April 13, 2010

Survival, Dreams, and Avoiding the Bad Stuff

Who you believe you are might be the only thing that keeps your dream alive.

People who study these type of things say that 80% of surviving bad mojo comes from what’s in your head…  It’s your resolve to live that makes the difference.

Your dreams are no different.  The power to keep them alive is almost completely in your head.  Did you know that?

Circumstances don’t make you fail.  You don’t run out of money and need to get a new job.

You think you are a failure and then become one.

What you think about determines what you do.  Who you become.  How successful you turn out to be.

It’s not weird, twisted voodoo either.

This weekend, I picked up The Survivor’s Club by Ben Sherwood and was blown away by how very real this idea of “mind over matter” really is.  Scientists have sliced this up from hundreds of different angles and the facts all point to the same conclusion.

If you can control your mind, you can overcome an obstacle and achieve outrageous success.

Survival is about not letting go of hope.

Did you know that if your spouse passes away, your risk of death within thirty days increases 53% for men and 61% for women.  Young or old – the stats stay the same.  The feeling of loss is crushing.  It can kill you if you aren’t careful.

The same applies to your dreams.  When bad things happen, you first tendency can be to imagine that your world is over.  That you will never be happy, successful, or proud ever again.  That you suck as a person and that you were never meant to be successful in the first place.

Ever have those thoughts?  Ever wonder if you have enough skill to pull off that big deal or realize your full potential — to really capture every want and wish that you have for your future and turn it into reality?

Here’s a fact: You aren’t thinking straight. You’re a dude with a dream and you need to keep your dream alive at any costs.

Survival is about putting bad things into perspective.

Did you know that more people will likely die of stress relating to fear of the terrorism of 9/11 than those who actually perished on that day?  Researchers at the University of California-Irvine discovered that people who were acutely stressed after September 11th had 53% more cardiovascular ailments over the next three years.  The New York Times took these stats and made the case that if only 0.0003% consequently died from such stress-related heart problems that would be “higher than the 9/11 death toll”.

Our obsessions and insecurities are driving us to an early grave and killing our dreams.  We don’t have a chance of keeping our dreams alive when we can’t even stay level-headed enough to put the world into proper perspective.

Why do we let the last 24 hours of our lives determine our capacity for the future?

We get kicked in the gut and give up because we wouldn’t have been successful anyway.

What?  Are you kidding yourself?  Did you preposterously think that you would have a dream and the world would embrace you with open arms?  There are 7 billions dreams that no one cares about. Why should the world care about yours and support you?  Who determined that you get the red carpet treatment?

Your dreams is yours.  It’s survival is your mission.  It is your calling.

Survival demands that you use every second wisely.

According to the National Transportation and Safety Board, you have 90 seconds from when your plane crashes to when the plane explodes.  You have time — more than you think.  But every second matters.  You can’t waste time as the plane is filling with smoke to look around for your carry-on luggage or that new iPod that you somehow lost in the crash — you have to get out.

Now here’s where the illustration gets more interesting.  You can’t get out the fastest by pushing other people over and causing friction.  To get out, you have to communicate clearly.  You have to help others.  To keep yourself alive you have to keep others alive.

Keeping your dream alive doesn’t mean that you trample everyone else’s dream.  It’s actually quite the opposite.  You’ll see your dream accomplished a lot faster when you go out of your way to help other realize their dreams.  It’s an amazing fact about survival.

It’s a lot easier to stay alive when fewer people want you dead.

Stop alienating people who could help you.  Stop pushing your way around the cosmos and start building karma to keep your dream alive.

You can’t avoid the bad stuff.  It’s survival not submission.  So stand up.  Live. Love. Laugh.

And keep your dream alive…

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24 Comments for this entry

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 10:19 am

    Daniel, you do some profound thinking in your blogs!!! I am in constant awe .. Keep it up, I can't wait for the next one, dude! Let's have coffee again one of these days.Good luck!Manfred

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 10:35 am

    Manfred,You are too kind. I am simply trying to expose the root of high performance. What if you could exceed your wildest dreams? What are the things that are holding you back? Dan

  • Paul Simon
    April 14th, 2010 on 1:03 pm

    For all your edgy conversations, Dan, you indeed are a deep thinker. What strikes me about your final paragraph is its similarity to one of Zig Ziglar's favorite lines: "You can get everything in life that you want, just as long as you help enough other people get what they want." So, how cool is that?

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 1:19 pm

    Dan,Maybe it's because as my title suggests "I am just an ordinary dude". :-) My mind is always thinking about this stuff. How is that some people rise above the fray while others simply get swallowed up by the chaos?Stay tuned…Dan

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 1:21 pm

    Thanks, Paul. I have to chuckle at both and Manfred. I think the last thing that many people would label me is as a "deep thinker"… I am delighted that you were inspired. That's my mission…Dan

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 1:36 pm

    One cannot judge the book by its cover only….Just take the compliment and live with it. It is your head that has to fit through the door, not mine…:-)I guess I see you Saturday!

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 2:19 pm

    Daniel, you do some profound thinking in your blogs!!! I am in constant awe .. Keep it up, I can't wait for the next one, dude! Let's have coffee again one of these days.Good luck!Manfred

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 2:35 pm

    Manfred,You are too kind. I am simply trying to expose the root of high performance. What if you could exceed your wildest dreams? What are the things that are holding you back? Dan

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 4:10 pm

    Of course Dan, I appreciate that. However, you do this in such a simple fashion and you know well that simplicity requires a lot more thinking than complexity. I agree, it is the limitations we set ourselves, consciously or subconsciously makes no difference, that define our potential to achieve. Breaking through them and believing in those breakthroughs is the key point.

  • Paul Simon
    April 14th, 2010 on 5:03 pm

    For all your edgy conversations, Dan, you indeed are a deep thinker. What strikes me about your final paragraph is its similarity to one of Zig Ziglar's favorite lines: "You can get everything in life that you want, just as long as you help enough other people get what they want." So, how cool is that?

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 5:19 pm

    Dan,Maybe it's because as my title suggests "I am just an ordinary dude". :-) My mind is always thinking about this stuff. How is that some people rise above the fray while others simply get swallowed up by the chaos?Stay tuned…Dan

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    April 14th, 2010 on 5:21 pm

    Thanks, Paul. I have to chuckle at both and Manfred. I think the last thing that many people would label me is as a "deep thinker"… I am delighted that you were inspired. That's my mission…Dan

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 5:36 pm

    One cannot judge the book by its cover only….Just take the compliment and live with it. It is your head that has to fit through the door, not mine…:-)I guess I see you Saturday!

  • mgollent
    April 14th, 2010 on 8:10 pm

    Of course Dan, I appreciate that. However, you do this in such a simple fashion and you know well that simplicity requires a lot more thinking than complexity. I agree, it is the limitations we set ourselves, consciously or subconsciously makes no difference, that define our potential to achieve. Breaking through them and believing in those breakthroughs is the key point.

  • mgollent
    April 20th, 2010 on 8:57 am

    Here you go again, creating another hit! I tell everybody that does or does not want to hear it:"We act the way we think." Our thought determine what we do and how we do it, This then generates a reaction from our environment which is directly proportionate to our action – good, bad or indifferent.Great post as usual…

  • mgollent
    April 20th, 2010 on 12:57 pm

    Here you go again, creating another hit! I tell everybody that does or does not want to hear it:"We act the way we think." Our thought determine what we do and how we do it, This then generates a reaction from our environment which is directly proportionate to our action – good, bad or indifferent.Great post as usual…

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    May 5th, 2010 on 6:57 pm

    Well said, sir…. Stop acting and start thinking.Dan

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    May 5th, 2010 on 10:57 pm

    Well said, sir…. Stop acting and start thinking.Dan

  • Dreamer
    June 16th, 2010 on 12:41 am

    Hello,I really liked your article, it's very inspiring, especially for me, as a new grad from a university. I got lucky and got a scholarship to study for 4 years in the U.S., and now I have American diploma in one of the developing countries, where such diplomas are highly valued, so I hope getting my dream job at a brand new university, which is opening very soon. I think "while there is hope, there is life", as the old proverb says, so, when people still have hope or as you say dream they live…I related your article to my own life, and I realized how true it is that, when you dream and you believe in your dreams, you can actually have a better life…I lost my Dad when I was five, but I wasn't lost in fear, because I had my Mom, her hope, and my dreams! Thanks,~Better-life-Dreamer~

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    June 16th, 2010 on 4:03 am

    Hey, Dreamer,Keep dreaming. I love the title. Sounds like you put your dream to work and got some incredible results. AWESOME. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.Dan

  • Dreamer
    June 16th, 2010 on 4:41 am

    Hello,I really liked your article, it's very inspiring, especially for me, as a new grad from a university. I got lucky and got a scholarship to study for 4 years in the U.S., and now I have American diploma in one of the developing countries, where such diplomas are highly valued, so I hope getting my dream job at a brand new university, which is opening very soon. I think "while there is hope, there is life", as the old proverb says, so, when people still have hope or as you say dream they live…I related your article to my own life, and I realized how true it is that, when you dream and you believe in your dreams, you can actually have a better life…I lost my Dad when I was five, but I wasn't lost in fear, because I had my Mom, her hope, and my dreams! Thanks,~Better-life-Dreamer~

  • Dreamer
    June 16th, 2010 on 4:41 am

    Hello,I really liked your article, it's very inspiring, especially for me, as a new grad from a university. I got lucky and got a scholarship to study for 4 years in the U.S., and now I have American diploma in one of the developing countries, where such diplomas are highly valued, so I hope getting my dream job at a brand new university, which is opening very soon. I think "while there is hope, there is life", as the old proverb says, so, when people still have hope or as you say dream they live…I related your article to my own life, and I realized how true it is that, when you dream and you believe in your dreams, you can actually have a better life…I lost my Dad when I was five, but I wasn't lost in fear, because I had my Mom, her hope, and my dreams! Thanks,~Better-life-Dreamer~

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    June 16th, 2010 on 8:03 am

    Hey, Dreamer,Keep dreaming. I love the title. Sounds like you put your dream to work and got some incredible results. AWESOME. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.Dan

  • Dan Waldschmidt
    June 16th, 2010 on 8:03 am

    Hey, Dreamer,Keep dreaming. I love the title. Sounds like you put your dream to work and got some incredible results. AWESOME. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.Dan

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