Self-Improvement Archives - Page 3 of 9 - Stephanie DelTorchio

Disney’s advice for winning

Winning vs Losing | Walt Disney quote on winning | befat.net | #befat.net | finding the awesome in every day

Those who don’t START never have a chance to lose or win. They play it safe. Content to follow the masses.

LOSERS aka QUITTERS may be so close to finishing (and winning) but get tripped up or cave under defeat. When the road divides or another mountain appears beyond the one they just scaled, they say things like:

“I tried and failed.”

“It’s over.”

“I stink at this.”

“Somebody beat me to it.”

“Throwing in the towel on this one.”

WINNERS aren’t afraid to make mistakes.

They learn from it.

They change course.

Look for alternatives.

New solutions.

Another partner.

Better resources.

WINNERS tend to fail a lot. And failure is the fuel that propels them to keep kicking ass.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Time for you to change?

Change quote| Inspiring quote | befat.net | #befat | finding the awesome in every day

You might be surprised to learn that you have more aptitude and abilities than you know.

We hold on to this limiting belief that every body is better than us. They had it is easier growing up, an unfair advantage, therefore they got what we didn’t. Bull.

All we need is to shift our mindset and believe that if we take action things can and will change. Being lazy or feeling stuck or having fears are speed bumps and caution signs we create to keep us from having to change.

For the brave and curious change is exactly what we must do. To put yourself in a position to be the person or do the thing that makes you unique.

But I’m stuck HERE. Set in my ways. With my bumper stickers. Nope. Not buying it.

Everyone has it within them to change. Even you.

Lose the bad habits.

Bad attitudes.

Bad associations.

Doing so frees up the space to allow real growth and change to happen.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

What are you chasing?

Drew Houston commencement speech | inspirational quote | befat.net | #befat.net | finding the awesome in every day

Chasing your tennis ball

Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox and MIT graduate, delivered the 147th commencement speech by suggesting to the new graduates that they spend time to “find their tennis ball.”

It’s the thing that pulls you along, he said.

Houston was a typical MIT graduate — brainy, computer whiz kid — driven and curious but unsure which direction he wanted to take after earning his degree.

At age 21 he started his first company at a Chili’s restaurant he’d drawn up on a napkin. He tried and failed a few business ideas while he watched his friends get wooed for millions of dollars by Silicon Valley investors.

He took a six month time-out period after graduation and began working on a poker bot. If you’re not familiar with online gambling, once you get tired of spending hours at your computer losing your money, a bot will do it for you.

Although his parents began to wonder about their son’s future, for Houston, perfecting the bot was the thing that drove him forward. Because it mattered to HIM.

It’s like a dog chasing a tennis ball, he says. “…Their eyes go a little crazy, the leash snaps and they go bounding off, plowing through whatever gets in the way.”

“It’s not about pushing yourself,” he told the students. “It’s about finding your tennis ball, the thing that pulls you. It might take a while, but until you find it, keep listening for that little voice.”

His message to students is appropriate for the rest of us still listening and seeking. It begs the question: What is your tennis ball?

[In 2013, at age 30, Houston returned to MIT to give the 147th MIT Commencement Speech. Here he talks about his path from student to CEO of Dropbox, an online backup and storage service.]

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Be at peace today

Find Peace | quote | befat.net

Finding peace in your world is tough some days…

When a jerk takes a parking spot.

When a careless driver scratches your car.

When you didn’t get the raise or the promotion.

When one of kids forgot their lunch — again.

When the checkbook balance doesn’t cover the check.

When the answer is no.

When the answer is yes.

When your day goes awry.

That’s the time to check out for a few minutes (and be very deliberate about this): go find your peace. Take a breath. Take a break. Take a load off.

Get back to the center. Whatever it is, or wherever it is. Some place, real or imagined, where you gather all the small shit that managed to roll itself into a ball of crap, and kick it away. Far, far away.

Know that we have a center point. Call it balance.

I call it my neutral zone. When I veer too far left or right of neutral, things go crazy. It’s like a car going forward really fast or in reverse really fast. You need to put on the brakes and bring your world back to neutral. And find your Peace.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Did you live it?

Empoering quote | Inspirational quote | It only matters that you lived it | befat.net | finding the awesome in every day

There are no bonuses for thinking about how you want to live your life…it only matters that you LIVED it.

You are not accountable to your family, friends or associates for what you chose to do. Or how you choose to spend your time here.

Don’t ask for permission or seek guidance.

Don’t allow someone else to make you feel vulnerable or question the thing you want to do.

For as surely as the Earth rotates on its axis, your goal or desire will be stopped in its tracks by people who really care about you. Well-meaning as they are, unless your tight circle involves like minds, you’ll not be embraced with the comaraderie you seek.

Find kindred spirits who share the same or similar dreams, passions and interests. Chances are good that their friends are (loving) vision squashers too.

Better to keep it quiet.

But live it.

If you want to write. Go write.

If you want to travel. Go travel.

If you want to learn a new language. Go do that.

If you want to hike a mountain. Take a hike!

Divert the naysayers and Debbie Downers with some trivial pursuit, if you must, then run like hell and go do your thing. Even if your time is limited to after the regular day is done or a weekend.

Don’t delay until “someday.”

Go live it.

Just don’t forget to send us postcards written in French from your hiking adventures through the Swiss Alps.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Enjoy it all on purpose

Have fun with this you guys…

If you want to, print it out. Hang it on your refrigerator or mirror as a daily reminder that this is YOUR life to enjoy. Any way you wish.

…..

Remember when you were served a favorite dessert as a kid?

Did you lick your fingers to be sure that not one single crumb missed your lips? Yeah, that’s what you need to remember.

Your interests and goals are the dessert of life. Crumbs are bits of deliciousness you don’t ever want to leave behind.

Roadblocks? Guaranteed.

Yes, you’ll need to navigate the insanity in this mad world. But understand that other people’s reactions to what you want to do, don’t belong to you. That’s their baggage of woes.

Let them carry their own crap while you carry on with your life.

Create. Travel. Learn. Teach. Sail. Write. Sing. Cultivate. Experience. Any of it. And all of it.

And ENJOY it, okay?

Savor every last bit.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Moments that seize us

Moments that seize us | inspiring graphic | befat.net | finding awesome in every day

I adore the quote by Ashley Montagu that says:

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It’s not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”

Think about times in your life where something took hold of you and changed you in that moment.

It reminds me of another favorite quotation from the late great poet Maya Angelou:

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

May today be seized upon you. And may your breath be taken away. (All in a good way!)

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Be powerful not pitiful

Positive quote / befat.net /#befat

You can’t be both powerful and pitiful at the same time.

To go forward replace your self-talk. Cancel: “If Only I were…” and replace with: “I Am good enough to…”

Some factors, by your own doing (or undoing!) keep you from your goals, dreams and desires. You need to get real with these and stop using IF ONLY as a crutch.

You have an enormous reserve of gifts and talents to make an incredible impact on the world — even if your world is limited to your own home, neighborhood or circle of friends. Start there.

An example:

IF ONLY I were taller I could be an NBA player. (or WNBA player)

Insert BUZZER SOUND here. Height alone will not guarantee that you’ll get drafted by the Boston Celtics.

Are you also super talented? Been told you’re the next Larry Bird? Driven? Insanely gifted from three-point territory? Have you practiced this craft of basketball? Know the game inside and out?

Still might not get you a green jersey.

Saying “If Only” is the beginning to every excuse that keeps us from delivering our best work — personal and professional.

You don’t get to sulk and moan and grumble that you’re not playing in the NBA because you are not TALL. Many SMALL players make it on an NBA team; plenty of TALL ones don’t. It’s one box to check, that’s all, but not the end-all, be-all.

You are GOOD ENOUGH TO excel in (at least) a hundred different things. Find a few that peak your curiosity. Follow them.

Don’t point at something that’s near impossible and sulk in the corner with your IF ONLY crying towel. Move on to the next thing and the next. Aim for the possibilities.

Give up the WOE IS ME for the WHOA! IT’S ME!

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

befat.net

Save

Begin your journey

begin your journey | chinese proverb on beginning | befat.net | finding the awesome in every day

Forget the END of your story.

And all the complications of the muddled MIDDLE of your story — the obstacles, antagonists, highs and lows, twists, turns, surprises — there will be many. That’s a promise.

Before you can tell us anything about your story you need to step out and BEGIN your story.

Then come back and tell us everything — every single detail. Beginning, middle and end.

Just make yours a good story worth telling.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio
Quote: Laozi philosopher

Save

Be attractive

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with / Jim Rohn quote /befat.net / #befat

It’s been said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Makes you want to look around the room and do a quick assessment, huh?

How many of my friends look at me as one of their five, questioning their association with me: “Hmmm, I need to replace her.”

Maybe I’m the tear in their page, the one keeping them from going forward.

It’s true that our circle of associates, whether we like it or not, wields (positive and/or negative) influence over our thoughts and decisions.

Think about the banter that goes on during work or at a casual get together of friends. There’s a reason you all are connected. You share similar social, political or religious ideas and ideals. Are cubicle neighbors for 8 hours a day. Maybe you’re old childhood friends. Or a long married spouse.

When you consider your goals and desires do those five closest associates share your vision? Your ambitions?

Do they propel you to the next step or block the stairwell?

If you are an average of five, pick your five wisely. And be the person someone wants to include in theirs.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio

Save