Posted by Grant on September 30, 2008 – 5:25 am
I’ve been thinking a lot about the subject of influence recently. What is influence? Who I am influencing? What am I doing with that influence?
I read recently that studies show that even the quietest, most introverted people will still influence nearly 10,000 other people in their lifetime! Let that sink in for a second. Even if you’re a withdrawn wall flower, you are still impacting people around you.
Next time you walk down the hall, think about your influence on those you pass by. Next time you sit in class, think about your influence on those who sit by you. Next time someone pisses you off and you want to snap, think about your influence on that other person or those around you.
What are you doing with your influence?
Posted by Grant on September 29, 2008 – 4:51 am
You remember when you were little and mom or dad asked you to do your chores. The conversation went something like this…
“Honey, I need you to pick up your room please.”
“But why?”
“Because I said…”
“But why?”
“Because I’m your parent and I’m the adult.”
“But why?”
“Because if you don’t I will smack you upside the head and ground you for life.”
Sound familiar? As children, we never took things at face value. We were young, naïve, and inquisitive (that’s a big word, I know). So anytime someone told us something or asked us to do something, we needed to know why.
And I guess my question is, “are you still that curious kid you once were or have you settled for the status quo?”
I would challenge you to continually ask why.
I don’t want to just vote for a candidate in a few weeks based on someone else’s opinion. I need to be able to answer why.
I don’t want to make a career choice because that’s what my parents wanted me to do. I need to know why.
I don’t want to make an investment decision because a stock broker gave me a hot tip. I want to know why.
As you go throughout your day, think about what you can ask ‘why’ to?
Posted by Grant on September 28, 2008 – 5:48 pm
Is it me or do these people have too much free time on their hands? They probably all still live in their parents’ basements…
UCLA Group Discovers Humongous Prime Number
Posted by Grant on September 28, 2008 – 12:52 pm
I’m packing up at the house and am getting ready to hit the road and head down to Arkansas for most of the week. I will be doing some seminars in Fayetteville, Ft. Smith, and Little Rock.
One thing that will make the trip fun is a new Garmin GPS unit I got last week for my birthday. Printing off Google maps has never failed me, but I’m looking forward to playing with this sweet little gadget!
Posted by Grant on September 26, 2008 – 5:57 am
Filed under Family, Personal
I thought I would share a few pics with you from “The Baldwin Family Adventure To The Zoo.” Enjoy!
We went to the petting zoo and oddly enough, the only animals to pet were these goats. Go figure!
As we were walking back to our car, we passed what can only be described as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus have a nice picnic lunch in a St. Louis park.
Posted by Grant on September 24, 2008 – 7:57 pm
Filed under Funny, Random
I finished speaking tonight at a youth event outside the St. Louis area and had a great time. I love what I get to do. But unfortunately, tonight I realized I picked the wrong profession…
I should be in a band.
Without fail, any time I’m a part of an event that a band is at, the band just exudes “cool”. And me…well, not much going on here.
After the event, I stand at the back next to the band’s table and sign autographs (which I still find ironic). I sign a handful of autographs and snap an occasional picture, but the band…
Don’t even get me started.
But when I’m at an event and there is NOT a band in attendance, my cool factor improves by default because there are no other options. So all that to say…
I should be in a band.
Posted by Grant on September 22, 2008 – 6:33 am
In my opinion, one of the best ways to maintain a balance (and your sanity) in life is by taking a day off. We’re not machines and we cannot go 7 days a week, 365 days a year without wearing down.
Here are three descriptions of a day off I like to use:
- A Day Off Is A Day When My Work Is Finished Even If It Isn’t – You may have noticed this, but there is always more to do. In order to take a day off, I have to just draw a line in the sand at some point and stop. It will be there Monday.
- A Day Off Is A Day When I Schedule Nothing And Don’t Feel Guilty About It – I love asking this question, “What do you like to do for fun?” Because some people can tell you exactly what they like to do for fun and others are completely confused at what you mean by the word “fun”! What do you do that just gives you life? When was the last time you did it and if you felt guilty, why?
- A Day Off Is A Day When I Don’t Check My Email, My Cell Phone Is Turned Off, And You Can’t Get A Hold Of Me – In order to take a day off physically, you have to be able to take a day off digitally. If you’re always available, then you’ll never be able to mentally check out.
Having said all that, understand that taking time off is very difficult for me. I love what I get to do, but if I want to do this for the next several years, I have to build balance into my life today.
You may have noticed this but taking time off doesn’t just happen. You have to be extremely proactive about it. So if you’re off on the weekends, you should begin planning now on Monday morning that when Friday afternoon rolls around, you’re done…even if you aren’t.
Posted by Grant on September 19, 2008 – 5:57 am
Does this quote describe you?
Are you one of those individuals who is pretty decent at several things but you’re not excellent at any one of them?
Instead of trying to be mediocre at a lot of things, what are the one or two things that you could be the best at?
If you could choose to be great at one thing, what would it be?
Quit settling for mediocrity at the expense of excellence…
Posted by Grant on September 19, 2008 – 5:55 am
I don’t know if you’ve seen these before, but there is a great website that basically mocks the motivational Successories pictures. The website is www.despair.com, and they have some hilarious pictures! Here are a few of my favorites…
Posted by Grant on September 17, 2008 – 2:14 pm
Filed under Books, My Book
The day I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived! This afternoon a big semi-truck pulled up in front of my house and unloaded a huge pallet of books for me…they sent me 1,099 pounds worth of books to be exact!
I felt like a little kid all day waiting for Santa to show up. I kept going to the window to see if the truck was coming down the street. I called the shipping company multiple times to see what time the books would arrive.
But finally…they’re here!
So now I’m ready to send them to you! If you’ve already pre-ordered a copy of the book, I will be mailing it out to you tomorrow. If you haven’t ordered your copy (or copies!), then what are you waiting for?!? We’re doing a special for one book with free shipping for $10 or two books with free shipping for $15…that’s a steal!
Click here to order ONE copy of Reality Check
Click here to order TWO copies of Reality Check
Thanks for your support of this project!
