Welcome to Brunner & Associates, Inc.

I recently heard an individual make what I thought was a profound statement.  He said something like, “I don’t care who you are; I care what you are.”

What did he mean?  He was saying that it doesn’t matter to him who one is – one’s age, gender, nationality, religion, political outlook, etc.  He cares what one is – one’s character and behavior.  For example, do you keep your word?  Do you strive to do the right thing?  Are you kind toward others?  Do you have integrity?  Do you seek to help others?   And so on.

See the distinction?  I don’t have much say over the former but I have a lot of say over the latter.  I get to choose what kind of person I am and that’s what is important.  

One of the more compelling things Jim Rohn said is this:  “The easier you are on yourself when no one is around, the harder life is going to be for you.”  And vice versa.

What does this mean?  It means that when we don’t have anyone holding us accountable – or we lack discipline – we slack off.  For example, the person who takes it easy when the boss is not around.  The person who doesn’t exercise but watches TV instead.  The person who doesn’t read challenging books.  The person who doesn’t learn the course material but crams for a test and forgets everything after taking it.  The person who is lazy about building and maintaining friendships.  And so on.

All these little decisions – to be hard on ourselves by doing the productive thing or to be easy on ourselves by letting things slide – determine how our lives turn out.  It is clearly better to do the “hard” but productive things.  

Need some help with this?  Let us know at mike@brunnerandassociatesinc.com.