A story of a dog named Floyd

(For those of you who know the real Floyd, stay calm, he is alive and well!).

There once was a puppy named Floyd who loved nothing more than to go for walks... running around, chasing birds and squirrels... it was paradise.

As Floyd grew older he began to get tired of his walks.  "There has to be more to it than this.", he thought, "I feel like all I do is go in circles. What's the point?".  And with that Floyd decided he wanted to walk somewhere. To make something of his walk. But where?

He pondered this while continuing his usual walk.  Afterall, why change when he knows this walk so well. Once he figures out the answer, then he will change. And so he walked and walked and pondered and pondered. But still no answer. Frustrated he barked loudly into the sky, "Please tell me the answer!", but he did not hear a reply.

The next morning, as Floyd as was on his usual walk, he came to a sudden stop.  "What the heck is this?!" He asked himeself. "Somebody has built a road right across my usual path! Nobody asked my permission.  Who do they think they are?!?" Floyd barked in a fury.  Confused, he turned around and went home.

The next morning he set out on his walk hoping it was all a bad dream. But sure enough, the road was still there. And this time, some strange thing with four wheels zoomed by on the road. "What is going on? I don't understand. Why did this happen to me?" Floyd thought. Tail between his legs, Floyd turned around and went home.

The next morning Floyd went to leave on his walk, but then suddenly stopped. He thought of all the change in the last 2 days.  "What if more has changed?" He asked himeself.  "I don't know if I can handle any more change." And so, Floyd decided to stay home.

"Home isn't so bad." Floyd thought. And he did his best to keep busy, but soon enough he grew tired again. He began to pace in his house. Wondering what to do. Back and forth he paced... "I can't play inside anymore, but I can't go outside... not now... its been too long... too much will have changed by now." Not knowing what to do Floyd barked with frustration loudly into the sky, "Please tell me the answer!", but he did not hear a reply.

That night, Floyd woke up to the loudest thunder he had ever heard in his life. "Great, what now?" He thought. "It can't get any worse." And then sure enough, it did. Water began to flow into Floyd's home ruining all his favourite things. Floyd couldn't believe it. "Why does this always happen to me?" he barked "What did I do to deserve this? I didn't ask for this! This is the worst day of my life."

Feeling as if he had no other choice, Floyd left his home.  He couldn't remember the last time he had been outside. And his worries were right... much more had changed.

So Floyd did the only thing he knew what to do, he began walking. Even though much had changed, he quickly adapted and thought to himself, "this isn't so bad." As Floyd relaxed and began to enjoy walking again, he laughed a little and thought, "you know, I never did figure out what the point of these walks are. I really wish somebody would tell me the answer."

Just as soon as this thought had finished a road came across his path. And not just any road... the same road that started this whole mess. FURIOUS Floyd barked and barked and barked until he tired himself right out and lay down beside the road.... feeling completely lost.

When Floyd awoke he was looking down the road instead of across it.  This new perspective allowed him to notice something he had never seen in all his days of walking.  There was something down the road.

Curious, Floyd walked with the road until he came across this new something. As he came to the spot where he thought it should be, the something wasn't there, but from here he noticed many other somethings. So he continued down many other paths. Some were short, some long, some dark, some bright, some were paved, some were gravel... all with many somethings. Some somethings he liked, some he didn't.

Then on one particularly beautiful day when there were no clouds in the sky,  he decided to hold his head up high and look up into the sky, well above his own height, for the first time in his life. And it was then he saw the something which called out to him like no other ever had.  This something though was far off and high above him, but he began walking anyway with a sense of purpose.  Whenever he grew tired, all he had to do was look at this new something and we was revitalized. It was as if this new something was giving him new energy, new life!

At times, he wished he had looked higher than his height sooner, as this something was probably there all along. But of course it wasn't just about looking up high, as sometimes clouds were in the way. As Floyd continued on his trip, he had to use all of the skills he had learned along the way. In fact, if it wasn't for all those other paths in the past, the good and the bad, he would not have been able to take on this trip. It was then he realized that life hadn't been happening to him... it was happening for him.

Finally, Floyd reached his ultimate something!!! HE WAS OVERJOYED! And so he began running around, chasing birds and squirrels... it was paradise.

The Power of Making a Decision

"It is in the moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." - Tony Robbins aka The Man

Whether your conscious of them or not, you are making thousands of decisions a day.  The challenge is, you make the same ones or poor ones.You can have anything you want in life simply by DECIDING to make it so.

That being said, let's check in on what the true definition of making a decision is.  According to Dictionary.com the origin comes from "to cut off from".  Meaning, when you have made a TRUE DECISION, you have cut off from all other possibilities.

There is an old story about a great warrior and leader who sailed with his army to face a fierce enemy which outnumbered them.  Upon arrival, he ordered the boats to be burned. When questioned of his intentions, he responded that now the only way to survive is by winning! And as the story goes, that is exactly what they did.  A perfect example of making a true decision.

Furthermore and in my opinion, when you have made a true decision, action in the direction of that decision immediately follows.  Otherwise, you haven't decided, you are still considering options and/or reaffirming your desire.

To continue the riddle theme from my last post....  There are 5 birds sitting on a wire, one decides to fly off, how many are left?

Answer: It depends on your definition of decision.

In the old definition, 5 birds would remain, as making a decision didn't hold any weight.
In your new defitinion, 4 birds would remain, as action would immediately follow.
And if that bird was a leader, no birds would remain.

OK, time to get real.

If you don't already know, I am hosting my first public seminar in a couple weeks (June 2, 2010 see the events section of my website for more details,  http://www.brycehealey.com/ ). Its FREE and you are all welcome!

How did this become a reality? I decided.  Honestly, it was something I knew I would do 'one day' and had talked about it several times, but had not decided to.  So how did I decide???  Well... I was in the shower and the thought of doing a seminar popped in my head... AGAIN.  And I said to myself "Enough is enough." Immediately after my shower and barely dry, I booked the venue. ACTION!

So...  now I had a date and a location.  All I needed was an audience and what it was I was going to say.  Minor details.. ha ha. Fast forward to today, already I have 10 people confirmed and the framework for my speech is complete.

And again, how did this become a reality? I decided. One simple decision backed with action.

So perhaps now or this weekend, start making some decisions.  If its been a while start small or maybe for now its simply the decision to start making and acknowledging true decisions when you make them.

Either way, the path to your destiny is paved with conscious decision making.  And you don't want to know what the other path is paved with.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

PS - If you liked this post and need help in this area. Contact me for a free coaching session OR if you prefer a do it on your own method, Tony Robbins' Person Power is the best there is on the topic.

Life lessons through riddles

Sometimes the answer is in front of us
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years.
How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?

The Importance of Meaning
Why are 2010 (loonies) dollar bills worth more than 2009 (loonies) dollar bills?

The Importance of Perspective
Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. He landed he was completely unhurt, not even a scratch. Outside the building it was a sheer drop to the ground. . Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?

ASS-U-ME
A black dog stands in the middle of an intersecton in a town painted black. None of the street lights are working due to a power failure caused by a storm. A car with two broken headlights drives towards the dog but turns in time to avoid hitting him. How could the driver have seen the dog in time?

A Lesson in Dynamics
You are on a ship, over the side hangs a rope ladder with half meter rungs. The tide rises a half meter per hour. At the end of five hours, how much of the ladder will remain above the water assuming that nine rungs were above the water when the tide began to rise?

Something to keep as an advisor, not a jailor.
I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold, I visit the weak, but seldom the bold. What am I?

Something so powerful it can build us up or tear us down:
What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time?

COMMENTS WELCOME! ENJOY!

I will post the answers in a few days... email me if you can't sleep.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce




THE ANSWERS:
1) 9-years - the tree DOUBLES in height every year. Therefore last year it would have been half the height (see it visually).
2) Because 2010 is 1 more than 2009 (think of it as the number of loonies/dollar bills and not the year).
3) Brad was a window washer and was looking at the window from the outside. When he opened it up and jump through he was jumping into the building.
4) It was day time.
5) Nine rungs. The ship rises with the tide.
6) Fear
7) Memories