A Brief Thank You to Chris Guillebeau

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in Always Be Learning, What is Failure?

From time to time, the cart gets off the track.  It’s an inevitable part of life for all of us.

Remember that it’s far easier to stand back and criticize someone else than it is to put your own beliefs forward.

You, me, Michael Phelps, it happens to us all.  Living and working as an entrepreneur I fall forward every day (if I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing).

Parents, athletes, teachers and businesspeople all fail from time to time both personally and professionally.  It’s not uncommon to fail, and have to pick up the pieces and start all over again from scratch on a project, life or relationship (sometimes many times over), hopefully with even more energy, optimism, enthusiasm and wisdom than before the fall.

True success is not a results of never failing but having the courage to get up, wipe yourself off and try again as though you never failed

So how do we get back on track when we fall?  You MUST find a way that works for you.   And it must work quickly.

Is it listening to your favorite song, relaxing to jazz or classical music, doing yoga, meditating, reciting affirmations, visiting a special place, spending time with someone who “just gets us,” taking a walk, getting some exercise, seeing a therapist, getting lost in a hobby, time alone, traveling, doing something creative, meeting with a mentor or coach, a fun night out with friends or reading an inspiring piece of literature?

Keep trying different methods until you find something that works for you.

For most of us it’s a combination of those things though the happiest and most successful people I’ve studied have identified the catalysts to get them back on track as soon as possible.

One of the written works that inspires me and helps me rebound faster and stronger is from Chris Guillebeau.  I haven’t met Chris yet, but his word and life inspire me.

For those of you who don’t know him, Chris is an entrepreneur and world traveler and when I say a world traveler, I mean world traveler.

A slow Tuesday for Chris puts most our of busiest days of the year to shame as he  exceeds and redefines most people’s definition of world travel.

Chris set the lofty goal to visit every country in the world by 35 years old.

Chris has seven countries to visit in the next nine months, after which, he’ll have successfully visited all 193 countries.   That is an incredible feat on so many levels.

Chris has written a 29 page free “Brief Guide to World Domination” that helps me get back on the horse when I fall.  I highly suggest you check out for free by clicking the link.

It is ad-free and affiliate free masterpiece and I’m not being compensated in any way to share this information with you other than the intrinsic value and goodness I feel like a father who teaches a child to ride a bike, knowing that you’ve improved someone’s life and hoping they’ll pay it forward one day.

Below is the opening to Chris’s “Brief Guide to World Domination.”

Greatness

If you want it badly enough, and are willing to make some changes in your life to cause it to happen, you too can take over the world….or do anything else you really want to do.  Yes, you really can have it all.  The only things you’ll need to give up are assumptions, expectations and the comfort zone that holds you back from greatness.

-Chris Gullibeau

For those of you who don’t invest the time to digest the “Brief Guide to World Domination” let me share with you what Chris calls:

“The two most important questions in the universe”

1.  What do you really want to get out of life?

YOUR ANSWER:  _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.  What can you offer the world that no one else can?

YOUR ANSWER:  _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Great questions to think about for us all.   Chris, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do and share with the world to inspire, motivate and educate people like me get from where we are to where we want to be.

Thanks for reading this week, I look forward to your comments below.

If you haven’t already signed up to receive my blog by email you can include your email address in the sidebar on the right as I’ve pivoted off my Tuesday posts and am posting at more randomly selected days and times when I’m inspired or feel I have something valuable to share.

Until next time…  Be humble but believe in your own unique greatness.

PS.  In hopes of helping more people, I have added a coaching and consulting page to help you develop the mindset to get from where you are to where you want to be.  Click here  to learn more.

PSS.  What tips and techniques do you know of and/or use  for helping yourself bounce back from setbacks?  PLEASE SHARE BELOW in the comments 

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Tagged as: chris guillebeau, consulting, What is Failure?

thejoesweeney

Article by Joe Sweeney

Living a life of happiness, health, and gratitude, while helping and serving as many people as possible along the way. Take the time to work on yourself - develop your talents, increase your self-esteem, improve the lives of others and take at least a few moments of gratitude every single day

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  • MG

    Good read! I breezed through Chris’s booklet, but got frustrated. Question #2 is so difficult for me. How do you break this down besides “continually trying” to do things, create talents, achieve, etc?

  • http://www.thejoesweeney.com thejoesweeney

    MG:

    These are tough questions with few clear answers. Despite that we need to make commitments.

    Often times we think we know exactly what we want and commit and then we later find something else that brings us more meaning, happiness and fulfillment. Despite this, I think we must commit despite the uncertainty and through committing we can reassurance we made the right commitment or insights and knowledge to make a new commitment.

    One thing I often think about is we can always share our unique “story” with the world.
    That is a gift that each one of us is uniquely positioned to share with the world.

    Also think of the scope of “the world” as it can mean the entire society or world or our small bubble of a world, our family, relationships and a much more intimate “world.” If we positively impact just a single life, we have made the world a better place.

    Here is a great article and video from Clayton Christensen called, “How Will You Measure Your Life? worth checking out” http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/pr

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