The Truth Shall Set You Free

The other day I swung my shed door to close it-but it didn't close all the way. It looked closed but I could tell it wasn't quite closed. As I strode away--aware that I hadn't actually closed it, I began to try to convince myself that I couldn't be sure if the door was really ajar or... When I understood what was happening I became sickened that I was actually conspiring with myself to deny reality and do what was easy in the moment. (not go back and close the door. I know! How much more lazy does it get than that?!)

Food for thought. (No pun intended.)

If you eat crap you'll probably get fat and certainly be unhealthy.

If you don't exercise you'll always find yourself tired and, more than likely, carry extra beef with you.

If you spend your time with the unambitious you'll fail-a lot.

If you don't do what you know, you'll miss the opportunity to become what you could.

If you don't learn to put others first you'll learn what it's like to be miserable.

If you go through life longing for more and different but do only shades of the same, you'll guarantee yourself deep regret.

If you spend more than you earn you'll end up broke.

If you don't read and consider different points of view, you'll not only avoid wisdom--you'll befriend ignorance.

If you don't make your kids feel good when they are around you now, they'll learn to get along without you later.

These are just a few basic realities of life. We can convince ourselves that they aren't so but that has not affect on reality. We can decide we're too busy to address them but as the above reality based Ronald depicts, the realities of life and the realities from compromise and its predictable results will find you.

You are The Uncompromised--act like it.

RR

Wining is a Habit-So is Losing.

Life is expectations.

If you expect to win, somehow, most times you will. You'll win because your eyes, mind, ears and your intuition will persistently collaborate together to find opportunities, options and courses of action that others, committed to less than winning (hitting their goals), don't recognize and when they do recognize them, aren't willing to engage.

These are opportunities, options and courses of action that many see but appear too hard, require too much time, emotional, physical and/or financial commitment. To put it bluntly: The one who expects to win-who is willing to stake her/his existence upon a particular outcome will do whatever it takes. They create their quality of life and their legacy from how they choose to live today.

If you expect to lose, somehow, most times you will. You'll lose because your eyes, mind, ears and your intuition will persistently conspire together to find opportunities, options, and courses of action that those who know success, achievement and winning recognize-but deny.

These are the opportunities, options and courses of action that require effort (sometimes hard effort) that appears earnest and sensible, yet ensures defeat. To put it bluntly: The one who expects to lose-who has stake is in losing, must ensure losing to keep his/her reputation as that of a noble struggler. Too much success is a threat since others' expectations are then raised.

There is a vast middle ground, of course, where people spot their expectations, take commensurate action and experience corresponding results.

After reading this you’ll choose anew where to place yourself in life. Will winning or losing be your habit? Perhaps you’ll renew your commitment to some “acceptable” combination.

Time and results will tell.

Be Good – Don’t Compromise,

RR

The Monday Mentality Gone Wild

Everybody is going to start working on something--Monday. Never today, never NOW! It's cliché and it's cliché for a reason.

The problem of course is that people are inspired to excuse themselves from far too many opportunities based on their skewed perceptions of when and what constitutes "good timing". Strung together, these bad decisions to wait, missed opportunities to act and little surrenders of initiative lead to a life of disappointment and forever hibernating dreams.

Let's look at this through the eyes of the sales person with the Monday Mentality.

Summers are like "the big Monday".

People too often think like school children and put off big efforts or new projects for September (think summer break). "I can wait and go after it in September" they say--without actually quite saying that or realizing they've gone into a mental and then practical holding pattern for 2+ months.

The Monday Mentality is more than an event though. It's a toxic way of living which affects everything and everyone around you.

So the year continues...

After the summer--if they can't quite go after it right away, in September, the keeper of the Monday-mentality limps through October, perhaps building a bit of momentum. That brings them to November--and certainly no one does business or gets into a big project around the holidays...better wait until after new years.

And the Monday-mentality is on the loose!

"Okay, let's admit it, everybody knows that sales are really slow in January and February. Let's retool or work on our plans or..."

"Let's be real, late March/early April is Passover and Easter; you don't want to bother people and their families now!"

...and then it's late June again.

There is opportunity--and success in all of its forms available to the woman or man who will stop with fairy tale seasonal excuses and get on with manually crafting their lives--NOW.

The kind of success we all want requires courage and a great dose of enthusiasm and sustained effort. Don't buy the compromise found in fairy tale excuses? You're designed for great stuff...

RR

Ode to Spain's Soccer Team--and us.

Saturday I went to Foxboro, Mass to see the American national soccer team play Spain's--who, by the way, just won The World Cup.

I'm still shocked at what I saw.

Spain won 4-0. That's not so hard to believe, I guess. What was shocking to me was the ease by which they won. It looked as if they barely broke a sweat while the Americans chased the ball all over the field never possessing it for long.

I was certain it would be a really great game. America's team isn't bad but...

Spain’s players were, almost to the man, masters. And playing like a team they created great results.

Being great as a team and masterful as an individual--and far ahead of the competition (if only your demons) requires:

• · A decision to be great
• · Caring more about your goal than you do your comfort
• · Spending time with people who are better than you at your chosen endeavors
• · A decision to never quit

We all have to choose where we’d like to place ourselves on the scale between mediocrity and mastery. Having witnessed the results of years of dedication and resulting dominance, I know I’m capable of more.

And you…? What is it time to stop messing around with and start hitting hard?

Toward Mastery,

RR

Dealing with the Unexpected

This guy just went in for an oil change... (maybe)

JFK said that the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

Aint that the truth!

People have fantasies that who they really are will be discovered -and admired by others, through adversity or challenge.

The truth is, though, that who you are is the result of daily practice. If you can't handle little stuff with coolness or humility (for example) you won't suddenly sprout divine presence that allows you those qualities when your car breaks in two. It takes courage to recognize this.

The Uncompromised of our world engage rather than avoid reality. We'd better get to work on repairing our roof now. What qualities is it time for you to nurture and grow?

RR

If it's Right...

If it's right, shut up and do it.

That actually could be the whole blog post but...

I signed up for an adventure race because I'd met a guy who organizes cool events on a plane to Chicago a couple months ago and because I'd not done anything cool like this in some time. I thought I could mix business with my need to sweat, bleed and leave everything I had on the mountain.

My wife has never even done a 5k (she's an aerobics gal) but I really encouraged her to do it. Yes! She signed up.

Soon I realized my race would go from race to escort. Ak!

Truth be known, I groused, pretended I wasn't, I whined and acted like I was into supporting her in this big first event for her. Finally I changed my attitude because I knew it was right... not because I wanted to.

Well with right attitude in place, yesterday we did the race. I escorted my Maria all the way; I'm so glad I did. I always talk about heart/being first then action. Well sometimes you just have to do the right thing and have that hardness/lack of motivation be broken along the way.

It's funny to think about too, that if I'd have won the race (there was no danger of that mind you, but if...), I would have wanted my best friend Maria with me to celebrate. Yesterday, Maria asked me to be with her as she exerted and celebrated. I'm glad I was a stand-by-my-woman man yesterday.

Racers are encouraged to dress to express, to be laughed at, remembered or however you want to. I was told that I'd be the Cat in the Hat. Yes dear.

RR

PS I shaved my beard to be silly... I don't think anyone got it.

Enthusiasm and Investment

I was just thinking about enthusiasm and investment. These two concepts we can't avoid in life. It's just a matter what we are enthusiastic about and what each of us are investing in.

Who is investing in you? What type of energy are they investing in you? Are the people you've invited into your world ripe with enthusiasm -positive attitude and physical energy? If not, how would you describe their quality and level of enthusiasm? Does that merit your investment in them?

What about you? Are you living with enthusiasm? Are you investing in your amazing opportunity called life, with enthusiasm? On what are you spending your enthusiasm/energy?

We all have enthusiasm for something. We all invest energy, time, thoughts and emotion in various things. What kind of life are you most investing in as evidenced by how you are living?

Old Demons Never Die...

I'm staring at an award I received at the end of my senior year. It's the sportsmanship award…

I hung this little plaque in my office recently, after my parents unearthed it from their attic. I hung it in my office for motivation.

After years of serious dedication to being a great basketball player, I became really good… but afraid. I could dribble, shoot, I was pretty fast and good on defense. But I was afraid to be physical. I was afraid to drive to the basket and 'mix it up'. As a result, I wasn't much of a threat and so my coach didn't have a place for me.

For years, the award felt like a consolation prize and I like a guy who had to prove (to myself) that I was more than an 85%er. After my parents found it, I thought I should hang it up and use it as motivation to complete my book as well as my other plans. Instead, I've been feeling as if none of my professional efforts are good enough. Like, I have to prove to my coach that I'm willing to feel the pain and “get physical” (i.e. do more and more and...).

I'm going to stop writing now. I'm going to take down that plaque. I'm going to give that 18-year-old Ronnie a dose of much-needed mercy. I'm going to enjoy who I've become and what I've achieved -while I'm on my way to what's next.

RR

Are You Living a Potemkin Life?

A Potemkin village is phrase based on a historical myth. Though the experts don't completely agree on the truth of it all, the myth goes like this: Russian Minister (and General) Grigory Potyomkin supposedly built fake villages (facades only) along a rail line in order to fool and impress Catherine II -Empress of Russia as she was touring the area, some time around 1787.

Grig's apparent motive was to have Cathy think that he'd conquered some pretty awesome territory and that he was actually a pretty savvy, powerful and all around nifty guy. I wonder how it all worked out.

Well, aren't we guilty of the same thing sometimes? Can't we be guilty of living Potemkin lives where we act one way but our authentic identity (true self) is someone different?

You know, we suffer so much as we try to keep the charade up. You know, we experience so much peace when we accept who we are and let the chips fall where they may.

People are demanding authenticity from everyone and everything these days...Be Uncompromised -demand it from yourself.

RR

Inspired by Insanity

Insanity is a relatively new DVD workout program but it's more.

Look, at our best, we all want to be great, know we're stretching and achieving. In order to do that we need a good plan, we need to get off our soft-sides and we need someone who believes in us deeply -sometimes more than we believe in ourselves.

Shaun T not only puts together an incredible workout program (Insanity) which I'm being both broken and built better by, but he engages me, believes in me and demands more of me. He wants me to mind my form and won't let me compromise what I'm capable of. If this man can pull this off on DVD, I'd like to meet him for real.

Hey, who is your Shaun T? Who is there for you -to both comfort you and expect more from you, for the sake of you being something better?

Man, I can't wait to pop that DVD in today, get my Shaun T hit, then sweat, hurt and believe in me -'cause I survived another challenge, another day.

Grrrr,

RR

The Agony of Compromise

Does Compromise ever feel good?

At the bottom of a dish of ice cream, that you said you wouldn't eat...

When you lay your head down, another night, -having skipped out on doing something you knew you should...

When you say something to someone, just to get to them...

When you bitch about your job then declare that you only have 11 more years...

You have compromised YOU. It's nothing short of betrayal...

It's funny, in the moment, administering the medication of mint chocolate chip to your wounds feels reasonable. Performing busy work to provide a 'reasonable' excuse why you don't have the life you want, seems understandable. Really, in those brief but powerful moments you know your self to be full of it -and with enough of this, and in the end it will be a bitter taste you will live and die with.

Honestly looking at what you are choosing to do with your time, money, energy, body, etc. is the place to start wen you want to live as The Uncompromised. Stop thinking so much and decide what you really, really want. Write it down. Finally, Do Something. Anything...but be in action, learn, adjust the plan and do more.

Don't Compromise. Be Great. Go do something.

RR