On November 26, 2014 I created my first post on WordPress and hit publish.  And 4 years later I am still at it; tired, but still blogging.  And until recently I had posted every day for over 1500 days, a streak that I am quite proud of having achieved.  I went from a daily view high of 149 in March 2015 to having days I clearly 5,000 views.  I went from 0 views to over 1 million views in under 3 years which resulted in over 100,000 comments!  I will admit that I am incredibly proud of having reached and exceeded all of my blogging goals including eclipsing 50,000 total followers.  All of these numbers mean one thing…I am tired.

Honestly, I am worn out.

So with that said some changes are coming for Dream Big.  At the end of this year I will be terminating the Partner program.  I will not be publishing a post everyday, excluding the Let Me Ask You A Question post, and I will be reblogging on a limited basis.  I need to do these things because blogging has become a habit, something I do out of routine with little passion behind it.

I will be posting my thoughts from time-to-time, but I’ll be doing it when I find inspiration or have a thought I’d like to share, not because I feel like I need to post something.  I just want blogging to be fun again and I want to control my page instead of feeling as though my page controls me.

Writing a blog is an interesting journey and it has been so much fun watching this thing take on a life of its own.  Dream Big has developed into something that I never envisioned which is a hub for others to connect.  When I first began my blog I thought I would share some thoughts on my journey from an underachieving procrastinator to an entrepreneur.  What I didn’t realize then was how many bloggers would use my page to find other like-minded people.

I might take more pride in this fact than any other.

Happy Saturday!

Danny

For this first time ever I am going to take a short hiatus from my blog.  I will return on Monday with new questions and posts.  I have posted something every day for nearly 3 years and I need a break.  I hope everyone has a great weekend and Ill see you Monday.

Danny

Good morning all from Athens Ga!  I only have one quick thought for the day…

I’ve always had it in my mind that I would never let anyone out work me.  Someone might have more experience, they may have more resources, but they will never out hustle me.

Sometimes you have to commit yourself to out-hustling those around you.

Have a great Thursday!

Danny

We are back from our weekend in New York and all went well.  The bride and groom are off to their honeymoon and the wedding went without a hitch.  We always have a wonderful time in NY and the wedding excitement just added to the experience.   Our flight got back yesterday late afternoon and after a round of laundry, unpacking and repacking, I am back on the road this morning!  Quick turn-around for me.

This week I will be in Athens, Ga to conduct some training with sales executives from across the southeast.  I’ll be working with my mentor this week which will be nice.  It isn’t often that he and I get to train reps together.

With that said, I hope you have a great week.  Remember to hug your loved ones and spend quality time with them!  Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Danny

Evelina made a dish the other night using quinoa that was fairly simple and tasted great!  She added mixed vegetables, black beans, raw spinach, raw kale and soy sauce to some quinoa and cooked it up like fried rice in a pan.

It tasted very good and was incredibly healthy.  No measuring necessary, just add to your liking.  The tricky part was learning how to cook quinoa the proper way.

I know reblogging bugs the crap out of a few of you so I am apologizing in advance for the assault on your email inbox.  I have to get caught up today on some reblogging so I am going to machine gun blast out a lot today.  Sorry if it upsets a few.

Danny

What Do You Do When Faced With a Big Decision?

Having options is supposed to be a great thing, right?!  But having options can create headaches as well, especially when an option presents itself unexpectedly.  And even more so when a great opportunity arises, but you are content in your current situation!

So what is one to do?

Any time I am presented with a big decision I tend to obsess for a short period of time and then I get to work on due diligence.  My first step is to mention the idea to my wife and get her gut reaction.  If her initial reaction is 100% negative I would probably not pursue or commit much time to consideration.  If her initial response is to ask questions then I begin step 2.

My second action is to make a pros and cons list.  I will make a couple lists, one for my current situation and one for the new opportunity.  This helps me weigh the opportunity versus current situation and assess whether it is worth considering.  The big question for me revolves around the idea of changing.  Do I feel like changing to this new thing or do I want to stay where am I doing what I’m doing?

The third thing I do is assess the risk.  If I were to take part in anything new in my life, what is the worst case scenario?  If this new thing were not to work out, what could happen negatively.  Could I end up homeless?  Could I lose my life?  Would I have to start over and rebuild?  The possibilities could be endless, but honestly there aren’t too many decisions that are truly life-and-death.  So for me, risk assessment has to do with security, safety and progress.  Will this new opportunity compromise the security of my family?  Will it put me or my family in harm’s way?   And will this new thing hinder or help our progress?

Fourth for me, I will bring these facts and thoughts back to Evelina and we will talk on a deeper level.  At this point the decision-making process becomes less objective and more subjective.

The last step is to ask myself if this new project “feels” right.  It is difficult to put into words what feeling right means.  It is a gut intuition.  If the decision doesn’t feel right then I run in the opposite direction.  If it does feel right AND I have gone through the process of due diligence then we move forward and consider saying “yes”.

Sometimes good opportunities happen at the wrong time and sometimes the timing is perfect.  I think the key is keeping your mind open to all possibilities.  Remember, there was a moment when Bill Gates could have said “No thanks, I’m not interested.”  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the guy who says no to a possible life-changing opportunity!

Have a safe and happy Wednesday!

Danny

Do You Think It Is Time For Me To Build an Ark?

Hurricane Florence dumped over 12 inches of rain on us in a 24 hour period, but we are alive and well.  Flooding in our area was minimal and we only lost 1 tree, which surprised me.  In all my life I have never experienced rain quite like that and I hope I never do again.

The storm has moved north of Charlotte leaving us with a slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon.  My coworkers and friends in Wilmington and New Bern are not so fortunate.  It is still raining there and flood waters have cut both cities off from rescue workers.  I hope everyone is safe.

In some ways I think we would have been better off with the powerful winds of a fast-moving hurricane than the rains associated with a storm only moving 5 mph.  The rain has been simply devastating for North Carolina.  Fayetteville, Kinston, Jacksonville, New Bern and Wilmington are all experiencing flooding.

I did not get a chance to build my ark before the storm decided to move north so maybe next time.  Please have a safe Monday and considering donating water and supplies to help these good people.

Danny