Don't let the lights keep you out of the tree!

Well I had to share a little lesson I was reminded of today.  Today was a beautiful sunny Sunday.  It is December so the temperature is in the high 50's - absolutely perfect.  As I have mentioned before when I sit at my desk in my home office there is a giant Oak tree right outside the window.  I believe that it was planted in the late 50's or early 60's when this subdivision was built which would make it at least 50 years old.  Needless to say it is huge with a massive trunk. 

It must be a fun tree to play in because the squirrels are always running up and down and playing on the branches (it probably helps that I keep a feeder for them hanging from one of the branches) but anyway today I witnessed something interesting that made me start thinking about human behavior. 

Since it is the holiday season and I love to decorate the house with lights I also decorate the trunk of the oak tree.  I put sheets of lights about 3 foot tall on the base of the tree and they go around 3/4 of the trunk.  So if you can imagine there is a strip on the back of the tree(about 2 feet wide) that has no lights (since it doesn't face the street).  Today my little squirrel friends (3 to be exact) wanted to play on the tree.  But every time they would jump up on the tree, they would feel the strings of lights and jump off.  All 3 of them kept jumping up on the tree and then jumping off.  It was actually quite comical.  This went on for quite a while and then I noticed that every once in a while one of them would actually jump on the side of the tree that did not have lights but instead of taking off running up the tree to get to the branches, like they always do, he would immediately jump off again.  It was as if he had jumped on the strings of lights so many times that he couldn't believe there was any part of the tree that didn't have lights.  His jumping persistence could have actually paid off when he hit the right side but he was blinded by his belief that there were lights there.

James Riley once said “The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.”  Oh how those squirrels must have been discouraged.  They did eventually just give up and accept the fact that they couldn't get up the tree.  I hope that you don't let the lights keep you out the tree!  Persistence always pays in the long run if we are not blinded by our belief of what the current truth is - which may not be the truth at all.



And don't forget the old Japanese proverb that says "Money grows on the tree of persistence!"  Just thought that one was quite appropriate for the story!

It Can Be Scary to Revisit Your Old Goals

Last week I decided it was time to get a head start on my 2010 Goal setting session that I usually have in January.  I would venture to say that there are a lot of us that have them with ourselves in January.  So while brainstorming on what I really wanted out of the next 12 months I decided to take a moment and revisit an old Goal Board.  I still have my 2007 "Vision Board" and although it is a bit rough looking it did bring great joy to my heart when I sat down and took a look at it.

I almost could not contain my excitement - I just had to share with you the power of the mind.  Let me start by saying this board was up in my office for all of 2007, 2008 and the first couple of months of 2009.  I saw it daily, even if I weren't actually looking at it.  

1st - For a long time there actually were a pair of eyes up in the left top corner looking at me.  They stood for the eye correction surgery that I wanted to have to replace the glasses I had worn since 2nd grade.  I have dreamed of fixing my eyes for as long as I can remember.  But it wasn't until November of  2008 that it actually happened and I went from a person who couldn't see the BIG "E" on the top of the chart to having 20/20 vision.  Thanks Dr. Yokabitus at the Eye Clinic.


2nd - I wanted to write a book or some sort of informational product.  Well that has taken a bit longer but I am actually working on my book now and hopefully will be done by March and I am also cultivating a few ideas for informational products.  I would say that these goals will definitely be accomplished in 2010.


3rd - I wanted someone to write me a check for $1,000,000.  OK well that didn't happen exactly but we did sell our companies at the end of 2007 which allowed me to retire and have the money to live comfortably for a long time.  That was something I definitely couldn't have seen happening in January of 2007.  Oh by the way - this one is back on my 2010 Vision Board.


4th - A big bathtub.  In January of 2007 my house had the smallest 1957 bathtub in existence - ok that is just my opinion.  The tub was only 12 inches deep and it was so short you almost couldn't straighten your legs out.  Finally in January of 2009 I decided it was time to remodel my house and now I have a fabulously deep soaking tub in the spot that once was so cramped.


So as you can see these things did not all happen in 2007 but since the board stayed up through 2008 & 2009 they did all come closer to existence.  Time passes so quickly we should each take the time to focus on what we want out of life.  Be careful that you aren't focused on the wrong thing - what you don't want out of life.  So what is on the poster for 2010 - A Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, A Personal Assistant and A BIG Checking Account Balance, just to name a few.....