Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are scared. Eddie Rickenbacker.

Try as we might, there is no holding back the relentless advance of change. As technology and innovation continue unabated, many companies and even entire industries are slowly being disrupted or made irrelevant – unable to adapt or change to accommodate the new models and ways of doing things.

That applies to individuals, too. There is no escaping. As scary as it is, if you want to grow, you must breakout of your comfort zone and embrace the unknown.

Sometimes in life, you just have to do something you have never done before. The only course of action that is open is to seize the moment.

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If this is resonating and you are in the Toronto area, I have put together a powerful new forum called The Idea Lab. The next date is March 23rd from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at The Centre For Social innovation in The Annex. 720 Bathurst at Bloor. It’s an entirely different kind of gathering, a personal growth experience for people of like minds who are courageous, impatient and hungry for more. They want to take their lives and businesses to a whole new level. To sign up and read more, please click on The Idea Lab.

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The thing always happens that you believe in. Frank Lloyd Wright,

The road to success is never easy. There are no secrets or silver bullets. There never were. What there is is you and a number of strategies every successful leader knows. Here are just seven:

• Live your live with passion. Love what you do.
• Focus on what you do best. Leverage your special abilities.
• Take responsibility for your life. It’s all up to you.
• Learn from your mistakes. We learn more from our mistakes than our successes. Learning from your mistakes gives you the opportunity to grow.
• Be persistent. No matter how discouraged or against the odds you feel, hold on to your dream and refuse to give it up.  It’s OK to shift your view but it’s not OK to take your eye off the prize.
• Be open to change. Challenge yourself to change, to look ahead and move on. Things change. Life changes. If you are willing to alter your beliefs, habits and behaviours, you open up to new possibilities and opportunities.
• Stay humble. Be willing to be vulnerable. True greatness is not about titles and positions. It’s above love, taking pride in doing good work and being available to others.

Want to take your business and life to the next level? Work with me. Call 416.450.8867 or email drew@drewsimmie.com. I like nothing better than sharing my knowledge and experience with someone who wants to grow.

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For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the crazy, stressful times, but the number of positive, happy people I come seems to be diminishing.

So when I happen across the exception, I always make a point to tell them how refreshing their attitude is. I ran across an example this weekend when I approached a concierge at a condominium residence.

I commented on how pleasant he was as he replied to my inquiry.

“It’s not that hard,” he said. “I live each day according to what I call the 3 big E’s.”

“Let me guess,” I said, Energy…”

With a smile, he finished the sentence for me. “Empathy and enthusiasm.”

Not surprisingly, I smiled back.

If you’re having having a tough day and things aren’t going your way, try it.

It works.

Want to take your business and life to the next level? Work with me. Call 416.450.8867 or email drew@drewsimmie.com. I like nothing better than sharing my knowledge and experience with someone who wants to grow.

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When she was only 26, Joni Mitchell penned one her most famous songs, Both Sides Now. Many of you of a certain age will be familiar with it. It is essentially about living in the present. I love that song. It’s just as relevant today as it was way back when. If you have forgotten the words, listen to them again.

Joni Mitchell Both Sides Now (Clouds) – YouTube

I don’t know about you, but it has taken me a long time to learn how to live in the present. I had to unlearn many of the old stories I was told, including those I told myself and I was always seemed to be living for the future.

Choosing to live in the past or in the future steals your todays and robs you of the joy that can come from living right now. Each day.

The only important moment is the present moment. But how to live like that? It takes a lot of work, courage, the willingness to shift your perception and a load of humility. If you have have been thinking about making some changes in how you are living, consciously thinking about what you are doing and more importantly why, here are just five of many practices to get you started:

1. Live more simply. Cut back on what you don’t want and don’t really need. Live as lean as you can. Don’t let the stuff overtake you.
2. Stay in control of your attitude. Strive to stay positive in spite of all you observe and hear. It’s easier to give in to cynicism, but don’t. Nothing of any lasting value has ever been produced by a cynic and hope never goes out of fashion.
3. Be compassionate and considerate of others. You’ll be amazed at what flows back when you do.
4. Make a conscious effort to fully appreciate the various moments that occur during your day. Stop and look around you at the sights and sounds, the smells, the various emotions you feel and experience.
5. Cultivate and share love.

You only come by this way once, (to the best of my knowledge no one has ever reported back). Your time is finite.

So here’s the question: Are you honestly making the most of it?

Hmmm….

Want to take your business and life to the next level? Work with me. Call 416.450.8867 or email drew@drewsimmie.com. I like nothing better than sharing my knowledge and experience with someone who wants to grow.

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You cannot kindle a fire in any other heart until it is burning in your own. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Fuelled by your vision, passion is the interior energy that moves people from within. It comes from our inner most being and manifests itself in our drive, in what we care about and devote our lives to, at work and at home.

Passion is about doing what you love and doing what you have to do to get there. It gets you through what can seem like impossible obstacles and unexpected road blocks.

Being passionate about something motivates you to go above and beyond anything your will or some external force can match. It makes you more effective, efficient, strengthens your commitment and makes you feel better about yourself.

The better you feel about yourself, the more receptive you are to new ideas and opportunities and the less fearful.

Just as importantly, passion creates and nurtures other positive emotions and feelings like faith, positive expectancy, love, trust and meaning – all of which add to your feeling of well being and personal satisfaction.

On the road to success one of the most important drivers is a brightly burning flame of passion.

But here’s the thing. If you are not passionate about your business, no one else will be either.

Want to take your business and life to the next level? Work with me. Call 416.450.8867 or email drew@drewsimmie.com. I like nothing better than sharing my knowledge and experience with someone who wants to grow.

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