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 seeds of greatness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seeds of greatness. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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