Lessons From My Dad

My dad, Jim, was born in Nebraska.

He was a simple man. A farmer. A hard worker.

These 3 D’s were never more important to me than when he was on his death bed.

It was New Year’s Eve 2006 and I got a phone call that my father was on his deathbed. I was in Tahoe and needed to fly to Nebraska ASAP to see him.

My father had never met my daughter (who was 3 months old at the time) and I wasn’t going to let him go without seeing her.

Here’s where the major challenge presented itself: There were absolutely NO outgoing flights from Tahoe on New Year’s Eve. None.

No one was going to fly out in the middle of a snow storm.

So I started thinking of who I could call to help…

Luckily, I had a friend in aviation. I dialed him up immediately and asked him to get my family and I to Nebraska.

“Loral…it would be $29,000 to fly out,” he said.

“I don’t care. How quickly can we leave?” I responded.

Before I could blink, my family and I packed up a few essentials, drove to a private airport and were in the air for Nebraska to see my father.

We flew out in the middle of a snow storm in Tahoe with a few bumps along the way.

So we flew out and got to spend my dad’s last days together. He got to meet his granddaughter and we all spent the waning moments of his life as a family.

I couldn’t have asked for more.

This whole story was one of my “Say ‘yes’ and figure out how” moments.

I was told ‘no, there is no way we can get you to your dad,’ but I said ‘YES, I am flying home’ and figured out how.

Going back to the 3 D's – I was presented with a challenge, but I did not disqualify myself, I made a decision to keep going, and I was determined to succeed.

DECISION: When faced with obstacles, many of you have decided you can’t do it. The decision is already made up in your mind.

"I can't start this business."

"I've already failed, why try again?"

"Who am I to change my family's wealth cycle forever?"

We make the decision to choose not to try even before truly exploring all of the possibilities.

But when it’s really, really, really something that you need to do, I think it’s fascinating to see how creative you can become to get that thing done.

Putting it into action: When the world had told me “no” 100 times, I had already decided to say “yes.” Make the same conscious decision in your life and watch as it manifests.

DETERMINATION: A lot of you have a lack of determination. You might make the decision to start, but the second-biggest decision after that is the choice to keep going.

Let's be clear: When you're trying to do something massive, there will be challenges, there will be doubt, and there will be insecurity.

But you have to be determined enough to say yes. It can’t be feigned.

Your “yes” must be genuine and driven. Almost a gut YES!

Putting it into action: There was no way in hell I was not going to see my father during his last days. I was 100% determined. This same determination stretches into my businesses. There is no way they won't succeed. You need to carry this same grit into every single area of your life.

DISQUALIFICATION: A lot of you disqualify yourself based on the fact that you don’t know how to overcome whatever challenge you’re faced with and don’t know anyone to help you do it.

You disqualify yourself because you don't have the money, resources, or time to make something massive happen.

Once you make a decision to stay determined, disqualification will never become an option.

Putting it into action: Yes, I was fortunate enough to have a friend in aviation to fly me out, but even if I didn’t, I would’ve made a friend that day. Never disqualify yourself for anything. It’s the most disempowering thing you could do.

Always clarify your 3 D’s in life and keep them in mind daily.

Say “yes” daily and match it against the 3 D’s.

Do this and you’ll truly start to see you can have EVERYTHING you want in life…