Their tour starts today so Hazel Nuts are going gaga. Their new album, Release, has been a hit. It’s the #1 rock album in iTunes.

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But our focus today is on an older song of theirs, Change Your Mind.

Want to feel better about today?

Then change your mind! That’s the general message of the song. It sounds so simple, but it really is a great prescription.

The song starts out, “Did you ever think there might be another way to just feel better, just feel better about today?”

It highlights that all change starts from within. We have to think there is a better way. We have to think differently than we have before to feel better once more.

Decide to persevere

The song continues, “If you never want to leave to turn and go away, you might feel better, might feel better if you stay.”

Those may be the most powerful words in the whole song. Change your mind by deciding to stay.

When the going gets tough, the tough stay and fight. Doesn’t have the same ring as the saying we’re used to. But flight is often what keeps us from achieving our dreams.

The tough persist. They don’t give up. The tough resist the natural, human tendency to see the grass as greener on the other side of the fence.

Decide to take it all in

The next verse starts with some great questions:

“Have you ever danced in the rain?
Or thanked the sun just for shining?
Or the sea?”

Then they tell you why it’s so important to ask those questions: “Take it all in, the world’s a show. And yeah, you look much better, look much better when you glow.”

Isn’t it true? When troubles mount, when a challenge looms large, doesn’t it help to just get away for a few minutes and calm down? When you experience the magnificence of nature, the issues you face seem so much smaller.

Decide to give up … with a twist

There’s a great twist in the next verse. They say: “If you’ve had enough of all your tryin’, just give up … the state of mind you’re in.”

They don’t say to give up. They say to change your mind! Look at things in a new way and try, try again!

They continue by saying: “If you’re tired of fighting battles with yourself, if you want to be somebody else, change your mind.”

Stop. Stop beating yourself up. Stop wishing you weren’t you.

You are a special person. Change your mind and show the world your gifts.

An unusual call to action

They close the song with what may be the most unusual call to action we’ve ever seen: “What ya say we both go and seize the day. ‘Cause what’s your hurry, what’s your hurry anyway.”

Get going. Do it now. But don’t get in such a hurry to reach your destination that you don’t enjoy the journey along the way. Enjoy the good times and the bad. Enjoy the people you love.

Because when you do reach your destination, when you’re living the life of which you dream – life on your own terms, you’ll look back and realize that your journey is part of the prize!

Change your mind! It leads to bigg success!

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Thanks so much for reading our post today.

Since we’re nearing Halloween, next time we’ll haunt you with a tale of four wicked witches that often prevent you from reaching bigg success. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00510-102809.mp3

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Bigg success is life on your own terms. The five elements of bigg success are money, time, growth, work and play. Today we’ll focus on growth.

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I took a lot of music lessons in my clarinet and saxophone playing days. But our Music Lessons are different. They’re about the things we can learn from songs.

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I love the Rat Pack. One of the songs that Frank Sinatra is most known for is My Way. I’ve heard other people sing it, but never quite like Frank. It’s often thought of as his signature song, but I’ve read that he wasn’t really that fond of it.

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Most of you probably know the words. It’s about a man looking back on his life. He’s certain that he’s lived his life on his own terms. He has few regrets. He planned his life and lived it his way.

He persevered “without exemption” even when “he bit off more than he could chew.” He did it boldly and experienced all that life had to give through love, laughter and, yes, even tears. He concludes by saying he was true to himself. He “took the blows” and did it all his way.

From me to we

Paul Anka, who wrote the song, said it was inspired by all the publications he read. Wherever he looked, he saw “my this” or “my that”. It was the age of the “me” generation. That’s why this great song, which we love, just doesn’t go far enough.

We’re in the “we” generation. We need to move beyond my way to our ways.

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I still want to live my life on my own terms. That’s bigg success. But I’ll reach bigg success faster if I can help you live your life on your own terms. That’s moving “our ways”.

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Picture two roads running near each other for mile after mile. Every now and then they intersect. You’re on your path to life on your own terms. I’m on my path. If we can find those points of intersection, we can work together so we both reach bigg success faster.

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It only takes four little steps to work together for bigg success

Two winning attitudes
It begins with an attitude that we must possess – win / win or wait.

If we can’t work together so that we both benefit, let’s wait to work together. Our time will come.

An engaging conversation
Next, have an engaging conversation with each person with whom you would like to work. Discover what life on their own terms means to them. If they’re interested, share what life on your own terms means to you. If they’re not interested, you know you’re talking with the wrong person!

From this conversation, you’ll discover ways that the two of you might work together to reach bigg success faster.

A pilot program
Now you’re ready to do something together. Go for it and learn. What worked? What didn’t? What would you do differently next time?

Adapt and try again
“If at first you don’t succeed” doesn’t just apply to individuals. Figure out whether to zig or zag and give it another shot together.

Think our ways, not my way. Add value to your life by adding value to the lives of others. That’s how you reach bigg success faster!

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Please join us next time when we discuss the misperception that idols are overnight sensations.

Thanks for clicking our way today. Until next time, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00398-052009.mp3

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Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Sully as we’ve come to know him) inspired this series. He is, of course, the pilot who landed his plane in the Hudson River to ultimately save over 150 lives.

But we haven’t heard much about the co-pilot on that fateful flight – Jeffrey Skiles. He, much like Sully, was a veteran of the industry as well. And let’s not forget the flight crew and also the passengers who stepped up to the challenge. The news coverage has largely ignored them too.

Heroes aren’t alone

We love our heroes. They are usually a single person. But a person usually doesn’t become a hero by themselves.

Which got us thinking about the Wind Beneath My Wings. Doesn’t that song seem particularly appropriate when thinking about heroes and airplanes? Pun fully intended!

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On the show, I had to try hard not to cry as we talked about the lyrics of this song.

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I tried not to admit that I’m a huge Bette Midler fan! But so was Johnny Carson … so I guess I’m in good company.

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Unsung heroes

The song starts …

This is the case with many heroes. There are the heroes we see. And for every hero that we see, there are many unsung heroes, working behind the scenes, that we never see.

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When I was in radio, I did a segment called “Superstar Employee of the Month,” where people could nominate their co-workers. The nominations were always so heartfelt and touching. People often recognized those co-workers who seldom got any credit.

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Plenty of work, very little credit

The song continues …

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This reminds me of something I heard my dad say a number of times about the employees of his business. “They do all the work and I get all the credit.” This is so true for many leaders. At least he recognized it!

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We all have people behind us that help us succeed. And they often don’t get the credit they deserve. Just like the co-pilot and crew of US Airways Flight 1549.

Lifting us up

These unsung heroes, who do so much work for so little credit do much more than just support us.

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My favorite line of this song is in the chorus, “I can fly higher than an eagle, for you are the wind beneath my wings.” It shows how important some people are to us. They lift us up to heights we can’t achieve on our own, to levels we can hardly imagine.

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A hero’s response

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When my dad passed away unexpectedly, I kept a journal for awhile. The chorus to this song was the feature of the very first entry. There wasn’t much left unsaid between the two of us. We had a great relationship, but I’m not sure that I ever told him that he was a hero to me. I think he knew, but I sure wish I had said it explicitly.

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The song closes with the appropriate response of a hero …

Whether we feel like a hero or not, it’s important to understand that any success we achieve isn’t reached alone. There are people lifting us up every step of the way.

Don’t just think about how much you appreciate them. Tell them. To go back to the song one more time, it says it explicitly …

We should do the same!

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Do you have any idea how much we appreciate that you are part of our community? Well, let us just say, it means more to us than words can say. But we’ll try anyway:

You lift us up! Thank you, thank you … 

Join us next time as we wrap up this series by discussing the hero within the hero. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00314-012209.mp3

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(Image in today's post by plebelic)