What the Dickens?

I have to plug a faaaaabulous book that I read yesterday.  Yes, I read it in one day – I couldn’t put it down.   The title is Life’s Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard.  I don’t want to give any of the book away – but the title of this blog post has something to do with the premise.

I also had the pleasure, (and I mean pleasure – this guy’s a great speaker), of seeing Brendon in person at Big Seminar in Atlanta.  The beginning of his presentation involves a hilarious take on his skydiving experience.  But, the part of the presentation that got my brain cells churning were three questions that he asks himself at the end of each day:

Did I live?

Did I love?

Did I matter?

I can see where asking these questions each and every day could change your life.

Did you live?  Did you live your day to the fullest, appreciating each experience?  Or do you just struggle to make it through the day just so you can wind up exhausted and thankful the day is over?  There’s a world of difference between the two.  And, what is so cool is that you don’t have to wait, in fact you should never wait until something gets better in your life before you appreciate what you have.  Try going through a day really living it and enjoying where you are now.

Did you love?  Did you treat people with respect today and love?  Did you give smiles away, hug your children a little tighter, tell your significant other or parent how much you appreciate and love them.  And, here’s a biggie – did you treat yourself the same way?  Did you love and respect yourself?

Did you matter?  Each day that you live, you are leaving a legacy – whether you’re aware of it or not.   Do you have a message that can make someone’s life easier, happier?  What skills do you have that you can share with the world?  Don’t hold back.   Your time is now.

Did you live?  Did you love?  Did you matter?

Are you a Beatle or a Rolling Stone

Here’s the thing about this post – be yourself. The Beatles took the country by storm with their long hair, their music and everything that made them Beatles. They were truly different and truly themselves. Then, the Rolling Stones came along and although they were from England, they didn’t try to be Beatles. They are different, their music is different and they are truly always themselves.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (Beatles song reference:) – but what does this have to do with me, Lee Ann, get to the point.

Be yourself. There’s immense power in being truly who you are. When you can honestly say that you don’t care what others think of your actions because you know that you are acting in true accordance with your true self. Mick Jagger knew that his success was in NOT being like Paul McCartney – and he was right.

This being yourself can be very tricky. I know for a long time I tried to fit in with the crowd. I socialized with a group of ladies, but I never quite fit in. I joined their bowling league, their mah jongg club – I tried to talk about subjects they talked about, have their interests become mine – and I was miserable. It just was a bad fit, they really didn’t like me. And, here’s the kicker – I thought it was me!! I thought that there was something wrong with me and if I could just fix it, I would fit in. What was wrong with that picture? Everything!!  When I realized that I couldn’t deny who I was and and trying to “fit in” would just not work – I realized it was impossible to fit in because I was hanging with the wrong crowd.

When I changed who I hung out with – I was liked for who I was.  There was nothing wrong with me.

That’s the lesson.  And, it involved a tough decision.  I had to basically make all new friends, and I was lonely for a while.  But, the friends I have now – are truly soul mates.  I enjoy their company, nothing is forced.  And it feels wonderful.