Setema Gali Is Creating Value

After being in a band for 7 years, performing well over 100 times and traveling from Florida to Hawaii and up and down California and all through Utah and loving it I learned, well, relearned a valuable and potent lesson last Friday night.

It was a long and exhausting week and by Friday I was literally ready to hibernate. I did not practice as much on my own. In other words, I wasn’t prepared! I was making excuses such as “I am too busy this week” or “we are moving so I can’t practice” or “We need more group practice.”

This making excuses and not personally preparing went on for the past few weeks. When we performed on Friday night at the Ozz in Provo I was uneasy. In fact I was unhappy. I hadn’t prepared well like I did for so many other gigs. My face showed it and people who know me could tell something was wrong during the performance.

Because I didn’t prepare properly I let every little thing affect me. My monitor wasn’t working so it affected me. Our bass players wire fell out, it affected me. I was sweating like crazy, it affected me. I was tired, it affected me. Everything was affecting me.

In life we can choose to let every little thing affect us for the negative and then get mad and give a mediocre performance in life.

In our gigs things  go wrong. So we learn how to prepare so NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS we know what outcome and result we want to produce on stage. Imagine someone wanting to play football but NOT wanting to get hit, get hurt, sweat, run etc. It’s ridiculous and yet how many of us already know that ‘life’ happens and when it does we get mad. Why get mad or blame others? We already know things won’t always be perfect so prepare to deal with them and then give maximum effort REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T PREPARE PROPERLY?

After the gig I felt sick. Not physically sick but sick because I know I could have done better. I know I blamed others for my lack of preparation and when there is a lack of preparation there is fear. The cold hard truth was that I was solely responsible for my actions and because I did not pay the price earlier, I paid for it on stage with a mediocre performance.

“The price for success must always be paid in advance.”

We do this too often in life. We make excuses for our lack of success or mediocrity only to blame other people as if it is their fault. This is so far from the truth. We are 100% responsible for how we deal with our own life.  Even if I am moving and need to pack up my home, and have mulitiple activites to handle, and have a son, and my wife and family functions and church functinos and so on and so forth the moment I begin to think it’s not my fault I am wrong and am decieved. 

I’ve already done it right in the past. I know what it is like to prepare, to focus to take responsibility and then to get out on stage and give the best performance possible. I did this in football, in school and now do it with the band. For some reason I FORGOT and in forgetting what it takes to be my best I was mediocre on stage and I knew it was my fault.

When you are prepared and take 100% responsibility for your actions and your life, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS YOU CAN CHOOSE TO LET IT AFFECT YOU OR NOT. After all we are agents who have the ability to choose right?

When I prepare to perform with the band IT LITERALLY DOESN’T MATTER if I am sweating a bunch, the chord to the bass falls out, people aren’t there to listen, my monitor doesn’t work, the power goes out etc. etc. We have a rule in the band. Whether it’s 5, 50, 500 or 5000 they’ll get the exact same powerful entertaining incredible show. In other words we don’t let other people affect how we perform. We only let us affect how we perform! It’s amazing when you are intentional about the results YOU want in your life.

When I properly do my part to prepare to perfrom with the band I KNOW I HAVE PURPOSE and NO MATTER WHAT COMES MY WAY I can choose in that moment to give my best effort because I have prepared to do so. 

“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear!” 

Stop making excuses,make up your mind that no matter what happens around you or to you, YOU’LL DECIDE HOW YOU ACT AND REACT IN EVERY SITUATION! This is what being a Creator is all about.

Go and Create the day, the life, the reality you want. Create the relationships you want. Create the healthy mind and body you want. Create the happiness you want. Create the income you want. Create the spirituality you want. 

I’d love to hear what you think. Go ahead and leave a comment below.

Setema

P.S. Pick up a copy of our CD too (Mana Poly All-Stars), you’ll love it! It’s feel good reggae music with R&B/Soul fused into it! iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby.com or myspace.com/manapolyallstars

P.S.S. Whoever leaves a comment that creates value for me will receive a free copy of our Riddim & Blues Album!

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Lessons in preparing, Mana Poly Allstars, Preparation

 

We have 10 days before we need to move out of this house.  Truth is, after making a high six figure income just a couple years ago for a few years I find myself on the opposite side of the spectrum. I chose to move into this house after losing my home of nearly three years knowing that it would foreclose but we would have a few months here without paying rent to rebuild; no rent, no worries and it’s a nice big home too.

I was a mortgage planner, real estate investor, public speaker and hard money lender. I became an investor and well, after being nearly debt free and living a life where money was absolutely NO ISSUE, it’s all different now. But how grateful I am for what I have learned. How incredible my life is regardless of how much money I have.

It’s funny because I used to think money would solve problems and make everything better. Truth be told, money is a tool to help more people and is the result of NOT luck, but value creation. Money is a stewardship that if we are wise stewards over can and will be increased if we seek it. It actually is a spiritual thing. But like everything else that can be used for good, it can also be used for evil. 

Anyways, I had a ton of money once, drove expensive cars, traveled frequently, donated to scholarship funds, helped family and friends out and enjoyed being able to help out. I don’t have as much compared to times past HOWEVER, I have so much knowledge, experience and the nitty gritty stuff that makes leaders and people well. . . great.

I always said if I lost it all (meaning the homes, cars, money, luxuries etc.) I would be able to get it back because I know HOW to do it, WHAT IT TOOK to get there and it’s all in my mind and heart. I’ve been rebuilding now for the past couple years but really effectively doing it for the past few months. I mean come on, do you know what it’s like to lose over 7 figures-that would be over 1 million dollars through bad choices, poor business relationships , fraud and all the real estate that went down the drain? It can put one into a ‘funk’. I can even describe my experience like I was in a cave and didn’t want to come out because of shame and embarrassment as if I had failed. Failure is simply knowing how not do something and then you keep moving forward. Failure is so good because it is how we learn. So I have failed a lot, but because of failure, I have successfully eliminated ways on how NOT to do something.

Something funny happens when we face adversity.  We all experience different things. Some people get mad or upset. Some people breakdown and start questioning God. Some people act like it never happened. Some people never learn the lesson. 

Fact: There are no accidents, only lessons. So with all the ‘lessons’ I’ve learned through this, I look at each obstacle and challenge as a blessing in disguise. I can choose to grow or shrink with the experiences I have. I can choose to learn or complain. I can choose to be an agent or a victim.  I can ask powerful questions such as ‘What am I to learn from this? Who can I help and bless? How can I use this to be better? What lesson can I learn from this?’ or I can ask destrucive questions such as ‘Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Why does life suck?’ while I compare myself to other people. Of course it is much more productive to ask the first set of questions and learn from the experience with gratitude.

The lesson that hit me powerfully today happened while I was driving. When I am the most productive at whatever I am doing it is when I am NOT focused on the bad or lack or how tired I am or that I failed in the past. I am the most productive when I am happy, feeling good, focused on moving forward and focused on the endless possibilities that are out there. When I am focused on my purpose and direction in life and focused on how I will be able to help other people through what I have learned then everything that happens to me is NOT bad, but a powerful lesson for good and I mean EVERYTHING!

When I am mad, tired, hungry, acting life a victim and literally focused on doubt, fears or past mistakes I am not in the highest vibration or state of being to really produce powerfully. Everything I do is less than my best. However, when I have put myself in a good mood and created conditions to be productive, it doesn’t matter what comes my way, I greet it with a smile and perspective and take it in with gratitude.

So what is my point? Create favorable conditions throughout the day so you are living at your highest levels possible so as challenges and adversity come your way, heck, even just as life comes your way, you can meet it, greet it and let it be fuel to help you rather than letting it be chains to drag you down. 

How do I create favorable conditions? I to begin my day with a Tops of the Mountain Experience. Prayer, meditation, study of scriptures, books, journal writing (allows you to evaluate recent days and learn from your experiences). When you start your day with a powerful planning, praying and reading session you’re living your life on purpose rather than on accident. Even some exercise in the morning goes a long way in waking your body and mind up to get more out of you than you would just crawling out of bed. Perspective is powerful.

Finally, do all you can to be in a happy, attitude of gratitude state of mind. When I am happy and grateful, I produce the best results.  I produce powerful truthful life changing content. If someone backs into my car I take it with gratitude. When I am not in my happy and grateful state, someone backs into my car and I begin to complain, whine, question ‘why me’ etc. Life is no fun when you’re a victim of circumstance or you play the blame game. Life is incredibly fun, exciting and flat out enjoyable when you live on purpose, have direction and take full responsibility for life.

So when I face situations that begin to pull me down, I stop and quickly remember why I am living, why I am choosing to learn, why I want to be a power Agent for good. I ask the question “What am I to learn from this person or this situation?” “How can I prevent this from happening again?” or “Thank you Lord show me the lesson.”

I know this is long and if you’ve gotten this far I thank you. Please leave your thoughts or comments so myself and others may be inspired by what you share.

Have an incredible day! Make it an incredible life!

Special Agent Gali-The Man Who Loves His Life

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, gratitude, loving life

I have a little 2 year old son who is a huge part of my life.  I come home and he runs to me and jumps on me and kisses me. We laugh, play, run around, watch TV together and eat a lot together. 

My wife is now pregnant with our second child which fills me with gratitude. We miscarried six months ago and that was a learning experience for both of us. My wife is incredible.

Why do I share this? Because the 1st trimester for my wife is difficult and challenging. She eats, sleeps a lot, pukes, is achy, sleeps some more, is achy some more and you get the picture. So for the past two months I have been playing Mr. Mom. Laundry, cleaning, sweeping, dishes, diaper changing, cooking, shopping etc. 

I feel incredibly overwhelmed right now. I stay home everyday so my wife can sleep and get through this 1st trimester. The first couple weeks I kept up on the chores around the house. In doing this I neglected building my business, writing my book, and even hitting the gym. 

Now, I am completely overwhelmed. The laundry is piled up, I do my most effective work late at night when my son is sleeping and I am behind on every project I have started. Did I mention that the laundry is piled up?

What have I learned?

1-That you won’t get everything done no matter what you do. You won’t so stop trying and create different objectives. If your objective is to get everything done you are setting yourself up for failure. Create an objective like “Do the dishes with gratitude” or clean while you listen to your favorite music or audio book. I attened a seminar a while back and this is the first thing they taught-that you won’t get it all done so do the most important things and forget about the distractions.

2-Take a break. This is the sharpening the saw principle. When cutting a tree down stop every once in a while to sharpen your saw. Get out of the house and go grab an ice cream. Go to the gym. Talk with adults (staying at home usually leaves you with your children and you definitely need adult conversation). Go for a walk. Clear your head. Take a break from all you are doing then get back to it.

3-Express gratitude. Instead of focusing on EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET DONE find the joy and greatness in what you are doing. I am so grateful I can change my sons diapers. I am so grateful to do dishes or laundry. With all of today’s modern conveniences we ofttimes complain about hard things are. Try crossing the plains with a handcart like the Pioneers did. Try cooking on an open fire and boiling water to drink. Try hunting for your food or beating your clothes to clean them.

4-Keep moving forward. When you stop, take a deep breath, look around and recognize the progression, then keep pressing forward.  Keep fighting forward.  Keep loving forward.  Keep living forward. Meet the Robinsons is a great movie to watch. If you fail, congratulations, keep moving forward now.

I still feel overwhelmed right now, but I am happily overwhelmed and I wouldnt’ wish it any other way. I am growing and learning.  

Any suggestions. Please post a comment or suggestion of what you do when you feel overwhelmed. this is I Learning Global at its best; growing and learning together. 

Setema

Technorati Tags: Family, growing, learning, Overwhelmed, parenting