There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, “Sir, I have promised my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave the office at 5:30pm.” His boss replied, “OK, You’re permitted to leave the office early today.”

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion.

The time was 8.30pm. Suddenly he remembered the promise he had made to his children. He looked for his boss but he was not there.  Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home.

Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there. His wife was alone and sitting in the hall reading magazines.

The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, “Would you like to have coffee or shall I serve dinner straight away?”

The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I will too, but what about the children?”

His wife replied, “You don’t know? Your boss came here at 5.15pm and has taken the children to the exhibition.”

What had really happened was … The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00pm. He thought to himself, he will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children then they should enjoy the visit to the exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition.

A boss does not have to do this kind of act, and not all the time, but once something of this nature is done, loyalty and appreciation is established.

“I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages.”  ~William H. Mauldin~

Overnight successes only exist in lottery draws.  And most of the winners of such chance drawings are back to broke or subsistence levels quite rapidly.  A fool and his/her money are soon parted.

But there is one wager I will make and bet you can bank on it too:  You have a million-dollar idea somewhere in the recesses of your mind.  If you are consistent and persistent enough, eventually you will get the pay off and have the character to keep your winnings and even grow them exponentially.

Napolean Hill, author of the bible of entrepreneurship and Masterminding, Think and Grow Rich, once said (and I’m paraphrasing):  “At one of my speaking engagements an elderly, decrepit man in his eighties raised his hand and asked if he could bring something on stage.  I agreed and the man approached the podium and handed me a bunch of crumpled, dog-eared papers and said:  “Mr. Hill.  I know everything you are saying and every idea is on these papers.  I wrote them down in a stream-of-consciousness over the last 60 years”.”

Mr. Hill studied the papers, returned them to the man,  and then turned to the audience:  “This man could have been me, but he isn’t.  He could have even been greater than me, but he missed the boat.  Every one of you has the same God-given ability that I or any successful person may have.  The difference is that the successful people of this planet stay with the plan and don’t forget to pull the  trigger.”

For most people trying to establish their niche business or any entrepreneurial venture, the level of tolerance is often far below what is necessary for victory.

Napolean Hill worked over twenty years for Andrew Carnegie for nothing – zilch!.  His job was to study the hundred-most successful people on the planet and write about the common threads of success in all 100.  He worked part-time selling insurance to feed his family.

But he always had his eye on the ball.  He knew that to hang around and befriend the richest people on the planet would eventually lead to wealth.  He had a vision and kept it firmly in mind, despite what reality, friends, associates and family might have been saying to discourage him from following his dream.

He knew that when his 15 minutes of fame arrived, he would be prepared to accept it and never let it fade into the cosmos.  He did that.  He was one of the richest men in America when he breathed his last breath.

And all it takes is one idea.  Look at your world and look for what people need or need more of.  Then pull the trigger, load, and pull the trigger again and again.  Eventually – and this is Napolean Hill’s and my promise – the troubles and struggles will fade away and there will be nothing but blue skies for you.

There are days – no, weeks! – where I long for the good old days which were not truly so good upon deeper reflection.

It was said by another anonymous voice of the past that the only difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys.  The same can be said of womenfolk.

The key to survival in the world as it is is to be open-minded and flexible.  The way people dress or the toys they choose to possess are trivial matters indeed, though they may be cause for distress as we grow older and our mind goes into a rigimortis mode.

The obsession of Japanese and other people of the world with technology and the connectiveness it affords us will not go away any more than the illegitimate baby will disappear simply because the mother of the pregnant daughter remains in a state of denial.

Embracing the technologies and subsequent paradigm shifts which are result are givens, if we plan to survive and even thrive in the coming years.

I have stated in previous writings that this is the decade where information and technology can be used to truly level the playing field in a world where half the world lives in poverty and goes to sleep with a gnawing pang of hunger as a companion.

Yet a new, growing breed of social entrepreneurs and netrepreneurs get it.  They are using their wealth, status and the technology we are blessed with not just to make another Band-Aid to cover up or over poverty, but to teach people how to take care of themselves in regions of the planet that have never experienced such euphoria.

The technology and the marketing know-how is available to make micro-businesses available in the most disease-plagued villages and hinterlands of the world.

When marketers and entrepreneurs brag about how to make tens of thousands’ of dollars a day on the Internet or elsewhere, and yet contribute not a farthing to the ending of real poverty because there is no direct profit in it…I am saddened.

The latest gadgets, gimmickry and methods of getting rich are out of touch with the real essence of wealth.  The real essence is to be flexible, learn and pay back to the world so that you can become even richer.

You can’t take it with you, no matter how many Ferraris or villas you own, but by giving or giving back, your spirit will germinate forever.

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to put on airs and keep a stiff upper lip every waking hour.  Japanese and Brits are often similar at that level.

When someone asks:  “What do you do?” and you haven’t worked a flyspeck in six months in your given profession, mechanical engineering, do you respond:  “I’m a freelance engineer”?

When someone asks:  “Do you like your job?” and you have been complaining about it to everyone in sight for the last few years, do you respond:  “Oh yes, I just got a promotion.  My work is very interesting and challenging”?

When someone comments:  “You have a beautiful family.  You must be so proud of them all!” yet you are a few heartbeats from divorce, do you respond:  “Oh yes, I guess I’m quite fortunate”?

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I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE LAZIEST PERSON WHO EVER
DREW A BREATH
If you just can’t get yourself to do what you need to do,
if your willpower and persistence always seems to fizzle
out, then check out the new paradigm in personal growth.
===================================================
A lie is a lie.  The difference between a white and a black lie is minimal because the effect is the same.  It is meant to deceive or distort reality in order to put yourself or another in a better light or avoid conflict.

If we are hungry and decline food from a donor simply because we don’t want to be impolite or disturb the person offering, then we will likely starve to death.  Food is basic and absolutely essential for our survival.  Good form would be totally foolhardy in such a case.

We must somehow learn to be comfortable in our skin, no matter how embarrassing a situation or admission may seem.  To sweep our true emotions under the rug and concoct a story to fool others is like drinking a slow-acting poison.

If you have no job, keep asking and looking.  Don’t look like a dog with its tail between its legs.  The greater shame is living in a state of denial.

When someone asks whether you like your job, why not respond, “It’s paying my bills, but I’m looking for something I can be more passionate about” ?

And if asked about your “ideal” family life, why not avoid dishonesty by at least commenting, “There have been some good moments”?

Good form usually – no, ALWAYS! – detaches you from your true emotions.  And over time, this detachment desensitizes you from who you are in essence and what you have to do to find a modicum of true happiness in your life.

If you are a druggie, a nicotine addict, an over- or under-eater, a kitchen drinker, or work out until you bleed from blisters…then you are your own worst enemy.

I am not saying you should  confess to every person you come in contact with; what I am saying is that the energy you waste putting on airs and juggling lies could be put to better use becoming a person of credible character.

Why not decide to be absolutely genuine from this moment forward.  It won’t happen over night, but it can happen.

Let your hair down.

Decidophobia is the overwhelming, irrational fear of making decisions. The person coping with this phobia is painfully aware that life if full of choices and decisions are made based on those choices. The decidophobic individual may actually fear making the wrong decision and so is paralyzed from making any decision at all.

So how much is too much?

Must you know how every nut and bolt on an automobile is attached before purchasing a vehicle? Must you know how many pinches of salt were added to the beef stew before picking up the spoon? Must you know how each pattern on the tablecloth was sewn before setting the table? The answer to each of these rhetorical questions is a definitive No.

But when it comes to choosing a business, the nuts and bolts do matter. You want to know more about the industry, the main and back-end products of that niche, and the best way to find and then reach your target market. These are legitimate requisites before diving into your new venture. Violating the due diligence of preparing adequately for the launching of an enterprise will more than likely lead to failure.

The Internet has made research and preparation for launching a business much easier than before there was a digital world. Gathering information and preparing, preparing and gathering information, gathering and preparing can be addictive, time-consuming, and sometimes can become the nail in the coffin to a business plan.

There is never enough information to get your business launched online or offline. The learning curve is never-ending. The data, the software, the advice…all can make you feel like a deer caught in headlights.

One of my favorite marketers and coaches, Mike Litman, author of Conversations with Millionaires, has often said:
“Don’t concern yourself with getting it right, just get it going.”

That philosophy is how I went from a 116-kilogram balloon girth to a svelte 78 kilograms in just four, consistent and persistent years. I just got it going and along the way adjusted my eating habits and lifestyle to match my new vitality. I learned how to be thinner by going one day without the problematic food, and then another.

The same method can be used with success in trying to build a business. Get started. Make mistakes. Adjust. Keep going. Eventually life forces will propel you to prosperity. And with that new-found prosperity, your self-confidence will grow. And when that self-confidence blossoms, you can become unstoppable.

The following video is a wake-up call to procrastinators:

As Mark Twain once said:
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Leave information addiction to librarians. The school of trial and error is where achievement resides. If you want to take up residence there, then don’t spend your life outsmarting yourself.

The seed is to plant one good habit a week for 56 years...guaranteed - fi you follow through - to increase your net worth by 56 times.

The lesson of the seed is “You reap your harvest after you
do the work.” You dig the soil and water the seed (effort),
wait a while (patience), and then you pick your beans.

Effort + Patience = Results.

This principle is often lost on people. They say: “If I
plant beans today, what will I get back tomorrow?” And the
answer is: “Wet bean seeds.”

The law of the seed says: “You plant today, and you
harvest LATER!” Plant beans now; pick beans in four months.

Back when everybody grew their own food, people probably
understood this concept better. But this is the age of
instant noodles.

Fred says: “If I had a decent job, then I would really work hard.
But all I do is wash dishes, so to heck with it.”

Wrong, Fred! If you become the best diswasher in town,
someone will notice you, someone will promote you, or
you’ll feel so good about yourself that one day you’ll go
and do something you really want to do.
~anon.~

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. ~Buddha~

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied.

“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said, “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.”

Never ever surrender your spirit to anyone or any ideal. They both will change and no longer fully serve you - and you will change and no longer serve them.

“Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson~

I often have heard and have often said myself: “How lucky can you/I get?” These are the words of a person who believes that fortune is a happenstance event unrelated to our thoughts and actions.

Luck really turns on whether you are willing to fail often enough in order to carve out your success.

Buying an established franchise or marketing a product that is hot in the marketplace, for instance, does not insure your success.

Nor does thinking positive thoughts and having boatloads’ of capital to spend on a “Can’t miss!” business.

The real determinant is whether you are willing to fail most of the time in order to hit pay dirt.

A major league baseball player is unlikely to get a hit more than one out of three chances (and usually somewhat less), yet still makes a cool million dollars or more per season.

But they are swinging. They know the odds. They play the odds. And they get paid because they stay in the game even though they keep striking out until that magic moment when they get their inevitable one hit out of three or four at bats.  In the game of life we must shoot and then aim. A famous Internet marketer, Mike Litman, says it eloquently:

“Don’t get it right, just get it going.”

The competitive world we live in requires us to keep plugging away while others wave a flag of surrender and encourage us to do likewise.
Put your ear to the huge locust tree and hear the gentle grating of a bore worm. Just an insignificant worm, you say? What can that measly worm hope to do with that monster tree?

Grate, grate, grate! For years that almost imperceptible grating goes on, while the mighty locust lifts its towering branches in fancied security.

Finally, a storm comes and the locust hopes to brave it as he has many others; but behold, its strength is undermined. Its vitals are eaten away, and it falls — victim to the tiny worm.

Thus is the spirit of a success warrior when he steps to the plate one more time to get his one out of three hits. His or her determination can and will steadily eat away the sturdiest and most formidable of locust trees standing between us and our dreams.

Ready? Batter up.

TAKE THE TEST AND BECOME YOUR BEST!

So much of marketing is aimed at yanking or jimmying open the gateway to the mind.

Words – hypnotic ones – can make dead souls rise and fight for the glory of the fatherland or for    the honor of the father. They can also make us purchase products, services, or propaganda wholesale without a care.

Yet the combination of words, phrases and visions artfully implanted can also lead to uncompromisable creativity, blissful peace and endless tolerance.

Ah, if only most language was only used to such positive effect, then the need to warn others to watch carefully over the gateway to the mind would diminish immensely. We could live with child-like curiosity and experience the newness of each day without ever needing to utter, “What’s the catch?” or “What’s in it for me?”

The Judge weighs in…

Your Number One Hero Is You!

Who are the heroes in your life? Maybe that question gives you pause in this age of put-downs and cynicism.

In the modern world, we love to idolize people and then cut them down to size.  To watch others pain and comeuppance gives us a false reassurance that we are lucky to be less.

Ultimately, our heroes must teach us lessons of how to act and and how not to act.  We must not hero worship at the expense of striving to be a person of excellence ourselves.

The judge brings this court to session (and turn down the volume a tad):

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or misfortune which lay before you could yet turn the pauper into king and the king into a stink-pot prisoner on death row. Only time will tell.

One definition of wealth is “a great amount.” We all have a great amount of life – a wealth of it – by the time we reach our 60th. It is our duty to bring – to at least a precious few – our wealth experience and subsequent wealth philosophy. They in turn can pass forward our weighty thoughts about how to approach life successfully or how not to approach it.

Listen to the Judge as he chimes in on this touchy subject:

In our modern world of relativism, it becomes increasingly difficult to adore anyone or anything very much or for very long. Most images implanted in our minds are fueled by Hollywood fantasy or meant by advertising executives to sell us things we don’t need in the name of unbridled capitalism and consumerism.

Where have all our heroes gone? A good question to put to the adoring Judge…

Is your heart broken because you feel trapped in other people’s dreams and expectations? Then I propose you take your life back before you are a tombstone.

You gotta have heart and grit to live a life of your own design. The message which follows may give you some perspective.

Feeling in that stream? Then climb on this audio steamer, and let’s move one ocean away from despair…

What did I learn from today?

Did I achieve my goals or tasks for the day?  Why or why not?

Which areas of my life require the most immediate attention?  Finances?  Temper control?  Relationship with my boss?

Did I overeat, drink to excess, or knowingly poison my body or mind?  What triggered the excess(es)?

How can I gain greater balance when faced with the same challenge in the future?

What one activity could I do tomorrow to take me a step closer to success, as I define it?

What are five things which I can be grateful for today, as I am about to fall into a restful sleep for the night?