7-27-04

"I want to remind you that success in life is based on hard slogging. There will be periods when discouragement is great and upsetting, and the antidote for this is calmness and fortitude and a modest yet firm belief in your competence. Be sure that your priorities are in order so that you can proceed in a logical manner, and be ever mindful that nothing will take the place of persistence."

Motivator: Negative thinking is perhaps the most extravagant, wasteful indulgence imaginable. It is something which no one alive can truly afford. The price which negative thinking extracts can never be regained, because the price of negative thinking is paid with life. How is it possible for anyone to replace a moment, or a day or a year lost to negativity? And beyond the lost opportunity that it represents, negative thinking is just plain destructive. It accomplishes nothing and it costs so much. Fortunately, negative thinking is completely unnecessary. And it is completely under your control. You don't have to participate in it if you don't want to. And why in the world would you ever want to? No matter what comes your way, you can decide how to respond. Even in the most seemingly hopeless of situations, the best course is to remain focused on the positive, on what you can do, on the difference you can make. Why would you possibly want to do anything else?

7-26-04

"The meaning of life is creative love. Not love as an inner feeling, as a private sentimental emotion, but love as a dynamic power moving out into the world and doing something original."

Motivator: What actions will you take to end your frustration, to achieve your dream, to take advantage of opportunity? It all depends on what you do. Not on how much you complain, not on your ability to garner sympathy from others. It depends on what you do. And right now is the time to start. Your frustration will only grow worse and more entrenched if you delay. The achievement you desire will grow more distant, the longer you wait to do something about it. Opportunity will fade quickly if you fail to act.

7-25-04

"It teaches the strong to know when they are weak and the brave to face themselves when they are afraid. To be proud and unbowed in defeat yet humble and gentle in victory. And to master ourselves before we attempt to master others. And to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep. And to give the predominance of courage over timidity." - General Douglas MacArthur, on the virtues of competitive athletics

One of the greatest motivators the world has ever known -- desire. If the desire is strong enough, you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. How can you make the desire strong enough? First, find what you really, truly want -- not what someone else wants for you, not what others think you should want, what YOU want. Then, connect it clearly and unambiguously within yourself to whatever must be done. You are willing. You are able. You will do what needs to be done. You can be driven, disciplined and committed. Just connect your actions with your true desires.

7-23-04

"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right. Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine."


Motivator: It is at once a magnificent opportunity and an awesome responsibility. Your thoughts are ultimately chosen by you. Your actions, and their results, will be determined by the things you think about and the things to which you pay attention. All achievements begin in the mind, and there is no limit to what the mind can think. Everything that anyone has ever invented, built, written, performed, produced or otherwise created, began to take shape first as a conscious thought. Put your highest and best thoughts into disciplined action over a long enough period of time, and you'll create a masterpiece. What you think about, is what you will do. And what you think about, is up to you.

7-19-04

"Men can be stimulated to show off their good qualities to the leader who seems to think they have good qualities. A champion is someone who gets up when he can't. "

Motivator: So many times we defeat ourselves before we even start, because we fail to commit our best to the effort. Anyone is capable of excellence. Anyone is capable of greatness. All that's required is to show up, to truly show up and put the whole of one's being into the effort. Every person alive is filled to the brim with value and possibilities, with passion, with purpose. Whenever all that abundance is focused and directed, the result is an undeniable greatness.

7-15-04

Here is a little something I've learned:

1 reason challenge is so valuable is that it forces u beyond the artificial limitations u have set 4 urself & maintained 4 so long. Is there something u've told urself u cannot do? Is there something u've told urself u're just no good at? What if u had no choice? What if there was no one else 2 do it? Maybe the reason u could never do it is because u've never really needed 2. Most of the things u tell urself u cannot do r really things u've chosen not 2 do. The artificial limitations u've set 4 urself stand firm because u've never had an urgent need 2 go beyond them. A compelling enough challenge can change that. Find something challenging & meaningful enough 2 make u 4get ur doubts & u'll move on past YOUR old limitations.