For awhile now, our country has been spoon feed a theory--one which has served only to broadcast one single, solitary idea.
Lack.
News about the economy, bailouts, unemployment (and the list goes on) have been so deeply penetrating most everyone I talk to subscribes to the idea of America sliding into the 10th level of hell. And soon.
Lack, lack and more lack.
With that eventually, we will most certainly be drawn into the dark pits along with it ... right?
At least, it seems to be the story we are told time and time again in newspaper articles and on the daily news. But I'll leave the debate of politics and the media to someone who is far more interested in such tedium than I.
This post is not going to be about conspiracy or about how jaded and corrupt the media may/may not be. Today I want to focus on being response enabled. However, the current situation with an unstable economy presents a good example of how we always focus on the things we lack.
In all things we have a choice, we can focus on the perception of lack or we can be response-able and take action towards the resolution of a problem.
Take the past few years I've spent in network marketing as an example. I'm a strong introvert working successfully in network marketing. As an introvert I didn't have the innate people and communication skills that many possess. After spending a year in network marketing (2006) and not making a penny I could have folded and walked away from it all.
Instead, Tom and I focused on finding something which would accentuate the positives within me, and allow me to find my voice. At the time, I didn't have even an ounce of confidence in me but he noted the passion in the emails I sent him recounting the joys of self discovery.
As a result, I started blogging and within a single month I was getting linkbacks to this very blog from high profile bloggers. Next thing I knew, I had a following and a fantastic group of people who were cheering me on. For the first time in my life, people were telling me I had value and a talent, a talent for writing and inspiring others.
As a lost and confused introvert these were very new and shocking statements. It took me that entire first year to even begin accepting their praises because I was so well versed in the idea of lack.
I don't understand why they are saying these things. I'm just an average joe, sharing some thoughts, experiences, quotes and poems which have inspired me to grow.
I'm not a talented writer.
Why are they describing me as a thought leader? I'm not ready for that (Little did I know...)
Blogging was my first success story.
Keep in mind that up to this point I'm constantly at odds with myself. Resisting the drastic rate of change I was going through, fighting to understand the attention I was receiving and ultimately accepting that everything I've ever needed to attain everything I want in life was planted within me at birth.
After a year of blogging Tom would introduce me to my second mentor, Matt Jamieson, who taught me his method of marketing his networking opportunity online.
The three of us were joining a company together and in that 2 hour conversation with Matt, my eyes were opened.
In less than two weeks, my domains were hitting the first page in Google, then Yahoo and MSN on dozens of relevent keywords. In a matter of a few months I went from making no money to having more leads than I could possibly handle alone.
Soon after I would be making enough to qualify me as a traditional home based travel agent--simply from earning commissions on the sales of the product. This doesn't even take into account the money I earned from building an organization of people beneath me who also wanted to own their own business.
Now, lets go back to the beginning for just a minute. Knowing this about my history and the successes I've had... What would have been different about my life if I had decided to give up and walk away from network marketing after a few months?
Would I be as happy as I am now?
Would I have eventually faced the demons who plagued me for the first 30 years of my life?
Would my tendency to talk myself out of a good thing ever be broken?
Would I ever learn to make use of what God gave me instead of focusing on the things I lacked?
Maybe, but I'll tell you what...
Looking back at where I was and how much pain I was in ... that was a real lack. What I really lacked was a complete life. Because I didn't focus on the skills I lacked, I was able to reclaim my soul. The friends, growth and fun I've experienced was worth every bit of struggle, every tear.
This is why it is so important for you to not focus on the things you don't have. It doesn't matter if you don't have the personality, skills, or money. Focus on and be glad for the things you have and a path will be revealed.
Its been a very long time since the last time I posted here. By all rights, I could let sleeping dogs lay and begin anew but it feels somehow as if I'm returning home. After all, within the protocols and code making publishing to 
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