Airport Beacons! Where's Yours?

Back in the last century, in the 1920s and 30s, when aviation was just getting started, the government realized that they needed a way to mark the location of airports for pilots, especially for those brave flyers who were traveling at night. There were no fancy GPS systems back then, and the precise aeronautical charts that every pilot has today, were little more than hand-written scribbles on sheets of paper that were copied and passed around from pilot to pilot, suffering from the degradation in accuracy that comes from such activity.

So, the government came up with the idea of a rotating beacon on the top of a tall tower that was near the field. Although many color combinations were possible, and still are today, an alternating green and white beacon is what a person usually sees....when they do see one of these beacons at all. The green and white has a specific meaning -- that the airport is lighted, nearby, and clear for landing. These lights can be seen for many miles by a trained pilot, and were probably a welcome sight to many an aviator who was lost, or running low on fuel back then.

Now, you have to remember that this all took place when America was still quite rural. There were no 100 mile wide strip cities that you very often find in the urban areas of modern day America. And, this was before the state-of-the-art "glass cockpits" of a modern day airliner. Today, a passenger jet coming in for a night landing at Los Angeles, or San Francisco, positioned as they are right next to the Pacific Ocean and the impenetrable fog it produces, can use the unerring accuracy of an instrument landing system. If the pilot is lucky, she might be able to see the ground during the last 100 feet, before the plane touches down. Beacon? There's a beacon? The pilot saw nothing until the last 10 seconds before touchdown.

So, in this modern day world with GPS that is accurate to 15 feet, or so...with extremely accurate ILS runways...with autopilots that can fly a plane from lift-off to touch down, why do we need a technological holdover from 90 or more years ago? And, furthermore, what does this have to do with you and your flight through life, if you'll pardon my pun?

Well, we have beacons, because the government says that we will have beacons...one at every airport. More importantly, even though you might live in a large city, with its clutter of background lights that hide any beacon, there are still plenty of small rural airports out there in America, where a pilot still looks for a comforting green and white flash of light that tells him or her that a safe landing spot is nearby.

You have a personal beacon also.....or had one. You started out in life, headed for a destination, back when things were simple...sort of "rural" when compared to your busy-beyond-belief life today. In the clutter of life...in the demands of college, and job, and family, and projects, and even in the worry about international issues that can touch you in the most rural of locations, you may have lost your beacon. And, just what was your beacon? Well, it was your goals. Simple, complex, large, small, important for the world, or important only to you....it doesn't matter really. They were your goals, and they belonged only to you. You didn't need anyone's permission or approval to pursue them. They just somehow got lost...which may be what led you to this article.

However you got here, maybe it's time to sit back for a few minutes and rediscover your own beacon. It's yours alone, you know? You don't need to ask for anyone's approval to set a homing beacon for yourself. Maybe it's that book you still want to write, or the painting you still want to do of some stunning mountain scene. Perhaps your beacon was to run a marathon. There's still time. As long as there is YOU, then there is still time to use the beacon you've set, to reach your goal, or some version of it that makes your life all that you intended it to be. There's still time to find that landing spot...that safe, well-lighted space, where you can say, "Touchdown! I reached my destination."

Take out a clean sheet of paper in the quiet of tomorrow morning, and write down your goal where you can see it. Don't share it with anyone. Then, describe the beacon that will mark your arrival at your destination. Then, soon, I'd like you to come back here and let me know of your success.

By the way, there's one thing that I already know about your beacon...your goal:

You can make this happen!

How Many Thoughts Can You Have?

No, I don’t mean how many thoughts at once. As powerful as the human brain is, few of us can think of more than one or two things at a time, and still give them our full attention.  What I’m asking is...how many things can you think about, in total?

Well, if you give that even a moment of your thinking power, I believe you will agree with me that you can think thousands of things, even millions of things. Over your lifetime, it might be billions, even trillions of things that you can think about. The number is really endless, and probably driven by what you choose to stimulate your thinking....music, art, relationships, sports, space travel, winning the lottery.  Even mentioning one of those phrases triggers thoughts in you, doesn't it?....possibly some you haven’t thought before. And, we haven't even touched on dreams...a time when the brain is still thinking while your body is asleep. That fact alone should boggle each and every one of us! What an incredible organism our body and mind are.

The brain is an amazing and versatile tool. And, here is a basic, physiological truth through which you may find escape and relief from the chaos, confusion, and demands under which so many of us live. I’m going to give you a single most important tool that could allow you to propel yourself from a world where you feel like the fire-hose of life is about to drown you...a world where you often silently scream for relief...for just a few moments of peace and quiet...for the mental bandwidth to just breathe. Are you ready? Here it is: You get to choose what you think about. With approximately 86 billion neurons in the average human brain, you still can usually think of only one thing at a time....and, you get to decide what that one thing is, at any given moment in time.

So, if you accept that as a premise, then you can think about the thoughtless driver who cut you off on the freeway this morning, or you can think about the camping trip your going to take with your family next summer. You can think about the intimidating supervisor who is demanding a full report on your department’s operation by next Monday; or, you can think about the photo-blog you’re going to create about your first-born child. You can think in anger, or envy, or sadness, or retribution, or peacefulness and gratitude. It's your choice. But, no matter how you think, it’s critical that you realize that it’s YOU who gets to determine WHAT and HOW you think about anything. No one makes you think about anything, except you. You are in control of YOU. And, the moment you accept this simple concept, is the moment your life will begin to change.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that you stop thinking about your family, your job, the funny sound that the car is making, the lawn that needs maintenance, the gutters that need cleaning, the website you dream of creating, or that boat you want to build.  No, not for a second!  That’s all part of life. It just is. People who decide to ignore all of those life issues are escapists, who have decided to adopt an attitude of irresponsibility in order to survive the mental onslaught they are feeling. Very often, the tool of their choice is alcohol, or drugs.

I am suggesting, however, that through very simple and free tools, tools that may lie around your home right this moment, or which you can obtain for free over the internet, you can begin to give yourself the breathing room that you long for. You will find more about the tools on our website LINKS page, at www.TheGoalMind.net. Most of these are free resources, which you can begin using in minutes. However, if you’re not internet or software savvy, then consider a simple sheet of paper or a tablet, and make your own version of the tools we’ve found for you.

So, is this just another version of “Don’t worry. Be happy”? Not a chance! If I had to boil it down to a fairly simple list of directions, however, it might look like this:  “Have goals. Acquire knowledge. Get organized. Think about your future. Run your own life. Don’t worry. Then, you’ll be happy.” OK, it’s a bit more complicated than that. However, if you copied down those few thoughts and taped them to your bathroom mirror, to look at each morning as you’re getting ready for the day, then my research tells me your life would begin to change almost immediately...almost magically.

Try this experiment. Print this page, cut out this section, tape it to your mirror, read the words a couple of times per day for a week, and see if things don’t begin to change for the better in your life. I have added the most important thought first, and that is that YOU, and only you get to choose what you will think about.

I WILL CHOOSE WHAT I THINK ABOUT

I WILL MAKE GOALS FOR MYSELF

I WILL ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE TO ACHIEVE MY GOALS

I WILL GET ORGANIZED

I WILL THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE I WANT FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY

I WILL NOT WORRY
I WILL LIVE IN THE COMMAND QUADRANT OF LIFE

I WILL BE HAPPY

You just might be surprised at how you begin to feel about yourself, and even about the people around you. If this is helpful, then come back and share your experiences with me. Try the old 7-day test, and see if you find a difference in your life. I think you will.

Just like they say when I visit the nice folks at Home Depot - "Yep! You Can Do This".

You can make this happen!

What If I Fail?

 “We’re supposed to do scary. Without scary, we don’t get to be brave.”

                                                                                    

                                                                                                                       Quicken Loans Commercial Script

Failure is not fun! Let’s agree on that! The fear of failure is a scary prospect.

For a moment, let’s imagine a world without the possibility of failure ever happening. Perhaps you’re heard the question before, from motivational speakers. It goes like this: “If you knew that you couldn’t fail, what great endeavor would you undertake?” Wow! That sure opens a lot of possibilities, doesn’t it? You’d be forgiven, as you face the current and real issues of your life, if for a moment you wished there was no chance of failure.

I’m going to suggest, however, that without the chance for failure, there would be no great endeavors for you, or for anyone else for that matter. Think about it for a moment. If the world simply didn’t include the possibility of failure, not only would failure NOT exist for you, it wouldn’t exist for anyone else, either. And, we would have a far less interesting, exciting, and enjoyable world as a result.

Don’t believe me? Well, Imagine a football game, or a marathon, or a basketball contest, where every participant knows that he or she is going to be the winner, or on the winning team. Imagine a Kentucky Derby, where every jockey knows that they are aboard the winning horse. Imagine that prettiest girl on your high school or college campus. Every boy or young man there knows that he will be the one to get her hand. I almost wrote “win” her hand, but that implies a contest of some kind, where there might be winners and losers. In our imaginary world without failure, that possibility doesn’t exist. Remember?

And, therein lies the problem of doing away with even the possibility of failure. If life worked at all, it would certainly be confusing, at the least. All of the fun and excitement would be drained out of life if we knew, for instance, that our team would always win; game after game; year after year; season after season. But, so would the other school alumni, and so would your neighbor down the street…you know, the one who used to taunt you when your team would lose? He won't be doing that any longer, in our "world without failure".

Who would attend the annual Bowl games, if the outcome was always pre-ordained that both teams would win? The fun…the excitement…the memories…the “worth”…even the tailgate parties are based on the premise and excitement of witnessing our team as winners, with the bitter-sweet possibility and awareness that our team could lose, too. Just as you might fail to reach your goal.

So, back to the issue at hand, which is your goals, and the possibility of your ultimate success in life. The question that the motivational speaker asks is a good one, but the conclusion is false. The conclusion is that you should go ahead and start out to achieve your goal, as if failure is not a possibility. But, failure is a real possibility. We all know that. The possibility of failure shouldn’t immobilize us, however. That’s why we’ve always stressed having worthy goals, doing the proper research on your goal, obtaining the necessary training and education to achieve your goal, planning, moving forward, taking in the feedback you get from results, and continuing to move toward that which you want to achieve. And, yes, we have stressed starting out in the direction of your goal immediately. Fear, along with simple procrastination, have probably thwarted more achievements in life than there are grains of sand on the beach. How many products weren’t launched, because the developer was afraid? How many relationships never happened, because of fear of rejection? How many great books, or paintings, or symphonies, or movies were never created, because the author could not face the possibility of embarrassment or failure?

Without the chance of failure, who would celebrate your achievement? Without the possibility of disappointment, how would you ever feel your own worth? In any endeavor, whether undertaken against a team of 6-foot, corn-fed, grid iron behemoths, or simply against our own self-image in front of our family, there will be a outcome, and there is always the possibility of it being failure.

There’s nothing wrong with being fearful of failure, as long as it doesn’t paralyze us, or keep us from achieving something truly wonderful and worthy. Yes, it’s scary. But, as the script for the Quicken Loans commercial reads, it’s supposed to be that way. Without scary, how would any one of us ever be brave?

I hope you have the opportunity to be brave….today!

Our Destination

In the first article of this series, you decided that you were the Pilot of your life...in charge...in command. Good for you. That is a successful “first step”. Then, upon reflection, you realized that there are plenty of others who have had, are having, or will have a say in what you do with your life. When you were young, parents or guardians pretty much controlled things as simple as when you went to bed and when you arose for the day. Later, in high school or college, teachers controlled your day. If you were ever in the military, then you know that your time is well regimented. Are you employed? Married? Need I say more?

First, you must realize that when we say that you should pick a destination or realize that you are in charge of your life, we are not suggesting for a moment that you get to quit what you are doing now, or that you are allowed or encouraged to simply do as you please, when you please. That might be a literal description of being in charge of your life, but that is not what we are writing about. We meant that you get to decide where you are going, what you will become, and on what schedule you will achieve those things. Admittedly, this is easier before we have accumulated the emblems of life – car, house, spouse, children, job, etc. But, it can even be done with these things. You merely have to realize that if you are coming late to the realization that you are in charge of your life, then you may have some extreme decisions to make. Or, you may have to hold on to your dream while you accept and live with the situation created up to this point. However, it's equally important to realize that while others (parents, supervisors, commanding officers, spouses, children) may control periods or phases of your life, there is still little to stop you from heading off in the direction of your major goal or purpose in life, other than yourself. You may merely have to change one thing – your brain – to change your life. You may have been warned to watch what you think when you were younger. The popular quote goes like this:

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” - Unknown

Although the author is unknown, the words are potent, and they will work for you, if employed in the proper manner, just as they must certainly work against you, if employed incorrectly. So, no matter what your current situation is, you can certainly think about what you would like to become. Those thoughts will become words. The words will begin to take action, which will become habitual. Eventually, all of this becomes your destiny, and you must surely become what you think about.

You may ask, however, “What if I die before I reach my destiny?” That's possible....unfortunate, but possible. But, which you rather have as the epitaph for your life? That you never had a goal that drove and motivated you, or that you simply never had enough time to achieve or realize your goal? I don't know about you, but I hope it's the latter. We are successful the very moment we stop turning in circles and set off in the direction of a worthy goal. That's why this article is the second in our series and deserves some time for pause and serious reflection. The person who can grasp that success is not in the achieving, but in the journey, will be a changed person. Once you have decided to be the pilot of your own life, and once you have chosen a destination, you will be a changed person. Some may not recognize you. And, you may not recognize yourself. Your attitude, your walk, your smile...everything about you will change when you have set course on your destination. And, because you recognize that there is no assurance that tomorrow will ever come for you, then why don't you get started on your personal destination today?  Right now?  This very moment?  After all, you and I have soberly recognized that you just might not reach your final destination at all, or with those you love the most. To my way of thinking, it's important to get started this very instant.

Say these positive words to yourself right now, and daily from here on. “I am the pilot in command of my life. I am in charge of my destination, and my destination is _______________”.

Here you must fill in the blank, because no one in your life can or should fill this blank in for you...except YOU. The "blank" will be the subject of another article soon.  It's your goal. And, if you don't feel that you have a goal just yet, then we'll be working on helping you with that. For now, just remember, that once you have made the decision to be fully in control of your life, and once you have settled on your destination, you must...you will achieve it. You will be immediately changed, and you will be a success.

Who's Flying Your plane?

One of the true joys of traveling, that is, before the days of being nearly strip-searched when boarding an airplane, was that moment when all of the planning, excitement, anticipation, and packing finally ended, and we settled into the seat of a big jumbo jet, ready to depart on our grand adventure. When I was very young, and took my very first plane ride for the short hop from Memphis, Tennessee to Jonesboro, Arkansas you would have thought I was headed out on an African safari. The thrill was palpable, and I've never tired of flying, even going so far as to earn my private pilot's license later in life.

As we strap ourselves into the seat and feel the jet engines finally come to life, how many of us have leaned back and concentrated on the journey that is about to begin, perhaps forgetting entirely about our journey of “planning” that just ended?

And, have you ever thought about the “journey” of planning that also just ended for the pilots up in the cockpit? It would become very evident if the pilot's voice was to come on the plane's intercom and happily intone: “Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our airline today. We're about to depart, and we ask that you keep your seat belts securely fastened during our departure. We're going to be flying around for a couple of hours this morning, and before we leave, my co-pilot and I wondered if there are any requests for possible destinations. Or, maybe you'd just like to cruise around and land back here at our home field. In just a few moments, the flight attendants will be passing out pencils and small slips of paper. If you would vote on your favorite landing place, we'll collect and tabulate the results. As soon as we have that done, I'll be back to let you know where we are going.”

My guess is that it would take you about 10 seconds to unstrap your seat belt and get off of that airplane...fast, perhaps never flying with that airline again. Am I right? If I am correct, and if you would vacate that plane immediately, I'm going to guess that it's because you don't want to fly with someone who just clearly has no clue as to where they are headed...someone who is willing to take a vote from a group of strangers and let that vote determine where they are headed. Scary isn't it?

So, just how much more scary is it for you to have no destination in mind for your own life? How scary is it to gather the input from total strangers, or even well meaning friends, and allow that input to determine where you are headed...today...tomorrow...or over a lifetime? Do you really want to be around people who glibly admit that they have no goals or destinations in mind? This is especially true if you depend on them for something, be it employment, faith, family...anything. We want the authorities in our life to have goals and convincing ideas. As the authority on our own lives, why should we be any different?

If we go back to that airline captain for a moment, it's true that his destination has been pre-determined by the airline company. However, all of the other skills that came together when he and his or her co-pilot took their seats at the front of the plane, were used in the planning process that culminates in landing you and your fellow passengers at your intended destination. It didn't all just happen accidentally. Neither should your life. The pilot spent years in training and in actual practice to be at this point. You depend on their skill. You depend on them having checked the weather en route. You depend on them knowing emergency procedures and being able to employ them reflexively, if needed. I could go on and on about the preparedness that we take for granted in others as we fly our own path through life.

The same concept applies to so many of the things that we do, from elevators that work as we expect, to traffic that flows according to certain rules. There's so much that controls how we go about our daily lives, but there is nothing that controls your final destination...except you! Your mind...your goals...your desires...these are the only things that control where you will end up in life. Make it a goal today to become your own “Pilot”. There is no way that this means you should bully or push your way along in life. Nor does it mean that you should disregard the rules that society has put in place or the value system you were taught as a child. If you think of those things as the guard rails on a bridge, then you will see that they don't hinder the destination on the road you are taking. They simply indicate the limits, beyond which you might get hurt, or even killed. However, if you plan your own destination, gather your own information, take advantage of the training opportunities around you, and prepare yourself for the success of achieving your goal, you will be much happier once you arrive.

And, I can assure you that the trip will be far more enjoyable!