Lost Or Pro-Found

A man walks into a service station wearing one shoe. The attendant calls out, ‘Looks like you lost a shoe.’ The man responds, ‘No mate. Found one!’

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Lost? Found? Half full? Half empty? Can’t afford it? How can I afford it?

So what perspective are you viewing your world from?

The way you think will determine the way you live. And the difference between a winner and a loser is determined by what’s happening between their ears. So that’s why I continue to invest in my ongoing education, because I am fully convinced that ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’

If you want to live a rich life, then invest in your mind.

Apparently the average American buys less than one book a year.

Why not read at least one mind challenging book a month, and see how far your thinking and your life will have advanced after twelve months of disciplined reading. Even if you read even a page or a chapter a day you will be way ahead of the populous.

Turn off the TV and turn on a book.

Don’t get lost. Be pro-found.

Thought’s Forts

The defining difference between those who win in life and those who lose is determined by the thoughts that are allowed to take residence in the minds of both. And not only that. It is also directly related to the hedges of protection that they place around their mind that will impact how they live. The most powerful ammunition that can either fortify your life or destroy it are the words that we use on a daily basis.

My challenge to you as my reader now is for you to do a word check. Stop and listen to the words that are passing your lips.

Are they the words of a victor, or are they the words of the defeated?

‘I can’, ‘I will’, ‘I must’, ‘I am able’ build layer upon layer of protection around the fort of your thought. They are ‘building’ words. They are bound by reinforced steel. They are pylons that are plunged deep into your being, ever ready for any thought onslaught that could hit you at any moment.

However, the words ‘I can’t', ‘I couldn’t', ‘I won’t', ‘I’m not able’ do the reverse. These are deconstructive words that give place to the enemy of your life. They open up wide gaping holes in the fortification of your mind and keep you imprisoned in your present – still bound by your past and unless you change your speech you will remain chained into a future defined by those very words.

Words have the power to paint your present and create your future. The paint and the paintbrush is in your mouth. Are you using bright colors filled with faith, or are your words dark with negativity and doubt?

But if you choose to only allow empowering, life-giving words to be your fortification then you will stand strong when the invisible enemy assails your mind. For he will come – but you will be ready to resist, defend and defeat.

Make it your major building project this year to increase your fortified vocabulary that will not only protect you, but will at the same time empower you. For you will be so strong of mind – so much so – that you will be able to go on the offensive as you assault the enemy before he comes, and you will be victorious time and time again – all the way to a glorious and ‘wordy’ future.

Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

Why is it that some organizations attract leaders and keep them for the long run, while other organizations attract leaders, and yet discard them in quick and regular succession?

For the power of any organization is found within the leaders that are developed and nurtured in an atmosphere of love, respect and the freedom to lead – where mistakes are encouraged just as much as successes – because within that environment is found a safe place within which leaders can grow.

So here are five reasons why there is such a difference between the keepers and the losers of leaders:

1. Leaders Need To Know You Care

You require more than a great vision to keep leaders. You need to demonstrate to them that you actually care about them and about their personal vision. Remember that they are leaders, and these leaders, who feel that those whom they follow are actually interested in their personal goals and ambitions, will be far more loyal to the overall vision of the team.

2. Leaders Need To Not Be Told

There are two things that leaders despise. They don’t like being told. And they don’t like being told off. They demand respect. And the best way to show respect to a leader is to engage them. Leaders love to be given the opportunity to input. Once given the opportunity, they may not add anything. But simply because you have opened up the chance for them to contribute an opinion, or dare I say, provide some aspects of wisdom, they know that they are respected as leaders. And as it has been given, so too will it be given in return.

3. Leaders Don’t Respond Well To Imposed Management Strategies

If a leader feels that they are being managed, they will begin to flex their muscles. Leaders love to be invited, but despise being told. They don’t mind being held accountable, but will refuse being driven. In many cases it’s not what is said, but rather how it is said. And if a leader is told ‘no’ too many times, they will leave.

4. Leaders Need A Voice

If your organization doesn’t provide a platform for leaders to present their viewpoint, then it will breed two things – frustration and disappointment. Just following a vision won’t sustain their enthusiasm, because they need to express. Secure leaders allow others to verbalize or even write their thoughts.

5. Leaders Need To Know The Guts

Leaders don’t respond well to the occasional public announcement. They need at times to be supplied with some inside information so that they can take ownership in the overall direction of the organization. Remember, I’m talking about the identified leaders in your organization – not every single member of your team necessarily. In order for a leader to grow as a leader in your organization they need to be engaged – sometimes one-on-one, or sometimes as part of a small group where confidentiality is respected and adhered to, and true team bonding is created.

To lead leaders is the greatest challenge for any leader, and yet the richest field of human endeavor to be developed.

Stop the leader leak today from your organization by plugging the hole with these five leadership building principles, and that way you won’t be left standing asking, ‘Where have all the leaders gone?

Intelligent Beginnings

‘Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again…intelligently’ Henry Ford

I am so thankful for my mistakes. They have allowed me to take from my ‘misses’ the lessons I have learnt in the process, so that I can reposition myself intelligently to try again.

Some people I have known throughout the years have allowed their mistakes to literally bury them. And when I write bury, I mean exactly that. They have entered an early grave. And then there are those who have given up while still breathing, and are now literally walking dead-men – who have allowed themselves to  be confined to a future that is defined by hopelessness.

But I have great news for you. Neither of these two scenarios need to be yours if you simply see that for every loss that you experience that there is a lesson to be gained.

That is why Henry Ford was able to confidently declare that failure has the ability , if you let it, to increase your IQ. In fact, by analyzing your failures, and by dissecting them – to unveil the hidden jewels that are crying out to be discovered – you will increase your intelligence.

And it is that intelligence, gained through real life experience- with a positive attitude – that will equip you to face and overcome any other challenges that you may find yourself facing in the days to come.

Don’t be afraid of beginning again….intelligently.

And never allow failure to bury you, but rather guide you all the way to success.

Life’s Full Stops

When we are born we are issued with a life sentence.

Now there are two ways that we can approach this. We can either treat our  life as if we have been imprisoned into a set path of drudgery, restricted living and repetitive doldrums, or else we can treat it like writing a book.

Yours and my book of life is made up of a whole collected group of sentences. And each of these sentences are denoted by punctuation such as commas, colons, semi-colons, the occasional exclamation mark, lots of question marks, hyphens, and the inevitable appearance of the full stop.

And it is in this treatise that I particularly want to take a look at – the full stop.

The good news is this, that just because you have reached a full stop in your life, and you’re still living and breathing, you are presented with the opportunity of simply writing the next sentence.

For a book, much like a life, is made up of paragraphs. Paragraphs include a combination of sentences. And each sentence contains a group of words. So don’t see a full stop as ‘the end’. But rather view a full stop as a ‘new beginning’.

One sentence leads to another. One phrase to another phrase. And one completed chapter can unfold a whole new exciting chapter to your life.

As sure as the seasons appear each year – so to do the seasons of life.  Learn to identify them , and learn to flow through them. At times there is a pause. At times a delay. At times a surging forward, and at times a drawing aside. But no matter what punctuates your life at this present time – know this – that you are always moving forward – for time ticks on, age adds on, and life goes on – no matter the punctuation we are currently facing.

Your life is a journal – a book filled with words, pictures and illustrations connected by punctuation marks. It’s the very nature of life lived on planet earth.

Don’t be surprised by them. Flow with them. For they have been given to you so that your character can be developed and your life’s mission can be fulfilled. And at the end of your days – what a story it will read to inspire all of us who follow in your footsteps.

Be Your Own Action Man

Be your own super-hero today by taking action.

Don’t be a spectator in the game of life. Be a participator.

Surround yourself with a team who will stand with you, fight for you, and believe in you. And discard the loser’s strategy – of  ‘Ready. Aim. Fire.’ That in most cases leads only to ineptitude and inaction.

Join the ranks of the achievers and believers who live their lives by the ‘Fire. Aim. Ready.’ philosophy.

With your manual  in one hand and your sword in the other, attack the enemy of your life – procrastination – and engage in mortal combat as you learn from the wealth of experience you are gaining whilst in full flight and full fight.

For there comes a time in your life when you need to take action – and that time is now.

How To Take Your Future By The Throat

If you want to change your future, and yet continue to do what you have done in the past – right up to your present – you are sadly mistaken.

In order to jolt yourself out of your complacency, and a future that will simply be a replay of your past and present – except for one thing – you’re older, you must take your present by the scruff of the neck, in fact take your future by the throat, and change your habits that have brought you to where you are today.

So if you are not fully satisfied with the results of your life to this point, then you need to take drastic action.

So what can you do? Well here are just a few tips.

1. Stop The Rot

If you find yourself pinned in front of your TV night after night. If you take all your guidance from what is thrust at you via the media. If you keep the company of people who have made no significant movement forward in their lives during the past five years, then you need to do these things: stop listening, reading or watching the media and change friends.

2. Fill The Spot

There is a spot in your anatomy that needs filling. No not your stomach – your brain. Start by attending FREE seminars. Buy the Saturday paper or check out the free paper at your local coffee shop and find those seminars and attend them. Pull out your old CD’s – yes the motivational or wealth creation CD’s you bought years ago – and listen to them in your car to and from the office.

Then go through your book shelf and pull out those life changing and mind bending books that have been gathering dust, and spend an hour or so each night reading them in place of your TV watching.

And in this revival of learning seek out mentors or new friends with common interests and goals.

3. Act The Lot

Now it’s no use of simply filling your head with a bunch of great ideas. Put together a plan for your successful future. Use the business plan which could be adapted to a life plan and change your life. And then get out there and make it happen.

If it’s to invest in real estate – go look, make some offers and add to your investment portfolio. If it’s to get healthy then join the gym. If it’s to spend more time with your family, then block out time for quality time with your favourite humans.

So what are you waiting for? Take your future by the throat and squeeze as hard as possible until your next five years far out surpass the previous five in more ways than one.

How To Change Your Life

‘When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.’ Viktor Frankl

Situations come. Situations go. But no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we are given the wonderful opportunity to not always change the situation or even how others respond to that situation, but rather to change the way we think, the way we respond, and the very way we live.

Someone recently told me that if you’re standing still you’re actually going backwards. However, if we create an environment within which we are constantly challenged to change, we will ever move forward.

So position yourself for constant change by surrounding yourself with books, CD’s,DVD’s, seminars, associates and mentors who constantly challenge you where you’re at, and provoke you to  change.

To change is to grow. And in order to grow, you and I must change.

Move your focus from trying to change those around you to changing yourself. And watch the changes that will begin to occur around you. Like a pebble flung into a pond, the ripple effect will be reflected in a changed world in and around you, because you decided to change.

How To Benefit From Defining Your Own Success

We live in a media-driven world where many stereotypes of success are relentlessly thrust at us. At times these stories and these images can confuse us, and we can find ourselves at times pursuing a pattern of success that is not correctly aligned to what we have been born for.

That is why you – separate to what you have seen or heard proclaimed as the attributes or trappings of true success – must discover your own personal definition of what success means to you.

And once you have unveiled your own personal definition of success, the following four things happen…

1. You Remove Pressure

That’s right. You’re released. You’re unchained. You are at peace with yourself. You are comfortable in your own skin. The only pressure applied to your life is now only whatever pressure you apply upon yourself that is in line with your definition of personal success.

2. You Remove Feelings Of Inadequacy

You are more than adequate to reach the success that you have defined. God creates no mistakes. You’re perfect for what you need to do in order to succeed.

3. You Remove The Need To Live Up To Someone Else’s Expectations

It really doesn’t matter what others think. It’s what you think about yourself that will allow you to succeed at your own pace, and in your own unique manner. You set the bar and rise to it without the interference of others.

4. You Are Free To Succeed – Your Way

How liberating is that. Each of us are running our own race. We are not competing for the ‘success gold medal’ against every other member of the human race. You have defined what success means to you and will run the race set before you as a successful human being.

So do it today. Don’t waste a minute. Define your own success, and succeed you will

Growing Young

Chronologically, with the passing of every second, our physical bodies grow older. But I have good news – no matter what is happening without, you can grow young within.

This will happen if you are:

1) Willing To Never Cease Learning

2) Willing To Reach Beyond Your Current Capacity

3) Willing To Dream Big Dreams

4) Willing To Never Retire, But Rather Re-fire

So let’s take a closer look at these four areas that will keep you growing younger, no matter how old you are.

1) Willing To Never Cease Learning

Someone once said to me that we will be where we are in the next five years as a direct result of the people we associate with and the books we read. That is why I choose to hang around people who are younger, and those of any age who are smarter than myself. I simply choose to keep the company of those who have a much higher IQ than myself and ask lots of questions while taking plenty of notes. I don’t need to know everything. I just need to have access to those who know more than I do.

In addition, I spend the bulk of my reading time reading ‘wisdom’ literature, starting with the Glorious Quran and then working my way through books written by brilliant men and women who have lived throughout the ages and into this present time. They inspire me, teach me, and cause me to think beyond my current thought patterns. They in fact mess with my head – and yet out of that mess comes great clarity.

2) Willing To Reach Beyond Your Current Capacity

Some people are ‘toe dippers’ while others are ‘plungers’. I have to admit it – I’m a plunger. I go where angels fear to tread as it were. It’s either sink or swim. But I’m pleased to report that I have to date never come close to drowning. Oh sure, I’ve probably gasped and spluttered along the way, but have finally, because I had no choice but to survive, learnt very quickly how to put together the necessary strokes that were required for me to reach the other side.

By stretching beyond our current capacity we suddenly become a bigger person who can handle more stress, pressure and responsibility, because we have dared to grow beyond the status quo.

3) Willing To Dream Big Dreams

I dream more while I’m awake than when I’m fast asleep. I dream ‘impossible’ dreams. I dream ‘ridiculous’ dreams. But the crazy thing is this – I have watched many  of these dreams come true, because I dared to dream.

To be a dreamer is to be someone who looks forward with anticipation towards a promising future. It fills you with hope. It packs your brain with plans. It forces you to become creative. It brings you into the company of other dreamers. This is the place where life must be lived if you are to continue to grow younger with every breath that you take.

4) Willing To Never Retire, But Rather Re-fire

Man was never created to retire. We were created to re-fire. With the addition of years the wisdom , the experience, the insight that you have obtained needs to be imparted to the generations that follow. Retirement in fact is a selfish word. If you simply settle into retirement you are robbing future generations of the riches that are yours, and which have always been given to you to share with others.

Every time I’m given the opportunity to mentor someone younger  (Specially my younger brother) than myself, I feel that I have become richer because of it – and often learn much more about myself. I find that I’m actually smarter than I first thought, and am amazed as to how much I’ve actually learnt throughout the years. The law is true – the more you keep giving, the more you keep receiving.

So shelve your plans for retirement, and reposition yourself by finding someone younger to help, and burn with a fresh zeal in your re-firement.That way – until the day you leave this earth – you’ll continue to always grow young.

7 disciplines for high performance

There are 7 disciplines you must develop if you want to achieve all that is possible for you. You can learn these disciplines through practice and repetition until they become automatic.

Goal Setting
Every morning, take 3 to 5 minutes to write out your top goals in the present tense. Get a spiral notebook for this purpose. By writing out your 10 goals at the beginning of each day, you will program them deep into your subconscious mind.

This daily goal writing will activate your mental powers. It will stimulate your mind and make you more alert. Throughout the day, you will see opportunities and possibilities to move more rapidly toward your goals.

Planning and Organizing
Take a few minutes, preferably the night before, to plan out every activity of the coming day. Always work from a list. Always think on paper. This is one of the most powerful and important disciplines of all for high performance.

Priority Setting
The essence of all time management, personal management, and life management is contained in your ability to set proper priorities and use of your time. This is essential for high performance.

Concentration on your Highest-Value Activities
Your ability to work single-mindedly on your most important task will contribute as much to your success as any other discipline you can develop.

Exercise and Proper Nutrition
Your health is more important than anything else. By disciplining yourself to exercise regularly and to eat carefully, you will promote the highest possible levels of health and fitness throughout your life.

Learning and Growth
Your mind is like a muscle. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.

Time for Important People in your Life
Relationships are everything. Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you do not find it leaning against the wrong building. Make time for your relationships every day, no matter how busy you get.

Action Exercise
These 7 disciplines will ensure that you perform at the highest level and get the greatest satisfaction and results from everything you do. Study these 7 disciplines and then make a plan for how you can incorporate each of them into your daily life.

The Law Of Kindness

I have to pinch myself sometimes to be reminded that I just could be the luckiest man alive on planet earth.

I live in a democratically run country. I have freedom of religion. I have an abundance of food, the ability to earn as much money as I want, and plenty of opportunity at my disposal.

I can drive what I want and where I want. I can travel freely throughout the world. There are no limitations placed upon me and my dreams. I am loved by my family and my friends – even when I make mistakes.

I can set goals. I can make plans. I can sip lattes, read books, listen to music, watch films,  swim in the ocean, paddle up a river, climb a mountain, and breathe in the fresh air. To do these I don’t ever have to ask anyone’s permission.

I can tap into the latest technology available and communicate with my friends in an instant – whether they live in Peru, Panama, Paris or Portugal.

But with all that freedom I am ruled by one law – the law of kindness. And that law states that the more that I get the more responsible I need to be when it comes to giving.

Get more? Give more!

For I have walked the streets of poverty. I have visited the corridors of leprosy colonies. I have smelt the stench of lack and I have heard need’s cry.

So I am fully aware that as a citizen of planet earth I have a responsibility to reach out to those around me and to  share what I have, as directed by the one who created kindness, with those I am divinely brought in contact with all the days of my life – demonstrating the spirit of the law called kindness.

Poss-Ability

Every one of us has been given certain abilities. But in life, if we are to ever stand above the crowd, we must take those abilities and develop them if we’re ever going to make a significant contribution to the world in which we live.

I must admit that I have come across individuals more talented, more intelligent, more handsome, more connected, more capable, more financial, more able than myself who have failed to reach their full potential, because they have never fully developed or even used those abilities to benefit others.

And yet I have observed others who lack the charisma, the charm, the opportunity, and all the things that one would consider necessary to live an influential life, and yet they have soared. They have turned their limited abilities, in the eyes of others, into what I would call ‘poss-abilities’.

And what is required to take the ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary?

Here are just a few courageous qualities that I have identified in those who live lives filled with ‘poss-ability’.

1. They Have The Courage To Dream

Dreamers are those who dare to live differently. They are forged with a desire to make a difference, to contribute, and to inspire. And it all starts by having the guts to dream something bigger than their ability.

2. They Have The Courage To Take Action

A dream on its own is simply a dream. A dream backed up with a plan and corresponding action is a dream being fulfilled. It positions the dreamer to do one of three things – win, fail, or to have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Through the lessons they learn they will become stronger.

3. They Have The Courage To Persist

Once action has begun, there is going to be a time where persistence will need to kick in. This is the period between identifying the dream and actually fulfilling the dream. This gutsy persistence separates those who think that they have a dream from those who know for a fact that the dream is real and true, and will require a double dose of determination to see its ultimate fulfillment. This is where the champion takes over – all the way to victory.

Through these courageous qualities someone’s ability is totally transformed into that wonderful creature called ‘Poss-Ability’.

Those That Move

‘All mankind is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.’ Benjamin Franklin

1. Those Who Are Immovable

There are those amongst us who are stuck. Stuck in tradition. Stuck in their ways. Stuck in comfort. Stuck in religious thought-sets. Stuck in bad habits. Stuck in mindsets. Stuck.

And there is a chance that as they live stuck they will die stuck. Immovable. Not even an atomic bomb will move them. In business, if you’re stuck, you won’t be in business for long. Immovable in life, in family life, in organizations, in education, in institutions, in politics, in anything and everything.

To be stuck is to be unstuck – destined for destruction. Immovable.

2. Those That Are Movable

This is a better place to be in. But again this is where we need to ask the question, ‘Where do I move?’ This is not being in a position where you are moved by every rumor. This is the place where you are to be moved by convictions, by passion, with a sense of purpose and direction. Not moving as a result of a knee jerk reaction to changing circumstances.

This is positioning yourself in the company of wise counsel and sound mentoring. This is choosing wisely and selectively. For otherwise you will be battered by every passing wind that blows your way.

3. Those That Move

These are the directors of their destiny. These are the voices in the wilderness. These are the up-stream swimmers. These are the original thinkers. These are those who chart their own course. These are those who don’t wait to be asked. These are the trendsetters.

These at times are the eccentrics. These are the fashion manufacturers. These are the movers. These are the shakers. These are the speech makers. These listen to the beat of their own heart. These are the history makers. These are the leaders of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I have a question for you – Who are you, and whom do you wish to become?

ThroughOut

‘Often the best way out is through.’

All of us at some time in our lives will feel hemmed in, surrounded, blocked, hindered, or delayed by life’s circumstances. This is not the time to run, nor to even stand still, resigned to the seeming fate or thought that this now is to be your lot in life.

We were never born to stagnate. We were never created to crumble. We were brought to planet earth to conquer and to overcome.

And so when your enemy surrounds you – that is the time  to take up arms and declare war. Wild animals know this, for a wild animal, when it is backed into a corner – this is when it is most vicious. For it knows that there is only one way out of their predicament and that is to go forward.

Confrontation is your greatest friends in these times – and as you confront your fears, your bills, your lack of opportunity, your sickness, or anything else that is opposing your future success, this is the time to come out with all guns blazing. And then watch them dissipate before your very eyes. Smoke – that is all they are. There was no fire there after all.

Be the maker of moves, the implementer of strategies, the proponent of plans, and you will make your way out by going and growing through.

The Measure Of A Man

I’m pondering this afternoon about where all my schoolmates are now. What have they achieved? What influence have they had? What level of success have they accrued? What significance are they effecting? What impact are they having?

For what is the measure of man or a woman’s life?

Some have said that you can measure a man’s life by those who have measured their lives against them. I truly believe that one can measure their life by whether he or she has done what Allah (God) has called them to do.  But only a man or a woman and Allah can come up with that answer.

Men are so quick to judge, so quick to condemn, so quick to advise. But dare I say this? Unless you have walked in the shoes of another, you and I have no right to do any of what I have just listed.

Can we know the pulse of another man’s heartbeat? Can we discern the size of another man’s dream? Can we know the mission that his Allah (God) has assigned for him to perform?

Then why are we so obsessed with fixing others?

You and I have not been born to fix. We have been created to love. So let us stop judging, and if we fail to fully comprehend, then let us lean in little closer, ever seeking to understand and learn, in the spirit of love.

Overcome the overwhelm

There are times in all of our lives when we are swept away by an avalanche known as life’s experiences. It could be an unexpected death in the family, a job retrenchment, a failed buiness, divorce, legal litigation, or even an investment that went wrong.

And it’s at times like these that you may feel like you’re drowning under a deluge of happenings that you hadn’t planned on.

So how do you overcome the overwhelm?

1. The first thing is to stop and make a list of all your assets. Apart from that which you’ve just lost, what other fine qualities are still a part of your life? Did you know that your smile is one of your greatest assets? Restore your faith and confidence by reacquainting yourself with yourself.

2.The next thing to do is to make a list of all the things you need to do to get back on track. You have faced a derailment, and by listing these things you can begin to assess what is required to move forward. A list always puts things in a better perspective.

3.Tackle these steps – one step at a time. It is far better to do one thing than to do nothing at all. It is far better to move one centimetre forward than to stand still. For example, if you’re facing a multitudinous number of bills that need to be paid – the first thing you may need to do – before you attempt to pay anything – is to talk to your creditors. By being open and honest with them you will find that they will work with you as you restage your recovery. Clear communication is the key. And when it comes to prioritizing your list – break them up into groups identified by their level of urgency.  Not every task needs to be completed today.

By following these three simple steps you can turn your overwhelm into an overcome each and every time.

Don’t Be A Doormat

To walk in humility is not to be used as a doormat. Stand tall in the knowledge that you have been created for greatness. Know this. You have been born for a time such as this.  So be proud of who you are, of what you know and for what you can do.

When Allah (God) created you He knew that He was creating something unique, something extremely precious and special.

You have a gift upon your life that no other human has been given. So be yourself. And take that gift and unwrap it so that we, as the recipients of the gift of your life that you offer, can receive it with great joy.

If your gift is to write, then write. If it is to paint, then paint. To speak, then speak. To build, then build. To compose, then compose. To support, then support. To create, then create.

But whatever you do, don’t do it half-heartedly. Do it with passion, and with a conviction that you have something of incredible value to offer the world.

And know this, that no matter who may criticize, or condemn – you are worthy and you are highly valued.

Be assured – because it’s a fact. God has never once created anything or anyone of inferior quality. Even with any flaws that you know you may have – you were created absolutely perfect.

Miss Understood

No matter what you do, you will not be able to please everybody.

If you speak to an audience of one hundred people, it is said that three of the hundred will not like you. But do we get concerned about the three, or rather press on with the ninety seven?

The more influence that you have, be assured that a dartboard will become part of your everyday wear.

People who do nothing with their lives are rarely targeted. It is only those who truly make a difference who will find themselves in the firing line.

But it is at that very point that a true leader will rise up above any criticism and simply brush off the mosquito bites – no matter how hurtful they may be – pressing on with the fulfillment of the vision for their life.

It is so easy to set yourself up as a critic, but few can willingly take on the role of being members of the group called ‘the criticized’. For history tells us that a great person’s companion throughout life is a lady called ‘Miss Understood.’

But it is how you entertain her that will make all the difference of how you fair in the(in the words of the wisest man who ever lived) ‘dog eat dog’ world that we live in.

Here are a few ways that you can do that:

1. Listen

Whenever there is a misunderstanding, listen. Because at times there is a possibility that there could be an element of truth communicated to you.

2. Learn

As a fellow traveler in this world, we can always learn something about others, and about ourselves when a misunderstanding occurs.

3. Improve

If you glean a truth from what ‘Miss Understood’ has shared with you, then apply it to your life immediately. You will be richer because of it.

4. Don’t React

Now if the misunderstanding has arisen from a clashing of belief systems, then resist reacting. Be big enough to let it go. You can’t change others, if they choose not to do so. Simply love them – even those who have failed to comprehend your heart. Time passed has a habit of bringing forth truth in its truest of light.

So take care of  ‘Miss Understood’, your fellow traveler, as you continue on your journey towards a life of outstanding influence and significance.

Be trendsetter

Take a path less traveled by others and tread your own.

Oh you may have to break open virgin territory that requires the use of a machete or a front-end loader, but that is the way of the pioneer. That is the trek of the adventurer.

They don’t want to take the beaten path. They want to push out the boundaries and break down the traditions of men. They want to ask the hard questions. They refuse to accept the statement: ‘that’s the way it has always been done around here.’

When everyone else is going right, they will be going left. When everyone is going up,they will be going down. When everyone is going under, they will be going over. When everyone is queuing up behind everyone else, they’ll go and stand at the front of a new queue that they just created, because they can.

So be a trendsetter. Be a revolutionary. Be confrontational if you wish. Create your own brand called You Inc.

Don’t put up with the way things are done. Do something completely outrageous and brand spanking new. Push against the restrictions. Extend your tent pegs. And if it says, ‘Wet Paint’, just don’t touch it. I dare you to grab it with both hands. Be radical. Be loud. Be large. Be huge. Be-autiful!

And in being you, make sure that everything you do will create a better world for all of us to live in, because you have decided to join the long list of inventive minds, who have lived throughout the ages (and are now heralded as champions), who chose to tread their own path.

Character’s Code Of Conduct

Character is the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions. It also speaks to me of moral rectitude. And rectitude is defined as righteousness as a consequence of being honorable and honest.

I have lived long enough to observe the outworking of lives lived with or without character.

Now please do not misunderstand me. Bad things still happen to good people. But there are those whom I have, in the past, perceived as being the possessors of a flawed character, who are now either dead, destroyed, imprisoned, or are currently under-performing in respect to their full potential. I do not stand in judgment. I simply observe.

Those whom I viewed as having strong moral character, on the other hand, no matter what life has thrown at them, have gone on from strength to strength, and continue to grow stronger, in both character and influence, with each passing year.

Those who live their lives by a moral and ethical code, for an extended period of time, and I’m speaking of decades here, will reap the crops resulting from the good seed that they have continued to sow throughout the years.

Those who choose to sow wild oats, as it were, are twenty to thirty years down the track having to deal with the ‘weed’ ramifications that have arisen from those earlier plantings, many of which were planted while they were yet youths.

I learnt in science at school that for every action there is a corresponding reaction. I read in other self help books that what we sow we will reap. These are laws. And by our co-operation, or lack of compliance to these laws – our futures are determined.

So the important thing is this – that we embark on character’s code of conduct as early as possible in our life – so that we can begin to enjoy the fruits of a long life that is defined by righteousness, morality, honesty and honour. And add to that list blessing

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door!


He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting,“What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are! you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”


The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister..please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” He pleaded, “I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”


With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”


Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.


A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.. “Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.


The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message, “Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”

To Live A Rich Life

‘Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.’ – Apostle Paul

In the pursuit of happiness many believe that an abundance of money will cure all ills.  But it has been my observation that wealth without a plan to use it for the betterment of others, other than yourself, can develop into a cancer that will ultimately consume and destroy you.

I have dined and lived amongst Lakhpatis, and I have slept on the dirt floor of a village hut. And it is my conclusion that it is possible to at times have greater peace and happiness in a hut than in a mansion.

Wealth is comparative, and it is foolish to compare what you have or don’t have with another. Compared to Bill Gates I am poor. Compared to the refugee I am a billionaire.

If you want to feel rich, then spend some time amongst the poor. If you want to feel poor, then spend some time around the rich. If you want to live a balanced life, then do both. Learn from both ends of the spectrum, and then live true to yourself.

Money is a powerful tool to be used for good. The love of money is what is evil.

When it comes to money – let it be the water and you be the pipeline that transports it to where it can purchase that which can do the most good. Don’t be a reservoir. Be a channel. Don’t be a dam. Be a floodgate.

But in your giving, be discerning. Give a hand up and not just a hand out. Care for the widows. Feed the orphans. Rescue the perishing.

Be the solution, not the problem. Share what you have – no matter how big or how small. For true living arises from a life that is dedicated to true giving.

Dust off the dream

I was challenged recently to dust off some old dreams that I had allowed to grow stale and rusty from lack of use.

It’s so exciting to dig them up again. It’s like being an archaeologist stumbling across an ancient relic and a new dig. For the old adage is true – where there is still life there is always hope.

It is never too late to refresh an old dream, to dust it off and go again. You simply need to relook at it with new eyes and renewed enthusiasm that is fired by your original vision.

So what dreams have you packed away in a box, stuffed in the attic or stored away in the garage?

It’s never too late to go again. You’re never too old to dream ridiculously outrageous dreams.

The only way you will truly fail in life is if you choose to stop trying.

Try. Try. Try. Try again.

Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail as many times as you need to until you succeed.

Pull out the old dreams. Restore the vision by buying yourself a brand new pair of visionary glasses. Put them on as you roll up your sleeves while surrounding yourself with your personal cheer squad, and dare to dream again.

Why?

Because dreams come true – and why not you?

Join me as we pursue our dreams together – and on our days of achievement let us rejoice together – in the fact that we had the courage to pursue our God-given dreams that were given to us to define our significant lives

The Fate Of Imitate

To be bound by imitation is to live a life of mediocrity.

Escape while you can. Tap into the uniquity that resides within you today. Commune with the creator who takes up residence in your heart and in your mind, and surprise the world with yet another moment of superb genius.

Attach passion to everything that you do, every word that you write, and every syllable that you speak.

Do not fellowship with the dead. Oh, yes, they walk, they talk, they squawk, but they are as parrots who simply repeat what others have uttered. There is nothing original about them at all. And within their utterances there is no soul. Their skeletons lack flesh. Their soil lacks nutrients. Their air lacks oxygen.

Bring with you – in all you do or say – trace elements that enrich and empower those with whom you meet. Never leave those whom you touch poorer for the experience. In contrast, may they leave your presence filled to overflowing, busting, gorged, stuffed – replete.

Don’t be as those who drain the very life out of those around them.

Flood. Drench. Drown.

They will not perish. They will in fact thirive and come back for more, because they have spent time in the presence of one who refuses to imitate.

The Fire Of Thought

Emerson writes in his lecture to divinity students that, ‘The true preacher can be known by this, that he deals out to the people his life – life passed through the fire of thought.’

I agree with the master of philosophic thought, because for me to be an effective writer and communicator I need to draw upon the lessons learnt from experience – and it is then that my words, whether written or spoken, have their greatest universal power to impact others.

Theoretical thought is useless. Practical thought is applicable and relatable. It is as I bleed onto the page that others can receive their own personal life transfusion. It is as I pour myself out in word form that others can be filled. For it is in the refining fires of thought that life can receive its greatest expression. Unashamed recordings of beliefs, ponderings and heartfelt unveilings are the very things that can empower others to become the best they can possibly become.

It is the electricity of our written thoughts that light the minds of men. It is as we courageously thrust our fiery thoughts onto the page that others are urged, spurred, challenged, inspired, and motivated to accept nothing but excellence.

Words are the igniters of dreams, the fuel of faith and the hands of hope.

Write and deal out your life. Journal. Take those thoughts and let them spill out and over every page.

Speak. Let those life-giving words fall from your lips. Don’t withhold the flow. For by letting them splash as a gushing stream, the deserts of men’s souls – of those who surround you and for whatever reason are dying of thirst – will once and for all be given the chance to blossom once again as God’s children have all been designed to do.

The hunger benefit

There is a benefit that arises from being hungry. It inspires the search. It initiates the hunt. It releases the motivator. It unveils the inspirator. It invites creativity, and it provokes innovation.

None of us like hunger pangs, but the very fact that we are hungry – for whatever reason – stirs us into action. There is an inbuilt mechanism that is set in motion to solve the problem, overcome the challenge, or climb the mountain that stands before us.

Hunger for the achievement of a goal. Hunger for the fulfillment of a dream. Hunger for the provision of a better life for you and your family. A hunger to be in the company of mentors and peers who have similar values to you.

So stop feasting on failure. Refrain from partaking of that dinner called defeat. Pull away from feeding with fools. Wisdom says that there is a fast that you need to partake of if you are ever going to be fully satisfied. And that place is the place called hunger.

For it is there that you will discover the greatest benefits. It is a chosen fast where you choose to delay gratification, so that when your win comes, it comes in the form of a full and magnificent menu. And it is here that you can eat secure in the fact that you have paid the price, that you have walked the talk, and that you have done all this with a spirit of humility and integrity and with patience.

Honour the hunger and give it pride of place in your satiated life.

The despair of compare

If there is one word of wisdom I can offer you today it’s this: stop comparing yourself to those around you.

The days of keeping up with the Jones or the Smiths are dead and gone. Stop looking at the other guys car, because if you knew the truth of it all, you’d probably be glad to know that you don’t have to pay his monthly lease bill. I have seen it time and time again – especially in tough economic times – the shedding of top end vehicles and full furnished bungalows because the vehicles and properties were never owned by the occupants in the first place. They were owned by the bank.  So stop comparing yourself with others and their stuff.

The only person you should be comparing yourself with is you and your last week, month or year’s performance.

Here are some questions to prime your personal comparison pump -

How far have you come?
What skills have you added to your resource in that time frame?
How much more money have you saved?
How much bad debt have you reduced?
How many credit cards have you cut up?
What have you produced in the past twelve months?
What new mentors have you added to your circle of influence?
What new friends have you added to your circle of peers?
How many people have you positively influenced?
How much money have you given to charity?
How much time or effort have you volunteered for no charge?
Have you grown as a person?
Are you more in love with your spouse and your children than last year?
But don’t’ spend one minute on a comparison analysis with someone else. It’s a total waste of time.

And as someone once told me, ‘If we all put our problems into a hat and then picked out of it someone else’s problems, we’d all ask for our own back.’

Learn to live in a state of dissatisfied satisfaction. Enjoy today, but continue to dream and hope for a better tomorrow. But whatever you do, don’t waste today worrying about what you could have done yesterday. Learn from yesterday, but don’t stay there. Do better today than you did then, and you will be assured of a better tomorrow.

Make it your focus to only compare your today’s efforts with yesterdays – with a constant mission to improve. This will set you up for some hugely successful tomorrows.

And remember this, that to compare yourself with others will only create one thing – despair. Don’t go there!

Abundance Is Your Portion

You were born to live in abundance. You were created for significance. You were planted on planet earth to succeed.

The pathway between your birth and death was designed for life – abundant life – more life than you could have ever thought possible.

But in order to experience that life you are going to have to pursue it, overtake it and possess it. You must speak it into existence. You must walk in it before it materializes. You must surround yourself with those who are living the lives that you desire as your own.

You need to prepare, study, associate, work, serve every step of the way – never being satisfied with the feeling of  ‘I’ve made it’, but ever pushing forward from one goal achieved to the next goal perceived.

Learn from your mistakes. Refuse to hold grudges. Be quick to forgive, and press on relentlessly. Know this: that you are a child of the King, and that nothing less than a royal existence is your birthright.

Be Not Subject To Reject

Even as I write this I am recovering from yet another rejection slip. Throughout the years I have received dozens of them in relation to my motivational session, my articles and other things that I have personally created. And even at this time of writing there is no school or offices who has ever accepted my paid services and responded with the word YES.

And even though that may be the case I have still self-published thousands of books that have been sold internationally, have recorded numerous albums and continue to create new and exciting productions.

WHY?

Because I have learnt the secret of how to never come under the subjection of rejection.

HOW?

1. Recognize That The Word NO Won’t Kill You – Go on. Stand in front of a mirror and yell at yourself the word NO. Go on. Say it ten times. How do you feel after that barrage of abuse? Oh you’re still breathing. It didn’t kill you? Amazing. So those bullets that you thought others were firing at you are actually only blanks after all.

2. Realize That You Don’t Need Another Person’s Recognition To Be Brilliant – So what if they don’t get it. And who are THEY anyway? They are other people’s opinions, and people’s opinions change like the wind.

3. Keep Dreaming BIG Dreams – Whatever you do, don’t stop dreaming. Dreams drive you to push forward with the next creation. So dream on and dream BIG.

4. Keep Creating Great Creations – As a creative person, to stop creating is to put to death the growth that is necessary for the creation of new and fresh ideas. So never stop the creation process.

5. Realize That There Is Always Another Way – In order to get your material before a wider audience, the Internet has opened up the floodgates for expression like never before. And much of it is freely available. So publish your creations online – whether it be in written word, photographs, videos or audio presentations. Get out there on the world wide web and make it happen.

6. Never Accept NO As The Final Answer – Someone’s no may lead to another’s yes. So keep moving. Keep creating. Keep presenting. Keep improving. Keep submitting. Keep trying. Keep going. Never stop. Never give up. You are worthy. Your creations are special. You are of value, and you have a voice that needs to be heard.

7. Never Stop Believing In Yourself – Be your greatest fan. Declare to yourself on a daily basis that Allah (God) created you for greatness, and stand firm in that greatness – ever giving thanks to God for the gifts He planted in your life to bring joy to Him, others and don’t forget the most important person on planet earth – yourself.

The Voice Called Choice

The choices that we make on a minute by minute basis determine our destiny.

Every choice chosen has an immediate impact on our lives and on the lives of others. So when it comes to making choices – choose wisely.

In the scriptures we’re reminded of a time when a whole nation was given an instruction about making choices, and the two words that echo throughout the annals of history still hold true to this day, and they are the words, ‘Choose life!’

So how do we determine which choice to choose?

It’s quite simple.

If your choice, and the fruit of your choice, is going to breathe life into your life and into the lives of those around you, then that is a right choice.

On the flipside, if your choice, and the fruit of your choice, is going to deposit death into your life and into the lives of those around you, then you have clearly made the wrong choice.

This is why rash choice making is a dangerous habit to develop. The term ‘I need to sleep on it’ is a powerful guide that can protect you greatly from making premature and painful choices. And one simple directive is to recognise that the worst possible time to make life defining choices is when you are tired, sick or emotional.

Surround yourself with wise mentors with whom you can discuss your choices before making them final, and you may just begin to find that there may be another way.

There is always another way. There is always a better way. Our job is to simply position ourselves so that we learn to make right choices.

It is my observation that twenty years of making wrong choices ends up with one or more of these results – death, bankruptcy or destruction.

So let your voice  called choice speak life into every choice that you make – and because of those choices you will end up with a life that is both prosperous and constructive.

Choose life!

From Disappoint To Re-Appoint

Life is filled with the scheduling of appointments.

In fact, every time that you set a goal you have set up an appointment. Why? Because you have established something that you wish to achieve and have had the courage to attach a date to it.

But what if the date comes and the date goes, and nothing has changed? Don’t allow your disappointment to be your destination. Don’t set up a memorial on that deflating spot in your life. Simply reset the appointment, and reappoint the time and place that you are going to achieve that goal – and go again.

Remember this, that any great success consists of a succession of failures. Put each failure under your feet, and before you know it you will find yourself reaching that which you have dreamt of – the heights of outstanding success.

Faith your FEAR

Fear attacks without warning. It can assault you in the early morning before you arise from your bed. It can pierce your heart in broad daylight and then it can confront you in the deepest and darkest of nights.

Fear can be triggered by a statement, a bill, a phone call, a word or simply by a thought. Fear is a slippery, slimy wild pig that is not concerned with any form of etiquette, and will barge into your sphere unannounced and unwelcomed. Then like a parading lion it will seek out the weak or pounce when you find yourself in a weakened, tired or sickened state.

Fear is merciless. Fear is wily. Fear is a schemer. Fear is fatal – but only if you allow it to take up residence in your life.

But when the savage dog of fear speeds towards you, the best remedy to overcome and nullify the attack is to turn front on and stand still. For by standing your ground you have not only faced your fear, but you have in fact ‘Faithed Your Fears’.

The only power that fear will ever have over you is when you choose to turn and run. Fear will pursue you and hunt you down if you flee. But if you ‘Faith Your Fear’ and stand firm – never allowing fears ammunition to be uttered from your lips – but rather to speak words of faith in the face of fear – you will stand strong.

And what are some of those faith words? Well here are just a few that you can use when you find yourself being hemmed in by the wolverine pack called fear.

‘I can’, ‘I will’, ‘I have’ and ‘I’m more than able’.

And as a Muslim I add a few others like…

‘If Allah is with me me then who can be against me’ along with ‘No weapon formed against me shall prosper.’

And with these weapons flowing from your mouth you will faith your fears all the way to victory.

Dream Stealer

Original Author - Peter G. James

I have recently been embroiled in an ugly legal threat devised by men who have nothing better to do than to lure their prey into a net, and even before both myself and two other parties knew it, we were the victims of some vicious personal attacks aimed at destroying both ourselves and our businesses, and even some dear relationships that had been reforged between the time I first met these men until when the attacks began.

The sad thing is that these men are not what I would call stupid men.  They are seemingly gifted with great talent, but have allowed themselves, because of past challenges faced, to seek devious ways to get ahead.  And one of their greatest ploys seems to be that if their dreams are seemingly unachievable, that they will seek to steal or destroy the dreams of others in the process.  How childish!

So how do you guard yourself against these dream stealers?

Here are just a few ways that I have, through experience, not only kept my dream in tact, but at the same time ever-expanded my dreams.

1. Find Your Dream – The first thing is to have a dream.  This can only be acquired if you ask yourself some serious questions.  Have a conversation with yourself and ask yourself this question:  ‘If time and money were not restricted in any way, what would I do, have or be?’  Answer that and you will begin to unwrap not only your past, but your future and your present.

2. Hold On To Your Dream – Never ever let another human being take away your dream.  They may take your house, your car, your business, your bank account – but as long as you hold onto your dream all those things are replaceable.

3. Share Your Dream – Be selective in your sharing. For no matter what happens in your life,  you need to surround yourself with a company of people who will cheer you on.  By sharing your dream openly you are crystallizing it in your own mind while at the same time positioning yourself as one who is held accountable while in pursuit of your dream.

4. Secure Your Dream – Unfortunately the world is full of doubters who question anyone who calls themselves a dreamer.  You will hear the following: ‘How dare you think that you can do that? What right have you to think that you can have that?  You’re not qualified.  You don’t have the ability.  You’re not sufficiently skilled or educated’, and on it goes.

5. Pursue Your Dream – The great thing about doing business for myself is that I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to succeed.  I simply get an idea and then follow it.  Now there have been times that I have hit roadblocks.  But some of those stoppages have taught me the best lessons.  So I simply get up, dust myself off and go again on the highway of successful dream fulfillment.

So be alert.  There are dream stealers all around you and I.  They may even be in your family.  But do not allow them to steal the dream that, once achieved, will even bless the thieves who endeavoured to rob you of your life’s destiny.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is an amazing place to be. Is it a nice place? Not at all. But it is a choice place.

It is a place where you can choose to hide under a rock, or a place where you can stand on the mountain top and declare,  ‘I may be vulnerable. I may be on my last legs. Opportunity may seem to be avoiding me at every turn, but I choose to stand up in my nakedness, stripped of all pride and potential, in the eyes of others, and yet I hold on to a number of assets that to me are worth millions: character, integrity, talents, gifts, ideas, and of course my dream.’

For vulnerability plus a dream speaks of one thing and one thing only: possibility.

Everything can be taken from you, but when you still hold on to the dream, you are clothed in the power to overcome all obstacles and to scale all opposition until you break through the winning tape with your chest.

Vulnerability  – the moment in time where the spirit of the victor is given the privilege and the opportunity to rise above and to go beyond.

Vulnerability is the place of creativity and the birthplace of champions.

What people say, you see what people is

Words in the mouth of the wise are as seeds, that if planted correctly will yield bountiful crops in those same lives in the next one, two, five or even ten years.

But the words of the unwise will do exactly the same. I have actually overheard two particular people who have said such things as, ‘I will not live to an old age’, and another ‘If I ever lose my wealth there will be nothing for me to live for.’ Those two alone are already dead.

Well the good book states that ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ And most people tend to underestimate the power of the words that they speak.

So does that then place me in a seat of judgment of those who have suffered the consequences of bad speech? No, I am simply an observer and have been observing lives, in relation to this matter, over the past decades. I have heard speaking and then observed the results of such statements.

So  let wisdom declare: put a watch over your mouth, put a guard over your tongue, and train your mouth to speak life giving words and resist the urge to unleash death upon your bright future.

For it is a universal truth that when you hear what people say, you see what people is.

The power of giving

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make  a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog.  He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’


‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.

‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.

‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy  If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we  both will be proud of.’ And that he did.

Farmer Fleming’s  son attended the very best schools and in time graduated from St. Mary’s  Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout  the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman?

Lord Randolph Churchill

His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Dream Direction

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.’ Henry David Thoreau

Many live their lives being driven by circumstances – by making a living, by paying the mortgage, or by keeping up appearances.

May I suggest that there is a far better way to live your life. And that is to ‘go confidently in the direction of your dreams’. Make your dreams the compass that guides your every decision, and leads your every step.

At times the dream may even direct you to discard the acceptable, the normal, and to even abandon the status quo. But by doing so you will embark upon a life so exciting, so exhilarating, that at times it will even take your breath away.

To live a life totally bound by meetings, schedules, tasks, or programs can ultimately deaden the dream, if you let it. So make a point to at times choose to ignore the email, the voice mail, the diary entry, and pause to rediscover the dream. In confidence then take your next step in the direction of your dreams. Let it be the light that leads you through the darkness of a busy and demanding life.

Reach down into your pulsating heart and pull out your purpose. Reappoint. Reposition. It’s never too late. You will never ever reach your ‘use by’ date. Your dream is as fresh today as it was ten years ago.

All it takes is to confidently take a single step – the first step – in the direction of your dream, and you will be back on track, back in the game – ready to score the winning goal of a life lived well, and a life lived full.

5 Ways to Break-up with Stress

Stress is like a partner to many of us, who is always with us, making our lives miserable. But for some reason we are unable to Break-up with it. And you know? Stress is like a slow poison. It will kill your health, your dreams, your productivity very slowly. So let me give you five suggestions from my experience to avoid getting stressed.


1. Know Your Priorities: 
Most of the times we get stressed because we try to do everything. Accept that it's not possible. So please write down your priorities, focusing on your dreams and values. And be strict about it. Learn to say NO to less important things to say YES to more important things in your life.


2. Finish What You Start:
Another very common cause of stress is heap of unfinished projects. Lot's of SMS and Emails to reply, lots of unfinished blog posts (which you left to reply your tweet), piles of magazines and books left half-read (as you started reading another one). As the list grows, so does your stress. So make it a habit from today, to finish what you start. If something can't be done immediately keep it noted under DoItLater category.


3. Simplify Your Life: 
Wait! I am not going to advice you to be Gandhiji, to wear just loincloth. Just think for a moment, which complexity of your life makes you stressed? How do you feel when your more than one mobiles start ringing simultaneously, or all of your inboxes (as you have subscribed to every Email provider available)are flooded with mails, or you surf through 10-15 Social Networking Sites you use? If you simplify these aspects, you will feel much better. Some quick steps:

Use Single Mobile
Use maximum two Email Id (My Recommendation: Gmail + work)
Use one/two Social Networking Site (My Recommendation: Twitter, Facebook)
Get in a relationship (Lol! Otherwise it will make your life most complex)

4. Learn to Relax:
When people feel stressed, what they do is to dive into the pending works, and gets  more stressed within a few minutes. So whenever you feel stressed, stop! and RELAX! Nothing productive can be done with a troubled mind. How to Relax? Well you should find your own techniques, let me give you some suggestions:

• Pray 
• Have a walk (best if you can walk in the nature)
• Do what you love (Like painting, playing games)
• Spend time with your friends and family.

5. Remind Yourself "AALLL IZZZ WELLL!" :
People get stressed because they worry too much. My suggestion is to Stop Worrying and Start Living(as the title of the book by Dale Carnegie suggests) . As Rancho (the lead character in the bollywood movie "3 Idiots" ) says "Whenever you are in difficult situations, facing problems keep your hand on your heart and say AALLL IZZZ WELLL (All is Well). This may not solve your problem, but it will give you strength to look for the solution"

So wish you all a stress-free life. I will be coming up many more ideas on how to deal with the stress.

Faith As Our Currency

Throughout history the currency of many nations and its worth has fluctuated, and at times even become totally worthless. So to put your confidence in a nation’s monetary system alone is to build your foundations on shaky ground. This is where you need to invest in your faith account. And how do you do this? Well, I can only speak from personal experience.

So here are a few tips to enable you to position yourself time and time again for success.


1) Have Faith In God – I personally have faith in the Allah (The creator for the whole world) . And that faith is simply expressed in my trust and a confidence in my creator. So much so that I stake my life and my very existence on Him. In my life I have seen Him supply my greatest needs time and time again that proves to me that He is personally interested in my well being. I talk to Him as my friend and my mentor.

2) Have Faith In Your Strengths – I have consistently needed to identify my strengths and learn to operate in those strengths if I wished to walk in success and satisfaction. The first thing was to identify them. To do this I simply needed to recognize those things that I do naturally and the things that I have a passion for. And then I needed to do them on a consistent basis – ever seeking to improve along the way.

3) Have Faith In Others – Then I have at the same time learnt to delegate my weaknesses. This has been helped by gradually surrounding myself with a strong support network of people who can help me in these weak areas. Mentors are in this group. And the older I get the greater need for these is becoming more evident in my life. These individuals are strong individuals who assist, support and guide me in the daily decision and activity process that make up my life.

So no matter where I find myself in the world geographically or financially, this faith currency is the currency I use on a daily basis, and it sufficiently sustains me.

Try using it yourself, for it is of eternal value

Vocation = Vacation

‘The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation.’ Mark Twain

There have been short periods in my life where I have found myself employed in a job that I didn’t suit and didn’t like. I didn’t stay there for too long, but learnt as much as I could from the experience before seeking out work that I enjoyed. I knew that this was going to be the only way that I was ever going to live an enjoyable and productive life.

I suppose that’s why I am in business for myself now. See, the thing that I really love to do is to create something new. And I suppose that’s what I’m in the business of doing on a daily basis.

I am reminded of my high-school years. There was this one maths teacher, one science teacher and one English teacher who inspired and encouraged this creativity in me. And it was no surprise that during those years that I had those three teachers that I excelled in those three separate subjects.

These days I create books, speeches, businesses and opportunities for not only myself to succeed, but to help others to succeed. And it is in this that I find my greatest joy, and it is in my current vocation that I find myself always on vacation. Work is not work for me – it’s fun, and because I love what I do I work hard and I often work long.

I’m not a ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ kind of guy. I declare seven days a week, as soon as I open my eyes of a morning, ‘Thank God it’s TODAY!’

So don’t be satisfied with second best. Find what you love doing and go do it. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t stop. Just keep trying until you find your vacation vocation.

Become A Powerhouse Of Possibility

Every one of us has a strength. And it is by tapping that strength and by strengthening that strength that we can produce the most productive life possible.

Strong people are those who have identified their strengths and use them on a daily basis to add value to their lives and to the lives of those around them.

There was a skinny little kid showing off to some of his little friends the muscles that were developing in his skinny forearm.

One of the bigger kids mocked him saying, ‘Hey Robbo, are you trying to break the record for the muscle that hangs down the lowest?’

All the kid’s laughed.


Unmoved, with the biggest possible voice that he could muster, he looked at all the kids eyeball to eyeball declaring, ‘My dad says that even though I may not have much muscle on the outside yet, I’ve got heaps of BIG muscles on the inside. And if I keep working out, one day every one of those muscles are going to pop out everywhere all over my body.’

No one had an answer to his response.

So be like the little boy and take the strength of the message found within this article. Apply it to your life and be the powerhouse of possibility that you were created to be.



If we’re ever going to achieve anything of significance in this lifetime, we must have a purpose GREATER than ourselves. It is this PURPOSE that will thrust us out of the world of mediocrity and into the world of the winner and the achiever.

So how do we find our purpose? Good question.

There are probably a million answers to that question, but let me share from my own experience. Maybe a bit of that will help you to discover your own personal strategy. All of us are different, but we can at least learn certain principles from another’s life.

The first thing that I did was this: I decided that I was going to be proud of who I was and of what I could do. I also decided that I was a person who had great value. I didn’t get concerned as to what others said or thought about me. I began to develop my own BELIEF in my own abilities. THIS WAS IMPORTANT.

Once that was firmly fixed in my mind, I began to identify my STRENGTHS. Now what are strengths? They’re the things that come to you naturally and the things that you do with a natural flair. You actually enjoy doing them.

STRONG PEOPLE USE THEIR STRENGTHS

So, this is what I did. I took a piece of blank paper and drew a line down the middle. On the left hand side I wrote my strengths (the things I’m naturally good at) and on the right hand side I wrote my weaknesses (the things I don’t find easy to do). Once I had done that I started to major on my strengths in everything I did. As I could, I started to delegate my weaknesses to others who were more gifted in those areas. Let’s face it! We can’t do everything.

It took me nearly ten years to finally realize this, and even today, as I face new situations and challenges, I constantly ask myself the question, ‘What are my strengths?’ I find that I am the most happiest when I am doing what I love doing (thinking and writing). For me, these things are easy to do and I get great joy out of it.

Because I’ve learnt to ask this question constantly, I now, AFTER MANY YEARS OF LEARNING, make my living out of my strengths. At the same time I delegate my weaknesses. The result is this: I do what I love to do every day of my life. WORK to me HAS BECOME FUN because I’m using MY STRENGTHS.

So in a nutshell, here is one way that can help you to clearly DISCOVER your PURPOSE.

1. IDENTIFY YOUR STRENGTHS
2. IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESSES
3. MAJOR ON YOUR STRENGTHS
4. DELEGATE YOUR WEAKNESSES

Follow up this simple written exercise by CONSISTENT ACTION. Watch how you will start to live with GREATER ENERGY and GREATER PURPOSE than you have ever done before.

Seven Ways To Live The ‘Seven-Star’ Life

When it comes to living, don’t settle for ‘three-star’, ‘four-star’, ‘five-star’ or even ‘six-star’. Let’s aim for ‘seven-star’ living! So how do you achieve this?

Well here are seven tips to consider and apply immediately to your life.

Star 1 – Develop A Great Attitude

Every day you live, you and I have a choice to make. What attitude are you going to carry with you? Always choose a great attitude.

Star 2 – Develop a Vision For Your Life

Your vision will come from within and can be drawn from your natural gifts and desires. And if that’s not enough – tune into another leader’s vision and throw your weight behind it.

Star 3 – Write Your Goals

Written goals add power to your life. Having written goals now for over twenty years, I have seen too many things that I’ve written down come to pass to think otherwise.

Star 4 – Believe That Success Is Yours

If you don’t believe it, then who will? Think Success! Reject failure thoughts. Remind yourself consistently that you are a success and expect great things to happen in your life.

Star 5 – Destroy Fear Through Action

By simply choosing to act, even while the butterflies are still getting into formation in your stomach, fear will run from you.

Star 6 – Think Creative Thoughts

Immerse yourself constantly in an environment of creativity. One way to do this is to keep a journal and to take at least thirty minutes a day to record your thoughts. It is often in solitude that your greatest ideas will be birthed.

Star 7 – Help Others

You actually learn more when you teach others. The more you give away the more you will receive. Find someone who needs mentoring and start teaching. And as you’re mentoring seek your own mentor to teach you. It’s as simple as offering to meet over a cup of coffee – and make sure that you pay for them.

So don’t settle even for ‘five star’ or ‘six star’ living. Go to the top immediately and choose to live a quality ‘seven-star’ life.

Iron Sharpeneth Iron, But Sandpaper Blunteth

When it comes to building successful relationships with others it basically comes down to one thing – respect.

And that respect is reflected in the way we relate to the other party. If you or I enter into the relationship with one thing in mind – ‘what can I get out of it?’ – you will soon find that you are building on some shaky ground.

However, if we approach the relationship from the viewpoint of how can I bring benefit to that other person – then you have immediately created an environment whereby a relationship can be developed. In simplistic terms, it’s more about the give rather than the get.

We cannot force others. We must not manipulate. Love says that we must accept people for who they are and provide them time and an environment where they can grow and develop.

‘Iron sharpeneth iron’ speaks of two strong individuals coming together – and through their interaction there is a spark and there is a further sharpening as two minds meet with a common sense of giving at the centre of their interaction.

Sandpaper? Sandpaper tells. Iron invites. Ever been rubbed up the wrong way? Ever been in a situation where the intention of one of the party is to get, and where there’s very little give? There is no sharpening here. There is only blunting. Ultimately there will be no relationship.

So be a giver. Be a sharpener. Add the spark to all your relationships by discarding the sandpaper and by administering only the iron – the iron of love and respect