Attitude | Bryan Clifton

From the Blog

Feb

Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 9:00 am

I want to be a traveler, not a tourist.

Tourists go from one place to the next taking photos of everything in sight. Their memories are saved on SD cards and iCloud. They see things, but rarely interact and engage.

Travelers, however, see what is going on and interact with their surroundings to create something different. They engage with their environment and make an impact. They leave an impression.

Tourists are noticed because they stand out of the crowd. They take pictures of the culture around them rather than becoming part of it.

Travelers blend in with the crowd. They go with the flow. They eat local food, stay in the homes of families rather than pricey hotels, and see parts of the country that is not found in a guide-book.

Being a tourist is easy. It comes natural to most people. But a traveler understands what they saw. They can explain the purpose of the photo, the meaning behind the story, and the reason why a random conversation with a stranger on the bus made the trip unforgettable.

QUESTION:

Which one are you?

Feb

Core Problems

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 9:05 am

Problems are not as they seem.

On the surface, what looks like a problem is normally the symptom of a larger struggle going on internally. We try to fix what is noticeable. We take medicine for the symptoms, even though the reason for our sickness is unseen.

Unless we fix the core of the issue, the problem will continue to recur. Addressing the symptom does not fix the problem, it only prolongs the suffering.

Working on the symptom and not the core is like attempting to fix the walls of a house without making sure the foundation is secure. The core must be solid before anything else can be addressed. Attempting to fix the top layer of a problem without a solid foundation is pointless.

While this makes logical sense, we fail to put it into action. Constantly we run around putting band-aids on problems that need surgery. It is time to accept the momentary pain to create a brighter future. Address the core of the issue, not the symptoms.

What is the core?

Your core is your spiritual relationship with God. Spiritual relationships are not a separate section of your life. It is the core that everything else is built around. Without a solid spiritual relationship, other things play the part of “core of your life”. The problem with this is they are not suited for that spot. A constant feeling of loss exists, and the only cure for it is the right core.

God cannot be replaced by money, more education, athletic abilities, or other relationships. But each of these items have a part to play when built around the right core. With the right attitude, money becomes a blessing to allow great things to happen. Education becomes a tool to help others and not gratify yourself. Athletic achievements allow for a platform to show true character and purpose. Tim Tebow anyone?

Without a solid foundation, the rest of your life is destined to collapse at some point in the future. It might be tomorrow. It might be 10 years from now. But without a core that is solid, the rest of your life is built upon a shell that is slowly in decay.

The core of your life must be in check before you can fix the other layers.

QUESTION:

Is the core of your life in check? If not, what will you do about it?

Jan

Shipping an Idea

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 8:43 am

One day, you will either say “I’m glad I did” or “I wish I had”. – Zig Ziglar

The process of transforming a dream into a reality is hard and strenuous. Anyone can dream and have a great idea. Turning that into a tangible product is a completely different issue.

Every day millions of people come up with ideas to change the world. But how many people act on them?

The world is full of people with great ideas burning inside them. The problem is that they stay inside. They never make it to reality. We all have a friend (or maybe it is us) who have an idea they have talked about doing for years, yet it never shifts from and idea to an item.

We want our idea to be perfect before we ship. We spend days, month, or years working on it, only to fail to ship when the time comes. Why?

Shipping makes your idea a reality. It forces it out of your mind and into life. It allows it to grow and morph outside your brain.

A 100% idea kept inside is worse than an 80% idea that shipped to the public. When you ship an idea, you start the feedback loop. You tweak and adjust. You gain confidence. You make mistakes that you learn from.

An idea kept in your head is a theory. It is not a product. Theories are useful, but they need to be tested. Shipping is the method to test your idea. It’s not perfect, but its out there. You have accomplished something remarkable by making it that far. It is more than most people will do.

Before you start shipping every idea in your hear, understand that not all ideas are worth pursuing. If we acted upon every idea we had, chaos would be the result. Unfinished projects would dot the landscape like broken tree limbs after a hurricane.

In order to get something you want, you must give up something you have.

If an idea is worth pursuing, what will you give up to make it happen? Time? Money? Other ideas?

The real question is why are ideas left incomplete? What causes great ideas to be abandoned?

Fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of judgment from others. Fear of financial stability. Fear of anything you do not already know.

It is hard to accept an idea until it is a reality.

Once the idea has traction, fear shifts to anticipation.

Anticipation is an easy bandwagon to get on. Many people do that. Since others have thrown support behind it, I should join the crowd.

But will you step out before the crowd and champion an idea in the face of risk and uncertainty?

QUESTION:

What idea do you have that needs to ship?

Jan

Simple is Not Easy

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 11:26 am

Simple is the not the same as easy.

When something is “easy”, it requires very little effort to acquire. Picking up McDonald’s instead of cooking a nice meal at home is easy. It is convenient.

Simple, however, is thought provoking. It requires hours of thought so others can engage with your end product in the easiest way possible.

Because time was spent creating something simple, it allows for something to be easy.

But the reverse is not true. Easy does not allow for something to be simple.

Lets go back to the McDonald’s example.

Years of practice and research have allowed McDonald’s to offer a cheap product that is produced in a matter of seconds while you sit in your car. I never said it was healthy, but it is easy. It takes little effort on your part.

Millions of dollars were spent to produce the tools needed to make this happen. Engineers and chefs (Yes, McDonald’s has a team of chefs who create their menu) carefully balanced operational efficiency with food biology to create a product that the consumer would enjoy and still make money for the organization. That was far from simple or easy. It was hard work.

But the hours and millions of dollars spent created an assembly line method to expedite the service and deliver burgers to hungry people around the world.

Because they spent the time necessary on the front end, they are able to enjoy the benefits later.

How can you achieve simplicity in your day-to-day activities? It won’t be easy getting there, but after you have put it in place, it is easy to reap the rewards of a well oiled machine.

QUESTION:

What do you need to simplify in your life to make your day better?

Jan

Writing Your Story

Posted by Bryan Clifton at 9:30 am

“If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page.” - Mark Houlahan

Daily we are presented with another opportunity to write a page in our story called life.

Each day begins with a blank canvas. We map out our expected schedule, but rarely will a day go exactly as planned.

Some days give us exciting events that we remember for years and show off on Facebook albums. Things like sporting events, concerts, engagements, weddings, birthdays, holidays, etc. These are the events we tell stories about for years to come. Time slows down. You are living 100% in the moment. They are the days or hours that seem to stretch on for weeks.

Other days are memorable because you would like to forget them. Embarrassing moments, break ups, job firings, death of a close friend. Try as you might, these events are forever etched into your story. The pages might fade from memory, but they will always be there as a reminder of what was.

My favorite days are ones that are unexpectedly remarkable. The bar of expectation was low, yet the day far exceeded anything you could imagine. Breaking through a mental barrier while sitting in the park, meeting a new life-long friend and talking for hours, watching a movie or reading a book that you swear changed your life. These are the days that at the time seem ordinary, but when you flip back through the pages of your life, they were defining moment that shaped your path.

No two days offer the same canvas…and that is what I love about it.

QUESTION:

What are you going to do with your canvas for January 18, 2012?