"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. "
George Bernard Shaw
Mistakes. The very word is likely to strike fear into our hearts. How difficult it is to admit that we made a mistake. How ashamed and embarrassed we feel. We feel like we have failed.
The truth is that the more mistakes we make, the more successful we are. The only way to avoid making mistakes is to do nothing, and if you do nothing you are not really living and certainly not growing. The more you are working towards acheiving a goal, the more mistakes you will make. It's part of being human, and nothing to be ashamed of.
Mistakes are nothing more than an opportunity to learn something about what doesn't work. If you learn the lesson, you will have a better idea of what to try next time. Life is a big experiment. The only way to find out what works sometimes, is to eliminate everything that doesn't work (in other words to make lots of mistakes).
A final thing to consider is that sometimes when you make a mistake while trying to do one thing, it is a useful discovery in trying to solve another problem. Lots of useful inventions came from mistakes that people made trying to create something else.
For ideas about how to become truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Purpose of Life
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
George Bernard Shaw
When we were teenagers, we wanted to find ourself. We wanted to figure out who we were. We wanted to be seperate from what our family told us we were. The problem with this idea is that finding ourselves implies that there is a person to find who (metaphorically) stays in one place. You can't really find something that is always moving and changing.
The truth is that who we are today is different from who we were yesterday, or even from who we were 10 minutes ago. We are always changing because we are always encountering new experiences. We want to have some control over what we are changing into. We want to create ourselves. That is the purpose of our lives.
Of course if we want to create ourselves, we must first decide what it is that we want to create. When we are clear about what we want, then we can gather the experiences that will help us get what we want. People love it when you know what you want, and will be happy to assist you as long as they value your goals too. You will draw to yourself the people who can help you make your goals happen. Circumstances will fall into place. You will be creating the person you want to be, doing what you want to do, and acquiring the things you want to get.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
George Bernard Shaw
When we were teenagers, we wanted to find ourself. We wanted to figure out who we were. We wanted to be seperate from what our family told us we were. The problem with this idea is that finding ourselves implies that there is a person to find who (metaphorically) stays in one place. You can't really find something that is always moving and changing.
The truth is that who we are today is different from who we were yesterday, or even from who we were 10 minutes ago. We are always changing because we are always encountering new experiences. We want to have some control over what we are changing into. We want to create ourselves. That is the purpose of our lives.
Of course if we want to create ourselves, we must first decide what it is that we want to create. When we are clear about what we want, then we can gather the experiences that will help us get what we want. People love it when you know what you want, and will be happy to assist you as long as they value your goals too. You will draw to yourself the people who can help you make your goals happen. Circumstances will fall into place. You will be creating the person you want to be, doing what you want to do, and acquiring the things you want to get.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Friday, August 29, 2008
Ideas
"Getting an idea should be like sitting on a pin. It should make you jump up and do something."
E. L. Simpson
An idea that doesn't lead to action is worthless. You can have all the good ideas in the world, but if you never act on them, nobody else will know about them.
There are actually two different kinds of action. This first is when you think you know what has to be done in order to acheive that result. The second is when you are clear about what you want but you don't know right away what needs to be done. In that situation, what you need to do is just keep focused on what you want to do, trust that God will figure out a way for you to do it, and then just wait quietyly for intuitive nudges, those quiet whispers in your mind, that tell you what needs to be done.
The important thing is to get started as soon as possible. Just do it. Don't procrastinate. Don't worry about finding out all the possible consequences of taking the action you want to take (which is impossible anyway). Just get started. Once you take the first few steps, the path to your goal will start getting clearer and clearer. You will gain momentum.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
E. L. Simpson
An idea that doesn't lead to action is worthless. You can have all the good ideas in the world, but if you never act on them, nobody else will know about them.
There are actually two different kinds of action. This first is when you think you know what has to be done in order to acheive that result. The second is when you are clear about what you want but you don't know right away what needs to be done. In that situation, what you need to do is just keep focused on what you want to do, trust that God will figure out a way for you to do it, and then just wait quietyly for intuitive nudges, those quiet whispers in your mind, that tell you what needs to be done.
The important thing is to get started as soon as possible. Just do it. Don't procrastinate. Don't worry about finding out all the possible consequences of taking the action you want to take (which is impossible anyway). Just get started. Once you take the first few steps, the path to your goal will start getting clearer and clearer. You will gain momentum.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Happiness
"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."
John D. Rockefeller
You can't be successful doing something that you aren't really interested in. People will be able to tell that and won't want to do business with you. Of course, it also has to be something that is a natural strength for you. I beleive that it is the most important and perhaps difficult task in a person's life to determine what it is that he both loves the most and is the best at. You need to find the place in which your talents and your passions meet.
Then, once you have found that thing, you must throw yourself into it. You need to focus on it. There are so many distractions around us these days that most people have trouble just paying attention to one or two things. But "A Jack of all trades is master of none". If you spend all your time working on just one or two things, however, you can create something really magnificent.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
John D. Rockefeller
You can't be successful doing something that you aren't really interested in. People will be able to tell that and won't want to do business with you. Of course, it also has to be something that is a natural strength for you. I beleive that it is the most important and perhaps difficult task in a person's life to determine what it is that he both loves the most and is the best at. You need to find the place in which your talents and your passions meet.
Then, once you have found that thing, you must throw yourself into it. You need to focus on it. There are so many distractions around us these days that most people have trouble just paying attention to one or two things. But "A Jack of all trades is master of none". If you spend all your time working on just one or two things, however, you can create something really magnificent.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Crises
"Great crises produce great men and great deeds of courage"
Some people who are procrastinators say they get more energy and ideas if they wait till the last minute; if they wait until it becomes a crisis. That's their justification for procrastination. Although procrastination is clearly a very bad habit, this experience is real. It is much easier to act when you know that you absolutely have to do something right away.
Ideally, if you have been alert and aware and prepare for things in plenty of time, there won't be many crises in your life. It's probably impossible to eliminate them altogether, though. But when a crisis comes, you need not be so afraid of it. You will probably be able to rise to the occasion. They say that God would never send you a situation that he thought you couldn't handle. Crises may just be a way for God to test, and to show you, just how much you actually can handle. Great crises really do produce great men and great deeds of courage.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Some people who are procrastinators say they get more energy and ideas if they wait till the last minute; if they wait until it becomes a crisis. That's their justification for procrastination. Although procrastination is clearly a very bad habit, this experience is real. It is much easier to act when you know that you absolutely have to do something right away.
Ideally, if you have been alert and aware and prepare for things in plenty of time, there won't be many crises in your life. It's probably impossible to eliminate them altogether, though. But when a crisis comes, you need not be so afraid of it. You will probably be able to rise to the occasion. They say that God would never send you a situation that he thought you couldn't handle. Crises may just be a way for God to test, and to show you, just how much you actually can handle. Great crises really do produce great men and great deeds of courage.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Preparation
"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining"
John F Kennedy
Preparation is essential. You need to be aware of the fact that the roof is leaking, as well as what problems that is likely to create in the future. Most people go through life, really not very aware of what is going on around them. They tend to focus on whatever the most urgent job is at the time and forget about everything else. They deal with the boss's report that they have to finish by tomorrow morning, or the kids begging for attention, or the phone ringing or some other distraction. By the time they've dealt with all that, they crash in front of the T.V. The roof never gets looked at, until it's too late.
It is crucial to prioritize things. Stephen Covey suggests dividing your tasks into Quadrant 1 (Urgent and Important (typically refered to as crises or problems)), Quadrant 2 (Important but not Urgent), Quadrant 3 (Urgent but not Important), and Quadrant 4 (neither Important or Urgent). He suggests staying out of Quadrants 3 and 4 altogether, and shrinking the size of Quadrant 1 by spending more time in Quadrant 2. This Quadrant 2 of course would be the one in which the task of repairing the roof on a sunny day would fall. When you do that, you would avoid the Quadrant 1 task of having to deal with a flooded house.
As you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Act now before a task becomes a crisis. The time to prepare the roof is when the sun is shining.
For more ideas about how to become truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
John F Kennedy
Preparation is essential. You need to be aware of the fact that the roof is leaking, as well as what problems that is likely to create in the future. Most people go through life, really not very aware of what is going on around them. They tend to focus on whatever the most urgent job is at the time and forget about everything else. They deal with the boss's report that they have to finish by tomorrow morning, or the kids begging for attention, or the phone ringing or some other distraction. By the time they've dealt with all that, they crash in front of the T.V. The roof never gets looked at, until it's too late.
It is crucial to prioritize things. Stephen Covey suggests dividing your tasks into Quadrant 1 (Urgent and Important (typically refered to as crises or problems)), Quadrant 2 (Important but not Urgent), Quadrant 3 (Urgent but not Important), and Quadrant 4 (neither Important or Urgent). He suggests staying out of Quadrants 3 and 4 altogether, and shrinking the size of Quadrant 1 by spending more time in Quadrant 2. This Quadrant 2 of course would be the one in which the task of repairing the roof on a sunny day would fall. When you do that, you would avoid the Quadrant 1 task of having to deal with a flooded house.
As you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Act now before a task becomes a crisis. The time to prepare the roof is when the sun is shining.
For more ideas about how to become truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Monday, August 25, 2008
Learning
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence
Abigail Adams
You have to go and seek out information. This is especially true when you are talking to other people. People tend not to volunteer information unless you specificially ask about the topic. That can be a problem when you don't know enough to know what topic you need to learn about. But that is just one reason why seeking out knowledge is so important.
Everyone has a story to tell. Even though a person may seem "beneath you", he might very well have knowledge you could really benefit from. Attend to learning with diligence. Useful knowledge comes from the most surprising places. Be open to it everywhere. Seek out this information with ardor. You never know who it is that has the knowledge that is going to be really important to you.
Seek out learning from a wide variety of sources. You never know what you will need to know in the future. I believe that the more things you know about, the better able you will be to understand any one of them. You have to work at learning. But it is definately worth it.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Abigail Adams
You have to go and seek out information. This is especially true when you are talking to other people. People tend not to volunteer information unless you specificially ask about the topic. That can be a problem when you don't know enough to know what topic you need to learn about. But that is just one reason why seeking out knowledge is so important.
Everyone has a story to tell. Even though a person may seem "beneath you", he might very well have knowledge you could really benefit from. Attend to learning with diligence. Useful knowledge comes from the most surprising places. Be open to it everywhere. Seek out this information with ardor. You never know who it is that has the knowledge that is going to be really important to you.
Seek out learning from a wide variety of sources. You never know what you will need to know in the future. I believe that the more things you know about, the better able you will be to understand any one of them. You have to work at learning. But it is definately worth it.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Sunday, August 24, 2008
the Future
"As for the Future, your task is not to foresee but to enable it"
Antoine de Saint Exupery
We can never know what will happen in the future, as much as we'd like to. Fortune telling is the stuff of amusement park side shows. The future is actually something that is just in our minds. Our egos tend to create a future that is based on what we have seen in the past. We think that what's already happened will probably happen again in the future. But we don't really know that.
Our task is not to foresee (which is impossible) but to enable the future. If I want a particular thing to happen in the future, I can take actions today that make that thing more likely. It is the little actions that we do every day that determine our future. Our habits determine our destiny. Change your habits and you will change your future. All your power lies in making wise choices about what your habits will be, and how you will deal with what's going on right now.
For ideas about how to become truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Antoine de Saint Exupery
We can never know what will happen in the future, as much as we'd like to. Fortune telling is the stuff of amusement park side shows. The future is actually something that is just in our minds. Our egos tend to create a future that is based on what we have seen in the past. We think that what's already happened will probably happen again in the future. But we don't really know that.
Our task is not to foresee (which is impossible) but to enable the future. If I want a particular thing to happen in the future, I can take actions today that make that thing more likely. It is the little actions that we do every day that determine our future. Our habits determine our destiny. Change your habits and you will change your future. All your power lies in making wise choices about what your habits will be, and how you will deal with what's going on right now.
For ideas about how to become truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Beauty
"Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest.
Christian Dior
Zest is defined at spirited, vigorous, enthusiastic enjoyment. To me, that's passion for life.
If you don't have a passion for life, then you are not really living. Life was meant to be enjoyed enthusiastically and vigorously. There are so many wonderful things in the world, it's hard to imagine feeling dull and uninterested. Yet so many people plod through their days with no enjoyment. "Thank God It's Friday", as though only the weekends are worth living. That's not attractive.
Why is something beautiful? I think it is because we want to be reminded that life is wonderful. Deep inside us there is something that longs to feel that sense of wonder we felt as children; that vigorous, enthusiastic enjoyment of life. When we see something that has this quality, we connect to it at our deepest level, and love it. That's why we think it's beautiful.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Christian Dior
Zest is defined at spirited, vigorous, enthusiastic enjoyment. To me, that's passion for life.
If you don't have a passion for life, then you are not really living. Life was meant to be enjoyed enthusiastically and vigorously. There are so many wonderful things in the world, it's hard to imagine feeling dull and uninterested. Yet so many people plod through their days with no enjoyment. "Thank God It's Friday", as though only the weekends are worth living. That's not attractive.
Why is something beautiful? I think it is because we want to be reminded that life is wonderful. Deep inside us there is something that longs to feel that sense of wonder we felt as children; that vigorous, enthusiastic enjoyment of life. When we see something that has this quality, we connect to it at our deepest level, and love it. That's why we think it's beautiful.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Friday, August 22, 2008
Change
"Change brings opportunities when people have been planning for it, are ready for it, and have just the thing in mind to do when the new state comes into being."
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
It is only when change is unexpected that it causes problems. We should be expecting change because we know that everything is constantly changing. "In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes." (Benjamin Franklin). Perhaps what trips us up most is knowing what that change will be likely to be. We tend to miss the clues given to us along the way. We are often so busy trying to deal with what's happening around us right now that we don't really think about the future.
We fear change. We tend to assume that the future will be even worse than it is today. But that is a bad attitude. Change is often for the better. The secret is in being aware enough to anticipate the possibilities and opportunities of the new state, and being prepared to take advantage of them. In order to be successful, you need to expect change, pay attention to the clues of what it is likely to be, and plan for it; then when it happens you can seize the day.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
It is only when change is unexpected that it causes problems. We should be expecting change because we know that everything is constantly changing. "In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes." (Benjamin Franklin). Perhaps what trips us up most is knowing what that change will be likely to be. We tend to miss the clues given to us along the way. We are often so busy trying to deal with what's happening around us right now that we don't really think about the future.
We fear change. We tend to assume that the future will be even worse than it is today. But that is a bad attitude. Change is often for the better. The secret is in being aware enough to anticipate the possibilities and opportunities of the new state, and being prepared to take advantage of them. In order to be successful, you need to expect change, pay attention to the clues of what it is likely to be, and plan for it; then when it happens you can seize the day.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Thursday, August 21, 2008
"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Elie Wiesel
It is so important to stand up for what you beleive in. It is counterproductive to be against war for example (as opposed to being for peace), but you do have to get up and say "this is not acceptable. I want ... to happen". You must focus on what you want to happen (so that the universe will give you what you want) but you also need to be letting everyone else know about why you feel that what's going on now is unacceptable and what should be happening instead. After all, the more people who know what you want, the more who will agree with it, and the more likely it will be to actually happen.
For ideas about acheiving success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Elie Wiesel
It is so important to stand up for what you beleive in. It is counterproductive to be against war for example (as opposed to being for peace), but you do have to get up and say "this is not acceptable. I want ... to happen". You must focus on what you want to happen (so that the universe will give you what you want) but you also need to be letting everyone else know about why you feel that what's going on now is unacceptable and what should be happening instead. After all, the more people who know what you want, the more who will agree with it, and the more likely it will be to actually happen.
For ideas about acheiving success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Desire and Resolution
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other thing"
Abraham Lincoln
Any success begins with the desire to succeed. But, as you probably know, it is not enough just to wish for success. After all, we all want success. It takes a burning desire; a passion. You have to say to yourself "I will succeed or die" You have to cut off your escape routes, and make it impossible for yourself to quit.
The road to anything worth having is strewn with obstacles and roadblocks, and the person who succeeds must find a way around these. Most of us tend to reach the first obstacle and then give up, saying "See, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it" . It takes burning desire to be able to get around these obstacles without quitting.
Think about this. If your family was trapped in your house and there was a huge nasty growling monster guarding the door, would you go in anyway and try to rescue them? Probably you'd be too afraid of him. Now, what about if he was still there but a fire started in the house. Probably, you wouldn't care about the monster any more because all you'd be thinking of is rescuing your family from the fire. That's why you would succeed in getting them out of there. That's the power of a burning desire.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Abraham Lincoln
Any success begins with the desire to succeed. But, as you probably know, it is not enough just to wish for success. After all, we all want success. It takes a burning desire; a passion. You have to say to yourself "I will succeed or die" You have to cut off your escape routes, and make it impossible for yourself to quit.
The road to anything worth having is strewn with obstacles and roadblocks, and the person who succeeds must find a way around these. Most of us tend to reach the first obstacle and then give up, saying "See, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it" . It takes burning desire to be able to get around these obstacles without quitting.
Think about this. If your family was trapped in your house and there was a huge nasty growling monster guarding the door, would you go in anyway and try to rescue them? Probably you'd be too afraid of him. Now, what about if he was still there but a fire started in the house. Probably, you wouldn't care about the monster any more because all you'd be thinking of is rescuing your family from the fire. That's why you would succeed in getting them out of there. That's the power of a burning desire.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Actions
"In each action we must look beyond the action at our past, present, and future state, and at others whom it affects, and see the relations of all those things. And then we will be very cautious.
Blaise Pascal.
How often do we stop to think about what we are doing? How often do we think about who and how it will affect, and whether we would want this? How often do we think about whether our action will take us towards our goals or away from them? How often do we even have a goal for our actions?
Most of us tend to do things as if we were sleepwalking. We just follow our habits without stopping to think about whether they are even relevant to our lives any more. We do things without stopping to think about whether this is going to help us or hurt us, or others. We don't consider how our actions will change other things in our environment. It is time to be more aware of what you are doing. Think about your actions before you do them. Then you won't regret them so much later.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Blaise Pascal.
How often do we stop to think about what we are doing? How often do we think about who and how it will affect, and whether we would want this? How often do we think about whether our action will take us towards our goals or away from them? How often do we even have a goal for our actions?
Most of us tend to do things as if we were sleepwalking. We just follow our habits without stopping to think about whether they are even relevant to our lives any more. We do things without stopping to think about whether this is going to help us or hurt us, or others. We don't consider how our actions will change other things in our environment. It is time to be more aware of what you are doing. Think about your actions before you do them. Then you won't regret them so much later.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
Imagination
Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us.
Stephen R. Covey
Do you have a good imagination? Our parents often frown on a good imagination because they think you need to be realistic. They see fantasies as a waste of time because they don't help you survive in the real world. By the time children get to adulthood, they are caught up in dealing with the world they see all around them. There's work to do, there's a family to look after. Life has become serious.
The trouble with this, however, is that when we are focused on dealing with the things around us, they will not change. If real change is to occur, then someone has to have the imagination to visualize something better than what is around him right now. Someone needs to be thinking like "Some people see things as they are and ask Why. I see things as they never were and ask "Why not." Visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within you. Dare to dream a better world.
For ideas about becoming successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Stephen R. Covey
Do you have a good imagination? Our parents often frown on a good imagination because they think you need to be realistic. They see fantasies as a waste of time because they don't help you survive in the real world. By the time children get to adulthood, they are caught up in dealing with the world they see all around them. There's work to do, there's a family to look after. Life has become serious.
The trouble with this, however, is that when we are focused on dealing with the things around us, they will not change. If real change is to occur, then someone has to have the imagination to visualize something better than what is around him right now. Someone needs to be thinking like "Some people see things as they are and ask Why. I see things as they never were and ask "Why not." Visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within you. Dare to dream a better world.
For ideas about becoming successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Begin
"All glory comes from daring to begin"
Eugene F. Ware
Sometimes it is so hard to just get started doing something. We feel we need to know everything before we start. We want to know all possible consequences of doing our project. It feels overwhelming. We procrastinate, and Napoleon Hill says procrastination is one of the most common reasons why people don't succeed.
The hardest part of a journey is just taking that first step. After that, everything gets easier. If we just get started, before we know it we will be finished our project and claiming our glory.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Eugene F. Ware
Sometimes it is so hard to just get started doing something. We feel we need to know everything before we start. We want to know all possible consequences of doing our project. It feels overwhelming. We procrastinate, and Napoleon Hill says procrastination is one of the most common reasons why people don't succeed.
The hardest part of a journey is just taking that first step. After that, everything gets easier. If we just get started, before we know it we will be finished our project and claiming our glory.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Acheiving Success
You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end."
Sidney A. Friedman
This is the winning formula here. First of all you have to know what you want, and dare to go after it, even when everyone around you is ridiculing your ideas and calling you a dreamer. In fact, I would thank those people because they are probably making you more determined than ever to acheive your dream just so you can prove them wrong and say "I told you so".
Then you have to make a plan. It needs to be a plan that you can realistically do, although that requires knowledge of what you actually can do. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses and take those into account.
Finally, you need to have determination. Most people quit after the first difficulty. There will always be difficulties, in fact the greater the idea the more roadblocks there will be. This kind of determination comes from a desire for whatever it is that you want that is so intense you will do anything that is legal, moral, and ethical to get it. This kind of what determination is really what seperates the winners from the losers.
Know what you want, figure out how you will get it, and then go for it. That's the formula for success, in a nutshell
For more ideas about finding success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Sidney A. Friedman
This is the winning formula here. First of all you have to know what you want, and dare to go after it, even when everyone around you is ridiculing your ideas and calling you a dreamer. In fact, I would thank those people because they are probably making you more determined than ever to acheive your dream just so you can prove them wrong and say "I told you so".
Then you have to make a plan. It needs to be a plan that you can realistically do, although that requires knowledge of what you actually can do. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses and take those into account.
Finally, you need to have determination. Most people quit after the first difficulty. There will always be difficulties, in fact the greater the idea the more roadblocks there will be. This kind of determination comes from a desire for whatever it is that you want that is so intense you will do anything that is legal, moral, and ethical to get it. This kind of what determination is really what seperates the winners from the losers.
Know what you want, figure out how you will get it, and then go for it. That's the formula for success, in a nutshell
For more ideas about finding success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Friday, August 15, 2008
Your Environment
"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."
W. Clement Stone
Think about your environment for a moment. Is it attractive or unattractive? How does it make you feel? Do you feel like you had a choice in it? You always have a choice, but if you don't choose something, life will choose for you, and it may not be something you like. If you live in an environment that is cheap and unappealing, you are eventually going to feel cheap and unappealing too. And, because you become what you think about, you will become a cheap and unappealing person. You don't want that!
What are your friends like? We all know the classic story of the teenager who was such a good kid untill he started hanging out with the wrong people. Well, that happens to adults too. Your friends are a big influence upon you. They say your income will be the average of that of your five closest friends. Maybe this is one reason why you should seek out rich friends. Your friends introduce you to new ideas and beleifs, and motivate you to explore them. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what those ideas and beleifs are.
Make sure you choose to stay in an environment that is conducive to your personal growth, so that it will shape you to be a better person. Make sure you find friends whose ideas and beleifs are the ones that will make you grow, so that you become a growing person.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
W. Clement Stone
Think about your environment for a moment. Is it attractive or unattractive? How does it make you feel? Do you feel like you had a choice in it? You always have a choice, but if you don't choose something, life will choose for you, and it may not be something you like. If you live in an environment that is cheap and unappealing, you are eventually going to feel cheap and unappealing too. And, because you become what you think about, you will become a cheap and unappealing person. You don't want that!
What are your friends like? We all know the classic story of the teenager who was such a good kid untill he started hanging out with the wrong people. Well, that happens to adults too. Your friends are a big influence upon you. They say your income will be the average of that of your five closest friends. Maybe this is one reason why you should seek out rich friends. Your friends introduce you to new ideas and beleifs, and motivate you to explore them. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what those ideas and beleifs are.
Make sure you choose to stay in an environment that is conducive to your personal growth, so that it will shape you to be a better person. Make sure you find friends whose ideas and beleifs are the ones that will make you grow, so that you become a growing person.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Happiness
"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."
John D. Rockefeller
This road to happiness is also the road to success. I beleive that the biggest task of growing up is to determine what it is that interests you and that you can do well. I think some people never really find that out. They may find some things that interest them, or some things that they can do well, but not the one most interesting thing that they can do best. The one thing that they are willing to put all their energy and ambition into. That may be one reason why so many people don't stay with the same career their whole lives.
If you want to be happy, you need to have something that you can dedicate yourself completely too. Many people volunteer for organizations that have almost no hope of making any real change, but these people are happy because they are doing everything they can to support the cause that they beleive in. They're happy even when they know they probably won't be successful. Their passion for what they do is a kind of success in itself, and it is all they really need.
Do you know the one thing that you are most interested in and can do best? Think about it. Then, once you are sure you know what that is, strive to do it as well as possible. Put all your energy and ambition; your strengths and natural talents into it. Then enjoy a success and happiness you haven't seen before.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
John D. Rockefeller
This road to happiness is also the road to success. I beleive that the biggest task of growing up is to determine what it is that interests you and that you can do well. I think some people never really find that out. They may find some things that interest them, or some things that they can do well, but not the one most interesting thing that they can do best. The one thing that they are willing to put all their energy and ambition into. That may be one reason why so many people don't stay with the same career their whole lives.
If you want to be happy, you need to have something that you can dedicate yourself completely too. Many people volunteer for organizations that have almost no hope of making any real change, but these people are happy because they are doing everything they can to support the cause that they beleive in. They're happy even when they know they probably won't be successful. Their passion for what they do is a kind of success in itself, and it is all they really need.
Do you know the one thing that you are most interested in and can do best? Think about it. Then, once you are sure you know what that is, strive to do it as well as possible. Put all your energy and ambition; your strengths and natural talents into it. Then enjoy a success and happiness you haven't seen before.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
"Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days... What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Do you have trouble making up your mind. Many people do. Susan Jeffers quotes one of her students as saying "Sometimes I feel like the proverbial donkey between two bales of hay- unable to decide which one I want, and, in the meantime, starving to death." Sound familiar?
We are afraid of making the wrong decision, so that we don't get all the good stuff the right decision is supposed to bring us. We are afraid of making a mistake. We are afraid of not being perfect, and we are afraid we can't control the outcome of events. Once again, fear rears it's ugly head. It is actually possible, however, to change your thinking so that whatever decision you make, you can see the good in it.
Doubt has no place in the minds of successful people. They know what they want and they go for it. They are quick to make a decision and slow to change their minds. As soon as they have quickly done their due diligence, they get to work. They get in, seize the opportunity, while other people are still trying to decide whether it would be a smart thing to do.
Be bold. Seize the day. Make a decision and go for it. You'll be glad you did.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Do you have trouble making up your mind. Many people do. Susan Jeffers quotes one of her students as saying "Sometimes I feel like the proverbial donkey between two bales of hay- unable to decide which one I want, and, in the meantime, starving to death." Sound familiar?
We are afraid of making the wrong decision, so that we don't get all the good stuff the right decision is supposed to bring us. We are afraid of making a mistake. We are afraid of not being perfect, and we are afraid we can't control the outcome of events. Once again, fear rears it's ugly head. It is actually possible, however, to change your thinking so that whatever decision you make, you can see the good in it.
Doubt has no place in the minds of successful people. They know what they want and they go for it. They are quick to make a decision and slow to change their minds. As soon as they have quickly done their due diligence, they get to work. They get in, seize the opportunity, while other people are still trying to decide whether it would be a smart thing to do.
Be bold. Seize the day. Make a decision and go for it. You'll be glad you did.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Monday, August 11, 2008
Problems
Great crises produce great men and great deeds of courage."
John F. Kennedy
Is your idea of a perfect world one in which everything goes smoothly and there are no problems ever?It sure sounds nice. In theory. But problems and difficulties have a very important place in our lives. For one thing, they are an inevitable result of having choices. The book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry gives a fascinating account of a future world where there is no pain or suffering because the people have no choices (everything is taken care of for them), and what the hidden costs of that are. It makes one truly glad that we have the choice to make mistakes.
The truth is that people cannot grow if they are not challenged. And they are not challenged if everything goes smoothly for them. If nothing bad ever happens to them, they never really learn what it is that they want, and they never appreciate it when good things happen. If they never experience a crisis, they never learn that they can deal with problems, that they can rely on themselves. They never learn how to deal with it when things don't go their way. They never learn to develop their creativity or intuition because they never have to.
Next time you come up against a problem, be grateful for it. It is making you a better person. Great crises really do produce great men and great deeds.
For tips about how to be successful, visit http://www/reachingmypotential.com
John F. Kennedy
Is your idea of a perfect world one in which everything goes smoothly and there are no problems ever?It sure sounds nice. In theory. But problems and difficulties have a very important place in our lives. For one thing, they are an inevitable result of having choices. The book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry gives a fascinating account of a future world where there is no pain or suffering because the people have no choices (everything is taken care of for them), and what the hidden costs of that are. It makes one truly glad that we have the choice to make mistakes.
The truth is that people cannot grow if they are not challenged. And they are not challenged if everything goes smoothly for them. If nothing bad ever happens to them, they never really learn what it is that they want, and they never appreciate it when good things happen. If they never experience a crisis, they never learn that they can deal with problems, that they can rely on themselves. They never learn how to deal with it when things don't go their way. They never learn to develop their creativity or intuition because they never have to.
Next time you come up against a problem, be grateful for it. It is making you a better person. Great crises really do produce great men and great deeds.
For tips about how to be successful, visit http://www/reachingmypotential.com
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Following Instincts
Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself."
Oprah Winfrey
Do you follow your instincts, or do you do what logic suggests? People often talk themselves out of success, out of doing what their instincts tell them that they really should. They ask "What if..." They think of all the possible problems that might come up, and whether they would be able to deal with them. They decide they're not capable. They start to wonder if it's worth it. They don't know how they're going to do it. So they don't.
We always are making choices. Sometimes your logic and your instincts tell you to do the same thing. But sometimes they disagree. The problem with doing as logic suggests is that you are limited to the methods, and imagined consequences, that your experience suggests.
Your instincts are Universe's way, with it's infinite experience, of advising you what is best for you. They are the Universe's way of guiding you towards success. They are where true wisdom manifests itself. Follow your instincts, not your logic.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Oprah Winfrey
Do you follow your instincts, or do you do what logic suggests? People often talk themselves out of success, out of doing what their instincts tell them that they really should. They ask "What if..." They think of all the possible problems that might come up, and whether they would be able to deal with them. They decide they're not capable. They start to wonder if it's worth it. They don't know how they're going to do it. So they don't.
We always are making choices. Sometimes your logic and your instincts tell you to do the same thing. But sometimes they disagree. The problem with doing as logic suggests is that you are limited to the methods, and imagined consequences, that your experience suggests.
Your instincts are Universe's way, with it's infinite experience, of advising you what is best for you. They are the Universe's way of guiding you towards success. They are where true wisdom manifests itself. Follow your instincts, not your logic.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Optimism
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."
Helen Keller
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the glass as half empty or half full. Susan Jeffers has found that positive thinking is one of the most difficult concepts to get across to people. She found her students respond immediately with "Oh, that's not realistic"; although they can't explain why it's not realistic. She says there is an automatic assumption that negative ideas are realistic and positive ideas are unrealistic. But the truth is that reality is whatever you decide is real, whether it's good or bad.
Why would anyone want to be a pessimist? It doesn't make you happy. My mother likes to proclaim that so many bad things are going on, the world is just getting worse and worse. It doubt if that makes her inspired to improve it. She's just kind of given up on it, feeling that she, or anyone else can't make any positive difference in the world anyway.
If she was to shift her viewpoint, and proclaim that lots of exciting new things are happening and the world is getting better and better, then I'm willing to bet that she would be much more eager to be a part of those exciting new developments. She would be more motivated to come up with an exciting new development of her own to add to them.
You might say that being a pessimist is selfish. You, in effect, are keeping your talents to yourself. When you are optimistic, you are much more inclined to share your talents with others, and come up with something that benefits everyone.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Helen Keller
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the glass as half empty or half full. Susan Jeffers has found that positive thinking is one of the most difficult concepts to get across to people. She found her students respond immediately with "Oh, that's not realistic"; although they can't explain why it's not realistic. She says there is an automatic assumption that negative ideas are realistic and positive ideas are unrealistic. But the truth is that reality is whatever you decide is real, whether it's good or bad.
Why would anyone want to be a pessimist? It doesn't make you happy. My mother likes to proclaim that so many bad things are going on, the world is just getting worse and worse. It doubt if that makes her inspired to improve it. She's just kind of given up on it, feeling that she, or anyone else can't make any positive difference in the world anyway.
If she was to shift her viewpoint, and proclaim that lots of exciting new things are happening and the world is getting better and better, then I'm willing to bet that she would be much more eager to be a part of those exciting new developments. She would be more motivated to come up with an exciting new development of her own to add to them.
You might say that being a pessimist is selfish. You, in effect, are keeping your talents to yourself. When you are optimistic, you are much more inclined to share your talents with others, and come up with something that benefits everyone.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Friday, August 8, 2008
Finish What You Started
"Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started."
David Allen"Getting Things Done"
Do you feel like there are just too many things for you to get done and the day just isn't long enough? In our society, we are very action oriented. We feel we are expected to get as much done as possible in our lives. We take on as many projects as possible. We feel guilty if we just sit down for a while and do nothing.
In fact, some people claim that we are turning into a society of ADHD. We can't even pay attention to news stories that last more than a few minutes; enough attention to really understand what is going on behind the events that are shaping our lives.
What we are missing is focus. We don't know what we really want to accomplish in our lives so we try to accomplish everything. And because there isn't time to do everything, we never get anything finished. There are always more urgent and/or appealing projects to get started instead. But there is a price to pay for this.
We never have the satisfaction of having completed a job and having spent enough time and undivided attention to it to have done it well. Another problem is that we only have enough attention for so many things at a time. If you have several unfinished projects, you don't have as much attention to pay to bringing new opportunities into your life. And, as Jack Canfeild says "The truth is that 20 things completed have more power than 50 things half completed. One finished book, for instance, that can go out and influence the world is better than 13 books you're in the process of writing."
Determine what you want to get accomplished in life, decide the first step to take towards that, and don't allow yourself to get distracted. Your life will be a lot less stressful that way.
For more ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
David Allen"Getting Things Done"
Do you feel like there are just too many things for you to get done and the day just isn't long enough? In our society, we are very action oriented. We feel we are expected to get as much done as possible in our lives. We take on as many projects as possible. We feel guilty if we just sit down for a while and do nothing.
In fact, some people claim that we are turning into a society of ADHD. We can't even pay attention to news stories that last more than a few minutes; enough attention to really understand what is going on behind the events that are shaping our lives.
What we are missing is focus. We don't know what we really want to accomplish in our lives so we try to accomplish everything. And because there isn't time to do everything, we never get anything finished. There are always more urgent and/or appealing projects to get started instead. But there is a price to pay for this.
We never have the satisfaction of having completed a job and having spent enough time and undivided attention to it to have done it well. Another problem is that we only have enough attention for so many things at a time. If you have several unfinished projects, you don't have as much attention to pay to bringing new opportunities into your life. And, as Jack Canfeild says "The truth is that 20 things completed have more power than 50 things half completed. One finished book, for instance, that can go out and influence the world is better than 13 books you're in the process of writing."
Determine what you want to get accomplished in life, decide the first step to take towards that, and don't allow yourself to get distracted. Your life will be a lot less stressful that way.
For more ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Reactions
"You may not be able to control the situation, but you can always control your reaction."
Austin Mcgonigle
It is true that we often have no control over what happens to us. For example, we can't control whether there is going to be a traffic jam on the way to work this morning. We can't control whether someone else has an accident and ties up the traffic for hours. We can't control whether there is going to be an earthquake that damages the road we want to take to get to work. These situations just sometimes happen to us. We all know the frustration of sitting in a traffic jam. But we can control how we react to the situation.
It is always possible to see any situation in another way. You actually can choose how you feel. In this example, you could notice that you sometimes get stuck in traffic jams and prepare for it. Bring along a inspirational or educational tape to listen to. Invent a fun game to play by yourself. Then you can actually enjoy the wait because you were able to learn something new or do something fun while you were waiting.
Susan Jeffers, in her book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway", gives some more examples of chosing a better reaction.
1) If your visit to sunny California finds every day filled with torrents of rain, you can lament your bad luck OR you can find ways to make it a great vacation anyway.
2) If you planned to do something with your friend and she opts out at the last minute, you can be angry about it OR you can understand that she had her reasons and either find someone else to go with or go alone and have a great time.
3) If you got sick and had to miss a very important business meeting, you could worry that this is the end of your whole career OR you could realize that you have limitless ways of creating a successful career for yourself.
4) If your husband is an alcoholic, you could spend your whole life trying to scold him or change him OR you could attend Al-Anon meetings and learn to change yourself.
Those are just some examples. In any situation, you can always have a choice about how you are going to react to it. Choose the positive, empowering choice every time.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Austin Mcgonigle
It is true that we often have no control over what happens to us. For example, we can't control whether there is going to be a traffic jam on the way to work this morning. We can't control whether someone else has an accident and ties up the traffic for hours. We can't control whether there is going to be an earthquake that damages the road we want to take to get to work. These situations just sometimes happen to us. We all know the frustration of sitting in a traffic jam. But we can control how we react to the situation.
It is always possible to see any situation in another way. You actually can choose how you feel. In this example, you could notice that you sometimes get stuck in traffic jams and prepare for it. Bring along a inspirational or educational tape to listen to. Invent a fun game to play by yourself. Then you can actually enjoy the wait because you were able to learn something new or do something fun while you were waiting.
Susan Jeffers, in her book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway", gives some more examples of chosing a better reaction.
1) If your visit to sunny California finds every day filled with torrents of rain, you can lament your bad luck OR you can find ways to make it a great vacation anyway.
2) If you planned to do something with your friend and she opts out at the last minute, you can be angry about it OR you can understand that she had her reasons and either find someone else to go with or go alone and have a great time.
3) If you got sick and had to miss a very important business meeting, you could worry that this is the end of your whole career OR you could realize that you have limitless ways of creating a successful career for yourself.
4) If your husband is an alcoholic, you could spend your whole life trying to scold him or change him OR you could attend Al-Anon meetings and learn to change yourself.
Those are just some examples. In any situation, you can always have a choice about how you are going to react to it. Choose the positive, empowering choice every time.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
"A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
George Bernard Shaw
Are you afraid of making mistakes? We are often so afraid of making mistakes that they don't make a decision about what to do. The are afraid that making the wrong decision will deprive us of what we want (whatever the right decision is supposed to bring us) . We have been taught to be careful that we don't make the wrong decision ("What if I make this choice and that happens?"). We feel we need to be perfect, and that we need to control the outcome of events ("What if it doesn't work out the way I plan?"). We feel that to make a mistake is an embarrassing failure. This petrifies us when we think about making a change or attempting a challenge.
We forget that not only are we, as humans, supposed to make mistakes, but that they are actually good for us. They teach us what doesn't work, and that helps us narrow down our list of things to try that might work. Thomas Edison made 10,000 "mistakes" while he was creating the light bulb. He commented "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." He was successful because he wasn't afraid of making mistakes.
Our lives are really like a big experiment where we are finding out what works and what doesn't. The most important thing of all is to get out there and take action. Yes, you may make a mistake, in fact you probably will. But that's okay as long as you learn what you can from it. Then you make any necessary adjustments in your plan, and keep going. There's nothing worse than sitting there, paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, and letting life pass you by. They say that on your deathbed you will be regretting the things you didn't do, not the things you did (even if they proved to be mistakes).
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/.
George Bernard Shaw
Are you afraid of making mistakes? We are often so afraid of making mistakes that they don't make a decision about what to do. The are afraid that making the wrong decision will deprive us of what we want (whatever the right decision is supposed to bring us) . We have been taught to be careful that we don't make the wrong decision ("What if I make this choice and that happens?"). We feel we need to be perfect, and that we need to control the outcome of events ("What if it doesn't work out the way I plan?"). We feel that to make a mistake is an embarrassing failure. This petrifies us when we think about making a change or attempting a challenge.
We forget that not only are we, as humans, supposed to make mistakes, but that they are actually good for us. They teach us what doesn't work, and that helps us narrow down our list of things to try that might work. Thomas Edison made 10,000 "mistakes" while he was creating the light bulb. He commented "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." He was successful because he wasn't afraid of making mistakes.
Our lives are really like a big experiment where we are finding out what works and what doesn't. The most important thing of all is to get out there and take action. Yes, you may make a mistake, in fact you probably will. But that's okay as long as you learn what you can from it. Then you make any necessary adjustments in your plan, and keep going. There's nothing worse than sitting there, paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, and letting life pass you by. They say that on your deathbed you will be regretting the things you didn't do, not the things you did (even if they proved to be mistakes).
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Attitude of Gratitude
"If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough." Oprah Winfrey
It comes down to what your focus is. What you focus on, comes to you. If you focus on, acknowledge, and appreciate all the good things in your life, then you will just get more good things to acknowledge and appreciate. If, however, you focus on all the things you don't have, then there will be even more things that you don't have.
The important thing here is to focus on the good things in YOUR life. So often we see good things in other people's life and decide that's what we want. The problem arises because we then feel jealosy. We feel like "Why do they have it when I can't get it for myself? It's not fair!". Jealosy, like anger, is always easy to justify in the moment. At that point, however, you are focusing on what you don't have; you beleive and expect that you will never have it, and so you will continue to never have it. Unfortunately, jealosy comes from thoughts of "I can't get what I want" which makes you into a powerless victim of circumstance. When you really understand that you can create anything that you want in your life, jealosy becomes a thing of the past.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
It comes down to what your focus is. What you focus on, comes to you. If you focus on, acknowledge, and appreciate all the good things in your life, then you will just get more good things to acknowledge and appreciate. If, however, you focus on all the things you don't have, then there will be even more things that you don't have.
The important thing here is to focus on the good things in YOUR life. So often we see good things in other people's life and decide that's what we want. The problem arises because we then feel jealosy. We feel like "Why do they have it when I can't get it for myself? It's not fair!". Jealosy, like anger, is always easy to justify in the moment. At that point, however, you are focusing on what you don't have; you beleive and expect that you will never have it, and so you will continue to never have it. Unfortunately, jealosy comes from thoughts of "I can't get what I want" which makes you into a powerless victim of circumstance. When you really understand that you can create anything that you want in your life, jealosy becomes a thing of the past.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Monday, August 4, 2008
Happiness
"Happiness depends, as Nature shows,
Less on material things than most suppose"
William Cowper
Have you often thought that you will be happier when you get more money in the bank? Or when you can buy that new Jaguar convertible? Or when you get that mansion on the waterfront? We all tend to think that we will be happier when we get the things we want. This is why we get jealous of the people we see who have all those things. We think that it's not fair that he has the money, the car, and the mansion that we want, and we don't.
We focus on what he has that we don't, and forget about the big picture. Maybe he has terrible family relationships, or a disease we don't know about. If we knew everything going on in his life, chances are we would change our mind about wanting the life he has. Having more things doesn't make us happy; there are plenty of very wealthy celebrities that are miserable, perhaps even miserable enough to commit suicide.
Happiness depends on interior things, which is good news because you can learn to control those interior things: your attitude and your perceptions. It depends, first and foremost, on your ability to appreciate those things you do have, no matter how few of them there are. You can appreciate your health and the fact that you eat 3 square meals a day (in many places, a person typically eats something like half a cup of rice in a day). You can appreciate the fact that you know how to read and have probably had at least a high school education (many people in other countries haven't). You can appreciate the fact that you probably can attend church without having to worry about being bombed (many people in other countries can't). If you're really desperate, you can still appreciate beautiful sunsets and cool breezes on a hot summer day. There are all kinds of things you can appreciate, no matter how little you have. This is what your happiness really depends on.
For ideas about how to be happy and successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Less on material things than most suppose"
William Cowper
Have you often thought that you will be happier when you get more money in the bank? Or when you can buy that new Jaguar convertible? Or when you get that mansion on the waterfront? We all tend to think that we will be happier when we get the things we want. This is why we get jealous of the people we see who have all those things. We think that it's not fair that he has the money, the car, and the mansion that we want, and we don't.
We focus on what he has that we don't, and forget about the big picture. Maybe he has terrible family relationships, or a disease we don't know about. If we knew everything going on in his life, chances are we would change our mind about wanting the life he has. Having more things doesn't make us happy; there are plenty of very wealthy celebrities that are miserable, perhaps even miserable enough to commit suicide.
Happiness depends on interior things, which is good news because you can learn to control those interior things: your attitude and your perceptions. It depends, first and foremost, on your ability to appreciate those things you do have, no matter how few of them there are. You can appreciate your health and the fact that you eat 3 square meals a day (in many places, a person typically eats something like half a cup of rice in a day). You can appreciate the fact that you know how to read and have probably had at least a high school education (many people in other countries haven't). You can appreciate the fact that you probably can attend church without having to worry about being bombed (many people in other countries can't). If you're really desperate, you can still appreciate beautiful sunsets and cool breezes on a hot summer day. There are all kinds of things you can appreciate, no matter how little you have. This is what your happiness really depends on.
For ideas about how to be happy and successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The little things are infinitely the most important."
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Most of us want big changes in our life, and we want it to happen as soon as possible. We want to lose 20 lbs, for example. We wish there was a simple straightforward thing we could do to lose the weight that we wouldn't have to think about again. But life doesn't work like that. We need to think about all the little choices we make every day. Is eating this peice of cake going to help me acheive my goal? Is driving to the shop a couple of blocks away going to help me acheive my goal? It is all those little things you do every day that determine whether you will reach your goal or not.
If, for example, you made the choice one day to forego the peice of cake, it makes it easier to forego the cake next time too. Over time, foregoing peices of cake, would become a habit (and of course you would no longer be in the habit of eating rich desserts). The habit of repeatedly denying cake demonstrates to you how important your goal is. You get to know that you take this goal seriously enough, that you are willing to do whatever it takes to acheive it. And once, you have that attitude, then the Universe will find a way for you to acheive it.
Once we know what we want, we need to address the little choices we make every day, and ask ourselves if they support our goal. We need to develop new habits that support our goal, and we do that by examining those little things we do. We need to develop the confidence that we are willing to go out of our way, to change our habits, in order to acheive our goals. We need to know that we can be relied on to keep our promises to ourselves. When we prove to ourselves that our goal is important enough that we are willing to change our behavior to acheive it, then the Universe will see our goal as important too, and will find a way for us to get what we want.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Most of us want big changes in our life, and we want it to happen as soon as possible. We want to lose 20 lbs, for example. We wish there was a simple straightforward thing we could do to lose the weight that we wouldn't have to think about again. But life doesn't work like that. We need to think about all the little choices we make every day. Is eating this peice of cake going to help me acheive my goal? Is driving to the shop a couple of blocks away going to help me acheive my goal? It is all those little things you do every day that determine whether you will reach your goal or not.
If, for example, you made the choice one day to forego the peice of cake, it makes it easier to forego the cake next time too. Over time, foregoing peices of cake, would become a habit (and of course you would no longer be in the habit of eating rich desserts). The habit of repeatedly denying cake demonstrates to you how important your goal is. You get to know that you take this goal seriously enough, that you are willing to do whatever it takes to acheive it. And once, you have that attitude, then the Universe will find a way for you to acheive it.
Once we know what we want, we need to address the little choices we make every day, and ask ourselves if they support our goal. We need to develop new habits that support our goal, and we do that by examining those little things we do. We need to develop the confidence that we are willing to go out of our way, to change our habits, in order to acheive our goals. We need to know that we can be relied on to keep our promises to ourselves. When we prove to ourselves that our goal is important enough that we are willing to change our behavior to acheive it, then the Universe will see our goal as important too, and will find a way for us to get what we want.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Saturday, August 2, 2008
"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life."
Eleanor Roosevelt
I once heard a woman comment something like "Why should my child be learning about bioluminescence. She's never going to need to know about that for her job" I thought to myself, "How dull the world would be if we only learned what was necessary for us to do our job! We would miss out on so many fascinating things." It is a shame that there are people who have no interest in the world around them, because there are so many interesting things to discover.
The truth is that if we are not curious we are not learning, and we are not growing. In effect, we die inside, because growth and improvement are the essense of life itself. If we have no desire to learn about what is going on around us, if we have no curiosity, then we truly have turned our back on life. We are alive but we are going around like a zombie, not really living. It is so much better to live in that child-like state of wonder, to be always asking questions. Be curious, learn, grow, and truly live your life.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Eleanor Roosevelt
I once heard a woman comment something like "Why should my child be learning about bioluminescence. She's never going to need to know about that for her job" I thought to myself, "How dull the world would be if we only learned what was necessary for us to do our job! We would miss out on so many fascinating things." It is a shame that there are people who have no interest in the world around them, because there are so many interesting things to discover.
The truth is that if we are not curious we are not learning, and we are not growing. In effect, we die inside, because growth and improvement are the essense of life itself. If we have no desire to learn about what is going on around us, if we have no curiosity, then we truly have turned our back on life. We are alive but we are going around like a zombie, not really living. It is so much better to live in that child-like state of wonder, to be always asking questions. Be curious, learn, grow, and truly live your life.
For ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Friday, August 1, 2008
Balance
"Balance is the key to success in all things. Do not neglect your mind, body, or spirit. Invest time and energy in all of them equally - it will be the best investment you ever make, not just for your life but for whatever is to follow."
Tanya Wheway
You were meant to be person who is not rich with poor health, or healthy but spiritually poor, or spiritual but without money. God intended you to have abundance in all areas of your life. If you are lacking in even one area, you will not be happy (which is the measure of being truly successful).
You are the same as your weakest link. If all your links are strong, as they should be, you will be strong. Don't neglect any part of your life.
Over a day, or a week, try to spend equal amounts of time and energy on all areas of your life. Resist the temptation to make one area (your children for example) your whole life. That way, when your children grow up (which is inevitable), or your job is downsized, or your spouse gets very sick, or something like that, you will have other parts of your life to support you while you adjust to the loss of that one area. It won't be your whole life that has collapsed around you. You will feel a lot better, and a lot more able to cope with life.
For more ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
Tanya Wheway
You were meant to be person who is not rich with poor health, or healthy but spiritually poor, or spiritual but without money. God intended you to have abundance in all areas of your life. If you are lacking in even one area, you will not be happy (which is the measure of being truly successful).
You are the same as your weakest link. If all your links are strong, as they should be, you will be strong. Don't neglect any part of your life.
Over a day, or a week, try to spend equal amounts of time and energy on all areas of your life. Resist the temptation to make one area (your children for example) your whole life. That way, when your children grow up (which is inevitable), or your job is downsized, or your spouse gets very sick, or something like that, you will have other parts of your life to support you while you adjust to the loss of that one area. It won't be your whole life that has collapsed around you. You will feel a lot better, and a lot more able to cope with life.
For more ideas about how to be successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com/
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