Living the Life of a Higher Order of Being

There was a time in my life when I was so consumed with the idea of winning in life. This was right after I graduated from college and was so eager to get out into the market place and unleash the real me. I’m glad to say that this period of my life was short-lived because I’m not sure what kind of stresses I would have been grappling with by this time of my life. My change of perspective came when I decided that there was more to life than just winning or losing in the game of life. The purpose of life is for us to richly experience it with ever-increasing depth. My goal now is to have a sweeter, more satisfying and fuller experience of life from one day to the next. How do you develop such a perspective on life? Instead of asking yourself whether you won or lost, ask yourself whether you are growing. Are you growing? How have you changed in the last month? Has it been for better or worse? Are you stretching yourself? Your focus should be on your personal potential. Measure yourself against what you could do, not what other people have done or are doing? Live a deeper life.

Be a True Winner

Everybody wants to win but few know how to win appropriately. We live in a day when people are stepping over others in their quest for a step-up the ladder. Such kind of people are driven by their egos rather than an honest desire to help others. We forget that the same people we step over on our way up are the same people we will need to help us on our way down. True winning comes from serving others first. It comes from helping other people attain and achieve that which they desire. Go ahead, be a true winner.

Evaluated experience is the best teacher

Every day life offers us different situations. In our opinion, some of them may be good while others may be bad. The truth is that every situation that comes our way is a learning opportunity. Our objective in life should be to squeeze every lesson we can out of the situation so that we can better ourselves.

Evaluated experience is the best teacher. Experience by itself does not lead to growth. We have to be able to expand from the experience. It is much easier for human beings to learn from positive experiences. Most people shrink in the face of negative experiences. Every experience has within it gems of personal development and growth. By unearthing these gems, we can put ourselves in a position to live better lives.

Force Fields of Personal Destiny

I learnt the workings of magnets in primary school but never gave it much thought since my thinking at that time was that science was basically a pain I had to go through in order to pass my exams. Well, as I’ve grown older (and hopefully, wiser) I’ve come to see that a lot in life revolves around the principles of the working of a magnet. A magnet is simply a device that produces an axial vector field that traces out solenoidal lines of force in and around closed electric circuits and bar magnets. (Ok. I just lost half of my readers there. You now understand why I had such an attitude about science as I grew up).

Simply put, we are living magnets. Our thoughts create force fields of energy that radiate out from us and attract back into our lives the people and circumstances in harmony with those thoughts (Better, huh?). Any thought you have, combined with an emotion, positive or negative, radiates out from you and attracts back into your life the people, circumstances, ideas and opportunities consistent with it. You are a living magnet!

The key then to success is to develop an idea of your dream, goal or vision and then hold onto it on a continuing basis. By harnessing that mental image of your desire and making it a dominant part of your thoughts, you set in motion an unseen force that attracts the resources that will bring you your desires. Pretty simple, huh. How do we apply this, then? It starts with guarding our thoughts than planting those good, goal oriented thoughts in our brain. By feeding our brain with solid thoughts of who and what we want to become, it forms an attitude fo mind that is unshakeable and that begins to attract those things to us.

Born for Success

We all want to achieve success. Human beings are designed and born for success. Success, however, is not automatic. There are certain key things that we have to do consistently in order to really attain that which brings significance to our lives. Here are six key things that I believe will usher in success to anyone who applies them.

1. Set big goals and dreams and go after them - Every worthwhile pursuit in life begins with a dream. Dreams are the substance of life. Once you have a dream, you need to create step by step goals that will allow you to get that which you desire. Goals must be pursued diligently. Diligence is the guidepost to fulfillment in life.

2. Learn from every problem or obstacle you face - Problems, challenges, obstacles and crisis are great teaching schools. When problems arise, take notes and study them. Learn from your mistakes and that will enable you to not repeat them. True success comes through challenges and trials. The road to success is littered with problems and obstacles that were conquered by winners.

3. Learn the key skills you require for success - Skills separate the winners from the losers, the successful from the successful. One of the things that has helped me a lot over the years is studying the lives of successful people. They have all been people who amassed great skill at doing what takes them over the top. Learn the necessary skills and you will definitely make it to the top.

4. Get the support and cooperation of others - No man is an island. The day of the lone-ranger is over. Teamwork makes the dream work. If you will truly reach your potential, you must embrace the power of teaming up with others. The support of people around you is crucial. Develop an inner circle of people who will support you. Find mentors and learn from them. Create networks with successful people and add value to them.

5. Focus on priorities and concentrate on key tasks - Priorities are the pathways to success. Your priorities in life determine the quality of your results. Goals should be prioritized. High impact goals should befirst on your goals list. Clear set-up of priorities enables you to develop a powerful focus that directs your pursuit of your goals. The objectives that bring you the most reward in life should be the center of focus.

6. Develop persistence and unshakable self-confidence - Persistence and self-confidence go hand-in-hand. We all encounter obstacles in life but it is those who persists through the obstacles who will attain their full potential. Self-confidence sets you apart. Most people sabotage themselves by second-guessing their abilities and strengths. Don’t let doubt, uncertainty and societal barriers stop you. Success is yours for the taking.

Go for it!

Yesterday has no governing power over tomorrow

Your past does not determine your future. When I was a kid mom used to tell me that once milk was spilled, it was gone. Many times we agonize over things and events that may have happened in our past when our life is really in the future. Don’t allow the past to be a stumbling block. The best is yet to come. It’s in the future. Yesterday has no governing power over tomorrow.

As a leader in my student’s body in college I used to tell fellow student’s that if I made a mistake, no one should come back to me and tell me that I should have done things differently. I’ve never been a fan of history lessons. My passion is about the future, about tomorrow, about what we can do differently today in order to ensure a better tomorrow. What happened in the past has already happened. Let bygones be bygones. Now, what can we do today to make a better tomorrow?

The Progressive Unfolding of Destiny

Life is a journey. Success is a journey, not a destination. I came across a quote that beautifully captures how to navigate this journey towards success. This is from Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. He says,

“Think of a car driving through the night. The headlights only go a hundred to two hundred feet forward, and you can make it all the way from California to New York driving through the dark, because all you have to see is the next two hundred feet. And that’s how life tends to unfold before us. If we just trust that the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, and the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, your life will keep unfolding. And it will eventually get you to the destination of whatever it is you truly want, because you want it.”

Where are you in your journey towards success? No matter where you are, continue to trust that everything is unfolding in a pre-determined manner. You will make it to your destination if you will just continue to stay focused. The best is yet to come.

The Road to Excellence

We live in a world in which giving an average performance has become the norm. Most employees work just enough to keep from being fired and they are paid just enough to keep from quitting. Service in many industries is at best average. Very few companies and organizations stand out as excellent service providers. If we are going to attain our full potential, we must commit to being excellent at everything we do. Many times we talk a better game than we can play. We make big commitments to give our best but when the rubber meets the road, we come short and fail to provide what we had said we would.

Col. Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken said, "I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours nor amount of labor nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me”. A good study of his life will show us that the road to success is paved with a commitment to giving your very best on a daily basis. Now, the road to mediocrity is littered with sub-standard service and average performances. We need to break out of that cycle of average and truly give our best in everything we do. That is the key to truly maximizing our lives.

Dynamics of Mental Attention

One of the most beautiful tools that we can use to change our lives is the idea that whatever we focus and dwell upon expands. Our attention, therefore, is very important. What we pay attention to becomes a dominant factor or force in our lives. There are two aspects to this:

a). Quality of Attention - There are varying degrees of attention. Our highest degree of attention should be given to things, people and activities that multiply value in our lives. What good will it profit us to pay attention to worthless things and rob the more important things in our lives of the time they deserve?

b). Quantity of Attention - How much attention we give the things, people and activities in our lives also matters. We want to live a well-balanced, all-round lifestyle. The key to this is to prioritize all these areas of our lives and allot time to them. As we do this, we also find that certain activities pair well with others and can be combined. This enables us to save on precious time.

Action Steps: Look at critical areas of your life. Are you paying adequate attention to all of this? Learn how to give good quality and quantity of time to things that matter and you will realize a lot more in life.

On Being Solution-Centered

When things go wrong, our first temptation is usually to find someone whom we can assign the blame for the problem. This tendency works against us in the long-run because we are focusing on the problem instead of the solution. Our main objective should be to fix the problem. We fix problems by being solution-centered.

When things go wrong, do not jump at the temptation to assign blame. Focus on finding solutions. Assigning blame is the lowest level of engagement in the process of problem solving. Rise above the norm. Be solution-centered!

Keeping up with New Year Resolutions?

70 % of the population usually break their new year resolutions by the end of January. Of the remaining 30 %, half of them usually break theirs by the end of February. 75 % of the remaining 15% usually break their resolutions by the end of March. Of the remaining few, only 3% carry on with their resolutions past the month of April. Does making resolutions work? I would like to suggest a different focus. How about learning to PLAN AHEAD. I have never made any new year resolutions since 1999 when I learnt about the need to PLAN AHEAD from the works of John Maxwell. Here are some thoughts on what has kept me on track with my personal goals over the past seven years:

Pre-determine a course of action

This essentially means having a vision for your life. Visualizing that which you intend to attain is the first step towards being successful in pursuing it. You need to have a concise end for which you can measure your progress against. Develop a vision which will be your pre-determined course of action.

Layout your goals

Once you have pre-determined a course of action, the next step is to break it down into specific goals that can be realized. To empower your vision you need to write it down and define it clearly. Laying out your goals enables you to harness the power of visualization.

Adjust your priorities

You will need to make some changes in the new year if you hope to make it a different year from the past. This will mean being open to adjusting your priorities. Priorities are the pathway to success. Making adjustments is the key to reaching your goals.

Notify key people

We all have circles of support around us. In order to accomplish your goals you need to find those people who affirm your positive goals and share your goals with them. These people will encourage you, motivate you and keep you on the path towards success.


Allow time for your plans

Many times when we set goals we expect them to be realized within a certain time frame. While it is essential to set deadlines, we should never get married to the deadlines. Timelines should motivate us to work smartly towards our goals. If your goals are not attained within the timelines you set, don’t quit. Set new timelines and stay motivated.

Head into action

Action is the first step towards achievement. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Head into action. Inch by inch it’s a cinch. Action must start now! The greatest enemy of success is procrastination. In order to achieve your dreams you must be action-oriented.

Expect problems

Every endeavor that has ever been worth pursuing has always had it’s problems and challenges. Problems are a sign that you are on the right track. The absence of problems is very likely a sign that something is wrong. Problems should never cause you to lose sight of your ultimate goals. They should be a call towards being more creative.

Always point to your successes

It is easy to lose motivation when failure sets in. The key to staying focused is in pointing to your already realized successes. Your track record of past successes is the springboard for your future achievements. When failure threatens your progress, embrace the confidence that comes from your record of past achievements.

Daily review your planning

Planning is a dynamic process. Plans should be reviewed on a daily basis to ensure that you are on the right track. Change happens (please see my earlier post below, shift happens) and you must be open to changing your plans daily. Flexibility is the key to success. You must be able to revisit your plans every day. Nothing ever dominates life unless it happens daily. It is the daily habit of reviewing your plans that will determine whether you realize them or not.

How to Carve out a "niche" for Yourself

Over the past couple of years, the idea of carving out a “niche” for oneself has become very popular. When you look at one-man brands like Rachel Ray, Seth Godin, John Maxwell, Tiger Woods, James Dyson, Dwayne Wade, Amanda Congdon and Isaac Mizrahi, what sets them apart is the fact that they carefully select what’s right for them. If something does not feel right, they will walk away from it.

Our success in life pretty much depoends on finding what’s right for us. By finding the right work, the right associates, the right employer, the right business and the right activities to engage in, we create a niche for ourselves. By asking the question of whether something is right or not, you are able to decide what is the most critical engagement for you. Let us allow the power of right to guide us towards high achievement in life.

Flee the Average Mentality

We live in a day when too many people are comfortable with the average. Few stretch themselves beyond the norm. I know many people who are paid just enough to prevent them from quitting and they work just enough to prevent them from getting fired. Many began their careers with expectations of rapid growth and progress and life somehow made them settle for the ordinary and mundane. We need to learn to live beyond average. Soar above mediocrity! We were engineered for excellence and born with greatness within us. You can achieve more thanthe norm. Stretch yourself. Unleash your full potential! Live above the level of mediocrity!

Don't Play Mediocre!

I’ve heard people say many times that they cannot afford to lose at one thing or another because “the stakes are too high”. Well, I’d like to reconsider this in terms of our personal lives. We cannot afford to play mediocre and live average lives because the stakes are our very life! Many times we fail to realize that we only get one shot at life. We give haphazard performances and output because we are just plain lazy or we think we have tomorrow to provide a more stellar output.

If you are going to uncover your full potential, you’ve got to realize that the stakes are your very life. Every day must be an endeavor to produce your very best effort. What’s keeping you from unleashing your full potential? Is it the thought that you still have time to it right? The time is now! The stakes are your life!

Marianne Williamson says, “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.” Each moment is stellar opportunity for you. You’ve got to expend yourself at every moment and uncover the true you. Go for it! You can do it!

Satisfaction and Contentment

As we've crossed over into a new year, I feel as if I’ve settled and been content with a lot of what is happening in my life. My close friends have always known me to be a big thinker, always dreaming about new things, new ideas and new experiences. But for some reason that I am yet to fully understand, a huge sense of contentment has flooded my spirit all week. Contentment does not mean that you stop pursuing a fuller experience of life. True contentment is having a healthy satisfaction with your current position in life as you continue to work towards attaining your full potential. Contentment secures your destiny and keeps you on course towards all that you can be, do and have. Embrace the power of contentment today.

The Greatest Investment - Seeing Possibilities

Everything that we ever attain and accomplish in life begins as a thought. The thought is developed as an image in our minds. The key to attaining a richer experience of life this year then is to see bigger possibilities in store for you. Seeing is the first step in the process of attaining your objectives. Stretch yourself this year and begin to access the bigger things ahead for you. Set aside time just for seeing that which is possible in your life. This time set aside is the greatest investment you can make in your growth and development.