Will Bowen Audio

You really don’t know how strong you are until life tests you. And when everything around you goes to hell you find yourself just wanting to chuck it all and run away. But you can’t. You have responsibilities, people who count on you, and so you press on — you simply endure. One of my favorite books of all time is Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. In one chapter the cowboys are moving thousands of cattle up the trail when they are beset by locusts so thick they blot out the sun. One frightened young man gallops up to the leader of the drive and cries, “Captain, whatever can we do?” “Live through it,” replied the captain. That’s life. Sometimes we just have to hold on and live through it.

A divorce.

The death of a loved one.

Business failure.

The loss of a dream.

Becoming disability.

All of these things can bring a person to their knees and leave them emotionally shell shocked.

When everything is gone, it’s hard to know where to begin and yet the answer is simply to get started.

It is only when we succumb to our failures that they become concretized.

As long as we are digging out we will ultimately find sunlight again and a new life that is sometime even brighter than before the tragedy.

Most people never attempt something because of the horror stories they’ve heard from other people.

“Careful man, women will break your heart.”

“I was in business once, I lost everything!”

“My uncle tried that line of work — no money it.”

Most people are risk averse and that aversion is reinforced by other people who have taken risks, failed, and then whined about it to anyone and everyone as a means of never getting up and trying again.

Risk and reward are the conjoined twin sisters of success.  

Great reward always involves great risk and when we fail — as we all do, whining and complaining simultaneously excuses our poor performance AND removes us from the responsibility of trying again.

The secret to success is try...fail... try...fail... try...fail...try...succeed. 

Whining about our failures only attaches us to them indefinitely.

Personally, I don’t think I could be a politician.

I’d probably say something like, “I believe that with the right combination of financial management and sensible tax cuts we can balance the budget.”

Invariably, one side of the media would report my words as, “Bowen encourages responsible financial management” while another might say “Bowen wants to raise your taxes!.”

All of this is done to “set a trap for fools.”

Bad news sells and when someone takes what we say and twists it into bad news for their own purposes, well, it hurts!

Let’s remember that there will always be haters, people who want to put a negative spin on what you do simply to excuse their own lack of accomplishment.

Maturity is learning to disregard the haters.

A divorce.

The death of a loved one.

Business failure.

The loss of a dream.

Becoming disability.

All of these things can bring a person to their knees and leave them emotionally shell shocked.

When everything is gone, it’s hard to know where to begin and yet the answer is simply to get started.

It is only when we succumb to our failures that they become concretized.

As long as we are digging out we will ultimately find sunlight again and a new life that is sometime even brighter than before the tragedy.

Personally, I don’t think I could be a politician.

I’d probably say something like, “I believe that with the right combination of financial management and sensible tax cuts we can balance the budget.”

Invariably, one side of the media would report my words as, “Bowen encourages responsible financial management” while another might say “Bowen wants to raise your taxes!.”

All of this is done to “set a trap for fools.”

Bad news sells and when someone takes what we say and twists it into bad news for their own purposes, well, it hurts!

Let’s remember that there will always be haters, people who want to put a negative spin on what you do simply to excuse their own lack of accomplishment.

Maturity is learning to disregard the haters.

I think it was Zig Ziglar who said, "You don't know enough to be a pessimist."

Zig meant that something that goes terribly wrong today can actually be the very thing that brings about something fantastic tomorrow.

When we triumph over something or we experience a disaster, our ego tells us that the triumph is the BEST THING POSSIBLE and that a disaster is the WORST THING EVER.

Yet, in time not only do we realize benefits from our disasters but we also often experience problems and irritations from our triumphs.  Consider the people who struggle so hard to become famous but then can't leave their homes without being mobbed!

There's an old saying, "nothing is ever as good or as bad as it appears."

If that's true, and if you don't know enough to be a pessimist, why not just relax and watch the twin imposters of disaster and triumph pass through your life with ease?

Remember the movie that opens with Winnie the Pooh sitting around struggling to think?

While rubbing his temple and squinting his eyes, Pooh says,“Think…think….think…think - think…..think.”

It’s such a great visual for what most of us do when we have a problem.

We STRUGGLE to come up with a solution but there seems to be nothing.

Until… we go do something else.

In our frustration, we give up on the problem and walk awayand then BANG the perfect answer —the one we worked so hard to bring to mind just floats in like a butterfly and rests gently on top of our head.

When we make thoughts our aim, we miss the very elusive, beautiful, and powerful ideas that come when we are otherwise engaged.

This is why it’s SO important to shut down once or twice a day and meditate, to take vacations where we don’t work, and to take a day once each week where we just relax and chill.

Stop being Winnie the Pooh — think, but don’t make thoughts your aim.

20-years-ago, I sold life insurance to people in their homes.

 

I remember one couple in particular.

 

They were poor and lived in a run-down old house off a dirt road.

 

BUT, ONE DAY (they assured me) they were going to be insanely RICH!!

 

And how was this massive influx of prosperity going to take place?

 

The husband explained that men’s cologne was all about the name you gave it not the smell.

 

He said, “It ain’t what it smells like—heck you can get a chemist to create any smell you want.  The money is in the name!”

 

He went on to explain that all successful men’s fragrances had a great name and, most importantly, the had come up with the best name EVER!

 

“Really?”  I said, genuinely interested. “When did you come up with it?”

 

"11 years ago.” He said.

 

“How’s it going?” I asked.

 

“Still waiting on the right time.” He said.

 

"What???”  I thought to myself. You had more than a decade to work on your dream idea that you’re sure is going to make you rich and you've done NOTHING?

 

There’s an old saying, “Some people dream big dreams while others stay awake and actually accomplish something.”

 

Let’s remember to dream, but not to make dreams our master.

A. Frederick Collins, a 20th century American Scientist and Author once noted,

 

 “There are two types of people - those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.’”

 

So, which one are you?

 

I can tell you that for most of my life I was the former.

 

I expected everyone to not only take note but to take interest in the fact that I….[drum roll]…..Will Bowen was now present.

 

WHAT A LOAD OF BULL !

 

Once I discovered that it’s a lot more engaging, attractive, fun, and easier to take an interest in others, my life (and my popularity) improved dramatically.

 

It’s natural for human beings to want to be unique, special, important and yet it is possible to “Look to good, and talk too wise” as Kipling says.

 

Today let’s remember that it’s not about being the brightest bulb in the room, it’s about inviting others to shine!