Challenged

Reading James Altucher's book Choose Yourself  may end up being life changing for me. I don't know what the results will be, if any.  But I know that his ideas and philosophies have challenged me like few other.  I've read lots of books that I've thought were excellent & thought provoking. 

Napolean Hill's Keys to Success which I've read 3 times taught me that I was in control of my thoughts.  It has been a book that I've turned to when I needed help focusing on the positive especially from a business standpoint.  But I don't remember having a book influence my behavior as Choose Yourself has.  This blog is a result of it.  I don't know the purpose of this for sure, but I feel strongly that I was supposed to create it and write postings regularly.  My hope is that I'm able to encourage someone, somehow. 

I've also taken James' suggestion to write down 10 ideas everyday.  I'm trying to become an idea machine.  Again, I don't know why, but I feel like it has a purpose.  I think that actively engaging that portion of my brain might be a good thing.  It's also interesting to just write down an idea without judging its merit.  I have to tell myself, "It's an idea.  At this point it doesn't matter if it's a good idea or not."  The success is just in the creation of the idea. 

But for some reason, one of the biggest realizations that I've had through this process, is that I have let my circle become very small.  I tend to keep to myself.  But, I'm beginning to realize that I need to share myself more.  Putting myself out there on social media and risking that someone might think that I was stupid or might disagree with me just hasn't been worth it.  But now for some reason, I feel like I'm supposed to be more open, share what I know and most importantly that I'm supposed to reach out and encourage others.  I need to be more engaged.  It may seem like a small thing to you, but for me it's a shift.  I know something's changing in my life. 

I came across this verse from 2 Corinthians.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV

I'm realizing that I need to share myself more generously if I want to experience abundance in all things.  I need to plant the seeds - seeds of friendship; seeds of encouragement; seeds of knowledge.  They may not all sprout.  But they have no chance of sprouting if they're not sown. 

Go sow some seeds so you too can have a abundant harvest!