🌎 World Domination Newsletter #4

Published: Wed, 10/13/21

WORLD DOMINATION

BY JOE

10/13/21

The day when inspiration, motivation and availability collided.

Believing we are who we want to be.

The focus of my newsletters, broadly speaking, is about my passions. I like to write about my widely varied interests. Writing is my way of being me. Maybe this will inspire you to do the same about you!

Sometimes these newsletters focus on my educational business and the importance of my relationships and connection with my students and parents. However, several have addressed and will continue to explore my interests, including but not limited to; travel and taking ownership of my life in this rapidly changing world.

It is so easy to feel as if we are losing control.

In today’s uncertain times, many of us are up all night “worrying” about the future. Since most of us are action-oriented, instead of worrying, we think about what we need to change:

Maybe we need to change jobs or our career NOW before it is “too late” (whatever that means).
Maybe we need to get back to school since our hours have been cut at work.
Maybe it is time to move (since everyone else is doing that)...but, we need to take a moment and ask ourselves if we're simply following the crowd though.
Maybe we need (I know I do) to take a serious look at ourselves and what we think we do well, that may not in fact be reality.

I went on a six week trip to Idaho, Montana, Utah and Nevada to decide where I felt I possibly wanted to move to. I was more confused when I returned than when I left. Then, I read a book by James Clear called Atomic Habits.

How many times in our lives do we vow to make changes to our lives and change our habits? And, of course, those changes don’t stick.

Now, I know why, I did NOT see myself as someone who could make those changes.
(How do I really see myself, in general?)

I have been terrible being consistent about the things I love—writing, publishing this newsletter, etc. Why?

I learned from Atomic Habits that we fail like this when we don’t believe we are the kind of person who is successful.

“That fit guy who did the same program I was starting,,,I doubt I can do it.”
“I know I can write that book, but I just don’t see myself as actually finishing it."
"I don’t know that I am really that kind of person to …. actually do it.”

Does this mindset sound familiar?

I realized that moving isn’t the only change that is going to help me get control of my life. I will still be me. HERE IS A BLOG POST where I deal with my issues with consistency.

Maybe you can relate and learn from my experiences.

The whole process of life has changed in the last two years. We have to think and do in a manner that most of us have never considered a possibility—or, for which we have planned previously in our lives.

More than anything else, we must not only refuse to succumb to a mindset of losing control, but we must recognize that these feelings may be an everyday occurrence, so we must not give in to it.

We are going to have to fundamentally change modes of thinking and acting, I believe.

We must actually believe we are capable and even worthy of being the person we need to be.

OUTSTANDING QUOTES

"True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about OURSELVES, and the world around us.” — Socrates

“To grow yourself, you must know yourself.” — John Maxwell

“You know, ever since we were little, I would get this feeling like... like I'm floating outside of my body, looking down at myself...and I hate what I see...how I'm acting, the way I sound. And I don't know how to change it. And, I'm so scared...that the feeling is never gonna go away.” — Hailee Steinfeld from Nadine

STOP READING. Reread this last quote at least one more time and put yourself in that position. It is likely you have experienced it. This is the curtain we have to peel back and begin to live that level of self-inquiry.

“We can not act or choose until we can see.”— Joe Wisniewski

NUGGET OF WISDOM

We can learn much from the ancient Stoics. I would have loved to have lived then and just listened.

“The Stoics understood how comfortable we become in patterned behaviors and responses, and in the opinions we hold that justify them. They gave a two-fold prescription for practicing self-awareness, and surprisingly, it involved first being suspicious about our own perceptions and opinions of events until we test them, and secondly, taking an opposite approach with evaluating the behavior of others—being sympathetic before being suspicious.

With our perceptions of events, the Stoics recommend taking a little time-out:

From dailystoic.com

READ THIS:

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

FUN, FUN, FUN

Last month, I took a trip from Arizona to Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Utah. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. I had decided that I needed to make a number of changes to my education and tutoring business and I LOVE that part of the country.

One change that I felt that I needed to make was to physically move my base of operations out of Arizona.

My desire for change or belief that a change in venue was the primary key for what I needed was misplaced. I had not effectively and clearly looked at myself. I can still see a move in my future. However, I am not ready because I have not clearly and honestly looked at myself.

Changing where I live even if it helps achieve client availability goals is not what I need first and foremost. My personal organizational skills are sorely lacking. That is what I need to address first.

What I didn’t effectively consider is the overhead of considering, and then implementing, such a move, while at the same time making substantive changes to the business. It was way too much.

I stayed a couple of days in Ely, Nevada in a very early 20th century, now converted, saloon/gambling hall (and probably brothel in the day). It was very “Judge Roy Bean-ish.”

I drove around Idaho and Montana just taking in the natural everlasting beauty. I spent some time in Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah—two different ends of the state and very different geography. I always liked St. George. I once dated a gal who lived there. Fond memories. Maybe I will end up there. When I know, I will know.

INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO

WATCH THIS:

Wepner knockdown of Ali

READ THIS

Everyone knows the Rocky story, from defeat to victory to...something else. Is this a story of motivation or is it really something else?

Do you know the real world story that led to the Rocky saga? A run-of-the-mill boxer, Chuck Wepner fought Muhammed Ali in 1975 for the heavyweight championship at the Richfield Coliseum, outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

Wepner did not win, but contrary to anyone’s expectations (including the Wepner camp), Wepner knocked Muhammed Ali down, which rarely ever happened. The fight went just short of the full 15 rounds.

How was Wepner able to accomplish this? Was he simply highly motivated? Maybe just lucky? Well, yeah, but that could not have been enough. Wepner, at some level, changed. The longer he stayed with Ali, He “became” someone to (almost) go the distance with Ali (and put Ali down on his backside, although Ali claimed he tripped).

This may well be why we have worthy goals in our life, but we generally don’t realize those goals. We have to see ourselves as changed and capable. Believing we can change doesn’t seem to be enough to get it done.

Wepner probably doesn’t go to the 15th round without him becoming the fighter who could go (almost) the distance with the champ.

EXPERT ADVICE

From Joe:

Open your eyes and view yourself AS YOU ARE. You can not believe that you are capable of real change unless you know EXACTLY where you are starting from. READ THE BLOG

ACADEMIC EXPERT WEBSITE