“Live today as if it’s already tomorrow!” Lately, this is a motto I have come to know well in my life. Basically, if it’s today, yesterday is already gone. You can’t change it, alter it or get it back. What’s done is done…or on the other hand, what’s not done is just a missed opportunity. It’s gone! So seriously, live today as though you will never have today again…and the crazy thing is, you won’t ever have it again. I know….deep right!?

My point is simple. Yesterday, I listened in on a conversation my wife was having, and it was the most motivating conversation I have ever heard. It brought tears to my eyes to sit there and listen to this man pour out a life of regret. He had spent his life striving to live the dream, business venture after business venture. He started out in the Glass Industry. Instead of running his business, his business ran him. His paperwork kept him at the office into the late hours of the night. He rarely saw his family. Then one day, he decided to build a shop behind his house and his daughter said, “Mommy, I’m so happy that Daddy is building his house so close to our house because we can go visit him now.”

He went on to say that the big house, the nice cars, the huge successful business, the glory and the fame just don’t matter. Looking back on his life now, he realizes that he was never there. The words “I wish I would have” rolled off his tongue as he spoke of his children. He wishes he would have been around more when they were little. That’s all that matters to him now, and now he is full of regret. He can never get that time back.

To me, to hear stories like this, is very, very depressing….yet at the same time, extremely motivating! I don’t ever want to say, “I wish I would have.” Ever! I don’t want to be the guy with 20/20 hindsight. I want to be the guy who lives today as if there is no tomorrow…..and so I do. If I have  and idea or a gumption, I act on it. I don’t wait. Waiting is a waste of time and besides, what are you waiting for? A better time? There will never be a better time in the history of YOU, to act on your dreams.

So just don’t. Don’t be the guy that says “I wish I had!” Don’t live a life of regrets. Don’t put off your dreams for anything. And yes, that includes the lack of knowledge on how to achieve your dreams. That’s no excuse. Live a full and fulfilling life. Every moment counts!

In the last post I covered success category #1, Self….and for a quick reference, here is a link to the 5 categories of success post. Today, I’d like to share a bit about the second category, Family. I am sure you have all heard the common phrase: No other success can compensate for failure in the home. Family is the very first organization a child is exposed to. It is the first source of education, principle and love. If correct principles are taught in the home, those principles will be carried out and practiced throughout relationships, business decisions and the life of that child. If those principles are not taught by parents, no other success experienced outside of that can compensate for it.

My greatest source of happiness, sense of belonging, fulfillment and sense of accomplishment stems from my family….my wife, my children, my parents and siblings. It’s my support structure. No where else on the planet can you duplicate the result, environment and feeling of having a successful family. As parents, we have a sacred duty to make sure correct principles are taught to our children. Many of the problems in the world stem from the deterioration of the family unit and lack of proper, initial education. It’s a proven fact that those who are raised in a family that teaches correct principles, are more likely to succeed.

Why do you think that so many people search for a feeling of belonging, or a community they can feel welcome in. It’s in our instinct. We want to be loved, included and supported.

Family is always first. Everything else comes second. If I am successful at home, my life flows well. If I am not, I stress.

Now this isn’t to say that someone cannot be a success if they have failed in the home. That’s not my point at all. Many successful people have come from or have created broken homes and relationships. An example is Abraham Lincoln. Given the circumstances in his time, he had a broken home and neglected his children, yet, he was extremely successful. But, all of the success he achieved for himself and this country will never compensate for the emptiness he causes in the lives of his family. And maybe that was a sacrifice he had to make……a divided home or a divided country. Which obligation is greater? Maybe he didn’t have to choose?

So my advice to you is to choose a career that brings you closer to your family, instead of tearing you apart. If you are faced with a decision to work more hours so that you can pay for that bigger boat or spend time with your kids, spend time with your kids. Teach them what their Mom and Dad value in life. Teach them correct principles of integrity, honesty, love, compassion, boldness, ethics and faith. They don’t learn these types of things in school. It’s up to the family to build that solid foundation correctly, before they send them out into the world. If we can do that as a country, as a world, this planet will become a better place to live.

Success isn’t a status, it’s a series of events, one right after the other, that go right. The success series for a child starts at home, within their family. It’s where the ball starts rolling, or doesn’t roll at all. Let’s make sure it starts!

I’ve compiled a few pictures here for a real quick survey. Look at the pictures below and tell me which view you would prefer while working.

Workspace #1

Workspace View #2 - Supervisor of Workspace #1

Workspace View #3

Workspace #4 - Getting Better!

Workspace #5 - Very Nice!

Workspace #6 - Priceless! Working from Home!

So which of these work spaces looks the most appealing to you and which of these spaces are you somewhat currently in? Man, if everyone could just get this one concept: You have just as much of a choice to not work where you want as you do in working exactly where you want! So I chose work spaces #5 and #6 nearly 5 years ago. I used to work in something similar to work space #3. I think I definitely upgraded!

So you might ask the question: Is a home based business all it’s chalked up to be? The answer for me: YES! The answer for you: (Fill in the blank)!

One thing we have going for us as humans is our own ability to create something out of thin air. Especially when it comes to our time. We have the ability and resources to spend it in an array of ways. How we spend it has a direct reflection on our results in life. If someone isn’t getting their desired results in life, chances are, they just simple aren’t spending their time doing the things they must do to get the result. The hard part for people is knowing how to change the way they spend their time. It’s so easy not to change, right?

My point is….so many people have time working against them instead of for them. It seems that most people are in a hurry to die, to put it bluntly. The sooner they get off work the better, the quicker the day goes by the better, the faster the time goes by so that they can sit there on their couch, the better. Most people want time to fly by and in my experience, thinking of all the times that I wanted time to fly by, these were the times when I was most miserable. I was either at a job I hated, with someone I didn’t enjoy being with, terribly sick, in pain or just flat out sick and tired.

These were the moments in my life that I wanted my time to go faster. These were the times that I wanted to speed up time and literally get closer to my end. I wanted time to pass by faster, I wanted to waste that time just to spare myself of the misery I was experiencing at the moment. I wanted to get older, just by a small bit, so that I could move on with doing what I wanted to do and enjoyed doing. In doing so, I wasted a small section of my life…..a section that I will NEVER get back. Your TIME is your LIFE. It’s a simple concept….if you waste your time, you waste your life.

So let me ask you a question: Who in their right mind wants their life to pass by quicker? Who, having a sane mind, wants to die sooner? Because that’s basically what you’re doing when you spend your time doing what you can’t stand to do, hoping it passes by quicker. Now, fifteen minutes of time wasted at your job may not seem like you are wasting your life, but what is fifteen minutes multiplied by five or six days out of the week times 52 weeks in a year times the number of years you have been wasting 15 minutes a day. That adds up to a lot of wasted time, doing something you cannot stand to do. And if you are just working that job or business just for a paycheck and get no personal satisfaction or enjoyment from it, what are you doing?

So let me rephrase the question: Who in their right mind, who is following their passions in life, wants their life to pass by quicker? Who, having a sane mind and is living life to it’s fullest, wants to die sooner?

So how do you live life to it’s fullest or at least know you are? Here are a few questions for you:

• Is there something you have wanted to do for a while but haven’t taken the action?
• Do you feel like you should be doing something more with your life?
• Do you hate your job?
• Do you feel like you are just going through the motions just so the time will pass by?
• Do you find yourself thinking of all the great things you could have done in your life up to this point?

These are just a few questions and if you answered YES to any of them, chances are, you are not living your life to the fullest. My suggestion to you: Time is ticking, get to it!

I’d like you to meet one of my business partners! We seem to work pretty well together….she sleeps and I’m the head rest. Frankly, all this computer stuff just bores her to death so I have decided to take on the roll of advertising online even though she is a huge part of it still. She does more advertising for me than she knows, just being her. So whether she is helping me shave, falling asleep on me while I work or just wanting to play, she is reminding me that I am successful! My reason for doing what I do is to be at home. This picture is my success!

Choosing business partners is a serious matter and I have chosen mine already. I have more than just one. I have chosen them because they inspire me and remind me to have fun. They’re loyal and honest. I love seeing the world through their eyes as it gives me an entirely new perspective. They greet each day with new excitement and energy. There is never a dull moment and they definitely keep me on my toes. Most importantly, I love them. They are my family!

Honestly, let me ask you a serious question. Who would you rather spend the most time in your day with? Your Boss, your business partner, your employees or your spouse and kids? I guarantee that nobody in this world deserves more time with you than your own family. Yes, you must still build relationships, do business, make money, go to church and all that stuff, but not at the sacrifice of those you love the most, your business partners for life, your family.

If you have a goal to have more time for your family, what are you waiting for? Something is not going to fall out of the sky and hit you on the head saying “here it is!” Although, that would be nice at times. It would be so much easier. I actually quit my job before I had the income to replace it because I knew that wasn’t the life I wanted to live. That was nearly 5 years ago. Now, I am successful. I work from home, make Great money and am living the lifestyle I chose to live nearly 5 years ago when I quit my job. I didn’t hesitate on that decision and neither should you. Don’t find yourself five years from now still wishing to have more time to spend with your family or for that lifestyle change.

What’s more painful for you: Spending your entire life wishing, or, taking a risk at your dreams and failing? I sure hope you chose the first. You can always try again at your dreams but will never, ever get your life back. Make it happen!