I’ve heard my whole life that this time of year is most famous for depression.  Haven’t you heard that Christmastime is when most suicides occur?  I think a lot of it has to do with our culture that rewards people who can give more financially, such as gifts.  And when we don’t have a lot to give loved ones, couple with the fact that we’re drowning in debt, it’s little wonder our self-talk is not very edifying.

The majority of us are trapped in a routine we have become satisfied with.  We wait for some magical day when things will be all better and we will again make enough money to pay for the lifestyle we feel we deserve.  When we get a glimpse that we really don’t make enough, such as around Christmastime, coupled with the fact that we’re probably not near family, our thought process becomes downright poisoning.

We tell ourselves that it appears we can’t really breakthrough the level we have habitually been stuck at.  When we do this, we take very little action to improve our situation.  What we do day to day produces little and that feeds into our lack of belief in the whole process.

Can you see how that is a downward spiral?

What you may not realize is that you’re even in a downward spiral, or that your situation is mentally poisoning you.  I can speak from experience that it is a slippery slope once that spiral starts.

And if I told you right now what the solution was, if you are really stuck in your situation and feel a lifeline would be really good right about now – you would probably laugh at me, or scoff, or say as my oldest son used to say when I told him great things in life, “been there, done that, doesn’t work for me.”  I actually thought he was regurgitating a friends’ words, but it may have come from his heart.

So why would you laugh?  I really think there are several things at work here.  One, we all want a magical fix, that would be immediate and would require little effort on our part.  Sort of like a pill.  So culture has screwed us up in that regard, because even though many fixes are quick, some things do require effort.  And you probably have a hard time even cleaning off your desk at this point.

Few admit that they’re in a crisis mode, where really, they’re just doing all they can to keep their head above water.  They are putting out fires and planning a life is the furthest thing from their minds.  Figuring out how to pay the property taxes is more critical than creating a wonderful fulfilling life.  You want it, but your mind keeps telling you that if you leave what you’re doing now, it may get worse.

What if I told you that you can break free and that I know you already have the potential to do this?

You do!  And I’m going to help you get free from this downward spiral.  This will work during any season, at any time, you simply need to do the work I’m going to give you.   But I know you won’t do this unless you have a good reason to; you know you’re up against the wall.  So before I reveal anything, I want to have the certainty that you will follow through.  This is going to require a notebook to measure some things we discuss, so in my next post, you’re going to learn what it takes to break free and I’ll show you how you can do it for your life.

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I study animals a lot, mostly because I was raised in the sticks in the middle of the Amazon rain forest. It was just a part of life living among them because for the most part, we were in their territory. The folks that helped Mom and Dad with their house simply cleared a place out of the jungle and put up the mud and plaster walls.

And when you first arrive in a place like that, you notice things. Now you’re probably thinking from the title of this article that I’m going to talk about me being braver, and I’ll get to that in a sec, but I want to first focus on how most of the jungle animals were designed to survive by being brave.

Most of them won’t give up on anything they do.

Boldness is such a necessary part of being courageous, but you just can’t be bold and hope for the best. That gets even the best jungle animal killed. I watched these critters assess their surroundings and make some pretty intelligent choices. And studies have shown that this boldness over time builds a wonderful habit of courage.

A few animals will sit and wait it out, but most of them take action and try to find a quick route to escape or a better path to capture their lunch. This SO applies to you and me you won’t believe it.

When I counsel anyone who is in a downward spiral, nine times out of ten they have been pretty much motionless for the past month or so. That leads to depression and hopelessness. But with action, almost any action taken, turns into great results. We’re wired to keep moving!

Take any nature – persistence, love, courtesy, courage, integrity – and if you act boldly with them, unseen forces will come to your aid. Try it.

Do jungle animals know the score every time. You already know the answer to that one. But they do take a huge leap of faith when they decide to move. This develops courage. Listen – every great venture in the history of man has begun with faith and a giant leap into the unknown.

Who said – There is no security in life, only opportunity – ?

Babson College conducted a study of successful entrepreneurs over 12 years. Have you heard about this? The conclusion was that they all had in common the willingness to launch, step out in faith. Once they started, they took time to learn the lessons they needed to succeed. Almost all of them ended up successful – but in different businesses than where they started.

Are you going to be bold today? Are you going to stretch yourself? Maybe call that person who has been on your mind?

Remember that the animals face failure and fear but they must move to survive. They act with audacity. And yes – it normally gets them into trouble – but they use more audacity to get out! What are your thoughts? Gonna go for it and be bold?

I’ve written on Starbucks before. One reason is I have a son who works there, and the second is for quite some time I owned a bunch of their stock. I made out like a bandit on it and it to date was my best investment move with stocks.

But now things have changed. Competitors have come in and made things even more convenient and cheaper. So Starbucks added drive thrus and started serving sandwiches and assorted things that were not coffee like.

In an effort to stop the downward spiral of the stock, Howard Schultz, founder, decided to take some drastic moves.

Make the espresso machines shorter so the baristas can chit chat with the customers. Right now you can’t see the barista behind that tall machine. Next, get out most of the sandwich stuff. And finally, a big move is to bring back grinding beans in the store which makes the whole place smell like, well… coffee.

But that wasn’t enough for some. A rather rich person recently bought a ton of stock in Starbucks to shake up the company even more. And this will end in even more changes. Since the company is public, someone can buy up a bunch of shares and have voting power.

Shake it up, make it more profitable.

I thought about that for a bit and wondered what would happen if someone took stock in your life for the sole purpose of making it more profitable?

Wouldn’t that be a cool thing? I mean someone who cared and wanted to see good come out of all you do. They would give you ways that you could leverage your time and ideas that you could use immediately to better your life.

I am working on a product that will hopefully do just that. This is a small system that you can keep on your computer or print out and go through to make sure you are lined up in all areas of your life. Sort of my way of coming in and shaking things up for the better.

In a few weeks I will let you preview the product. You’ll love how well this works. And it’s something we all need. Make sure you are signed up on the newsletter list because I’ll be giving more updates there.