THE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE: Part 2

RESHAPE YOUR THINKING


   Ever wonder why some people are so successful in life while others struggle so much with hardly nothing to show for their efforts? Well, I also used to wonder until I discovered this amazing answer which I've chosen to share with you today. I have to warn you, this might sound strikingly odd and complicated to some of you while it might just sound so simple and insignificant to others but this simple reason is what causes a great deal of difference between the successful and unsuccessful people. In other words, this is the difference that makes all the difference. This simple reason is-  'Successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.'

   Think? Yes Think. This is something you must have heard of at one time or the other in your life. And either consciously or unconsciously, thinking is an activity we all engage in everyday of our lives be it morning, noon or night, whether we be black or white, old or young and irrespective of our shapes and sizes. And the good thing about this is that you don't have to be a genius in order to think. Speaking of which, you have approximately 70,000 thoughts per day, although most are similar thoughts revolving around in the cranial highway. Which is why you have to consciously make sure that you don't spend the larger part of that number (i.e 40,000 - 50,000) nurturing negative thoughts.



To accomplish great things,
we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.  ~Anatole France

  
Perhaps, you might be wondering how the way you think affects your level of success in life.
The fact remains that your beliefs have the power to unlock your inner genius or keep you from fully achieving your greatest potential. Hence, the nature of the larger percentage of thoughts you spend your day dwelling on (including the unconscious ones) is what makes up your life and determines who you are. This makes believing in negative thoughts the single greatest obstruction to success. And the common thing about all successful people is that they know this fact which is why they consciously think positively, they think success, they think possibilities (i.e they spend the larger part of their day nurturing positive thoughts).
   Coupled with that, Successful people mostly know what they want in life and they are able to channel not only their thoughts but also their actions towards the accomplishment of that goal.

  
You have to think positively if you want to go to the top. Mainly because:


1- "Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The interesting thing about this world is that it's not fixed, it turns out for you the way you see it and the successful people know this. The truth is that you are literally what you think about. I.e, the quality of your life can't be better than the quality of your thoughts.
Uniquely, this was emphasized to us in the book of Romans 12:2 which says that -   Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, 'but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.' Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT VERSION) It is seen here that the way to changing a man is by changing his thoughts first.


The moment you begin to consciously think success, you position your subconscious mind to do likewise and that will in turn make you see the world as a place where success is achievable, and this will programme you by default to take positive actions to achieve that. It is important to know that Life is simple, and the way you see it is the way it turns out for you. In other words, how you choose to see your circumstances has a powerful influence on what your circumstances will be. Equally important is the fact that it is impossible to reach success with a scheme of failure thoughts in your mind.
Our mind is the most valuable possession that we have.
The quality of our lives is, and will be, a reflection of how well we develop, train, and utilize this precious gift. - Brian Tracy



2- "You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." ~ James Allen
You have to think success to achieve success. Think prosperity to achieve prosperity. Most importantly, if you don't like the way your life is right now, you don't just have to desire a change; you have to consciously take steps to achieve that change starting with the conscious renewal of your thoughts.



"In order to create a better tomorrow than today, you must first create better thoughts today than you did yesterday."    ~ Celeb



When you consciously think positively, you develop an optimistic mindset and that increases your chances of seeing life opportunities that can propel you up for success. Comparatively, the major difference between a poor man and a rich man is the way they think. Rich people thinks abundance while poor people think scarcity. The unsuccessful man thinks 'If I can' while the successful man believes 'I can'. The unsuccessful man thinks and wait for opportunities to make impact while the successful man thinks and creates opportunities to do that.

   In order to become successful in whatever you do or aspire to do, you need to develop a success mentality. Determine to consciously think success always and these right thoughts will create the right attitude that creates the right actions which gives the right result.



On a final note,
"The kind of thoughts you mostly nurture is a great determinant of the kinds of words you speak, which in turn affects your attitude and actions and eventually, the kind of person you become." Change your thoughts, and you'll see your life change."   ~ Celeb


By: Olaniran Olalekan (Celeb)

The difference that makes all the difference Part 1

LET'S TALK ABOUT PASSION

   Powerful words come with powerful intent. Where you have passion, strength, courage, and determination you can accomplish anything! ~K.L. Toth

Passionate people are almost always ambitious, and when it comes to passion – a strong emotion of desire – there is a need to be brave enough to both acknowledge and embrace it. But the truth is that not everyone has the bravery or the opportunity to embrace their passion. Recently, while chatting with a friend, I noticed something very captivating about him; something that seems to make all the difference, And at that instant, I felt the need to share this with you. His action and words reminds me of the many lessons I've learnt and still learning from books, podcasts and videos: Lessons on the common attributes of successful people.

I have observed over time that all successful people, in their different spheres of life, have a lot in common ranging from how they think to how they work and relate with others. And starting with their passion for life, I'm looking forward to sharing some facts about this attributes with you in the series that I title 'The difference that makes all the difference'. In the course of this series, we'll be learning about those distinguishing attributes of successful people.

To start with, the main distinguishing quality of successful people is the passion they have for life and what they do in general. The drive and energy they exert in their everyday life while at work and in their relationship with men is what makes them special and outstanding in life. Their passion for the course they pursue is what keeps them going and stirs them up to greatness.

Passion which is defined as a very strong feeling about a person or thing, is an intense emotion, a compelling enthusiasm or desire for something. Passion may be a friendly or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, discovery, activity or love – to a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm or compelling emotion, a positive affinity or love, towards a subject.

If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” — T. Alan Armstrong

American businessman, author, and philanthropist speaker Anthony Robbins once said that 'there is no greatness without a passion to be great, whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an artist, a scientist, a parent, or a businessperson.' And that is very true because great people are passionate people. They all have a strong desire; a desire to see their dreams become reality even when they don't know how. They are people of action. They study and work hard in the pursuit of their goals. They are fearless in times of trial. They don't become weary at work and neither do they become tired of speaking about what they do or aspire to do. They are not discouraged when people try to dissuade them from pursuing their dreams, on the contrary they allow their passion to motivate them to achieve it.

The one thing that everyone could agree on about passion is that it is closely associated with drive, enthusiasm, limitless energy, motivation etc. It is impossible to be successful without passion because passion is what is being transformed into raw enthusiasm which is then processed into an internal drive that keeps you going at anything.

If you ever want to be great, the major thing you need is passion because without it, it becomes easy for you to be weary, discouraged or even dissuaded from achieving your dreams by smaller minds and that will make achieving greatness difficult. If perhaps you belong to that category, why don't you pick up that abandoned project you got tired of or you get back to that skill acquisition class you ran away from because it was 'boring and stressful'; or maybe you're a student and wouldn't go to class because you find the subject boring and difficult or because you probable don't like the teacher's face. How about you decide to embrace that course again, and this time around, with passion because it is passion that gives you strength to walk through when you hit a wall.
And if you haven't begun anything whatsoever at this moment, I'll urge you today to find out what you're passionate about, what you would do for free anytime, and embrace it with passion.

Another amazing thing about passion is that it gives satisfaction to the individual. Passion guarantees long lasting satisfaction. They (Passion and satisfaction) both go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness that results from it is only temporary because there's nothing to make it last. It's no wonder Nicholas Sparks concluded that 'The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all."

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain

To strive for your passion is to be different others who don't. Do you have the same level of bravery to embrace your passion. Whatever your passion is, keep doing it. Don't waste time chasing after success or comparing yourself to others. Every flower blooms at a different pace. Excel at doing what your passion is and focus only on perfecting it. 'Eventually people will see what you are great at doing, and if you are truly great, success will come chasing after you.' ~Suzy Kassem

On a final note,
'Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.'
— Howard Thurman,
Author and Philosopher

When at first you don't succeed

"The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom."   ~ George S. Patton Jr.


   What do you do When at first you don't succeed? Do you decide to try something else? Maybe your response is to just sit down and carefully look for who to blame for the failures. Do you blame others for your failure? Rather still, you might be careful enough not to blame others but instead choose to go about sulking over your failed attempt at doing something good. Or maybe you don't sulk over unsuccessful attempts to succeed but instead decide not to try any further and choose to sit back, to give up, and quit trying.
   We all respond to failure in various ways and in the process of working on our dreams, we are going to encounter a lot of difficulties, disappointments, pain and  setbacks at some particular point in our lives. Some of you, like me, might have experienced this more than once in your life. Some of you might have been nurturing the thought of tagging yourselves a 'failure' because of the tangible number of times you've failed at one thing or the other. Well, its high time you had a change of perspective.
   I'm glad to tell you that what you perceive as failure today may actually be a crucial step towards the success you seek. So never give up because there is no failure except in no longer trying. 'One of the things I've realized about success is that the ones who make it are the ones who keep trying until they do.' Mario Andretti once said that "desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek." As we seek to change our perception of failure and success, let me enlighten you on something I find quite fascinating which I believe will help us to see disappointments, setbacks or failure in a new light. I'll like to start with a short story, a popular one at that; and just in case you are familiar with this story, I would implore you to open your mind and read it like it were your first time so that you can hopefully learn something new.



"It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success." ~Ellen DeGeneres.


  This was the story of a great man who was faced by a similar challenge (failure) in the pursuit of his dream. Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He invented many devices like the phonograph, the motion picture camera and developed the electric light bulb that affects our lives greatly; but Thomas Edison's life wasn't all about success. While growing up, Thomas Edison's teachers concluded that he was ''too stupid to learn anything''. Asides that, he was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive" but as an inventor, Edison showed a great deal of perseverance when he recorded 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb i.e he failed 1000 times and kept on trying until he finally  achieved his goal.
   This tells me that success in life is not determined by the number of times one fails. Rather, it is determined by your reaction every time you fail. Your attitude and the actions you take when at first you don't succeed is what determines if you are going to remain at that point where you failed or succeed eventually. No wonder Denis Waitley said that "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. FAILURE IS DELAY, NOT DEFEAT. IT IS A TEMPORARY DETOUR, NOT A DEAD END. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." When at first you don't succeed, analyze the cause of failure, learn from the experience, then try again. When a reporter asked him, "How did it feel to fail 1000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1000 times. I have successfully discovered 1000 ways to NOT make a light bulb. What a reply that was!. You've got to develop a positive mindset that sees every setbacks as a chance to learn something new and an opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.
   Some say “When at first you don’t succeed, just sit down and eat cake . . . then try again.” It might sound funny but it's true and I totally agree with that as long as you don't forget while eating cake to get back up and try again. It really doesn't matter how many times you've tried without success, you just have to get back up and try again and again believing in yourself even if you are the only one that believes in you. You also have to believe that "it's not over until you win". Even the famous Henry Ford failed and went broke two times before he successfully created the Ford Motor Company. That moment when at first you don't succeed is not the time to lose hope in that dream, instead you have to believe much more that it can be done. Like David J. Schwartz said in his book 'The Magic of Thinking Big' that "Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution."



"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune;
but great minds rise above them"
~ Washington Irving



   We can't always be winners the first time around and we sometimes get frustrated; you may even entertain giving up because of the idea of failing. The good news is you can always go back and try again, better this time because in the process of doing that, you'll discover some things about yourself than you don't know right now. "The true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure". ~Stephen Richards. As the saying goes, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." You have to be tough in the pursuit of your dream, you have to stay hungry for that course, don't get discouraged to try over and over again until you get it right and can celebrate your success.


"I don't believe I have special talents, I have persistence … After the first failure, second failure, third failure, I kept trying."
~ Carlo Rubbia, Prize winning Physicist



   Now, how about you think through these: The popular Harry Potter story book was rejected by twelve publishers before it was finally published a year after but more than 400 million copies of the book have been sold today. Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for creating Disney World. Micheal Jordan was dropped from his high school basketball team but he turned out to be the greatest basketball player. Bill Gates failed at his first business with Paul Gilbert, and Paul Allen but wasn't discouraged from trying again; he went ahead to cofound Microsoft with Paul Allen which turned out to be a major success. Colonel Sanders (the founder of KFC) had his fried chicken recipe rejected 1009 times before it was finally accepted by a restaurant. Steven Spielberg was
denied two times to the prestigious University of Southern California film school but he went on to direct some of the biggest movie blockbusters in history and in 1994 got an honorary degree from the film school that rejected him twice. And of course Thomas Alva Edison ended up as the greatest innovator of all time with 1,093 US patents to his name, along with several others in the UK, and Canada.


"There is something to be said for keeping at a thing, isn't there?"
~ Frank Sinatra

Time is the most valuable asset you don’t own . You may or may not realize it yet, but how you use or don’t use your time is going to be the best indication of where your future is going to take you .

Identity

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Some people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. "We know what we are, but not what we may be. ~William Shakespeare. It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always, All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet.  Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself. We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or drug addicts. Heroes or sidekicks. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better. Don't wait  for others  to think for you! "think like a man of  action act  like a man of thoughts ~ Henri-Louis Bergson...#justdoit... Happy New  month!
Signed:Dah_joel

How Small is "Too Small"?

How small is "too small"?. In life, we make a lot of decisions and set goals like the kind of assets we want to own, places we want to go to, our physical appearance, the kind of relationships we want to have, what we do for fun, the type of job we want to have, our annual income, and milestones we want to achieve. Obviously while doing that, we are faced with the task of determining how much of that thing we would like to have, give, do, take, or accomplish.


 Knowing fully well that our decisions affect our future, then it's not enough to just set goals. Rather we should set goals that are challenging, that commands our thoughts, liberates our energy, inspire our hopes, goals that demands more from us, requires us to improve on ourself before they can be accomplished, goals that puts us on the edge of our comfort zone and push us towards what we want in our life.
 
   In other to achieve this, we must then ask ourselves some sincere personal questions like:
Do my goals feel creative enough?
Do they scare me?
Do they end up making me a better person at the end?
If our goals don’t feel creative, they’re probably too small and when they don't make us to think “How am I going to do that?” then they are probably too small and doesn't require much from us to achieve them and this kind of goals end up adding little or no significant improvement to our lives.

   Keeping your goals small keeps you small as well. Rathee than having small goals, set your sights just a bit higher than you think you should, and go for it! Improve on the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take. You have to decide to do more, aim for more, look for more information you need to be well prepared, put in more effort, listen more, study more, exercise more. Execute that plan with passion and enthusiasm. Decide how fast you want to go, how much you want to achieve; decide to write a better book, to score a higher grade, to give more, and to be more.

If you limit your choices only to what seem possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that Is left is a compromise. ~ Robert Fritz

   Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentionally bigger and aligned with your purpose, and your goals. If you don't like your outcome, you have to change your response because if you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got. Do more of what is working, do less of what isn't, try new behaviors, set a bigger goal, take on a bigger task, dare to be more than you already are and stop settling for less than you want.

   You have to quit worrying what other people think and follow your heart, You have to quit worrying what challenges you'll face and prepare to overcome them, You have to quit worrying if anybody will ever believe in you and instead believe in yourself, you have to quit worrying if you are ever going to achieve that big goal and start working towards achieving it as well as believing that you can because that's what makes you a winner.

The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. ~ Michelangelo

   Thoughts of failure, disease, loneliness and fear only push you into a behavior which leads you directly to fail, become ill, feel lonely and fearful. You shouldn't let fear keep you from walking around terrified of dying every moment of every day; you shouldn't let the fear of failure keep you from dreaming big dreams and setting bigger goals; you shouldn't let the fear of the unknown keep you from taking up new tasks; you shouldn't be limited to doing only things that seem possible.

   John F.Kennedy dreamed of putting a man on the moon. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a country free of prejudice and injustice. Bill Gates dreams of a world in which every home has a computer that is connected to the Internet.

   When Monty Roberts, the author of The man who listens to horses was in high school, his teacher gave the class the assignment to write about what they wanted to do when they grow up. Monty wrote that he wanted to own his own 200-acre ranch and raise thoroughbred racehorses. His teacher gave him an F and explained that his dream was unrealistic because no boy who was living in a camper on the back of a pickup truck would ever be able to amass enough money to buy a ranch, purchase breeding stock, and pay the necessary salaries for ranch hands. When he offered Monty the chance of rewriting his paper for a higher grade, Monty told him, "You keep the F; I'm keeping my dream."
Today Monty's 154-acre flag is Up Farms in Solvang, California, raises thoroughbred racehorses and trains hundreds of horse trainers to train horses.

   Just as Bob Proctor- Self made millionaire, radio and TV personality, and success trainer once said "We come this way once. We can either tiptoe through life and hope that we get to death without being too badly bruised or we can live a full, complete life achieving our goals and realizing our wildest dreams." So the next time you want to set a goal, write a book, seat for an exam, start a project, compete in a sport, give to charity, or simply gain/ lose weight, take a moment to sincerely ask yourself the question; how small is "too small"?.
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