Duty, honor, country are the themes that resonate with me as I ponder this day of remembrance. As a former member of our armed forces, I am grateful to all those willing to give of themselves so that we may pursue our dreams/goals/ambitions within the framework of freedom. I am deeply grateful to all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to uphold, protect and defend our constitution. I am conscious of the sorrow and pain, felt by the family members of our slain warriors and pray that in time, their pain might diminish; knowing the sacrifice of their loved ones has not gone unnoticed by a grateful nation.  And in that regard, we have obligations to those who willingly gave and give of themselves so that we can pursue our freedoms. Obligations such as….

1.      Commit to being the best you to the benefit of your family, community, and country.

2.      Actively seek to give back of your time, talent and treasure to the benefit of others while asking for nothing in return.

3.      Commit to being a life-long learner.

4.      Be present – in all that you do, every day of your life, make each day and moment count.

5.      Take nothing for granted, especially your liberties and all that it affords you.

6.      Despite the challenges that life will bring – keep fighting the good fight and live your life with faith, hope, love, enthusiasm, joy, integrity, peace, wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

7.      Encourage those you work with, live with, & play with and lend assistance when/where you can.

8.      Let go of excuses and get busy making your dreams/goals come true.

9.      Thank a troop for all they do!

10.  Give thanks and support to a military family.

God Bless America!

I had the great pleasure of attending the Colorado Business Hall of Fame this past year in Denver Colorado and was left with a memorable impression of what it takes to be successful in today’s business climate. It is the same elements that have always equaled success in life:  faith, family, friends, fun, hard work, determination, perseverance and being true to yourself and your vision.  These were among several characteristics the inductees spoke about that yielded their eventual success.  

            Key word being eventually, each of the inductess introduction videos and speeches highlighted the point that there is no such thing as overnight success. Each individual and their representative companies have rooted themselves into a core process in which they seek to be the best at and have the mentality of doing what it takes to generate success, primarily predicated on ensuring they are serving their customers to the best of their ability and have the right people in place to make it all happen. 

The other thing that struck me about these individuals was the degree to which they wanted to be contributing members of their communities or regions. Each had a passion that they dedicated their time, treasure and talent to and as a result they have left an enduring impression on the lives of countless individuals.

So what were my 3 primary takeaways?

1)      Focus, Focus, Focus:  Focus on the task at hand, be completely in each moment   and seek to make consistent strides to your end goal.  Unfortunately, we all get wrapped up in events, activities, misdirection, so you need to actively direct yourself via a journal, daily or weekly accountability calls, or some other tracking method where you can go back and see your results and from there determine what you need to work on to get you going in the right direction.

2)      You can’t do it by yourself. You need a core group of people who care deeply about you and what you are trying to accomplish. Whether it be family, friends, associates, your secretary or all the above and then some. Who is there to support you in good time and in bad? Who is there to be your confidant, your sounding board, devil’s advocate, or the voice or reason?  

3)      Following your passion = success: everyone measures success in different ways but it struck me that each of these people being honored were passionate about what they did and success was a byproduct of their passions being realized.  When you have a passion for what you do, it hones your spirit, mind, body, and emotions  and all four of these elements work in concert for your benefit. Everything syncs up and propels you everyday toward achieving your goals and objectives.

Bottom line, events like this serve as a great reminder that belief in yourself, faith in your product or services, effective networking/relationship building, giving back to your community, and a hardcore dedication to the task at hand, will almost always garner the success we seek.