Where's Your Core?

We all have one, a core. Different from a soul or spirit, our core is the “who” of who we are. It’s about what we believe. We know success is based on action—yet our actions are the results of our beliefs.

So, here are a few ideas on how you can take beliefs and turn them into actions. And yes, this has a lot to do with your personal health, wellness and well-being.

• You can do almost anything you have the desire and skills and drive to do. In today’s world it no longer matters so much that you are discovered. You get to discover yourself. Through social media, today, everyone can publish their own work, create their own products, and attract their own customers. The only thing holding you back is your willingness to take the leap and try. Don’t wait for others to select you—select yourself—then spread the word.
• Pay it forward—great movie, great idea. And, it works. Sure, you expect to be compensated for your efforts, whether it involves weight loss, smoking cessation, increased physical activity, or the effort you make through work. The thing is, you don’t know ahead of time, ahead of making the effort, whether or not the effort you make will pay off.  Yet when you see your “compensation” as the reward for the effort rather than the reason for the effort, you are paying it forward.
• Wellness, like illness is contagious. Doing what “everyone” else does means you will do no more than the average of your friends, associates, co-workers—you get the picture. Do more. Be more. It’s true that sometimes the best opportunities are those found in those places where no one else is looking. Look for those places in your life where you can go that proverbial extra mile.
• What does perseverance have to do with success? It’s not always about being the first one with the newest idea. It’s not always about having the best idea. Sometimes those new ideas result in burn-out and discouragement. When that happens others may stop trying. Being the best can sometimes mean, you’re still there plugging along. No compromises.
• More on success...According to Steve Jobs, “You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future.” At the same time, it’s important to note that success is not inevitable—it only seems that way once it has been achieved. There’s a lot in between that each of us must do to make that happen.
• One more thing, and it’s important...implementation is everything. Intent is important, but it doesn’t get you where you want to be. You need a plan. You need to implement that plan. You need to change it when change is needed. Your success doesn’t come from intentions. It comes from the implementation and execution of those intentions.

The takeaway?  If you’re willing to make a change, try something new, something better, there will come a day when you will look back with pride on your accomplishment. You will look back in pride on the part you played in making your life a little better—and that in itself is a huge accomplishment. 

How’s that for creating a foundation, getting to the core, or heart of who you are, and who you want to be?