School is never out for the pro.

This message is long.

It is LOADED with good, good stuff.

People like you and I dare to be different from the mediocre majority. If you were not, you would not be reading this message every week.

During my daily early morning walk which is about 60-70 minutes, 4-5 miles, & 8,000-10,000 steps I allow about 15 minutes at the very end of my walk to what my coach Michael McLean calls, “Listening to Your Golden Gut”.

Golden Gut time for me, requires my ear pods turned off after listening to

Michael’s daily video message,
Pastor Rick Warren’s daily message, and
A podcast episode of OptSpot Marketing.

If you’re familiar with today’s subject line, you may have heard it in a 12-step recovery room, or more likely from your learning and study of leadership.

Never Forget … YOU ARE A LEADER.

It’s not new. However, famous author, speaker, and research professor, Brene Brown has made it pretty popular in the leadership space.

This past week, I heard from more of our members, friends, and readers than in some time. This was nice. More on it toward the end, but first,

My Big Reason Why …

Aristotle believed that everything happens for a reason… and that every experience in your life was designed to shape and reform you to the greatest version of yourself.

What do you do when you make a mistake?

Are you like many people who beat themselves up when they make an error or a foolish decision?

Does your inner enemy punish you, pointing out other mistakes that you may have committed?

Despite being a positive forward thinking person … this inner enemy punishing me was something that I had an issue with for many years.

With some of the negative things going on in life and in the world, it makes some days hard to be motivated.

I know, I know. Motivation is what links us to our successes and we must stay on top of them … I was thinking the other day, “what really is motivation and how is it really defined? What really makes me want to do the things I do?”

Well, motivation is suggested to be an important link to learning and achievement.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect.

No one is perfect.

This is just a fact of life.

One of the reasons I know I’m not perfect is the amount of times which life teaches me a lesson.

The worst part about these life lessons is they usually end up “okay”. However, the actions leading to the resolution usually make it a lot more complicated, awkward and guilt-ridden than they should have been.

I tend to talk, a lot.

But only about information that I know, information that I’ve listened to, asked questions about so that I can be knowledgeable when I talk about it.

Which leads me into one of my favorite quotes from an unknown source …

“You were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason.

Over the years, I’ve taught thousands of Insurance Agency Owners plus other small business owners the systems and ideas I’ve learned … and … more importantly, IMPLEMENTED from the best of these owners to run a very successful business.

I would be remiss not to credit my business coaches the great marketing legends Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer that guided me in the early years of BGI Systems to teach our successful processes and systems on a national scale.

Here’s a classic tasty recipe for Ham & Potato soup that is very easy to make. Not only is it yummy, but it will also keep you warm during the cool winter months! Plus, you can add your own twist to it by adding some of your favorite ingredients.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups peeled & diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Directions

Combine potatoes, celery, onion, ham, and water in a stockpot.

Have you ever considered how your energy affects everyone around you? This is something I've noticed in my years as a boss, that my attitude affects my team and their interactions with each other and with me. When it comes down to attitude and motivation in the workplace, I can't be just a coach - I have to suit up and play on the team too.