If you’ve been to a garden center or nursery lately, you know it’s planting time.  People from all walks of life take a time each spring to roll up their sleeves and get dirt under their fingernails, planting seeds and starters they hope will bloom into a beautiful summer and rewarding fall harvest. 

Animals, insects, and even a few no-so-dumb humans know that spring is also the time to cultivate success.  We had all winter to reflect and dream – now it’s time to get going! 

If your goal is weight loss, start your new daily morning walk tomorrow.  If you want a better job, post your resume up on Monster and those other job boards, no more excuses.  Relationship issues?  Plan a romantic getaway this weekend.  After all, spring is for romance, too.

Having problems getting started?  Here’s an excerpt from my book, Success for Life, which will help cultivate a new you.

Repetition is not the same thing as persistence.  Thinking the same thoughts and taking the same actions over and over isn’t going to change a darn thing. Tenacity isn’t about beating your head against the same point on the wall every day, in the hope that eventually the wall will crack.  No, there are other words for describing that: “plain dumb.”

Speaking of plain dumb, a friend of mine had a dog, one of those big, hairy, gray-and-white old English sheepdogs.  Each morning, Jack would open the front door to let the dog outside, and each morning, without fail, the dog would race through the door, full-speed, and crash head-on into the riding lawn mower parked in front of the house!

My friend thought the dog would learn his lesson after nearly busting his skull open on the first hit. But no, the next day, and the next, and the one after that, the pattern repeated itself. Door opens, dog rushes out, near concussion.  Eventually, Jack had to move the mower.

Now to smart folks like us, it’s obvious this isn’t persistence. It’s stupidity (though, I guess the dog eventually got what he wanted). If it’s so obvious, then, why do I see otherwise intelligent people doing exactly the same thing every day?  Why, when faced with a challenge, do some people throw themselves at it, in a full-frontal assault, again and again, instead of trying to find a route around, over, or even under?

Go on, admit it.  How many times have you vowed to: stop getting riled by your boss, stop acting jealous, quit nagging the kids, save more money, start that diet one more time, change your job, spend more time with the family, really use that gym membership, work smarter, say “no” more often and drink less – or any one of the above?

And despite those promises to yourself, how many times do you find yourself stressing over the same things every night, hitting the same brick walls, and consistently finding yourself falling back into the same old patterns of behavior that caused you to fail the first time around?

Maybe we’re not so different from that dumb dog after all.

There’s no time to waste obsessing about the time you’ve lost or your bad choices in the past.  Spring has sprung, okay?  It’s time for a new start.  WAKE UP AND PLANT THE ROSES!  You can’t enjoy the sweet smell of success unless you plant the seeds.  Make new habits and contacts – good ones, with real potential, which will bring you happiness and success. 

 I can’t WAIT to see you BLOOM!

Are you forever chasing yesterday money?  According to the headlines, you’re not alone. You can’t escape news stories about foreclosures, credit card debt, and bailouts these days.

Sounds like we’re suffering from an epidemic of wealthy-weak here in America.

I write about wealthy-strong versus wealthy-weak in my book, Success for Life.  Here’s a passage, from Streetwise Strategy #5, Be a Giant.

Too many people are stuck in the endless race of chasing yesterday money (money they’ve already spent) and dream money (the kind of cash they can only fantasize about), rather than today money – the kind that will take them into the future, and maybe even make some of those dreams come true.

Yup, we’re so busy chasing the fantasy of big bucks, that we spend all of our today money on cars, big houses, bling, and exotic vacations to impress others into believing we’ve made it. Guess what? Today money borrowed on credit soon becomes yesterday money, and any chance of earning dream money slips further away from our grasp. Chasing yesterday money is exhausting and thankless. If anything will kill your dreams, this will. How can you look forward when your life is in hock, and debt and creditors are pulling you backward?

I went through this learning curve as a young, foolish guy. I earned millions as a street kid doing all the wrong things, but what I did next is not so different from what so many respectable, professional, white-collar folks do today: I squandered all my money on stuff I didn’t need. I lost millions, by making stupid, reactive, materially-driven decisions.

Don’t get me wrong. I love wearing fine clothes and state-of-the-art watches. I enjoy diamonds and magnificent cars. So no, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating you hide your shine under a bushel of corn, but I AM advising that, like me, you make sure these material things aren’t driving you, but that you’re driving them.

Giants know the true value of wealth. They understand that it’s simply a trading currency, a means to an end, and that it can disappear as fast – or even faster – than it arrived.

If wealthy-weak sounds like you, then I challenge you to really pay attention to how you handle your money. I heard on the news the other day that the average Starbucks customer spends $1500 a year. Now, if people have this much money to spend on a cup of coffee – that most could get at work for free – why can’t they pay their mortgages and car notes?

Because they’re wealthy weak!

Like I said in my book, I’m a guy who likes flash.  I drive a Phantom Rolls Royce and wear a Audemar Piguet watch.  But I also lease my Phantom, AKA “Triple Black”, to movie studios and up-and-comers who want to make a good impression for the night. My car pays me, not the other way around, see?  And although I spend money making sure I always look my best, I take my style out to be seen – not to boost my ego - but to attract new business opportunities.

The difference between wealthy-strong and wealthy-weak is a state of mind.  Rich state or poor state, it’s up to you where you reside.

Did you catch the NBA All-Star slam dunk contest on TV last weekend?  Dwight Howard brought a new brand of showmanship to New Orleans this year, and he’s reaping the rewards.

I work with NBA players in my life coaching practice, and when I hear a guy gets a contract, I always think the same thing: Congratulations … now what are you gonna do with it?

An NBA contract is good money, but it’s nothing compared to the endorsements and other business opportunities that come with it.  Everybody gets a chance to prove themselves on the big stage, and when Howard’s time came, he was ready. He was having a good season before All Star weekend, but after he killed it in that slam dunk contest, I guarantee his phone is ringing off the hook now with new offers and opportunities!

Now THAT’S power branding! Here’s some more about Building a Personal Power Brand from my new book, Success for Life.

There are practical reasons why you need to stand out from the crowd: attracting a partner, improving job security, or taking advantage of promotional opportunities. I mean, with all the economic uncertainty today, competition in the job market, and a rapidly changing, technology-enabled world that offers little in the way of predictability or stability, you’ve gotta find ways to differentiate yourself, to stand out from the masses.

Once you view your personal power branding strategy as both defense and offense, you understand that taking care of yourself, dressing sharp and staying groomed and cool is not self-indulgence - it’s good business.

What’s YOUR power brand? If you don’t know, I’d suggest you give it some thought, because you won’t achieve big time success with one. Take me, for instance.  I’m Burrel Lee Wilks III, America’s Most Authentic Life Coach.  It tells you what I do - life coach; and, how I’m different - I’m as real as they come!

Think about your power brand, and get yourself ready for your big chance. Maybe someday I’ll be writing about you!

Be a Giant,
Burrel