How to Measure Success and Failure

How do you measure success? Do you feel successful or do you feel like a complete failure in life?Chances are that you are wrong on both counts if you are most people.

If you measure success only by monetary definition, you will fail to recognize that success can also be measured by the goals that were set and achieved in ones life. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs known today spent years setting and reaching goals, trying something and failing at it over and over again before finally having that moment of victory. Some even died before their fame was even recognized; they literally died trying to succeed at something they loved.

Failure does not mean you lack success, it simply shows that you are learning how NOT to do something. 

Before becoming successful, Thomas Edison tried more than 10,000 times to invent the light bulb.   When asked about his failures, Edison stated  “I know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work.”

Colonel Sanders founded KFC “Kentucky Fried Chicken” when he was 56 years old.  His recipe was reportedly rejected over 1,000 times before a restaurant picked it up. He proved that it's never too late to become a success,

I know that I would much rather die trying than to die saying "What if I had tried?"

Henry Ford founded two automotive companies that failed before he was able to gain success with the Ford Motor Company. At his time of death,  Ford’s estimated net worth was $188 billion dollars.

What do you think he celebrated more? His failures or his victory? I would be willing to bet that if he had never failed he would not have been as driven to succeed.

Dr. Seuss's first manuscript was rejected 27 times before it was published, however because he never gave up, he became one of the most recognized children's writers of all time. 

Today, his quotes are searched more that 135,000 times per month according to Google and every person over the age of 4 knows who he is.

There is something inside the heart of an entrepreneur that burns... a desire that never fades, and while everyone around you may laugh or feel that you have something to prove... you know that it's not abut proving anything... it's just how you tick; you could not stop it if you tried. I have failed, I have made huge mistakes in my life, but I continue to keep going because of a desire that I simply cannot explain and often that drive and ambition alienates me from others simply because they don't get me. I am not invited to many cookouts or parties because they probably figure I am "too busy" to come. (Unfortunately, they may even be right) 

We only have one life... we are meant to live it to the fullest. We were not designed for mediocrity, we were designed with PURPOSE. No matter how crazy we may seem to others... no matter how many times we look at our bank balance and wonder if it will ever match our efforts... an entrepreneur will never cave into mediocrity; we would rather struggle to win than struggle to lose. My bank account does not at all match the time I have put in, but I know one day that it will.... or I will simply die with passion in my heart to see how far I can push myself.

Embrace failure for what it is... an opportunity to learn something that you did not know before. Chalk it up and say "Well, I guess that did not work, let me try something different." Success is all about perspective, so keep yours in check if success is what you wish; who cares what everyone else thinks, including the bank that manages your bank account. 

Your ability to succeed lies in your mind, but mostly of all, it lives and bleeds from your heart. 

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                                                                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

www.facebook.com/theSGiardgroup

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

WWW.THESGIARDGROUP.COM

  

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

 to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR 

Parenting the Teens of Today

It's been a couple of weeks since my last blog... and if you are an avid reader, you know that I HATE when I am not able to sit down and write; you also know that what this typically means is that life has been busy, or it has thrown me a wrench and it was necessary to re-prioritize my time. Unfortunately sometimes when that is what life calls for, the blog has to wait.

Over the last few weeks, I have had both personal and "teenage"matters to deal with and through it all I must admit I have found myself heavy-hearted and in a complete funk; something I am not used to being in. I have hurdles all of the time but I typically push right through them after maybe a day of funky-town; not this time, it had me down. I am happy to finally be on the upside of my personal issues... but am sorry to say that my teen is still struggling with hers. Luckily, I have my mental strength back and can now lend it to her.

When I was a teen, life was challenging, hurtful and not very fun for me. Sometimes when I look back, I wonder how I made it through. However, the way times have changed, things are so much worse for these newer generations; life is no longer simple in any way for them even when things are going good. My daughter Baleigh is a beautiful, bright, 13 year old young lady who was an advocate-pioneer type last year. She walked with her head held high, had tons of friends and graced the halls with the stride of a leader. Academically, she was an average "creative" student but by the end of the year her grades were suffering greatly and her self-esteem and pride slowly began to fade. We had some problems and difference of opinion regarding a very broken and troubled boy that had shown interest in her who also happened to show interest in a dozen other girls.... without details, I will share that the year did not end well.

At the beginning of this 7th grade year, I had a different child. The Vice Principal who has become a good friend over the last year saw the change in her as well, so we discussed it. That strong, proud, leader we knew had become mentally unrecognizable. I have been working with the school staff through all of this over the past several months; we joined arms like an army trying to save a country... and nothing was working. We talked with her, tried to get to the bottom of it all and failed to find the answers we were looking for. I was lost for answers and continued to struggle at home.... our relationship seemed nothing more than a battleground most of the time, almost everything was uphill and it truly broke my frustrated heart. These were the teenage years you hear of... the ones I hoped to never experience, the ones that my oldest daughter Cierra, now 22 had only mildly prepared me for. 

I am sparing the details for the sake of my daughter... but let me STRESS that you must hold them close at this age, you MUST snoop around their rooms, read what they are writing, look at the pictures on their phones, read their texts from time to time... and even check their emails once in a while. We live in a VERY different world and it is completely uncensored unless YOU sensor it. Their minds are bombarded with things that they don't understand and they are too afraid to come to us to ask; did YOU ask your parents about things at that age? No... and neither will they. Instead they ask friends who know nothing more than they do, or they Google it, or look it up on You tube. Do you KNOW what's out there?  People are unknowingly allowing the internet to raise their children because getting them out of our hair makes life easier.

Do you KNOW the stress that the education system puts on the shoulders of our children now? It is insane; even the teachers think so. It makes me want to bring all my kids home and school them myself. In this crazy fast forwarded world that puts everything out there, while knowledge that is ten times harder is being forced into their heads at lightning speed, what they are not learning is how to deal and cope with this information overload and inside many kids are simply falling apart. They are seeking their own ways to cope and when you find out how they are doing that you will be blown away, saddened and downright frightened. I thank GOD for allowing me to notice a change in my daughter despite my increasingly busy career... no matter how busy I am, I still notice my children, their behaviors, their actions and address them. I am also thankful that my oldest is back in Florida to help me snoop, because without her I may not have found out what I did, simply because I dread stepping foot into the unorganized disaster of a teenager's room.

In the eyes of most people I am REALLY old fashioned. My daughter no longer has a "smart phone" because I simply do not feel that she had enough self control or maturity to hold that much temptation in the palm of her hand. She does have a phone where she can reach me and I can reach her, that does not take pictures and I take it away every time she breaks the rules and abuses privilege of having it (which is 85% of the time) I limit television time, I don't have cable... but have Roku so I can monitor what they watch, our internet is screened, and I don't allow them to go to friend's homes that I don't know. I DO encourage them to go outside, to run around and play... to use their child-like imaginations and play games like Yahtzee. I encourage them to draw, paint, and play hide and seek because kids should be kids, they need to be silly and carefree. When they fall down, I tell them to get up and brush it off, I kiss the boo boo and let them know that they are okay. I don't helicopter parent or give them everything they want because they need to know the value of saving up for something, how to deal with life's disappointments, and know it has curve balls.The most important yet often the most heart wrenching thing that I do is hold them accountable for their behavior even when I would rather throw my hands in the air and give up; they must have consequences. Parenting is the most exhausting of all my careers but I am responsible for these cute little people and I honestly take it as seriously as I do my business. Not sure if that is good or bad, but it is me.

As I withdrew my daughter from her creative arts charter school yesterday, I knew it was the best decision due to the issue at hand regardless of the tears that rolled down her face and mine... I also realize that we have a long road ahead and it will likely get harder before it gets easier. but I won't give up. For those of you who pray... keep us in yours and for the rest of you ... toss out some positive vibes for a teen that I know can change the world.

The moral of the story I shared...

Life is full of storms... the hurdles are inevitable, sometimes they show up and smack you down without warning; adversity does not discriminate. There will be times when you will not understand why or how, when you have no answers and no energy left. Remember, the mountain is there to climb... all the beauty and victorious feelings are felt and seen at the top, so DON'T give up... do not allow that to even be an option. Hard work and perseverance will be worth it in ALL that you do; but falling down and staying down yields no rewards.

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                                                                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

OR to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR 

The Secret to Living Your Dream Life Is....

Well... it's not a secret at all... living a dream life is simply a goal that you set and relentlessly go after no matter how nuts or impossible it seems to you or anyone else. It is setting your standards high enough that the climb excites you so much that when you are hit with obstacles, setbacks, sacrifices and emotional exhaustion trying to get there, that you get back up without question and keep going. It is planning things out so methodically that there is little wonder of IF it will happen but rather of WHEN it will happen. It is being willing to do whatever it takes for however long to live what you dream... THAT is no secret, simply a critical decision in life that we all have, but so few choose.

Why do you dream but let them go? 

Why do you try but never finish? 

Why do you doubt but never believe?

Why do you give up but never hope? 

The reason is that we live in a world of disbelief instead create belief... we allow what everyone else thinks of our ideas, of our dreams, hopes and desires take over and we stop believing it can happen. One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, I LOVED watching that show every day when it came on. My favorite part of the show was when he would change his shoes and go venture into the Land of Make Believe. I think something pivotal happened to me in the many years of watching that show... I think something in my brain clicked and set me on a path of entrepreneurship. Life in the Land of Make Believe was so much fun and exciting... he was always meeting and chatting with interesting people and learning so many things, I remember thinking to myself one day, why does that have to be make believe? Why can't that fun place be the real deal? From that moment on, I was on a mission. It was no longer make believe, in my mind it became create the belief and dream it is possible and this set me on my path to creating my dream life.

I started and have never looked back. I began working and have worked non stop towards that goal since I was 13. If you have read my book, you know that I have certainly had my share of hiccups but my dream has never left my head; my ultimate goal has never changed... and after many. many years of learning, growing, researching, planning and being COMPLETELY consumed in all that I do... I finally see it all coming together like an amazing puzzle. 

The past four weeks have been emotionally exhausting. I have things going on in my personal life right now that could easily hold me down and stop me in my tracks, but I have continued to push through and with that I found clarity and the energy to keep going. It is really happening... I am at that point where I can see the light shining ... I can see my hard work, dedication and planning finally coming together beautifully and it is making me run harder... I won't stop until I am there no matter how long it takes. Once I arrive I will be able to look back and say that every tear, every scar, every pain, hurt and moment of anger was worth it. I will be able to say... I DID IT! I NEVER GAVE UP AND I DID IT! I AM HERE! What better feeling is there to have than that?

What does your dream life look like? Have you written it down? Have you thought it out? Have you shared with someone what it is? Why don't you get out of that land of make believe and create your reality... it can happen... it will happen... or you could just be better off and simply happier in life because you died trying. We all have a purpose, God gave us talents to use in order to serve that purpose. It is OUR DUTY to ourselves and to others to FIND IT AND LIVE IT.

To all of those that have been outside looking in on my life that have thought that I was nuts for spreading myself so thin doing all that I do, you may have not understood my choices or what my reasoning and methodical purpose was.... but in the next several months you will discover how EVERYTHING will tie in together allowing me to achieve my ultimate goal and help everyone who wants to do the same achieve their BEST LIFE too!

Happy Monday and keep it going!

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                                                                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

OR to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR 

Emotions and Power of a Word

I chose this blog topic a few days ago after sharing an excerpt from my next book on my Facebook page. My excerpt struck a bit of a chord with a few people who then voiced their opinions regarding what I shared. I felt bad because my words were misunderstood, they of course were taken out of context since it was merely an excerpt and not the whole passage, so I replied to their comments with
grace and love explaining where I was coming from; not even sure if that made it better.

Then yesterday, I received two beautiful email messages from other readers regarding another post I shared saying how wonderful my words are and how they come to my pages daily to be inspired, moved and motivated. It made me feel good to know this, so I responded to them as well, thanking them for taking the time to let me know that my words impacted them in a positive way. Then today, a very negative and intentionally hurtful message from someone who is in their own pain due to a situation that I was unfortunately involved in showed up in my inbox. What a roller coaster of emotions... I thought, however all of the instances had to do with the power of a word. Whether spoken or written... we can never take them back; they last forever and impact the lives of others; only sometimes, not in the way we hope. So... I decided that this was definitely the topic to go with tonight.

I never understood the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." What a LIE! Please... don't ever tell your child this, because when words cut through them at some point in their life they will fail to understand why they feel the way they do. I remember my mom and dad telling me this with good intent but when hurtful words were spoken, I thought my pain was abnormal... that I was supposed to be able to just brush it off and carry on.  It is better to teach about the emotions of words... that people WILL say things that will be hurtful, but that it is not always intentional, that we can control how the words affect us by understanding emotions behind them. It is easier said than done. because names hurt, words hurt and the aftermath lasts a VERY long time if certain actions don't follow.

Luckily, I have now learned that through prayer and reading things to understand the human mind, we CAN make words bounce.... we can learn to turn the other cheek and base our honest opinion of a person on actions; so now... names and negative opinions rarely hurt me. I have discovered that hurtful words will be spoken in anger, most likely when emotions are stirred, when misunderstandings occur or when stress is at both highs and lows. I have learned to pay more attention to actions... to what happened before and what happens after the hurtful words are spoken. Do they apologize, explain themselves, take action to mend the brokenness caused by them? Were there things that happened before the words were spoken or written that can somewhat justify what they said that would make it less hurtful if you can remove your own emotion for a moment and try to understand? I do my best to control mine, but I am imperfect just like the rest of you, so I say things that I wish I could take back sometimes too. When this happens I always go back and explain why I said it, what provoked me and then ask for forgiveness with a sincere apology. That is also all I need to make hurtful words disappear once they have been spoken to me. We all screw up and we all say things that we don't mean. We need to be able to redeem ourselves and we all need to recognize and accept a sincere apology; life is too short to carry hate and animosity.

Emotions have such  great strength. Everything in our lives revolve around them... they create all

circumstances in our lives both good and bad... and although at times I wish I could turn them off, without emotion, life would be so bland and meaningless, wouldn't you agree? Imagine life without love, without laughter, sadness or pain. To feel love we must know hate, to feel calm we must know chaos, knowing what it feels like to be angry is the only way we can experience a positive side and without sadness we would not know the feeling of joy; that list goes on and on.

It is not the situations we need to control, it is the EMOTIONS within the situation that we must grab hold of. This is true in all relationships, personal and professional, in our parenting and every single human interaction we encounter. What a revealing and wonderful moment when I realized that the more I gain control of my emotions in life... the better I can deal with anything that comes my way. So many times since, I have thought to myself  that understanding the situation was WAY more significant than reacting on my initial emotion.

In the end... our lives and our happiness are all about how we handle things, how we look at things and how we ultimately react to things. The cool part is that WE control all of this which means we can always improve. Once in a while... you WILL encounter "that person" who is just mean, hateful, hurtful and vindictive no matter what you do... just know that even THEY have an underlying excuse. Feel bad for them and simply pray for their peace; that is all you can do for people like that.

"One person's words can change your life, your direction, and your belief in yourself"

Shelley Giard ©2010

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                                                                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

OR to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR 

Life Is a Whirlwind... Make it an Unforgettable Story

As I sat here tonight thinking of topics to write about, several ideas came to mind. Life seems to be such a big ball of tumbleweed right now and with so many things going on as this new year has begun I am feeling mentally and physically exhausted. Change is in every deck of cards I have in front of me right now and given that I have SO many things that I want to accomplish this year my biggest challenge is trying to lasso my brain into focusing on a plan for each one. That can be the hardest thing for someone who thinks like me... and the start of a new year is ALWAYS the worst... or the best depending how you look at it.

Life is truly a whirlwind of events... some good, some bad and some are even repetitive. I am sure some of you reading this right now are wondering where in the world you will end up, how in the word you got where you are and what to do next. You may find yourself wrapped up in a big ball of uncertainty, a big mess of confusion, fear or maybe even pain. If I am not where you are right now, I have likely been there before and gotten through it, so the first thing to know is that YOU CAN GET THROUGH IT. I have my days... in fact I have had some recently; the days when a good cry is the only thing that makes you feel better. However instead of crying depressing me, crying gives me clarity because when I reach that point I usually pray harder and have more faith because that is when I need it the most. The times when you have nothing left but to say "HELP ME ON THIS" are often the moments in life that you will grow the most from; and having faith is what those moments are all about.

Life is always going to throw curve balls, it will always knock you in the head with a wrench so be prepared both mentally and spiritually so that you can bounce back. I would like to share a quick little story with you, something that happened today that proved once again that my life changes when I think about what I need. Putting it all out there, I had a very tough fourth quarter last year, mainly because I am in the middle of a career shift and have been planning a lot for what is ahead which has created some additional expenses. Needless to say, my pennies are tight and I have had to become more frugal than I already am. These are the growing pains when in business; it's a necessary evil when in growth phase. Luckily, I have been here before so it is familiar, but it is scary when you are your only source of income and have three beautiful kids counting on you to provide. Most people would just go get a job that pays them a set amount every two weeks, but an entrepreneur like me would rather ride the crazy roller coaster train.

I had a rough day yesterday and went to bed thinking to myself "HOW am I going to get through this?" With that, my mind started working and my mouth started praying to just get through this week because I know in the weeks ahead I will have what I need coming in. I woke up this morning still uncertain but tuned into my positive radio station on the way to my office doing all I needed to do to stay uplifted. This afternoon when I got home and checked my mailbox there were two envelopes mixed in with the junk mail one which was unmarked and the other was from a recognizable income stream that typically produces a small residual each month. As I opened the envelopes, I smiled and a tear rolled down my face because both were checks that I was not expecting... and they equaled almost the exact amount that I needed to get me through this week.

The moral of this story? Life is a whirlwind of ups and downs, they will never stop; you just have to keep going. You have to focus on what to do and what you want, not what's happening right now. You have to think about what you need in your life. You have to ASK for the solutions you seek and focus on them instead of the problem. If you focus on the problem, you will manifest more problems... I say this ALL of the time. I went to bed asking for a solution and I woke up focused on finding one... none of what happened as I opened that mail was on accident, it was a reminder during a tough time that I can get through ANYTHING, I was built to survive; I am NOT alone and that all I have to do is ASK to receive. When you walk the right path, not only will you reach your destiny, you will appreciate the journey you have been on so why not make it an unforgettable story?

"There will always be days that get you down, there will always be times when you don't know what direction you will go, there will always be moments when you don't know how someone truly feels about you, how valuable you really are or if your life will ever be what you hope it to be. We cannot predict what will happen, we cannot control how someone else feels, we cannot expect everyone to see how valuable we are and we can't determine what our life will be like in the end.

What we can do is focus on the positive even when it's hard to find, move in the direction we want to go instead of staying where we are, choose to care more about how we feel rather than worrying about what others feel and determine our value by constantly improving, loving who we are and giving value to ourselves even when nobody else will. Life is never perfect, in fact someone else will always have what you hope for; many don't even deserve to have it. The fact is your dream is always someone else's reality... that's why you have to do what you can to make it yours."

Excerpt from
"Going After the Happy Ending"
©2015 Shelley Giard

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

OR to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR 

New Year's Blog...Saying Goodbye to 2014

I spent my New Year's Eve in a quiet place away from home and simply enjoyed the serenity of just "being." Traveling is something that I truly love and I look forward to doing much more of it in the years to come. I love hopping on a plane for business trips, getaways alone and look forward to creating experience filled memories with my kiddos now that the thought of flying with all of them alone does not exhaust me. As I close the book on 2014, I find myself reflecting on the crazy whirlwind of a year I had. It was certainly a great year for me, although it was definitely filled with A LOT of transition and change in every single aspect. Change is something many people are scared of, but change is something that I have grown accustomed to and have always been pretty fearless of. Being fearless does not mean that I don't wonder... that I don't sit and allow my mind to paint pictures of what might be... what can be and ultimately what will be. What I intentionally do is keep my mind off of the negative things that might happen, the rejections that could occur and the obstacles that no doubt will try to stop me. I have found by keeping my mind on what I WANT to happen yields better results in the end, and GREAT results is what all of us want.

I may be ending the year with less money in my bank account, fewer certainties of what is to come and lots of things that are still unsettled, but I have never been so excited for a new year to arrive. For me, when life is in a transition stage I spend more time planning, setting goals and focusing on achieving them. Since so many things are happening at once, over the past few months I have had some moments of emotional breakdown, because even for me... someone who is used to things going 900 miles per hour at all times... it is a bit overwhelming. It is also somewhat exciting due to the opportunities to grow both personally and in my career. I choose to embrace all that is ahead, be thankful for all that I have right now and look forward to whatever obstacles I must face to make 2015 an incredible year.

As you go into this New Year... remember that change is what makes you grow, it will make you get uncomfortable just enough to DO something different, exciting and perhaps meaningful with your life. It forces you set goals, dream bigger, and do more than before because you HAVE to. The best experiences only happen when you change where you are... so don't be afraid. The worst thing that can happen is that you end up learning a lesson or two.... which will allow you to grow in both your heart and in your mind. If you don't change something, you will be doing, feeling, and experiencing the exact same things you are now and even if you are totally happy in life, it can always be better so why not make it better?

As I welcome 2015 I realize I have set a TON of BIG goals and am mapping out how to make it all happen; wish me luck and follow my journey as I live out the next 365 days...one day I know that I will truly be LIVING The Happy Ending.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY READERS, FANS FRIENDS AND CLIENTS. 

May this year be the year that you FEARLESSLY set your goals and go after your dreams 

with pure insanity!

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                               

                                                          

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

SHARE THIS POST

Follow me on Facebook

www.facebook.com/ShelleyD.Giard

Follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/shelleygiard

WWW.SHELLEYGIARD.COM

IF YOU LIKE MY BLOGS, YOU WILL LOVE MY BOOK

To purchase a signed copy 

click here>> www.ineedthehappyending.com

OR to read reviews and purchase it on Amazon

                                                       

click here>> http://amzn.to/1oki1qR