Saturday, November 12, 2011

You can better your good

Jim collins said that good is the enemy of the great. I have always believed that most people wallow in mediocrity because they are contented at their level. Many people do not reach greater heights because of their current satisfaction level.

You got to be willing to move from where you are to where you have never been before. What you have achieved is good but you cannot afford to stagnate at that level. Good is not good enough where better is expected.

You got to challenge yourself to bigger goals. You got to stretch yourself to achieve bigger dreams. Refuse the good and pursue the great. You were born and destined for greatness. Do not belittle your potential to become your best. Greatness is within your reach only if you are willing to surrender your good for the great.

Go the extra mile

Allow me quote the words of Dr. Wayne Dyer: It's never crowded along the extra mile. Have you developed the discipline of going the extra mile? Are you routinely over-delivering on your promises? The truth is that very few people dare to exceed expectations in order to go above the crowd.

If you want to transform your personal life, become more self-reliant, become more self-confident and become more influential with those around you, you got to give more than you are doing.

You should be willing to ask more of yourself, add more value of what you do, provide more service and improve on what you are doing. You need to put just a little more effort.

There is no traffic jam when you go the extra mile. When you do more than people expect, more opportunities will come your way. The difference between the ordinary and the extra-ordinary is that little extra. Do more than the average people.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Take the first step

They say that a traveller is the one already at the shore; it is never about the one at home. Many people have failed to achieve their full potential and maximized destiny because of their reluctance to take the first step. May be you are among the people who have never started. I am addressing you.

The only way to get ahead is to get started. If you want to see that book, you have to start writing the pages on a daily basis. If you want to see that motivational DVD, you have start speaking even if you are doing it for free. If you want to become financially free, you have to start saving from your incomes whatever little you can. Listen, you cannot cross the sea by merely staring at the water.

The legendary civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.' Don't just sit down waiting for things to happen. Stand up and get in motion. Make the first move.

How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite. The best way to reach your destiny is to begin doing small things today that will accumulate to your cherished great future. You cannot afford to be motionless. Start moving and keep moving.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. You cannot wait any more. Start today and take a powerful step.

Discover your purpose for living!

I have sat and listened to Les Brown's audio motivational talks over the years. But one of the things that strike me is his desire to help people discover who they are and what they were born to do.

When asked who he would like to be re-born as if he would be given the chance to do so, Bernard Shaw stated that he would like to be born a man that he never was. Unfortunately, that's is the place most of the people find themselves.

Many people lead lives in a manner that does not satisfy them. They work in jobs that they hate. Simply, they have abandoned their mission on earth-our purpose for living.

The question is: How do you discover your purpose? To answer this question, i would ask your these questions:

  1. What are the things that you are passionate about?
  2. What are the things that you love doing?
  3. What are the things that are important to you?
  4. What are the things that are important to you?
  5. What do you want to be remembered for?
In the answers to these questions, you will find your passion and purpose for living.

Refuse to do the common things that every Tom, Dick and Harry are doing. Pursue your passion and live your purpose.

Always stay calm

There are people in the corridors of the city, towns and estates who are out to abuse, hurt, ridicule, and mock you at will. You will find them inside buses. You will find them in offices. They will not see anything good in you. They will not say anything that will inspire you.

These people are trouble-rousers looking for places to cause chaos. They are seeking for people in whom they can sow seeds negativity, hopelessness, hatred, stress, discouragement and disappointment. Remember to stay cool when people hurl insults at you. Remember not to argue with a fool since people will never notice the difference.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, ' No one can hurt you without your permission.' Even when people shout at you, never shout back. Real people keep calm; they never prove their superiority. No one will make you inferior without your permission.

Stay calm and refuse to spoil your day!

Take an inventory of your successes

Today, many people are finding it difficult to repeat their past successes because they have long forgotten of their past achievements. No wonder many people have lost the passion and reason for living. Why? They do not have an inventory of their past successes.

Even though it may not make sense to roll back your past years, it makes every sense to remember what you achieved when you were at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40....depending on your time is this wonderful world. May be at 15, you where at top of your class. At 20, your were selected to lead the scouts club. At 25, you bought your car during an economic recession. At 30, you overcame a life threatening illness. At 35, you purchase a real estate property. At 40, your life just began.....you became financially free. They are myriad; the blessings are just countless.

Trust me, it makes all the difference. When you remember the challenges you have overcome in the past and the successes you have achieved, it gives you a resurgence of energy, motivation and momentum to soar to higher heights. It is fuels your passion for action. It makes life worth living.

What is it that you have achieved in the past? Can you list 50 list of items you have achieved in your lifetime whether small or big?

Of course, you can!


What type of volcano are you?

Volcanologists will tell you that there are three types of volcanoes: Dormant, extinct and active volcanoes.

I am told that dormant volcanoes are not erupting at the moment but they have all the signs of erupting sometime soon. Sometimes they smoke and people see it. People in this category have so much potential but are not doing much to realize it. They show signs of making it happen but they make half-hearted efforts.

Extinct volcanoes have ceased from erupting and will never erupt any time in the future. They are dead. Their mission is complete. People of this type are walking corpses. They are zombies. They are dead at 30 and will be buried at 70. They produce nothing. They are just existing.

The active volcanoes are erupting. Lava is flowing from the crater. It is hot and burning everything on its way. It is taking it space on the earth's surface. Such calibre of people are proactive. They are maximizing their God-given potential. They are not spectators. They are making it happen. They are manifesting their capabilities and skills.

What type of a volcano are you? You better be the active type.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Detoxify your system

In medical circles, they call it detoxification. They also call it colon cleansing. As more and more food is consumed, there is a possibility that some of the food will not be digested. Instead, it sticks at the colon walls. In order to avoid colon cancer, the doctors will carry out detoxification.

Isn't it the case with us when we allow negative people to influence our lives to the point that we get infected with the cancer of life. We begin to die gradually. We begin to lose focus of our goals and dreams. We lose sight of the windows of opportunity that come our way.

This happens when we welcome negative people in our lives- people with a negative attitude towards life, people who have no goals to achieve, people who have nothing good to say to us apart from how difficult the economy is, people who take the energy out of us, people who dis-empower us.

You need to detoxify such people from your life. Do not open your doors for them. Keep off from the bad company; it ruins good morals. The late Jim Rohn would say, ' You are the average of five people you spend your time with.'

Keep off negative people lest you suffer from relational illness.