CHPTR1: Subject to Change

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. "
~Martin Luther King, Jr.


"BEGIN with the END in mind," my sale professor exclaimed, quoting the notable Steven Covey's Seven Habits.. By the fourth year of business school, you were certainly an outsider if you hadn't familiarized yourself with the philosophical agendas that many of the educators often had. However, it was easing to know concepts that the lesson plan had in stored for us. A feeling that in our early twenties, we falsely believed, the few studious had outgrown the institution and was more than prepared for the experiences life had in store for us. We were pushed out of the tree too soon and expected to fly, and with just cause.

It's March, a year after school, and although the road ahead is unsure, I am finally taking the first steps in discovering what life has in store for me. On Monday of this week, I leaped into the unknown, leaving my job for a strong dream and unsteady footing. While the rest of the nation seeks for employment (Florida's Highest Unemployment Record - Feb 2010), there are the few that still wish to make their own path. Yet collecting my own thoughts this week, I believe that all the things experienced in my life is leading to this next step.

So what is this end that I have in mind? Success. Financial success. Personal success. Social success. It seems trite to desire something that everyone wants, but I don't think that this is true. Let me specify. I want to create a highly profitable business that secures me financially for the rest of my life. I want to breach the personal boundaries I have set for myself where I can look back and say, "Wow, I did that. I didn't think that was possible." I want numerous experiences that shape me into not only a great storyteller but also a perceptive and learned man.

This cannot be possible unless I set some specific guidelines to follow. So, with the my few experiences and knowledge, I have narrowed the my personal creed for the next year to 4 things:

PERSONAL GUIDELINES
- No negativity (negative thoughts, actions, people)
- If you feel it, act immediately
- Never lose sight of your objectives
- Hard work trumps wishful thinking

And though resembling other ideas and philosophies, I think that personal guidelines cannot be adopted from elsewhere, by must be created by each individual (being based on individual understanding and perception).

In the past few days, I see myself unconsciously positioning myself for the next few steps toward my goals. The environment around is altering, more than just the scene-scape but also my mentality. And since I have committed to both my goals and guidelines, a voice inside me is cheering me on, growing in depth and intensity each day, so much so that my excitement keeps me from sleep.

This is the First Step....