As most of the world locks down because of the pandemic called the corona virus, people are changing their lives like never before. I live in California, outside of Los Angeles, and the governor put the state on lock down.

I was born with severe cerebral palsy. I’m in a wheelchair and speak with a severe speech impediment. For most of my life, my body and my disability put me in lock down. One of the concepts that I often think, write, or speak about is that limitations can lead to opportunity if you know how to exploit them. In order to take advantage of your limitations, you need to know how to do so. It takes a very progressive and positive mindset.

Note- I’m not implying that having a disability is a blessing or you should not be scared or upset about the threat that this virus has caused. I also don’t want you to get upset about the everyday comforts of life. In fact, I want you to take 30 seconds to get upset. I will hold on. Let me get you started. I miss...

My second book is called Big Dreams Take Small Sacrifices. The premise is, if you want to achieve any kind of goals or big dream, it takes consistent small sacrifices. Also, I define sacrifice as a payment for a dream. The bigger the dream, the more effort or sacrifice that you have to put into your dream. 

Right now, the world has one of the biggest dreams possible. That dream is to get through the COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, pandemic. In order to accomplish that dream, we all have to make the sacrifices necessary in order to return to life before this pandemic hit.

Leaders need to lead, and everybody has to do their part. The bigger the dream, the more sacrifices it needs. We must sacrifice today’s inconvenience in order to live life as we did before.  Leaders need to define exactly what needs to be done and we all must follow suit. A leader can be defined as a parent setting family rules or civic leaders setting public policy.

One challenge that...

When I was younger, I did not value positivity, but now I value positivity as a tool for success.  A big part of success is taking on challenges or just running into challenges as part of your normal journey. A person can write an amazing sales proposal; however, there is no guarantee that the other party is going to accept it. A salesperson might ask ten or more people to get that one “yes.”  A great batter in baseball only bats around .350. That means they fail 6.5 out of ten times.  Rejection and challenges are just a part of life.

It’s challenging to stay positive among life’s ups and downs. It’s important to stay positive in the face of challenges even when you don’t feel like it.  Our brains are wired to look for threats and negativity.  This is why you can have an awesome day, yet the only thing you can think of is that one thing that went wrong. This could be a flippant comment by a coworker, a rude waiter, or...

One limitation that many people have when going after their goals is a mental block or a gap in their mindset. In order to reach success, your mindset has to change and evolve over time.  A realtor who sells entry level condos has to have a different mindset than a realtor who sells multi-million dollar mansions. As a person climbs the corporate ladder, there might be several iterations of mindset. When the person first starts out, they may focus learning the industry and figuring out what it takes to get recognized. As the person climbs, they may have to learn leadership and management skills. In addition, change is happening so quickly. The mindset to succeed is changing rapidly.

A common mistake that many people make is that people want to change their life without changing their mindset. Mindset is simply the way we go after our goals, deal with others, deal with challenges, and other factors. Every kind of change requires a change in approach. A big part of that approach...

One of the values that people may have is independence or free will. From the time people hit adolescence, many cannot wait to live life on their own terms. College promotes independent thought and free thinking. However, one of the keys to amazing success is to be willing to be influenced by the right people. Since we are part of the human ecosystem, we all are influenced by others. People are influenced by what fashions they wear. They are influenced by how to spend their free time. Some people are influenced by what sports to watch and what teams to follow. We are also influenced by behaviors and what food to eat.

We are also influenced by the people who we interact with the most. Part of living life is being accepted into a social, family, or professional environment. If you want to excel, you need to change the environment that you are in. The environment should have people who compliment or support your goals and you need to support and compliment others goals.

As much as we...

Woody Allen said that 80 percent of life is just showing up. This is my interpretation of what that means. After all, I will be crazy to speculate about what goes on in that man’s head. Showing up for your life and for other people is crucial for amazing success. 

What does showing up mean?  How do you show up?

There are four key components of showing up. The first is being present in the moment.  The second is making the best or the most of most situations. The third is serving others or yourself. The fourth is making being amazing a habit.

Being Present in the Moment

Being present in the moment means focusing on the tasks and not getting distracted by other areas of your life. When you are at work, it is not time to make dinner plans or make a massage appointment. When you are at home and having dinner with your family, it is not time to check social media or share memes with your friends. Everything important in your life needs its own dedicated time and...

This month couples all over celebrate Valentine’s Day. In order to have positive relationships, you must keep developing the most important relationship in your life. That is the relationship you have with yourself. 

Life is about knowing what you want, why you want it, navigating challenges, growing yourself, and other factors. If you don’t have a positive and healthy relationship with yourself, you limit yourself on how far you can go in life. Furthermore, the narrative in your life can either propel you or hold you back.

 Another factor that can influence our relationship with our self is how much blame we put on ourselves versus the outside world. If someone has a weak locus of control, they assume that whatever happens is not their fault. However, if someone has a strong locus of control, they take personal responsibility and look within to either solve problems or excel.

 Next, it’s about hanging out with yourself. In order to have a healthy...

We all have a computer in our pockets. That computer is called a cell phone. The cell phone revolutionized communication.  If you use it in the right way, you can increase productivity and even make money.  It also allows people to be mobile and free.  On the flip side, it has become one of the most distracting elements in our lives.  According to 60 Minutes, app developers employ the same technology to keep us using our phones as slot machine manufacturers. They are incentivized to keep us on our phones.

I have a unique relationship with my phone. My physical challenges prevent me from interacting with my phone like others. Most things in my life are more challenging for me, and using the phone is amongst the laundry list of challenging activities in my life. Besides the effort it takes to use my phone, I’m very limited on the tasks I can perform. I can make phone calls. I can skim text and emails. I can also check sports’ scores. Beyond that, I...

I grew up and still live in a Los Angeles suburb. I am also a huge Laker fan.  Kobe Bryant was the first athlete who came into the NBA younger than I was. So, I was saddened by the loss of Kobe and his daughter, Gianna. I watched his whole career both on and off the court.

 Part of my process as a writer is to study the mindset of successful people and, since I love sports, I often look to athletes and want to understand their mindset and how they go about being elite.

 Kobe Bryant definitely had a unique mindset and it safe to say that it was next level. In fact, there was even a name for his mindset that he gave himself- Mamba Mentality.  Mamba Mentality was truly unique to Kobe Bean Bryant.

 Here are just a few examples of the Mamba Mentality.

 Kobe always had a vision of what he wanted and why he wanted it. He simply wanted to be the best that he could be and he didn’t want anything to get in the way. Instead of living in Beverly Hills or the...

This is the last week of the month. It’s the fourth week of the decade. When we start the year, we are excited to accomplish our goals. Whether that is professional, personal, relationships, hobbies, fitness, or any other type of goals, we are excited. The first part of our goals is fueled by excitement. However, as we start working on our goals, that excitement ebbs and flows. We have to battle the War of Attrition.

The War of Attrition

As human beings, we always like something new. Our goals seem like shiny new toys.  However, most goals require constant and repetitive action. Some of these actions may get boring, frustrating, or just tedious. The first couple of times that you eat that salad you might feel emboldened, but, after the tenth, the twentieth, or even the hundredth time, you may resent eating healthy. Treating your goals as your job is very important.  You have to take your goals and your dreams very seriously.

Considering the Alternative

When...