I have to admit, I feel lost. More lost than I’ve ever felt before. But while I sit here, drinking a glass of scotch and enjoying the ambiance of rolling stones, my thoughts have become lucid enough to write and share.

I have lived my life out of the box, as I encourage everyone around me to do. And I’m proud of that. But at the end of the day, I don’t feel I should be proud. The truth is, while I have been living out of the box, I have been chasing other people’s dreams. I have never truly gone after my own.

Who feels like they are not performing to their fullest potential? Go ahead…raise your hand. Who else feels as though the world is just passing them by? Go ahead…stand up. Well, I’m standing up and raising my hand, so that tells you how I feel.

What makes it worse is that I know what I want and I know how to get it. But because of the current state of affairs I have fallen into, I can not do what I believe I was put here to do. I have a special gift. I know that. But my greatest fear is that the decisions I’ve made in my recent past may prevent me from sharing my gift.

I feel like packing up…running away…and starting over. But of course, I can’t do that either.

I had a great conversation with my Grandpa yesterday about life, business and stress. He told me to follow my true passion, follow my heart. Stop stressing about the things I dislike doing and start stressing about the things I love to do. That makes all the difference. Such simple advice from one of life’s true old salts. He reminded me how easy it is to simply shift gears and change one’s perspective if we just…do it! Don’t feel sorry for yourself, forget about pity and most certainly don’t stop fighting. That sums up how I was raised. And after writing this…my gears are about to shift.

It seems like the new buzz word these days is visualization. In the books, magazines and blogs I read, everyone is talking about the power of visualizing your success.

One book in particular said that visualizing your goals in your mind is one thing, but creating a tangible visual aid is even more powerful.

I always tell colleagues that one of my ultimate goals is to be on the cover of Wired magazine. I think about that every day. So I made the above picture last night and taped it to my wall. I stare at it constantly, and deep down, I can see it happening! It’s a great feeling.

I used Adobe Photoshop, but I found some great sites that will help anyone get on a magazine cover. Let’s face it, if you make it onto on the cover of your industry’s magazine, you’re doing well. The sites are:

• http://www.magmypic.com/
• http://graphics.imagetemplate.net/magazines/

And it doesn’t have to be a magazine cover. Get creative and try having fun with it. Maybe your goal is to buy a new car or a house in the near future. Follow my examples and see what happens.

I realize this is actually an ad, but I love this video. It does a great job of summing up the reasons I started this blog…we can all be entrepreneurs.

I wanted to share one of my favorite composers / pianists with you today. When I was a very young child, there was a certain piece of music that I loved listening too called the Scarborough Fair. The composer from above actually improvised his own piece from that original work, and I must say it is very powerful. I cried the first time I heard it…still do in fact…I’m man enough to admit that. Yes, I’m a hopeless, passionate romantic, and I love it! I recently started playing the piano again, and I hope that one day I can play a tenth as good as this guy. I feel the piano is a musical device that was built for one thing…exuding passion and joy.

Listening to this work of art made me want to talk a little about passion…I should say it like I really mean it…PASSION…I think music, passion and entrepreneurial pursuits go very much hand in hand. I know that if I didn’t have music, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Some of my best ideas and breakthrough moments have occurred while listening to some of my favorite tunes.

Just listen to this piece…the beauty of it…if man can create this with his hands and heart, what can we not do? The dedication and zeal he has given to his chosen profession is nothing short of amazing. And that is what you must do if you wish to truly be great at something! Approach life with the same passion and splendor this song contains. Those who have accomplished great things didn’t do it for money or for fame, they did it for love…they did it for the betterment of themselves and those around them. I promise that if you attack life with passion, you will find immortality.

(Read around 5:10 during the video..ha ha) I close my eyes and picture myself as a young child, listening to this song, staring into the deep blue sky from my bedroom window, dreaming of dreams to big for such a little youngster…enthusiastic, eager, ready to take on the world. This song portrays my views of the world, how I see it and how I am able to deal with it.

So close your eyes, listen and see the world how I see it…close your eyes and dream. Because that’s what life is all about. Follow your heart…and dream…