No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined
Henry Emerson Fosdick
You can't accomplish anything great unless you focus all your energies on it. If there are 10 rosebuds on a branch and they all share the available nutrients, water etc, they are all going to be fairly small. But if you only have one rosebud on a branch because you've got rid of all the others, then it gets all the available nutrients, water etc and grows to be much bigger and better. If you have 10 projects going on at the same time, then each of them will share in your available energy, time, and resources, and they are all going to turn out okay. But if you only have one project and it gets all of your energy, time etc, it will turn out to be something special.
If your life is not dedicated to one major purpose, then you won't be able to focus your time, energy and resources on that one thing. If your life is not disciplined, you will always be running around trying to respond to every little thing that life gives you and none of those projects will turn out to be very good or satisfying to you.
The only way to accomplish something great is to dedicate your life to a single purpose, focus on one project that fullfills that purpose, and be disciplined enough not to get distracted by anything else.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Plans
"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."
Stephen A. Brennan
It is not enough just to have a goal. We might have a goal to get to Hollywood, but unless we have a plan, (ie a map, a driving route and a vehicle), we aren't going to get there. It is not so much necessary to be able to see all the way there, but we do need to know what direction to point ourselves in. Just like with a car driving in the dark, the further we move forward the more unseen parts of the road become visible. We can drive all the way across the country even though we can only see a few hundred feet ahead of ourselves. All we have to do is to stay on the road, headed in the right direction.
It is true that plans are tricky. Even the best of plans get waylaid, because unforseen circumstances are always happening. Sometimes it feels like just as soon as you've made a plan, you need to change it. Some people say that it's not the actual plan that's important, it is the process of planning. It is the action of thinking about how you might reach your goals, that helps you to actually reach them. But you have to beleive that you have a good plan now, and you have to act on it now, even if it needs to be altered later. You can't wait until you have it perfect, because it never will be.
Once you've established a goal, you must plan how you will acheive it. You must beleive that your plan will work, based on your present information, and you must act on it quickly and vigorously. If you have to change it later, beleive in your new plan and start acting on that one. Keep moving forward. That is how you will be successful.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Stephen A. Brennan
It is not enough just to have a goal. We might have a goal to get to Hollywood, but unless we have a plan, (ie a map, a driving route and a vehicle), we aren't going to get there. It is not so much necessary to be able to see all the way there, but we do need to know what direction to point ourselves in. Just like with a car driving in the dark, the further we move forward the more unseen parts of the road become visible. We can drive all the way across the country even though we can only see a few hundred feet ahead of ourselves. All we have to do is to stay on the road, headed in the right direction.
It is true that plans are tricky. Even the best of plans get waylaid, because unforseen circumstances are always happening. Sometimes it feels like just as soon as you've made a plan, you need to change it. Some people say that it's not the actual plan that's important, it is the process of planning. It is the action of thinking about how you might reach your goals, that helps you to actually reach them. But you have to beleive that you have a good plan now, and you have to act on it now, even if it needs to be altered later. You can't wait until you have it perfect, because it never will be.
Once you've established a goal, you must plan how you will acheive it. You must beleive that your plan will work, based on your present information, and you must act on it quickly and vigorously. If you have to change it later, beleive in your new plan and start acting on that one. Keep moving forward. That is how you will be successful.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Friday, November 28, 2008
Gratitude
"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."
Brian Tracy
Are you really grateful for everything you have. As I have said before, most of us take for granted most of the blessings God has given us. We tend to only pay attention to what we do not yet have. That just leads to frustration, anger, disappointment, jealousy and other negative emotions.
Are you really grateful for everything that happens to you? That can be difficult when something tragic happens, like you lose your job or someone close to you dies. It requires that we look at the event in a completely different way. Losing your job is scary, but at the same time, it does free you to find a more satisfying or better paying job or maybe it forces you to get a better understanding of what you have to offer others or learn how to live on less money. The death of someone close to you is very sad, but at the same time it may inspire you to do something great in memory of that person, or to remember all the good times you had with them or to understand better the importance of your relationships.
Whatever happens, whether it seems good or bad at the time, is moving you forward. It is enabling you to acheive something bigger or better than your current situation. Everything that happens is something to be grateful for, even if we can only see the value of it in our lives in retrospect. We also need to be grateful for everything that is in our lives already for it too is helping us move forward. And it is only when we are grateful for what we already have that God, or other people for that matter, will be inclined to give us even more. Always be grateful.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Brian Tracy
Are you really grateful for everything you have. As I have said before, most of us take for granted most of the blessings God has given us. We tend to only pay attention to what we do not yet have. That just leads to frustration, anger, disappointment, jealousy and other negative emotions.
Are you really grateful for everything that happens to you? That can be difficult when something tragic happens, like you lose your job or someone close to you dies. It requires that we look at the event in a completely different way. Losing your job is scary, but at the same time, it does free you to find a more satisfying or better paying job or maybe it forces you to get a better understanding of what you have to offer others or learn how to live on less money. The death of someone close to you is very sad, but at the same time it may inspire you to do something great in memory of that person, or to remember all the good times you had with them or to understand better the importance of your relationships.
Whatever happens, whether it seems good or bad at the time, is moving you forward. It is enabling you to acheive something bigger or better than your current situation. Everything that happens is something to be grateful for, even if we can only see the value of it in our lives in retrospect. We also need to be grateful for everything that is in our lives already for it too is helping us move forward. And it is only when we are grateful for what we already have that God, or other people for that matter, will be inclined to give us even more. Always be grateful.
For ideas about how to be truly successful, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Loss of Life
"Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways."
Stephen Vincent Benet
Do you really live your life. So many of us drag ourselves around, dealing with emergencies and doing our chores all day long. We go to work because we have to make money, not because we actually enjoy our work. We do whatever we think other people want us to do just to please them, and not the things that we ourselves would have chosen. Our lives lose their meaning.
People who really live their life know why they're here. They have a clear sense of their life's purpose, and everything they do supports that. Thay have no chores because they can see the larger picture of why they need to do those tasks. They enjoy their work so much they would do it for free. They only do what pleases other people when it pleases them too. They proactively deal with things before they become emergencies because they're forward thinking.
They say that people on their deathbed typically regret the things they didn't do much more than anything they did do. Most of us aren't doing enough of what we really want to do, of the things that support our purpose in life, of the things that make us happy. When the meaning of our life is lost, when we drag ourselves through life not caring about the things we do, then that is like a slow death. Find your purpose; find out what makes you happy, and spend your time doing it. Live your life!
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Stephen Vincent Benet
Do you really live your life. So many of us drag ourselves around, dealing with emergencies and doing our chores all day long. We go to work because we have to make money, not because we actually enjoy our work. We do whatever we think other people want us to do just to please them, and not the things that we ourselves would have chosen. Our lives lose their meaning.
People who really live their life know why they're here. They have a clear sense of their life's purpose, and everything they do supports that. Thay have no chores because they can see the larger picture of why they need to do those tasks. They enjoy their work so much they would do it for free. They only do what pleases other people when it pleases them too. They proactively deal with things before they become emergencies because they're forward thinking.
They say that people on their deathbed typically regret the things they didn't do much more than anything they did do. Most of us aren't doing enough of what we really want to do, of the things that support our purpose in life, of the things that make us happy. When the meaning of our life is lost, when we drag ourselves through life not caring about the things we do, then that is like a slow death. Find your purpose; find out what makes you happy, and spend your time doing it. Live your life!
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Happiness
The happiest heart that ever beat was in some quiet breast that found the common daylight sweet, and left to Heaven the rest.
John Vance Cheney
Gratitude is so important. We take so much for granted in our lives. As the song goes "You don't know what you've got till it's gone". We tend to define what we want as those things that aren't already in our lives. We focus on what we are lacking. We often don't even pay any attention to many of the blessings in our lives. On Thanksgiving, many of us bake a huge turkey dinner for our extended family as just a ritual we go through, never really appreciating just how lucky we are to be able to do that. We don't realize what a blessing it is to not be hungry every day.
How often do we stop and think about how lucky we are to be living in our own home, or even our own apartment (and one that is clean and well-built at that)? How often do we stop and appreciate the freedom to attend the church of our choosing without having to worry about bombs etc? Part of the problem is that most of us have no idea how the rest of the world lives. We don't know how lucky we are compared to others. We think everyone lives the way we do.
Even to breathe easily is a blessing. So is the ability to the ability to walk, or just to get outside in the sunshine. Just to be alive and well is a blessing, but how many of us truly appreciate that?
To appreciate all the blessings that surround even the poorest of us, is the key to happiness. If we can understand just how sweet the common daylight is (how much of a blessing it is), and expect (learn to trust)the Universe to keep bringing us more wonderful things, we will find true joy, and that is the key to real success.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
John Vance Cheney
Gratitude is so important. We take so much for granted in our lives. As the song goes "You don't know what you've got till it's gone". We tend to define what we want as those things that aren't already in our lives. We focus on what we are lacking. We often don't even pay any attention to many of the blessings in our lives. On Thanksgiving, many of us bake a huge turkey dinner for our extended family as just a ritual we go through, never really appreciating just how lucky we are to be able to do that. We don't realize what a blessing it is to not be hungry every day.
How often do we stop and think about how lucky we are to be living in our own home, or even our own apartment (and one that is clean and well-built at that)? How often do we stop and appreciate the freedom to attend the church of our choosing without having to worry about bombs etc? Part of the problem is that most of us have no idea how the rest of the world lives. We don't know how lucky we are compared to others. We think everyone lives the way we do.
Even to breathe easily is a blessing. So is the ability to the ability to walk, or just to get outside in the sunshine. Just to be alive and well is a blessing, but how many of us truly appreciate that?
To appreciate all the blessings that surround even the poorest of us, is the key to happiness. If we can understand just how sweet the common daylight is (how much of a blessing it is), and expect (learn to trust)the Universe to keep bringing us more wonderful things, we will find true joy, and that is the key to real success.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Monday, November 24, 2008
Fun
"Fun is fundamental. There is no way around it. You absolutely must have fun. Without fun, there is no enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, there is no energy. Without energy, there are only shades of gray."
Doug Hall
What is fun, anyway. To me, fun is proving to yourself that you can do something that you didn't think you could do before. It is surprising yourself with your own capabilities. It is discovering new things about yourself. How much fun do you have in your own life?
What motivates you to do things, to have the energy to get up and go and accomplish something new and exciting? It is the desire to prove to yourself that you can do it. It is the desire to have fun. It is the desire to grow. Life is always encouraging you towards growth.
What gives you enthusiasm and excitement? It is the chance to prove to yourself that you are capable of doing more than you thought you could. It is the desire to show yourself what a wonderful person you are becoming. It is the desire to prove to yourself that you are growing.
If you are to accomplish anything significant in life, you must have fun. You must enjoy doing it; even the parts of it that would normally just be dull or annoying must be fun because they help you move ever onwards towards you goal. Put more fun in your life. Search out fun things. Prove to yourself that you are capable of greatness.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Doug Hall
What is fun, anyway. To me, fun is proving to yourself that you can do something that you didn't think you could do before. It is surprising yourself with your own capabilities. It is discovering new things about yourself. How much fun do you have in your own life?
What motivates you to do things, to have the energy to get up and go and accomplish something new and exciting? It is the desire to prove to yourself that you can do it. It is the desire to have fun. It is the desire to grow. Life is always encouraging you towards growth.
What gives you enthusiasm and excitement? It is the chance to prove to yourself that you are capable of doing more than you thought you could. It is the desire to show yourself what a wonderful person you are becoming. It is the desire to prove to yourself that you are growing.
If you are to accomplish anything significant in life, you must have fun. You must enjoy doing it; even the parts of it that would normally just be dull or annoying must be fun because they help you move ever onwards towards you goal. Put more fun in your life. Search out fun things. Prove to yourself that you are capable of greatness.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Nobility
"The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our ego is always searching for a way that we can be superior to someone else. That is the only way it can live and grow, and it is terrified of death. That is why we would rather be "right" than happy. We defend our beleifs to the end, even when they are not supportive to our own happiness. We make up reasons why we must be better than others, even if they are as trivial as our skin color. There was a fascinating lesson with striking results that a teacher did once by seperating the class into two groups based on eye color and saying that brown eyed people were better for a period of time, and then saying that blue eyed people were better for a period of time. My ego loves to hear that I am better than you, and any reason will do. But there is no nobility in that stance.
Since we are all children of God, none of us are better than the others, any more than blue eyed people are actually better than brown eyed people. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we're much more alike than we are different. So there's no point in comparing yourself with someone else "for there will always be greater and lesser people than yourself" (from Desiderata)in any given trait.
The only relevant person to compare yourself to is yourself, as you were in the past. The only relevant measurement of success, or acheivement or even happiness, is whether you are better now than you used to be, in whatever way you are measuring. To have improved upon yourself is the only real nobility.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our ego is always searching for a way that we can be superior to someone else. That is the only way it can live and grow, and it is terrified of death. That is why we would rather be "right" than happy. We defend our beleifs to the end, even when they are not supportive to our own happiness. We make up reasons why we must be better than others, even if they are as trivial as our skin color. There was a fascinating lesson with striking results that a teacher did once by seperating the class into two groups based on eye color and saying that brown eyed people were better for a period of time, and then saying that blue eyed people were better for a period of time. My ego loves to hear that I am better than you, and any reason will do. But there is no nobility in that stance.
Since we are all children of God, none of us are better than the others, any more than blue eyed people are actually better than brown eyed people. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we're much more alike than we are different. So there's no point in comparing yourself with someone else "for there will always be greater and lesser people than yourself" (from Desiderata)in any given trait.
The only relevant person to compare yourself to is yourself, as you were in the past. The only relevant measurement of success, or acheivement or even happiness, is whether you are better now than you used to be, in whatever way you are measuring. To have improved upon yourself is the only real nobility.
For ideas about how to acheive true success, visit http://www.reachingmypotential.com
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