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‘Personal Foundation’ Category

Aaron Q&A #2 – Can someone emerge from a virtually hopeless situation and how do they do it?

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

QUESTION – Can someone emerge from a hopeless situation and how do they do it?

ANSWER:  Yes, absolutely.  There are countless examples of this throughout history.  One of the greatest discoveries I made in my research of the great entrepreneurs is that people could accomplish amazing, incredible things despite having the odds stacked against them. Thomas Edison, as a child, struggled a great deal in school and only attended for about three months.  His teacher said he was mentally confused., and he went on to become one of the greatest inventors of our time and a good entrepreneur as well. Richard Branson, a multibillion-dollar entrepreneur with over three hundred and fifty companies under his control was a high school dropout, and he has dyslexia.  Examples abound beyond entrepreneurialism…  Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room cabin in rural Kentucky, lost his mother at the age of nine and was not close with his father, and he went on to become one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.  Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and was passed from family member to family member as she grew up.  She was sexually abused at the age of 14 and became pregnant and delivered a son who only lived for two weeks, and yet she went on to become one of the most successful media stars in history.

The important take-away is that your past, your perceived weaknesses and your mistakes do not determine your future.  You actually have the potential for an amazing future when you can take your past, your perceived weaknesses and mistakes and use those things in alignment with God’s plans to accomplish great things.  The bible says that, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”.  For many people though, it is very hard to disconnect the way they see themselves in light of their background and environment.  In Do Great Things, I go to great lengths to expose this false paradigm and create awareness about what is possible in people’s lives.

Do Great Things is available today in bookstores everywhere – http://www.amazon.com/Do-Great-Things-Applying-Entrepreneurial/dp/1937756505/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354572430&sr=8-1&keywords=Aaron+Broyles

Do Great Things Intro Video

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Aaron speaks about focusing on the most important

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Focus on the most important – Aaron Broyles from Aaron Broyles on Vimeo.

Learn the secret to asking powerful questions

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

The questions that you ask yourself on a regular basis can have a profound effect on you.  You are always asking yourself questions, whether you know it or not.  In every situation, your brain is using questions to evaluate what’s happening.  Think about this for a moment and see if it is true.  If you are in a dangerous situation, what are you saying to yourself?  Am I going to be alright?  Should I run?  Should I fight?  What’s going to happen next?

As we ask ourselves questions, our brain operates like a super human computer designed to deliver an answer.  God provided us with this mechanism, and it is the means for how we evaluate things.

We use questions to evaluate situations and circumstances.  The problem is when we start asking ourselves bad questions that inflict damage instead of empowering us.

You might be asking yourself questions like the following:

-Why do I always screw everything up?

-Why do people hate me?

-Why am I so stupid?

-Why can’t I be successful?

As you ask yourself these disempowering questions, your brain is programmed to deliver answers.  Of course you will not receive very empowering answers when you are asking questions like the ones above.  If you ask the wrong question, you get the wrong answer.  Many of these limiting questions carry an implied meaning in the very nature of the question itself.

For example, “why do people hate me?” presupposes that people hate you.  You have already assumed that people hate you.   You are now simply asking why that is the case.  That’s a terrible question to ask.  Your brain may provide an answer that’s damaging, because it’s presupposing that people hate you and there must be a reason for it.

I challenge you to start asking empowering questions.  If you ask yourself the right question, your brain will go to work and provide an answer.  A powerful, creative question will yield a powerful, creative answer.

For example, instead of asking why people hate you, you could ask the following questions:

-What things could I be doing to make new friends?

-What can I do to be a better friend?

-How can I become a person that attracts good friends?

Think about those questions for a moment.  Do you see the difference?  These questions have the potential to empower you and put your mind in a position to provide an answer that gives you real options.  Your brain will go to work and it will provide answers that you never thought possible.

Take a moment and list three questions that you are asking yourself right now that are disempowering.  Once you list those questions, I want you to determine how those questions are affecting you?  How are they limiting you?  How are they damaging you?

Now I would like you to create three questions that will empower you.  Once you create these questions, I want you to start asking yourself these questions every day.

Below are some examples of great questions that you could be asking yourself:

-How can I build my relationship with God in a way that is exciting and fresh?

-What can I do to become a better husband/wife/father/mother/friend?

-What can I do to get into shape and also have fun at the same time?

-What things could I be doing to be a more effective employee/manager/boss/entrepreneur?

-What things could I start doing to enjoy the process of learning?

-How could I change my life to become more disciplined and hard-working while still being   spontaneous and exciting?

Now it’s your turn.  Start creating amazing and powerful questions that you can ask yourself.  Remember that the more creative questions will yield the most creative results. I have personally found this process to be surprising.  My mind has generated some amazing responses to some well-designed questions.  I use this process on a regular basis in my businesses.  As an entrepreneur, you have to create options and solutions that are outside the box of conventional thinking.  Why not use this same approach in your personal life?  It will create an environment for you to do great things.

The Beginning of Great Things

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to do “great things”.  I’ve watched countless history channel specials and biography broadcasts of famous people in history who have done what the world generally considers as “great things”.  I’ve always admired the great founding fathers of the United States like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Adams, etc.  I’m amazed at the incredible accomplishments of these great leaders in addition to the countless others who fought for and established the great nation of the United States.

I am also inspired by the great accomplishments of the people who have changed our world with their intelligence, talent, bravery, leadership, sacrifice, hard work, wisdom and resolve.  I think of Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, Neil Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Warren Buffett, Billy Graham, Babe Ruth, Sir Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, Helen Keller, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry Ford, etc.  How’s that for a list of amazing people?

Why are we so intrigued and obsessed with those who have done great things?  What is it about these amazing accomplishments that we find so fascinating?  Perhaps there is a desire in each one of us that longs for greatness, something deep within our soul.

Have you ever considered your own capacity for great things?  Do you believe you have the potential, ability and will to capitalize on life’s opportunities in order to fulfill your purpose?

Let me ask you another question…  If you could go do whatever your heart was designed to do with complete fulfillment, excitement, passion and adventure without the possibility of failing, would you do it?  If your answer is yes, but the concept is not reality in your life, then it’s time rethink some things.

The culture today has twisted the definition of great things.  The world says great things have more to do with fame, fortune, self-gratification, accumulation of things, power and popularity.  Although fame and fortune and power are not inherently bad, they are completely irrelevant to authentic great things.  In many cases, they are simply distractions to what’s really important.

Today I challenge you answer this one question.  If there was one thing that you could do consistently well that would have the greatest impact on your life, what would it be?  Ponder that question for a while and then answer it.

Once you’ve answered the question, make it your goal this week to put it into practice.  You will be starting down the pathway to great things.

How to define what’s really important

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

In my last blog, I feel like I may have left you hanging. Maybe you could identify with the idea of living a life without a mission or purpose or direction. Never confuse busyness with authentic purpose. In this blog, you are going to need to use your imagination. I want you to imagine that you only have one year to live. I know this isn’t something we like to think about or talk about, but it is necessary to get your mind focused on what’s really important.

I want you to imagine that you have just been notified that you’ve got one year, 12 months, 365 days. The clock starts right now. Don’t worry about saying good bye to loved ones or getting a will in place. Let’s assume that’s all done. Just focus on how you will live for the next 365 days. Take some time and answer the following questions the best way that you can.

• Who will you spend your time with? Why?
• How will you spend your time with the ones you’ve chosen to be with?
• Is there anything you need to work out with God?
• Are there any big decisions that need to be made?
• Is there anything you’ve been putting off that you need to take action on?
• Is there anyone you need to apologize to?
• What legacy are you going to leave?
• What’s important now that wasn’t important before? Why?
• What do you worry about?
• What were you worrying about before that you are not worrying about now?
• Is there anything you haven’t done that you would like to do?
• Is there anything that you’ve been doing that needs to stop?
• Do you have any regrets? What are they?
• What are you most excited about?
• What do you want people to say about you in 12 months?
• What do you want people to know?

I hope you found this exercise enlightening. My hope is that your mind is really turning about the big things of life right now. Let me ask you this. Are you going to do anything different? Has anything changed in your life? If so, I want you to start writing it down immediately. Don’t wait for tomorrow or another minute. Write down the top 5 things that need to change in your life right now. Do not hesitate. Write them down.

Once you’ve written those things down, you are well on your way to defining your top priorities. The approach that you just took should have cut right to the chase. We want to get to the top priorities and not waste any time with things that don’t matter. You are beginning the process of doing great things.

Where am I going?

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

When I was a junior in high school, my family and I took a trip to a lake in Indiana for a week of water skiing and fun. I brought a friend with me, and we took two cars. My parents and my brother were in one car, and my friend and I were in the other. I only had my driver’s license for about 9 months, so I was not accustomed to reading maps and watching for landmarks.

I just followed my dad all the way. When my dad exited off for gas, I followed him. When it was time to stop and eat, I followed him to the restaurant. I didn’t even know the name of the place that we were going or the name of the lake or town that we were heading to. I just knew it was a lake in Indiana.
When we were within an hour or so of our final destination, something happened. I don’t even remember exactly how it happened, but I lost my dad. One minute we were right behind him, and the next minute he was gone. My friend and I were probably having some deep conversation about music or cars or something that high school boys tend to talk about, but somehow I found myself with no-one to follow.

To compound the problem, we were now on a back road, off the main interstate. I felt like Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. This was my status:
• I didn’t know where we were
• I had no idea where we were going to
• I didn’t have a map (navigation systems had not been invented yet)
• There was no cell phone
• I had never been in the area we were driving in
• There were no gas stations or places of business to stop at
• We had no game plan

Have you ever been in that situation before? I didn’t know if we should just pull over or keep driving or try to find some place to stop. It was total confusion. There was no way to communicate, and it was a guessing game. Even if I stopped for directions, what would I say? Can you help me get somewhere? I don’t really know where it is, but I sure could use some help.

Maybe you’ve never experienced a situation like that on a trip, but let me tell you something. There are millions of people living that situation out every day in their personal lives. They started off by following someone, probably their parents. There wasn’t a need to really do much thinking or planning, because those things were done for them on a daily basis. Maybe they went to college or perhaps they started a job out of high school. Maybe they never finished high school, or maybe they got one degree after another for years and years.

And then something happened. They realized they had no idea where they were, where they were going, how to communicate and no game plan of any kind. When you don’t have a target destination, then what do you do? You can take action, but what action do you take?

Most people take some type of action, regardless of the result. Action makes us feel that we are in control. It gives us a false sense of accomplishment. The problem is that action without a plan is simply aimless busyness.

In subsequent posts, I will detail a plan for creating a mission for your life, and you will be well on your way to doing great things.