What in the world is #ownit?

Those of you that already follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are familiar with the hashtag #ownit that I have been using since late last year.  This began as a trial run to see if it would stick and evolve into something I could take into the new year of 2017… for those that do not know, I don’t do resolutions each year.  In most cases these are empty promises that will fade away after a few weeks but seem to make people feel good between January 1 and February 1 each year.

My resolution is to motivate you to be a better person in 2017… I want to be the push you need to make the change you have been talking about for years… I want you to stop wishing and start doing!

#ownit

So where did this come from?  Let’s start with the full word ownership… the state, relation or fact of being an owner.  To own something means you have possession – of an object or an action.  #ownit deals with actions!

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius

I want you to do everything to the level of ownership.  I don’t want you borrowing or renting, I want you to #ownit.  If you are making a lifestyle change or business change, go through with it and make it yours!  Don’t sit back and talk about it, take action.  Make it happen!

When you borrow or rent something it belongs to someone else… you simply use it for the time being and give it back.  Is that how you are going to change your life or business model?  There is no way to make a change or move in a different course by borrowing someone else’s dream or sitting on the sidelines watching.

#ownit… people talk WAY too much about what they are going to do… NOTHING will happen without you actually taking the first step TOWARD the goal.  You cannot score in soccer, hockey or football without moving toward the goal – it does not happen otherwise.

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius

Another way to look at this is how my dad always put it, “Prior preparation prevents pisspoor performance.”  You HAVE to plan the course to some degree – you need to know the roadmap to get from end zone to goal line.  But you cannot sit there and plan and plan and plan without some type of action.

If you continue to plan, you will never execute!  (that is my quote, by the way)

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius

The lizard brain makes it complicated.  Some call it the monkey brain.  Some call it the Resistance.  Take a second and read Seth Godin’s take on quieting the Lizard Brain.  It is in all of us – but you have to take ownership of that part of your brain and control or ignore it.

“What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” – Socrates

There are people all over the world looking back saying ‘I wish I had done that’ or ‘I wish I had taken the chance’.  Believe me when I say this – you’ll never get anywhere in life by building regret.  Life gives second chances… if you take a chance and fail, at least you can say you didn’t let it slip by.

You can always make more money… you can never make more time.  Whatever IT is, make a plan, take the necessary steps and #ownit.

If you don’t, someone else will.

Stop the negativity and make it happen!

Carpe freakin’ diem.

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I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

This was a hard blog post to write… but was necessary for me.  Over Thursday and Friday, December 8 and 9, I attended a course on Interpersonal Communications in Las Vegas.  The course is designed for auction professionals to become more effective communicators by breaking bad habits, learning new methods of communication and finding personal pitfalls.  Through discussion in the course and interaction with classmates I discovered some of the things I already knew and discovered a few others than need addressing.

Outside of what I already knew before the class, I learned that internal struggle can be the catalyst for outward appearance and communication with others… meaning (from a general level), what is going on inside is going to show on your face.  One of my issues is I am constantly competing with myself… never being content with who I am, what I am and what I have.  I am not speaking from a material standpoint because that has never really been a motivating factor with me. I am speaking from a success standpoint – I have never allowed myself to accept a level of success – I keep moving the measuring stick.  You read that right… I keep moving my own measuring stick.  Let that hang out for a moment…

This morning, our message in church was another in series of messages leading up to Christmas.  It was focused on the materialism of Christmas – STUFF, if you will.  My toes were stepped on as I thought through this from my point-of-view.  It spoke to me and I feverously typed notes to construct this blog post… some of which I have included here.

Contentment:

We can’t really appreciate what we DO have until we stop focusing on what we DON’T have. Contentment is hard for people in the United States because we are constantly bombarded by new, better, faster… there are magazines, TV shows, books that constantly show what others have – materialism is an antagonist in the story of contentment.

Contentment doesn’t just deal with materialism… it also affects our level of perceived success. We constantly compare ourselves to our peers and this skews our vision of WHO we really are. We lose focus of what we have and what we have achieved. This skewed vision does not allow us to see what we HAVE attained in our lives… this leads to missing deadlines, putting things off, not following through or not performing 100% in the present.

For example, Mick Jagger is the front man for The Rolling Stones and has always been remembered for their hit song, I can’t get no satisfaction. Few people know that he also led a solo career that ran parallel to the tours and album releases of The Stones and none of his individual hits were ever as successful as those of The Stones.  His net worth is over $300 million and he still felt that he needed to prove something else.

Peer Pressure:

“Peer pressure” has been the catchphrase of parents and teachers for years… from a fear standpoint, it has led children to the ‘dark side’. It is the perennial excuse when a boy or girl goes astray – “they succumbed to peer pressure”.

So… peer pressure goes away when you hit a certain age?

Oh, that’s a joke!  It feeds itself, lives and breathes into a larger monster… shadow… cloud over us… it is right there in front of us, but so transparent that we see right through it.

Adult peer pressure is as evident as the air we breathe. It pushes us into situations that pull us off our chosen path… adults have the mechanism to reject peer pressure because the adult brain is fully developed with an arsenal of thinking skills, rationalization skills and need/want-based analysis… but yet, when someone lands a big deal, achieves a new position, pulls in a huge bonus peer pressure kicks in and takes our eyes off of OUR prize. OUR prize is the finish line we have established for ourselves – that goal we have set to let us know we have accomplished something.

The Finish Line:

A finish line is established with clear-cut goals.  “I am going to do XXX by XXXX”.  You know in your heart the goal is not complete until you cross the finish line… whether this is a date, a success point or some other measurable item you establish when you set the goal.  Point-of-reference:  I said ‘clear-cut’ for a reason – if you are setting a goal, you need to establish some type of measure to make yourself accountable to complete the goal.  This is essential for both short-term and long-term goals.

The finish line is important because it gives you something to look forward to… not just ‘look forward to accomplishing’ but also to actually MAKE you look forward… this keeps you from backsliding and getting off track.

Until, of course, WE move our own finish line… WE get in our own way and decide to dangle a larger carrot further from our reach because WE cannot be happy with any measure of success.  WE don’t believe it when others congratulate us, tell us how awesome we are… or tell us they want to be where WE are.  (There are many of US out there with this same issue – which is why I highlighted we in those sentences).

That last paragraph is what I have been analyzing since Friday.  I know I have to get out of my own way… and it is going to take baby steps to make it happen.  I have to fight the resistance.

The Lizard Brain/Monkey Brain/Resistance:

You’re not good enough. You can’t do that. Why do you think you can do that?

You’ve heard every one of these… and the other iterations.  Adults have a fully developed brain – capable of multiple thoughts at once, capable of huge computations, capable of beautiful feelings, capable of rationalization… until the resistance kicks in!  The resistance has also been labeled Lizard Brain or Monkey Brain.  Whichever name you use, it is still the same deal… it is there to make you second-guess yourself.  It holds you back.  It makes you backslide.  It keeps you from being the most you can be.

The resistance causes you to say one thing and do another… We want to be successful then we sabotage the process… The resistance is the voice in the back of your head that tells us to go slow, back off, be careful, compromise.  It is in all of us – the amygdala isn’t going away – it is the prehistoric lump on your brain stem responsible for fear and rage and reproduction.

The only way to be your true self is to learn to quiet the lizard brain… ignore the resistance!

So… now you know a little of my personal struggles.  Hopefully you have seen some of your own internal issues in this post. From the time we discussed my issues in class this week, I have come to realize I have so much to offer – RIGHT NOW.  Beginning with throwing the business hat to the side, ripping off the armor and discussing these issues in the open… so I can help others become their better self.

You have seen my hashtag #GSD (get shit done) on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts for years… now you are going to see a new one:  #ownit.  Too many people DON’T own what they do or say.  If I write it, I’m going to own it… good or bad.

FYI:  I am posting this without edits… I am kicking the resistance in the ass and, as Seth Godin says, SHIPPING this to you!

Feel free to post your comments below!

 

I’m a dancer… or will be!

For those that do not know, I am a professional fundraising auctioneer.  I raise money for private schools, companies, nonprofits and other organizations… using the auction method of marketing assets.  Believe me – I love what I do.  I make a difference for the client I am working for because they have ONE chance to raise money… and they rely on me.

With that being said, occasionally I donate my time to other causes.  I’ve emceed races for the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia, run several Susan G Komen Race for the Cure events and run half-marathons for Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Now I am stepping COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone by becoming a dancer in Dancing with the Carolina Stars!

Yep, I said it… a DANCER!

Friends and acquaintances, get up off the floor… I don’t want to hear comments about my dancing technique (or upright seizure, as some of you call it).  I have now officially been through eleven practices and been through the dance multiple times.  Today, we added more “flair”… (friends, that is your cue for comment).

So… here comes the pitch… I am raising money!  Dancing with the Carolina Stars is the Upstate’s premier charity event and ballroom dance competition that pairs leaders from the community with professional dancers in order to create an unforgettable event. This event engages the entirety of the Upstate, from the dancers to the audience in attendance, to those at home who are voting online.

So I need your votes… they are $10 each… you can buy as many votes as you want!  When the page switches to the donate page, just add the quantity of votes and Senior Action will add the number of votes to my total.  It is that easy!  Easier than me becoming a dancer!

Click here to learn more and to vote for me…

Thank you in advance – for the top donors I will send a copy of the dance for your viewing pleasure – or humor… whichever fits!

I want to give a HUGE thank you to Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Greenville for giving me the time to make this a reality and pair me with a professional (Maryna Ferris) that can whip me into shape!

 

S.C. Auctioneers Association Holds Well-Attended Convention; Meares New President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

S.C. Auctioneers Association Holds Well-Attended Convention; Meares New President

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The South Carolina Auctioneers Association enjoyed incredible success at its annual convention Jan. 11-13, 2013 at Sands Resorts in Myrtle Beach.

Darron Meares of Meares Auction Group in Pelzer won the 2013 SCAA Bid Calling Championship. Also placing in the contest, Paul Yoder of Seneca won First Runner-Up, and Bryan Hope of Ninety Six won Second Runner-Up.

The SCAA also elected Meares as its President. He will lead a 12-member board for the SCAA, which has been serving auctioneers and their staffs in and around South Carolina for more than 35 years. The SCAA has more than 110 members and associates throughout South Carolina and the United States.

Several other board members were elected at the convention. Yoder will serve as Vice President for 2013. Rafe Dixon of Sumter has been tabbed for Secretary/Treasurer. Hope as well as David Yoder of Fair Play will serve four-year terms as directors. Marshall McAbee Jr. of Greer will serve as director through 2015. Ligon, the outgoing president, has been promoted to Immediate Past President.

J. Tony Adams (Elloree), Merle Sharick (Prosperity), Gwen Bryant (Florence), David Taylor (Inman) and Robert Robeson (Chesterfield) remain as directors on the board.

Visit SCAA’s website at www.SouthCarolinaAuctioneers.org, or contact the SCAA office at 919-876- 0687, for more information about SCAA, its members and driven purpose.

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Contact SCAA Executive Services at 919-876-0687 or scaa@southcarolinaauctioneers.org for further information. Photos available upon request. For more than 35 years, the SCAA has connected, educated and represented auctioneers within and around the state of South Carolina. Its membership continues to climb as auctioneers learn the value of membership as a tool for their future in the industry.