Vincent R Orlando

I have one last point to make about finding your passion.  Don’t worry; I know it is Friday so I’ll be brief.  Over the past few days, I have posed questions to you to assist you in identifying your passion.  If you still are not sure where your passion lays, just give yourself a little more time.  Keep trying new things in order to discover your passion.  I only have two concerns.  First, “do not give up!”  Abraham Lincoln said: “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.” 

The second is not to let your experiences stop you.  For example, thoughts like: “Money is the root of all evil” is just not true.  Money can spur greed.  Avarice / Greed is one of the Seven Deadly sins.  The opposite is “generosity.”  We have it in us to be either generous or greedy.  The decision is yours.  Just realize that some of the things that we were taught as children are someone else’s viewpoint and their view does not have to be yours.

Some people fear success.  Fear was designed to keep us safe.  When the hairs on the back of your neck start to stand, listen to your inner voice.  Come up with your own definition of success.  Albert Schweitzer said: “Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”  How can anyone fear “happiness?”

Finally, finding out that something is not your passion is almost as good as finding out what is your passion.  What do you got to lose?  If the cost is too high, leave it alone.  If not, give it a try!  There is nothing wrong with making an effort.  The failure exists if you do not learn from the experience.  One of my favorite quotes is from an unknown source: “Yesterday’s failures are today’s seeds that must be diligently planted to be able to abundantly harvest tomorrow’s successes.”

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” – Pearl S. Buck.  This is why I started teaching about what I call “the Divine Do Over.”  My passion is to bring childhood enthusiasm and wonder back into your adult life.  Together, we uncover the way you perceive things and identify what you can control. We determine what is holding you back then unlock your potential.  We find your passion and brainstorm about ways of creating a life where you no longer work but prosper.

Be Blessed!

With the assistance of my most influential mentor (Garrett J. White), I am in the process of re-designing my life to fit what I believe to be my Soul Purpose.  I have rebranded myself from a Real Estate Investor to promoting my program (lifestyle) that I call “The Divine Do-Over.”  My Divine Do-Over programs assist people in distress due to financial and/or health (illness or injury) issues.  Deep down inside, I’ve always knew that I was a healer and a teacher.  So I am designing my life toward that Soul Purpose.

Designing your life is an arduous task but the outcome is worth every effort.  I had to dig deep inside to analyze my triumphs and (more importantly) areas of my life that didn’t work out so well.  How did I perceive these experiences?  What lessons did I learn?  What was I responsible for?  Etc, etc, etc…  It was a little amazing to realize that I should have pursued a life of service similar to my father’s hope that I might become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.  I started to realize my talents by asking family and friends for their honest observations of my life and my God given gifts.

Once I knew what direction I was meant to travel, I was than able to invest time and money into further developing these talents.  As you can imagine, much of this time and money were already realized through life experiences.  I complimented these events by seeking out mentors who could provide guidance.  Additionally, I read a lot and take seminars/webinars and any other courses that can assist me in my efforts.  Finally, I am in a position to create realistic and achievable goals targeting five areas (mind, body, spirit, relationships, and finances).

How are you designing your life?  Take a page from my book and try to design your life.  What courses would you take?  What books would you read?  How do you inspire yourself and others?  The challenge I offer to you is to set at least one goal for the month of December and see if you can begin shaping your destiny.  If you would like to bounce some ideas off of me, I would be happy to support your effort.

Be Blessed!

As the second son of an Italian man in Brooklyn, New York – rest assured, I grew up studying Roman Catholic theology.  In fact, there was a good chance that I was going to become a priest.  Unfortunately, I had a rollercoaster ride practicing the religion.  I made my first communion at St. Anthony’s about three blocks from where we lived.  The diocese assigned a novice (nun) to assist me in standing, kneeling, and climbing a very large step to the alter.  At the age of seven I was three-foot nothing and the step was about half my size.  The humorous part about it was that she was not much bigger.  We moved to New Jersey when I was eleven.  At the age of twelve, I was supposed to be confirmed however, the church did not want the responsibility of having a person that wore leg braces and used crutches to walk on their grounds for (what they called) insurance liabilities.  So, I was not confirmed until I was nearly twenty.  I went to school at a Lutheran college (Upsala) but one-third of the student body was catholic so they employed a priest to minister our congregation.  Fr. Tony was awesome and renewed my faith.  It was a fantastic ceremony because my friend (Charley) became a catholic, and my niece was baptized all at the same time.  I went on to become a Eucharistic Minister for the Newark, NJ archdiocese and practiced campus ministry at Upsala as well as Trenton State College.  I set some pretty interesting “religious” goals for myself based on my up-and-down connection with the church – don’t you think?

Many times, God has touched me in my spiritual journey.  I did not pursuit a pious career because I did not seek proper training to handle life’s obstacles that some of my friends faced.  Although I had empathy, I was ill-equipped to deal with issues like date rape, or parents forcing their daughters into having an abortion.  But the calling never stopped.  Plus, as trivial as it sounds, I could not get over the hypocrisy of having to work on Sunday (our day of rest) until I appreciated that this work was not a job but a life of service.  My business and financial goals were based on what I studied and felt I had an expertise.  These goals were not based on my God given gifts and talents.

What goals are you setting for yourself?  Are they geared toward your soul purpose?  What do you really enjoy doing?  Is there a way to be compensated for doing what you love to do?  Are you in a job that you dreamed about when you were young?  Try to remember the childlike enthusiasm and wonder you had when you set career goals of being an astronaut, or a superstar athlete, or whatever you imagined.  I was never going to be a catcher for the New York Yankees, but it sure was great going to see a ballgame at the stadium.  However, I am constantly given chances to do what is most important to me.  My biggest mistake was that I did not recognize those opportunities until later in life.  Now, I am rebranding myself to follow my heart.  What about you?

Be Blessed!

When I was with Primerica Financial Services working as a Financial Analyst, I had statistics to assist me in establishing goals.  The numbers: 12, 8, 5, 3, and 1 became important to my success.  It took talking to 12 people (more than just passing out business cards) to make eight appointments.  Five people would keep their appointments – what we called “kitchen tables.”  I would do business with three of the five.  This business consisted of selling either life insurance, &/or retirement planning (mutual funds), &/or refinancing a mortgage.  Finally, I would recruit one of these three clients in becoming a Financial Analyst.  I could use these numbers to determine a realistic monthly income.  For instance, if I could perform this sequence once a week, and make an average of $1,000 per client, I would make $3k per week ($1k times 3 clients) or $12,000 per month – not including any residuals I might have made from my recruits.  These income projections are merely illustrations and may or may not be realistic for everyone.  It is well known that goals should be measurable, obtainable, and have a specific timeframe.  In this example, the $12k income per month is measurable.  The statistics back up that the goal is obtainable.  And a $12k monthly average over a full year’s effort is a good short term timeframe.

The next question that general goal setting, as described above, does not examine is a definition of success.  If I did not make $144,000 over a twelve month period, did I fail in my goal?  I think not even though I did not hit my target.  Nowadays, I set goals with specific thresholds in mind.  In continuing with my Primerica experience, I decided that I could claim my success with a six-figure income (a minimum of $100k) for the year.  Based on the national statistics (12-8-5-3-1), I should be able to earn $144k so I set my energies on making $150,000 as my bull’s-eye goal.  Finally, I like making a “reach-for-the-stars” goal so I set the finest goal of $250k.  Eventually, I had to readjust my first year’s goals because I did not take into factor learning or comfort curves.  It is okay to adjust goals for the purpose of being more realistic however, the sooner the better.  I still kept my varied levels.

To end with, I had to figure out if being a Financial Analyst was what I really wanted to do with my life.  Out of all the efforts taken in determining good, realistic goals, this is the toughest part.  I already pulled the trigger by scheduling the necessary classes so I could take the corresponding tests to obtain a Series 6 (securities), Life, Health, & Variable Annuities (insurance), and a Mortgage Broker’s license.  But, was this the right decision for my ultimate happiness.

As children, we dream about all that we would like to be.  We face the world with enthusiasm and wonder.  As we grow older (graduate high school, and choose a career direction) we make a valid attempt at obtaining jobs doing things that we are most interested in, and if we are lucky – Love.  In school, I knew that I loved numbers.  My uncle owned an accounting firm and I was supposed to become a CPA.  In high school and college, I found that I hated accounting and could write programs to do anything a bookkeeper could do and eliminate errors.  After college (getting a BA in Marketing), I got a job as a supervisor in a computer center, working for AT&T.  Does this scenario sound familiar to you?  Since I finished my career in corporate America, I decided to reclaim my youthful enthusiasm and live my true destiny.  My goal setting was right for the time and situation.  But, they did not correspond to my true childhood desires.  Set your goals accordingly!

Be Blessed!

Are you a “fighter” or a “survivor?”  The answer could say a lot about an individual, their mind, body, and spirit.

After running an Internet search for the definition of the word survivor, a survivor is a noun.  It has three basic meanings. 1) A person or thing that survives (that sure helped a lot).  2) (Law) the one of two or more people, of joint tenants or interests, who outlive the others – as commonly seen in an obituary (John Doe is survived by his wife Jane.  Okay, survived is a verb in this case but the point is that Jane is the survivor of the relationship).  3) A person who continues to function or (even) prosper in spite of conflict, poverty, or obstacles.  Personally, I like the third definition because it relates to prosperity as a person overcomes challenges.  The real question is:  How did this person overcome their hurdle(s)?

Walking around town, there are many people who wear t-shirts and other apparel stating that they are survivors.  “I’m a cancer survivor,” or “I survived Hurricane Katrina.”  Any efforts to support these causes should be applauded.  (Commercial Here: Go To http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=840555707538)  However, are these people merely survivors, or did they put up one hell of a fight to immobilize the disastrous results on a person’s life?  Ask anyone who had to take a round of chemotherapy or a radiation treatment about how they felt before, during, and after the experience.  Can you imagine the courage and intestinal fortitude it took to go into that battle?

Survivors of “natural disasters” are pretty amazing too.  Think about the stress that goes along with having your home destroyed (for whatever reason), and facing being homeless, or having to accept charity.  And think about the people who live near but were not personally affected by the disaster.  There is a survivor syndrome that makes us feel a little guilty that we made it without a scratch, while our neighbors suffered so dearly.  This occurrence happens in tornado strikes, or even to those who survive a cutback of employees.  Is this luck, or a case of divine intervention?  If everything happens for a reason, whose reasoning are we dealing with?

These thoughts are the kinds that keep me humble.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of the fact that I am a fighter.  And, I “thank” my higher power every day (sometimes two, three, or more times a day) for giving me this great gift.  This gift is one that each of us possess.

Tell me about your victories – your triumphs, over life’s curveballs.  If you haven’t gotten totally over the hurdle, let’s talk about it.  Nobody can ever really know what you are going through because they don’t have your knowledge, experiences and wisdom, support group, etc.  However, I know without a doubt, that getting it out in the open, and facing the monsters, and developing a course of action is easier once you talk about fears.  At least, it is a good first step.

Be Blessed!

I had a supervisor (Karen) when I worked for AT&T who said:  “If you show up early, you’re on time; If you show up on time, you’re late; And if you show up late, you’re fired!”   Her statements were not true because it took a lot of time and documentation to get someone fired from AT&T (at the time) but the message was clear… SHOW UP EARLY!

Here is why you should show up early.  On time is one specific (exact) moment in time.  Your appointment is at 9:00 a.m. EST.  This time is exact with less than a second to meet your objective.  If you show up late (even one second), you are late.  That displays a lack of respect for the person (or people) that you are meeting.  It is also a hint about your Time Management skills.  There are many reasons (excuses) for being late.  They range from:  The alarm not going off (usually because the power went out some time during the evening);  To a traffic jam due to a car accident, or a policeman with a radar gun;  To someone yelling – “Hold the elevator please!”  Although you may say that none of these are your fault, they are because you didn’t plan for such occassions.

On the other hand, if you show up early (anything before 9:00 a.m.) you are sitting pretty.  Take the time to prepare (one last time) before your meeting.  If you are nervous, take the time to regain your composure.  Meditate, say a prayer, refresh yourself and go in with a positive and confident attitude.  What are some ways to assist you in showing up early?  Layout your wardrobe the night before.  Use a whined up clock or an alarm on your cellular phone as a back-up.  Leave 15-30 minutes early.  Don’t schedule meetings too close together.  And if for some reason, you find yourself running late – call your appointment and let them know so that they can manage their time accordingly.  Whenever possible, I use the “ish” time scale.  I’ll schedule meeting around 9-ish.  That gives me a 10-15 minute window of error.

Just remember, there are no “Divine Do-Overs” when it comes to time.  Your apology may be accepted, and you may do business with the person, you may even get a second date… But remember, the memory could last a long time and you may not get a “second” chance.  There is no way to turn back the hands of time.

Be Blessed!