Category Archives: Inspirational

Jun 14 2015
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Inspirational, Personal Success

The Strangest Secret

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a big (HUGE) fan of Earl Nightingale.

While he has since passed, his teachings are timeless.

One of his works is called: The Strangest Secret.

In this short audio program he has commentary along the following lines…

Wouldn’t you think that if some great learning experience and knowledge was captured in the past that people would make use of it today? That is, apply it to direct the course of their lives.

The too frequent reality is that, such is NOT the case.

There are NUMEROUS “works” that qualify as wisdom passed down through the ages, including:

  • The Bible: Although, to be fair, without a “tour guide” it “can be” a bit confusing. To this, I’d encourage you to find a good church with parishioners that can help you navigate this outstanding set of books, authored by numerous people.
  • As A Man Thinketh by James Allen: As you begin reading this (free) eBook (ONLY 21 pages) you will find that every single sentence has a ton of wisdom that will cause you to pause on each to give adequate attention and consideration on how it applies to your life.
  • The Strangest Secret and/or Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale.

Note, the first 2 bullets above include a link to the referenced work which you can access for free, online. So, cost is NOT an excuse 🙂

So, what is the strangest secret? Well, it is something that is reinforced in ALL of the above “works”, and many others that have been passed down through the ages. It is, according to Earl Nightingale:

We become what we think about

It was stated by many, in various works and words. A few samples follow:

We become what we think about all day long. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. William James

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. Lao Tzu

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Marcus Aurelius

What we think we become. Buddha

A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes. Gandhi

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7

As you can see, the strangest secret has been revealed down through the ages; across different religions, societies and professions. And, while the sources of the above quotes may disagree on many things, on this one point they ALL agree!

Why is this?

Because it is based on the the universal law of cause and effect.

Doesn’t thinking precede action? That being the case, if we guide our thinking towards the outcomes we’d like to experience in life then there is really only one way things can go – eventually…

It doesn’t happen overnight or from dumb luck.

The results we seek come from thinking, planning, acting, falling down, getting bruised, getting back up and never giving in!

You might ask: “Why would anybody wait to get started? The sand is running out in ALL of our hour glasses.”

To that I’d respond: “You are 100% correct. Let’s not arrive at old age, or the pearly gates, with the regret of not going for it.”

All the best!

Jun 11 2015
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Inspirational

The Gospel of “Settle For” – I Don’t Buy It!

The biggest challenge with religion, in my humble opinion, is the myriad interpretations and related assumptions made by individuals as well as organizations (churches and otherwise) which lead people astray.

In this case, to “settle for” a life that we didn’t specifically choose or don’t truly enjoy.

It is certainly possible that I too misinterpret, other than the fact that my opinion is right 🙂

Here we go…

Too often people feel that it is the will of God that they are:

  • Impoverished
  • Not living where or how they would REALLY like to live
  • Not receiving the “better things” in life, because they just don’t deserve it, or ANYTHING for that matter

And, they feel that they must simply be “content.”

This is NOT the will of the God, of my faith!

If humankind remained “content”, we would:

  • Still be riding horses as our main form of transportation.
  • Still be reading from parchment paper scrolls with much of society remaining uneducated.
  • Not have running water or electricity.
  • Not have the cures to the diseases that we have today.
  • Not have gone to the dentist to have that toothache addressed.
  • Not have the Apple Watch. Now, that would be a real bummer 🙂

Or, is all this advancement considered sin. I think not!

So, if this (advancement due to constructive discontent) is “ok” for society as a whole, why is it not ok for each one of us as individuals? Well, I’d suggest that it is MORE than ok!

Yes, humankind (myself being the prime example) has made MANY, MANY, MANY mistakes due to our discontent. I’d suggest that we consider that any of our unfortunate / mistaken outcomes resulted from our either being misinformed or wrongly intended. So, if you could humor me for this post and leave those examples out, maybe we can learn something here 🙂

Consider the following from 1 Timothy 6:17

…hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment

Hope, faith and prayer are certainly important! The more the better! That said, notice that the above verse (or any around it) doesn’t say ANYTHING about “sit and wait.” In fact, the above would suggest to me that we should not live with anything but the best!

An apt verse, to coach us on the way there comes from Matthew 7:7-8

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

You see, the Bible recommends ACTION. Nothing comes for free, or simply by being “content”!

I’ll again quote from a story shared by a pioneer in the field of personal development (Earl Nightingale). In his program (Lead the Field) he shares the following parable…

A priest was driving through the country and observes a well maintained (even beautiful) farm, with the apparent owner out front doing some yard work. The priest stops his car, gets out and hails the man, saying: “My, God has blessed you with a fine farm!“

The farmer thought for a moment and responded. “Why yes, I am fortunate and certainly feel blessed. But you should have seen this place when God had it all to himself.“

The point is this…We are all (with rare exception) given (blessed with):

  • Our life
  • ALL of creation
  • The opportunities and challenges (a.k.a. experiences) put before us
  • The universal law of cause and effect (a.k.a. sowing and reaping). Sowing (cause), defined as doing something productive, such as: praying, meditating, planning and executing.

The rest is up to us. The unlimited rewards in life are there for us to “earn” which is the “deserved” outcome of our sowing. To be sure, our crops (efforts) may fail from time-to-time. And, the outcome realized may be a bit different than we had anticipated. But, the law of sowing and reaping says that at some point we will bring forth results! This is where faith comes in.

Thinking anything less, given all the information handed down from the ages, is simply delusional.

Now, let’s take things to the next level.

When we do REALLY go for it, how much better a position are we in to help others? Those who REALLY need it! That is, those unfortunate souls who do not have the mental or physical capacity to make it on their own, or live in an impoverished nation.

By fully working with the law of sowing and reaping (a.k.a. cause and effect) we can arrive at a position of strength. We are able to help others with our money and time, while not being dependent on others.

Curious how to make all this happen? Scour this blog and you’ll be off to a great start.

All the best!

Jun 10 2015
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Business Success, For Fun!, Inspirational, Personal Success

The Importance of Momentum

As I write this, I just returned from an afternoon on my bike, riding some of the most difficult terrain around. This includes a bit of “hike-a-bike.” That is, there are portions of this trail that I don’t imagine anyone could ride. So, you must push or carry your bike.

The scratches from thorns and branches are still stinging my arms and shin. The trophies of a good ride 🙂

This particular “trail system” is only a quarter of a mile from my front door. I say trail system as there are numerous individual trails that one can take. I chose a 10-mile loop which starts by following powerlines. There are portions of this trail (even along the powerlines) that would seem to be no-man’s land. That is, there is NOTHING but wildlife, streams, beaver dams and the resulting ponds. No sound or sight of man.

After 4+ miles along the powerlines I took a path that veers off into another trail system which loops back home.

Below is a picture of the track as recorded by the AllTrails app on my iPhone, offered by National Geographic.

IMG_3392

Even cooler is the fact that AllTrails provides the option to view additional details of each recorded track online. For example, to view today’s ride simply click here. If you should visit the site, you can zoom in on the image and see the myriad trails as well as the topography of the terrain which includes some very steep inclines (hike-a-bike) and declines (hang on for your life 🙂 ).

I digress…

During today’s ride I was constantly reminded of a common statement that we riders make while traversing difficult terrain. That is: Keep up your momentum. Otherwise, you’ll get hung-up on a rock, root, stump, turtle, etc. Yep, I almost hit a couple of turtles today 🙂

An added benefit of keeping up the momentum (especially in the woods) is you don’t need bug spray. Because, if you stop you’ll get eaten alive.

The same advice goes for life.

If we have no momentum as we contemplate (and “think” we are working towards) a goal (a personal or work-related task, project or objective) then every single obstacle seems extremely difficult and insurmountable.

However, with momentum we just keep meeting these head-on and knocking them down. Before long we are doing this without even considering them obstacles. They merely become unforeseen tasks, questions, issues, etc. that must be addressed along the path. No problem…

Reminds me of a quote I’ve shared before:

You cannot steer a parked car

You see, the car isn’t moving. And, since it is going nowhere, it cannot be directed.

Do you have ideas on how you might accomplish any of the following:

  • Improve your personal life / situation or that of someone else important to you
  • Increase your education
  • Grow your business
  • Increase your income

Realize, that once you select and fully commit to one of your ideas and begin acting on it the fulfillment of the objective is only a matter of time.

Yes, there will be unforeseen obstacles. Who cares?!? Just go over, under, around or through them, as they come up. While you may need to change your plan to realize the objective, and receive a few bumps, bruises and scratches along the way, if it is important to you and you keep at it, you can get there.

So, long as you maintain momentum.

All the best!

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