Hump Day Late Night Thoughts on "Are you driven or is something driving you?" 05/31/12

Almost over the hump and I can only say that night has been quite relaxing after the temperatures dipped below triple digits. There are always fun times when things start to heat up in the Valley of the Sun. So much has happened over the last several weeks and it seems as though I have been a little to busy to stop and reflect on some things putting pen to paper. There have been quite a few thoughts floating around my brain for a little while now, but there seemed to be something missing that didn't allow me to wrap my mind around them. It took a few conversations and listening to my surroundings in order for me to make a little more sense of everything. I believe I started to gain clarity when I couldn't answer this question someone asked me recently; "What is your greatest accomplishment in life thus far?" Believe it or not, I drew a blank on the question. At that point I started question myself and really wondering what is my biggest accomplishment in life thus far. I actually started to look at what have I actually accomplished in life. As I took this deeper I began to see that my accomplishments and my drive were directly related. What is it that drives you? Is it family? People depending on you? Is it success? Is it the fear of failure? As simple as I typed those questions, I had to ask myself to gauge where I was. Before I could even answer those questions, I thought of a couple more questions. Have you ever lost your drive? If so, how do you get it back? How did you lose it? What changed? In many aspects of our lives as we transition to new chapters our focus changes. We place different importance on things than we had in the past and maybe that has an effect on our drive. I mean is there something in the world that you would continue to push forward on in spite of any obstacle in your path? Even if the drive is not present, I do believe that you can still be driven to or driven away from a lot of things in life. Think about the people that are in life and your surroundings, do you think you are at times driven to or driven away from them? What are you driven by? Are you driven by anyone? Are you driven to anything? At the end of the day, I believe that if you are driven to "embrace the #positivemovementsforward lifestyle and be phenomenal," there's nothing that can stop you. So ask yourself one last time, "Am I driven or is something driving me?" “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.” Abraham Lincoln “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” Jack Welch “Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe, aren't even aware of.” “Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.” Denis Waitley “A business like an automobile, has to be driven, in order to get results” B. C. Forbes “Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do” Norman Vincent Peale “Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.” Edward de Bono “To believe in yourself and to follow your dreams, to have goals in life and a drive to succeed, and to surround yourself with the things and the people that make you happy - this is success!” Sasha Azevedo “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” Vince Lombardi “Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent.” Sophia Loren