"I remember saying to my mentor, 'If I had more money, I would have a better plan.' He quickly responded, 'I would suggest that if you had a better plan, you would have more money.'
-Jim Rohn
And then one a little on the lighter side:
"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." -- Charles M. Schulz
Best wishes to my readers!!! If you are reading my blog, and you aren't already on my e-mail list, be sure to drop me a line and ask to be added... REInvestorsFL@aol.com
I e-mail the list when I blog a new article, and let them know it is available. Also, once in a great while I write some extras for them that I don't put on my blog. I do not share e-mail addresses with anyone for any reason, and you can be removed from my list upon request at any time. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
How an Olympic Effort Can Make All Your Dreams Come True
Since many of us are enjoying the Olympic Games in August 2008, I thought it would be interesting to look at a few similarities between Olympic athletes, and people who aspire to make their dreams come true!
First, note that to compete at the highest levels, you almost have to have God-given talent and ability for your sport. I am a five feet, ten inch, slow white guy who makes up for it by not being able to jump. If my dream is to be the center on the Olympic basketball team, my odds aren’t very good. If you wish to pursuit your dreams, start by figuring out some of your natural abilities, then determine ways to achieve great success in some of those areas. Abraham Lincoln said it this way… it is much easier to ride a horse in the direction it is going! Amen.
Second, note that Olympic athletes have to have a passion for their sport. If you don’t love what you do, being the best in your field will be too difficult! Amen.
That leads me into our third similarity. Olympic athletes are devoted. They have heart, and courage, and dedication beyond comparison. Most Olympic athletes are up training and pursuing their dreams while the Average Joe is still in bed dreaming. Just the other day I was working alongside my handyman and a helper, putting down tile and grouting. It was Saturday night, about 8pm, and both of them said they were too tired to work any more. I said if we work just a few more hours we can finish the job, so we can all rest on Sunday, and get back to another job on Monday. I even offered to throw in a bonus if we completed the job Saturday night. They decided to go home to watch TV in lieu of the bonus. I worked a couple more hours, then got up early Sunday morning and worked another half day by myself to finish the job. I picked up supplies early Monday morning, and still beat them to the other job site. The handyman works steady, but slowly, and has a habit of wanting extra time off on a regular basis. The helper at times looks like he is a professional, at taking breaks. I just switched him back from pay by the hour to pay by the job, so his breaks will be on his time, instead of on my dime. While I don’t have my handyman’s skills, I work harder, and longer, and move faster than either of them. They work for seven to twelve dollars an hour. I work to make the world I live in better, and to build a fortune for my family, that I can eventually pass on to my children. They work to pay next week’s bills (and occasionally last week’s bills). I work because I choose to, and not because I have to. Don’t misinterpret me - I would not for a second claim that I am better than them; but I would say I have a better plan. The difference I offer up between my financial success and their struggle (besides a better plan) – heart!!! They just don’t want it as bad as I do! Amen.
Fourth, Olympic athletes are persistent. They keep plugging away at their sport, at their skills, at their routines, day after day, week after week, year after year, giving it their all as they reach for glory. Back to that tile job… It was 3:55pm Saturday, and we realize we are going to need one more bag of grout to finish the job. The place I ordered the tile and grout from closes at 4pm, and it takes them several days to get grout, because they don’t stock it. My handyman says, “You might as well give up.” Thirty minutes and 5-6 phone calls later, I am on my way to pick up the grout we need at a different local store. My handyman says, “You sure are lucky.” Well, if I did it his way we wouldn’t have got more grout – we would have gave up. I wasn’t lucky – I was persistent. I frequently have people tell me I am lucky, and sometimes I explain to them and sometimes I don’t, that I have no more or less luck than anyone else. What I do have is more heart, and more persistence. When I determine to do something, I go after it like a pit bull, and God help someone who tries to prevent me from reaching my goals. Persistence makes all the difference for Olympic athletes, and it makes all the difference for me! Amen.
Fifth, Olympic athletes visualize. They prepare mentally as well as physically. They rehearse their events in their minds, over and over again, seeing perfect performances in their mind first, and then when they actually perform, they just make reality match the way they already did in their minds so many times. Most of those who have experienced success at the highest levels in other areas also used visualization techniques. Try this. Figure out exactly what would be your dreams come true, and then visualize them happening. See in your mind what your successes were, and what obstacles you had to overcome, and see in great detail how you suceeded. Then break down and analyze exactly what you did on the path to making your dreams come true, and then start doing those things now! Determine the price that needs to be paid, and decide in advance that you are willing to pay it! What you think about comes about, and your future starts today! Amen.
Sixth, Olympic athletes don’t make or accept excuses for their own poor performance. They use failure like rocket fuel for improvement. In one of the Star Wars movies, the wise Yoda explains to a young Luke Skywalker, “there is no try; there is only do, or do not”. When you fail, learn the lesson and move on. If you have read any of my past material, you probably already know my next line – “you can have your excuses, or you can have your dreams, but you can’t have both”! Amen.
So, putting it all together, here are six things taken from Olympic athletes that you can use if you really do aspire to make your dreams come true:
1 – Find your God-given talents and abilities
2 – Love what you do
3 – You gotta have heart
4 – Persist, persist, persist…
5 – Visualize things working out the way you want them to
6 – No Excuses, no exceptions; use failure as fuel for improvement
Thank you for checking out my article, and if you liked it, make sure you check out my blog for other articles!!!
First, note that to compete at the highest levels, you almost have to have God-given talent and ability for your sport. I am a five feet, ten inch, slow white guy who makes up for it by not being able to jump. If my dream is to be the center on the Olympic basketball team, my odds aren’t very good. If you wish to pursuit your dreams, start by figuring out some of your natural abilities, then determine ways to achieve great success in some of those areas. Abraham Lincoln said it this way… it is much easier to ride a horse in the direction it is going! Amen.
Second, note that Olympic athletes have to have a passion for their sport. If you don’t love what you do, being the best in your field will be too difficult! Amen.
That leads me into our third similarity. Olympic athletes are devoted. They have heart, and courage, and dedication beyond comparison. Most Olympic athletes are up training and pursuing their dreams while the Average Joe is still in bed dreaming. Just the other day I was working alongside my handyman and a helper, putting down tile and grouting. It was Saturday night, about 8pm, and both of them said they were too tired to work any more. I said if we work just a few more hours we can finish the job, so we can all rest on Sunday, and get back to another job on Monday. I even offered to throw in a bonus if we completed the job Saturday night. They decided to go home to watch TV in lieu of the bonus. I worked a couple more hours, then got up early Sunday morning and worked another half day by myself to finish the job. I picked up supplies early Monday morning, and still beat them to the other job site. The handyman works steady, but slowly, and has a habit of wanting extra time off on a regular basis. The helper at times looks like he is a professional, at taking breaks. I just switched him back from pay by the hour to pay by the job, so his breaks will be on his time, instead of on my dime. While I don’t have my handyman’s skills, I work harder, and longer, and move faster than either of them. They work for seven to twelve dollars an hour. I work to make the world I live in better, and to build a fortune for my family, that I can eventually pass on to my children. They work to pay next week’s bills (and occasionally last week’s bills). I work because I choose to, and not because I have to. Don’t misinterpret me - I would not for a second claim that I am better than them; but I would say I have a better plan. The difference I offer up between my financial success and their struggle (besides a better plan) – heart!!! They just don’t want it as bad as I do! Amen.
Fourth, Olympic athletes are persistent. They keep plugging away at their sport, at their skills, at their routines, day after day, week after week, year after year, giving it their all as they reach for glory. Back to that tile job… It was 3:55pm Saturday, and we realize we are going to need one more bag of grout to finish the job. The place I ordered the tile and grout from closes at 4pm, and it takes them several days to get grout, because they don’t stock it. My handyman says, “You might as well give up.” Thirty minutes and 5-6 phone calls later, I am on my way to pick up the grout we need at a different local store. My handyman says, “You sure are lucky.” Well, if I did it his way we wouldn’t have got more grout – we would have gave up. I wasn’t lucky – I was persistent. I frequently have people tell me I am lucky, and sometimes I explain to them and sometimes I don’t, that I have no more or less luck than anyone else. What I do have is more heart, and more persistence. When I determine to do something, I go after it like a pit bull, and God help someone who tries to prevent me from reaching my goals. Persistence makes all the difference for Olympic athletes, and it makes all the difference for me! Amen.
Fifth, Olympic athletes visualize. They prepare mentally as well as physically. They rehearse their events in their minds, over and over again, seeing perfect performances in their mind first, and then when they actually perform, they just make reality match the way they already did in their minds so many times. Most of those who have experienced success at the highest levels in other areas also used visualization techniques. Try this. Figure out exactly what would be your dreams come true, and then visualize them happening. See in your mind what your successes were, and what obstacles you had to overcome, and see in great detail how you suceeded. Then break down and analyze exactly what you did on the path to making your dreams come true, and then start doing those things now! Determine the price that needs to be paid, and decide in advance that you are willing to pay it! What you think about comes about, and your future starts today! Amen.
Sixth, Olympic athletes don’t make or accept excuses for their own poor performance. They use failure like rocket fuel for improvement. In one of the Star Wars movies, the wise Yoda explains to a young Luke Skywalker, “there is no try; there is only do, or do not”. When you fail, learn the lesson and move on. If you have read any of my past material, you probably already know my next line – “you can have your excuses, or you can have your dreams, but you can’t have both”! Amen.
So, putting it all together, here are six things taken from Olympic athletes that you can use if you really do aspire to make your dreams come true:
1 – Find your God-given talents and abilities
2 – Love what you do
3 – You gotta have heart
4 – Persist, persist, persist…
5 – Visualize things working out the way you want them to
6 – No Excuses, no exceptions; use failure as fuel for improvement
Thank you for checking out my article, and if you liked it, make sure you check out my blog for other articles!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)