you decide to quit and curl up in a ball and cry

throw out those lemons and wish for limes to use in your Corona

Everyone out there thought I was going to say the whole lemonade thing… but I’m really not that optimistic.   I’m a reasonable pessimist in disguise.  You have to be these days… it’s the whole if you don’t stand for something… you will fall for anything… right?

I have talked to a lot of people lately whose lives seem to be one giant lemon right now… and it reminds me of something my best friend’s dad used to say – “It’s not what happens to ya that matters….. it’s all about how you handle it.”  That is really huge when you think about it… because life is all about ATTITUDE.

Life has a way of setting up road blocks and brick walls to get in our way and sometimes those obstacles are made of flesh… meaning people… Yes… people around you.  Sometimes… the lemons in your life ARE THE PEOPLE you surround yourself with on a daily basis.

I say… if you want to improve your life… get out there and improve the people you spend all your time with on a day to day basis.  Get around like minded people that want more from life— whether that is religion, money, success, love, etc… whatever you want… hang around with people that want what you want and you life will turn around magically…. it’s all about how you look at the things happening around you….

So, what the hell are ya gonna do with all those lemons?  I don’t know… make some lemonade… hahahaha

Have you ever seen someone so plagued by the past that it haunts their entire being? Where ….. the past has such a firm grip upon their soul that it takes control of their life? It’s like they are dragging this massive weight behind them, holding them back and keeping them from moving forward.

I am a firm believer that if you want to have a present or future, you must let go of the past.

The past is a double edged sword. It can be a great thing and a terrible thing. The past can give you experiences that can keep you from danger in the future and you should learn from them.  However, the past can also keep you from living a great and happy life. Have you ever dealt with someone who has had a terrible unhealthy relationship? The past can take control of their life and hurt all of their future relationships by making people pay for their X’s mistakes. We can be so worried about not letting the things that happened before, happen again —- that we forget to live the life we have right now. Before we know it, we can look up and it’s over. Don’t be the person that one day realizes they have wasted years of their life because the past has reign over them. It can be helpful, but it can also suck the life out of you.

Don’t let the past keep you from having a future. It’s your choice if you give the past power over you. Yours and yours alone. You have the choice to build yourself up again and move on, or let it drown you.  You can let the circumstances shape you or you can do the shaping.

It’s NOT what happens to you… but how you HANDLE it.

The University of Kentucky soars to all time highs today after frying up some Arkansas hog at a final score with Kentucky on top 101-70.  That’s 19-0 for the UK Wildcats and they are showing no sign of stopping !!

John Calipari is moving Kentucky up the ranks like bullet shot up into the air.  It’s amazing what he has done for this program in such a short period of time after Billy Gillespie – I like to say… after BG.  hahahaha.

After BG means good things ahead for this young and killer team of UK champions.  The SEC is on top as they often are and the conference couldn’t be any stronger.  March madness is a month away and Kentucky fans will be bleeding blue all over the country.

Very soon we will be launching a website that will be dedicated to all things UK basketball, complete with blogs, highlight reels, local sports and celebs, ESPN coverage, articles from newspapers and famous columnists, magazine spreads, endorsements, fan cam videos, major contests and prizes, happy hour specials for games, online stores etc —- stay tuned.  This town wont’ be the same again!

Here is an excerpt from ncaa.com about John Wall and I loved it… Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.

John Wall – Kentucky
What can I say about John Wall that hasn’t already been said? The freshman point guard has garnered more attention than any other player in the nation, and rightfully so. He is averaging 17.1 points per game and dishes out 6.9 assists per night – which is third in the nation. He has been erratic at times, averaging over four turnovers a game, but lets remember, he is still a freshman.

His stats are impressive, but how he does it is even more impressive. A regular sight on SportsCenter, Wall is one of the nation’s top playmakers. He also shows more poise than any freshman should. In his first collegiate game, Wall hit a jumper in the final seconds to defeat Miami (Ohio). Against Connecticut on Dec. 9, he scored 12 of Kentucky’s last 15 points to earn a three-point victory. His free throws also iced victories over North Carolina and Auburn. Wall is a major reason Kentucky is the nation’s last unbeaten. FROM WWW.NCAA.COM

I hate saying it, but there are a lot of people that out there living a life to simply…… exist.  They just live to get by and get through the next day… while their dreams and lives remain unfulfilled.  For some reason that is enough for them. I truly believe that we should exist for a much bigger reason. We should have a great purpose deep down inside that MUST be filled. Our own individual thing to master, move and stake our claim. Not to just get to next week’s paycheck and “to get by.” I think life should mean more than that.  When we were kids… we didn’t want to just get by…. we wanted to RULE the world.  FIND YOUR “WHY” again!!!

I’m not saying that everyone should go out and build a massive company or do some incredible feat. Greatness can be defined in many ways. I don’t necessarily mean money either. Everyone should however have more of a purpose than to get to the next day. We shouldn’t be living for the weekend. We should work to find our why in life. Our purpose for what we are supposed to do on this planet. Have you ever asked yourself what your “why” is?

When you were little you had such grandiose dreams of great aspirations. We all wanted to be astronauts and were told to shoot for the stars. We thought we could do or become anything. Somehow along the way, many of us settled for mediocrity. We lost our why and haven’t acknowledged it since. We lost our passion and we settled when we could have soared.

What happened to those dreams of greatness? What happened to our “why”?  What’s your life about? What impact do you want to have on our world? How will your life be remembered by those around you? What would they say about your life after you are gone?

Find your “why” again. Don’t live your life asleep. Don’t be a walking zombie.  You don’t want to wake up one day and realize you lost “it” entirely.

You have a masterpiece inside you. One unlike anything that has ever been created, or ever will be. And remember: If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you. – Gordon Mackenzie

Look at the great innovations, revolutionary ideas or talent from our history and you will find one commonality: they were all discouraged or ridiculed in some form or another before they became a success. Not one had the red carpet rolled out for them with a parade of fans encouraging them to go on. They all faced opposition and were often attacked. (Ask any entrepreneur, they all have their “you’ll never be able to” story.) Why do people do this? Fear. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. Fear of a shift in power or relationships with insecurities.  Fear.

Get used to it. People will fear our genius. Those who are our world’s creators, that bring forth new ideas and push the envelope with their talents or ideas need to realize that society fears them. Why? In my opinion, because they were too weak or mediocre to pursue their own talents. So they attack others in this messed up sense of justification to make them feel better about themselves.

The sad truth is that many walk away from ideas or talents simply because others have discouraged it. They are not strong enough in their own convictions to see the fear behind the discouragement. They can’t see the underlying envy and jealousy. Why would you walk away because of a silly reason like a little discouragement? If you succeed, that changes things with those around you. They either can change with it or stay the same. The balance of power changes, then in order to justify it in their own minds that they are ok where they are, they attack others. Whether they admit it or not, they downplay other’s talent because of their own selfish reasons.

Don’t sacrifice your talents and dreams simply because someone (who was mediocre in their own pursuits) disagreed with you or discouraged your passion. Do you think our history’s greats were worried about opinions of mediocre minds or efforts? No they were too concerned with what did matter: their creations on their path to greatness. Are you afraid of looking like a fool? What will really make you look foolish is if you become one of the attackers and start justifying yourself for where you are.

If we all waited around to get approval from people in life, nothing would ever get done. Unknown

“Some people are leaders vs. followers, some hunters vs. farmers, some creators vs. users. If you want to be a leader, hunter, creator, you must learn to be an individual. Let the followers, farmers and users join the collective.” MQ

I love movies, being around them, watching them, and learning from them.  I have some family members and close friends in the industry and I am so excited they followed their dreams of being actors and actresses. They went for it… decided to throw caution to the wind and just plain went for it.  WOW — isn’t that liberating?  I love just thinking about it.  I have a close friend from Kentucky that called me 10 years ago and said, “Hazen – I am going to California to become an actor” —– I told him that if anyone could do it…. it would be him… hands down.  He is fearless and he attracts people like a magnet. He went out there and said the secret to his success has been outworking everyone around him.  WHAT?  You didn’t get “discovered?”  You weren’t JUST the guy they were looking for when you moved out there from Kentucky?  hahahaha….  He outworked everyone around him and took the jobs NO ONE wanted.

That’s a life lesson within itself…. do what others aren’t willing to do in order to get what others can’t get.

About the movie – Dreamer… This is the story of a young girl and family who have been hit with hard times on a once great horse farm in Kentucky.  It’s about bringing a family together through rough patches in life.  It’s about an injured racehorse named Sonador and how that horse helps a family in every way possible.

I have another connection to this movie because I owned a small horse farm in Georgetown, Ky and was an extra and stand in on this production.  I had the pleasure of meeting Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Shue, Luis Guzman and Freddy Rodriguez in Lexington a week prior to the main shoot. If you watch the movie 26:45 in — I am Mike the trainer that takes the horse from Freddy on the track with Dakota sitting on the fence.  I am scattered throughout the film in other places but that’s the scene I remember the time.

Is this a big deal?  No… I just think its fun and I was able to meet everyone and actually talk to the actors / actresses.  If you ever have a chance to be a part of a movie… I think you would enjoy it.

If you haven’t seen the movie… rent it. Listen to the message… and go for it.

Everyone knows what I am talking about here… right?  I hope so… because the more successful you are the more people want to cut you down to size.  Why is that?  Why can’t people realize there is plenty of business to go around?  Why do people think they have to be sneaky?  Why do people want to drag you down with them?  WHO knows… hahahaha… and the truth is … it doesn’t matter anyway.

I received a phone call today from a competitor who pretended to be a prospect.  I of course — being me—– understood this right off the bat.  I played their game for a few minutes and when I didn’t give her what she wanted…. she got very upset and hung up on me…  I didn’t even realize I had been hung up on.  Again — me being me — I called back to a very upset woman who had been lying through out the whole conversation about her true intentions and how dare I call her back after calling me???  WOW….  What they don’t realize is …. I have good relationships with my clients and we take care of them.  We go above and beyond and do things that others won’t do. I highly recommend building quality relationships and becoming friends with clients… and clients becoming friends… it’s in my opinion…. THE only way to go.

It’s amazing what goes on out there.  The economy is bad and some people think they have to do dirty, underhanded things to succeed.  Guess what people??? You don’t.  Whatever happened to “Do unto others…. ” ?

When people don’t know what you are all about… the simplest emotion for them to feel is fear. The simplest thing they can do is talk negatively about you. 2010 – try to let go of the fear and rejoice in the success of others. -FB quote HAC

In the start of this new year…. be happy for others’ successes.  Do your own thing and create your own business.  There is plenty of it to go around if you just look hard enough.  (If you don’t know how — call me — I can help you with that.) 

Do you feel like this?  Do you feel like the world is coming down on you?  Do you think that you have it so much worse than everyone else?  I PROMISE YOU….. you don’t.

It’s true… whether you think you can… or think you can’t… you are always going to be right.  Your attitude is the key factor in any success or failure in your life from this point forward.  Do you want to rise above your circumstances?  Do you want to change your life’s outcome?  What are you willing to do?

Put down that bag of bricks you are carrying around on your shoulders.  Who are you carrying those bricks around for anyway?  W.I.N. – what’s important now…. that was something I discussed a few entries ago — don’t forget it… take care of business and FIX your attitude…. it makes all the difference in the world.

Just remember all the less fortunate people out there in the world today and this upcoming weekend… you have it pretty good.  Someone told me several years ago that if you had spare change lying around your house…. you were richer than 80% or so of most of the people in the world… and oh yeah…. Don’t forget to brush…

Snatch?  It makes sense now that you see the picture right?  It’s all about opportunities.  They are all around us all the time.  We just have to be aware of them and open our minds and be ready to pounce.

Are you aware?  Do you know how to become aware?  Here’s another concept of “Snatch” — Timing… did you know that timing is everything.  One second to slow… too fast… you might miss the fish? I work with some very talented business owners down in Sarasota Florida.  We are always talking about moving the football…. no matter what we do… did we move the football up or down… Progress is like that.  Sometimes you step back to move ahead — it’s all in the timing and perspective of the situation.

In today’s economy… I don’t hear people scoffing at opportunities as much as they used to.  I wonder why that is?  In the movie, “The Legend of Bagger Vance” – Matt Damon talks to the young man, Hardy, who is his caddy – about his father sweeping the streets and beating back adversity with a broom.  He did whatever he had to…. whatever it would take… to provide for his family.

Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Dale Calvert, Candi May and myself, Hazen Christensen — in case you have already forgotten… – Are all major proponents of Network Marketing – Legit network marketing companies.  How do you tell the difference?  Ask…. it’s that simple.

Something to think about and remember – the numbers have gone up on this in America… but did you know that 80 percent or more of bankruptcies in this country could be stopped if a family could earn an extra $700 a month?  WOW…. that’s all I have to say.  Network Marketing can fill that gap for any family.  It takes a a little or a lot of effort depending on your goals and it absolutely doable.  The tax deductions alone on a home based business more than pay for the business in most cases and with some very simple steps.

Perceptions are changing and it’s a new world out there for businesses.  Most major companies already sell their products and services through network marketing companies.   Did you know that? ATT, Microsoft, Dell, Ford — you name it.  Why?  Cause it’s based on word of mouth advertising and paying people for production as it happens…. that’s brilliant as a business owner.  I have been very successful in traditional business and network marketing and I am proud of that fact.  They are basically the same thing… and… it’s all about helping people solve problems.

If you or anyone you know would like to get more than curious about making a real income with a legit company – you should contact me as soon as possible.  Just know… it’s not a job and I am not looking for the curious… I am only looking for the serious.

Just remember —- you have to SNATCH up opportunities when they come around and remember the key factor of timing… it’s oh so important.

In life or business — You GOTTA do it now… in other words – go for it.  A real tragedy is to watch your dreams float away… I love this acronym —- W.I.N – What’s Important Now…. old school saying for new school thinking.

It doesn’t matter your age – it’s not too late.  You can start a business this year, you can lose the weight you have always wanted to lose, join a gym, ask out the girl of your dreams, find the man you have always wanted, find God or do nothing… time doesn’t care what you do with it… it will run out – and it’s always too fast.

I was eating with clients last night and the manager came up to us… told us he was having a bad week because his good friend – 32 years old – had died from a brain aneurysm.  WHAT?  I could only sit back and wonder —– we think we have all this time to get our plans done and goals accomplished.  We think we are in control and time is not a factor.  TIME is everything in this short short life.

DO IT NOW.  Whatever you have been wanting to do…. DO IT NOW.  Whatever dream job or girl or guy you have always wanted…. DO IT NOW —- hahahahaha… (couldn’t resist) GO FOR IT NOW.  If you have been thinking of God and finding yourself —- don’t wait… DO IT NOW.  If you have always wanted to do more charity work —- DO IT NOW — I think you see the theme here.  If you don’t… start over and begin again.

Life is a garden —– Dig it.

I love this quote…. it’s also old school and it’s a line from the movie Joe Dirt.  Joe had a VERY positive attitude and had the worst things in the world continue to happen to him.  He found the energy and courage to find his way out… He didn’t sit around waiting and wondering about what to do….. DO IT NOW.