Archive for February, 2008

A Story of Undying Perseverance!

Friday, February 29th, 2008

I got this wonderful story in the mail and just had to share it with someone. And since I regard you as my friend I’m publishing it here in the hope that you’ll be blessed.

I Still Know Who She Is

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors and got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while ! as she is a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’ I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’

True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is , has been, will be, and will not be. Peace is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank The
happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did. Life isn’t about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain.

Philippians 4:13 — I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called Success.

Anything Is Possible!

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

One day I was reading a very interesting article concerning a shark attack that occurred way back in 1916. It played off along the North East coast of the U.S. and concerned a great white shark, that had been had been terrorizing the New Jersey beaches.

Now everybody knows and accepts that a shark is a creature of the sea and needs salty water to survive. Therefore nobody thought that a shark may attack them in freshwater, but that is exactly what happened later that year.

This particular shark remained close to the shore and eventually swam up a river stream around Raritan Bay, attacking a couple of bathers upstream.

Shortly before the attacks occurred, a retired Sea captain, by the name of Thomas Cottrell saw this shark swimming upstream while crossing a bridge. He couldn’t believe his eyes, but nevertheless got into his boat and raised the alarm. Not surprisingly nobody believed him. “A shark in a river? C’mon, get real, It’s not possible.”

But you know what? As incredible as it seemed there was a shark in the river and all those who didn’t heed the warnings were in danger of being attacked.

Eventually this shark killed two people. The first victim was a teenager who may or may not have heard Cottrell’s warning. Shortly after this attack another man jumped in the water to look for the victim, even though he was told there is a shark in the water. He too was attacked and died from a severe loss of blood.

While reading this I couldn’t help thinking about September 11 and see the parallels between these two stories.

When asked by the U.S. Congress and the media, why “clues” which should have been picked up were disregarded, the heads of the FBI and CIA as well as members of the Bush administration replied, “We didn’t think they would use airplanes as missiles.”

Had the FBI and CIA believed that something like what happened on 9/11 was possible they might have put measures into place which would likely have prevented this from happening. But they didn’t, even though the hijackers left dozens of “clues.”

Similarly if the swimmers at the US East Coast had believed Captain Cottrell when he told them there was a shark in the river, chances are that nobody would have been killed by this shark on that day.

But because they believed it is “impossible” for a shark to be found in freshwater they disregarded the warning altogether, just as the US law enforcement agencies did, resulting in many paying with their lives.

On the other hand there are human beings who overcame extraordinary odds and accomplished great feats. Everyday we hear stories of people who were told by the so-called “experts” they didn’t have what it took, yet made it regardless.

The lesson here is that anything is possible, both the good and the bad. By believing or not believing in something doesn’t mean you will not be affected by whatever happens. But it means that based on what you believe, you may take some action which may save you from something terrible or may get you out of a terrible situation.

There are many of us who are in terrible situations, including poverty, unhappiness, debt, etc. Those of us who have changed their situation, did it because they believed they could make it.

Those who don’t obviously don’t believe that they can change their situation otherwise they would have done something about it, right?

How many opportunities have you missed just because you thought it wouldn’t work or wasn’t possible. Just think what you could do if you believed that you could do anything, even realise your dreams?

What great talent do you have which you have done nothing about, because you probably believed you can’t do it.

I hope to have shown you through this short article that anything is possible. And that by just believing, “I Can,” your battle is already half-won.

Click Here and take the first step towards manifesting your desires, even if you don’t really believe it, by creating success from the inside out. There is no better way to success, and there is no better time than Now! Click Here and Make It Happen!

All Greatness Starts with One Small Step!

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

What do you think of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Tiger Woods and hundreds of others who have made it to the top, sometimes against all the odds?

You probably think they are smart, intelligent, great, masterful and I agree. I believe they probably are all those things you think of them and perhaps even more.

Now I want you to think of yourself. Do you think of yourself as having those same attributes or maybe more? Do you think you can do the things these icons have accomplished?

One of the laws of the Universe is that everything must start somewhere, which usually means a small beginning. Take the biggest animals on land and in water, i.e. the elephant and the whale. They all start small and can even be killed by other animals, yet when fully grown, they are the largest animals in the world.

Even a mighty river like the Amazon stared as a little stream, yet has become the roaring giant we know.

So too every person who wants to become great must start small. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and anybody else you can think of started small, and that start was characterized by a decision. The decision to change, to do things differently. This decision was followed by a series of actions which eventually led to, and culminated in the attainment of the goal.

Quality isn’t necessarily popular or immediately evident.

At the time the decision is taken it may not seem the right decision for others. In fact, the greatest success stories of our time were started by unpopular decisions. When Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard during his junior year and started what is today Microsoft, he was criticized by many as unwise. Of course today everybody hails it as a “great” move.

Will Smith turned down a scholarship to MIT to concentrate on his music career instead, and became a millionaire at 18. Quincy Jones turned down a VP position and became a legend. Sabeer Bhatia turned down many offers from Microsoft against the wishes of his colleagues. Of course they too later agreed that it was a smart move.

When taking a decision one should remember that it is your life, not anybody else’s. So whatever decision you take should be based on what you think is the best decision, not on what others want.

I know it is difficult when you look up from where you are right now to where these icons are. All you see is this big gap and you become discouraged. The key here is to set yourself short term goals that are within reach.

Here is a little exercise you can do. Imagine yourself at the bottom of a series of stairs, while your goal is located on the top landing.

See each step on these stairs as a short-term goal. The first landing will be a decision to change your life. The second landing could be to put in writing what you want to achieve.

The third step could represent the plan, how you are actually going to go about accomplishing this goal. The plan itself can then be divided in a series of further short-term goals.

This could involve talking to knowledgeable people on the subject you are interested in or it could be writing a business plan or it could be finding out about places that offer project finance.

These are just suggestions, to help you come up with ideas of your own.

Every time you feel discouraged or a little afraid, go and read about your icons or heroes. How they started out. How they felt, when they were still at the bottom, the things they said and did.

If possible try and trace a childhood friend of one of your heroes and talk to him.

I’m sure that after doing that you will realize that these are just ordinary men and women like you and me, whose desire to accomplish their goals became bigger then their fear.

Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia recalls that during negotiations with Microsoft to buy Hotmail, he was invited to meet Bill Gates. Apparently he was very nervous, because he thought of Bill Gates as a superhuman. But during the interview he realized that Bill Gates was just a normal guy.

Here’s Bhatia, in his own words on Bill Gates: “His questions were normal strategy questions, the same things I had been asked by investors all along and it suddenly occurred to me that Bill Gates is not superhuman either, he is flesh and blood, same as me”

So as you can see, those who are great today were once ordinary people like you and me. The only difference is, that they didn’t allow their fear or other people’s opinions to determine their future. If you follow their example, you too will soon become great.

I believe in you, but now you’ve got to believe in yourself.

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Is Your Education Keeping You From Becoming Rich?

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Education has always been put forward as the key to success. The one thing without which, success would be impossible. And of course the more you are educated the better.

However that thinking is seriously being challenged. For example:

Have you noticed that the most successful and richest people in the world don’t have a lot of education? From movie actors to musicians to business owners, most seem to manage fine with just some school.

Bill Gates, the richest person in the world dropped out in his first year at prestigious Harvard University to start Microsoft. And he succeeded beyond his and everybody’s wildest dreams.

Just in case you think that’s a fluke, here’s more. Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle also dropped out of University. Today the man’s a billionaire with his own company.

Hollywood actor and musician, Will Smith turned down a scholarship to MIT to pursue his music career. Needless to add anything more here.

However, they are not the only ones.Everyday, thousands of labourers, truck drivers and housewives, start homebased businesses and make more money than they ever dreamed of.

So what about those who followed the trusted route and earned coveted degrees from respected Universities?

Many of these people look like they are doing very well. They drive nice expensive cars… and live in huge houses in upmarket neighborhoods. All this could have been fine except, the cars and houses aren’t really theirs. It was bought with money borrowed from the bank.

Another thing. These graduates are in a constant drive to work harder and to acquire even more qualifications. What for, you may ask? Well, it’s all in an effort to win a promotion and earn some more money.

The downside to this franctic lifestyle, also called the “rat race” is very high levels of stress. Children see very little of their parents who constantly have to work to maintain the lifestyle.

Is this wealth? I don’t think so. To me, true wealth means having the money to buy almost anything you want and having the time to enjoy it.

So what am I saying? That school is bad… That we shouldn’t sent our children to school? No, not at all.

Lets face it. Without education we wouldn’t be able to read and write. We wouldn’t be able to think logically and evaluate things critically.

Without education we wouldn’t have doctors and lawyers, engineers and all the other professionals that we need in society.

The problem is that the education systems in our schools are limited in what they can do. It can give us some things, but can’t give us other things.

The education system can teach us to read and write, but it can’t teach us to make money or how to become successful.

It can’t teach us how to recognize opportunity or show us what is opportunity and what is not. Or what will or will not work in the world of business.

To make money you need:

  • charm and creativity and intuition.
  • You need to take risks.
  • You need to believe in yourself and your abilities.
  • You need faith to trust that things will work out even if there is no “scientifically valid” indication at all that it would.

All of these are the things that took ordinary men and women to extra-ordinary heights.

When you work for a living as most educated people do, you may not need any of these. However if you want to do something you love, and make money while doing it, then you’ll definetely need it.

The bottom line is this. Any person can achieve true wealth, including the educated, provided you forget most of what you learned in school.

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Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Your Mind!

Friday, February 15th, 2008

He is one of the finest runners the world has even seen and has the 3rd highest number of sub 10 second 100 m runs. He became the first non-American to win the NCAA double (100m and 200m at the American Collegiate Championships)

He is one of only two man to have run the 200 m faster than 19:70-s. Only the great Michael Johnson ran the 200 m faster than him. Yet he has the distinction of never having won a 100-m gold medal in the Olympics or World Championships.

If you don’t know who I’m talking about, then allow me to enlighten you. I’m talking about my compatriot Frank Fredericks.

Shortly before the 1996 Olympics Fredericks was in blistering form, winning a number of International 100 m races in times that were tantalizingly close to the world record at the time. During one of these races Fredericks ran 9.86-s, just one hundredth of a second outside the world record and could have set a new record, had he not thrown up his arms in celebration, just before crossing the line.

When asked by journalists why he threw up his arms, and if this didn’t spoil his chance of breaking the world record, Fredericks replied, “I’m not worried about the world record. It’ll come when it is supposed to.” In the Olympic final race Fredericks was beaten by Canadian Donovan Bailey who won in a new record time of 9.84-s.

Had Fredericks ran in Atlanta, as he ran in Lausanne when he set 9.86-s, he would have crossed the finish line in roughly 9.81-s.

This, according to Jonas R. Mureika, a systems programmer at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who developed a mathematical model of sprinting that compensates for wind effects in the 100-m dash, and converts measured times into equivalent times in still air.

The formula enabled Mureika to compare performances in all 100 m races on a more or less equal footing. Thus, Bailey’s 9.84-s world-record time, aided by a tail wind of 0.7 m/s, turns into the equivalent of 9.88-s in calm air. The race run in 1996 by Frank Fredericks into a head wind of 0.4 m/s becomes 9.80 s in calm air, surpassing Bailey’s world-record performance.

What this means is that if Frank had ran in Atlanta as fast as he ran in Lausanne, when he clocked 9.86-s, he would have crossed the finish line in roughly 9.81-s

Remember that Frederick’s time in Lausanne was not only against a headwind, it was also after he threw up his arms, meaning that Frank Fredericks’ time could have been even faster than the current world record, set by Montgomery.

His pre-championship race time of 9.86-s, is the closest Fredericks has ever come to breaking the 100 m world record and he is unlikely to write a record behind his name, as he is now 36 years of age.

Many are good, but few are great. It almost sounds like that other phrase in the Bible, “Many are called, but few are chosen”, doesn’t it, except nobody is choosing anybody here. It’s about the individual who chooses if he wants to be great. And if he makes that decision to follow it up with the necessary commitment.

Why do I say many are good but few are great? Because all that is required to become good is talent and training. However, to be good requires something else. It requires a different mental attitude.

Case in point. Maurice Green always wanted to be great. He told anyone who cared to listen that he would soon break the world record. He didn’t say when, only that it would happen. He dreamed of it, trained for it, and when the time came he, executed it. Tim Montgomery did the same thing. He said he was going to lower Green’s world record, and he did.

Arnold Swarzenegger, moviestar, aspiring politician and arguably the greatest bodybuilder ever, once said, “it’s all in your mind”, referring to success. While speaking two weeks ago at the City College of New York, Arnold told the students in the audience. “Have big dreams, and go after those dreams. That was my secret.”

Just last week Maurice Green told reporters that he is going to win the 100 metres at the World Championships in Paris, which coincidentally takes place on Monday, 25 August 2003, which is today.

Another thing that Green said is, “I like doing things that have never been done before” This is exactly how super successful people think. They strive on challenges and on proving people wrong. They hate the word, “average” and wants to absolutely be the best. They never leave anything to chance or say “it will happen when it is supposed to happen.” They make things happen!

Click here and discover proven tools that will unlock the power of your mind so that you too, can do things you never thought possible!

Why Failure Is Good For You!

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

How do you see failure? Do you see it as a necessary part of life or do you dislike it to the point where you try to avoid it?

Fear of failure is the main reason why more than 80% of people in the world are not prepared to change their circumstances. Why do people fear failure so much? The reason for this is because people don’t understand the dynamics involved in success and failure.

Everything we do in life has either a right way of doing it and a wrong way of doing it. When we do it the right way we meet with success. Needless to say that when we do it the wrong way we are unsuccessful.

Understanding this is important because it puts failure in its proper perspective and removes the fear around it.

When someone who doesn’t understand this dynamic meets with temporary failure he gives up thinking that he is not good enough or that he will never make it. But is this really what it is? Does the fact that you didn’t make it the first time mean that you are not good enough? Does it mean that you’ll never make it? Not at all! All it means is YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THE CORRECT METHOD YET!

So what do you do next?You go back and try and find out where you went wrong. Then you try again this time employing a different method. When this doesn’t work you go back and look at everything you have done so far. Talk to successful people who have made it in this area. Think of what you might have left out and try again.

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Why do you need to do this? Because, “Every failure, every adversity and every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit”, says author and mentor to many great men, Napoleon Hill. Failure contains the seed of victory and of success.

Failure teaches you what works and what doesn’t. When you study the reasons for your failure and learn from it, you’ll find the key to your success. The great inventor Thomas Edison knew this truth better than anyone else. It took Edison 8000 trials to perfect the Edison battery? Afterwards he uttered this famous quote, “At least we know 8000 things that don’t work”.

You should also be like that. Every successful person has had to overcome temporary defeat at one time or another. Know this! You haven’t really failed until you ACCEPT defeat.

Do you envy those who got success easily? Don’t! Success earned in spite of earlier failure is so much sweeter than if you would get it otherwise.

Those who earn success in this way know the road to success. They are not afraid of losing what they have because they have learned how to become successful. Those that easily got success don’t know the road.

They got there so quickly that they didn’t bother to look around. Let me use the following analogy to illustrate. Take two guys traveling to the same destination, with this difference. The one is going by airplane and the other by car, but the one arriving by car had a few breakdowns along the way.

If you take these two guys back to their original position and ask them to find their way to their destination, who do you think is going to remember the road better the next time? Surely the guy who had a few breakdowns and spend some time on the road, because he had the opportunity to look around.

Let temporary defeat no longer be an obstacle. You have many hidden talents, so start working towards realizing your dreams. Don’t be put off by the fear of failure. Failure is an ally because it contains the seed of success.

How to Feel More Secure

Friday, February 8th, 2008

How secure you feel is largely determined by how secure or insecure you feel as a person. If you are a generally insecure person you are likely to be frightened by every little disturbance that happens around you or by not having money. The world is trying to tell us that what we feel inside is separate from “reality”, i.e. the things that happen around us on the physical plane. According to this thinking, the source of your anxiety or insecurity is outside; hence people who feel insecure are trying to fix the problem on the outside.Going with this argument, people do all kinds of things to improve their security. Many people want more money, because they believe this will lead to more security. However this is not necessarily true.This may be fine if the source of your insecurity is outside, for example if you have received threats or if the area where you live is dangerous. In that case more money will help you to improve your present security or move to a safer area.But what if your insecurity comes from within? How can you fix it outside? I know what I’m talking about. I suffered rejection while being raised by my Aunt, which projected itself as insecurity in my later life.My insecurities and fears were very real and were compounded by the fact that we had little money. My wife and I often had blazing rows because of the fact that she bought stuff, sometimes even things that we needed. As far as I was concerned we shouldn’t have bought anything until we had “enough” money. I thought at the time that having more money would solve the problem, because I didn’t realize the problem was inside me.The truth is that money doesn’t necessarily give security. If you feel insecure, clearly examine what you feel insecure about. Is there a clear physical threat to your security, for example, someone threatened you personally? If you cannot really pinpoint where your security comes from, it is likely that it is from within.So if you are having anxiety relating to money, reason with your mind in a logical manner.

  • Ask yourself who has died from not having money.
  • Ask yourself what is the worst thing that can happen to you if you don’t have money. Try to paint the most ridiculous possible outcomes.

When you do this you confuse your mind.

  • Remind yourself that there are people who are worse off than you, but they haven’t died.

Also do this. I’m sure there are many homeless people on the streets. In the morning talk to yourself and say:

  • This morning I’m going to prove that I’m overcoming this fear. Stop next to some homeless people and give them some money, or something which they don’t have.
  • Also ask them if not having money have killed them. When they say no, walk away and tell your subconscious, you see I told you that nobody has ever died of not having money.

You’ll find you will not believe these things you say to yourself, but don’t worry about that. The mind is a creature of habit and it will take a while before things start to change.

The key to establishing new behavioral patterns is to keep on repeating it for at least 21 days. When the thought of not having money comes, laugh about it. Tell others that you “have this silly fear” that you may not have money for the things that you need. You see these fears only have power over you as long as you don’t confront it. As soon as you confront, and share it with others it will start to go away.

What We See!

Monday, February 4th, 2008

A long time ago a baby was born to poor parents. His future looked bleak as he grew to see a life of dreariness and poverty before him. He joined the army as a common soldier and was wounded so severely that he never regained the use of his left arm.

He later failed to find decent employment and, on two occasions, was sent to debtor’s prison. He continued to have brushes with the law and struggled just to survive.

But, despite the severity of his life, he never let go of his dream…to write a book. He wrote that book and in it he told a beautiful story which welled from his heart’s deepest dreams and
yearnings. It has moved generations of people the world over ever since. It is about a man who saw the world differently than everyone else. Though created in suffering, the book is an inspiring tale of irrepressible hope. This man’s story has been put to music and film,
translated into numerous languages and remains a literary classic after some 400 years. The author was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and the book is Don Quixote De La Mancha.

Perhaps Cervantes himself believed, as did his character, that the world “sees people as they are — I see them as they can be!” For Cervantes may never have accomplished such a magnificent work had he not seen some potential within himself that was hidden from the rest
of the world. He knew, and has taught others ever since, that great truth: What we see will come to be.

Some see situations as they are, others as they can be. Some see people as they are, others as they can be. And some see themselves as they are, others as they can be.
But when we look beyond the present reality, dismal as it may seem, and set our sights upon the best that is within a situation or a human being, then, too, what we see will come to be. And we’ll know the power of hope.

– Steve Goodier
__________

“You’re About To Learn Secrets That 98% Of Us Will Never Know.”

Are You Living The Life Of Your Dreams? Click Here To Learn More!

About the Author:
The article was written by Steve Goodier. You can visit his website at LifeSupportSystem

You Can Be And Do Everything You Want!

Friday, February 1st, 2008

All of us at one time or another had something which we thought at the time, was beyond us. It could have been something as simple as driving a car or speaking a foreign language. At the time we couldn’t see ourselves doing that activity.

And when we looked at the people who were actually doing these things, for example our parents or others, we admired them. They looked so accomplished, doing that activity, which looked so complicated to you.

Today many of us are doing those very same things. And you know what, it doesn’t feel like any big deal. Why? Because we have gotten used to it, we mastered it.

However, today we all are faced with new challenges, and when we see others who have already mastered those particular challenges we admire them. But we shouldn’t admire them, we should rather be inspired by them and learn from them.

We must remember that there was a time when we couldn’t do certain and how we overcame those particular challenges. The problem with us human beings is that we forget our successes and remember the failures. Somehow we think that, perhaps because the situation is different, we cannot apply the same principles that helped us overcome earlier challenges.

We also seem to think that a different set of principles apply for small things then, say for big things, which isn’t true. It’s just that for big things it may take a bit longer, because of your unbelief but the same principles still apply.

The difference lies in the way we look at and see things.

When we see things as a challenge we lose the awe and the fear we hold for it. Do you know why you overcame earlier difficulties? Because you saw it as a challenge. An opportunity to be taken and you took it.

The situation itself doesn’t change at all. The only thing that changes is one’s perception of a situation, which makes it seem doable. And because it “becomes” doable we go ahead and do it.

So-called difficulties lose their power over us when we look at it differently. Instead it is us who become the one’s wielding the power, because its up to us when and how we are going to conquer the situation.

Seneca sums it up well when he says, “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

Life with all of its challenges allow us to grow and become bigger and stronger. When we cower in fear, we remain where we are and the way we are. We never grow, we never discover what could have been. Where we could have gone, what we could have done.

When I look at my life right now, I can hardly believe what I see. The things I’m doing right now, seemed unthinkable just three years ago. I’ve had so many people compliment me on my work and thank me for what I did for them. But all of that would not have been possible had I not changed my focus and confronted my situation.

As Henry Ford said, “One of the greatest discoveries that a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” And all it takes is to change one’s focus. To allow yourself to see what You Can Be.

Is that too hard? I would think not, for if it were I wouldn’t have been able to do it, neither would the thousands of others.