“Creating choices empowers me…giving choices empowers others” ~ Joe Contrera A friend of mine once asked me a question when I was going through a pretty tough time in my life. They asked, “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” Believe it or not, my initial response was, “I…
“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson 20 Truths To Know About Fear… Fear can paralyze. Fear can kill (yes, literally watch the news). Fear can be disguised as anger, rage, resentment, lack of forgiveness, and greed. It can be your friend…most of the…
You Are Powerful Beyond Measure … We were all given the most powerful gift … the ability to determine what we think and therefore what we make things mean. And yet, most folks are wasting this incredible resource because they are all to busy trying to make themselves right and everyone else wrong or themselves…
WAKE UP! (PART I) – ARE YOU FALLING ASLEEP? I have noticed that I seem to travel between two perspectives on how I do my life. At times, I am engaged, disciplined, and consistent about achieving my life’s purpose, I am fully-alive, energized, and nothing can get in my way. I am in total control…
Aligning Your Purpose in Life … Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Helen Keller The purpose of our lives is to be happy. Dalai Lama How many of us were told as a child that your purpose in life…
The Autobiography of a Self-Proclaimed Leader … “The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe.” ~Voltaire Once upon a time there was a man who believed he was a great leader. Once a week he…
Influencing Others: Outside-In or Inside-Out Your greatest ability to influence others comes from the fact that influencing others is not an outside-in job … it is an inside-out job! Before I explain why … answer the following questions and be brutally honest with yourself: In a conversation with another person, do you spend the majority…
A wise mentor of mine, Dr Nido Qubein of High Point University, once told me, “Joe if you don’t have a why … the how and the what don’t matter!” As I reflect back on the times in my life when I was driven towards a particular goal … be it writing my first book or starting my business, I was always crystal clear about the why behind my actions. I had a clear understanding of my purpose for that particular goal and was driven to achieve it.
“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset.” – Tom Hopkins. Sometimes it may be a mental leap to think of ourselves as our greatest asset. That said … here are a few questions to get us grooming our minds to think differently …
Do you make the choice to empower yourself? There is a saying, count it all joy, which is an interesting thought, especially if you feel like your sitting in a situation that feels like anything BUT joy. Most of us have been trained to look at what is wrong as opposed to what is right about a given situation. And a lot of this what’s wrong thinking comes from the way we were programmed along with our life experiences. Here’s what I know …