by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart
The economy is in the doldrums because the people are depressed. Much like The Dark Ages when the prevailing mood was gloom and doom, we see very little optimism and hope today. The news is filled with discouraging information and reports that lead us to be more suspicious of each other and skeptical of everything we hear. Each day brings a new expose’ of some corrupt institution or a new regulation that carries with it a host of reporting requirements and restrictions on normal communication. But there is enormous opportunity behind this gloom.
What we need is a “Rennaissance,” a rebirth of the desire to grow and succeed.
When business is depressed it doesn’t go away, it just gets postponed. People still want a new car and many need one, but they’ve delayed their purchase due to economic fears. Couples still want to buy a new home or renovate the one they have but banking and mortgage regulations have caused them to delay.
But the need and desire to buy still exist. In many cases, the money is also available, but the commitments are inhibited by fears and uncertainty. It’s hard to exert initiative when you are confused. So what do we do?
Every great advancement begins in the mind of one individual who decides to take action on his or her dreams. They see the goal in their mind or feel the desire in their heart and then they act upon it. That is what we need MUCH more of today: goals and desires.
Step One is to Define What You Want. Until you have a clear target you will not take bold action.
Here’s an exercise to break the inertia:
“Without Reflection there is no true learning.” Kevin Buck
It is time for the dreamer in you to emerge once again. Re-ignite the caring genes in you. Start talking about what’s possible. Get others engaged in conversations about how good it could be if we all started contributing toward the growth of our company, community, family or country. The big questions are:
What do you really want?
What are you willing to do in order to achieve it?
How can you start working on it today?
I was born in 1946 and graduated high school in 1964. Those dates define “The Baby Boom”; 78 million people born during the 18 years after World War II. Our boom has driven a mega-market for everything from diapers to depends over the course of years.
Today 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day. Read that again…yes, “every day!”
But unlike Mom & Dad and our own grandparents, we aren’t retiring and fading away. We are still active. Socially, financially, professionally, physically and intellectually…we are vitally still engaged in the world.
This presents an interesting opportunity for the rest of the world. How do we cope with and profit from meeting the needs of this huge group? The answer will vary depending upon your field of involvement.
Here are just a few of the emerging needs and wants.
You might enjoy this brief video from my appearance before 1,500 professional speakers in Anaheim, CA recently. It adds a musical perspective to the message above.
by Jim Cathcart, Motivation Expert
Freeman Michaels has an inspiring radio show and podcast that featured me recently in a discussion about understanding our nature and being intelligent about our relationships. Here is a 3 1/2 minute video clip of the program. If you’d like to hear the entire program stay tuned to this blogsite and my Facebook page for the link, coming soon.
We’ve posted a number of short videos recently on YouTube and Vimeo. Take a few minutes to browse them. I think you’ll enjoy the ideas.
Let us know when we can help you in any way.
PS here are some photos from my tour of South America last month. Thought you’d like to see some of the images.
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Imagine going to your favorite bookstore via your computer and when you select a book, you then get to browse its chapters. As you select a chapter, the author comes onto your screen in High-Definition and speaks the message directly to you in less than 10 minutes.
That is actually possible right now through Daily Success Stream (formerly iLearningGlobal.tv). The folks at Daily Success Stream have assembled over 600 of these video messages from their astoundingly large and comprehensive faculty. I have 15 video messages there in my Relationship Intelligence® Series.
I am proud to be a member of their Founding Faculty “Hall of Fame” along with:
The real beauty of this magical web source is that it is the least expensive high-content training site in existence today. It is filled with Hall of Fame Professional Speakers and Best Selling Authors at their best, in short, powerful messages that you can access anytime, anywhere. The subscription is only $49.95 a month for more training than you can imagine, cancellable any time.
And, with my position as a Founding Faculty member I can provide you with a $10 a month discount just by enrolling through entering the promo code: cathcart. So, for just $39.95 a month you can scroll through hundreds of lessons on Sales, Leadership, Relationships, Life Balance, Motivation, Negotiation, Strategy, Communication, Presentation Skills, Social Media Marketing, Customer Service, Wealth Building, Attitude and much more. To enroll now and try it for a month at this discounted rate, just go to this link and remember to use the promo code: cathcart. (This site is very new so if you have any difficulty just drop me an email at jim@cathcart.com.)
Please visit this exciting site and take the tour. It is beyond anything you’ve seen before. The faculty line up alone is unique! Add to that the High-Def delivery and bite sized lessons and you have an unbeatable package!!
See you in the Daily Success Stream.
$49.95 – Regular monthly subscription price
$39.95 – with promo code: cathcart
Cancellable anytime. But why would you want to? They keep adding new faculty videos every week!
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by Jim Cathcart
I’ve heard for years that we should “follow our bliss.” Never knew for sure what that meant but clearly it was similar to, “If it feels good…do it!” (The mantra of the flower child generation.) Being of that same Baby Boomer age group I certainly identify with the sentiment. But it doesn’t seem to be a good formula for generating income and paying your bills. Until you examine it further.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell |
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One of the imprinting moments for me was in 1978 when I saw Kenny Rogers on The Donahue Show (the Oprah of his day). Kenny was at the top of the charts with hit records, Tonight Show appearances and his own variety shows on TV. He had just published a new book titled “Making It With Music“. That day Phil Donahue interviewed him about how to build a musical career and he interspersed musical performances with his interview. I told my wife Paula, “That is what I want to do!” Meaning, that I wanted to do speeches and seminars as I had been doing since 1976 but I wanted to sing and play guitar too.
A bit of background; when we got married in 1970 I was playing guitar and singing in clubs full time. I guess I was a “lounge lizard” because I played popular, folk, rock and country music at half a dozen venues around my home town, Little Rock, Arkansas. At that time my dream was to move to Nashville, get a day job to pay the bills, take music and voice lessons in the afternoons and then perform at night anywhere I could until I made my big break.
That plan didn’t even get off the ground before a new opportunity opened up. I joined the Jaycees (The Junior Chamber of Commerce) and became immensely active as a volunteer, chapter leader and committee member. Within two years I had won statewide awards for my works and was hired by the national headquarters to be in charge of Leadership Training for the 356,000 members in the USA. My music took a back seat as my world opened up and I was having a great time as a speaker, trainer and author.
But the desire to sing and perform still lingered. I played at parties and for my family but not much else…for almost thirty years!!! I could still play and did a passable job on the songs that I knew but, Man!, to take an entire generation off from performing is just begging for a “wish I had” later on. I’ve never been one to spend energy on what I “coulda, woulda, shoulda” done. So, let’s fast forward to the current era.
A few years ago our friends John & Len Dwight announced that they were hosting a “Hot August Night” party and asked if I’d bring my guitar. That’s all it took to let my genie out of the bottle again. I started practicing the Neil Diamond song that contains that lyric; Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show. As I played that song it led me to others and so I kept my guitar on a stand near my desk for convenience. The ease of access caused me to play more often and today, a few years later, I find myself playing every day. I’ve not only recaptured the joy of playing but I’ve also gotten MUCH better at guitar.
I’ve even found ways to tastefully include a song or two in some of my speeches and seminars. Some clients have asked me to do a complete performance of singalong Rock n Roll for their attendees. And boy is it fun! I’m having the time of my life. I recently performed in Macau, China at the Venetian Resort for a convention where I was the keynote speaker. Last year I performed in Phoenix, Dallas, San Diego and New York City. On Thursday of this week I’m hosting an event called “Sherwood Unplugged” at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. It is an open mike acoustic guitar event complete with dinner, bars and lots of guitars. Guitar Center, Hollywood is providing a display of high-end guitars for a “Guitar Petting Zoo” and some rental guitars for us to play onstage. This four hour event will be the closest to a regular concert that I’ve done in years.
But is it profitable?
That’s the real question, if I follow my bliss and continue to pursue performing, can I make enough money at it to justify the time and energy required? The answer is Yes. One recent speech booking with a Nashville-based client mistakenly added an hour to my scheduled presentation and published the schedule with the error in it. As we talked about what to do with that extra hour I suggested we do a Jam Session with me on guitar and everyone singing along on their favorite tunes. The client jumped at the suggestion and now I’ll be performing as part of my paid engagement. It is more fun for me, more fun for the audience and I’m finding a number of ways to use the guitar to enhance some of my speeches.
So, what is your bliss? What gives you great joy but hasn’t yet shown you how to make money at it? Now might be a good time to start adding it to your life in little ways. Let the opportunities evolve as you pursue your happiness. We never know what the path will look like until we begin to travel it. If you could be doing more of one specific thing, what would that be? Do it now!
If you’d like to hear one of my songs, go to iTunes and look up “Riding Free” by Jim Cathcart.
Music>Rock>Jim Cathcart (it was #7 on the list when I last looked it up. Scroll down to find it)
You can also purchase it (for $1) from my Online Store here at Cathcart.com.
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