Recipe for Mediocrity

Hello Speakers, Business Owners, Future Entrepreneurs and Big Dreamers,  

 The United States has a $1.5 billion annual destruction problem. This destruction problem is caused by crazy wild pigs. These wild pigs, also known as "Wild Boar" are the culprits and they occupy 47 states in our country. They are one of the most invasive species known to mankind.

Some of these wild boar weigh between 450 to 600 pounds, and can run as fast as 35 miles an hour. They have sharp tusks that can grow up to 4 inches long and can snap a human leg like a small tree branch in seconds. They literally eat anything their path, eggs, berries, wood, small animals, waste, and possibly inexperienced hunters. They are truly wild and highly dangerous. The following story is a bit of fact and fiction.

Just ask one town in Millstone, Utah, a farming community that was  ravaged by these creatures. The town finally came together and pooled their money so they could seek out the most experienced hunters they could find to solve this wild boar overpopulation problem. They combined thousands of dollars to hire a team of the best hunters. The day came when these experienced hunters rolled into town their shiny trucks, plus a multitude of equipment and a team of hunters dressed in what looked like SWAT gear. They took the money town residents compiled and they headed into the woods to do their deed. Just about a week later they came out of the woods, but were not as enthusiastic as when they were entering the woods,  their vehicles were dented and damaged, hunters were hurt, equipment was damaged along with their egos and the results were dismal. Only a couple of wild boar were dead in the back of one of their trucks. They just kept rolling through town and never stopped and never came back. The town of Millstone was at their wits end and almost out of money. So they put an ad in the paper, labeled: "ANYONE" that can help our town eradicate "Wild Pigs!!!" PLEASE RESPOND!

About a week later, this old rickety flatbed truck comes rolling in to Millstone. Behind the wheel of the truck sat this old timer long with white hair and a dirty white beard with a stub of a cigar sticking out of the corner of his mouth. He pulled up to Town Hall and said to the authorities:

“I’m here to get the pigs.”

They came outside to see his equipment and they were flabbergasted to see he had a 40-year-old rusted flatbed truck stacked with a lot of lumber, boxes and boxes of nails, and bags of feed that probably weighed close to 3000 pounds. The authorities said to the old man "you must be kidding, you're going to kill yourself, go home now". The old man just stared at them and got in his truck and headed into the woods to get the pigs.

About a week later, this rickety old truck began to make its way out of the woods on this dirt mountain road heading into the town of Millstone. Front tires of the truck were lifting up because it had so many dead Wild Boar on the back of it.

The old geezer got out of the truck with that unlit cigar sticking on a corner of his mouth and the town residents asked him how he was able to accomplish this?

The Old Man stood there in front of everybody and said it was quite simple. The other hunters you hired thought they could meet these Wild Boar head-on with big guns and fancy equipment, maybe, in some cases it will work. These animals are born killers and every waking moment of their life is about the hunt it's about bringing food back to their sounder to feed their young. Wild Boar are just about the most ambitious motivated creature on planet Earth.

I just taught them how to become mediocre.

The first day I showed up I found a small open field and pulled my truck up in the middle of the field. I opened up about 300 pounds of feed and dumped it in the middle of the field. And I went and sat in my truck for the rest of the day. Throughout the night I could see a few of these wild boar going to the pile of feed the following night it quadrupled. On day three, I took my lumber and made two sides of the fence connecting them in an L shape fashion and I dumped about another 500 pounds of feed in the corner and headed back to my truck for the night. I estimate at least two dozen wild boar were on the scene. On day four, I built side three of the fence connecting it to side one and side two. Now I had this U-shaped corral and then filled the corral with about 1000 pounds of feed. That night, I assumed at least four dozen wild boar were on the scene. On day five, I built the final side of the fence and left it lying on the ground and I dumped the rest of the feed that night into the corral. Just as expected the boar trotted into corral to feast on the feed and when that happened I propped up side four the fence and backed my truck up against it and trapped them. As I looked into the corral some of them were so full they were sleeping. I stood on the truck and it was just like shooting fish in a barrel except this time shooting wild pigs in the corral.

The old man said mediocrity isn't something you're born with he stated “it's an environment.” It's who you hang around with and what your tuned into every day. The environment becomes a part of you and you a part of it. Once it influences you over time it grows into habit. If that habit stays with you then you have ordained your destiny.

These wild boar were not use to getting something handed to them, they are born hunters. But each night, they could run into the middle of the field and they became comfortable getting something for nothing. I created a lazy environment for them. “I’ve learned one thing in my 70 years and that's if you give something to somebody continually as a hand out you will drain their drive, their perseverance and their will. Then you have them relegated to be dependent on that environment. This environment was mediocrity. 
That is how I caught the wild boar.        

Next Blog July 25, 2015.

 “The Insurance Coach”

      John P. Slosek, Jr 

   "The Insurance Coach ™"
Insurance Coach Radio Show 
Airs Every Saturday Morning 8am 

   www.realoldies1250.net          413-246-5037

Find me on Facebook".https://www.facebook.com/theinsurancecoach 

An Unexpected Turn of Fate

Many years ago my Mother and Father took in a stray cat. He was mostly black with some white spots.
They called him Blackie the Cat. He was a good companion for them and their household.

He had the sharpest claws I had ever seen on a cat. Blackie had a thing about tearing through the house and he would swat at anyone’s ankles and legs that were in range. And it didn't matter who it was.
I wasn't a fan of this cat.
One day Blackie took a swat at my Mothers leg and got her good. He cut her leg wide open with his claws. She was bleeding pretty badly. My father immediately wrapped her leg and stopped the bleeding. Within a week my Mom came down with a severe fever and an upset stomach that sent her to the Emergency Room.

The Doctors ran blood tests and determined she had sepsis. I was much younger and did not know what sepsis was. The attending Nurse that was assisting knew my brother and she told us this is pretty serious blood infection and it could be fatal. She said the infection has reached serious level in her blood stream. The Doctor administered an aggressive medication he called the “Antiseptic Bomb” to kill the infection. He told us to pray.

And we did! I also had thoughts and visions of what Blackie’s fate was going to be. Thankfully, the antiseptic bomb worked. This Doctor wasn't your average run of the mill Emergency Room Doctor which is cure the ailment and send them home.

I noticed a peculiar way the Doctor would act when he came in the room. He seemed a suspicious and puzzled about something. He was PAYING ATTENTION to an intuition he had.

He informed us he was going to run a full MRI on my Mom. He felt the infection level was much higher than a cat scratch should have caused. When the results came back it showed a cancerous tumor on my Mom’s kidney. She was operated on to remove the Kidney immediately. The cancer stayed encapsulated on that kidney and it never spread anywhere else. Within a week my Mom was home.

I accompanied my Mother on the follow up appointment with the Doctor. He told us in reality that the cat was the true hero. The cat scratch triggered the infection (sepsis) otherwise the cancer not diagnosed would have spread within a few short months. The Doctor revealed it was a very aggressive and deadly form of cancer. This occurred over 10 years ago. My Mom to this day still has a clean bill of health.

Blackie the cat saved my Mother’s life. Unfortunately, Blackie is in cat heaven right now and it was from natural causes. In my opinion, The Doctor was also a hero! If his intuition did not lead him to run the MRI in the emergency room (which in reality is a rare request these days) my Mom would not be here today.

The moral of this story is not to pre-judge events or circumstances in your life. Sometimes fate will intervene to make things right. My Family and I to this day are grateful that this Doctor PAID ATTENTION to his professional wit and gut instincts to make the absolute right choice for my mom. He went above and beyond.

We should all commit to this excellence in what we do daily. We should strive make it a code to always go above and beyond our call of duty to those we serve everyday. 


John P. Slosek,Jr. 
413-246-5037 
Inspiringwealth@aol.com 
Certified Speaker for John Maxwell 
Exclusive Agent for Allstate 
"Let's talk about Retirement Income" 

The Hallway of Choices



A passage way seems to be in view at the end of this hallway. The passage way is a metaphor representing your chief definite aim in life, your ultimate goal or that "one thing" in life that you must have before you die. At the end of this hallway the "one thing" you seek awaits for you to show up.
There are hundreds of doors leading up to that passage to your goal. The doors on the left represent sacrifices, disciplines, hard work, commitment, integrity, good habits, good environments, pursuit of education and faith based decisions. The doors on the right represent no true life structure, bad habits, poor effort, lack of education, addictive natures, terrible environments, lack of faith, poor attitude and continued bad decisions. The right side correlates to a failure mindset and zero results outcome.
Our life is the sum of our choices and disciplines over the last year, last five years and last 10 years.
How would you sum up your life accomplishments in 2014, have you improved or have you suffered setbacks?
As you gaze down the hallway in the picture above, what is that "one thing" you want to accomplish in 2015? To accomplish great things you may have to leave old environments behind and eliminate bad habits that may be holding you back. You need to make the right decisions not just once and a while but all the time. If you have been in and out of the doors on the right side it is time to cross the hallway and start entering the doors on the left side. Start right now with setting a plan for yourself. Copy and paste this picture on your computer or journal and write that "one thing" you will pursue in 2015. SET OUT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS "ONE THING" NO MATTER WHAT!
The following is my Pattern for Successful Change.
This is "Golden Nugget #3" .
1. Purchase a Good Journal: Document your life progress everyday. Commit to 15 minutes of journalizing everyday. It should become your biography of change.
2. Define that "One Thing": Write it in your Journal. What is it that your going to attempt in 2015? What will make you truly happy so that you will enjoy this ride through life?
3. Leave the right side of the hallway mentioned above: In the month of January make a commitment to eliminate the worst habit you have in life. "Do not make this a New Years resolution! Make it your personal commitment to you!" If you're successful in eliminating the first bad habit, attack the next bad habit you have in the month of February. If you haven't eliminated your first one in January stay with it. In fact, if you only eliminate one bad habit in 2015 you should consider yourself a success.
4. Adopt Three Positive Attributes to your Life: Write these attributes in the front of your Journal so you see them everyday when your are journalizing your progress.
5. Read a book a month in 2015: Complete a book once a month that will assist you in attaining that "One Thing" you are in pursuit of.

I look forward to hearing about your positive metamorphosis in 2015.

Sincerely,
John

John P. Slosek, Jr. 

30 years as a Sales Professional and Insurance Agency Owner. He is currently an Exclusive Agency Owner for Allstate in Chicopee, Massachusetts. (413-331-3900)johnslosekjr@allstate.com.

He is also the host of the "Insurance Coach Radio Show" which has been continuously running for 13 years. His efforts are directed to promote personal change. The show steers towards personal growth and common sense education for his listeners.His personal email:  Insurancecoach@aol.com.                                      
The show can be heard every Saturday morning at 8 am on WARE 1250 AM or
 www.realoldies1250.net. John is also a Certified Speaker in the area of Sales, Personal Growth, Marketing, Leadership Skills, and Entrepreneurship. He is available by direct contact (413) 246-5037(text). Just in case the speaker you hired cancels, he will make himself available for last minute cancellations for your company or event. John is also licensed to teach John Maxwell material and multi-level marketing concepts.


6

Hold Yourself in High Regard

Hello to my fellow Marketers, Speakers, Trainers and upcoming business owners that are about to make the leap. I am John P. Slosek, Jr. your 25th of the month Hartford Springfield Speaker Bureau Blogger. I am honored to be in this blogging lineup of successful individuals where I believe the main goal is to INSPIRE you or lite that flame inside of you to stretch outside of yourself and reach for that change you have always desired.

When I filled out my Gmail/Google profile I went through my employment history. I mean my entire life history of employment. My wife asked: "Why did you do that?" And I replied honestly: "I don't know" But though to myself that I probably only filled out two job applications in my life and that was over 30 years ago. It was like taking a trip down memory lane. My first job was at the Flaming Pit Restaurant in the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1975.

I started at the whooping rate of $2.35 per hour for 30 plus hours a week as a dishwasher. My manager set the seed of greatness in me because he would basically tell me I was worthless everyday I worked with him and all I would ever be in life is a dishwasher. After about 3 months of hearing nothing but negative chatter from my Manager I decided to leave his employment.

I always had a higher level of thinking about who I was as person. I will mark this as "Golden Nugget No.1" Always hold yourself in high regard no mater what. When I am asked what is the biggest mistake people make heading into business, a career, or just making a life change my answer is always the same. "The average person does have the right level of confidence within themselves". I have offered sales opportunities to individuals over the years that could have changed their lives and the lives of their family. But no, they needed to get an opinion from someone else such as their uncle, a neighbor or a friend. Most of the time these so-called experts talked them out of a tremendous opportunity.

How do you create a higher level of thinking about yourself? First, write a resume of who you have been in the last 10 years. Where you have worked, money you have made, places in the world you have seen, most memorable times and least memorable times. Then read your ten year history to your self. You will either be pleased or displeased. The next step is to write your resume for the next 10 years. Visualize your future, everything you want to be, try, see and experience. You have the capability to change your life TODAY! What steps will you take to get there? Second, if you have identified your weakness as low self esteem, read a book or two a month on self confidence, attend a seminars that promotes self confidence and hang out with people who radiate self confidence. It will rub off on you.

Thirdly, and my last point, is don't be afraid to leave your circle of friends or a circle of influence that could be holding you back. There are two prices we will pay throughout our lives and that is the "price of discipline or the price of regret". The choice is up to you. In a future blog I will tell the story of how I lost the friendship of my grammar school best friend. This is a story that could have held me back if I listened to the negative chatter. But I didn't, I always had a higher level of thinking about who I was and where I was going.

It has been an honor to share my thoughts with you on this month's blog. I will look forward to next month when I share "Golden Nugget No.2"
Until then enjoy the ride!
John
Inspiringwealth@aol.com            
413-246-5037 Text only
www.trubluesavings.com