Today is the day to commit to taking one risk. I challenge you to do one thing that will put you out of your comfort zone.

• Talk to a stranger
• Ask someone out
• Speak your mind
• Sing in your car with the windows down
• Buy that naughty shirt you know you will look hot in
• Eat carbs and love it
• Invite someone new to lunch
• Remind someone you love them
• Write a letter of gratitude
• Cross an item off your life list
• You decide…but take the risk today!

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I went to Universal this past weekend and it reminded me of a story when I was 22:For my 22^nd birthday a group of friends and I went to Halloween Horror Nights as we do every year. The event is always a lot of fun and it gets you excited about the Halloween season.

Universal creates amazing haunted houses and you never know what you will find in each as you enter into the darkness. The park is always packed with people so you have to stand in lines which last for 30 minutes to 2 hours waits to run through the haunted house screaming and covering your eyes. It is well worth it.

While standing in line, my friend Christy noticed a good-looking, tanned, built, guy who was juggling swords for entertainment for all of us in line. She pointed him out to me as we rounded yet around turn in the endless wait for the haunted house.

Christy started to drool over the theme park worker and was starting to primp herself the closer and closer we got to him. My friend Jacob told her he has to be gay. Christy insisted that was not the case, even though she was notorious for liking gay guys. I agreed with Jacob and told her not to waste her time. Competitive as she was, she insisted she could get him to go on a date with her. She turned to me and said, “Lets make this a bet. If I get him to go out on date with me, I get to stand behind you and flash people your dick through out the haunted house.”

Of course, I am not one to turn down a dare. I said back, “Sure but if I get him to go out on a date with me, I get to stand behind you and flash your boobs to everyone in the haunted house.” Christy laughed and agreed. I could tell by her eyes she did not think I was any competition for her and she was off to land this date.

I had to run to keep up with her as we dashed out of the line to where he was now balancing a bowling pin on his chin. She walked up to the railing, smiled and motioned for him to come over. He looked at us for a moment, placed his pin down and walked slowly over. I swear it was if he was a model on the catwalk during a 90′s Calvin Klein show the way he walked with a purpose and somehow was able to lift his shirt just so to flash his abs at us. I do not know if it was the Florida humidity, my nerves or his abs but I broke out in a cold sweat.

He approached and said he and admitted I heard his Aussie accent and my knees gave way. I turned and say Christy posed like a lioness about to sink her teeth into a juicy gazelle and I knew I had to pull it together.

She immediately jumped into her flirting routine by asking him silly boring questions which had nothing to do with why we were here. She told him he was so talented and how he was so built. She laughed at his jokes and made sure to touch him as much as she could. He mentioned how he thought this haunted house was one of the best and she told him she gets so scared and she made him to comfort her when she was done.

I couldn’t take it anymore and in standard Michael fashion I blurted out why we were there. “WOUD YOU RATHER GO TO THE MOVIES WITH HER OR ME?!!!!” Both of them turned and looked at me stunned. Christy gave me a look of death for so bluntly stated why we were really here and ruining her game. The Aussie realized as well the game that was being played, smiled and responded, “I would rather go to the movies with her…” Those words barely left his both and Christy turned to me with that evil smirk she would get whenever she won. It was her way of not stabbing you in the back but right through the heart and twisting it until you dropped to your knees.

Christy then turned to the Aussie again and before she could speak he said, “Yes I would rather sit quietly next to you in the movies and share popcorn but I would rather fuck him.”

With that, Christy turned, away from me, headed back in line faster than her gallop to get to the Aussie in the first place. I smiled at the Aussie and he gave me a wink back and I returned to the line where neither of us had to share the results with our friends. It was obvious I had one this bet along with all the boys in the haunted house who got to see Christy’s flashing her boobs.

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When you read the above statement, what do you see? Do you see opportunity is nowhere or do you see opportunity is now here?

I am always looking for great opportunities to move my life forward. No matter what happens, I always look for the “now here”. What can I learn from this, what does this show me and what can I do now or better?

People say I am lucky a lot in life because when I want something I always get it. I do not think luck has anything to do with it. It is all about being ready and seeing opportunities ahead of you. You have to first know what you want out of life to then be able to see the opportunities all around.

I tell my clients, leaders, friends and family, if you don’t have a vision, you are going no where. It is so important to sit down and decide what you want your life to be. You then can start taking the steps to create your life as you want it. You can’t be passive in life and let it happen to you. You have to seize all the opportunities to make it your own.

I mentioned before that I was very excited about an opportunity. Well, I was able to seize that opportunity and move my life closer to my vision. What opportunity are you missing out on, that you could seize right now to move you closer to your vision?

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Relationships are not like the movies. A movie tells us about the struggles it takes to find love. They work so hard to find each other but something causes them to miss each other or have a misunderstanding and they lose each other. Finally at the end, they find love and commitment and the movie ends…

In real life, that is when the work begins. It is not easy being with someone in a relationship. You have to learn to communicate, set goals, and put up with each other. It really comes down to making each other happy.

How do you make each other happy? I do not know, you have to ask them. It is not about assuming what makes them happy, it is about asking them and finding out.

I believe we work in our lives to always be happier. Relationships end because we are no longer happy in them. As long as we have conversations, as a couple, about what makes us happy, we should be able to grow and achieve happiness together. Our relationships will grow as well.

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This is week seventeen in my personal “If… Project” in which I answer questions from the book “If… (Questions for the Game of Life)”

There are 125 pages of this book, each with four questions. I plan to take one page each week and answer the questions as thoroughly and honestly as I am able. In addition, I invite you to answer the questions along with me, whether it be in the comments section, your own personal blog, or just within your own thoughts.

Perhaps in doing so, we will get to know each other better, but even more importantly, get to know ourselves better.

This week’s questions:

If you had to spend one year alone in the wilderness, where would you go?

I do not think I would do well roughing it. Just last year was the first time I ever went camping. It was one night in a tent by the beach.

If I had to pick anywhere, I would choose Central Park. That is the wilderness right? Central Park even has wild animals. Even though they are in a zoo, they are still wild animals. Trust me, it would be scary for me but at least I could get take out delivered.

If you had to work in one type of factory for the remainder of your days but could choose which kind, what would you pick?

My friend Nick selected a video game factory and I agree with his selection. You could be a tester and just play games. It would be a fun job. I am sure you would get tired after so long but sometimes you would find that game you could become obsessed with and play and play until you are done and that is your job!

If you could possess one supernatural ability, what would it be?

I know exactly which one I would want, I would want to be able to be invisible. Think about the all the fun you could have if you were invisible? You could travel all over for free and just appear when you wanted. You could disappear when you were scared or threatened. It would just be a fun ability to have.

Of course I also thought telekinesis would be fun as well. Justin would like me to pick something more practical like teleporting, but I want something FUN!

If you had to paint your entire home, inside and out, one single color other than white, what could would you pick?

You would think I would select red because it is my favorite color. I think represents me and it would be tense to have a whole house red. I need balance so I would love a nice ocean blue. It would be calming and relaxing. Just would allow me to be settled. I would be the red in the room.

Those are my answers to this week’s questions. What are yours?

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I have a home phone number that I never use. I do not know why I still have but I just haven’t gotten around to turning it or, maybe, it is because I can still her my mom saying, “What if there is a emergency!!” I think cell phones are reliable enough by now to not need the back up.

No one ever calls me on my home phone but randomly I started getting tons of phone calls. I wouldn’t answer but the phone just kept ringing. Finally I answered one of the calls and the lady on the other end asks, “Is this U-Haul?” I reply, “No I am sorry.”

The next day the phone is ringing and when I answer it, I am asked again if this is U-Haul. I asked how they got this number and they said it was posted online. So, I check it out and yes, a U-Haul store has posted my home number as their business line.

I track down the correct number and contact the store. I reach a young lady who I explain my situation to and she quickly lets me know I have to speak to the manager on duty because that is not her job. I then am handed over to a guy who answers by saying, “What?” I repeat my story once again and explain I just wanted them to know so they can get it changed to not lose their customers. He pauses after I am done and says, “Well, this is not my problem. You will just have deal with it.” I hear laughter in the background and they hang up on me.

I call back to only have it ring and ring. Finally on my third try I get the girl from the first time. When I start to speak, I hear her hanging up on me as saying, “It was him again!”

Now, I could get mad or I could get frustrated but I control my life. I just needed to think of how I would be able to change this situation on my own and I did…

The phone rings a few minutes later and I answer, “Thanks for calling U-Haul!” The guy on the phone wants to get a truck today. I let him know we have them and I have one saved for him right now.  Later on, another call, “Thanks for calling U-Haul!” Another person who I make a reservation for. This goes on for the rest of the day.

Later that evening, I get a phone call. “Welcome to U-Haul!” I say, “You are not U-Haul” says a man on the other end of the phone. He announces he is the manager of the U-Haul who has posted my home phone number as their business line. He is very upset with me pretending to be U-Haul. I explain to him I called earlier and tell him all the details about my encounter with his staff.

He is silent. He then asks, “Why would you pretend to be U- Haul?” I explain that I tried to have this situation handled but after his staff wasn’t willing to help, I had to take matters into my own hands. It got you, the real manager to call me, didn’t it?

He wasn’t happy but said he was sorry and the phone numbers would be fixed. I said thank you and he didn’t need to worry about me making anymore reservations. He admitted as the manager he doesn’t want to be bothered by customer calls so he asks the staff to “pretend” to be the manager. I told him being bothered by customers is part of his job and without them, he wouldn’t have a business. He again said he was sorry and promised me it would be fixed.

I haven’t received anymore phone calls from U-Haul but I have a feeling his store could also not be getting anymore phone calls if they can’t be bothered by customers.

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Once a week I always have dinner with my mom. It is my little habit to keep in touch with my number one fan.

My mom was always there smiling and cheering me on through all my adventures. When I was ten and thought I could be a singer and wrote a song called, “I dyed my hair purple, what did you dye for me?” she supported me and taught me I should go after my dreams no matter what. Of course, I am sure you lost some of hearing having to listen to me trying to sing during those years.

It is so easy to lose touch with your family. By making this regular date with my mom allows me to always spend time each week with her. It gives me the opportunity to share about my new adventures, bounce my ideas off her and receive her honest feedback on what I am doing. My mom helps me, truly be who I am.

My mom asks for one thing from me and that is time. She has always just wanted me to give her some of my time so we can laugh and chat. The greatest thing I get is love. Unconditional love from one of the most purest hearts I know.

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It is very easy to see the glass as half empty but, as you know, it could be half full. During tough times we can drag ourselves down with looking at all the negatives. We look at life and realize all the bad things that are happening to us. Sometimes we need to lean on the benefits we get instead.

I tend to always see the glass as half full and a lot of my friends are drove nuts by this fact. I just rather dwell on the positive than the negative. I want to see all I am receiving instead of what I am not getting. It just helps me have a better outlook on life.

You can change your perspective as well. All you have to do is play a game I call, “What is in it for me?”

The game is easy, whenever something “bad” happens you have to think about what you won, what did you get from this situation. No matter that the situation is, or how crazy the idea is, you just come up with something you received first before saying anything else about the situation.

Here is some examples:

It is raining again! – I don’t have to water the grass today.

I missed the movie – Now I can watch it on DVD in bed.

I did not get the job – There must be a better one out there for me.

I wasn’t invited to the wedding – Now I don’t have to buy a gift.

He doesn’t like me – He must be intimidated by my success.

That was a horrible date – At least I got a free dinner.

They don’t have my size - Must mean I need it in red instead of black.

My boss is so mean – Just makes me look better and better.

Sure some of them are silly but still fun. It is all about creating the habit. Once you get in the habit of always looking for the benefit, soon you will just natural find positive outcomes to most things in life. You are just changing you perspective and seeing the glass IS half full.

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Yes I am a life coach. That is what I do. Simple title. But everyone still asks me what I do. They are curious to see the type of coach I am, or how I define my career.

Many of you have asked me to explain exactly what I do with my clients. Well there are tons of things I do with my clients based on the results they want to achieve. But here is how I explain what I do for a living:

I empower you to dream, then make goals, and then achieve your goals to make your dreams a reality.

My coaching model is simple – Dreams – Goals – Reality. Three simple steps.

 What types of dreams? Well that depends on you. It is your life. What do you want?

Now I do this through my writing, coaching sessions, through lifework to help my clients and fun activities for self discovery and motivation.

I want to hear about what you do for work. Not the title or job description. In your own words tell me what you do and how you make a difference.

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Writing my book has me doing a lot of self reflection on my life. I noticed more and more all the things I have gone through. It is amazing how quickly dark moments in life can become part of the past and you move on.

I guess it goes back to how you look at life. Most of us have heard you are either a survivor or a victim. I think you make this choice when these moments occur. We either allow it to rule our lives and keep us from ever moving on.

Or we struggle with it all, fight our way through and decide we made it out for the better. We have no choice but to survive. It is what keeps us going and allows us to live our lives.

We all share different life experiences and some of the same, here are some of mine:

I survived being teased in school

I survived being scared of the dark

I survived being afraid to be alone

I survived my heart being broken more than once

I survived coming out to the world but most of all to myself

I survived losing loved ones

I survived identity theft and the debit it incurred

I survived falling in love with someone who was not in love with me

I survived changing jobs for the better

I survived starting my own business

I survived the fear of falling in love again

I survived taking risks

I survived not listening to my self doubt

I survived ending a relationship which was bad for me

I survived betrayal from friends

I survived almost dying from a routine surgery

I survived working full time and getting two college degrees

I survived my overachiever drive

I survived from my insecurities

I survived from people’s judgements of me

I survived a time when I was afraid to be me

It can be amazing how much you go through in life but that is what life is about, tons of experiences and how you respond or react to them.

What things have you survived?

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