out and don't have time to slow down. They say that they don't have time to center. They don't have time to relax their minds.

The word "center" is often used in the same context as "middle." But in Life Success programs, we're talking about the opposite of "middle" when we use the word "center."

Once you realize that all of life doesn't depend on you, things change. As you remove yourself from the middle and become responsible only for what is yours, you'll see the value of taking the time to be centered.

Being in the middle is stressful. So get out of the middle and into the centered!