You can be a total winner, even if you’re a beginner
If you think you can you can, if you think you can you can
You can wear the gold medallion, you can ride your own black stallion
If you think you can you can, if you think you can you can
It’s not your talent or the gifted birth
It’s not your bank book that determines worth
It isn’t in your gender or the color of your skin
It’s your attitude that lets you win
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before
It makes no difference what the halftime score
It’s never over ‘til the final gun
So keep on trying and you’ll find you’ve won
Just grab your dream and then believe it
Go out and work, and you’ll achieve it
If you think you can, you can
If you think you can, you can
—DW
Showing posts with label Denis Waitley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denis Waitley. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Two choices in LIFE
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Winner's Circle
by Dr. Denis Waitley
Every four years we see those five brilliant, interlocking Olympic rings on flags and in television and billboard advertising globally. The Olympic Games are where the best in the world go for the gold and the few stand, listening to their national anthem, in the coveted winner’s circle. If the five Olympic rings were attitudes of champions in every profession, these five attitudes would be prominent in the mindset of the peak performer:
Paying the Price. Everyone wants to win, but few are willing to invest the time and effort. Paying the price means focusing on developing the skills and training regimen of champions—observation, imitation, repetition and the internalization of knowledge into habits; also, learning why and how to go the extra mile and seeing success as a marathon, not a dash. Champions view failures as temporary inconveniences and learning experiences.
The Olympian Within. Winners believe in their worth in advance of their performance. Most people base their worth on their current status or achievement level, which means that until they are judged successful by society’s standards, they have little to be proud of. Champions believe in their dreams when they have only a dream to hang on to, even in the face of criticism and superior achievements by others.
Non-situational Integrity. Authentic, lasting winners have an uncompromising attitude about self-honesty. They function according to an “integrity triangle,” consisting of three basic questions: (a) Are my beliefs based upon truth? (b) Do my words and actions correspond with truth and honesty? (c) Before I speak or act, do I honestly consider the impact of my decision on other people and the environment?
The “Coachability” Factor. Champions are always open to alternatives to improve their performance. Consistent winners are not the arrogant egotists who dominate the media spotlight. The most successful individuals in the game of life are often the most approachable, most gracious, least judgmental of others and most critical of their own performances, as well as most eager to learn and improve.
Being a Team Player. A team in harmony is synergy in motion, where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual talents. When all assignments are understood, when each takes 100 percent responsibility for the outcome, a quantum leap in performance takes place. Winners learn how to become interdependent—without sacrificing individuality—and how to stand out, while fitting in.
Every four years we see those five brilliant, interlocking Olympic rings on flags and in television and billboard advertising globally. The Olympic Games are where the best in the world go for the gold and the few stand, listening to their national anthem, in the coveted winner’s circle. If the five Olympic rings were attitudes of champions in every profession, these five attitudes would be prominent in the mindset of the peak performer:
Paying the Price. Everyone wants to win, but few are willing to invest the time and effort. Paying the price means focusing on developing the skills and training regimen of champions—observation, imitation, repetition and the internalization of knowledge into habits; also, learning why and how to go the extra mile and seeing success as a marathon, not a dash. Champions view failures as temporary inconveniences and learning experiences.
The Olympian Within. Winners believe in their worth in advance of their performance. Most people base their worth on their current status or achievement level, which means that until they are judged successful by society’s standards, they have little to be proud of. Champions believe in their dreams when they have only a dream to hang on to, even in the face of criticism and superior achievements by others.
Non-situational Integrity. Authentic, lasting winners have an uncompromising attitude about self-honesty. They function according to an “integrity triangle,” consisting of three basic questions: (a) Are my beliefs based upon truth? (b) Do my words and actions correspond with truth and honesty? (c) Before I speak or act, do I honestly consider the impact of my decision on other people and the environment?
The “Coachability” Factor. Champions are always open to alternatives to improve their performance. Consistent winners are not the arrogant egotists who dominate the media spotlight. The most successful individuals in the game of life are often the most approachable, most gracious, least judgmental of others and most critical of their own performances, as well as most eager to learn and improve.
Being a Team Player. A team in harmony is synergy in motion, where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual talents. When all assignments are understood, when each takes 100 percent responsibility for the outcome, a quantum leap in performance takes place. Winners learn how to become interdependent—without sacrificing individuality—and how to stand out, while fitting in.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Making the Most of Today
by Denis Waitley
(Excerpted from The Psychology of Motivation)
What each of us is doing this minute is the most important event in history for us. We have decided to invest our resources in THIS opportunity rather than in any other.
It is helpful to remember this when we consider the passage of time. As the years pass, I am acutely aware that the bird of time is on the wing. At my high school reunion, I saw people who claimed to be my former classmates. We all had big name tags printed in capital letters so we wouldn't have to squint with our reading glasses on trying to associate the name with each well-traveled face. It was only yesterday that I was really enjoying high school. What had happened to the four decades in between? Where had they flown?
To the side of the bandstand, where the big-band sound of the late 1940s and 50s blared our favorite top-ten hits, there was a poster with a printed verse for all of us to see. I read the words aloud:
But it is difficult to be depressed and active at the same time. So get active! Live TODAY.
(Excerpted from The Psychology of Motivation)
What each of us is doing this minute is the most important event in history for us. We have decided to invest our resources in THIS opportunity rather than in any other.
It is helpful to remember this when we consider the passage of time. As the years pass, I am acutely aware that the bird of time is on the wing. At my high school reunion, I saw people who claimed to be my former classmates. We all had big name tags printed in capital letters so we wouldn't have to squint with our reading glasses on trying to associate the name with each well-traveled face. It was only yesterday that I was really enjoying high school. What had happened to the four decades in between? Where had they flown?
To the side of the bandstand, where the big-band sound of the late 1940s and 50s blared our favorite top-ten hits, there was a poster with a printed verse for all of us to see. I read the words aloud:
"There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.
"One of these days is YESTERDAY, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed or erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.
"The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
"This leaves only one day, TODAY. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - that we break down.
"It is not the experience of Today that drives us mad, it is remorse and bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore… Live this one full TODAY."Malcolm Forbes believed the important thing is "never say die until you're dead," and he lived that example to the hilt. It is, as we realize when we suddenly attend our high school reunion, a short journey.
But it is difficult to be depressed and active at the same time. So get active! Live TODAY.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Visualize and Expect Success
Our studies of high achievers have shown that no matter how different their personalities, work habits, occupations or gender, the people who accomplish great things in life have visualized and expected success all along. They’ve had the ability to vividly picture their achievements and to reassure themselves in the face of long odds that they would come through.
To visualize the person you want most to become, set aside some time this week in which you can create an atmosphere conducive to re-affirming your life dreams. You may want to be near the ocean, or a lake, or in a park, in a garden or in the woods. Or you might just sit quietly by yourself in a comfortable lounge or chair. Get yourself in the mood for visualizing. When the left hemisphere of the brain is quiet and relaxed, the mind is most receptive to creative inputs. To facilitate this you may want to use soothing recorded music, preferably slow and inspiring like Bach, Handel or Vivaldi if you like classical music, or soft, popular instrumentals from epic movies or other mood music.
Once you’re properly relaxed and optimistic, let your mind focus on who you really want to become. Visualize the future in two time frames: five years from now and ten years from now. First, design a day in your life five years from now. Who are you five years from now? Where are you professionally and geographically? On Monday mornings, where do you go?
What are you doing, seeing, feeling and thinking? Who are the people around you? What’s different about your life five years from now?
Next, project ahead ten years from today. Picture a film of your life at that time. Who is watching it with you? What dramatic moments are depicted by that film? What personal triumphs are revealed? What obstacles are courageously overcome?
Don’t be shy! The purpose of this exercise is to load visualized software in your mental computer. Just as a computer must be configured to accept specific materials, your mind must be prepared to accept the reality of your greater success. By introducing positive images of goal achievement, you’re preparing yourself to translate those goals into reality.
I especially like to visualize myself being introduced at a dinner in my honor. Maybe it’s the Coaches’ Hall of Fame! Don’t laugh! It could happen! The emcee comes to the microphone and reads the highlights of my life and adds some insights as to who I really am. What would the emcee be saying about you if such a dinner were held in your honor ten years from now? Devote a page in your journal to describing the things you would want said about you.
This visualization will put you on a path that leads to your future self that you vividly picture today!
—Denis Waitley
To visualize the person you want most to become, set aside some time this week in which you can create an atmosphere conducive to re-affirming your life dreams. You may want to be near the ocean, or a lake, or in a park, in a garden or in the woods. Or you might just sit quietly by yourself in a comfortable lounge or chair. Get yourself in the mood for visualizing. When the left hemisphere of the brain is quiet and relaxed, the mind is most receptive to creative inputs. To facilitate this you may want to use soothing recorded music, preferably slow and inspiring like Bach, Handel or Vivaldi if you like classical music, or soft, popular instrumentals from epic movies or other mood music.
Once you’re properly relaxed and optimistic, let your mind focus on who you really want to become. Visualize the future in two time frames: five years from now and ten years from now. First, design a day in your life five years from now. Who are you five years from now? Where are you professionally and geographically? On Monday mornings, where do you go?
What are you doing, seeing, feeling and thinking? Who are the people around you? What’s different about your life five years from now?
Next, project ahead ten years from today. Picture a film of your life at that time. Who is watching it with you? What dramatic moments are depicted by that film? What personal triumphs are revealed? What obstacles are courageously overcome?
Don’t be shy! The purpose of this exercise is to load visualized software in your mental computer. Just as a computer must be configured to accept specific materials, your mind must be prepared to accept the reality of your greater success. By introducing positive images of goal achievement, you’re preparing yourself to translate those goals into reality.
I especially like to visualize myself being introduced at a dinner in my honor. Maybe it’s the Coaches’ Hall of Fame! Don’t laugh! It could happen! The emcee comes to the microphone and reads the highlights of my life and adds some insights as to who I really am. What would the emcee be saying about you if such a dinner were held in your honor ten years from now? Devote a page in your journal to describing the things you would want said about you.
This visualization will put you on a path that leads to your future self that you vividly picture today!
—Denis Waitley
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Power of Habit
(This excerpt was taken from Denis Waitley's book The Seeds of Greatness Treasury)
You may know me.
I’m your constant companion.
I’m your greatest helper; I’m your heaviest burden
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am at your command.
Half the tasks you do might as well be turned over to me. I’m able to do them quickly, and I’m able to do them the same every time,
If that’s what you want.
I’m easily managed; all you’ve got to do is be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want it done; after a few lessons I’ll do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men and women; of course,
I’m the servant of all the failures as well.
I’ve made all the winners who have ever lived.
And, I’ve made all the losers too.
But I work with all the precision of a marvelous computer
With the intelligence of a human being.
You may run me for profit, or you may run me to ruin;
It makes no difference to me.
Take me. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Be firm with me, and I’ll put the world at your feet.
Who am I?
I’m Habit!
-- Denis Waitley
You may know me.
I’m your constant companion.
I’m your greatest helper; I’m your heaviest burden
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am at your command.
Half the tasks you do might as well be turned over to me. I’m able to do them quickly, and I’m able to do them the same every time,
If that’s what you want.
I’m easily managed; all you’ve got to do is be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want it done; after a few lessons I’ll do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men and women; of course,
I’m the servant of all the failures as well.
I’ve made all the winners who have ever lived.
And, I’ve made all the losers too.
But I work with all the precision of a marvelous computer
With the intelligence of a human being.
You may run me for profit, or you may run me to ruin;
It makes no difference to me.
Take me. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Be firm with me, and I’ll put the world at your feet.
Who am I?
I’m Habit!
-- Denis Waitley
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Safari Called Life
by Dr. Denis Waitley
Many of my current keynote presentations to major corporations have focused on my recent experiences in Africa, and how they can be applied to our individual and collective performance in pursuit of excellence and quality of life. I view life as a way of traveling on a mysterious, ever-challenging safari, where the trail is blazed by our daily choices, actions and responses.
There is an oft-repeated cliché I have heard ever since I was a boy: “It’s a jungle out there!” Every television and newspaper headline seems to shout about the perils of existence. Bad news is always the special meal of the day, and because of the media’s increasing preoccupation with what’s wrong in the world, each generation believes it is living in the most difficult time in history. How are we to face our deepening feelings of apprehension and fear during a time of increasing global unrest and insecurity? How can we achieve survival, success and serenity in this savage paradise called life?
What I have learned on my annual pilgrimages to Africa on safari, can be applied to our own daily lives. Life in every environment today is a savage paradise. Savage to the ignorant, uneducated, unskilled, prejudiced and ill-informed. A paradise to those who have learned to adapt to and manage change, remain flexible, unhook prejudices, view failures and mistakes as temporary detours and target corrections, and remain lifelong learners. Our safari guides were comfortable and at ease in the dangerous ecosystem of Africa. We, on the other hand, felt vulnerable, insecure and hesitant. We were the newcomers, the tourists. They were the guides, confident through training and experience.
In my book, Safari to the Soul (which is now available in a newsix-CD audio set), I mention another book that made the same parallel as I had, entitled The Jungle is Neutral, written by Col. F. Spencer Chapman, an officer in the British army during World War II. Col. Chapman survived for four years as a guerilla fighter in Malaysia. Cut off from the outside world, which listed him as “missing, believed killed,” he was isolated deep in the jungle, undergoing ordeals such as few individuals have ever lived to document. He escaped twice from prison camps because, in his own words, “I needed to get back to my assignment!”
When questioned later about his adversaries being expert jungle fighters and the fact that he was up against scorpions, yellow fever, malaria, poisonous snakes, incessant rain, wild tigers, leeches and undergrowth so thick it took four hours to walk a mile, these were Col. Chapman’s observations:
“I had my bouts with most of what you mentioned. Some of it I was prepared for. Some of it I learned on the job. I managed to get around by bicycle, dugout canoe, mostly on foot, and some of the time on my belly crawling through the jungle muck. The jungle provides drinking water, fruit and food, shelter and plenty of places to hide. I also made friends with the tribal chiefs and natives who had lived there all their lives and who taught me coping skills.”
When it was brought to his attention that others who spent only days or weeks in the jungle swore that the jungle is hostile, cruel and vindictive, Col. Chapman answered resolutely:
“To me, the jungle is neutral. It is your knowledge, attitude, skills and habits that see you through. The jungle is what it is. It doesn’t think. It is the backdrop for your journey. Your preparation, training, resourcefulness and dedication are what count.”
On your own safari in pursuit of your professional and personal goals, as you look forward to a new beginning and the climb to a higher level, where you have never journeyed before, remember that acronym called the “KASH-flow” of life.
K is for Knowledge. Invest fully in your lifelong learning. The shelf life of your formal education, with any and all of your degrees, is about 18 months. Every five minutes, there is a new scientific or technological breakthrough that upgrades or makes obsolete what had gone before. Knowledge is the new power and the greatest tool for combating fear and prejudice.
A is for Attitude. Examine your “why,” and compare it with those who are peak-performers in every business. View problems as opportunities to grow, and understand that virtually every successful entrepreneur has been a problem-solver and risk-taker. Taking the calculated risk is what creates security. Seeking security provided by others is the greatest risk to your personal freedom and fulfillment. Your attitude is either the lock on or key to your door of success.
S is for Skills. Attend meetings and conference calls, and take advantage of every opportunity to gain insights and experiences from successful role models and mentors. We learn by observation, imitation and repetition. Model yourself after mentors with proven track records of success, whose character traits and personal lives match their professional accomplishments. Behind every world-class athlete, there is a world-class coach. The same holds true in every business arena. Surround yourself with winning coaches.
H is for Habits. By the inch, success is a cinch. By the yard, it’s hard. Break your major goals down into mini-goals, and stair step your way to the top by establishing a dynamic daily routine that eliminates time-wasting activities and maximizes performance-achieving activities. Remember, the more you train, the more you gain. Habits are like submarines; they run silent and deep. Repetition is the key. Habits grow, over time, from cobwebs into cables to shackle or strengthen our lives. Practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect. You don’t break habits; you replace them.
By using the KASH formula, you will increase your cash flow and your productivity, giving you more free time to go on safaris when and where you want. Instead of a tourist, you’ll become a tour guide, with a greater awareness of your environment, courage based on skills and training, and an attitude of confidence to turn every stumbling block you face into a steppingstone to success and fulfillment.
Life is a safari into a savage paradise. The quality of your journey will depend on your preparation, choices and responses. Become a guide instead of a tourist!
Many of my current keynote presentations to major corporations have focused on my recent experiences in Africa, and how they can be applied to our individual and collective performance in pursuit of excellence and quality of life. I view life as a way of traveling on a mysterious, ever-challenging safari, where the trail is blazed by our daily choices, actions and responses.
There is an oft-repeated cliché I have heard ever since I was a boy: “It’s a jungle out there!” Every television and newspaper headline seems to shout about the perils of existence. Bad news is always the special meal of the day, and because of the media’s increasing preoccupation with what’s wrong in the world, each generation believes it is living in the most difficult time in history. How are we to face our deepening feelings of apprehension and fear during a time of increasing global unrest and insecurity? How can we achieve survival, success and serenity in this savage paradise called life?
What I have learned on my annual pilgrimages to Africa on safari, can be applied to our own daily lives. Life in every environment today is a savage paradise. Savage to the ignorant, uneducated, unskilled, prejudiced and ill-informed. A paradise to those who have learned to adapt to and manage change, remain flexible, unhook prejudices, view failures and mistakes as temporary detours and target corrections, and remain lifelong learners. Our safari guides were comfortable and at ease in the dangerous ecosystem of Africa. We, on the other hand, felt vulnerable, insecure and hesitant. We were the newcomers, the tourists. They were the guides, confident through training and experience.
In my book, Safari to the Soul (which is now available in a newsix-CD audio set), I mention another book that made the same parallel as I had, entitled The Jungle is Neutral, written by Col. F. Spencer Chapman, an officer in the British army during World War II. Col. Chapman survived for four years as a guerilla fighter in Malaysia. Cut off from the outside world, which listed him as “missing, believed killed,” he was isolated deep in the jungle, undergoing ordeals such as few individuals have ever lived to document. He escaped twice from prison camps because, in his own words, “I needed to get back to my assignment!”
When questioned later about his adversaries being expert jungle fighters and the fact that he was up against scorpions, yellow fever, malaria, poisonous snakes, incessant rain, wild tigers, leeches and undergrowth so thick it took four hours to walk a mile, these were Col. Chapman’s observations:
“I had my bouts with most of what you mentioned. Some of it I was prepared for. Some of it I learned on the job. I managed to get around by bicycle, dugout canoe, mostly on foot, and some of the time on my belly crawling through the jungle muck. The jungle provides drinking water, fruit and food, shelter and plenty of places to hide. I also made friends with the tribal chiefs and natives who had lived there all their lives and who taught me coping skills.”
When it was brought to his attention that others who spent only days or weeks in the jungle swore that the jungle is hostile, cruel and vindictive, Col. Chapman answered resolutely:
“To me, the jungle is neutral. It is your knowledge, attitude, skills and habits that see you through. The jungle is what it is. It doesn’t think. It is the backdrop for your journey. Your preparation, training, resourcefulness and dedication are what count.”
On your own safari in pursuit of your professional and personal goals, as you look forward to a new beginning and the climb to a higher level, where you have never journeyed before, remember that acronym called the “KASH-flow” of life.
K is for Knowledge. Invest fully in your lifelong learning. The shelf life of your formal education, with any and all of your degrees, is about 18 months. Every five minutes, there is a new scientific or technological breakthrough that upgrades or makes obsolete what had gone before. Knowledge is the new power and the greatest tool for combating fear and prejudice.
A is for Attitude. Examine your “why,” and compare it with those who are peak-performers in every business. View problems as opportunities to grow, and understand that virtually every successful entrepreneur has been a problem-solver and risk-taker. Taking the calculated risk is what creates security. Seeking security provided by others is the greatest risk to your personal freedom and fulfillment. Your attitude is either the lock on or key to your door of success.
S is for Skills. Attend meetings and conference calls, and take advantage of every opportunity to gain insights and experiences from successful role models and mentors. We learn by observation, imitation and repetition. Model yourself after mentors with proven track records of success, whose character traits and personal lives match their professional accomplishments. Behind every world-class athlete, there is a world-class coach. The same holds true in every business arena. Surround yourself with winning coaches.
H is for Habits. By the inch, success is a cinch. By the yard, it’s hard. Break your major goals down into mini-goals, and stair step your way to the top by establishing a dynamic daily routine that eliminates time-wasting activities and maximizes performance-achieving activities. Remember, the more you train, the more you gain. Habits are like submarines; they run silent and deep. Repetition is the key. Habits grow, over time, from cobwebs into cables to shackle or strengthen our lives. Practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect. You don’t break habits; you replace them.
By using the KASH formula, you will increase your cash flow and your productivity, giving you more free time to go on safaris when and where you want. Instead of a tourist, you’ll become a tour guide, with a greater awareness of your environment, courage based on skills and training, and an attitude of confidence to turn every stumbling block you face into a steppingstone to success and fulfillment.
Life is a safari into a savage paradise. The quality of your journey will depend on your preparation, choices and responses. Become a guide instead of a tourist!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Seeds of Belief: Attitude Is Everything
by Denis Waitley
Your attitude is either the lock on or key to your door of success.
It’s not what you are that holds you back; it’s what you think you’re not.
A smile is the light in your window that lets others know there is a caring person inside.
The most important three words you can say to yourself: “Yes, I can!”
If you believe you can… you probably can.
If you believe you won’t… you most assuredly won’t.
Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.
Your attitude is either the lock on or key to your door of success.
It’s not what you are that holds you back; it’s what you think you’re not.
A smile is the light in your window that lets others know there is a caring person inside.
The most important three words you can say to yourself: “Yes, I can!”
If you believe you can… you probably can.
If you believe you won’t… you most assuredly won’t.
Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.
Specificity Is the Key
by Denis Waitley
This is the season for goal-setting. It’s the time to start with a clean slate and fill your slate for 2010 with tangible, incremental, stair steps to your ultimate dreams.
One of the major reasons so few people reach their goals is that most people don’t set specific goals and the mind just dismisses them as irrelevant. Most people want financial security, but have never considered how much money it will take. The mind cannot begin to formulate the strategies and actions required without specific information. Your mind will simply not respond to a request to get rich, have more, do better or make money. You must act like a bank loan officer with your goals.
The reason loan officers want to see a detailed business plan is that they know the entrepreneurs who are precise and specific are the ones who will succeed and pay off their loans.
If you ever begin to feel that you are losing your drive, if you feel like your energy level is down, your frustration level is up and you just can’t seem to muster the enthusiasm to face a challenge, check the pulling power of your goals. You may have outgrown your current targets and present lifestyle. It may be time for motivation by elevation. Raise your sights and challenge yourself with some goals that are farther out on the horizon.
This may require more knowledge, new skills and a new lifestyle. If so, that’s great! Many people resist goal-setting because they assume it leads to a formula-driven, highly uncreative life. Actually, the exact opposite can be true. People who passively assume that everything will somehow work out in the end can hardly be termed creative. They’re not creating their lives, they’re just hoping against hope that something good will happen to them.
Setting worthwhile goals is a much more imaginative approach. It’s fashioning and molding the life of your choice. It’s approaching your life the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. There are other useful metaphors for creativity in goal-setting. The rudder of a plane, for example, is small and rigid, like a short-term goal you might accomplish in just one day. But the rudder can turn the plane in any direction the pilot chooses. In that, there’s a great deal of freedom and flexibility.
Once you set a goal, you can adjust and fine-tune it any way you wish. That’s creativity. And persistence is what allows you to keep progressing toward the goal, no matter how many adjustments are required, and no matter how long it takes to accomplish.
The mind is the most magnificent bio-computer ever created. But remember, like a computer, it only responds to specific instructions, not to vague ideas. So come alive in 2010! Get laser-focused on goals that are just out of reach, but not out of sight.
Get specific and achieve great things in 2010!
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Newsletter. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Newsletter, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
This is the season for goal-setting. It’s the time to start with a clean slate and fill your slate for 2010 with tangible, incremental, stair steps to your ultimate dreams.
One of the major reasons so few people reach their goals is that most people don’t set specific goals and the mind just dismisses them as irrelevant. Most people want financial security, but have never considered how much money it will take. The mind cannot begin to formulate the strategies and actions required without specific information. Your mind will simply not respond to a request to get rich, have more, do better or make money. You must act like a bank loan officer with your goals.
The reason loan officers want to see a detailed business plan is that they know the entrepreneurs who are precise and specific are the ones who will succeed and pay off their loans.
If you ever begin to feel that you are losing your drive, if you feel like your energy level is down, your frustration level is up and you just can’t seem to muster the enthusiasm to face a challenge, check the pulling power of your goals. You may have outgrown your current targets and present lifestyle. It may be time for motivation by elevation. Raise your sights and challenge yourself with some goals that are farther out on the horizon.
This may require more knowledge, new skills and a new lifestyle. If so, that’s great! Many people resist goal-setting because they assume it leads to a formula-driven, highly uncreative life. Actually, the exact opposite can be true. People who passively assume that everything will somehow work out in the end can hardly be termed creative. They’re not creating their lives, they’re just hoping against hope that something good will happen to them.
Setting worthwhile goals is a much more imaginative approach. It’s fashioning and molding the life of your choice. It’s approaching your life the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. There are other useful metaphors for creativity in goal-setting. The rudder of a plane, for example, is small and rigid, like a short-term goal you might accomplish in just one day. But the rudder can turn the plane in any direction the pilot chooses. In that, there’s a great deal of freedom and flexibility.
Once you set a goal, you can adjust and fine-tune it any way you wish. That’s creativity. And persistence is what allows you to keep progressing toward the goal, no matter how many adjustments are required, and no matter how long it takes to accomplish.
The mind is the most magnificent bio-computer ever created. But remember, like a computer, it only responds to specific instructions, not to vague ideas. So come alive in 2010! Get laser-focused on goals that are just out of reach, but not out of sight.
Get specific and achieve great things in 2010!
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Newsletter. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Newsletter, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Freedom from Urgency
by Denis Waitley
Freedom from urgency…. That’s what will allow us to live a rich and rewarding life. You may have thought your problem was “time starvation,” when in truth, it was in the way you assigned priorities in your decision-making process. Have you allowed the urgent to crowd out the important?
Each day we will continue to encounter deadlines we must meet and “fires,” not necessarily of our own making, we must put out. Endless urgent details will always beg for attention, time and energy. What we seldom realize is that the really important things in our life don’t make such strict demands on us, and therefore we usually assign them a lower priority.
Our loved ones understand when we are preoccupied with our urgent business, but it’s hard for us to understand, many years later, why they appear preoccupied when we finally find some time for them. Harry Chapin’s classic song “The Cat’s in the Cradle” is still a mirror reflecting our priorities.
All the important arenas in our life are there awaiting our decisions. But they don’t beg us to give them our time. The local university doesn’t call us to advance our education and improve our life skills.
I have never received a call or e-mail from the health club I joined insisting that I show up and work out for 30 minutes each day. My bathroom scale has never insisted that I lose 30 pounds. The grocery clerks have never made me put back on the shelves the junk food I put in the cart, nor has a fast-food restaurant ever refused me a double cheeseburger and large fries because of my high cholesterol.
Nor have I ever been subpoenaed by the ocean or the mountains to appear for relaxation and solitude. Yet I receive hundreds of urgent phone messages and e-mails each week from people with deadlines.
You see, it’s the easiest thing in the world to neglect the important and give in to the urgent. One of the greatest skills you can ever develop in your life is not only to tell the two apart, but to be able to assign the correct amount of time to each.
Beginning tomorrow, throughout the day, and every day thereafter, stop and ask yourself this question: “Is what I’m doing right now important to my health, well-being and mission in life, and for my loved ones?”
Your affirmative answer will free you forever, from the tyranny of the urgent!
—Denis Waitley
Freedom from urgency…. That’s what will allow us to live a rich and rewarding life. You may have thought your problem was “time starvation,” when in truth, it was in the way you assigned priorities in your decision-making process. Have you allowed the urgent to crowd out the important?
Each day we will continue to encounter deadlines we must meet and “fires,” not necessarily of our own making, we must put out. Endless urgent details will always beg for attention, time and energy. What we seldom realize is that the really important things in our life don’t make such strict demands on us, and therefore we usually assign them a lower priority.
Our loved ones understand when we are preoccupied with our urgent business, but it’s hard for us to understand, many years later, why they appear preoccupied when we finally find some time for them. Harry Chapin’s classic song “The Cat’s in the Cradle” is still a mirror reflecting our priorities.
All the important arenas in our life are there awaiting our decisions. But they don’t beg us to give them our time. The local university doesn’t call us to advance our education and improve our life skills.
I have never received a call or e-mail from the health club I joined insisting that I show up and work out for 30 minutes each day. My bathroom scale has never insisted that I lose 30 pounds. The grocery clerks have never made me put back on the shelves the junk food I put in the cart, nor has a fast-food restaurant ever refused me a double cheeseburger and large fries because of my high cholesterol.
Nor have I ever been subpoenaed by the ocean or the mountains to appear for relaxation and solitude. Yet I receive hundreds of urgent phone messages and e-mails each week from people with deadlines.
You see, it’s the easiest thing in the world to neglect the important and give in to the urgent. One of the greatest skills you can ever develop in your life is not only to tell the two apart, but to be able to assign the correct amount of time to each.
Beginning tomorrow, throughout the day, and every day thereafter, stop and ask yourself this question: “Is what I’m doing right now important to my health, well-being and mission in life, and for my loved ones?”
Your affirmative answer will free you forever, from the tyranny of the urgent!
—Denis Waitley
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Living is Giving
by Denis Waitley
Living is giving your best self away,
Living is helping someone every day;
Living is giving more than you get,
It’s treating an animal like a person, instead of a pet.
It’s helping the handicapped across the street,
It’s smiling at the new person at work that you meet;
It’s respect for all nations, color and creeds,
It’s sharing and caring for your neighbor’s needs
One of God’s greatest laws you can live and believe,
Is the more that you give, the more you’ll receive
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Living is giving your best self away,
Living is helping someone every day;
Living is giving more than you get,
It’s treating an animal like a person, instead of a pet.
It’s helping the handicapped across the street,
It’s smiling at the new person at work that you meet;
It’s respect for all nations, color and creeds,
It’s sharing and caring for your neighbor’s needs
One of God’s greatest laws you can live and believe,
Is the more that you give, the more you’ll receive
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Seeds of Confidence: Ask and Listen
It is better to earn the trust and respect of one of your children than to gain notoriety and adulation of the masses.
If you must speak, ask a question.
Unless what you say benefits the other person, don’t say it.
It’s not what I think that counts, nor is it what you think that counts. It’s what I think you think and what you think I think that really counts.
No one listens to a person operating out of self-interest alone.
Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.
If you attack another person’s beliefs, you are creating an enemy.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue. Moderation in principle is always a vice.
Emperors are overthrown. Empowerers are revered.
Before you state your case, gather the evidence, especially what motivates the other person.
Marriage is not total agreement. It is looking in the same direction together.
Listening without bias or distraction is the greatest value you can pay another person.
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
If you must speak, ask a question.
Unless what you say benefits the other person, don’t say it.
It’s not what I think that counts, nor is it what you think that counts. It’s what I think you think and what you think I think that really counts.
No one listens to a person operating out of self-interest alone.
Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.
If you attack another person’s beliefs, you are creating an enemy.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue. Moderation in principle is always a vice.
Emperors are overthrown. Empowerers are revered.
Before you state your case, gather the evidence, especially what motivates the other person.
Marriage is not total agreement. It is looking in the same direction together.
Listening without bias or distraction is the greatest value you can pay another person.
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Problems Can Be Opportunities in Disguise
One of the most desirable attitudes of a leader is an ability to view problems as opportunities and setbacks as temporary inconveniences. This positive attitude also welcomes change as friendly and is not upset by surprises, even negative ones. How we approach challenges and problems is a crucial aspect of our decision making process, whether in business or in our personal lives. In companies and environments in which criticism, pessimism, cynicism and motivation by fear prevail, an attitude develops that leads to avoiding failure at all costs. The trouble with failure avoidance is that it’s simultaneously avoidance of success, which depends on big risks.
Innovation and creativity are impossible when people are in fear of being penalized for failure.
Early experience often teaches that failure is to be avoided at all costs. This begins in childhood, when we encounter the first “No!!” It grows like a weed when we are criticized by our parents, other family members, our teachers and our peers. It leads to associating ourselves with our mistakes, and to a self-image of clumsiness and awkwardness. Not wanting to be criticized or rejected, many adults also seek security rather than risk looking foolish or appearing awkward. They quietly ride with the system, not rocking the boat.
All lasting success in life is laced with problems and misfortunes which require creativity and innovation. Winners turn stumbling blocks into steppingstones.
In the 1920s, when Ernest Hemingway was working hard to perfect his craft, he lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts. The devastated Hemingway couldn’t conceive of redoing his work. He could think only of the months he’d devoted to his arduous writing—and for nothing, he was now convinced.
But when he lamented his loss to poet Ezra Pound, Pound called it a stroke of luck. Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts and only the best material would reappear. Instead of framing the event in disappointment, Pound cast it in the light of opportunity. Hemingway did rewrite the stories, and the rest, as they say, is history.
This week, concentrate on framing your challenges as “opportunities to grow” rather than “disappointments and problems.”
—Denis Waitley
Innovation and creativity are impossible when people are in fear of being penalized for failure.
Early experience often teaches that failure is to be avoided at all costs. This begins in childhood, when we encounter the first “No!!” It grows like a weed when we are criticized by our parents, other family members, our teachers and our peers. It leads to associating ourselves with our mistakes, and to a self-image of clumsiness and awkwardness. Not wanting to be criticized or rejected, many adults also seek security rather than risk looking foolish or appearing awkward. They quietly ride with the system, not rocking the boat.
All lasting success in life is laced with problems and misfortunes which require creativity and innovation. Winners turn stumbling blocks into steppingstones.
In the 1920s, when Ernest Hemingway was working hard to perfect his craft, he lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts. The devastated Hemingway couldn’t conceive of redoing his work. He could think only of the months he’d devoted to his arduous writing—and for nothing, he was now convinced.
But when he lamented his loss to poet Ezra Pound, Pound called it a stroke of luck. Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts and only the best material would reappear. Instead of framing the event in disappointment, Pound cast it in the light of opportunity. Hemingway did rewrite the stories, and the rest, as they say, is history.
This week, concentrate on framing your challenges as “opportunities to grow” rather than “disappointments and problems.”
—Denis Waitley
Friday, October 23, 2009
Look Inside
When the prize seems high above you
And your mirror doesn't love you
Look inside
When the road to gold gets steeper
And your diamond's buried deeper
Look inside
Light a candle in your mind
Untold riches you will find
When you look for treasures
Look inside
When you're running low on laughter
And can't reach the goals you're after
Look inside
When your body starts complaining
And the clouds of doubt keep raining
Look inside
Close your eyes and then believe it
Trust yourself and you'll achieve it
When you're seeking answers
Look inside
-- Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
And your mirror doesn't love you
Look inside
When the road to gold gets steeper
And your diamond's buried deeper
Look inside
Light a candle in your mind
Untold riches you will find
When you look for treasures
Look inside
When you're running low on laughter
And can't reach the goals you're after
Look inside
When your body starts complaining
And the clouds of doubt keep raining
Look inside
Close your eyes and then believe it
Trust yourself and you'll achieve it
When you're seeking answers
Look inside
-- Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Integrity Is the Real Bottom Line
The dictionary defines integrity in terms of soundness of moral character, adherence to ethical principles and being unimpaired. Its Middle English root is related to integrate (to bring together as a whole) and integral (complete and whole). These references to wholeness rightly suggest that integrity affects all aspects of our lives, which is why it is like a healthy investment portfolio filled with blue chip stocks such as honesty, fairness and loyalty.
Integrity that strengthens an inner value system is the real human bottom line. It means that you don’t base your decisions simply on being politically correct. You do what’s right, not what’s fashionable. You know that truth is absolute, not a device for manipulating others. And it’s not just in the major decisions that this quality is needed.
Complete integrity in little things is no little thing at all. As has been said many times, “The devil is in the details” and “elephants don’t bite, but fleas do.” There are no degrees of integrity. You have it or you don’t. Being slightly dishonest may be a safe adventure for a time. But one day, inevitably, little details will be noticed and the piper will have to be paid. Your word is more valuable than a surety bond. What you are speaks so loudly no one can really hear what you say. If what you do matches what you say, your life will speak forcefully indeed. In people, we value honesty more than any other virtue. We expect it from our leaders. We must demand it from ourselves.
This week and from now on, “seek the truth,” and “speak the truth.”
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Integrity that strengthens an inner value system is the real human bottom line. It means that you don’t base your decisions simply on being politically correct. You do what’s right, not what’s fashionable. You know that truth is absolute, not a device for manipulating others. And it’s not just in the major decisions that this quality is needed.
Complete integrity in little things is no little thing at all. As has been said many times, “The devil is in the details” and “elephants don’t bite, but fleas do.” There are no degrees of integrity. You have it or you don’t. Being slightly dishonest may be a safe adventure for a time. But one day, inevitably, little details will be noticed and the piper will have to be paid. Your word is more valuable than a surety bond. What you are speaks so loudly no one can really hear what you say. If what you do matches what you say, your life will speak forcefully indeed. In people, we value honesty more than any other virtue. We expect it from our leaders. We must demand it from ourselves.
This week and from now on, “seek the truth,” and “speak the truth.”
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I Learned from My Grandma That the Seeds of Greatness Are...
My grandma, Mabel Reynolds Ostrander, and I shared one of those special relationships as rare as a double rainbow. She was 53 when I was 10. That’s when we planted our first “Victory” garden together during World War II. We planted seeds together—in the soil and in each other.
Grandma lived 87 seasons without a complaint. I was 44 when I last saw her. But I remember every mince and lemon tart, every bite of “made from scratch” apple pie, and every lingering wave of her hand as she stood (out of sight or so she thought) behind the rayon Priscilla curtains in the little house at 718 West Pennsylvania Avenue in San Diego, California, where I was born and raised. As our station wagon full of kids and contentment would slowly pull away from the curb, we would all look back at her and wave—and I would gaze at her fragile silhouette through the rear view mirror, wishing I could frame her there forever, just that way—wondering how many more Easter and Christmas dinners we would share.
Most of all, I remember my grandma and me planting seeds. We planted squash, beans, corn, watermelons, beets, pansies, mums and other flowers. I’ll admit I rode my bike those 20 miles each Saturday more for the bonus of the conversation and the homemade pastries than for the vegetables and flowers. But no matter how full I was after I ate, I was always left hungry for more of the wisdom and optimism she shared with me.
I’ll never forget the day we tasted our first harvest as a result of crossing a plum tree with an apricot tree. The ripe fruit was pink, not purple like a plum, nor orange like an apricot; but a combination of both. “Gee, do you suppose they’ll be any good?” I asked. “Why of course they will be wonderful,” she chided. “Didn’t we do the planting, nurturing and pruning?”
Sure enough, they were delicious, even though they were different than any fruit I’d ever seen before. “That’s because they are uniquely unlike any other fruit you’ll ever eat. They are plumcots!” she exulted. “You always get out what you put in,” she continued as we sat under the tree eating most of what we had picked.
“Plant apple seeds and you get apple trees, plant acorns and you get majestic oak trees, plant weeds and you will harvest weeds (even without watering), plant the seeds of great ideas and you will get great individuals,” she said softly and intently, looking directly into my eyes. “Do you understand what I mean?” I nodded, remembering I’d heard her say the same thing before, in different ways.
I learned from my grandma that the seeds of greatness are not special genes, dependent on the gifted birth, the inherited bank account, the intellect, the skin-deep beauty, the race, the gender or the status. The seeds of greatness are attitudes and beliefs that begin in children by observing, imitating and internalizing the lifestyles of significant role models and heroes.
“Model your thoughts and actions after men and women who have been passionate, excellent, honest, unselfish and creative in their service to others,” my grandmother had counseled. Armed with that affirmation, I ventured forth to sow and reap my own legacy in life.
I’ve traveled the world to the seven seas.
I’ve been up at the top and down on my knees.
I’ve been blessed with abundance and plenty of weeds.
But I’ve never stopped caring about others’ needs.
As you tend your own garden, unlike any other,
Remember the words of my lovely grandmother.
“If you’re hoping to harvest a life of great deeds, remember you first have to plant some great seeds.”
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Grandma lived 87 seasons without a complaint. I was 44 when I last saw her. But I remember every mince and lemon tart, every bite of “made from scratch” apple pie, and every lingering wave of her hand as she stood (out of sight or so she thought) behind the rayon Priscilla curtains in the little house at 718 West Pennsylvania Avenue in San Diego, California, where I was born and raised. As our station wagon full of kids and contentment would slowly pull away from the curb, we would all look back at her and wave—and I would gaze at her fragile silhouette through the rear view mirror, wishing I could frame her there forever, just that way—wondering how many more Easter and Christmas dinners we would share.
Most of all, I remember my grandma and me planting seeds. We planted squash, beans, corn, watermelons, beets, pansies, mums and other flowers. I’ll admit I rode my bike those 20 miles each Saturday more for the bonus of the conversation and the homemade pastries than for the vegetables and flowers. But no matter how full I was after I ate, I was always left hungry for more of the wisdom and optimism she shared with me.
I’ll never forget the day we tasted our first harvest as a result of crossing a plum tree with an apricot tree. The ripe fruit was pink, not purple like a plum, nor orange like an apricot; but a combination of both. “Gee, do you suppose they’ll be any good?” I asked. “Why of course they will be wonderful,” she chided. “Didn’t we do the planting, nurturing and pruning?”
Sure enough, they were delicious, even though they were different than any fruit I’d ever seen before. “That’s because they are uniquely unlike any other fruit you’ll ever eat. They are plumcots!” she exulted. “You always get out what you put in,” she continued as we sat under the tree eating most of what we had picked.
“Plant apple seeds and you get apple trees, plant acorns and you get majestic oak trees, plant weeds and you will harvest weeds (even without watering), plant the seeds of great ideas and you will get great individuals,” she said softly and intently, looking directly into my eyes. “Do you understand what I mean?” I nodded, remembering I’d heard her say the same thing before, in different ways.
I learned from my grandma that the seeds of greatness are not special genes, dependent on the gifted birth, the inherited bank account, the intellect, the skin-deep beauty, the race, the gender or the status. The seeds of greatness are attitudes and beliefs that begin in children by observing, imitating and internalizing the lifestyles of significant role models and heroes.
“Model your thoughts and actions after men and women who have been passionate, excellent, honest, unselfish and creative in their service to others,” my grandmother had counseled. Armed with that affirmation, I ventured forth to sow and reap my own legacy in life.
I’ve traveled the world to the seven seas.
I’ve been up at the top and down on my knees.
I’ve been blessed with abundance and plenty of weeds.
But I’ve never stopped caring about others’ needs.
As you tend your own garden, unlike any other,
Remember the words of my lovely grandmother.
“If you’re hoping to harvest a life of great deeds, remember you first have to plant some great seeds.”
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
How Do You Measure Success?
In America today, quality of life is often measured by the amount of money you make. Success is defined by the kind of car you drive. By the neighborhood you live in. By the toys you own. After all, he who dies with the most toys wins. True or false?
Life was difficult before remote controls and automatic door locks. Skiing was so boring before the new shape skis hit the market. Fishing without a carbon-fiber rod was next to impossible. And the best part of life today is that big-screen plasma HDTV, the one with the universal remote that controls everything. It’s the best escape devised yet from an otherwise dull evening.
In contrast, the people of the remote Himalayan country of Bhutan were recently rated as having the poorest quality of life of all but one other country in the world—after all, their average annual per capita income is only $500. Ironically, however, when you visit the country, there are no beggars, only beautiful, snow-capped peaks, virgin forests and clean air. The crime rate is extremely low, no one is in a hurry, and there is a strong sense of community. You might almost think that instead of depending on their belongings to entertain them, they’ve learned to enhance their lives by building relationships with each other.
Be careful to avoid the trap of “the more you buy, the more you need.” Because, oftentimes, the more we think we need, the unhappier we are with what we have. So, this year, before buying those new golf clubs, stop and think. Will that $1,000 bring you more happiness through a bag of irons, compared to a few days off with your family, or as a donation to an organization, or a person who is trying to make a difference? It’s your choice. It’s how you measure it.
So, this week, count your blessings instead of your possessions. Spend more time with those you love, instead of spending more money on things you lack.
—Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.DenisWaitley.com Copyright 2009 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.
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