My friend Peter Alsop sings a wonderful song called “No One Knows For Sure”.  Its a song of hope, faith, trust and courage.  I have used it in many of  my workshops.

We all face times when we need to go forward with some kind of decision or action even though its not very clear as to what the results are going to be. My learning in every situation is to be prepared as possible for an event or happening and then trust that opportunities will present themselves and all the preparation will pay off when the opportunity happens.  Remember the song “High Hopes” by Frank Sinatra?  The lyrics suggest an ant can’t move a rubber tree plant and then lo and behold the lyrics say “Opps, there goes another rubber tree plant”.  Could having “high hopes” be the secret of success.  Maybe, maybe not, but they sure help.

Think about the qualities of people that become successful.  For me, the words that come to me are resilience, ability to cope with change, focus, optimism, courage and perseverance.  They all contribute to high hopes.  Yet, the main quality that I see that contributes to success is self-confidence.  Self confidence builds on itself.  With each successful event or happening confidence builds.  As confidence builds,  an attitude of “I can do it” becomes part of who we are.  As we feel  more confident and powerful, it becomes easier to ask for help.  Whether we ask for help from family,  co-workers and friends, we find people who will help us reach our goals.

We can choose to be pro-active rather than passive.  We can choose to focus instead of running from one idea or project  to another.  Learning to be where you are at any given time and not spreading ourselves around too thin in many areas is a big part of success.  Choosing a “one day at a time” focus promotes health and strength.  Be where you are wherever you are and finish a thought, event or project before moving on to another. You either are going to be in the middle of your life or you are going to live on the edges of it, never fully experiencing the joy and fulfillment of any event.

There is a process that happens whenever we grow. All growth involves change.  All change means a gain (going forward) and a loss (leaving something behind). .  This is what the process includes:

……. There is a surrendering to a truth of some kind, (need for a divorce, relationship change, job change, geographic change, health challenge, career changes, financial changes etc.

………It  becomes important to let go of something or someone.  We take a good look at a situation and are willing to make changes and choices and let go of something that has meant something to us.

………Those that are successful in handling  change well have chosen a “family of choice” and built a system around them that offers support unconditionally. Someone once said that people are the answer (from our Higher Power or God) to our prayers.   Building this system is a big party of the preparation to meet the challenge of opportunities.

………Risk taking becomes a comfortable way of living.  With an attitude of confidence, a willingness to deal with loss and a support system, one can take risks much more comfortably.  Helen Keller tells us “life is a daring adventure or nothing at all”.

………. People who bring themselves to this point are able to “lighten up” and life becomes more of a learning and adventure than a process of always trying to navigate trauma and problems.  Day to day living becomes something to anticipate and look forward to.  People learn to realize that every change is a mini-loss and a mini- gain and lose their fear of change.

WITHOUT LEAPS OF IMAGINATION OR DREAMING, WE LOSE THE EXCITEMENT OF POSSIBILITIES.   DREAMING, AFTER ALL, IS A FORM OF PLANNING.  Anonymous

Tags: Financial Change, Focus Is Important, Frank Sinatra, Geographic Change, Helen Keller, High Hopes (song), Hope and courage, How do I recognize opportunity, No One Knows For Sure, One Day At A Time, Peter Alsop, Resilience, Self Confidence, Song of faith, What are important aspects of decisionmaking, What is the secret of success