Brian Said...

A Blog by Inspirational Writer and Speaker, Brian Hicks, who resides online at www.brian-hicks.com.

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Snap Out of It!

Brian Hicks - Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Today's Daily DifferenceMaker...
The Tinderbox Tapes club members receive a Daily DifferenceMaker (DDM) every morning. The DDMs are a little different than today's post here, but I hope it will nonetheless make a difference in your day.

As a reminder... When I talk to myself, it looks like this and when I talk BACK to myself, it looks like this.




"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
Jack London (1876-1916)
American Author with whom you likely associate wolves and 9th grade
 

Dude, your street cred is totally shot right now. Cher? In a chick flick? Seriously...
Yeah, well... Some people think she's hot, so maybe that's where I was goin'. How ya like me now, big boy?
Drag Queens in Vegas think she's hot. Is that your message?
Bite me.

In all honesty, this is one of those movie moments that has stuck with me forever. I can honestly say I think about it almost every day. Whenever I need a wake up call, I simply allow Cher to smack me around in my head, and it honest to goodness works!

If you've just recently joined us, you may not know that the "Astound Yourself Today" & "Tend the Flame" thing is about creating a new world for yourself & your family. My whole purpose for the club and the book and the speaking and the site is to encourage you to create that new world by doing what you're capable of doing; nothing less, but thankfully, nothing more.

As I've traveled my own journey & talked to others on their journeys, I've noticed we all have a common fault: We all have moments when we sit and wait for inspiration to strike.

For some, it's at the beginning of the journey itself. They sit and wait. They pray and wait. They moan and wait. They complain and wait. They watch American Idol and wait...

The point is that they wait. They wait for inspiration. They wait for someone else to motivate them. They wait for Adam Lambert's new album...

And as a result, they never get off the proverbial couch. I'm gonna give you a minute to put on your big boy pants.

You got 'em on? They pulled up high & tight?

Okay.

Here's the deal, pickle:
Get up.

Just get up.
Don't worry about where you're going or how you'll get there.
Just get up.
You don't need 7 habits or 21 laws or any "secret."
Just get up.
Grab a club.
And get up.

Make one call. Write one page. Paint one wall. Buy one rose.

Seriously. Why are you still reading this? G.O. GO!!!

Alright, so that was pretty cool and I get what you're saying, but haven't you read those books?
Course I have, and they're great books. But the bottom line is that too many people are saying, 'I gotta read the book before I start.' That's BEYOND wrong. When you justify not creating your new world by saying you're reading a book so you can 'get it figured out better' first... Well, you'll still be reading books & trying to figure it all out next year & the next year & the next year, won't you?
Well as long as you cleared that up...

For some, getting started is easy; it's after the new wears off that they get into trouble. Certainly, "tending the flame" comes into play here, but today we're taking a slightly different look. See, it's the day-to-day disciplines that trip us up.

I think London's quote resonates with me because I've lived it in the last year. When you write a book, you have to commit to 1,000 words a day or 5 pages a day or a scene a day or whatever your goal is. Inspiration doesn't descend upon you each morning & say, "This is the word from the Lord God Almighty. Write this down." No one comes along to get you off the couch, especially when your book is a motivational book wrapped in a novel. I promise, it's ALL YOU. And maybe your wife a little...

I spent 20 years in the health insurance business & can tell you that waiting for inspiration to strike is a condition common to everyone in every profession. And it's not just professional. It's relational and spiritual and all the other "-als." You think you're cute, don't you?

We wait to be properly inspired before we make a call or buy flowers or help with chores or put in for the promotion or write a word. But what do you do when the inspiration doesn't come? What do you do when the outer distractions are louder than the voice in your head?
You never have that problem, do you?
You think you're cute, don't you?
Duh?! Have you seen me?
Shut it.
The answer is simple... You already know what you need to do. So SNAP OUT OF IT and grab a club! My experience has been that once you "get all up in there" even though you don't "feel" like it, it'll be a little tedious at first, but somewhere along the way, you'll hit upon some little thing that will inspire you to do more.

But notice the inspiration comes after the doing. In fact, the inspiration comes from the doing. It is rarely the other way around!

You can use all kinds of mental tricks & read all the books (Dude! You're killin' me! Sounds like you're trashing the books. Did you forget that YOU wrote one, too! Yeah, but mine's waaay different, right? Oh yeah, DEFinitely different...), but the bottom line is that you don't need to see the finished product today. You just need to see today. You just need to see what you're capable of doing & go do it.

You don't need to see how she'll react; you just need to buy the flower. You don't need to see the signed contract; you just need to make the call. You don't need to see the NY Times Bestseller List; you just need to write the scene. You don't need to see them winning a Nobel Peace Prize; you just need to teach them how to love their little brother. You don't need to see the sold-out arena; you just need to write the chorus.

In short, you just need to do what you're capable of doing today.
When you do, you'll Astound Yourself Today, and that will inspire you to do it again tomorrow!
And a month, a year, a decade from today you'll be living in your new world - the one you created by simply doing what you were capable of doing today.

AYT,
Brian
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Stuff That Scares Me

Brian Hicks - Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Well... There's my wife greeting me at the back door with that "it's pink" look on her face.

There's the 2010 kickoff without Tim Tebow & the HUGE loss of talent on both sides of the ball.

And snakes. Always snakes. But that's not what this is about.

I've been away from the blog for quite awhile. In fact, you could say it never got started good. But its time has come. And that brings me to my point. But before I launch into the list you should know that I talk to myself OUT LOUD and it looks like this. And when I talk BACK to myself, it looks like this.

Okay... so I'm afraid:

  1. That you won't like it. Dude. Seriously? Yep. I said it. Deep down I'm a 14-year-old girl on her first day at a new high school, not hoping to fit in but just praying no one even notices her. If they notice, there's a chance they'll make fun. And if they make fun, there's a chance it'll stick for four long years. Wow. You're creepin' me out. I know, but I once heard about this kid that got tagged "Cryin' Brian" in school and that stuff tends to stick. Just sayin...
  2. That you won't read it. I suppose the only thing worse than not liking it is not reading it in the first place. And why do I care? Because I genuinely desire to help tend your flame  as you create that new world you desire and astound yourself along the way, AND I believe my experience qualifies me to do it in an entertaining & engaging way. Okay. 3 things, Einstein: One, if they're not reading this, well THEY'RE NOT READING THIS! B, They don't know what you mean about new worlds and astounding yourself, and CUATRO, "Tend your flame?" You sound like a perv. That will all make sense as we progress. Trust me. And why should I do that? So far we've determined you're an insecure teenage girl with no friends & apparently a bit of a weeper. And "your experience qualifies you"? Man, you suck at this. And NEWS FLASH: There's a fine line between "entertaining & engaging" and public therapy. Shut up. You could stop me if you wanted to...
  3. That you won't like the look (because I don't like the look) and that will detract from the message. See, I'm breaking my big rule here. Pretty is good. Pretty is important. Pretty makes the reader more comfortable. It's the wrapping paper at Christmas, you know? This isn't a WordPress blog with a Woo Theme. It's the blog format of the website I spent a lot of money on & frankly I ain't changin' it yet. Hey, I thought you got a WordPress account. It's free, right? Yes. And yes. But then I'd have to link people back & forth between the blog & the site and that's a hassle. Since I paid money for this website before I really had a handle on my purpose here, I'm sorta stuck with it for now. Yeah. I think you're just cheap.
  4. That you won't "get"me. That is, my humor; my perspective. My wife says I creep people out because I strike up random conversations with people: There's the kid with the UF t-shirt on line at Sbarro in the food court to whom I smile & say, "Go Gators!" who runs to find his mom because "that creepy old man was grinning at me." Not your fault he forgot he was wearing that shirt. IT'S EVEN A COMMERCIAL, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! There's the checkout girl at Wal-Mart to whom I say, "Come on SEVEN!" as I swipe my debit card and then, "HOTCHA!" when it says "approved." That's kinda funny, man. What does she say? Nothing. Just stares at me. I bet she doesn't speak English. You know what, I never thought of that! I bet you're right. Wait'll I tell the wife... And then there's the teenage girls sitting behind us at the pool. I can't remember what I said, but my wife informed me that you NEVER, EVER speak to teenage girls at a pool. Who knew? I KNOW! I thought it was that creepy old man thing again, but she said that while I am indeed old & creepy, it was more about THEM than ME. It wasn't about YOU? I bet you were devastated... See. I'm well aware that things get "misconscrewed" when we're standing face-to-face and you can see my nonverbals & hear the nuance in my voice. When it's in writing, I get worried that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you read is not what I meant. Huh? That's Robert McCloskey's fault.
  5. That you'll think I'm self-aggrandizing when I share parts of my personal journey. I'm truly more interested in your journey than in my own, but sometimes we get encouragement from those who are traveling a similar path. I'll never claim that anything I do is the only way to do things, nor will I claim that you'll fail if you ignore me. I just believe what my hero, Andy Andrews, says, "Encouragement is good. Proof is better." When you want to create a new world - relationally, spiritually, professionally and any other "ly" - it's nice to hear of others who are doing the same. It provides proof that it can be done. Yeah, but you're not done. Heck NOBODY'S ever done, are they? True enough, but you get the point. If not, see #4 above...
  6. That after I post this, I'll think of lots MORE stuff - better stuff - that scares me. But that's always going to be the case. You ponder. You pontificate. You put it out there. It is what it is. The one phrase that changed my is "Progress, not perfection."If you wait for it to be perfect, you'll be waiting a very long time. Just start somewhere & get better as you learn & grow. Can't ask for any more than that. Yeah, but you CAN ask for a better phrase, Dopey! ONE phrase changed your life and THAT was it? How about "Give me liberty or give me death!" or "Just Do It" or "It's not clean unless it's OxiClean!" You're right about one thing: This ain't perfect.
  7. That my wife will read this and greet me at the back door with a different kind of look on her face. Won't be the first time... Shut UP! You really CAN'T stop me, can you?
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