Worry is the Misuse of Imagination

Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." And I do agree with him, but too much of an imagination can create too many real-life pictures in your mind that make our minds believe in something that is not real. When I look back at my life, it has become very evident that I worried about things that never materialized. These worrisome thoughts were really just imaginations in my mind of what could happen, but in most cases they never happened.

Why do we worry? We worry because it's the human thing to do. We have learned to worry. It's part of our culture of who we are, but some worry more than others. Those with big imaginations worry a lot and those with very little imaginations worry less. Imagine a world with no worry, is that really possible? Sounds boring and not realistic. It's just not possible. Worry is something that is there and will always be there.

I've discovered that there is no sure-fire way to completely rid worry, but rather, there are ways to limit or control it. For me, the best way to conquer worry is through constant awareness and understanding. Now that I'm aware of my thought patterns, I've decided to worry, but will do so in healthy proportions. I've decided to worry with a new sense of balance and purpose. And finally, while I am a big dreamer of life, I've decided to constantly remind myself that worry is really just the misuse of imagination.

The Unbreakable Stone

From what I remember, I was just six or seven years of age and it really seems like yesterday. I remember my father working at his business and I looked at him as he danced around the machine. I was getting a bit dizzy just watching him. Sweat was dripping down his head to his eyes and I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now I do. I will tell you about these thoughts in a just a minute.

While he was working, I was working too, but my work was a bit different. It was about building a fort for my GI Joe figures. We both had a stream of objectives. My objective was to build that fort at all costs. My father's objective was too provide (along with my mother of course) for his family. In my mind, I kept repeating, "The figure goes here and that goes there," but I was missing something?

"Hey Dad?" He looked at me as fighter would with his "eyes on the prize." "Yes, Pop Icon?" I responded, "Hey Dad, can you take me to Walgreens to buy another GI Joe figure?" There was a pause on his face and perhaps, a blank stair. He was sweating like a dripping faucet. Another pause and this all took place within seconds. Then a smile came on and he walked over, "Let's go."

What's up with this story? It really didn't mean anything then or at that time. While this story doesn't sound ground breaking at all, this story is a constant stone in my thoughts. No one will ever break this stone. This stone is unbreakable and I will never live to see the day that it breaks. What is this stone? This stone is what many have never been taught, but I was one of those lucky ones who learned what it really means to have a strong work ethic.

"A Life with No Regrets"

I have heard those older than me say, "I should have done that when I was younger." Sometimes I often wonder why I work so hard and it's because of that quote. I never ever want to look back at my life and wonder why I didn't try just a little harder or why I didn't do this or do that. To live life is to live with no regrets of what could have been or should have been. To live life is to savior each moment and know that you only have one shot to make it. Yes, there will be twists and turns, but who said it would be easy? At this moment, I have decided (in Latin the word decide means to cut off) that I do not want to be in my elder years and wonder why I didn't try just a little harder. For me, I have decided to live life with that of no regrets.

The Truth Can Be a Motivator To Take Action

To this day, I remember those words, "You have some fantastic ideas, but the problem with you is you don't act. We sit down, you run your ideas by me and when I see you the next time around you then come up with new ideas. Ideas are great, but if you don't act on them and make them a reality then what's the point?" At the time and being so young I found his opinion of me to be very hurtful. But, the truth was, he was right. I had a lot of great ideas, but I never took the bull by the horns to make these ideas happen. I was just a dreamer and being a dreamer is good, but if you don't act then like he said, "What's the point?"

All throughout my life, I have had a lot of great ideas, but I never acted. It was not because of drive or determination. I was determined to think of the next best idea. At the time, I didn't really know why I didn't act. But now, I know the answer. I never acted on my ideas because I didn't know how. I knew that steps had to be taken to get from point A to B, but I didn't know how to take these steps. Over time and through experience I learned that the most important step in any new idea is just the first step.

That first step for me was the creation of Mr. Cold Call. It's mine, I own it and I feel grateful that I took a risk. I had no idea how popular Mr. Cold Call would be nor did I foresee the day when I would say that millions of salespeople have visited our site. Right now, it's one of the most popular cold calling sites on the world wide web.

I was inspired to write this today after hearing a well-known quote from Dr. Martin Luther King. He once said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Yes, at one point in time, I didn't see the whole picture, but over time, I learned that what is most important is your first step. Your first step sets the tone for each step thereafter.

How proactive are you?

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
Albert Einstein

Views on Attitude and Life

One of my favorite quotes on attitude is by Charles Swindoll (American Author and Religious Leader):

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes."

Here's another inspiring video that I found about attitude: