“All you’ve got is right now” is what popped into my mind before I even popped out of bed this morning.

I was in my head wondering about future things – both forboding and fanciful when The Grasshopper, as is his custom, brought me back to the present with his reality statement.

It boiled down to this: You no longer have a hold on the past and the future is out of reach, so what you’re left with is right now.

The question to ask yourself when you find that you’re lost in your time traveling mind is: What can I do right now?

Aside from getting you out of your head, there are other practical things asking this question can do. For example, let’s pretend you’re preparing for something in the near future. You make a list of all the things you need to do for this event/project to have a successful outcome. But, all of a sudden, you get overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of all the things on the list. That’s when “What can I do right now?” saves the day.

You can isolate one of the smaller tasks on your list and do it. It doesn’t seem like much but it is taking action and it is something you can do right now. Asking the question puts you in the present moment and it presents you with actionable options. If you’re focused on the massive mountain to climb, this question will bring your attention back to the foothills – easy trails you can navigate right now.

A long time ago The Grasshopper treated me to this: “Doing diffuses fear.” Taking action, no matter how small, brings you out of a fearful stall. “What can I do right now?” is a catalyst that focuses you on what can be accomplished that’s on your list.

If you find yourself in “Inertia-ville,” ask yourself, “What can I do now?” It’ll keep you from standing still.

All the best,

John

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Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

The Grasshopper chimed in during a phone conversation I was having yesterday and he said, “You can get more of what you want if you give them more of what they need.”

Whatever the “wants” and “needs” are, this formula seems to work time and time again.

Our politicians could benefit greatly if they followed this formula more often, and so can you.

You know what you want, so now it’s time to find out what they need and provide it as best you can.

Focus on the needs of others and provide the product, service, or TLC that they need, and watch your wants get satisfied.

The old adage “give a little, get a little” comes to mind. We seem to forget that message when we start pursuing what we want without regard to others. Getting what we want usually involves other people, and knowing and fulfilling what they need needs to come first in order for us to be able to slake our wanting thirst.

Reminds me of a story from the late Dr.Dave Dobson. He taught us that if you’re curious about someone’s age, don’t outright ask them. Offer up your age first and then it’s easier for them to follow suit. Say something like this: “On my next birthday, I’m going to be 55. I’m wondering how many candles will be on your next birthday cake.”

Here’s one of life’s little shortcuts: If you can remember that needs come before wants, what you want will happen much quicker.

All the best,

John

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Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

How many times in your life have you heard or used the expression “raw deal”? “I got a raw deal.” “She got a raw deal.” You’ll run out of fingers and toes counting them up.

Truth be told, you were dealt a hand. The description of the hand came after the fact, attempting to categorize it as “undeserved” or “unwelcome.”

The pure reality is that you were dealt a hand. The key now is how to play it out. In other words, how to respond to the situation vs. react to it.

“Raw deal” is a reaction that gets lots of traction, especially with others who can also recount all the times they were treated poorly by the “dealer.” This conversation can go on for decades without seeking a solution, spending time, instead, reacting to the events and expecting a resolution.

Once the shock of the deal has worn off, it’s time to find a way to respond so that you can live and fight another day. I’ve always had a poor opinion of the New Hampshire motto: “Live Free or Die.” I’m all for living free, but if my only other option is for me to die, I’m out. I’d rather live under the blanket of oppression until I could figure out a way of responding that would get me to live free at a later date.

“Live Free or Die,” like a lot of reactions, doesn’t present a lot of options. Responding does. Responding presents us with more choices – ones that reactions never look for.

If life is a card game, the trick to keep on playing is learning how to play out a bad hand. You’l have plenty of opportunities to practice because not every hand is a winner, and you’ll gamble away your options if “raw deal” is the only thing on the menu for dinner.

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 12-28-20.

Read the written version here.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

The Grasshopper had me groping for a pen when he woke me up with this: “You sow the seeds of tomorrow’s defeat when you act with yesterday’s conceit.”

It sounds a bit like “pride comes before a fall,” but I think his message is broader. So let me explore.

The terms “narcissism” and “smugness” come to mind. I’ll rely on you as to what those words mean to you, but to me they connote, “no one else but me exists and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll have the privilege of living in my world.”

When one’s egomaniacal dictates supersede what others need, it won’t be long before they’ll be choked out by the weeds contained in their fruitless seeds.

By the way, you’ll never change this type of person. Their only hope for salvation is self revelation, and the odds of that happening are like the old expression, “Slim and none, and slim has just left town.”

You can hope and pray that there’ll come a day when they won’t act this way. That will never happen, sorry to say.

The message here is crystal clear: Make your escape from them now or forever plan to scrape and bow.

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 12-21-20.

Read the written version here.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

The following is from a Grasshopper Note I wrote years ago that I called, “Fighting Arguments That You’ve Already Won.”

One of my biggest shortcomings is going over the same trail I’ve blazed before. I find it exasperating.

How many times can you offer the same piece of solid, time-tested advice and have it ignored? It’s not like you don’t have a track record of successes with that same piece of advice; it’s just that others aren’t willing to take you seriously. In short, they don’t believe what you’re offering applies to them.

Breaking through that wall of denial is just too much work for me. I have arrived at the “Que Sera Sera” stage of my life. It’s been a difficult transition.

Letting go of what you know is a tall order. Letting “whatever will be will be” take its place takes practice.

One of the blessings/curses I have in life is sensing what peoples’ problems are almost instantly after meeting them. It’s nothing I studied; it just comes to me naturally. The transition has been to finally realize I don’t have to point out what I recognize.

In the past, I often thought I was doing the person a service. In reality, I was offering an unsolicited opinion. That rarely worked and was received as a personal affront. The words of my hypnosis teacher Dr. Dave Dobson now come to mind: “Are they paying you?”

He didn’t add the rest of the implied phrase: “If not, then shut up.”

The good news is: I don’t have to abandon the skill, just only use it when it’s requested.

People can still ignore my “sage advice” but it won’t be for free. And I can enjoy my new mantra: “Whatever will be will be.”

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 12-14-20.

Read the written version here.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

The Grasshopper offered up this piece of wisdom this morning: “Directives may come from the top down but solutions come from the bottom up.”

In management, I often heard the phrase “Shit floats downhill.” That meant the big boss had spoken and we were to execute, no questions asked. It also meant that if you wanted to get a coworker’s participation on your idea, you often had to get the boss’s ear first. That’s because some would not pitch in unless the order came from on high.

Taking each of those scenarios into account, we are still left with the reality of how the work gets done – from the bottom up.

That’s how change happens – from the bottom up, or as I like to say, “from the inside out.”

When we get the spark of a great idea or the urge to make changes, that prompt is coming from inside. Our creative self is knocking on our door with news of a treasure trove. It’s as though it’s saying, “There’s gold in them thar hills.” It then becomes our job to map out an action strategy and follow it to fruition.

Make no mistake, the worker bee does the outside work. You can’t wish your way to a conclusion or wait for someone else to do it. Taking action is your only route. It’s like one of my teachers said, “no one can go to the bathroom for you.”

Going inside (quieting your mind) is a proven way to generate creativity. You’ll be flooded with new ideas when you empty your mind. When we come back outside, action is our ally.

Long ago, I heard something like this: “You wouldn’t have been given the seed of a good idea unless the plan of action was contained in it.”

So the recommendation is this: Go inside for guidance and then plan an outside course of action. The course may contain obstacles, most of them do, but it’s applied action that will overcome them and see you through.

I guess the “bottom line” is this: Get off your ass to get what your want, or more politely stated, “Bottoms up.”

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 12-7-20.

Read the written version here.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.