Greetings!

Welcome to the official blog page of Inspired By Steve. Please check in periodically for my thoughts on goals and dreams, all things motivational and life in general.

If you like, you may send an-email to Steve@InspiredBySteve.com with feedback or an idea for a future blog.

Thank you for visiting!

9/3/08

Every day above ground...

...is NOT necessarily a GOOD day!

How many times have we heard people running at the mouth exclaiming 'Every day above ground is a GREAT day! What a bunch of crap. I've been above ground since 2/13/68, and not every day has been great. Matter of fact, some of them have really blown chunks. For those unable to comprehend that expression, it is meant to sound very, very negative.

The day my first wife and I agreed to divorce, I was above ground. The day I realized I was $65,000 in debt, I was above ground. And the day I destroyed my 1996 Chevy Blazer by smashing head-on into a guard-rail at 55 mhp, I was above ground (although that one could have easily left me on the wrong side of the grass, according to police).

Here's how to make every day above ground a good day:

DECIDE to make it a good day!

This means that you have to consciously make choices that will bring about whatever constitutes a good day for you. That's all.

Why wait to see what the world has in mind for you that day? Whether or not your horoscope predicts a cash windfall or romance, take it upon yourself to make it happen for you. Stay above ground as long as you like, and take advantage of the opportunity to make each day a great day.

8/20/08

Click...Click...Click!!!

As Summer winds down, look around. You're on the roller coaster. Eight months have gone by since you strapped in. Can you still see the person who took your ticket and told you to 'keep your hands inside the car at all times'? Or have you already taken so much action (clicks) toward this year's goals that you have climbed the big hill and are enjoying the ride?

If not, there is still time.

Here are a few action ideas:

1) Dig back to last winter and revisit your goals for the year

2) Evaluate your progress (or lack thereof) thus far

3) Re-dedicate yourself to TAKING ACTION toward them.

One little decision or action, every day, can make all the difference in the world.

There are 4 months left in 2008...plenty of time to click, click, click your way up that hill. Believe me, the view is much better from the top, just before before that last click takes you on a well-deserved, exciting ride!

6/13/08

I 'CAN' Get Satisfaction!

The Stones were just a bit off the mark when they released "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" in 1965.

Thanks to a dear friend, professional speaker Debby Hoffman, I recently learned that I 'can' be satisfied.

After struggling with a decision to close down one of my companies in order to build up another, I was having very mixed feelings. After all, I have worked over 14 years to build it to the level of success it currently enjoys. It is just 'me' and some equipment, not a business of value which can fetch a decent selling price.

During a shared seminar, Debby gave me the nugget of a lifetime: It is okay to leave something behind if you are SATISFIED with where it is, and what you have done. That one distinction made all the difference in the world.

Am I truly satisfied? YES. Since making that decision, good energy has been attracted to the other business, which is now my primary focus.

Got something in your life you are clinging to with mixed feelings? Ask yourself this question: Am I satisfied with where it is, and am I willing to leave it behind?

If so, allow yourself to move on, and enjoy the freedom that comes with this decision.

5/11/08

Making Time for Mom

In this fast-paced world I have created for myself, it is easy to get distracted and forget what is really important. I am blessed to have several women in my life who are very special, including my biological mom, my step-mother and several other women who are close enough to be a second mom. As I get older, as we all get older, here is one thing to remember: these special women will not be with us forever.

When I was seventeen, I decided one day to spend an afternoon with my friends, hanging out in the park on a sunny day. That day was Mother's Day. When I got home, my Dad made it very clear how much I had hurt my Mom's feelings. He also explained that he would give anything to just have five minutes to spend with his mother, who had passed away six years prior. He was right.

Wherever you are today, and wherever your mother may be (even if she is only alive in your memory), take a moment to thank her for all she has done, sacrificed, taught you, etc.

Do something to honor her by 'living' as the person she taught you to be!

3/28/08

Be S.M.A.R.T.!

One thing I often hear, especially early in the year, is a list of goals that are hollow and lack drive or urgency. Thoughts such as "I want to lose weight' or "I want to relax more' may as well be stitched onto a couch pillow for all they are worth. It's like running a race where there is no finish line. How do you know which direction to run, or when you've made it to the end???

To really SUPERCHARGE your goals and begin to take action, you may find it helpful to convert them to S.M.A.R.T goals.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

In the example of losing weight: How many pounds do you wish to lose? What actions will you be taking? Are you willing to work hard enough to achieve it? What time frame are you talking about?

Setting goals is wonderful. Take them to the next level today...be S.M.A.R.T.!

3/9/08

But I KNOW What I Want!!

I hope this message finds you well, as we get closer to that mythical warm-weather season we call Spring.

I had the opportunity to speak with two close friends this week. Both are experiencing situations in which they have regrets and a touch of bitterness because something has not gone their way. One dealt with a relationship, and the other with a career-related activity.

As disappointing as both situations are on the surface, I asked each one what was actually GOOD about it.

Different question.

Different way of looking and feeling.

The energy being spent on 'feeling bad' and 'hurting' over the incidents may actually be BLOCKING a benefit from showing itself.

This is a rather simplified explanation for a larger process, but you get the idea.

Think of a situation in YOUR life over which you harbor resentent or disapointment. Are you allowing bitter feelings to take over? Are you so focused on having that ONE special thing that you are blocking other great things from happening?

Please remember to walk through life with your eyes and ears open. Amazing opportunities are here for us every day. Sometimes, they come from the last place you think to look!

2/22/08

Meet the Universe Half-Way!

So, you’ve got a list of what you want from life. Perhaps it is a bunch of ‘things’ you would like to have, perhaps it is a list of people you would like to meet, a selection of places you would like to go. Or, maybe even the type of person you would like to be.

Excellent! You are now far ahead of most people on this planet!!

So, just kick back and relax, and let it all come to you…and enjoy that wait.

Here’s the deal: if you want all of these things, or even just one of them, you’ve only taken the first step in the Law of Attraction. If you think just ‘wishing’ for these things was enough to make them happen, think again.

You’ve got to meet the universe half-way!

It’s great to have hopes and dreams, but you need to take some action toward them. It can be as simple of ‘clearing away the clutter’ to make room for the things that you want.

Case in point: Yesterday I was examining the performance schedule for my DJ company. There was a popular date in June which had been reserved for a bride-to-be who had expressed interest about 6 months ago. However, she has not returned a call or e-mail in 3 months. I finally decided that I needed to clear that date, as time is running out for it to be filled. Within 4 hours after deleting her entry, I had received calls for 2 weddings on that day: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Why? Because I ‘made room’ for these things to happen.

Is it always this easy, or this quick? Not always. But the key is this: you must take some form of action toward what you want most in life. Put forth the right effort and energy, and you will see results.

And here is an important point to make: be ready for them to arrive when they do.

Do NOT be at the train station waiting for your ship to come in!

Decide what you want. Take action. Be ready for it when it shows up.

You will be amazed at what can happen.

12/29/07

Make It Visual, Make It Happen!

363 days down, 2 to go...how many of you can still SPELL the word 'resolution'?

You remember those words and phrases so many of us jot down each year, which may as well be written on an Etch-A-Sketch, as they are often shaken and forgotten by mid-January.

One year ago this week, I decided to make 2007 different. After watching 'The Secret', I decided to test-drive the Law of Attraction and created a pair of 'Vision Boards'. I then spent a week culling pictures from magazines and the internet, carefully mapping out my future, pasting a collage of everything I wanted to have in my life, both short- and long-term.

Although I see them every day over my desk, this week I took a long hard look and discovered that, in 2007, I had:

* visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
* purchased a digital camcorder
* become a PAID professional speaker
* devised a plan to benefit my favorite charity
* gone hiking with friends in the mountains of NH
* fallen head over heels in love

What made 2007 different from years past?

They were more 'real' because I could 'see' them every day. I had found pictures that represented all of these dreams and more. In fact, they had been on my list of resolutions for several years without achievement!

As we prepare for the beginnng of a new year full of promise, I encourage you to do the same.

At minimum, select ONE thing you would like to have, a place you would like to visit, a person you would like to meet, or whatever tops your list of dreams.

Put a picture on your desk, in your car, in your bedroom.

See it daily. Feel it. Re-fuel your desire. Take one little step toward it.

Make it visual. Make it happen!

12/18/07

My Coffee Mug Can Out-Motivate Your Coffee Mug!

Got an early holiday gift last night. Let me rephrase that: Got an early CHRISTMAS gift. There, I said it.

It was bought for me by a very good friend because of the message on it:

live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.

- mary anne radmacher


Brilliant words. Especially now, at the symbolic ending of one year and the beginning of another. Even if you take just ONE phrase each day and strive to make it part of that ONE day, you will be ahead of so much of the rest of the world.

Try it. Don't sip it. Gulp it down.

12/17/07

WELCOME TO THE HOME-STRETCH OF 2007

There are exactly 14 days left in 2007. That leaves us about 336 hours. We'll likely sleep 1/3 of them and work for perhaps another 1/3...that leaves only the final 1/3, which means we each have about 112 hours to decide if this year has resembled the one that was designed with last year's resolutions (remember THAT word??).

In the same way that you wouldn't wait until now to do a year's worth of maintenance on your vehicle, you also may not want to take these 2 weeks to do everything you had 'wanted' to do in 2007. Between the holiday shopping, eggnog, traveling, more eggnog, wrapping (and unwrapping), recovering from eggnog, etc, your attention span may not be the greatest.

Take these 2 weeks and R-E-L-A-X. Catch your breath. Take stock of the year. Recognize your accomplishments, identify the challenges. Write them down. Decide where you wish to improve. Devise a plan for 2008. Envision the results you desire for this time next year. That is the treaure on the map, 'X' marks the spot. Now, draw your map backward, as in 'if I want to get to this step, I would have to have taken this action'. List all the actions you will need to take in order to reach your treasure, until you return to the present.

Congratulations, you have just made very good use of the home stretch of 2007 by creating the seeds of greatness for 2008. Now, go enjoy some eggnog.

Happy Holidays!

11/26/07

DID YOU EVER JUST 'KNOW'...

...that you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing with your life?

Two-thirds of the way to retirement (I am pushing 40, for the mathematically challenged) and my career is just now hitting its stride. Everything I have done until now has been a building block for today. Today is a building block for tomorrow. Tomorrow is...well, you get what I mean.

Spoke with two friends recently who are daily participants in the heartless, soulless rat race called 'Corporate America'. Every day, these two wake up and crack a smile, only have it wiped away because they have to go to work..where smiles are generally frowned upon. The only thing that matters there is the bottom-line, which keeps fuel in the gas tank of the corporate jet that shuttles the CEO in twice a year, when he's not jetting off to Caribbean parts unknown with his 'personal assistant'...you know, the one he met at the 'Show Us Your Cans' food drive for the homeless.

Me? I wake up every day and smile. While I do not own a private jet (not even a Jetta), I don't care. I can score some pretty good low-fare specials on the major carriers when I need to. I don't have a personal assistant. My office companion is Damon, a 2-year-old Springer Spaniel who can lick his private parts all day, but not an envelope.

Every morning, I know that my day will be spent doing things that make me happy, whether it be preparing for my role as a DJ in one to five weddings this weekend, writing the first e-mail of the day to my girlfriend (nice way to start your day, I highly recommend it!), setting up the studio to record a client's project, speaking at a corporate event to inspire them to reach higher for themselves (not just the company's profit margin), writing scenes for an episode of a sitcom project I have been working on, thinking of a new bit for my next stand-up comedy show, prepping for my next goal-setting workshop, etc.

Am I getting rich in the bank account? Not yet, but my financial planner is happy with my progress.

Have I sold my soul to climb a fictional ladder while making someone else rich? Not at all. Do I smile every morning when I wake up, knowing that I will do something today that makes me happy? Yes.

One of the two friends mentioned above just drew a line in the sand and walked away from the corporate world to chase his dream of becoming an actor and filmmaker. I have already warned him about the sleepless nights, the depression, the fatigue, the night terrors, the loss of self-esteem and the chest pains.

I have also told him that it could be the best decision he has ever made. He is now chasing a dream that makes him happy.

I wish the same for you. Do something today that makes you smile. Let the CEO worry about his private jet.

Take your own life for a ride.