Passionate Realist: Randy Taylor

I attended a leadership seminar with Randy Taylor at White Oaks last night. To be honest, I went for a few principles. If I was inspired that would be a bonus. I just went for the hope of getting some answers. There was a wide range of people there from all walks of life looking for the same things: inspiration and a good serving of self-help and leadership principles.

Here's the coles notes version in my perspective:

 Sometimes, what people desire is to simply be inspired and to be given direction and principles to help them make a certain decision, or to make changes in their lives. However, I have come to realize that it is not inspiration that will cause us to change, it is simply a little dose of motivation. What brings about change is when we decide to "stop stopping," as Randy likes to say it. It is when we do not let the thoughts of doubt, fear, and negativity keep us from moving forward and making the change needed. He explained that, "Some changes in life are bold and brought about by a desire for more than the status quo. However, these are usually stopped dead in their tracks if the surplus of doubtful thoughts are allowed to pester and infiltrate our minds."

For isn't it true that when we have a dream or a goal that seems impossible or uunrealistic, it is when the doubtful thinking and "the voice" comes inside our heads filling us with negative thoughts that we cannot change because of this, that, and the other thing. It reminds us of our past failures and experiences and we suddenly begin to feel less and less confident and no amount of inspiration will get us to move when we stop. We stop moving with a dream or passionate change, because we end up letting that thought keep us in the same place. Doesn't matter where the thought comes from, if its from peers, or society. It stop us from taking the next step to making the dream a reality. What we need to realize is that its only a thought until we give that thought power to stop us.

As I was sitting here and he was describing his own journey. I thought about all my dreams as a kid and the ones that were blown off simply because someone told me I would never make it happen.
One negative comment I heard a lot as a child was "Get your heads out of the clouds. That doesn't happen for people like us." Another common was is "That doesn't make enough money. You need to do something that will bring in an income." How many times have you heard comments like these?

The truth is that as a child I remember having dreams and goals that I saw as reachable. It wasn't until people who had an influence on my life told me they weren't probable and were seen as farfetched, that I began to lose hope in my dream coming true. So it was cast aside. Randy Taylor explained (as I was having these thoughts), that deep down inside each of us we have a big dream that has been clouded over due to doubt, insecurity, and blurred perception. Doesn't mean the dream or passion is gone. It still exists, it has just been clouded over.

Afterwards, I began to feel awakened. I can live my dreams out in life. I can have a career I enjoy. I can be the 15% of people in the world that do not want to search for a new employer because their current position makes them content and happy. I can write my own screenplay for my life instead of following society's already dictated screenplay. I can choose to not follow what everyone else does. I can choose to go for more than the status quo.

So I am going back to the beginning. Back to ambition and passion that I once believed in as a child, before it was snatched away and replaced with the world's standards for my life. I want to know my passion and make it my life. I believe all things are possible for those who believe. I do. So I am taking a 6 month course and I am excited to discover my passion and work towards making it my reality. Wish me luck! I encourage all of you to think about this quote that Randy Taylor asked himself and lives out now: "Where you are now has nothing to do with where you can go."  As he says," We can look forward to Mondays."