Harvey, Jason - Achieve Anything In Just One Year - Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals

He was outwardly successful, but Lee was not having any fun. He liked building robots, and his job no longer required that skill. He liked people, but he spent most of his day on the computer in his spacious office and his evenings in a big, empty house out in the suburbs. He liked dogs. His best buddy growing up was a mutt his parents rescued from the local shelter. But a former girlfriend got him a purebred something-or-other, and it was high maintenance and no fun at all.

Lee was not a success. He made a lot of money, and he owned a few things that gave him the appearance of being a successful person. However, Lee didn’t have fun in any aspect of his life. He had not yet achieved his dreams.

DAY

314

“A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world we cannot enter in any other way.”

— Caroline Gordon

You’ve had a chance to consider some of the ways in which you can incorporate fun into your life, and you have your own list of activities from which to choose. The quote above suggests a cheap form of entertainment that may not have made it to your list yet. It is a magical opportunity for fun that is often underrated: reading.

You may not have the cash or the vacation days available to take a trip to Spain or France, but you can pick up a copy of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and fly away to the bullfights and festivals without leaving your living room.

Reading is fun, it’s a form of entertainment, and it is also a very easy way to get your creative juices flowing. When you read, you transport yourself into a world that the author suggests and you inhabit through your own imagination and life experiences. The words have the power to transform you. Reading is a great way to spark new and innovative ideas, because it takes you out of your immediate surroundings. The altered perspective works like a kaleidoscope to change a picture you thought you knew into something fresh when seen through the creative eyes of the author.

What do you like to read? Do you prefer mysteries, romance novels, or history books? Maybe you enjoy short stories or magazine articles instead of full-length novels. There is an endless variety of reading material out there. Your assignment today is to take some time to read.

DAY

315

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”

— Katharine Hepburn

Today let’s begin with a quick check-up. Have you followed through with your compromise plan from Day 308? Did you find a way to use compromise to honor someone who is important to you? If you have not completed that assignment yet, today is the day to do it. Get to work! If you have, congratulations! How did it feel?

What do you think about today’s quote? Is breaking the rules on your list of things to do for fun? If it isn’t, maybe you should add it. This is not a suggestion to become a criminal. It simply points out that sometimes it’s really fun to break the rules.

When Kevin was six years old, his parents had a rule in the house that eight o’clock was bedtime. However, whenever his Uncle Steve came over to babysit him, they broke the rules and stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn. The two of them had a great time “being bad,” and as far as Kevin knew, his parents never found out. Kevin is an adult now, and the times he broke the rules and stayed up late with his uncle are precious, happy memories.

Your assignment today is not to obey all the rules. You can certainly think of a few more subversive examples of rule breaking than Kevin’s beautiful childhood story. Remember, you’re not looking for an arrest record—but have fun. You won’t get a gold star at the end of your journey if you followed every single rule. There is no award for that. Let loose and disobey a rule now and again. If you don’t, you’ll miss some of the fun.

DAY

316

“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.”

— Karen Kaiser Clark

Change is not an option. The world will continue to change and evolve whether you want it to or not. Growth, however, is an entirely different matter. That one is up to you.

Jackie’s life was in a constant state of flux. She was a salesperson, and her territory changed all the time. New and exciting opportunities landed in her lap almost daily. On the other hand, her sales numbers remained flat. She had accumulated years of experience as a salesperson, but she did not learn and grow from the knowledge she had collected. Jackie continued to repeat the same mistakes and miss the same types of opportunities. She refused to grow, and therefore she chopped off her success at the knees.

Life is change, and that’s one of the beautiful aspects of it. Every day you will have new opportunities for success in an ever-evolving world. If you feel stuck now, wait a little while, and things will alter to provide you with an opening to a new path you never considered before.

Growth is optional, so pay attention if you want to achieve your dreams. Are you growing? Do you continually take in new information, process it, and use it to build your success? Gulp down those nutrients all around you, and change your life for the better.

Your assignment today is to think about whether or not you are using every opportunity you have to grow. Are you constantly learning? Do you pay attention to others? Do you observe as much as you perform? Growth is optional. Choose wisely.

DAY

317

“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

— Irish Saying

Before looking at today’s quote, it’s time to check in on a previous assignment. How are you doing with your Reality Check Day assignment from Day 257? Your assignment was to initiate Reality Check Day once a week for two months and find out if it helped inspire you to push harder and strive to give just a little bit more than average effort. Did this assignment affect your output? Did you find yourself pushing harder than usual toward success? Write about the results in your journal.

Now, let’s turn to today’s quote. It actually coincides with Reality Check Day. The reality is you have to do your own growing. No one can take on that assignment for you. It doesn’t matter if you were born into wealth and privilege. You can’t rely on what has been given to you or the work completed by someone else who came before you. Anyone can give you money or things, but you have to develop knowledge and respect and compassion and all of the things that come together to make a successful person on your own. Success is not something you can outsource. It grows from the inside out.

Are you growing? Or are you leaning on the reputation of your father, mother, grandparent, boss, coworker, or friend? Take responsibility for your success today. It’s time for you to grow.

DAY

318

“Growth begins when we accept our own weakness.”

— Jean Vanier

When a plant becomes weak, it needs something to regain its strength—usually water or sunlight. Can you imagine what would happen if a plant didn’t accept water or if it hid from the sun? It would wither and die. A plant needs those things in order to grow. When it takes them in—when it accepts them—it thrives.

What do you need in order to grow and achieve success? Have you developed a list? Your weaknesses should be on that list. Weaknesses are not shortcomings. They are opportunities for growth. Develop a list today of the things you need to grow and achieve your dreams.