Think what a remarkable, unpredictable, and miraculous thing it
is to be you! Of all the people who have come and gone on the earth,
since the beginning of time, not ONE of them is like YOU!
THE STORY OF A WOODCUTTER
Once upon a time, a very
strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay
was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the
woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and
showed him the area where he supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter
brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss
said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss
words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15
trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees.
Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
“I must be losing my
strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying
that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you
sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to
sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get
so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it
seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have
forgotten how to stay “sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard
work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things
in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator,
giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and
meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we
will become dull and lose our effectiveness.
THE RICHEST PLACE IN THE WORLD
If
I were to ask you, “where is the richest place in the world? I am sure
that some would say the mint in Washington, D.C. Others would say Fort
Knox, and others would say the gold and
diamond mines that populate the African
content. But all would
be wrong. The richest place in the world is the graveyard!!! That’s right,
the graveyard. In it lie all the people who had great ideas that would have made them wealthy, but the
listed instead to some negative person
who used the world “can’t” and they
believed them. Then they took those
great ideas with them to their
graves!!! Their best song….unsung!!!!
The best invention … undone!!! Their best book…… unwritten!!! The best
speech … ungiven! Why? Because they listened to
some negative person who used the
world “can’t” Do not, I repeat, do not
take your riches with you to your grave!!!
Remember
that DreamBusters can be changed!! You must encourage them, enlighten them and
help them to grow. You have to prove to them that it is not only possible but very
do-able.
But
there are times when you have to just
ignore them and make a commitment to
yourself that you will not hang around them until they grow in
consciousness. If not, they will carry you down with them.
Do not, I repeat, do not let them
bust your dreams and bring you down.
If you cannot bring them up to your level, THEN
LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! Do not let them bring
you down to theirs!!
Many
times they will see from your example that it is possible. And if it is possible for you, then may
be they will start to believe that it is
also possible for them. In life sometimes all you need is a MAYBE!! Just
may be!!!
COMMITMENT CREATES MAGIC
“Resolution is the directing and
impelling force in individual progress. Without it no substantial work can be
accomplished.”.
The
esteemed philosopher Goethe wrote, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,
the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.” There are so many
opportunities that could make our lives better if we’d only make the decision
(resolution) to pursue them. Whether it’s fear, doubt or some other insecurity
that holds us back, these missed opportunities keep us from living the life of
our dreams.
In
711 a North African warrior, whose army was backed up to the Mediterranean Sea,
gave the unthinkable order to his men to “burn your boats,” thus taking away
his army’s only means of escape. Faced with certain death unless they were
victorious, his army routed their opponents even though they were outnumbered
five to one. When we are likewise resolved, we too can conquer all the
obstacles in our path.
Don’t
worry about “how-to-do-it.” One of my early mistakes was trying to figure out
how I was going to do something before I’d get committed to do it. Now I think
about all of the great inventions of our time, and I wonder if we’d have any of
them if the inventor had waited to make his commitment until he knew how he was
going to do it. Making the decision (the resolution) to do it is the most
important part of any undertaking. As W.H. Murray wrote, “Whatever you can do
or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”
If
you don’t feel like you have enough information to make a decision, then by all
means, get the information. But don’t put off getting the information as a
means to put off making the decision. And don’t think you have to have ALL the information that’s available —
you only need ENOUGH to fully
evaluate and decide. “Paralysis by analysis” has killed many a dream.
Any
decision is almost always better than no decision as it puts into play some
powerful forces. As Goethe also told us, “Concerning all acts of initiative
(and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills
countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that
would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the
decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and
meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have
come his way.”
TOP FIVE WAYS TO BE UNFORGETTABLE
How to be Unforgettable:
1) Establish relationship
first. Listen, be curious, be genuinely caring. Focus on the
other person instead of yourself. Who is this person? This is how you establish
relationship.
2) Identify the needs of this
other person.
How can you serve this person? Your partner will wake up for station WIFM
(What's In it For Me).
3) Be authentic. Don't
pretend to be interested. Don't pretend to care. You won't fool a soul. And no
one wants to be around a fake. Meanwhile, the more you are authentically
interested and authentically care about the people you meet, the more you'll
find yourself meeting wonderful people!
4) Don't be your job. When
someone says "tell me about yourself" what do you say? Cause
EVERYBODY will answer the "tell me about yourself" with what they are
working on, will be working on, or were working on. Snore. Be able to share at
least three concise and memorable things about yourself that have nothing
to do with your business. These things may be humorous or dramatic, but they
reveal something about who you are as a person. If you have a zinger like
"I smoked pot with Jimi Hendrix," or "I taught blackjack to a
bunch of orphans in Cambodia," do you think your questioner will forget
that--or you--any time soon?
See how authentic you can be.
5) Finally, have a point to
what you share.
Pick your story with your audience in mind, and tell your questioner what your
share says about you.
For instance, during my
teleseminars I sometimes share that I was hit by a car, thrown into a coma, had
a severe head injury when I awoke, and spent my last semester of high school
homeless and sleeping on a friend's floor. And I graduated with honors and went
to a top college. What this says about me is I know how to do whatever it
takes to achieve a goal, even when life is really hard. It's also why I focus
on making people's lives more effortless and pain free. I think struggle is
overrated, and we don't need to seek it out.
A quick recap to help make
things "just happen" for you:
Build relationship by
authentically focusing on the other person and his needs.
Be a real person, not your
job.
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