Mark Cigos

I’m an extremely impatient person. Always have been, always will be. I want nothing more, than what I really want, to be reality right now. In my perfect world, there is no waiting, no learning curve, no lineups, no 10 years till success. In my perfect world there is such a thing as right now, right away, want that/get that, overnight success. But I am (really I am) somewhat of a realistic person, so I do comprehend that anything truly worthwhile in my life does not occur overnight. Vision, hard work, discipline, consistency, creativity and patience all formulate towards sustainable success. For me, if it happens too fast, too easy, then in reality, it ain’t truly worth it for the long run. Its marked as cautious, hazardous and highly warned do-not-disregard delusion.

Take for example my upcoming book (which is still  a mighty work in progress). I’d love for this thing to be on bookshelves at bookstores all across North America RIGHT NOW. I’d love to see it selling like hotcakes online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters and more. New York Times Bestseller, raved by critics worldwide. I’d love to make guest appearances on Oprah, Larry King, Letterman. I’d jump at the opportunity to go on tour – promote the socks out of my work, share the good word and encourage others to evangelize what they just read. I’d welcome this reality with such open arms, you’d strongly get the feeling that I wanted this so bad. And I do. But I know, that by this falling into the wait-cause-its-worthwhile category, I realize that the recipe I need to achieve this success, this reality, is nothing less than a vision, hard work, discipline, consistency, creativity and patience. Its blood, sweat, tears and perhaps years. Its me giving all of me, reaching out for what’s rightfully my outright destiny.

How much patience do you have? Hopefully more than I.

These days we’re all blurred to what’s reality. We hear of overnight millionaires, billionaires. Athletes, movie stars, rappers, rockers, entrepreneurs – kids yet to reach twenty who just signed that multi-million dollar deal with your favorite NBA team. Musicians turned stars with one breakout hit single. Entrepreneurs come poster boys/gals for the future of innovation and economic strength, power. Young guns full of fame, fortune, success and THE life. Right? Wrong. Although some see the spotlight sooner than others, the real deals know very well that its years and tears of hard work and pain that get them to the big game. The game and show that is reached by building the right foundation – a foundation filled with vision, hard work, discipline, consistency, creativity and patience (hate to be so repetitive on this formula, but its importance is undeniable). Remember, although I can’t wait till that date, that day where it comes that I achieve what’s number one to me – I know deep down inside that with every right turn that I take, every strong move that I make, I’m getting close to what I can already envision now, and that right there makes all of this right now, all the more worthwhile.

I’ve never seen a problem in loving myself entirely. I always have and continue to believe that before you can truly love someone or something else, you have to love yourself. When you love yourself to the core, you open up the door, the door to the minds and hearts of others. When you love yourself, you are confident, generous, compassionate and lucratively a leader. When you look in the mirror smile and believe that you wear your heart on your sleeve, you appreciate every single thing that you have in your life. When you cockily know that everything you do is filled with passion and love, that you always give it everything you’ve got – you’re enabled, propelled to love more the world around you. Your world becomes a place where unconditional love is not unheard of. You feel it in and through you , you know its real, raw, limitless and endless.

How much do you love yourself?

Do you wake up every morning, step out the shower and say, man I’m proud of this body, can’t wait to slap these new jeans, this new shirt on. Do you give your everything at the office each and every day, getting home at night winding down knowing very well that what you produced that day is the grand stuff legends are made of. Do you love your significant other so much, that their world and yours are all the much better together than never. Do your kids, your friends, your customers, colleagues – do they feel and experience all of you? Are you beaming radiantly with self and selfless love? Are you confident, proud and loud for good reason? Does the number one person in your life get the love he/she needs? I sure hope so.

Don’t look at self love as selfish, look at it as the foundation you need to give others what they deserve. If you’re not entirely in love with yourself, you ain’t entirely loving anyone or anything else. It’s the truth. Reality. Feed the need for loving you and watch your world blossom, watch it flourish.

It’s natural. It’s human. It’s something every one of us feels/experiences as we make any headway in this world. For some its presence is strong, for others it’s merely a weak obstacle along the path towards success. Nevertheless it’s real. Its reality has either suppressed countless efforts or propelled them to something far greater than ever imagined. As our world grows – becoming faster, stronger, larger – it’s increasingly difficult to deny that all of this can be quite overwhelming. Seriously intimidating.

I for one feel intimidated at times – more so than I would willingly like to share. As I begin to write my first book, all of this is so new to me. There is so much info to gather, rules to understand, policies to comprehend. It’s so major to see the bigger picture, realizing that right now I’m an ant in the ocean, although inside I feel like a whale of potential. Nevertheless its feeling that impact of what/where/who/why/when – that blend of intimidation staring me boldly in my face, that has me second guessing at times, that has me thinking far too deep. Intimidation tries to knock you off your game – that’s its job. Intimidation is a force that is either created by another, or created by yourself. It’s something that’s real only if you let it become real. Intimidation will always knock at the door, its ultimately up you to let it in or not.

Debt to get out of, house to buy, girl or guy to ask out, job to apply. Marathon to run, race to win, game to play, weight to lose. Family to raise, friends to make, trip to take, books to read. Business plan to create, manuscript to write, job to quit, funds to save. Interview tomorrow, first date tonight, dinner to make for 20, life to live right now. Intimidating no? Life is good at that. Real good.

Whether you want to be an author, an actor, a hockey player, rock star, entrepreneur, lawyer, doctor, CEO, accountant, teacher or president – whatever worthwhile in this world that you want, intimidation will always be present at the get go and perhaps again along that journey. It will always be knocking and it will always be looking to work hard on you. Its how you react, its how you overcome, its how you successfully fail to answer its knocking, moving boldly past the imagination of intimidation.

That’s what I’ve been doing lately. Taking random thoughts, ideas, words and building on top of them like there’s no tomorrow. It’s propelled me to go deeper right here on this blog. It’s moved me to write words I never knew I had in me to write. I’m spinning a little harder these days, the wheel inside my noggin’ is turning more vivid than ever before. Take for example the word love – heck I could go on for days about how love has – built my foundation, how without it, I would most likely not be half the person I am today. I could express how love lost at one point in my life demoralized me, yet how it taught me lessons I could never learn had I not experienced them first hand. I could express how I sometimes take love for granted, how I fail to embrace it for the precious reality that it is. I could let you know how love saved my life, how it made me realize that it ain’t all about me, how it’s about more than what I think and feel. I could write a book just about love and love every moment writing it. You know what, one day I will. Why not? What’s more important than love?

The whole purpose I’m sharing all this with you, is that sometimes, our mind, our feelings, our emotions – they get complacent, they get played out. They are either worked to the max or suppressed to the worst. We ultimately become rusty, dormant and lazy. We fail to view the world around us with open eyes and an open mind. We fail to look deeper into subjects, topics and words that need to be looked into a little deeper. Take your career – do the words passion, future, worthwhile, enthusiastic collaborate with it? When you think of your career, is it something you bring up when at a cocktail party? Do you fail to look forward to the weekend because what you’re doing during the work week is what fuels your every day? When asked about what you’re doing with your life, do you change topics abruptly? Do you feel insecure or unconfident about what you do with your day – whether it be explaining that what you’re doing with your life ain’t really what you want to be doing, or are you shy about the fact that what you’re making can barely pay rent. We’ve all been there. Everyone of us. Some of the richest men and women on this planet faced that reality at one point – it’s what they learned from the experience and what they did after that warm up that solidified their legacy. It’s called attending the school of hard knocks – the ones that learn from those hard knock lessons are the ones who graduate.

So pick a subject, pick a topic, pick a word. Pick something that means something to you. Emphasize and elaborate on it. You’ll be amazed as to where it can take you.

It’s not every day that I wake up feeling like I could climb Everest, but I must confess that I’m pretty much feeling top notch most of my days – and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not just by chance that I wake up feeling good, feeling wild and ready to take on my day – I eat the best foods for my body, I exercise 6 out of 7 days and I feed my mind with nothing but the greatest thoughts. So I set myself up for the odds to be placed in my favor, for the safe bet lies on me to be the best I can be from what I practice naturally. None of this has come easy, and it never gets any easier. I’ve sacrificed a great deal to ensure that the way I feel is nothing less than the very best. But I practice, constantly and consistently – this is my lifestyle, it has become who I am.

So how do you feel?

Do you eat the right/best foods? Do you butt out and refuse to smoke? Do you drink yourself to sleep every night? How’s your cardio these days, your endurance? Are you making love like it matters? – cause it does, great sex equals great health. Are you smiling, laughing, talking, singing, whistling? Do you read words that enable you to grow, words that move you? Are you living/doing what you love? Your dreams, your passions. Are you a person who lights up the room, does your energy, your vibe infuse and enthuse all those around you? How do you feel when you wake up? Fast, slow, high, low, sluggish, thrilled, hot, chilled?

I don’t know how some people do it. I don’t know how some people negatively torture their body, their mind the way they do. Man I’ll be honest with you, I try my hardest to make damn sure I’m doing whatever it takes to feel the very best that I can. Practicing what I preach helps me think clearer, speak with authority, elevate my confidence, push harder, work harder, smile easier and live like I love every goddamn moment and mean it.

Here I am, on this blog, preaching and evangelizing change. Shouting it out from the roof tops, drilling it in your heard how important change and living the prime time of your life truly is. And yet here I am, omitting to change myself. Looking past the fact that this blog needs somethin’ a little different every now and then, somethin’ opposite of the norm, somethin’ worth talking about, somethin’ remarkable. So here goes – here’s my contribution, somethin’ I’ve always loved doing, and now are ready to share with all of you. Enjoy.

Its amazing how one idea can change, change you life, change your mind, change your outlook, change your time

Propelling you to something new, something fresh, something you thought of long before, but are finally ready to get off your chest

Its scary at first, for its somethin’ new and unknown, you haven’t done anything worth mentioning for such a long time, for its been ages since you’ve grown

But now is now, and what’s done is done, forget the past and welcome fun, it’s your time to stop walking and lace up for the long run

You’ve see a glimpse of the bigger picture, its quenching water to your dry eyes, you now realize what’s about to happen, its not the right time to be shy

Be bold, be brave, stand for what you want, don’t behave, think aloud talk with passion, remember there’s nothing that hurts more in life, than only day dreaming at night

Dream all the time, dream vivid, dream strong, forget what’s right, what’s wrong, begin to write your own song

No one knows what should be, until it is eventually a guarantee, until then everything is anonymously with much uncertainty

Stick to your guns, stick to your vision, your mission, your wishin’, don’t ever lose hope, never stop climbing that rope

Sooner or later we’ll make it to the top, it’s the one’s who stop that drop, it’s the ones who never lose sight nor hope that fight and continue to climb that rope

Through words, through rhyme, this is our prime time, there’s only one shot, that you or I’ve got, so give it everything you can, be a remarkable woman or man

Realize that power in your mind and eyes, visualize the prize that you’ve wanted all your life – live it, feel it, share it and more, never stop moving once you open that door

I’d love to hear your feedback my friends, my family. Have an excellent day and remember….there ain’t nobody but you, who can do what you want to, so be true, be real, and never lose that zeal.

Hate him or love him, care for his music or not – not one single being on the face of this earth could or should ever deny the passion, hard work, tears and sweat this man leaves on the stage every time he performs. I’ve been a Kanye West fan since his first album, billed The College Dropout. The emotion, heart and soul he radiates through his words, through his message, his music is unlike anything I’ve seen since Bono. Even then, Kanye takes it to another level. Last night I had the awesome opportunity to see the man perform live here in Montreal – I was blown away. Forget everything you thought you knew about performances, forget everything you thought you knew about music – this prophet is not from this world. Kanye West is not of normal, traditional, nor common sense descent – this beyond gifted visionary has seen the bigger picture, he’s seen beyond what we can comprehend, and it’s his call, his duty to deliver that message to us all through his words/message/music. His mission.

Which brings me finally to this – what’s your stage and how much do you sweat on it? How much passion do you have for what you do, what you’re all about? How much love do you have for your meaning here on earth that you leave it all out on that stage each and every time you perform? Do others cheer for you as you enthusiastically evangelize what you so passionately care about? Do you give it every goddamn thing you’ve got? Do you touch the sky, do you dream big, think big, move big, act big? Is everything you do with authority, special care and attention to detail? Do you influence others by your actions and words? Do you wear your heart on your sleeve not caring what others think or say as long as you are being YOU!?

In a world where nothing seems to matter anymore, right now is the prime time to stand up, stick out and show the world how you sweat on stage. Show ‘em how much you want it, show ‘em how invaluable you are. Show ‘em that you left everything you had on this stage called earth, this journey called life. Leave your legacy behind, for it’s the only thing that’s asked of you to leave before you leave.

Imagine your world where all your bills are paid for – food, home, car, gas, entertainment, clothes, taxes and so on. Imagine that money is automatically contributed to your savings, retirement and kid’s college fund. You have nothing to pay for, you simply just live. What would you do? What would each and every day be reserved for doing? What would you enthusiastically and happily do with your 24 hours each day for the rest of your life? Rock star, writer, astronaut, archeologist, pilot, photographer, architect, reporter? Would you volunteer to feed the hungry or help save the dying? Would that childhood dream be reignited once again? Would you do more of what you do, when no one in this world is watching?

Prime Time to yourself – it’s the thing that you would happily do for free. It’s the things you long to work on/at when the job/work day is done. It’s that thing you reserve X-amount of time for on the weekends. That thing that gets your juices flowing, thrills you to the core and fuels your daily daydreaming and lust for life. It’s your prime time, your moment to shine, to truly live and feel so alive that time or anything else for that matter, does not matter. It’s that one thing you should be doing all the time, but somehow it got buried under the bills, debts, responsibilities and desk job you’d rather do without. It got pushed so far under the rug when you landed that first job, which led to that eventual pay raise that ultimately led to buying that new house, new car, new flat screen, an onslaught of additional responsibilities and more. What happened? Where’d we get lost along the way? Where went the dreams, goals and vision we once had?

Very few are privileged to have a full time, paying gig doing what they LOVE, the reality is that vast majority do not. Why? Why do we go about living our life not doing what we’re doing when no one’s watching? Why aren’t we out there rocking the world with our true passions, our true desire – the things that we long to do but somehow lost the courage to actually go out and do…..what happened along the way? Like a relationship with your significant other that rots due to complacency, lack of effort and more – our true life ambitions and dreams will only fade away if we never exercise the responsibility to bring them to life. To live them, to lead them, bringing something extra special to this world. Please do so, our world needs more of you, and what you have to offer.

In a world hyped up on celebrity and fortune status, its reassuring to know that when it all boils down to it, when the dust and smoke-show settles, when the mic’s off and the cameras aren’t rollin’ or flashin’ – people are people and will always be people. We all breathe, eat, sleep, think, drink, move, pee, poo and have emotions, feelings and other vital signs that solidify that we are alive. We are living human beings and although no one person is the same, each and every one of us is genuinely classified human.

And here’s where it really gets interesting. 

My entire life, I have always strongly believed/felt that deep down inside, people are people. Its more than reassuring, it is comforting, its positive and its encouraging to know, that regardless of your status, your title, your income, assets, looks, vision, intelligence or experience – people are people. There is a common thread that connects us all – a thread made up of emotion/feeling. Understand the dire importance and skill of connecting to and comprehending one’s emotions/feelings, and you open the door to that person’s world.

For example, you’re setting up a non-profit organization – you’re vision is clear, simple and lined up for remarkableness. You want to collaborate with nothing but the best for this non-profit project. You want the best to join you in evangelizing this cause, vision, message and goal. So you decide to recruit – mentors, team members, volunteers, sponsors and celebrity figures. How can you successfully succeed bringing on board these invaluable pieces of the puzzle? Well your answer to that question lies in your ability to connect with all those opportunities and possibilities around you. Want local business leaders, politicians to guide you as mentors? Want funding from brands/businesses you strongly feel are relevant to/will equally benefit from, your mission? Want team members who share your compassion, passion, vision and goal? Want evangelists at every corner of the earth to spread your good word? Want Brad Pitt or Oprah Winfrey to endorse your organization/goal? Connect and comprehend what moves and elevates people’s emotions/feelings – what stirs the gut, ignites the mind and pumps the heart.

Remember, at the end of the day, people are people. Always have been, always will be. Until that day changes, reach out and seize the opportunities and possibilities of this reality.