Gary's blog

Every nice day in the summer, I enjoy pausing for a break in my work and looking out my office window.

On a good day, I get an added piece of enjoyment. If I scan the skyline right at the edge of the river I can often find 2 large kites dancing in the sky. Always the same 2, always in the same spot. They are bright and colourful and you just can't help but smile when you see them.

Confidence is a hard task to master, and can be made even more challenging when you encounter people who say things to purposely put you down or hold you back.

As hard as you try to build yourself up, for some reason there always seems to be someone around ready to criticize you or your work. The question is, why do you let it?

While walking through the store yesterday, I heard a parent asking their child this question. Obviously it was in response to a behaviour issue the child was facing, but the question got me thinking.

When was the last time you took a time out?

Do you know when you need to take one?

As adults, we no longer have the privilege of someone telling us that it's time for us to take a moment to ourselves. We have to be aware of our feelings and frustrations at all times, and know when it's time for us to walk away.

You've probably all heard that old adage. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." I'm sure it's something many parents have rhymed off to their children in order to encourage them to keep persevering through difficulty while learning a new task.

Sadly, as we get older, we seem to lose this mentality. We want our children to try again, and yet often we give up at the first sign of failure. Why is it that we've forgotten the importance of brushing ourselves off and trying again?

If you're an avid reader of my blog, or my ezine, you know I often stress the importance of setting SMART goals, writing them down, and making a plan to follow them.

I understand that it's challenging to keep up with a goal, and sometimes they seem almost unreachable. It's easy to become bored, complacent, or just distracted with other things.

Today is Friday the 13th. On my way in this morning the radio station I was listening to was talking about Friday the 13th, and all the myths & legends around it. One of the points they made about this day, was one I make about life in general every day.

You will find exactly what you are looking for.

In other words, if you wake up on Friday the 13th paralyzed by fear, expecting the worst to happen, waiting all day for bad things to take place - the chances are that you will look for bad things all day, just to prove to yourself that you were right.

I have to tell you a secret. I have a great team of people I work with. We laugh, we joke, we have fun, and we put out all the work we need to.

One of the best things we do as a team is celebrate those that are around us. Each Monday we get together and share our successes for the past week. We cheer each other on. We help each other through any challenges we are facing. We celebrate each other. It is an atmosphere I feel very lucky to be a part of, and to encourage.

Have you ever heard of an elevator speech? It’s a marketing term, which basically says that if you step onto an elevator with someone, and they ask you what your company does, you should be able to explain it to them before the elevator doors open on your floor and you have to exit.

This past weekend my parents were down visiting. We always have a wonderful time, and one of my mother’s favourite things to do is take a trip to the nearby casino. They go in and hit the penny slots and have a great few hours playing away. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes not, but we all practice the rule that you only go in with what you’d be comfortable losing. In other words, you are not going to the casino to make money, you are going to lose it.

Are you an “all or nothing” person when it comes to setting goals? In other words, you set a goal, but put off starting it because you can’t possibly comprehend being able to finish it?

If that’s the case, maybe one of your challenges is that your goals are just too big to tackle. It’s wonderful to have visions of your someday, and goals to get you there, but sometimes the goal we set for ourselves are so big, it’s hard to envision yourself actually doing them.