Family Papi

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As a family dad, there are certain times in your life where you must make critical decisions.  These decisions will impact the quality of your life as well as the lives of those in your organization (yes your family).

If you find yourself in one of those situations now, one simple solution can help you make sure you continue on your prosperous path.

Turn it off!

If you think about it, from the time you wake in the morning until the time you actually get back to sleep, you are inundated with noise. 

This noise comes in the form of the things we enjoy – radio, ipod, TV, internet – basically, everything that entertains, informs, or just zones us out.

How can we make the right decision if we are constantly being bombarded?

How can we ensure our decisions will be correct for our family and for our community?

The answer for both is that we cannot unless we turn it all off.

Here are some things to do to make it happen:

Mark the time you’ll need.  I suggest anywhere between 2 days and a week’s time.  Frankly, if this is the first time you’re doing this, aim for the 2 days because you will not be accustomed to the quiet.  If you could do more days, great, but set your expectations low to start off with.

The only noise you may have is from the alarm clock to wake you.  When you wake up, be thankful and start getting ready for the day. 

Don’t turn on the radio or TV.  Negative news will always be there – it can wait a few days.

Embrace the quiet.

Hear yourself thinking.  Allow yourself to envision the solution.  Pray – ask God to help you identify His Will to make the correct decision.

Continue to do this as you drive to your destinations.  If you can, take off from your regular schedule (this is not a must though).

A must is to just listen – at work, in the gym, in the park, everywhere you go.

When you get back home, make a point to stay away from “the box” (TV) and from going online.

Instead, continue in the quiet.  Read, meditate, ask, pray.  Do what your gut tells you.

In the process, you’ll notice things you haven’t noticed before.

You’ll feel refreshed, even inspired.

You will gain new perspectives, see things in a new light – you may start getting ideas and insights. You may even get to feel God nudging you. 

You actually may start to like it so much that you decide to do this more often – like every 3 months.

That’s what happened to me.

You see, important decisions will always need to be made, but a family dad who chooses to listen in the quiet will always be one step ahead on the road to prosperity.

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As a family dad, have you interviewed for a job only to find out you weren’t selected?  Have you lost a business deal to – in your eyes –  a lesser competitor?  Have you been let go from a job you worked extremely hard for?

Yes, we all experience setbacks in our life.  It’s hard to think of prosperity when you have just been dealt a blow in the gut – at least that’s what it feels like. 

Let’s take a moment to ponder the situation…

Ok, that’s enough.

As a family dad who prospers, you cannot let these setbacks get you down.  Don’t put your head down – get up – get over it and move on.  That’s it. 

You see, that job that you applied for wasn’t for you.  You weren’t going to prosper there.

That business deal was going to be a headache – actually, it’s great that your competitor got it, it will bog them down while you prosper.

That company that let you go is actually doing you a favor – you now have the ability to take a step back and do what you need to do to yes…prosper.

No one can control when setbacks will occur.

But, you could control how you respond to them. 

Every time you respond in a positive and constructive manner, you become stronger and better and even more capable of dealing with the next issue.

A prosperous family dad is a man who doesn’t quit – a man who no matter the difficulty or obstacle – never gives up. 

Please don’t think of it as a slogan.  It shows your true character.  This is where you show what you’re made of – to you and to those around you including of course your family.

I’m usually not a poem kind of a guy, but there is this one poem that stayed with me a while back and want to share it you today. 

It’s called:

The Man Who Thinks He Can

By Walter D.Wintle

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch that you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow’s will;

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the strongest or fastest man;

But sooner or later the man who wins,

Is the one who thinks he can.

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As a family dad, embrace change by doing one thing – learn.

When you learn you grow as an individual.  It’s a must. 

When you stop learning, bad things happen.  You don’t want that.  You want to prosper.

So…be selective about what you spend your time learning.

Get smart about what you learn

Not all learning is the same.  Learning the new TV show fall schedule is not the kind of learning that will propel you over the top.

You want to continually learn in areas that will bring a tangible benefit.  Some examples are:

• Learn more about your career or business – the more depth you have about what you do will make you a leading expert in your field.
• Read about and stay up-to-date about the industry you’re in.  Is it growing? Are there innovations at play that can dramatically change the outlook?  What is the long term risk?  What’s the government doing?  How about your competition?  Find ways that will, on a consistent basis, provide you with the insights you need.  
• Learn more about a hobby – if you like doing something that’s cool and valuable, visualize making a business out of it, and learn it inside out.
• Learn another skill set – one at a time.  This one’s big.  The more skill sets you have, the more desirable you become.  If your industry is hurting, and you’re looking to get out and reinvent yourself, you’ll need to learn.  Just make sure the skill sets are for things you would want to do.
• Learn about people – your customers, your boss, your contacts – get in tune to what’s the word on the street.

I can go on and on, but you get the point.   The important thing is to continually learn and not stay still or stagnate. 

Measure Up

You want to measure and do well with something I call your Flexibility Value (FV).  Your FV is a measurement of how strong, prepared, and easily you can adapt in a changing environment.

There is a formula for this. 

Ready?

FV = L / C

Where L  is for  Learning and C is Change.

Since we know that change is always constant, that means that your Flexibility Value will depend 100% on Learning. 

Very simply, the more you learn, the higher your flexibility value.  The less you learn, the lower.

The higher FV you have, the better chance you have at prospering during a changing environment.

So, strive to raise your FV – embrace change this way and change will be on your side.

Now, isn’t that better than the alternative?

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