Gary's blog

Have you ever heard of an elevator speech? It’s a marketing term, which basically says that if you step onto an elevator with someone, and they ask you what your company does, you should be able to explain it to them before the elevator doors open on your floor and you have to exit.

This past weekend my parents were down visiting. We always have a wonderful time, and one of my mother’s favourite things to do is take a trip to the nearby casino. They go in and hit the penny slots and have a great few hours playing away. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes not, but we all practice the rule that you only go in with what you’d be comfortable losing. In other words, you are not going to the casino to make money, you are going to lose it.

Are you an “all or nothing” person when it comes to setting goals? In other words, you set a goal, but put off starting it because you can’t possibly comprehend being able to finish it?

If that’s the case, maybe one of your challenges is that your goals are just too big to tackle. It’s wonderful to have visions of your someday, and goals to get you there, but sometimes the goal we set for ourselves are so big, it’s hard to envision yourself actually doing them.

Do you know what you are most passionate about in life? What makes you "light up" when you talking about it? What makes you most happy and fulfilled?

Finding your life's passion, followed by living your life's passion, is not always an easy task. There are those out there who just seem to be born knowing what they want to do in their life. But there are just as many, if not more, who have no idea, and work every day at a job they are just putting in time at because it doesn't ignite their inner passion.

One of the comments I hear from people a lot is that they dislike change, or they are afraid of change. Usually in the same conversation the same person discusses personal growth, and how they want to become an even more fantastic version of themselves.

While it never seems obvious when you divide the contexts of the two, if you put them together, the question arises - can you achieve growth without change? If you want to grow, must you not be then willing to change? Or if you don't want anything to change, how will you grow?

Today I'm sharing a great story with you. I have stumbled on this story in the past, and it is a really simplistic, but effective, way to make a point about self-value.

~Author Unknown~

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a crisp $20 bill. In the room of 200 he asked, "who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands starting going up. He said "I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first, let me do this."

I often repeat my lessons on thinking positively, maintaining an upbeat attitude, and encouraging others to be the best that they can be.

I have met many people who have read my blog, or my book, or been at one of my talks and have practiced looking for the positives, and it has made such a difference in their life.

And yet, as I stand their talking to them, I sometimes notice that while they look for the positives in others, and in their days, they forget to look for it in themselves as well.

I'm sure many of you have heard the concept of a "bucket list" before. This is such a great practice - I hope many of you are embracing it. If you aren't familiar with it, let me explain.

We pass people each day - in the halls at work, on the street, in the bakery at lunch - and we almost always greet them the same way.

"Hi - how are you?"

It's a standard cut and dry question that usually provokes the standard cut-and-dry answer of

"Fine, you?"

Don't shake your head, you know you do it too.

But - what if you changed it? What if you made a list of things that were good in your life. Actually, not just good: AWESOME. Every morning wake up and make your list of awesome things.

Just a quick note, I didn't want my faithful blog readers to miss out!

The team has decided that we should give away 2 copies of my new book, The Orange Popsicle, to fans of our Facebook pages.