Time to P.L.A.Y.!

When you approach life as an adventure, you can revel in all that life has to offer. An adventurous attitude allows you to view every situation in your life as a learning opportunity for personal empowerment.

One key aspect of living adventurously is learning how to P.L.A.Y.:

Positive perspective – You don’t get to choose your problems, but you do get to choose your perspective. When you shift your focus from the inconvenience of your challenges to what you can gain from your challenges, you grow from victim to victor.

Laugh out loud – Laughing is good for you in many ways. Several research studies have revealed the physiological and psychological benefits of laughter. So quit being so stuffy. Learn how to laugh at yourself. Learn how to laugh for no reason at all.

Appreciate each day – You don’t get to live your days over. Maximize your time and opportunities in the moment. Don’t assume you’ll get another chance to do what you could have done today, but chose not to. Do all you can with the time you’ve been given.

Youthful exuberance – Youthfulness is a mindset more than an age. If you can’t remember what it was like to have fun as a kid, you need to go find some. Hang around them for a while to refresh your memory on what it’s like to possess playful innocence without inhibitions.

You will get out of life what you invest into it. If you’re ready to live your adventure then it’s time for you to P.L.A.Y.!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

B.I.G. Dreams are coming to a mind near you very soon! www.DreamBIGin3D.com

No Legs, No Sight, No Problem!

If you look around there is always someone that is worse off than you. If you keep looking there are others who are MUCH worse off than you. So what do you really have to complain about?

Complaining is a cancerous attitude. It slowly kills your faith, hopes, and dreams from the inside out.

Check out this incredibly inspirational story of two young high schoolers who refuse to complain about their situations or be denied their hopes and dreams. Instead they work together to encourage and energize one another to achieve seemingly improbable goals.

more about “Cleveland high school wrestlers — on…“, posted with vodpod

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

B.I.G. Dreams are coming to a mind near you very soon! www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Eject the Junk from Your Life!

This is article #3 coinciding with the release of my book, Dream B.I.G. in 3D: How to Pursue a Bold, Innovative, God-Inspired Life! Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

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Music is literally everywhere in our lives – radio, TV, internet, MP3 players, etc. It’s like we can’t escape it no matter where we go. This is wonderful when the music is good, but it’s not so good when the music is bad. And these days a lot of the music is just plain bad! I digress…

When most people hear a song they dislike (especially songs from commercials), they typically have an automatic negative reaction to it. Whether it’s on their iPod, TV or the radio, they want to immediately choose a different song, change the channel, or (like back in the ‘olden’ days) eject the CD. As much as we love music, sometimes we go to extreme efforts not to hear music or watch program that don’t suit our tastes. It’s too bad we don’t have that same kind of attitude and reactions as it relates to every area of our lives.

Your ability to live a B.I.G. (Bold, Innovative, God-inspired)  life is directly related to your ability to freely and confidently imagine, innovate, and initiate. Having a lot of negative mental junk – unnecessary, unprofitable, and unhealthy thoughts – is like gunk that clogs a pipe. Your pipeline for creativity and inspiration is disrupted and degraded, not allowing you to produce up to your potential.

What you consistently pour into your mind will eventually be reflected in your thoughts and actions. If you spend a lot of time consuming conversations with other people, music, and visual images that don’t support or sustain the path you are pursuing, they become unnecessary weights that slow you down. You may not notice it immediately, but over time they will begin to affect your thoughts, perspectives, relationships, and other areas of your life (check out this related blog I wrote for Chat Kafe, The Breakfast of Dreamers).

Furthermore, when your creativity is limited or stifled so is your ability to add value on your job or in your business, which then limits your ability to generate income. Ouch! If this describes you, you probably need some mental Drain-O!

It’s time to hit the eject button on the negative influences in your life – including certain people. Shift your focus to people and things that are excellent, encouraging, exciting, energizing, and empowering! You will experience a new life that will be music to your ears!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

B.I.G. Dreams are coming to a mind near you very soon! www.DreamBIGin3D.com

Dare to be Uncommon!

In celebration of my three year entrepreneurship anniversary yesterday, I created an acronym that describes my experiences in terms of what it takes to be an “uncommon” person, one who is willing to do whatever it takes to see his/her dream accomplished:

Unique blend of humility and ambition, i.e. the drive to excel without running over people.

Non-conforming to the boxes that society tries to put them in.

Courageous commitment that embraces sacrifice and supercedes convenience.

Optimistic expectations in the face of unrelenting challenges, i.e. passionate perseverance.

Maximum utilization of creativity, talents, skills, and resources.

Maximizing opportunities in the moment versus procrastinating.

Overcoming fear in order to accomplish great feats.

Never quit! Never stop believing! Never stop dreaming!

An uncommon attitude yields uncommon results. Dare to be UNCOMMON!

Dream B.I.G.,

Paul Wilson, Jr.

Connect with me on twitter.com/pwilsonjr

Are you a B.I.G. Dreamer?

Create Courageous Momentum!

I was recently engaging with a friend on Facebook as it relates to taking risks.  I believe this written conversation captures where many people are today, caught between the call of tomorrow’s greatness and the trappings of present day circumstances. With my friend’s permission I have posted his message:

“This is what I was going to run by you. Tye Tribbett sings this song “So Amazing.” It is a high energy rock song, which you would not expect from a “Gospel” artist. It is a life metaphor to me because he made the song in his heart, not the song the record execs may have wanted. Much of the Christian music we hear today plays it safe. It is music by the numbers. It is refreshing to hear somebody just go for it. That is where I want to be, desire to be. To just go for it. So what stands in the way? Fear, pride, comfort with the familiar. God is helping me with these, but it has to be faced and confronted every day. Just some thoughts and I welcome your response.”

Here was my response to him:

“I think we all struggle with the desire to break out of our shells. The constraints that we feel holding us back from fulfilling our ultimate potential were not placed there by God. I am learning that risk-taking is something with which we have to intentionally and continually build momentum. Not only do we have to recite “God has not given us a spirit of fear…”, we also have to practice it. We have to make a conscious effort everyday to think differently and act differently in order to get outside of our comfort zones. That way when the time comes to take a big risk, we’re more prepared mentally and spiritually.”

So many people that I’ve connected with lately are at a critical point in their lives where they hear greatness calling them, but they’re not completely sure about taking a big leap of faith. They’re in a catch-22. They don’t want to stand still, but they hesitate to move forward.

To take a risk, a person has to be willing to change their thoughts, decisions, lifestyle, relationships, or all the above. Many people are hesitant to change, either because they don’t know what’s on the other side of the change or they fear the change process itself. A person will only take a risk to change when the consequences/pain of not taking the risk outweighs the fear of taking the risk.

It requires courage to take risks. Unfortunately, one thing that keeps many people from taking risks is thinking they have to take one big leap of faith, instead of taking a lot of small “hops” of faith. Change happens one decision at a time, which also means building up your tolerance for risk happens one change decision at a time.

You can create courageous momentum by achieving small successes over time. This will build your confidence to take a larger leap of faith when the time is right.

One thing to remember about taking risks is that when you jump out there, either you’re going to fly or fall into God’s arms. Either way, it’s all good!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

Connect with me on twitter.com/pwilsonjr

Are you an OA?

I Want to Live Dangerously!

“To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in His will makes us dangerous.” – Erwin McManus from An Unstoppable Force

Typically when someone is considered dangerous, it means they are likely to cause damage or danger to someone or something. In essence they are a threat to safety, order, and peace. As I think about it, I want to be an intentional threat, but not to safety, order, and peace. I want to be a threat to things that injure, defeat, oppress, and negatively impact people’s lives.

The world is full of people who play it safe. I don’t want to be one of them. I want to live my life on the edge. However, I’m not necessarily talking about “death-defying” activities, such as bungee jumping, skydiving, or wrestling wild animals (that’s for a different post). I’m talking about maximizing my full potential by utilizing my God-given abilities, talents, gifts, and resources to be a catalyst for life transformation.

Being a life transformation catalyst means that I must be willing to smash the status quo, i.e. standards that people and society have accepted that shouldn’t be. I can’t strive for a life of ease and comfort. I have to take risks, stretch my faith, strategically apply my giftedness, and reach out to people that others have rejected.

By living dangerously, I want to smash the status quo in the areas of:

• Purposelessness
• Passionlessness
• Complacency
• Mediocrity
• Negativity
• Stale thinking
• Low self-esteem
• Poverty and poverty mentalities
• Illiteracy
• Corruption
• Defeatism

What about you? Are you a threat to any type of status quo? If not, then you’re not living as dangerously as you are capable.

Figure out what you want to be a threat to and then go make something happen.

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

Connect with me on twitter.com/pwilsonjr

Are you an OA? Click here to find out.

Divine Redesign

So many people today are struggling to live a fulfilling, meaningful life. Their struggles are often tied to their inability to see and think beyond their current circumstances. They resign themselves to being “boxed-in”, feeling they have limited options and opportunities to change their lives. They let other people’s opinions and expectations keep them emotionally secluded in a place of fear, anxiety, guilt, malaise, irritation, and displeasure. Afraid to take risks, they stay stuck inside constraints that keep them from flourishing.

It’s time to break out of the box of mediocrity, complacency and dissatisfaction! To shift from flailing to flourishing, you need a divine redesign of your life. Redesigning your life starts with getting new blueprints from the Master Designer. Here are ten areas where His design expertise can upgrade your life:

1. Seek God’s wisdom and purpose for your life. He has some incredible plans for you (Proverbs, 3:4, Jeremiah 29:11)!
2. Dream BIG! Start dreaming about what could be and stop despairing about what’s not (1 Corinthians 2:8-9).
3. Exercise your imagination more. Thinking ‘outside the box’ gives you the opportunity to redefine the box (Proverbs 8:12).
4. Don’t let others’ opinions and expectations become constraints for your life. God’s opinion of you is the one that matters the most (Romans 8:31).
5. Raise your expectations. Just because bad things happen in life doesn’t mean you have to walk around in fear (Psalm 112:7). Live courageously!
6. Focus on solving problems rather than promoting them. Most of your challenges aren’t going to disappear overnight, so adjust the way you respond to them (Psalm 49:3, Romans 12:2).
7. Invest yourself into others. You will reap what you sow into other people. However, don’t expect your harvest to come directly from those into whom you have sown (Galatians 6:7-8).
8. Do something different. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing continuously, but expecting a different results. It’s time to crush complacency in your life (Proverbs 14:12).
9. Make drastic changes if necessary. Break out of internal (emotional) and external (job, relationship, habits) boxes that are unhealthy or destructive (Matthew 9:17).

Key question: If you were standing on the outside of your life looking in, what would you tell yourself to start doing, stop doing, or do differently?

Seize the day, embrace a divine redesign, and start living the life you were meant to live!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

Connect with me on twitter.com/pwilsonjr

Are you an OA?

Do You Stink?

Last night as I was working, I was sitting near one of those plug-in air fresheners. It was apple cinnamon – very pleasant, not too strong, just enough to let me know it was there.

It caused me to think, what type of scent am I giving off right now in my life? I’m not talking about my body odor (although I hope I don’t stink). I’m talking about my “attitude scent.”

Often times people don’t even realize they attract and repel people based on what their attitude communicates. If your attitude is positive, then your scent is going to be pleasant, like vanilla or fresh rain or apple cinnamon. If your attitude is always negative, then you may smell like a garbage can, sweaty socks, or sour milk. Even if you aren’t totally rancid, even a slightly stale scent may turn away some people.

Here’s a few questions to ask yourself to see what your attitude scent is communicating:

• Do I compliment more than complain?
• Do I praise more than put down?
• Do I encourage more than discourage?
• Do I speak with courage more than fear?
• Do I talk about solutions more than problems?
• Do I talk about dreams more than regrets?

How would you describe your current attitude scent?

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

Connect with me on twitter.com/pwilsonjr

Are you an OA?