Face it, life is a race.

And, more often than not, that race involves rats. Lots of them.

The road to success and personal fulfillment has been thoroughly coached and cultivated for the last 6000 years. Mentors of every kind abound. And yet, the majority of people still seem to miss the point. They miss out on fulfillment. The rats get lost in the maze.

Okay, forget the rats. How about you take a hard look at yourself. Are you ready to face reality?

In any given situation your worth in, in fact, directly determined by the value you bring to the table.

The good news, (and the bad news), is that this is exactly how things should be.

The older I get, the more it becomes apparent to me that life is in your hands. My hands. Our hands. Each one of us has the ability to directly determine and shape our own individual futures. The financial, the physical, the emotional, the spiritual and the relational aspects of your life...they are all the direct results of your personal philosophy coupled with purposeful action.

The bad news, (and the good news), is that this means there is no room blaming or excuse making. Because, there is no obstacle that you don't have the power can't overcome. There is no avoiding your responsibility. Yikes.

The hard reality is that life and fulfillment all boils down you. So, how badly do you want to achieve your goals? Your perceived value will affect the results.

Something I have learned over my many years of business consultation is the importance of building real and measurable value in what I offer.

Sounds simple right? But, it's not.

Let’s be honest. It is hard to build value. Otherwise, we'd all be doing it. Automatically.

So, what does it actually take to build value in your offering?

For years I believed it was work experience and being a leader, one not afraid to stand out in a crowd and to rely on the gift of logic.

While all this plays into the value a person brings to the table, it is not enough. There is more that is needed. And, yes, it requires personal discipline and focus.  It takes feeding your brain and cultivating who you are. I make myself more valuable.

And this all takes hard work.

Here are a few routine tasks that I have begun to implement over the last year, the results of which, have been truly mind-expanding.

• I read/listen to audiobooks, daily. I feed my brain on various topics for a minimum of 30 mins per day, without compromise.
• I journal. I recap my gratitude, conflicts and ideas every night before I go to bed, with honest self-analytical reflection. I do this by using a pen and paper. Writing has a dynamic tie to your comprehensive and memory faculties.
• I listen, observe and wait to respond to others until after careful consideration.
• I protect my time by asking how important each particular task is to me. Not to you, to me. If the task has value, I will put in an effort; if not, I ruthlessly pass it by.
• I invest in myself as a husband, father and consultant, by constantly growing and stretching myself in each of those areas.
• I focus every morning mapping my day. Every Sunday I focus on mapping my week. Every Friday I focus on recapping the previous week. I learn and reflect. Then, once a month, I do the same thing for both the upcoming and the previous months.
• Last — but not least — I have alone time, away from distractions. Daily. I use this time to allow my head to clear. Then I do a mind dump.

If you want to be better at life, shift gears and ask yourself how you are building your value. Trust me, if you invest the time, the results will amaze you.

There is a ton more I could add to this post, but I will leave you with this: go out today and feed your brain, develop some daily habits and give wholeheartedly to helping others grow.

Most importantly, remember to work hard to become more valuable in everything that you do!

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