We DON’T get what we DESERVE….

We don’t get what we DESERVE, we get what we CREATE. This has been an incredible week of breakthroughs for me.  I shared with my Facebook and Twitter family that I was selected to deliver the closing keynote at The Professional Learning Communities Conference in Boston this coming August.  Check the link below:

More than the opportunity to bring an already great conference to a close, what has me in a place of reflection is the journey that has brought me to this point.  Here’s a great quote that my friend and colleague Greg Kushnir reminded me of:

“Set goals for yourself that will make you the best you can be.
You don’t get what you DESERVE, you get what you CREATE.
Create a tomorrow for yourself.  If you don’t fashion it,
someone else will.”
-Deep and Sussman

The notion of speaking, training and presenting to audiences across the nation about content I am passionate about started as a mere thought.  Back in 2001, I sat at the back of an auditorium listening to Dr. Rick DuFour talk about a school improvement and leadership model.  Though I expected to sit in the back and write emails on my new Palm I-705 (super slow emailing but exciting nevertheless back in ’01), I found myself leaning forward and listening to his presentation.  After becoming completely sold out to his work, I attended a conference where he delivered a keynote, and it was there that the thought ran through my head….”I can do that…”  Now, you’re probably thinking of the elevendy-hundred times you’ve found yourself in the same situation where you have had a creative (I can do that) thought, where something immediately and powerfully resonated with you.

From there I decided to work my way through a huge crowd to stick my hand out and introduce myself.  I took action before I could talk myself out of why I should keep my butt in my seat.  Dr. DuFour and I spoke briefly, and after the conference, I was proactive and kept in touch.  There have been dozens of different opportunities that I’ve taken advantage of to nurture the relationship with my new mentor and eventually he and his wife Becky DuFour invited me to work with them.

Ok, while that was one helluva fast-forward with many steps, challenges, decisions and opportunities in between, there is a bottom line…no, better yet, a fine line that is the thrust and essence of this post.  And that is:

It is up to YOU to create the life YOU desire.  The fine line that separates those who live as they want and  everyone else is the decision to TAKE ACTION.

This idea of taking action often amounts to a simple step, an email, a phone call, a handshake, a business plan, a question, or some research….each step that I’ve taken along this wonderful journey of living my life on purpose has led to another path being revealed to me.  We don’t always know what the next step is, and will never know if we don’t take risks and take action.

So…

Questions for Reflection:

1.    What creative nudges have you been getting that you have yet to act upon?
2.    What gift are you not being responsible for or responding to?
3.    What ONE step can you take TODAY in the service of making a breakthrough?

Points to Consider:

1.    The fact is, “if nothing changes, nothing changes.” The change that I’m referring to is not the environment around you, but the “invironment” within you (the thoughts and beliefs you carry on the inside).
2.    Taking action is a muscle, and it’s pretty similar to the physical muscles we have.  When we work them, they work for us.  With each action step you take, you will find the next one easier to take.  So, get started NOW!

If this post resonated with you, please share feedback, as well as moments in your own journey.  From first-step breakthroughs to the ones that result in the realization of our desires, they are all valuable experiences.  As my wife Nicole always reminds me, “We are all on our individual journeys.”  Looking forward to hearing about them.

Forward,

Ken

Ken Williams is a speaker, trainer, author and breakthrough coach. He is a contributing author of The Collaborative Administrator. He is Chief Visionary Officer of Unfold The Soul, a company dedicated to helping individuals make the life they have, the life they want. Unfold The Soul also supports teams and organizations function at peak performance. Follow Ken on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/unfoldthesoul. Click Here to subscribe to The Breakthrough Blog.