Doing what you're told

"There are two types of people who never achive very much in their lifetimes. One is the person who won't do what he or she is told to do, and the other is the person who does no more than he or she is told to do." ~ Andrew Carnegie

I saw this quote as I was reading "The Fred Factor" and I started thinking about it in slightly different terms than Mr. Carnegie might have meant it. I was thinking about "success" and "happiness" and all the things we are told help us along that route.

We are told that excercise gives us energy and makes us feel good.
We are told that meditation releases tension and brings creativity.
We are told that eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables and whole grains will leave us energized and healthy.
We are told that setting our priorities and sticking to them lets us do the things we enjoy.
We are told to carefully choose our business coach then do what they tell us.
We are told to complete our business projects and then market them.
We are told . . .

There are lots of things we are told in our lives. Now I don't believe everything I hear, but when I've done any of the things listed above I've gotten great benefit, felt better, done more, made more money or been happier. So why don't we do them? And if we do "the excercise" why do we just do the minimum we are told to do?

This morning I went running. In fact it's the second day in a row that I went running - and I feel energized.

I had a nice healthy whole grain cereal for breakfast - and I feel good.

Now I'm working on completing a business project and starting the marketing - and I am excited.

There are some basic concepts and core ideas that help us live the life we want. We've all seen them but are you doing them? It just might be time to do what you're told.