The Success Design

Have you found your elusive pot of gold yet?  If not, how hard are you searching for it?

Many, if not most, people believe in luck.  They believe in that place somewhere over the rainbow.  I’m disinclined to think of good forture that way.  I believe in the adage that has been espoused by Oprah Winfrey which says that luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity.  One must know where she’s going to recognize a great opportuinty when it comes along.

If you don’t know where you want to go, how can you recognize the opportunity to get there when it comes along?  Your pot of gold sitting at the end of the rainbow could be sitting right in front of you!  But you won’t even know to pick it up if you don’t even know it’s there.  Work hard to prepare for these opportunities so you can quickly identify your beautiful pot of gold.

Anniversaries are a wonderful thing.  They are the celebration of a milestone.  They give us a chance to look back at where we’ve been and forward to where we want to go.

When life is gracious enough to give us an anniversary whether it is a wedding, birthday, job or something else with special meaning, we should cherish each anniversary in the here and now.  Stop to smell the roses, so to speak.  Enjoy what life has given you today.  Be thankful for what you have been given and look forward, with grateful anticipation, to the future.

After reading Donald Trump’s Think Like a Champion, I was pleasantly surprised about the layout of the book.  It is a collection of essays that Mr. Trump has written over the years. The titles are in no particular order but they do seem to build on each other.  The essays are reminiscent of the earlier episodes of The Apprentice where “The Donald” would critique a team or team member’s performance with such headlines as “Leading By Consensus” or “Teamwork”.

As usual, Mr. Trump knocks this book out of the park!  His advice is unquestionable and his knowledge of other things unrelated to business is impressive.  Each chapter has a quote from some sage ranging from Aristotle to Eleanor Roosevelt.  Mr. Trump explains that his love of quotes comes from his father who used to send him various quotes while he was attending school.

In short, Think Like a Champion is a winner!  Buy it, read it, then read it again.  Learn from the best and keep moving forward.

10 Ways to Have a Better Day Today
by Geno Stampora
 
1.  Wake up 30 Minutes Early. Get up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off and take the first half hour for yourself. Once you get busy and into the day there never seems to be the time for yourself. Take this time to plan getting the most from the day.
 
2.  Read, Listen, or Watch Something Uplifting. Make this a daily habit. Get out of starting the day with no mental food. A great day does not begin with the news or the paper, it begins with ideas or energy that will propel you through the day. What you first hear will stay with you throughout the day.
 
3.  Eat a Good Breakfast to Start You Off Right. Get something good into your body to wake it up and get it going. Think about the energy you will need to perform. Everyday we run a marathon. What would you need to eat and drink to win it.
 
4.  Choose Your Winning Attitude. There is enough to go wrong without sabotaging yourself. Your attitude is a choice you make. Don’t let it come between you and your success. Be careful to keep it positive all day long.
 
5.  Be Aware of What They are Telling You. The people around us have a profound effect on how we get through life. Our closest friends and family are our greatest environmental influences. Make sure you have the best advisors you can find.
 
6.  Make the Most of What You Do. When you get to your work, make it the best place to be. Most people go to work and never think about work while they are there. Focus on your contribution. What would it be like if you were not around. Strive to give a 100% each and every day.
 
7.  Always Remember that People are Listening. Make a point of talking well of others. Wish others the best in life. What goes around does come around. Don’t talk negative about anyone. Try to understand their circumstances Practice being a support system to your friends and family. They need you.
 
8.  Be Honest and Fair to Others. It does make a difference. What you give to others is usually what you get from others. Practice integrity that people can see and feel. Be aware of what you say. Learn to walk your talk at all times. The more people trust you, the more of their time they will trust with you.
 
9.  Pace Your Energy to Last All Day. Be careful of bursts of energy. Pace your energy throughout the day. If you get too crazy early in the day, you will reach a point of exhaustion before the day is over. By planning your entire day before you begin, you will have what you need. You’ve heard the old saying “look alive.”
 
10.  Get in Bed Early and Study for the Future. I have a friend who keeps a journal at his bedside. Every night he writes what he learned new on that day. The only way to keep one step above the masses is to learn new ways to do things. Develop the habit of reading a work or personal development book before you go to sleep. Reading for 30 minutes a day is like a year of college. You can’t succeed if you don’t read. Remember throughout your day that life is what we make it, day by day. Practice having the best day ever. It adds up to a great life.

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.
~Louis Pasteur

Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.
~Les Brown

I just finished reading Feel the Fear…And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, PhD.  This book contains plenty of information on why we are afraid and strategies to confront those fears. The book leaves you with the knowledge that practically everyone has fears and most don’t know how to confront them or why they should.

Some of my favorite parts of the book include the following:

*When you feel afraid, it’s because I am not feelng good enough about myself:  I took this to mean that when I’m afraid, I have a lack of confidence.

*Anger is your clue that you are not taking responsibility for the situation:  I never thought of this in quite this way before.

*In saying “yes” lies the antidote to our fear - saying “yes” means to agree with those things that life hands us.  To say no is to remain a victim: This a a tough one but it goes to the saying “What we resist, persists”.  I believe this is means to go with the flow and practice acceptance.

*The key to being released from fear is knowing that you can lead a productive and meaningful life no matter what the external circumstances are.

*My “bad breaks” do not dominate my life; my indomitable strength does.

*What we resist, persists: We have to experience all our emotions, deal with them and put them behind us.  The more we refuse to deal with things, the more they persist and become larger.

*All you have to do to change the world is change the way you think about it.

*Underlying all our fears is a lack of trust in ourselves: I found this to be very true.  When I’m most afraid is when I doubt myself the most.

*Finding out what you don’t like in life is just as important as finding out what you do:  Absolutely true!  Once you know your dislikes, you can avoid them and focus on your strengths.

*Security is not having things, it’s handling things.

*You must shift from being afraid of making a mistake to being afraid of not making one.  If you are not afraid of making any mistakes, you are not learning and growing.

I would highly recommend this book.  Everyone has fears, but most of us lack a clear way to overcome them.  The most important theme that I took away from this book is that action leads to less fear. The more we act, the more we realize there’s not so much to fear!

Your subconscious mind constantly records and stores unrelated data from the outside world.  Later, it combines these data into good answers — hunches — if you simply ask, trust, and listen.  These hunches, for example, can lead you to taking a spontaneous vacation and away from making a bad investment.

What hunches have you had lately?  How can you apply them to your idea?

Source:  Roger von Oech’s Creative Whack Pack
http://www.creativethink.com/