"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself" ~Albert Einstein
This makes perfect sense. Have you ever sat down with a child and tried to explain something to them. You think you can explain it to anyone, but then you find that you can't find the words to make it understandable to someone who doesn't have an extended vocabulary.
I think this is how most self help gurus write their books. You should try this with something you know a lot about. Sit down and start writing. Split what you are trying to teach into sections. You want something that is separated into bite sized chunks. You want your six year old to be able to go away everyday with a small part of what you are teaching.
Now start writing each section as if you are trying to explain it to a child. Use small words. Don't try to expand on anything in exhaustive detail. Try to remember that the people you are trying to teach probably don't have any experience in what you know about. That means the parts you take for granted, they know nothing about.
When you are done, try your teaching on someone else. They don't have to be six years old. They just have to know very little about what you are teaching. When you do this, you will find out some of the things you left out. You will notice their face when you say something that does not make sense to them. Those are you ques to make changes to your teaching.
The interesting thing about putting together this teaching, you will learn so much more about what you are trying to teach. You will be surprised at what you have learned yourself.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Time or Money
"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." -Jim Rohn
This is something that we often forget. Then we wonder where the time went when we have wasted it watching TV or surfing the internet or whatever other pointless activities we do in life. Time is something that is finite. We only have so much of it. The problem is, we have no idea how much of it we will have.
I am a strong believer in making your time count. Make sure you know what you want to do in your life. Make sure you know who you want to spend that time with. Then when you get to the end of your life, you won't be sad to find that you have wasted the time you have been give.
Do you know what you want to do with your life? Even if you do or you don't, take a few moments to sit down and make a list of all the things you want to accomplish in your life.I like the website called 43things.com. The site allows you to make goals. Then it helps you accomplish those goals.
After you know what you want to do, take a few minutes to plan out the upcoming month, to figure out how you can get certain steps accomplished to get closer to those large goals. Then the only thing you will have to do to make those goals happen is to get out there and do them.
This is something that we often forget. Then we wonder where the time went when we have wasted it watching TV or surfing the internet or whatever other pointless activities we do in life. Time is something that is finite. We only have so much of it. The problem is, we have no idea how much of it we will have.
I am a strong believer in making your time count. Make sure you know what you want to do in your life. Make sure you know who you want to spend that time with. Then when you get to the end of your life, you won't be sad to find that you have wasted the time you have been give.
Do you know what you want to do with your life? Even if you do or you don't, take a few moments to sit down and make a list of all the things you want to accomplish in your life.I like the website called 43things.com. The site allows you to make goals. Then it helps you accomplish those goals.
After you know what you want to do, take a few minutes to plan out the upcoming month, to figure out how you can get certain steps accomplished to get closer to those large goals. Then the only thing you will have to do to make those goals happen is to get out there and do them.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Promises are like Crying Babies
Promises are like crying babies in a theater, they should be carried out at once. - Norman Vincent Peale
If you make a promise, you must follow through with that promise. It will define your character whether you carry out what you've said you would do or not. If you don't follow through, then people will have a hard time trusting you with anything. They will not take you seriously. If you do follow through with your promise, then you will be admired, counted on, and the amount of responsibility given to you will grow.
It says something about you as a person when you keep your promises. You say that you are a person who is going somewhere. It says that you should be someone that people can follow and not worry about being left behind. Keeping your promises will make you a better leader, and ultimately more successful in life.
Think about it. If we had a politician who could keep every promise they ever made, they would be someone worth getting behind. We would have someone who might just be in office for 8 years and who might be worth getting the law changed to give him (or her) a third term. That would be just awesome.
So how do you keep your promises? Don't promise something you can not deliver on. Remember to think about what you are promising before you make the commitment. If you know you can't do something, don't say you can do it. If you are not sure if something is possible, then don't promise you can do it. As for help and do it together. Then you will know if it is something you can do.
If you make a promise, you must follow through with that promise. It will define your character whether you carry out what you've said you would do or not. If you don't follow through, then people will have a hard time trusting you with anything. They will not take you seriously. If you do follow through with your promise, then you will be admired, counted on, and the amount of responsibility given to you will grow.
It says something about you as a person when you keep your promises. You say that you are a person who is going somewhere. It says that you should be someone that people can follow and not worry about being left behind. Keeping your promises will make you a better leader, and ultimately more successful in life.
Think about it. If we had a politician who could keep every promise they ever made, they would be someone worth getting behind. We would have someone who might just be in office for 8 years and who might be worth getting the law changed to give him (or her) a third term. That would be just awesome.
So how do you keep your promises? Don't promise something you can not deliver on. Remember to think about what you are promising before you make the commitment. If you know you can't do something, don't say you can do it. If you are not sure if something is possible, then don't promise you can do it. As for help and do it together. Then you will know if it is something you can do.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
You Are a Success
Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success."
~Dr. Joyce Brothers
This is a simple concept, but I think most people fail to live it. If you want something, you need to focus on it. If you don't focus on it, then your mind will not be aware of the things you want when they pass near you. If you are focusing on those things, then you will notice them when they approach. Then you can take action on those opportunities.
You can only do things if you believe you can do things. That includes being a success. If you don't believe you can, then what chance do you have to actually become that success. You have to know it is possible, and the more present tense you can make that belief, the sooner you will feel that success come to your reality.
I think you have to be ready to make something happen. If your mind is not ready, then it will be hard for your body to make it happen. The nice thing is that you can choose to be ready whenever you want to be. Once you make that choice then there is nothing outside your grasp. You just have to believe.
This is a simple concept, but I think most people fail to live it. If you want something, you need to focus on it. If you don't focus on it, then your mind will not be aware of the things you want when they pass near you. If you are focusing on those things, then you will notice them when they approach. Then you can take action on those opportunities.
You can only do things if you believe you can do things. That includes being a success. If you don't believe you can, then what chance do you have to actually become that success. You have to know it is possible, and the more present tense you can make that belief, the sooner you will feel that success come to your reality.
I think you have to be ready to make something happen. If your mind is not ready, then it will be hard for your body to make it happen. The nice thing is that you can choose to be ready whenever you want to be. Once you make that choice then there is nothing outside your grasp. You just have to believe.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Make Others Become Great
"Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great" ~Mark Twain
This is an interesting quote to think about. It is true if you think about it. Who in you life do you feel is a great person. It might be a teacher or a boss or someone else who you think does amazing work. Why do you think they are great? Usually it is because they have made you feel like you yourself might be great as well. That teacher prods you to do well on a test or compliments something you have written. The boss tells you that you have been doing a good job and instructs you in ways that will make you a better boss.
One of my favorite examples is when we read authors. We think they are great. They don't know us. They have never spoken to us. They may never speak to us. Somehow, though, they are able to make us feel like we are someone great. I don't know what it is. Maybe because we get the opportunity to read something in their world, become part of that world. We get to see a small part of what is inside them.
We all strive to be great in some way. We all strive to be like those who we admire. The ones who, in our eyes, are already great. In that way we try to me more like them, making even the slightest bit of greatness. What we don't always see is that those we see as great once saw someone before them as great, someone who made them want to be better, to be great themselves. Soon you will have people looking at you wanting a little bit of your greatness to rub off on them. All you can do is be as great as you can be.
This is an interesting quote to think about. It is true if you think about it. Who in you life do you feel is a great person. It might be a teacher or a boss or someone else who you think does amazing work. Why do you think they are great? Usually it is because they have made you feel like you yourself might be great as well. That teacher prods you to do well on a test or compliments something you have written. The boss tells you that you have been doing a good job and instructs you in ways that will make you a better boss.
One of my favorite examples is when we read authors. We think they are great. They don't know us. They have never spoken to us. They may never speak to us. Somehow, though, they are able to make us feel like we are someone great. I don't know what it is. Maybe because we get the opportunity to read something in their world, become part of that world. We get to see a small part of what is inside them.
We all strive to be great in some way. We all strive to be like those who we admire. The ones who, in our eyes, are already great. In that way we try to me more like them, making even the slightest bit of greatness. What we don't always see is that those we see as great once saw someone before them as great, someone who made them want to be better, to be great themselves. Soon you will have people looking at you wanting a little bit of your greatness to rub off on them. All you can do is be as great as you can be.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Ignore Your Limits
"Know your limits, then ignore them" ~John Mason
Sometimes it is good to not know how far you can go. Then you will surprise yourself by how far you can go. Lets say that you are invited to run a marathon. You say yes knowing you have never run that kind of distance before. You get on the starting line and start running when you hear the signal. You will be pleasantly surprised how far you can run without stopping. Then you will be surprised that you are able to walk the rest without stopping. Then you will be able to tell everyone that you have completed a marathon. It may take you 6-8 hours to complete the marathon but that is OK. You did it, and that is all that matters.
Now that you have an idea of what it is like to run a marathon, you know what your limits are. You will know what it takes to get yourself to the next level. Now all you have to do is train yourself to get past those limits. You start running everyday. You start to rat better, making sure you eat things that will give your muscles the nutrients they need to take the punishment you intend to put on them.
Instead of waiting for someone to invite you to run that next marathon, you start searching for the next one you want to run. You make plans to be at that marathon, and you set goals to get you to the point to run that race. When the day comes you start running, and are amazed when you pass the 5 mile mark without feeling too much strain. You keep running till you can't run anymore. Then you walk the rest of the way. When you finish, you find you have shaved off two hours off you last marathon. Now you know what your new limits are and you can plan for the next one.
Sometimes it is good to not know how far you can go. Then you will surprise yourself by how far you can go. Lets say that you are invited to run a marathon. You say yes knowing you have never run that kind of distance before. You get on the starting line and start running when you hear the signal. You will be pleasantly surprised how far you can run without stopping. Then you will be surprised that you are able to walk the rest without stopping. Then you will be able to tell everyone that you have completed a marathon. It may take you 6-8 hours to complete the marathon but that is OK. You did it, and that is all that matters.
Now that you have an idea of what it is like to run a marathon, you know what your limits are. You will know what it takes to get yourself to the next level. Now all you have to do is train yourself to get past those limits. You start running everyday. You start to rat better, making sure you eat things that will give your muscles the nutrients they need to take the punishment you intend to put on them.
Instead of waiting for someone to invite you to run that next marathon, you start searching for the next one you want to run. You make plans to be at that marathon, and you set goals to get you to the point to run that race. When the day comes you start running, and are amazed when you pass the 5 mile mark without feeling too much strain. You keep running till you can't run anymore. Then you walk the rest of the way. When you finish, you find you have shaved off two hours off you last marathon. Now you know what your new limits are and you can plan for the next one.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Absorb what is useful
"Absorb what is useful, disregard the rest, Add what is uniquely your own." ~Bruce Lee
This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever come across. It is important because everyone perceives the world differently. This means that one piece of information may be important to one person and completely useless to another.
Personally I like to listen to as much information as I can. If the information that is being presented is not making some kind of movement within me, I move on to the next piece of information. If there is something I find interesting I will try to listen to it more than once. I want to listen to or read that information enough to absorb what it is trying to say to me.
That is another point I would like to suggest. The same piece of information could mean two totally different things to two different people. One might be thinking about the person who is talking and be focused on how the information changed the speakers life. The second person could be thinking about how the information could benefit the project he is currently working on.
When Bruce made this statement, he was talking about martial arts. The same techniques of different martial arts may not be as effective for one person as it is for another. He wanted his students to take the techniques that were beneficial for each person and build upon them. There is no point in spending time on a technique you can't do or don't do well when there are other techniques that will get you to your goal faster. Take what works for you and build upon it. That is my suggestion.
This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever come across. It is important because everyone perceives the world differently. This means that one piece of information may be important to one person and completely useless to another.
Personally I like to listen to as much information as I can. If the information that is being presented is not making some kind of movement within me, I move on to the next piece of information. If there is something I find interesting I will try to listen to it more than once. I want to listen to or read that information enough to absorb what it is trying to say to me.
That is another point I would like to suggest. The same piece of information could mean two totally different things to two different people. One might be thinking about the person who is talking and be focused on how the information changed the speakers life. The second person could be thinking about how the information could benefit the project he is currently working on.
When Bruce made this statement, he was talking about martial arts. The same techniques of different martial arts may not be as effective for one person as it is for another. He wanted his students to take the techniques that were beneficial for each person and build upon them. There is no point in spending time on a technique you can't do or don't do well when there are other techniques that will get you to your goal faster. Take what works for you and build upon it. That is my suggestion.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Stop Rowing and Look Around
"Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction." - Kenichi Ohmae
I don't know how often this happens to us, but it does happen often. We are doing one thing when we should be doing another. It's not until we fall into a hole when we realize that we were heading in the wrong direction.
There are other times when we know we are heading in the wrong direction be we make the decision not to turn around. Then we wonder why we arrive somewhere we don't want to be. The best example of this is how we eat. We know we should be eating healthy food. We make the decision to eat a lot of junk food and fast food. Then we wonder why we are fat and miserable.
Take some time to think about your life and what you are doing with it. Identify the things you are doing that are heading in a different direction than you truly intend to be heading. May a conscious choice to turn around and head toward a definite goal. You will enjoy your life much more when you start making some of your goals come true.
I don't know how often this happens to us, but it does happen often. We are doing one thing when we should be doing another. It's not until we fall into a hole when we realize that we were heading in the wrong direction.
There are other times when we know we are heading in the wrong direction be we make the decision not to turn around. Then we wonder why we arrive somewhere we don't want to be. The best example of this is how we eat. We know we should be eating healthy food. We make the decision to eat a lot of junk food and fast food. Then we wonder why we are fat and miserable.
Take some time to think about your life and what you are doing with it. Identify the things you are doing that are heading in a different direction than you truly intend to be heading. May a conscious choice to turn around and head toward a definite goal. You will enjoy your life much more when you start making some of your goals come true.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Are You Contagious?
"Happiness is contagious. Be a carrier" ~Robert Orben
Have you ever looked at someone and just laughed. Then because you laughed, they start laughing. I do this all the time to my little nieces. They have no idea why they are laughing. They have no idea why I am laughing. All they know is that my laugh is making them laugh. That's kind of funny.
Here is something you can experiment with. When you are out in public, start laughing for no reason. People will start to look at you with curiosity. They will want to know what is making you laugh. They might even start laughing because you are laughing. If anything you will have brought a little humor to other peoples lives.
If you think just laughing is creepy, then pick up your cell phone and pretend you are laughing at someone on the other side of the call. Or wear your earphones and point to them when other people look at you funny. You will have to laugh harder to get a response out of them, but at least you won't seem like a creepy, insane, happy person.
Have you ever looked at someone and just laughed. Then because you laughed, they start laughing. I do this all the time to my little nieces. They have no idea why they are laughing. They have no idea why I am laughing. All they know is that my laugh is making them laugh. That's kind of funny.
Here is something you can experiment with. When you are out in public, start laughing for no reason. People will start to look at you with curiosity. They will want to know what is making you laugh. They might even start laughing because you are laughing. If anything you will have brought a little humor to other peoples lives.
If you think just laughing is creepy, then pick up your cell phone and pretend you are laughing at someone on the other side of the call. Or wear your earphones and point to them when other people look at you funny. You will have to laugh harder to get a response out of them, but at least you won't seem like a creepy, insane, happy person.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Love, Strength & Courage
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~
Lao Tzu
I don't know why I like this quote. There is something truthful about the words. I wonder if it is the same for men as it is for women. I know when I think about it, women tend to give men their strength. If it wasn't for women, I don't think men would ever do anything. I think they would sit around and do as little as possible. When women (or anyone you might care for) comes into the picture, then men want to do things for her. The man wants to give her everything he possibly can. It takes courage to do that.
When that same person loves you back, that just makes you want to do more. It becomes a cycle. She loves you. That gives you the courage to do the things that will make you successful. Loving her in return makes you strong enough to continue to do the things that make him and her successful. The cycle continues as long as they continue to love each other.
So here is what I suggest that you do. Take the time to find someone who you can love. Allow that love to give you the strength you need to build your life. When she loves you back, that will give you the courage to continue to do the things you need to do to continue to grow your life together. It will take that courage to have kids and to be the parents you want to be.
Strength, Courage and Love. Those are a fantastic combination.
I don't know why I like this quote. There is something truthful about the words. I wonder if it is the same for men as it is for women. I know when I think about it, women tend to give men their strength. If it wasn't for women, I don't think men would ever do anything. I think they would sit around and do as little as possible. When women (or anyone you might care for) comes into the picture, then men want to do things for her. The man wants to give her everything he possibly can. It takes courage to do that.
When that same person loves you back, that just makes you want to do more. It becomes a cycle. She loves you. That gives you the courage to do the things that will make you successful. Loving her in return makes you strong enough to continue to do the things that make him and her successful. The cycle continues as long as they continue to love each other.
So here is what I suggest that you do. Take the time to find someone who you can love. Allow that love to give you the strength you need to build your life. When she loves you back, that will give you the courage to continue to do the things you need to do to continue to grow your life together. It will take that courage to have kids and to be the parents you want to be.
Strength, Courage and Love. Those are a fantastic combination.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Make Yourself Happy
"Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response." ~ Mildred Barthel
Have you ever thought about this? You may laugh at a joke, you may find things around you, but you choose to laugh. You have a choice to laugh. You may think that you don't, but if you put your mind to it, you can force yourself to keep a strait face instead of laughing.
The exact opposite is true as well. While you are sitting there in your seat in front of your computer or your smartphone or even your tablet reader, just start laughing. You can laugh for no reason. When you start laughing, you will find that funny and that will make you laugh. Try it. I Dare You. The laughing will make you feel good. There is something in your body, a hormone or something that is released when you laugh that makes you happy. So just laugh. Laugh when you are in your car and you just had a rough drive to work. If you laugh yourself into a good mood before you walk into the building, you will have a better day than if you walked in with the sourness from the guy who cut you off.
If you think you are a naturally pessimistic person, I am here to tell you, that is a choice you have made. Change that choice. Whenever you catch yourself being pessimistic, change your thinking. If you need to, start laughing. The people around you will wonder what happened to you.
Have you ever thought about this? You may laugh at a joke, you may find things around you, but you choose to laugh. You have a choice to laugh. You may think that you don't, but if you put your mind to it, you can force yourself to keep a strait face instead of laughing.
The exact opposite is true as well. While you are sitting there in your seat in front of your computer or your smartphone or even your tablet reader, just start laughing. You can laugh for no reason. When you start laughing, you will find that funny and that will make you laugh. Try it. I Dare You. The laughing will make you feel good. There is something in your body, a hormone or something that is released when you laugh that makes you happy. So just laugh. Laugh when you are in your car and you just had a rough drive to work. If you laugh yourself into a good mood before you walk into the building, you will have a better day than if you walked in with the sourness from the guy who cut you off.
If you think you are a naturally pessimistic person, I am here to tell you, that is a choice you have made. Change that choice. Whenever you catch yourself being pessimistic, change your thinking. If you need to, start laughing. The people around you will wonder what happened to you.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Time to Get Even
The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. ~John E. Southard
Can you imagine if everyone lived by this quote? No one tried to get even for the negative things that have happened in life. Instead, people were more interested in burning their energy trying to do good things for the people who have done good to them. The world would be such a nice place to live.
This quote reminds me of the movie called "Pay It Forward
" The story is about a boy who has discovered the powers of multiplicity. He finds that if one person does something nice for three people without any need for repayment, and tells them to each help three people in the same way, those three people will be helping nine people. Then nine people will be helping 27 people. Then 27 people will be helping 81 people. Then 81 people will be helping 243 people and so on. That number gets large very quickly.
The world would be such a nice place to live if everyone was in the mindset that we were working for the greater good of everyone else. If we could all live in homes that were built and maintained by the other people in the city. We all have something to strive for, to make each others' lives more comfortable.I can see a world that looks more like Earth in the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation
." The people on Earth are more interested in exploring the galaxy and the universe than they are about gaining wealth. We are working for the general good, creating things that will help everyone.
Today, I want you to go out and do something for someone else. Think of a way to help someone else without them knowing who did it for them. Go pay someone's light bill, or go buy some groceries and leave them on the doorstep of someone who you know is having a hard time making ends meet. Mow someone else's yard for them. Pay the toll for the car behind you. Just do something nice without needing anything in return.
Can you imagine if everyone lived by this quote? No one tried to get even for the negative things that have happened in life. Instead, people were more interested in burning their energy trying to do good things for the people who have done good to them. The world would be such a nice place to live.
This quote reminds me of the movie called "Pay It Forward
" The story is about a boy who has discovered the powers of multiplicity. He finds that if one person does something nice for three people without any need for repayment, and tells them to each help three people in the same way, those three people will be helping nine people. Then nine people will be helping 27 people. Then 27 people will be helping 81 people. Then 81 people will be helping 243 people and so on. That number gets large very quickly.The world would be such a nice place to live if everyone was in the mindset that we were working for the greater good of everyone else. If we could all live in homes that were built and maintained by the other people in the city. We all have something to strive for, to make each others' lives more comfortable.I can see a world that looks more like Earth in the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation
." The people on Earth are more interested in exploring the galaxy and the universe than they are about gaining wealth. We are working for the general good, creating things that will help everyone.
Today, I want you to go out and do something for someone else. Think of a way to help someone else without them knowing who did it for them. Go pay someone's light bill, or go buy some groceries and leave them on the doorstep of someone who you know is having a hard time making ends meet. Mow someone else's yard for them. Pay the toll for the car behind you. Just do something nice without needing anything in return.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Don't Walk Backwards
I walk slowly, but I never walk backward - Abraham Lincoln,16th U.S. president
Always take steps forward. You may have to tread slowly to make sure you are moving forward, but moving ahead slowly is better than having to move backwards. I think that is what our great leader was trying to say.
There are so many of us who are so used to taking two steps forwards and one step backwards. We try so hard to move up in our lives that we end up falling down and having to pick ourselves back up. Sure there are times in our lives when we should take chances to get ahead, but there is no reason to fall if we can see the obstacles ahead of us. If we can move a bit slower, we will move forward faster even though we are taking slow calculated steps.
I think the easiest example I can think of to illustrate my point is relationships. Think about this a minute. Let's say you meet someone you like and you ask them out on a date. You have a nice time, but you are so anxious to be in a romantic relationship that you push a kiss on her within the first hour of the date. You start holding her and hugging her and making her feel very claustrophobic. The next thing you know, she's not feeling good and asking you to take her home. Then there is no second date.
What if instead, you let things happen on their own. You go out on a nice date, you maybe hold her hand, you have wonderful conversation and have fun. Then you walk her to the door and ask her for a second date. On the second or third date, when you know that she is enjoying the time she is spending with you, you close in for that kiss. She returns the kiss and the relationship becomes what you were hoping it would be.
You will get a lot further if you let things happen in their own time. If you rush things, then things will change, possibly change for the worse. You can take advantage of the opportunities, but make sure the opportunities are there to be taken. If you jump the gun, you might have to start all over again.
Always take steps forward. You may have to tread slowly to make sure you are moving forward, but moving ahead slowly is better than having to move backwards. I think that is what our great leader was trying to say.
There are so many of us who are so used to taking two steps forwards and one step backwards. We try so hard to move up in our lives that we end up falling down and having to pick ourselves back up. Sure there are times in our lives when we should take chances to get ahead, but there is no reason to fall if we can see the obstacles ahead of us. If we can move a bit slower, we will move forward faster even though we are taking slow calculated steps.
I think the easiest example I can think of to illustrate my point is relationships. Think about this a minute. Let's say you meet someone you like and you ask them out on a date. You have a nice time, but you are so anxious to be in a romantic relationship that you push a kiss on her within the first hour of the date. You start holding her and hugging her and making her feel very claustrophobic. The next thing you know, she's not feeling good and asking you to take her home. Then there is no second date.
What if instead, you let things happen on their own. You go out on a nice date, you maybe hold her hand, you have wonderful conversation and have fun. Then you walk her to the door and ask her for a second date. On the second or third date, when you know that she is enjoying the time she is spending with you, you close in for that kiss. She returns the kiss and the relationship becomes what you were hoping it would be.
You will get a lot further if you let things happen in their own time. If you rush things, then things will change, possibly change for the worse. You can take advantage of the opportunities, but make sure the opportunities are there to be taken. If you jump the gun, you might have to start all over again.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Not Just a Dream
"If you know it's going to happen there's no need to call it a dream." -Eric Pio
What is a dream? It is something that has not happened yet that you hope one day will happen. Is that really something you want in your life? I wonder if dreams are just cruel and unusual punishment. Most of the people I have met torture themselves with their own dreams. They think about something they know in their mind they will never have and let it eat them up inside.
What if you make your dreams a reality. That is the only way they will ever happen. You have to do something to make them come true. If you just sit there and dream, that is all they are going to be... Dreams.
If you think your dreams are possible, then go ahead and make them come true. The only person keeping you from achieving those dreams is you. You can make them happen and you will. Just take one step at a time to get it done.
If you think your Dreams are impossible, choose right now to make them possible. If they are a dream you are passionate about, then you can find a way to make them possible. There are plenty of stories out there where people who were born deaf are now able to hear. There are people who have lost both legs who are now able to walk. If you have a dream, just find a way to make those dreams come true.
If you believe it can and will happen, then it will. If you have the tiniest little doubt, then push that doubt away and believe. That is why it is called faith.
What is a dream? It is something that has not happened yet that you hope one day will happen. Is that really something you want in your life? I wonder if dreams are just cruel and unusual punishment. Most of the people I have met torture themselves with their own dreams. They think about something they know in their mind they will never have and let it eat them up inside.
What if you make your dreams a reality. That is the only way they will ever happen. You have to do something to make them come true. If you just sit there and dream, that is all they are going to be... Dreams.
If you think your dreams are possible, then go ahead and make them come true. The only person keeping you from achieving those dreams is you. You can make them happen and you will. Just take one step at a time to get it done.
If you think your Dreams are impossible, choose right now to make them possible. If they are a dream you are passionate about, then you can find a way to make them possible. There are plenty of stories out there where people who were born deaf are now able to hear. There are people who have lost both legs who are now able to walk. If you have a dream, just find a way to make those dreams come true.
If you believe it can and will happen, then it will. If you have the tiniest little doubt, then push that doubt away and believe. That is why it is called faith.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Your Opportunity Dressed in Overalls?
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” -Thomas Edison.
Hindsight is 20/20. That is what they say. Have you ever looked back at a circumstance and realized that you should have done something that would have made you successful or at least gotten something that you have wanted for a long time? I know I have. Just look back at my Lotto Story. A lot of times we don't realize that we missed a good opportunity until it has long since past. I think that is what Edison is talking about in this quote.
We should be looking for those opportunities that are not quite so obvious. Most successful people out there are successful because they took advantage of an opportunity that was more about how to help someone else than it was about making money. If you want to hear about a number of these kinds of stories, you should find a copy of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. This book was written in the early part of the 20th century. Hill talks about a number of successful people of his time; people like Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford. It is probably one of the best books about success that I have ever read.
I have a simple way for you to figure out what opportunities to look for, even the ones that are dressed in overalls. It will take about ten to fifteen minutes everyday to sit down and write a few sentences in a notebook. personally I like those little composition books the teenagers get for school. They are bound nicely and will put up with a little abuse. You can get them for a dollar at the dollar store or you can wait till right before school starts and buy about a dozen of them at once when they are on sale. I found them this year at walmart for 40 cents each.
Set you a timer for 15-20 minutes. I like taking 20 minutes because it usually takes me a few minutes to start writing ideas. If I can get them started, then more ideas will start gushing out after them. All you have to do is start writing. think about your day. What happened in the last 24 hours that might shed light on an opportunity that you could use to your benefit. I don't care how small the idea is. The whole point of this exercise is to get some ideas down on paper.
If you can do this everyday, just sit down and write, you will find all kinds of interesting ideas will come to you. I don't care if you are writing the same ideas everyday. If you do, that means you mind is working on the ideas. That means your mind is working out a way to make your ideas successful. That is all you need to do. You need to make yourself aware of the opportunities. Then you will naturally start to work out a way to profit from those ideas.
Go try it.
Hindsight is 20/20. That is what they say. Have you ever looked back at a circumstance and realized that you should have done something that would have made you successful or at least gotten something that you have wanted for a long time? I know I have. Just look back at my Lotto Story. A lot of times we don't realize that we missed a good opportunity until it has long since past. I think that is what Edison is talking about in this quote.
We should be looking for those opportunities that are not quite so obvious. Most successful people out there are successful because they took advantage of an opportunity that was more about how to help someone else than it was about making money. If you want to hear about a number of these kinds of stories, you should find a copy of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. This book was written in the early part of the 20th century. Hill talks about a number of successful people of his time; people like Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford. It is probably one of the best books about success that I have ever read.
I have a simple way for you to figure out what opportunities to look for, even the ones that are dressed in overalls. It will take about ten to fifteen minutes everyday to sit down and write a few sentences in a notebook. personally I like those little composition books the teenagers get for school. They are bound nicely and will put up with a little abuse. You can get them for a dollar at the dollar store or you can wait till right before school starts and buy about a dozen of them at once when they are on sale. I found them this year at walmart for 40 cents each.
Set you a timer for 15-20 minutes. I like taking 20 minutes because it usually takes me a few minutes to start writing ideas. If I can get them started, then more ideas will start gushing out after them. All you have to do is start writing. think about your day. What happened in the last 24 hours that might shed light on an opportunity that you could use to your benefit. I don't care how small the idea is. The whole point of this exercise is to get some ideas down on paper.
If you can do this everyday, just sit down and write, you will find all kinds of interesting ideas will come to you. I don't care if you are writing the same ideas everyday. If you do, that means you mind is working on the ideas. That means your mind is working out a way to make your ideas successful. That is all you need to do. You need to make yourself aware of the opportunities. Then you will naturally start to work out a way to profit from those ideas.
Go try it.
Friday, September 30, 2011
All You Need is a Spark
"A great flame follows a little spark." ~ Dante
There are a lot of these types of metaphors. What happens when you start a snowball rolling down a hill? You get a bigger and bigger snowball. What happens when a small leak breaks through a dam? If left unchecked, it will erode the hole in the dam till water is flowing through it with the power of a waterfall. What happens when one ant finds your picnic? Soon your food will be covered in the entire colony of ants.
What you have to learn from these metaphors is all it takes is an idea or even an small inspiration. All you have to do is feed it and it will grow into something great and amazing. The blog you are reading right now; it was an inspired thought. What would happen if I found some of life's great quotes and let my mind run away with them? Would I be able to write something that would benefit everyone? Would I be able to write something every weekday for an entire year? If I did, then this would turn into something great, something everyone would want to visit on a regular basis, something that would turn into a book or a calendar or who knows what else.
Take a few minutes and look at the things in your life. Don't just look at the normal things like your meals, and your job. Look at the friends around you and the projects you have started but laid aside because you lost interest or ran into some sort of roadblock. Ponder the new ideas or rekindle the old ideas. Envision how some of those ideas might blossom into something that could make money for you. Think about the things that have possibilities. Take those possibilities to the next level.
Meet with your friends... You know the ones. The ones who have ambition; the ones who know how to take an idea and run with it; the ones who will do their best to support you, to drive you to do more with what you have, to encourage you to take your ideas and make something amazing out of them. I think you will be surprised at what comes from those people and ideas.
There are a lot of these types of metaphors. What happens when you start a snowball rolling down a hill? You get a bigger and bigger snowball. What happens when a small leak breaks through a dam? If left unchecked, it will erode the hole in the dam till water is flowing through it with the power of a waterfall. What happens when one ant finds your picnic? Soon your food will be covered in the entire colony of ants.
What you have to learn from these metaphors is all it takes is an idea or even an small inspiration. All you have to do is feed it and it will grow into something great and amazing. The blog you are reading right now; it was an inspired thought. What would happen if I found some of life's great quotes and let my mind run away with them? Would I be able to write something that would benefit everyone? Would I be able to write something every weekday for an entire year? If I did, then this would turn into something great, something everyone would want to visit on a regular basis, something that would turn into a book or a calendar or who knows what else.
Take a few minutes and look at the things in your life. Don't just look at the normal things like your meals, and your job. Look at the friends around you and the projects you have started but laid aside because you lost interest or ran into some sort of roadblock. Ponder the new ideas or rekindle the old ideas. Envision how some of those ideas might blossom into something that could make money for you. Think about the things that have possibilities. Take those possibilities to the next level.
Meet with your friends... You know the ones. The ones who have ambition; the ones who know how to take an idea and run with it; the ones who will do their best to support you, to drive you to do more with what you have, to encourage you to take your ideas and make something amazing out of them. I think you will be surprised at what comes from those people and ideas.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
How Your Destiny is Shaped
"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." ~ Tony Robbins
Do you know how to make a decision? Are you someone who continuously has to think about something over and over and over pounding his own brain trying to figure out what the outcome of each decision might be? Well I don't think that is any way to live.
I have found that if I sit there and think about a problem for hours before I make a decision, then not only do I become a tortured soul, but so does everyone else around me.
Have you ever sat at home with your loved one and tried to decide what you want to do for dinner. You all know you want to go out for dinner, but you can't decide where. You bounce ideas back and forth but neither of you want to make the final decision, sometime because you want the other person to be happy with the choice; sometime because you don't really have a preference. Whatever the case, you spend more time trying to figure out where you want to go than the actual time it takes to get there and eat.
I think the best thing to do it to lay out the best things about each decision down on the table, then make a gut choice. Just choose the one that feels right. If they both feel good, then it doesn't really matter which one you choose, just pick one randomly.
After you have made that choice, stay with it. Once you make the choice, it is too late to go back and change your mind. See that choice through. Whatever the case (unless you foresee something horrible happening) do not change you mind. Just move forward and enjoy the choice you made.
Do you know how to make a decision? Are you someone who continuously has to think about something over and over and over pounding his own brain trying to figure out what the outcome of each decision might be? Well I don't think that is any way to live.
I have found that if I sit there and think about a problem for hours before I make a decision, then not only do I become a tortured soul, but so does everyone else around me.
Have you ever sat at home with your loved one and tried to decide what you want to do for dinner. You all know you want to go out for dinner, but you can't decide where. You bounce ideas back and forth but neither of you want to make the final decision, sometime because you want the other person to be happy with the choice; sometime because you don't really have a preference. Whatever the case, you spend more time trying to figure out where you want to go than the actual time it takes to get there and eat.
I think the best thing to do it to lay out the best things about each decision down on the table, then make a gut choice. Just choose the one that feels right. If they both feel good, then it doesn't really matter which one you choose, just pick one randomly.
After you have made that choice, stay with it. Once you make the choice, it is too late to go back and change your mind. See that choice through. Whatever the case (unless you foresee something horrible happening) do not change you mind. Just move forward and enjoy the choice you made.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Do What You Know You Can Do
"Don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can do." ~ John Wooden
Sometimes there are just things you can't do. For the majority of us, we can't fly to the moon. That is something we can't do. Are we going to let that stop us from getting into orbit? Today it is possible to buy a ticket to get on a shuttle and spend a few days in space orbiting the Earth. The only thing it will cost you is money and a bit of astronaut training.
I think sometimes we have it set in our mind that we cannot do certain things. Maybe you think you can't speak in front of large groups of people. That is not true. It might take some practice and a lot of self focus, talking yourself into getting up in front of those people. Once you are up there, I think you will find that people will be willing to listen to you. If there are those in the audience who are not interested in what you have to say or actually try to make fun of you, that is OK. Those are not the people you are speaking to. You are speaking to the people who are going to get something out of what you have to say. If you don't get up there, then the people you are there to speak to will not get the benefits of learning about what you are going to speak about.
Most of the time the things you think you believe you can't do are just that beliefs. You can change those beliefs. All you have to do is sit down and start writing down that you can do these things. Think about it. When you write something, you make that thing concrete in your mind. If you can make that concrete in your mind then you will be better prepared to do the things that you once thought you could not do.
Sometimes there are just things you can't do. For the majority of us, we can't fly to the moon. That is something we can't do. Are we going to let that stop us from getting into orbit? Today it is possible to buy a ticket to get on a shuttle and spend a few days in space orbiting the Earth. The only thing it will cost you is money and a bit of astronaut training.
I think sometimes we have it set in our mind that we cannot do certain things. Maybe you think you can't speak in front of large groups of people. That is not true. It might take some practice and a lot of self focus, talking yourself into getting up in front of those people. Once you are up there, I think you will find that people will be willing to listen to you. If there are those in the audience who are not interested in what you have to say or actually try to make fun of you, that is OK. Those are not the people you are speaking to. You are speaking to the people who are going to get something out of what you have to say. If you don't get up there, then the people you are there to speak to will not get the benefits of learning about what you are going to speak about.
Most of the time the things you think you believe you can't do are just that beliefs. You can change those beliefs. All you have to do is sit down and start writing down that you can do these things. Think about it. When you write something, you make that thing concrete in your mind. If you can make that concrete in your mind then you will be better prepared to do the things that you once thought you could not do.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Go Ahead and Do It
"If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission." - Admiral Grace Hopper
This quote almost feels like bad advice. But upon second look, I don't think that it is. The admiral is telling you that if faced with a choice of making a decision to do something without permission, if it is a good idea, then you should go ahead and do it. It is better to take the chance of being wrong than to miss an opportunity when you can grasp it.
I think this quote is great advice for leaders. It is something that anyone in management is faced with on a regular basis. If you are left in charge, you will have to make decisions without the leadership of your superiors. That is why they gave you a management roll.
I work retail and I am in charge of a crew who stocks shelves. I often have to decide what to do with stock that comes in that we don't have space for in the normal spots. Sometimes this will lead me to make a special display for upcoming sales just to get the stock out of the stockroom. Now I make these decisions knowing that my boss may come in the next morning and tell me to take down what I have taken the time to put together. Sometimes I fins that my work is for nothing. But, other times the work is noticed and appreciated and it leaves my stockroom clean and empty, just the way it is supposed to be.
When the Admiral made this statement, I wonder how many of his decisions without permissions dealt with the life and death of his soldiers. I don't know if I could make those kinds of decisions. It takes a stronger man that me to put someone's life at risk to do a particular job. That is why he is a Military Admiral and I am a Retail Manager.
This quote almost feels like bad advice. But upon second look, I don't think that it is. The admiral is telling you that if faced with a choice of making a decision to do something without permission, if it is a good idea, then you should go ahead and do it. It is better to take the chance of being wrong than to miss an opportunity when you can grasp it.
I think this quote is great advice for leaders. It is something that anyone in management is faced with on a regular basis. If you are left in charge, you will have to make decisions without the leadership of your superiors. That is why they gave you a management roll.
I work retail and I am in charge of a crew who stocks shelves. I often have to decide what to do with stock that comes in that we don't have space for in the normal spots. Sometimes this will lead me to make a special display for upcoming sales just to get the stock out of the stockroom. Now I make these decisions knowing that my boss may come in the next morning and tell me to take down what I have taken the time to put together. Sometimes I fins that my work is for nothing. But, other times the work is noticed and appreciated and it leaves my stockroom clean and empty, just the way it is supposed to be.
When the Admiral made this statement, I wonder how many of his decisions without permissions dealt with the life and death of his soldiers. I don't know if I could make those kinds of decisions. It takes a stronger man that me to put someone's life at risk to do a particular job. That is why he is a Military Admiral and I am a Retail Manager.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Look For Stars, Not Mud
Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud and one the stars.
~ Frederick Langbridge
This could be said in so many ways. You hand someone a glass with a bit of water in it. One person sees the glass as half empty. The other sees the glass as half full. We have all heard that one. I don't know who said it, but it is a good way to see the nature of a person.
Take a look at yourself first. How do you look at things? Do you think about what is happening to you? Are you seeing all the things people are doing to hurt you? Are you thing about all the negatives in you life? From my experience, thinking about the bad things in life just brings on more things that are bad.
What you want to do is try to turn your thinking around; take a complete 180 turn and start thinking about what is good in your life, or better yet, make the negative things in your life a positive. If your car had a flat tire, take a moment to breathe and realize that the universe is just trying to slow you down. If you move too fast, you might not be able to stop when you see the brick wall.
Look for the positive things in life so you can attract more positive things. Change your way of thinking. Happiness is a choice. You can choose to feel happy. It is easy. Just think to yourself, I refuse to feel negative and I think I am going to feel happy. Want to concrete that feeling. Then start laughing. Start laughing for no reason. Just laugh. You will find it makes you feel better. You will also find that people around you will wonder why you are laughing.
Want another way to feel good. Take a deep breath. Hold it.... Then let it out slowly. It feels good.
This could be said in so many ways. You hand someone a glass with a bit of water in it. One person sees the glass as half empty. The other sees the glass as half full. We have all heard that one. I don't know who said it, but it is a good way to see the nature of a person.
Take a look at yourself first. How do you look at things? Do you think about what is happening to you? Are you seeing all the things people are doing to hurt you? Are you thing about all the negatives in you life? From my experience, thinking about the bad things in life just brings on more things that are bad.
What you want to do is try to turn your thinking around; take a complete 180 turn and start thinking about what is good in your life, or better yet, make the negative things in your life a positive. If your car had a flat tire, take a moment to breathe and realize that the universe is just trying to slow you down. If you move too fast, you might not be able to stop when you see the brick wall.
Look for the positive things in life so you can attract more positive things. Change your way of thinking. Happiness is a choice. You can choose to feel happy. It is easy. Just think to yourself, I refuse to feel negative and I think I am going to feel happy. Want to concrete that feeling. Then start laughing. Start laughing for no reason. Just laugh. You will find it makes you feel better. You will also find that people around you will wonder why you are laughing.
Want another way to feel good. Take a deep breath. Hold it.... Then let it out slowly. It feels good.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Don't Miss Your Sunrise
"Opportunities are like sunrises....If you wait too long, you miss them" ~Unknown
Have I ever told you my Lotto story? I don't tell it often because I don't really condone gambling. But I will still tell you about it. I was working for a grocery store back in the 90's. I was a photo lab tech when there was such a thing as photo labs. I guess you still see them around now and then. Most of them were put out of business because of the digital camera.
Every once in a while I would take part in the lotto pool conducted by a number of our stockers and baggers at the store. We would all put in two dollars and a bunch of lotto tickets would be bought for the group with the understanding that if we ever did win, the winnings would be split up evenly between all who were in the pool.
This one week the boys asked me if I wanted to be in that weeks pool. I made it a rule that if i didn't have the extra cash in my pocket, I would not play. So I told them I didn't have a spare dollar that week to play, but thank you for asking.
Needless to say when I came to work that weekend, I found out that the group of 8 people won $7 million dollars. That meant (after all the taxes and lawyer fees were taken out) they each got $20,000 each year for the next 20 years. Every time I think about that day I kick myself. It was a missed opportunity.
Now here is my disclaimer. I have not played the lotto but maybe twice in the past 5 years. I ran a work lotto pool for a while before that, but we never did win. I don't think anyone should play the lotto if they expect to win a lot of money. The odds are against you and it is a bad investment. But I do think if you just want to have some fun with friends, playing the lotto can be a fun game to play. Just don't spend money that should be spent on food, rent and other bills. If it's not extra money, then don't spend it.
If you do see an opportunity, a way to move up in your career that helps everyone around you, a car you have always wanted for a cheap price, a girl you've had a crush on who has just smiled at you. Take that leap and find a way to gamble on that opportunity. If something comes of it, then you will be happy. If it doesn't, then you will learn something from it.
Have I ever told you my Lotto story? I don't tell it often because I don't really condone gambling. But I will still tell you about it. I was working for a grocery store back in the 90's. I was a photo lab tech when there was such a thing as photo labs. I guess you still see them around now and then. Most of them were put out of business because of the digital camera.
Every once in a while I would take part in the lotto pool conducted by a number of our stockers and baggers at the store. We would all put in two dollars and a bunch of lotto tickets would be bought for the group with the understanding that if we ever did win, the winnings would be split up evenly between all who were in the pool.
This one week the boys asked me if I wanted to be in that weeks pool. I made it a rule that if i didn't have the extra cash in my pocket, I would not play. So I told them I didn't have a spare dollar that week to play, but thank you for asking.
Needless to say when I came to work that weekend, I found out that the group of 8 people won $7 million dollars. That meant (after all the taxes and lawyer fees were taken out) they each got $20,000 each year for the next 20 years. Every time I think about that day I kick myself. It was a missed opportunity.
Now here is my disclaimer. I have not played the lotto but maybe twice in the past 5 years. I ran a work lotto pool for a while before that, but we never did win. I don't think anyone should play the lotto if they expect to win a lot of money. The odds are against you and it is a bad investment. But I do think if you just want to have some fun with friends, playing the lotto can be a fun game to play. Just don't spend money that should be spent on food, rent and other bills. If it's not extra money, then don't spend it.
If you do see an opportunity, a way to move up in your career that helps everyone around you, a car you have always wanted for a cheap price, a girl you've had a crush on who has just smiled at you. Take that leap and find a way to gamble on that opportunity. If something comes of it, then you will be happy. If it doesn't, then you will learn something from it.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Begin Your Life Today
Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. -Grace Hansen
I see so many people living for the future. It is important to plan for the future. I will admit to that, but I think a lot of people focus on the future so much that they forget about today.
The biggest example I can think of this thinking is with religion. People work so hard to make sure they are going to heaven, that they forget to think about what is happening right now. They forget to live. Sure planning for the afterlife is important and going to church is important, but you only get one life. You need to live it to the fullest. If you don't then what is the point in living? That is what God put us here to do, right?
I know people live in the past as well. They feel guilt or anger over what has happened to them or what other people have done to them. They let those emotions run their lives and they don't realize they are missing great opportunities in their lives today.
My best advice is to look at today. See the opportunities that are passing by you. Then move on those opportunities. It doesn't matter what has happened in your past, or what you are planning for in the future, if you take advantage of those opportunities, then great things will happen for you.
I see so many people living for the future. It is important to plan for the future. I will admit to that, but I think a lot of people focus on the future so much that they forget about today.
The biggest example I can think of this thinking is with religion. People work so hard to make sure they are going to heaven, that they forget to think about what is happening right now. They forget to live. Sure planning for the afterlife is important and going to church is important, but you only get one life. You need to live it to the fullest. If you don't then what is the point in living? That is what God put us here to do, right?
I know people live in the past as well. They feel guilt or anger over what has happened to them or what other people have done to them. They let those emotions run their lives and they don't realize they are missing great opportunities in their lives today.
My best advice is to look at today. See the opportunities that are passing by you. Then move on those opportunities. It doesn't matter what has happened in your past, or what you are planning for in the future, if you take advantage of those opportunities, then great things will happen for you.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Make Your Better Your Best
Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. - Tim Duncan
You should be striving to do better than you are right now. I don't care what you are doing. I don't care how well you are doing it. I think there is always room for improvement and you should have a goal to find ways to better yourself.
If you believe you are good at something, that is awesome. You should be good at it. Don't settle for just being good at it. There is probably someone out there who is better than you. Lets say you are a pretty good tennis player. You have found there is no one in your circle of friends who has been able to beat you in years. You may think you are good, but if you have the opportunity to play someone who is on a national circuit playing professionally, then you may find yourself getting beat by someone who is better than you.
That is OK though. When you lose, you have the opportunity to learn from the experience. Lean what it was that tennis player did differently to best you in the match. Befriend that player and ask lots of questions. Then you might be able to apply some of those techniques to your came to become better. Who knows, the coach of that player might have taken the time to watch you play and feels you have a potential for greatness. He might just ask you to join their team and drive around the country and give you the opportunity to play the best tennis players in the world. If that happens, you have the best opportunity to become better at the game.
If you feel you are better than you used to be and can beat most of the professional players around you, you still have the opportunity to continue to learn and to become the best tennis player of all time. The only way to do this is to keep playing till you can make your way to an international competition like Wimbledon. If you can beat every other Tennis Player in the competition, then you will be the best.
Don't settle for what you are doing in you life. Always strive to be better. If you are better, why not strive to be the best. Along that journey, make sure you are enjoying yourself. If you are not having fun becoming the best, then it is not worth the struggle. Only be the best if you enjoy what you are doing.
You should be striving to do better than you are right now. I don't care what you are doing. I don't care how well you are doing it. I think there is always room for improvement and you should have a goal to find ways to better yourself.
If you believe you are good at something, that is awesome. You should be good at it. Don't settle for just being good at it. There is probably someone out there who is better than you. Lets say you are a pretty good tennis player. You have found there is no one in your circle of friends who has been able to beat you in years. You may think you are good, but if you have the opportunity to play someone who is on a national circuit playing professionally, then you may find yourself getting beat by someone who is better than you.
That is OK though. When you lose, you have the opportunity to learn from the experience. Lean what it was that tennis player did differently to best you in the match. Befriend that player and ask lots of questions. Then you might be able to apply some of those techniques to your came to become better. Who knows, the coach of that player might have taken the time to watch you play and feels you have a potential for greatness. He might just ask you to join their team and drive around the country and give you the opportunity to play the best tennis players in the world. If that happens, you have the best opportunity to become better at the game.
If you feel you are better than you used to be and can beat most of the professional players around you, you still have the opportunity to continue to learn and to become the best tennis player of all time. The only way to do this is to keep playing till you can make your way to an international competition like Wimbledon. If you can beat every other Tennis Player in the competition, then you will be the best.
Don't settle for what you are doing in you life. Always strive to be better. If you are better, why not strive to be the best. Along that journey, make sure you are enjoying yourself. If you are not having fun becoming the best, then it is not worth the struggle. Only be the best if you enjoy what you are doing.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Making a Life
We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. ~Winston Churchill
I see people who live in one of these two ways. It is rare that I find someone who can do both effectively. They either live for the hard to earn dollar, or they live to help others around them. It is hard to focus on both of these at the same time. They tend to fight against each other.
Most people are worried about what they have to do to make money to keep a roof over their head and food in the mouths of their family. They don't usually have the time to think about other people. They don't take the time to stop to see what other people around them might need. They are only worried about themselves, which they have the perfectly reasonable right to do. They should think about their family first. That is their priority.
I have seen other people give away their lives to help those in need. I have seen people give away food and go hungry because some stranger looked like they needed it more than they felt they needed it. I have seen people use the majority of their paycheck to pay others people's light bill and never have any savings of their own. They have a heart of a giver, the heart to help those they feel are less fortunate than themselves. The problem is they never get anywhere in life because they give away everything.
I think there should be a happy median. In fact I think there should be a priority to how you deal with life. I think you should make as much money as you can, use that money to pay for your life, make yourself debt free and set yourself up so you don't have to worry about bills, then use whatever is left to help as many people as you can.
I am not saying you can't help other people along the way. You should have a giving heart, but I think you should think of yourself and your family before you go out and give away what you have earned to make your life easier.
Whose to say that we could not give other things other than money while we were getting our lives straightened out. We can always give of our time. We have 24 hours in every day. We should give some of those hours to helping other people freely and without expecting anything in return. Sure time is money, but time is all we have. Se can always make unlimited amounts of money. We can only give up to 24 hours each day. We might as well make that time count for something.
I see people who live in one of these two ways. It is rare that I find someone who can do both effectively. They either live for the hard to earn dollar, or they live to help others around them. It is hard to focus on both of these at the same time. They tend to fight against each other.
Most people are worried about what they have to do to make money to keep a roof over their head and food in the mouths of their family. They don't usually have the time to think about other people. They don't take the time to stop to see what other people around them might need. They are only worried about themselves, which they have the perfectly reasonable right to do. They should think about their family first. That is their priority.
I have seen other people give away their lives to help those in need. I have seen people give away food and go hungry because some stranger looked like they needed it more than they felt they needed it. I have seen people use the majority of their paycheck to pay others people's light bill and never have any savings of their own. They have a heart of a giver, the heart to help those they feel are less fortunate than themselves. The problem is they never get anywhere in life because they give away everything.
I think there should be a happy median. In fact I think there should be a priority to how you deal with life. I think you should make as much money as you can, use that money to pay for your life, make yourself debt free and set yourself up so you don't have to worry about bills, then use whatever is left to help as many people as you can.
I am not saying you can't help other people along the way. You should have a giving heart, but I think you should think of yourself and your family before you go out and give away what you have earned to make your life easier.
Whose to say that we could not give other things other than money while we were getting our lives straightened out. We can always give of our time. We have 24 hours in every day. We should give some of those hours to helping other people freely and without expecting anything in return. Sure time is money, but time is all we have. Se can always make unlimited amounts of money. We can only give up to 24 hours each day. We might as well make that time count for something.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Never Regret
Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. ~ Victoria Holt
A lot of people I fins, live in the fear that they are going to do something wrong. They live in the fear they are going to let someone down. They fear they will fail. I will be the first to admit, I have this fear more often than I don't.
As I live and work and learn, I have found that life is full of successes and failures. The successes are awesome. They feel good and may get you places you never dreamed you could get. It is the failures though that are the most productive. When you fail at something, you have the opportunity to learn from it. If you can learn from it, you will not only have the ability not to let that failure happen again, you also have the ability to teach other the avoid that same failure.
Now you can either give that knowledge away for free and let karma bring you the rewards of helping others, or you can charge for that advice and make a monetary profit from what you have learned. There is nothing wrong in charging for teaching others what you have learned. People do it all the time. There is an entire educational system that thrives of selling knowledge. I have found that if you give your knowledge away, you may get a whole lot more in return than what you will get by charging for it.
Another thing about failure is that it tends to make you feel bad. That is OK. You are allowed to feel the defeat of a failure. The only thing is that you need to immediately pick yourself back up and try it again. There are a lot more failures out there than there are successes. You have to keep trying so you can figure out what truly works. If you don't, then you will never know what you are capable of. So keep trying.
A lot of people I fins, live in the fear that they are going to do something wrong. They live in the fear they are going to let someone down. They fear they will fail. I will be the first to admit, I have this fear more often than I don't.
As I live and work and learn, I have found that life is full of successes and failures. The successes are awesome. They feel good and may get you places you never dreamed you could get. It is the failures though that are the most productive. When you fail at something, you have the opportunity to learn from it. If you can learn from it, you will not only have the ability not to let that failure happen again, you also have the ability to teach other the avoid that same failure.
Now you can either give that knowledge away for free and let karma bring you the rewards of helping others, or you can charge for that advice and make a monetary profit from what you have learned. There is nothing wrong in charging for teaching others what you have learned. People do it all the time. There is an entire educational system that thrives of selling knowledge. I have found that if you give your knowledge away, you may get a whole lot more in return than what you will get by charging for it.
Another thing about failure is that it tends to make you feel bad. That is OK. You are allowed to feel the defeat of a failure. The only thing is that you need to immediately pick yourself back up and try it again. There are a lot more failures out there than there are successes. You have to keep trying so you can figure out what truly works. If you don't, then you will never know what you are capable of. So keep trying.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Pride in Your Appearance
You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure. - Zig Ziglar
I have spent a lot of my life not really caring how I look. I have always preferred dressing for comfort than for style or impressing other people. I have never really had people say anything about how I dress except maybe the ones who live in my house. I figure most other people don't care or they care and don't say anything. Either way, I think there is a time when one should start caring more about his or her own appearance.
There is a time when your appearance can hurt your chances for something you want. You have heard the old saying: You only get ten seconds to make your first impression. That is all the time someone needs to make up their mind about you and how you might be able to help them. If you are dressed like a slob, they are not going to believe you are going to be able to help them. They will think you are someone who does not care. If you don't care about looking like a professional, then why would you take your job seriously and do the work professionally?
It is one thing to dress professionally when you are working. Many people dress well when they go to work, but then they let things fall when they get home. For the most part, that is OK. Think about this though. If you thought you looked good all the time, would you be more willing to take chances when the opportunities arose? These opportunities could be anything.
Lets say you went to the store to get something. There is a woman at the checkout who doesn't give you a second glance because you look like a slob. If you were dressed presentable, she might smile at you, maybe even spark up a conversation.
What if someone came to the door to offer you some sort of service. If you are dressed like a slob, they would not take you serious. If you are dressed like you are someone who could help them, you might be surprised at what they might give you for free just because you held yourself in a professional manner.
When I worked retail, It was often someone would walk in in a dirty T-Shirt and shorts with holes in them. They would walk around and no one would help them because they didn't seem like they had money. I found on more than one occasion that if I helped these people, they would shell out thousands of dollars on things they were looking for. If he dressed cleaner and more like someone who had money, he would have received help right away and possibly gotten a better deal because of that top notch service.
Make sure you dress for success.
I have spent a lot of my life not really caring how I look. I have always preferred dressing for comfort than for style or impressing other people. I have never really had people say anything about how I dress except maybe the ones who live in my house. I figure most other people don't care or they care and don't say anything. Either way, I think there is a time when one should start caring more about his or her own appearance.
There is a time when your appearance can hurt your chances for something you want. You have heard the old saying: You only get ten seconds to make your first impression. That is all the time someone needs to make up their mind about you and how you might be able to help them. If you are dressed like a slob, they are not going to believe you are going to be able to help them. They will think you are someone who does not care. If you don't care about looking like a professional, then why would you take your job seriously and do the work professionally?
It is one thing to dress professionally when you are working. Many people dress well when they go to work, but then they let things fall when they get home. For the most part, that is OK. Think about this though. If you thought you looked good all the time, would you be more willing to take chances when the opportunities arose? These opportunities could be anything.
Lets say you went to the store to get something. There is a woman at the checkout who doesn't give you a second glance because you look like a slob. If you were dressed presentable, she might smile at you, maybe even spark up a conversation.
What if someone came to the door to offer you some sort of service. If you are dressed like a slob, they would not take you serious. If you are dressed like you are someone who could help them, you might be surprised at what they might give you for free just because you held yourself in a professional manner.
When I worked retail, It was often someone would walk in in a dirty T-Shirt and shorts with holes in them. They would walk around and no one would help them because they didn't seem like they had money. I found on more than one occasion that if I helped these people, they would shell out thousands of dollars on things they were looking for. If he dressed cleaner and more like someone who had money, he would have received help right away and possibly gotten a better deal because of that top notch service.
Make sure you dress for success.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The World Within You
Think of the world you carry within you. — Rainer Maria Rilke
Life is a personal point of view. You have to look around you and think about what is going on. You have to process and make your own judgements. You have to listen to the sounds and the words and make of them what you know about. It is personal to each of us. The same experience is impossible for each of us to have. That means we each have a different world within us that each of us are living.
Now that I have completely confused you let me see if I can explain it a little; try to make it clearer. Lets say two people are standing at the bus stop. They are both standing side by side and the bus pulls to the curb and the doors open. It is there to pick them up to take them wherever they want to go. It may seem they are having the same physical experience, but the true experience each one is having is completely different.
First they are experiencing the bus coming to the bus stop at a slightly different angle than the person standing next to them. Therefore they are not seeing the exact same view of the bus.
Second they may be feeling different emotions about taking the bus. One of them might be excited about taking the bus because they have a little bit of pocket change that day and don't have to walk to the store. The other person might be dreading the bus because they don't like crowds and this bus is always crowded. You never know how a person's past experiences are going to affect the present moment.
Even though one thing is happening in the world, each person experiences it differently, therefore the world is different inside their mind than the person standing next to them. There is only one physical world, but we only experience a small fraction of that world, creating something unique within ourselves. Let's live it like it's our own.
Please Leave a comment and expand on my thoughts about personal experience; about the world within ourselves.
Life is a personal point of view. You have to look around you and think about what is going on. You have to process and make your own judgements. You have to listen to the sounds and the words and make of them what you know about. It is personal to each of us. The same experience is impossible for each of us to have. That means we each have a different world within us that each of us are living.
Now that I have completely confused you let me see if I can explain it a little; try to make it clearer. Lets say two people are standing at the bus stop. They are both standing side by side and the bus pulls to the curb and the doors open. It is there to pick them up to take them wherever they want to go. It may seem they are having the same physical experience, but the true experience each one is having is completely different.
First they are experiencing the bus coming to the bus stop at a slightly different angle than the person standing next to them. Therefore they are not seeing the exact same view of the bus.
Second they may be feeling different emotions about taking the bus. One of them might be excited about taking the bus because they have a little bit of pocket change that day and don't have to walk to the store. The other person might be dreading the bus because they don't like crowds and this bus is always crowded. You never know how a person's past experiences are going to affect the present moment.
Even though one thing is happening in the world, each person experiences it differently, therefore the world is different inside their mind than the person standing next to them. There is only one physical world, but we only experience a small fraction of that world, creating something unique within ourselves. Let's live it like it's our own.
Please Leave a comment and expand on my thoughts about personal experience; about the world within ourselves.
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