But when you reframe it and acknowledge that purposeful asking is THE most valuable skill on earth, then it becomes so easy to ask for more, and for better. The great leaders of our time as well as all previous times have been the ones who are skillful and unafraid to make requests. They ask for more because they know they and their tribes deserve more than they are getting. When will you realize it’s your turn to ask?

New original audio post. Stream or download below.

Request More by alexcpds

Sounds common sense, this correlation isn’t hard to find
if so, then why oh why, don’t we ask for more all the time?

Asking for more doesn’t cost, it’s just words, yet its potential is priceless
Putting your foot down, knowing your worth, a most powerful of devices

It’s a breath of fresh air, to meet someone who has taken a stand in their mind and narrowed down their focus to the one or two things that matter most to them. We see it in the way they walk, the way they move, the things they talk about. All their actions are synchronized and gracefully headed towards an inevitable goal. And we admire that.

We admire it because we haven’t made that choice yet. Our minds are crowded with too many unimportant wants, as opposed to one passionate quest that deserves all our energy.

If you’re unconvinced then give it a short trial run. For one month put one mission at the forefront of all your conversations and your productive time. Leave the superfluous stuff aside. You’ll start to notice how free and powerful you feel. And just as important, that those around you now feel more compelled to support your efforts. You’re gaining allies in your journey.

With enough support nothing is difficult. Your book, or your non-profit, or your school pretty much builds itself. It all starts with an authentic clarity of purpose.

But there’s always one. In love. In our career. And especially in our mind. There’s always one that dominates over all others.

So what do you represent? What message in this crazy world do you relate to most? If your goal is to leave your mark somehow then you’ve got to take a stand today. And the stand can be a process as much as it can be a cause. But choose one for now.

Navigating around your shortcomings, mapping out your message, and surfing on top of your strengths. If you do this, no matter where you end up, you can rest assured that your tools were put to good use.

Because the art is in the journey. The life is in the living. The moral isn’t the same without the story.

Better ideas, better revelations
Better understanding, better communication

Faster mistakes, faster recoveries
Faster thinking, faster discoveries

Stronger will, stronger self-identity
Stronger purpose, stronger Serenity

Value for your time is a BIG piece of asking for more from life. If you can’t stand up for the sanctity of your precious time then life and other people won’t respect your demands when you ask.

Without commanding respect for your time how will you cultivate the guts to demand fair pay for your services? Or for that promotion you deserve? Or for seed money to start that business?

Time is one of the few things in life that you can’t buy more of, all you can manage is not spending it on activities that are worthless to you. If you deeply value helping a good friend then why are you leaving them out to dry while you do favors for another colleague who doesn’t see/respect the sacrifice you’re making?

How will you accomplish your personal greatness if you don’t protect the time to do the work? Impossible is what I say.

By the same token, respect the time of others who respect their own time. A straightforward NO creates more goodwill and appreciation than it destroys. And it makes a true YES that much sweeter.

New original audio post. Stream or download below.

In A Box by alexcpds

It doesn’t even matter if they’re the foreign ones on that particular scene, to them and everyone around they’re at home and home is their playground.

This is just the way it has to be if you’re going to make a dent in the universe. You have to be yourself, nothing more, nothing less. And your self should be capable of making ripples in your environment. So think about that next time you’re in a new setting and thinking about fading into the background…

I didnt understand the momentum of things, that just because something bad happened it doesn’t mean you’re owed something good up next. That’s bullshit. Life is only as fair as you make it.

It can just as easily be unfair in your favor if you want it so.

You have to demand from the world that something good happens next for you, and give that thrust of will to have it be so. If you get complacent the world will trample all over you, or will at least leave you in your place with only the leftovers of those who demanded first dibs.

Of course the only way to reduce how much you care to impress is to have plenty of other options so that one doesnt mean as much. And the only way to have more options is to keep trying more. Experimenting more. Leaving yourself vulnerable more.

Throw more against the wall and see what sticks. Rinse, repeat.

If you don’t try something new today then tomorrow when you face the same situation you still won’t know whether the new approach works or not.

So then the answer is simple. Try it today so tomorrow you don’t have to debate the approach.

The fun indicates where your strengths are.

Any activity can be turned into something fun, but any fun activity can also be made to be a chore if you don’t protect its experimental integrity.

Keep it fun and allow room for mistakes.

Cultivate that little grain of fun and who knows what harvests of greatness await you.

Listen to and/or download the audio vignette narrated by yours truly below

Common sense says you SHOULD be unsure, there is very little holding you from falling off. But there is something you CAN be sure of, and that’s yourself. You can be confident in how you’re balancing yourself and of taking control of that small area you have a say in. Forget the rest. Ground yourself in that bit of security and let that be the source of your confidence.

Those that can radiate this confidence become the winners, they understand that it doesn’t pay to worry about all the other variables they can’t control.

We often don’t realize that we are just one lesson away from getting there. There’s that one small thing we need to learn to turn everything around. To become professionals.

Sometimes it’s right under our noses, and sometimes it’s been pointed out by our peers yet we ignore it. It can’t be that important is what we say. That can’t be what’s holding me back. But it very well might be.

What’s the one lesson you haven’t learned yet? Look around, it’s much simpler than you think it is. Thank me later.

It scares the shit out of you. And even though others might not see it, it bursts your confidence bubble a bit because now you have no doubts about where your powers end.

But it more than makes up for it with the alleviating realization that EVERYONE goes through it. Finding that it is only by creeping to that edge that we can truly progress.

Makes success seem so much more blue collar, and that’s a GREAT realization.

Sometimes I laugh at myself for fearing a disastrous outcome that will most likely not happen. It’s equally ludicrous when I expect a perfect outcome knowing damn well the necessary preparations haven’t been laid.

We lose track of what I call the “Narrow Quality Band,” the range of results you can get from a specific effort. At any given point you can only be so sucky, or you can only be so great. And truth be told, they’re never too far from each other.

You can move this quality band up or down, but it takes time and gradual work, or lack thereof.

Have you tested your band lately? Do you know where you stand? Having a clear estimate helps you get work done and shipped without worry since you kinda already know the outcome. The daunting fear of the unknown reception is what usually holds us back. If you know what to expect the worries almost disappear. Poof.

Since perception is reality then whoever believes most in their reality is who will dominate a conversation and impose their reality on the other person.

Believe in your reality (trust me it is YOURS and yours only) and you’ll find that you will get everything you want in life. This obviously doesn’t make you too likeable of a person. Exciting maybe. But not always likeable.

Of course, those who have mastered the artform can impose their reality and do it in a way in which the other person welcomes this new point of view, they are both right and likeable. You can find these people in corner offices across the country.

Elevating my standards forced me to elevate my own expectations of the work I do, and in turn it made me better, which made me expect even better things to happen.

When you expect you get given. Let me rephrase. You’re not given anything. You EARN them by the sheer force of expecting that they belong to you.

Get off the sidelines.

Give up what others can’t. Do what others don’t. Learn what others won’t.

Instead of just watching them, get in the game. Jump on the court and THEN ask them how they do it.

Excuse me, what’s the secret? You already know it, you’re right here in the arena with me.

Doing is the funnest thing on this earth, once you’re already going. Before you begin- it might be the toughest obstacle you’ve ever faced. But once you conquer your greatest enemy, idleness, then what else is out there that can stop you? Not much.

Until you get this feeling in your gut you’re stuck in mediocrity. Chase the feeling.

In business the idea you have is important, but the real important thing is the execution.
Everyone has great ideas; instead, what’s gonna determine your success is the piece of yourself that you pour into those ideas. It’s about how you deliver on your promise that this product reflects your uniqueness.

The reason is simple: there’s nothing new under the sun. No idea is original. So worrying about others’ previous failures at this is a waste of time. What you’re about to do has been done before, but it hasn’t been done how YOU are about to do it.

WE are the only new additions to this planet. We’ve never existed before. We haven’t done this specific thing yet. It’s been done by others but not by you, not by me.

Do it.