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Send us an email if you wish. We look forward to hearing from you and providing you with great content each day.

Welcome to AYD, and may this be the start of great things to come.
Pierre

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"What can we do, starting today, to build lasting success?"...."We all want to be part of something. We all want to feel great about the choices we make."

Friday, March 15, 2013

AYD - March 15, 2013 - Your Best is a Gift

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
- Steve Prefontaine

One of the most effective and appreciated ways that you can "Pay it Forward" is to honor the gifts you have, and show them to the best of your ability.

By making the effort, you put out many signals that are teaching all on their own. Visually, and subliminally.

You lead by example and you show the results of your journey; the goals, the steps, the success and very importantly, the rise after any set backs.

You have the opportunity, to influence and motivate and inspire.... without having to say a word.

Action tells a story.  Thankfully, it does not distract anyone by focussing on negative scapegoats.

Have a great weekend.  Give your gifts freely, and often, and generously.
You have alot to share.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, a better day for everyone else.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author... and ready to learn more about my best.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

AYD - March 14, 2013 - Fortune Cookie Says

Your forune cookie says -

You will do something nice for someone today.  Without expectation of any return gesture from them.  Become rich with the feeling it gives you.
It is not Rocket Science.  Just do it.


Inspiration and Paying it Forward does not have to be some grand event.  Sometimes, it is the smallest of moments that create the largest impression.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, better day for everyone else.
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author... and I like fortune cookies for the moment they give me to stop and consider the obvious.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

AYD - March 13, 2013 - The PEP Talk

"If I can do it, anyone can do it."

Quickly...count how many times in your life you have heard this expression.
Even faster...do you remember one face that has said it?  Do you remember the actual achievement that initiated the sharing of it?

I do not. But I have heard that expression too many times.

I really dislike that expression, and many others, because they have become the stereotypical comment, the "insert positive comment here",  the automated response.  And I dare say, the momentum emergency brake.

To make Me Believe, that I can achieve the Results that this person achieved ... takes more than just a catch phrase. 

The How To needs a How To Pop Up Book.

Show AND tell.

I stated before my wife and I are watchers of the reality show, The Biggest Loser.  I am not a fan of most reality TV. Most often they produce for over drama effect and they lose all integrity and any reason I have to believe in any positive message.  But this show I watch for the Transformation.  I watch it all take place over time, how the mental joins the positive words and expression and it all gets mixed in the bowl with Action.  The episode this week was the next to last, and in this one they take you back to 11 weeks ago to see how far people have come.

Show... AND tell. 

Before and After is not good enought either.  Show me the sweat, the tears, the emotional triumph, the soul climbing over barriers, the obstacles, the smile here, the set backs, the smile gone, the hard work, the smile back... the family support, the new family of those enduring the same journey... and the proof that it can be done.  Help me believe in what you have achieved, and I will then be more trusting to follow - you, and my heart. 

"This moment, this moment right here!  This is what you fight for!  And it doesn't happen often but when it does happen it's magic.  And it's worth it!"  - Jillian Michaels. 

The number one reason we do not achieve the results that the poster people examples do is our lack of action.  And when we are giving a Pep Talk, we also need to be mindful of this.  For someone to follow in our steps, they cannot just take our word for it.  They need to witness the path, to see the foot impressions, to see our hand print and the impression of the knee where we fell. 

If you ever get to see Anthony Robbins - he will show you what I might call, Share and Show.  He shares his philosophy, then gets you to stand up and show you it works.

Give a man a fish...teach a man to fish...

"If I can do it, anyone can do it."  Gee...thanks. 

How about, "I believed I could do it, so I pushed myself and did it, and if you believe you can, I believe you can, I can show you how I did it so you can too."

Well... let this be known as Wordy Wednesday.

I am beginning some new transformations that I will be sharing in the coming weeks.

My goal is to give the PEP talk that I would like to receive.
Pay it forward.  Show someone your path to success.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, means a better day for others.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author... and PEP talker in motion.




Tuesday, March 12, 2013

AYD - March 12, 2013 - If You Build It...

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."
- Zig Ziglar

Pay it forward week continues.

You can have your own structure of success.  It might be represented by a hammock on a beach, and to some it may be a spot in a tall corporate building.  A home to call your own, or a career doing something you love.  Whatever the structural design is, you can achieve it - this we have always agreed with.

What alot of us may not realize is that we have many building blocks that we have overlooked, and keeping with this weeks theme, building blocks you could be sharing.

We use alot of quotes here at AYD to get a point across.  Usually some words from someone who has achieved a level of recognition.  The idea is that successful people have some quality advice.  They are paying it forward.  And somewhere in their life, they too adopted some quality advice from people in their story.

And that my friends, is the Hidden Treasure Hunt we go on today.

Go back in your memory bank and spend a moment with some people that made a difference in your life.  A teacher that stood out among the rest, a coach, Grandma, or even a good insightful friend.  Remind yourself of one solid thing these people taught you.  Some words of experience that helped you take a step up.  A building block that may have become hidden by other life steps.

When you remember, and you will remember, lay that block on the table along with the puzzle that is your life.  Where else will it fit?  Where else will this little block act as a missing piece to the puzzle of someone you know?  You see, it is not just about repeating the words because the words once supported you - it is about placing the words as the support they are, into the right spot so that their strength can once again support the pressures of dreams taking shape.

If you help one person today with knowledge that once helped you ... the ripple effect could be amazing.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, and a better day for everyone else.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author ... and playing with my blocks.

Monday, March 11, 2013

AYD - March 11, 2013 - Be Bigger Than the Bear

"If you are bigger than the bear, the bear won't eat you."
- Atch L. ( former co-worker)

I recall I was preoccupied with one of many frustrating work elements, and just about into full stride on my way to complete melt down regarding my job as a whole.  The atmosphere was a thick cloud of negativity; mine and seemingly everyone around me.  Every day had become deja vu with no clarity enhancing rays of light breaking through.

And along come Atch down the hall.  A smart man, one of the greatest industry experienced I have ever worked with.  Normal height but larger than life personality.  The kind of guy, that when you find out which project you are being shipped off to, if you found out you were working with him, you instantly felt energized about being on the project. 

Middle of the day.  Nothing specific going on except stress in the hallways; every hallway.  And along comes Atch, just walking for himself with his arms straight up and high above his head.  He was not looking at me, just past me and off in the distance down the hall.  Then he caught my confused glance, made eye contact and just continued his pace.  Without me having to ask, he offered casually, "If you are bigger than the bear, the bear won't eat you."

And instantly, I got it.

Our working environment was truly stressful on everyone.  It was just that point in this particular project.
Lots going on, not alot of staff, people over tasked, and only so many hours in a day.  But with an unexpected, off the wall gesture... I found a way to pause, take a breath and stop the madness.  Long enough for me to sort out my thoughts and tasks and loose ends.  And it just kept running thru my head, "If you are bigger than the bear, the bear won't eat you."

I do not always remember this right when I need it, and often I confess I really need a step stool and be on my tippy toes to be bigger than the symbolic "bear", but these words and the way they entered my life have never really left me.

Be it work, be it cancer, be it choices and consequences, it is the same.  Be bigger than the bear.
Maybe it is bills, or loved ones, or you lost your way on route to your dream.  Be bigger than the bear.
Your job, your partner, or the meeting in five minutes.  Be bigger than the bear.

I think you get it.
Pay it Forward Week.
I offer you this on Opportunity Monday, "If you are bigger than the bear, the bear won't eat you."

Great morning, great day.  Great you, better day for everyone else.
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author... and Saddling up...to Ride My Bear.