Eagle or chicken?

October 2, 2008

Let me start with a little parable about an eagle and barnyard chickens by Anthony De Mello:

A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in the nest of a barnyard hen.
The eagle egg hatched along with the brood of chicks and eventually grew up with them.

All it’s life, the eagle did what the barnyard chickens did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects.
He clucked, cackled, would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew into adulthood. One day he saw a magnificent bird high above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful air currents with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

The eagle looked up in awe. “What’s that?” he asked. “That’s an eagle, the king of birds.” said his neighbor. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth-we’re chickens.” So the eagle lived and died a chicken, because that is what he thought he was.

You see, most people believe that they are chickens, while actually they are eagles! Most people do what they are told, never ask questions, bury their dreams, look down and play the chicken game…

So, the question is: are you a chicken or an eagle? Isn’t it time to spread your wings and make majestic circles in the air? What’s keeping you? When is the last time you really dreamed of another life?

Let me tell you, there is an alternative ending to this story:

The eagle looked up in awe. “What’s that?” he asked. “That’s an eagle, the king of birds.” said his neighbour. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth-we’re chickens.” The eagle went through the day thinking of the eagle flying high. The next day the eagle went down to the pond and saw his reflection in the water. He began to test his wings, flying further and further each day. After a few weeks, he was flying high and gliding just as if he were an eagle. He noticed that he looked a lot like an eagle. He realized that he was an eagle. With that thought, he flew above his past and his environment.

So, look in the mirror and see the golden eagle you really are, even if you are unaware of the heights to which you could soar. Even if you have lived like a chicken, you are never too old to claim your true identity. You are far much better than you know! Step up, spread your wings and take action!

Join me up in the blue skies :-)

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck
Create, Connect & Contribute

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Forget the small stuff!

July 21, 2008

Are you also worked up about things that are not really a big deal, after all? Have you ever noticed how uptight you feel when you’re caught up in your thinking? Once you get in the details of whatever is upsetting you, don’t you feel more absorbed by it? One thought leads to another, and yet another and another one, until at some point, you become incredibly agitated and frustrated?

Here’s news for you : Forget the small stuff!

We tend to focus on little issues and concerns. We blow this “small stuff” way out of proportion. Rather than letting go, we create an imaginary confrontation in our mind. Many of us might even tell someone else about this “stuff”. Why don’t we let it go and go on with our day?

Too many people are spending so much time and energy “sweating the small stuff” that they completely loose touch with the magic and beauty of life. You have more energy and things move ahead much faster if you forget about the small stuff!

How to deal with it? Stop thinking about it! The more attention it gets, the bigger it becomes…Focus on positive thoughts instead. Let these thoughts grow big :-) Focus on how grateful you are and keep breathing. Relax and laugh at the small stuff, because it used to upset you, but not anymore! Encourage yourself to think happy thoughts. Think about your holidays, going out with your friends, your relationship, a great movie, etc.

Really enjoy this great stuff every day :-) 

Bert Verdonck,
Create, Connect & Contribute

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Do nothing!

July 6, 2008

Doing nothing is very easy! Anyone can be so easily and quickly diverted these days. We know we want to become more successful, so let me tell you a little story about a friend of a friend of mine…

He’s telling me about his adventures like this: “I know I can’t become successful in my current job by just doing what I have being doing ever since I started here! This means I have to change what I am doing. But what can I do?

I see that my friend is a stockbroker, maybe I should become a stockbroker, but the markets are not doing so well and neither is my friend. Aha! I heard there is an options trader coming to town. He’s giving a course, maybe I should invest my money and go on that course and learn all the secrets of the options trading and know where to invest. I’ll even buy the software, allowing me to track the markets, but as I go along I realize that I don’t know so much about this industry after all. So maybe I can start a franchise, buy someone else’s working concept and make more money, but which one should I buy? Maybe it’s easier to start my own company. My uncle has started his own company. Maybe, this is my destiny? Ok, but his business is not doing so well either, so I can not do that.

Hey, my Auntie has a business in networking marketing, residual income. Maybe something for me, right! Let’s do that! But wait, my brother is an insurance agent. That sounds like big bucks, right? Maybe I should talk to him. Or wait, my mother, she’s playing the lottery, maybe I should do that! Right! Is it really? No, this is all too confusing; maybe I should keep doing my current job after all. I end up doing nothing at all!”

If that is awfully close to your reality, it is time to think again about your focus, understanding and commitment. It is a great idea to invest time in finding your passion.

If you don’t know how, come and talk to me!

Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Create, Connect & Contribute

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Silence please!

June 25, 2008

Silence please!

Learn to be still. Studies show that an average person doesn’t spend even 30 minutes a month in total silence and tranquility. We should develop the skill of sitting quietly, enjoying the powerful silence for at least ten to fifteen minutes a day.

Simply think about what is important in your life. Reflect on your mission in life. Silence is great and peaceful. As the Zen master once said, it is the space between the bars that holds the cage.

Don’t say a word, don’t move, make yourself comfortable and sit still or lay down, close your eyes and enjoy the silence…

Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Create, Connect & Contribute

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New Year’s Resolution

June 22, 2008

Today is the first day of the rest of my life, so I decided to create a New Year’s Resolution. What will be different this time? Few people make resolutions on their own, with no one else around, reported to no one else. From that point of view, resolutions are more of a social convention than an act of goal-setting.

People make resolutions to shore up a shortcoming in their lives, character, careers or businesses. Resolutions are not nearly as powerful as goals since goals ideally represent movement towards some positive, desirable outcome.

In contrast to wishes, dreams, and fantasies, resolutions are not totally useless gestures. If you make resolutions for fun, go ahead and keep doing it! Who says you can’t have fun?

Anyone can be so easily and quickly diverted these days that it is possible to arrive at work, and by noon, have no active connection with what you’ve identified as being important in your life. Even if you are among the lucky few who make some significant progress on some of your resolutions, you probably could have achieved them in multiples had you turned them into formal goals.

So, coming back to my Resolution, I am bound to succeed, because I maintain a relative simplicity and recognize that progressing a step at a time will result in spectacular achievement.

I turned my personal Resolution into goals and it looks like this:
This year I will become the most successful lifehacker in Belgium. I also commit to more sports, at least twice a week and spend more time with my friends and family. Finally, I am stepping up by giving away 10% of my profit to charity.

In 365 days, it will be time to review my Resolution and see how I performed. Now, you know what I am up to and I would like to ask for your involvement too! How? Can you keep me accountable for my resolution? And take the necessary steps to keep me motivated and committed? That would be fantastic! Maybe something to put in your Resolution ;-)

Feel free to share your Resolution as well…

Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker

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Today’s Contract

June 17, 2008

In today’s cell phone, internet, fast moving society we see a contrast with a few of the most common human challenges we face.

Fear and insecurity. A human basic need, but so many people today are gripped, almost paralysed with a sense of fear. The vulnerability often fosters a resignation to riskless living and to co-dependy (or is it interdependeny?) with others at work and at home. The problem, in my humble opinion (imho), is that we are living in an interdependent reality, and our most important accomplishments require interdependency skills well beyond our present (and future?) abilities.

Next is the lack of life balance. Our lives are increasingly complex, stressful and exhausting. For all our efforts to manage our time, do more, be more and achieve greater efficiency (through lifehacking?), why is it that we find ourselves in a situation of subordinating health, family, integrity and many of the things that matter most to our work? Go in earlier, work harder, more efficient, stay later and sacrifice more, seems to be bringing peace of mind, but is it really worth it? I don’t think so, but who am I to state that? I’ve been there (+100 hours/week for years), done that (bought the T-shirt if you like) and didn’t want it no more.

I consciously choose to do the work that I love (it hardly feels like work nowadays!), and focus on what I really want in live. I delegate “stuff” I don’t want to do or get rid of it in some way, so that I can dedicate almost all my time to enjoying what I do. I’d say I became pretty good at it by now :-) And where are you? When do you start living (the life you really want)? What’s keeping you? When did you decide not to go easy on yourself? Get rid of that limiting believe and start living what you really dream of…I did it and so can you!

Something to think about, right? ;-)

Enjoy every day,
Bert Verdonck
Lifehacker & Coach

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People behave

June 14, 2008

People can only behave in the projection you have of them.

This means that when you have a certain opinion about someone, he/she will act always in a way that reinforces that opinion. If you judge people to be stubborn, then the next time you here them say something to defend their opinion, you’ll take this as an reinforcement of your existing thoughts.

If they behave differently, you’ll first try to rethink it and find an explanation. Maybe you’ll change your mind, but often people tend to stick to their original thoughts. That’s why first impressions are so important! And people also forget that everyone changes over the years. It’s not because you were a internet consultant or biometrics expert once, that you are doing this for the rest of your life. According to employment studies, an average career takes about 7 years these days. And I confirm that, if I look at mine ;-)

So, think again before creating an opinion about someone and keep your mind open, because people change! Didn’t you?

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck
Create, Connet & Contribute

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Carl Van de Velde

April 24, 2008

Vorige vrijdag naar Carl Van de Velde’s Mindpower seminar geweest.

Hij blijft leuk, sterk met persoonlijk anecdotes, grappig en elke keer leer ik weer iets bij ;-)

Hier zijn 3 leerpunten:

  • Minder succesvolle mensen schrijven minder op!
  • Succes = een werkwoord, gelukkig zijn ook!
  • Mensen veranderen van werk, maar niet hun manier van werken.

Uiteraard werd er na het invullen van de feedback formulieren nog een winnaar getrokken door een onschuldige hand. De prijs is 2 tickets voor zijn volgende Mindpower seminar en je raadt het al : inderdaad, mijn naam werd gekozen! Zoals een wijze man ooit zei : Geluk is een keuze!

Dus, Carl, I’ll be back ;-)

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck

Create, Connect & Contribute

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Breakthrough to Succes?

March 18, 2008

Last weekend I attended Chris Howard’s Breakthrough to Succes seminar (again)!

I had a great time and enjoyed it very much :-)

Here are some interesting quotes:

  • The map is not the territory
  • If you model mediocraty, you’ll get mediocraty
  • Our eyes need to be trained to see
  • Winners must have two things, definite goals and a burning desire to achieve them
  • To a man with a hammer everything looks like a nail
  • I’d rather wake up than living in denial
  • When you set your prisoners free, it is only then that you discover that the real prisoner was you
  • When did you decide to have that problem?

And one of the most important ones:

The most important decicion in your life is to live your dreams!

I will be back with more soon…I am working on my dreams first ;-)

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck

Create, Connect & Contribute

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Create your own business?

March 8, 2008

How many of us are dreaming of creating a business from doing something we are passionate about? How do you know what your passion is? Do you really think you can make money by just doing what you love? No? That’s why most people stop here and return to their daily job, being unhappy and remaining stuck for the rest of their lives. 

Of course, this is not about you ;-)  

What can you do to break this pattern? Start by creating a vision and dreaming again! Make a list of things you really, really love to do. It doesn’t matter if these have no correlation at first sight. Start writing now! 

Just come up with a list of stuff like driving luxury cars, dining in fancy restaurants, flying around the world to explore nature, etc. Wouldn’t it be great to do this for a living? Be paid for what you love to do…just make sure you choose something you really love! 

When you have this list, just Google and find out who else is doing this? Find out about your competitors. It would be great if you find them. That means there is a market for it,right? And if they can, you can too ;-)  

Now, think about this activity. Do you love it so much, you are dreaming of doing this every day? Would you enjoy it every day? Great! If not, go back to updating your list until you find something you are daily passionate about… 

The next step is to think about the business model. Most people never get started because they think they don’t have what it takes to build a successful business. In their mind they are lacking background (education, experience, age,…), resources (people, money, equipment,…) and guts (giving up security, positive attitude, business feeling,…). But guess what? No one does! Every entrepreneur is learning along the way! And who said you can’t start small? 

Before you do actually start, write a business plan and talk to some specialists. Most of them are willing to have a first look at your plan for free. All you have to do is ASK them! You might be surprised how many are ready to help a fellow entrepreneur… And if after a while you are absolutely sure, you didn’t find anyone, just ask me ;-)

The most important thing to do is to start working on the “What” you want to do. Make sure you are passionate about it! If you have found it, you can start working on the “How” of your business. You will see how much easier it gets once you have the “What”! 

Enjoy every day,

Bert Verdonck

Create, Connect & Contribute      

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