I Can Do It Myself

My son Gabriel is 6. Since his sisters are so much older than he is, he ends up being the little boy with three mommies. He's great, though. All boy, and yet with a special affection for others. He's awesome.

He's growing, though, and breaking through into new things that he can do. Lately, it's been about pulling the pitcher out of the 'fridge and pouring it himself. Sometimes, we forget, and start to do it for him. You know what he says, don't you?

"I can do it myself!"

Sound familiar?

Most adults I know haven't outgrown that. They are still trying to do it all themselves. YOU know better. But, it's worth checking once in a while.

I've mentioned my Master Mind groups a lot this month, since it's been a full one for me. I've been in Master Mind meetings that I facilitate, and Master Mind meetings where others do. I have multiple coaches in my life, too, and that's a big change from earlier in my life. The results in my life are outstanding, too. And others are noticing.

The first step it took was to admit that I could learn more working with others. I can't do it all myself!

The term Master Mind was coined by Napoleon Hill during his research at Andrew Carnegie's behest. Hill interviewed the most successful men of his day and pulled together the "Laws of Success" that formed the framework of their success. One of them he called "Power of the Master Mind: The Driving Force." In his description, he describes the experience you've had when you're in a group of people discovering ideas, and you realize that the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts. This "whole" he called the "Master Mind".

Be coached. Get into a Master Mind. Develop the power of working with other towards a common goal. And find joy in the journey.

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

PS I have updated my blog with e-mails that I have sent from early February through Thursday night. You can find them on the Blogs link on my main page: http://stephenhultquist.com/

The Finger of God

This morning, a huge storm crashed across northern Colorado, spreading a mile-wide tornado across the town of Windsor and spawning a number of smaller twisters in neighboring communities. Even though they live near the path of the storm, my in-laws were spared most of the devastation that you can see on the videos and photos on CNN and other news sites. They'll spend the night with my sister-in-law nearby, and we'll figure out how to repair their car that was pummeled by hail that some reported to be as big as a baseball.

When the storm hit, I was on my way to Boulder to have lunch with a friend I hadn't seen for a number of years, and the storm didn't seem to be unusual in any way. Only a few miles north, it was a different story.

Tonight, one of the local radio personalities hosted a special show: Tornado, the Finger of God.

Pause.

Events like this give you pause. When the event directly effects you -- like when I was only a few miles from the epicenter of the World Series earthquake of 1989 or like it was for you on 9/11/2001 -- you take a fresh look at your life. You ask important questions. And sometimes you make commitments and significant changes.

I thought about that this evening. The Finger of God seems so fickle. And yet it stirs up your perception and vision and gives you an opportunity to start again.

Take some time tonight to be grateful. Say a prayer of gratitude and really mean it. You are so blessed to have another day to live, another 14000 or so breaths to breathe today.

And then refocus on what you really care about.

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. When you are truly grateful, you are truly free.

It Depends on Your Definition

Earlier today I got a great question from Annie Black, a great friend, amazing skier, and someone who is focused on her own improvement. She also has to be the person who is at work tempting me to join her group for a helicopter skiing trip to Revelstoke next January... but that's not what her email was asking me.

After she read my "Get Tough" email, she asked me a question that may have been on your mind about the "motivational speaker" I mentioned who is buying his own Eclipse 500 jet:

"How could a guy so negative be so successful?"

Think for a minute about how you would answer that question. I think the answer is a bit more complex than it might seem at first blush.

I answered her with this:

It's actually dependent on your definition of "successful".

And that's the truth. If earning enough money to buy a multi-million dollar jet is the definition of success, then the question is a challenge to answer. But that's not all that I put into my definition of success. I think success is living your life actualized. Being who you are created to be. Being fully engaged in what you know is your purpose.

Earning an extensive income is a matter of how you serve others and how comfortable they are with paying you for it. Living a successful life is far more. I can't judge whether or not he was just having a bad day, but I will say that he wouldn't let it go. He mentioned it to me again when I saw him on-board.

Let go!

Here's the question for you and your life: Are you living the life you are here to live? Being about a purpose that you find to be profound makes all the difference.

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. I'm really excited about a new product that I'm creating around this, but until then, check out the Mastering Your Life program: http://stephenhultquist.com/

Get Tough

This past weekend I was back in Tampa at the Tampa Airport Marriott hotel. It was warm in Tampa, and there was some nice moisture in the air. For those of us who live in drier climates like Colorado, it's nice to get a tase of that moisture once in a while.

But, the hotel was super-cooled. The air conditioning was on full blast, and people were wearing jackets in the meeting rooms and then heading for the patios on the breaks just to warm up.

The temperature didn't cool down the seminar, though.

Before I tell you what happened, I want to tell you about the guy in front of me this morning as I got ready to board my flight home. He was just a bit grumpy. Actually, he was a LOT grumpy. After he ended his long conversation with the gate agent, he turned and started talking to me. He had a long list of complaints about United. This time, they had lost his upgrade and had nothing to say or do about it, he said. Then, he told me that he has flown over 8 million miles on United, and they treat him like dirt. He told me that it was all going to end in October, though, when he takes delivery on his new plane.

What I learned next was a shocker, though.

I ask him what he did that had him on the road so much. Know what he said? "I'm a motivational speaker..." and then he told me more about what he does.

What?

You're kidding, right? With all that negativity? I don't get it. And I don't have time for thinking that way. But, he's made a very good living for many years doing what he does. Good enough to buy a new jet. Very interesting!

That said, his attitude was so different from the one I experienced all weekend. At the Get Tough fitness seminar, I met Dan Gable again and he challenged me with some great insights into how to keep moving forward. I had my body -- and mind -- challenged and pushed to Get Tough. To be tough on myself. Tougher than anyone else is. The other speakers and coaches pushed all of us, too. And I'll tell you more about them in future emails, too, including a man who pushed himself beyond what would kill most people.

Here is what he said: Balance what you know and what you do.

It is important to keep learning. It is equally important to apply what you learn. Balance kowing and doing.

Push yourself to do what you are committed to doing!

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. A couple new opportunities coming down the pike. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on what you'd like to see in the e-mails... Thanks!

Steps to Your Dreams (part 3)

Last summer, Terry and I spent a great week in Maine. We stayed near Bar Harbor just outside Acadia National Park. We hiked a few of the hundreds of trails there, had high tea at the famous Jordan Pond restaurant, and I ate lobster stew as often as I could find it. What reminded me of it?

As I sat on my flight today, United played an OLN production called "Park Raving Mad." In it, two guys are taking a road trip to all the National Parks, and this episode was their first... Acadia.

I remember the first time I learned about Acadia and Bar Harbor from a book on the National Parks that my folks had when I was a kid. I read about all the National Parks, and thought about the ones that I wanted to visit. Parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon... and Acadia. I hadn't been to Acadia before, but I had always planned to visit there.

What about you? Ever visit a place you've always wanted to go?

Think about what it took for you to make it there. What you did to go from having it be a place you wanted to go to being a place you had been is the key to step 3:

Know where you are going.

Some people talk about having goals. Some people come up with other language for it. But whatever you call it, to get somewhere, you have to know where you're going. And this is another step that most people mostly ignore. What about you?

To go where you dream, you have to actually know where that is. You need to be really clear in your thinking about it. Are you?

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. I'm on my way to a great seminar this weekend. I'll share more about that over the next couple days. In the meantime, check out the updated web site at http://stephenhultquist.com/ for more that's going on.

P.P.S. Look forward to some new ways of getting more of what you want with some upcoming features of the website!

Steps to Your Dreams (part 2)

This e-mail has been a long time coming. I've sat at my desk more than once to write it, written a good chunk, and then erased it in the computer equivalent of wadding up the paper and tossing it into the trash. This afternoon, it's beautiful here in Colorado. The springtime air is full of the fragrance of new blossoms, and the mountains are covered with a new layer of snow. With that natural power all around me, I've sat down to write, again.

This step is soooo important, but it's likely to challenge some very deep beliefs that you hold near and dear. Stick with me, though.

Have you ever watched a kid learn to walk? I remember when Rachel was first learning to walk. She would grab on to a table or a chair, stand up... and then wobble and fall down on her diaper-padded behind. Then she would look at you, laugh and do it all over again.

She never doubted that she'll learn how to walk, of course. Neither did we. No one would ever tell her that it was impossible, either, even though she failed day after day. Her legs got stronger, though. Her balance got better. Her coordination improved. And then one day, like magic, she walked.

But nobody did it for her. In fact, nobody could. If we had tried, she NEVER would have learned to walk.

And that's the secret to the second step to your dreams.

If you are waiting for someone to help YOU take that step towards your dream, it's time to learn this secret. Here it is:

No one is coming to rescue you.

That may seem obvious, but if you look at how you're moving towards your dreams (or how you're not moving!), you may find that you're hoping for a rescue. Lotteries grow rich from those who want to be rescued. So do con men. You get it, I'm sure.

From now on, when you look at your dreams, realize that it's up to you. No one is coming to rescue you. You can even say it to yourself this way, as Famous Amos made famous: "If it's to be, it's up to me."

It doesn't matter how you say it, but it does matter that you live it. It's up to you.

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. Thanks to those of you who are inviting others to join the list at http://stephenhultquist.com/. Good luck in the iPod contest!

P.P.S. I've got a new site for those of you who have asked for a way to introduce my consulting services to your businesses. You can check it out here: http://infinitesummit.com/

Steps to Your Dreams (part 2)

This e-mail has been a long time coming. I've sat at my desk more than once to write it, written a good chunk, and then erased it in the computer equivalent of wadding up the paper and tossing it into the trash. This afternoon, it's beautiful here in Colorado. The springtime air is full of the fragrance of new blossoms, and the mountains are covered with a new layer of snow. With that natural power all around me, I've sat down to write, again.

This step is soooo important, but it's likely to challenge some very deep beliefs that you hold near and dear. Stick with me, though.

Have you ever watched a kid learn to walk? I remember when Rachel was first learning to walk. She would grab on to a table or a chair, stand up... and then wobble and fall down on her diaper-padded behind. Then she would look at you, laugh and do it all over again.

She never doubted that she'll learn how to walk, of course. Neither did we. No one would ever tell her that it was impossible, either, even though she failed day after day. Her legs got stronger, though. Her balance got better. Her coordination improved. And then one day, like magic, she walked.

But nobody did it for her. In fact, nobody could. If we had tried, she NEVER would have learned to walk.

And that's the secret to the second step to your dreams.

If you are waiting for someone to help YOU take that step towards your dream, it's time to learn this secret. Here it is:

No one is coming to rescue you.

That may seem obvious, but if you look at how you're moving towards your dreams (or how you're not moving!), you may find that you're hoping for a rescue. Lotteries grow rich from those who want to be rescued. So do con men. You get it, I'm sure.

From now on, when you look at your dreams, realize that it's up to you. No one is coming to rescue you. You can even say it to yourself this way, as Famous Amos made famous: "If it's to be, it's up to me."

It doesn't matter how you say it, but it does matter that you live it. It's up to you.

Let's go!

Stephen Hultquist

P.S. Thanks to those of you who are inviting others to join the list at http://stephenhultquist.com/. Good luck in the iPod contest!

P.P.S. I've got a new site for those of you who have asked for a way to introduce my consulting services to your businesses. You can check it out here: http://infinitesummit.com/