Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Be, Do, Have

The order of goal attainment is be, do, then have. Let's see what this means. First of all, to have something, you must do something. That's quite obvious. However many people forget to be something, and so lose motivation, get sidetracked, and basically don't reach their goal. So you must be something before anything else. How do you be something? You must convince yourself that you have already attained your goal. Go through life as if you have all you wished for. It will become a self fulfilling prophecy.

By being something you open up opportunities for growth. Robert Kiyosaki, author of bestseller 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', says that you must have the right context before you can find great financial opportunities. You must think that it is possible before it can happen. He likens this to a jar of water. If you are narrow minded, then your jar is tiny. Even if the great seas of the world and the mighty torrents of ancient waterfalls are poured over your jar, you will only be able to contain a small amount of water, the rest falling beyond your grasp. If you believe that your goal is possible no matter how crazy it might be, then your jar is big. Essentially, you have opened up the window of opportunity.

My message: Don't forget to be.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

The Three P's of Work

As I mentioned earlier, work is essential to success. Here are the three P's of work:

Purpose: You must have a goal. I can't emphasise this enough.

Perseverance: You must persevere and endure any hardships or criticisms along your journey.

Patience: Everything requires time. Waiting can be very beneficial - it gives you more time to think about your actions, perhaps formulate a better strategy. One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. Click Here for more quotes on patience.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Farmers

The farmer understands the method to success. If they miss the sowing season, they will have no crop for the year. If they miss the harvesting season, they will have a field of rotting fruit. If they forget to fertilise, they will not have a good crop. Farmers know the meaning of: the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Embrace the simple wisdom of farmers and you too can harvest a successful life.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

A story

This is a story of a man. He failed in business at the age of twenty-one. He failed again in politics at twenty-two. He failed again in business at twenty-four. His sweetheart died when he was twenty-six, making him very depressed. Subsequently he had a nervous breakdown at twenty-seven. He failed in politics again at thirty-four and failed again two years later. He failed yet again at forty-five. He failed becoming vice president after another two years. He failed in politics again at the age of forty-nine. At the age of fifty-two he became the president of the United States. He was Abraham Lincoln.

During all those hardships Lincoln said, "Well, I feel just like the boy who stubbed his toe - too damned badly hurt to laugh and too damned proud to cry."

Monday, January 02, 2006

Work

Last post I was writing about how work is paramount to avoid a 'half-life'.

'When you work, you fulfill a part of earth's fondest dream, assigned to you when the dream is born.' Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American artist and poet

This should sum up most of the stuff from last post. If you want to read more of Gibran's quotes click here.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

In search for a stress free life

Research has shown that stress can be good. However many people try to eliminate stress from their lives. That's fine to an extent. Just don't focus all your energy on achieving what people call a stress free life, absolutely no stress, no deadlines and especially no work.

When there is no stress in our lives, we become lifeless. We wander aimlessly. Beware, because this is worse than death - it is living death. We must always have a goal or a deadline. This is the only way to move forwards.

I use to play a lot of computer games when I was 11. I would look forward to Friday nights, because I could play all night until about 3am, sometimes longer. The next morning, after a very short sleep, I would be in an unproductive state. I would accomplish no homework, no housework, or any work. I might have had a few naps here and then but I lived a 'half-life' for the day. This would continue for the whole weekend, and on Monday I would feel tired and stressed out. Looking back I feel regret. Such unproductiveness, even to the extent of damaging my health and vitality.

Embrace stress because stress helps us expand our comfort zone, making us achieve the seemingly impossible. Stress can make or break us. Many have let stress overcome them, and now they are drug addicts, alcoholics and mad men. Don't let that happen. Make sure YOU overcome stress. If so, stress will become your saviour.