Goals Instead Of Resolutions

Every year, throngs of people—maybe even you—choose a list of resolutions for the next year. Generally, these are habits they will try to do every day, or habits they will try to avoid for as long as they can, e.g lose weight, get out more, save money. Unfortunately, many of these resolutions are forgotten by March. A major reason for this is that it’s deceptively difficult to develop or deny ingrained habits ‘cold turkey’.

While the effort to adopt resolution shows a wonderful sense of positive intent, a better alternative is to develop new goals for the future. And it helps to work toward them as a more gradual process rather than expecting to change immediately. Goals are a better plan than resolutions for a few key reasons. So instead of making resolutions, setting measurable goals is more likely to lead to success in seeing your hopes and dreams come to fruition. That is why for me what I usually do during December is writing down my goals for the New Year. While preparing for this article, I visits “Lifehack” with Malika Boyd, and the information I got there are instrumental. So if you want to increase the chances of seeing your dreams become reality? Here are five goal-setting tips that will get you started on your journey towards reaching your goals.

1.     Be S.M.A.R.T.

When it comes to goal setting, S.M.A.R.T is a familiar acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive. Too often, people set goals that are vague and unrealistic. Not only does this lead to frustration, but it also decreases the likelihood of actually achieving the goal. The S.M.A.R.T. method can be applied to a variety of goals, whether professional or personal, giving you the tools you need to succeed in your goal setting endeavors.

2.     Write it down

The daily minutiae of life is enough to rattle even the most skilled multi-tasker. With family dinners, kids’ sporting events, and household chores, life is truly a juggling act. Still, we manage to fall into the routine of getting those things done without a need to write them down. When it comes to goals, however, we are not very likely to simply fall into a routine. Achieving goals involves deviating from the daily monotony, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and challenging yourself. Writing down your goals allows you to free up some of that mental clutter so that you can visualize those things that you want to achieve. Also, tracking your progress by checking things off will give you a sense of accomplishment, motivating you to keep going. So, pull out that journal that has been collecting dust and write down those goals!

3.     Avoid comparisons

When you are working towards improving your life, it is common to compare yourself to other people. Your perception is that they are superior to you, or more privileged in some way. The social media phenomenon doesn’t help; your ‘news feed’ overflows with announcements of your friends’ new love interests, weight loss, and new jobs, quickly turning you into a green-eyed monster. How does this serve you, exactly? It doesn’t. When you compare yourself to others, you rob yourself of time you could be spending on your own self-improvement. It is also important to keep in mind that everyone’s journey is different; although we have similar destinations, our paths are often quite different. Follow your own path.

4.     Embrace failure

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad once says “successful people don’t fear failure but understand that it is necessary to learn and grow from.” Setting goals involves learning what you need to do in order to achieve personal growth. Embracing failure by seeing it as a necessary part of achieving your goals will only make you stronger and more resilient as you continue on your road towards achieving your goals. To put it point blank, I achieved just 10% of my goals this year, and you know what? That is the more reason why I must set some new goals. Failure help to guide you on the way forward.

5.     Enjoy the process

Big success is made up of small victories. If your saving goal is 10%, chances are that you will not achieve it all at once. Still, you can celebrate your 4% saving every month. Having goals is important; however, we don’t stop living while we pursue them. Life happens while you are in the midst of seeing your dreams realized. Don’t allow your focus on the outcome to keep you from enjoying the process. 

Conclusively, setting resolutions at the start of a new year can be effective if you create goals that are realistic and you make them fun in some way. You might brainstorm different ways to accomplish the goal or recruit a friend to help you do it.

In any case, set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there because setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand.

Listen to this, the sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus, and discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

Happy New Year

EXCUSE ME SIR

 Why should I sit here and suffered when the lowest servant on my father's payroll has enough to eat every day"? - Prodigal Son, Luke 15:17. That's a question of responsibility. 














Stop giving excuses for failure, slow progress or delay. Stop blaming your past. Marcus Stroup said: "There aren't nearly enough crutches in the world for all the lame excuses." Edward Murrow wrote: "Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts. "George Washington opined: "Ninety percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." Oh, hear Francois Rochefoucauld: "Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will, we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an EXCUSE that we say things are impossible." 


Listen to this, the trick is not how much pain you feel but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuse not to live; excuses excuses, excuses. Florence Nightingale reacted: "I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse."Then Art Turock added: "There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. 

My Provincial Pastor, Peter Ego would ironed it "No excuse is good enough to convert failure to success". How true! Give no excuse for quitting! Give no excuse for a weak prayer life! Be courageous! Hold on to your goal! Hold on to your dreams! 

Excuse are the "Toll Gates" of Achievers!

Keep Moving ii

In another occasion, Martin Luther King Jr. gives an inspiring speech about designing your life’s blueprint, and reminds us that whatever you do, you must always keep moving.

Transcript:

“This is the most important and crucial period of your lives, for what you do now and what you decide now at this age may well determine which way your life shall go. The question is, whether you have a proper, a solid, and a sound blueprint. I want to suggest some of the things that should be in your life’s blueprint. Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth and your own some-bodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life’s blueprint, you must have as a basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavour. You’re going to be deciding as the days and the years unfold what you will do in life, what your life’s work will be. Once you discover what it will be, set out to do it and to do it well. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be the sun, be a star, for it isn’t by size that you win or you fail, be the best of whatever you are.

Finally, in your life’s blueprint must be a commitment to the eternal principals of beauty, love, and justice. Well life for none of us has been a crystal stair, but we must keep moving, we must keep going. If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.” 

            

I would like to plug in the story of Elephant Rope, to drive home my point: Once upon a time a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something or that we cannot keep moving, simply because we failed at it once before?

Throughout our lives we go through different experiences, some are positive and some we see as negative and unpleasant. When you hang on to a negative or unpleasant experience you are constantly thinking about it. And when you constantly think about that negative event you prevent yourself from moving forward towards your life blue printe. How many pleasant memories do you recall everyday? Chances are you're like most people and you have a number of unpleasant experiences that you're holding on to, which is preventing you from moving forward.

The more you carry the worse life gets. Why? Because you've filled your mind up with negative experiences, because you continually hang on to something that doesn't allow you to move forward, in short, you're carrying useless baggage that's really slowing you down.

Think of it this way: you're on a hiking trip and along the way you keep picking up heavy objects, things that really don't serve you. After a while, these objects begin to slow you down and unless you get rid of them, you'll never complete your trip.

To let go you have to get your mind to focus on different goals and different objectives. It's not about saying: I let go of the pain from my fight with ---- and move on. That will help, but if you really want to start moving on, then you have to get your mind to focus on new things, in the process you automatically let go of the things that have been slowing you down.

You may want to read inspiring story of Shaesta Waiz https://successbreath.blogspot.com.ng/2017/07/until-your-goals-are-achieved-dont-stop.html

For emphasis, Martin Luther King Jr, declared, Life for none of us has been a crystal stair, but we must keep moving, we must keep going. If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.   

Keep Moving

Keep Moving. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. Looking back isn’t going to help you, moving forward is the thing you have to do, even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward, because a man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward.   

In a speech delivered in 1960 in Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “I would like to use as a subject for my address this day, “Keep Moving From This Mountain.” For the moment, I would like to take your minds back many, many centuries to a group of people whose exploits and adventures have long since been meaningfully deposited in the hallowed memories of succeeding generations. At a very early age in their history, these people were reduced to the bondage of physical slavery. They found themselves under the gripping yoke   of Egyptian rule. But soon a Moses appeared on the scene who was destined to lead them out of the Egypt of slavery to a bright and glowing promised land. But as soon as they got out of Egypt by crossing the Red Sea, they discovered that before they could get to the Promised Land they would have to go through a long and difficult wilderness. And after realizing this, three groups, or rather three attitudes, emerged. First group wanted to go back to Egypt: they felt that the fleshpots of Egypt were more to be desired than the ordeals of emancipation. Then you had a second group that abhored the idea of going back to Egypt and yet could not quite attain the discipline and the sacrifice to go on to Canaan. These people choose the line of least resistance. There was a third group, probably the creative minority, which said in substance, “We will go on in spite of the obstacles, in spite of the difficulty, in spite of the sacrifices that we will have to make.”

In every movement toward freedom and fulfilment. We find these three groups. But this day, I am concerned mainly with the second group, the individuals who didn’t want to go back to Egypt necessarily and yet didn’t want to go on to the Promised Land, the individuals who choose the line of least resistance.

As Moses sought to lead his people on, he discovered that there were those among them who would occasionally become emotionally and sentimentally attached to a particular spot so that they wanted to stay there and remain stationary at that point. One day when Moses confronted this problem, he wrote in the book of Deuteronomy, the first chapter and the fifth verse: “You have been in this mountain long enough, turn ye and go on your journey, move on to the mount of the Amorites.” This was a message of God through Moses. And whenever God speaks he says go forward, saying in substance that you must never become bogged down in mountains and situations that will impede your progress. You must never become complacently adjusted to unobtained goals; you have been in this mountain long enough, “turn ye and take your journey.”

In a real sense, each of us today is in a wilderness moving toward some promised land of freedom and fulfilment. In every age and every generation men have envisioned some promised land:

Plato envisioned it in his republic as a time when justice would reign throughout society and philosophers would become kings and kings philosophers.

Karl Marx envisioned it as a classless society in which the proletariat would finally conquer the reign of the bourgeoisie; out of that idea came the slogan, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

Bellamy, in Looking Backward, thought of it as a day when the inequalities of monopoly capitalism would pass away. Society would exist on the basis of evenness of economic output.

Christianity envisioned it as the kingdom of God, a time when the will of God will reign supreme, and brotherhood, love, and right relationships will be the order of society. 

In every age and every generation men have dreamed of some promised land of fulfillment of freedom. Whether it was the right promised land or not, they dreamed of it. But in moving from some Egypt of slavery, whether in the intellectual, cultural or moral realm, toward some promised land, there is always the same temptation. Individuals will get bogged down in a particular mountain in a particular spot, and thereby become the victims of stagnant complacency. 

To Be Continued ……

Let Go And Let God

In 2015 I was to write exam on Friday, Tuesday of the same week my school fees was not ready, I exploit every possible means to no avail. I simply let go and let God and it works, by the Friday morning #75,000 was just coming in from different places, it is called miracle somewhere. Let go and let God, It sound more Christianise than not, though the first time I heard of the hashtag, I don’t really understand what it means, in fact I applied the principle severally without knowing, I had to referred to Bob Proctor but I love the phrase “Let go and let God” because it sounds so simple. But there are times when we aren’t clear what it is we’re supposed to let go of. And there are other times we want to let go, we try to let go—and it just doesn’t happen. Why?

Sometimes there’s a difference in what we want to give up and what we need to release. We might be holding tightly to something we think of as good, like better health for a loved one or changed our circumstance. And though it’s never wrong to desire good things, there are times when we have to let go of what we think is best.

Other times we grip tightly to assumptions about the way life “should” be. We think things ought to be easier or life shouldn’t be so hard. Sometimes what we must give up are our preconceived notions of how life is supposed to work.

But in every case, what “Let go and let God” comes down to is this: We need to let go of our own will and allowed the super-natural force or spirit or God takes over. Listen to Jesus prayed: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). We need to let go and let God do what God wills. This submission will lead to peace and joy, even when the way is difficult. There is purpose for your pain and a reason for struggles and some reward for your faithfulness …. Don’t give up. 

Realistically, how many of us actually do this “without” trying to fix the situation ourselves? I would estimate a very low percentage. Learning to “let go” and “let God” is not as easy as it sounds, however, Consider, for example, the biblical story of David and Goliath, which surely must rank as one of the greatest testaments ever written on the subject of faith. As you will recall, Goliath, the giant of Gath, came into the Israelite camp boasting pompously and taunting the Israelites to select a man to do battle with him. The Israelites, naturally, were terrified and, not surprisingly, none of them leaped forward to accept the challenge.

Sometime later, however, when Goliath returned to reiterate his challenge, David, an Israelite youth, overheard the giant’s obnoxious boasting and he stepped forward to pick up the gauntlet. Finally, after much pleading before his elders for the dubious honour of facing Goliath in battle, the youth was accorded the great “privilege” of going forth to do battle. The elders insisted, that David clothe himself in heavy protective armour. They also gave him a sword with which to smite his powerful adversary. But David said, “I am not used to these things, I cannot fight with these handicaps. These are not my weapons. I have other weapons with which to fight the giant.” So he stripped himself of all his armour, and went into battle with no weapon other than a simple slingshot and a few pebbles which he had gathered from the nearby brook. When the giant leader of the Philistines, protected as he was with armour from head to toe, armed with mighty weapons and preceded by his shield-bearer, saw the unarmed, unprotected Israelite youth approaching, he was infuriated. He said to David, “Come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Young David, however, never want to be intimidated, answered the giant saying, “Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hands.” While the giant Goliath placed his faith in physical objects like armor, swords and shields, David placed his solely in an unseen God. The result—the young Israelite shepherd defeated his far mightier foe! With nothing, save a single stone from his sling, David struck Goliath, and the giant fell lifeless to the ground.

By accepting the principle “Let Go And Let God”, and believing that whatever must happen for you to reach your goal, will happen—like David—you too will successfully conquer the “giant” in your life. You see, the trouble with those of us who fail to achieve what we desire, is not that we lack the ability to do so, but that we lack the faith implicit in the “Let Go And Let God” principle, which indicates whatever is necessary for us to reach our goal will indeed occur.

Clarence Smithison has this indefinable spark which makes him one of the most remarkable
individuals “if a person will let go and let God (i.e. have faith that whatever must happen for him to achieve his goal, will indeed occur), all things become possible”. Dr. Wernher von Braun conclude: “There would not be a single great accomplishment in the history of mankind without faith ... Any person who strives to accomplish something needs a degree of faith in himself and when he takes on a challenge that requires more and more moral strength than he can muster, he needs faith in God.”

While you ruminate on that, Benson Adima remains your your-in-house Motivational Speaker and Corporate M.C. with +1238137003868 you could reach me from anywhere in the world. 

When You Fill Like Quitting: Remember Why You started

One thing everyone must learn is the need to persist when it is difficult. When we experience defeat and rejection, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit, but the successful have learned to persist. 

One of my favourite stories is about Colonel Sanders the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) before it was one of the world’s largest restaurants, Colonel Sanders drove all across the country from restaurant to restaurant cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees looking for someone willing to purchase his chicken recipe. Colonel Sanders persisted through 1,009 rejections until he got a ‘yes’

After his first ‘yes,’ his franchising idea began to take off. By 1964, at age 74, Colonel Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada, and he sold his interest in the U.S. Company for $2 million ($13 million in 2006 dollars).  KFC now does billions in sales each year and serves millions of customers daily in over 13,000 restaurants in 80 countries. To me, there are no failures in life, only those who quit before success. Failure is a part of learning

Listen to Sam Walton, the founder of WalMart, after he lost his first store, a Ben Franklin variety store, after 5 years of hard work. “It was the low point of my business life. I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. It really was a nightmare. I had built the best variety store in the whole region and worked hard in the community—done everything right—and now I was being kicked out of town. It didn’t seem fair. . . I’ve always thought of problems as challenges, and this one wasn’t any different. . . The challenge at hand was simple enough to figure out: I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time. . . I had a chance for a brand-new start, and this time I knew what I was doing” The last time I checked, Walmart market value is about $230 billion.

Calvin Coolidge make it point blank “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”. 

Plato wrote the first sentence of his famous Republic nine different ways before he was satisfied. Cicero practiced speaking before friends every day for thirty years to perfect his elocution. Noah Webster laboured 36 years writing his dictionary, crossing the Atlantic twice to gather material. Milton rose at 4:00 am every day in order to have enough hours for his Paradise Lost. Gibbon spent 26 years on his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Bryant rewrote one of his poetic masterpieces 99 times before publication, and it became a classic.

It is said that Thomas Edison performed 50,000 (sic) experiments before he succeeded in producing a storage battery. We might assume the famous inventor would have had some serious doubts along the way. But when asked if he ever became discouraged working so long without results, Edison replied, "Results? Why, I know 50,000 things that won't work."

When you fill like quitting: Remember all of those who said you’d fail, remember there’re too many people you need to prove wrong, remember you have too much to fight for, remember why you started, and remember what you’re doing it for. Also remember pain is temporary, greatness last forever, remember that the pain you feel today, will be replaced with the strength you need tomorrow. Remember that every ounce of pain you feel is building a stronger you, a stronger body, a stronger mind and a stronger character. So push through the pain. Don’t let it stop you, force it to grow you. Don’t back-down from the pain, FACE IT! I say FACE IT HEAD ON!! PUSH HARDER!!!

The Nugget: The formula for success is trying until you succeed. If you give up during the struggle, you will never experience the victory. 

Missing Identity: The Genesis Of Mediocrity (Agony Of Eaglet.)

A story is told of a man who found an eagle’s egg. He put it with his chickens and the mother hens. Soon the egg hatched. The young eagle grew up with all the other chickens. Whatever the chickens did, the eagle also did. He thought he was a chicken, just like them. Since the chickens could only fly for a short distance, the eagle also learnt to fly a short distance. He thought that was what he was supposed to do. So that was all that he thought he could do. And that was all he was able to do.

One day the eagle saw a bird flying high above him. He was very impressed. “Who is that?” he asked the hens around him. “That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” the hens told him. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth – we are chickens. “Oh,” the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar like those birds.” The chickens roared with laughter, “You cannot soar like those. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar.” The eagle continued staring at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be like them.

Eagle’s Dream

Each time the eagle talked about his dreams, he was told it couldn’t be done. That was what the eagle learned to believe. After time, the eagle stopped dreaming and continued to live his life as a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.

Here is my point: You become what you believe you are. If you ever dream to become an eagle, follow your dreams, not the words of chickens. No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, you can turn around. This last quarter is time to take a flight. You and I both know that you don't belong to where you are right now. You got no busines doing what you are doing right now. You've been chicken whereas you are born eagle.

Till I come your way again, digest! 

When Life Hands You Lemon Use the Seeds to Plant a Whole Orchard

  

 “Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oh What a Beautiful Day”

I wish that we could all wake up feeling like that song from Oklahoma every day: “I’ve got a beautiful feeling. Everything’s going my way.” But, as we all know, that’s not possible.

Sometimes we wake up on a ‘wrong side of the bed’. We might be blue, anxious, overwhelmed, out of synch or angry. The list of possibilities and ways to describe a feeling that is “out of sorts” is extensive and maybe different for each one of us.

Having posted the last article, I became curious about the person who coined this proverbial phrase and ode to optimism. And I discover it was written in 1915 by Elbert Green Hubbard, an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher who met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin Soap Company. I’m also fascinated with what other writers and philosophers have added to this thought to make it even more profound. Ron White, a stand-up comedian, added, “I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.” But, what really resonates with my life philosophy are the words of Anthon St Maarten, an international psychic medium, destiny coach and author of the bestselling book Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny. He said, “When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard – an entire franchise! Or you could just stay on the Destiny Bus and drink lemonade someone else has made, from a can.”

The meaning of the superficially simple yet truly deep cliché is easy enough to explain. If something bad comes your way, don’t let it get you down. Instead, turn the “bad” into “good.” Don’t be pessimistic, but optimistic. Don’t let it bog you down, but keep moving forward. If you ever go through something, hold your head up. Because that which has not kill you will make you stronger!

Though the meaning may be simple, just how to create lemonade from lemons is something altogether different and exceedingly more difficult. It isn’t just as simple as adding a spoonful of sugar. Every one of us knows that when we feel as though we are in a depressive unhappy mood, breaking through to the sunshine is tough. Just as there are many different recipes for making lemonade, there are many different recipes for turning the blues into bright and satisfying yellows and reds.

Here are some ideas for you to apply when you’re trying to turn your bad mood around:

Recognize the bad mood for what it is.  As you go about your daily life, you will encounter many lemons. Sour expressions, sour attitudes, sour auras! The good thing is that if you don't want to be a lemon, you don't have to be! Just don't let those lemons rub themselves all over you! Don’t hide from your negative mood and pretend it’s not there. Your bad feelings will come out in another way if you do. When I’m in a bad mood and don’t face the reality, I find myself being intemperate and impatient with others. And, the others don’t know why I’m not my usual more relaxed self. The fact is, you can’t make lemonade without acknowledging that there are lemons.

Think about the positive side of whatever is provoking you. Just as lemons are sour, they add flavour, colour, delicious texture and smell. Likewise, negative situations often have a sweeter side, though it’s not always easy to find that sweetness or, stated another way, the positivity in a negative situation.

Here’s a great day-to-day example. When I was struggling to attained university education, I was upset for many reasons, not only the totalling of the poverty to which I was born, but also I know how to cry myself to bed because there was insufficient resources to accomplish my goals. Many times I was stop from writing exams because of school fees. But, despite those negatives, there were positive aspects. I learned to have faith in God. So, I made bold to say that even the awful situation in right now had some positive ramifications.

Remember everything that is good and beautiful is around you. Even when your life looks like it’s full of lemons, there are bound to be some positives surrounding you as well. Look for the positives. Stand back and gain perspective. Remember, even the bad times are going to pass.

The fact is, life is full of lemons. Some times are more difficult than others. But, by focusing on the good in your life, the love of those around you, and the natural beauty surrounding us, you will find yourself in a far more positive place. 

My Cares! 

When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade is a proverbial phrase used to encourage people optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemon suggest sourness or difficulties in life, while lemonade is a sweet drink. 

If life was fair, I’d have everything. This is almost the story of every person. Now imagine if life was actually a bed of roses, every other person would be ruling, no one would know the meaning of fight, and winning without fighting is tasteless. Undoubtedly, ‘Life is not a bed of roses’ but that does not mean we can’t make it a bed of roses. Similar is the meaning of this topic ‘If Life gives you lemons, make lemonade’. This topic depicts a hopeful and optimistic attitude towards life. When dealing with difficulties, every man thinks he is the most unlucky but little he know that every individual has to face problem in some course of life. Every problem contains a solution too, right? And in this case, the only thing that rejuvenates man, makes him courageous and empowers him to face the challenge valiantly is hope.

Alexander Pop has rightly said ‘Hope springs eternally in human breast’. It is human nature to always find opportunity in adversity. I’m playing a game and fail to pass the level, the only thing that does not let me become pessimist is hope that I have many chances left and this hope continues till the last chance. So is with man’s life. He tries to bring golden opportunities out of life even in face of misfortunes until the upheaval is gone. 

Human history is full of such adventures in which physical, mental and geographical hindrance failed to impede the ways of courageous and dedicated people on the path of success. Such individuals laughed in the face of adversities and defeated the demons of negativity, failure, and stagnation for they knew if there are obstructions in life so are the panacea to overcome these obstructions. Socio-Economic, political, scientific and technological development emphatically praises man’s abilities in turning lemons into lemonades. This proverb asks you to find positive in everything even when life is not going your way and we have examples of so many optimistic people to follow in this matter.

Life without limits is an autobiography of Nick Vujicic, a young man born without limbs. For being different, people made fun of him, taunted him and he grew up fighting with his disorder all life. But he actually made lemonades out of lemon even in so many adversities. Instead of leading a depressed and low-spirited life, he preferred a meaningful life that could not only bring delight to his life but in others too. He started his non-profit organization ‘Life without limbs‘ and became a public speaker who gives everyone a message today that no matter what happens, there is always a hope and meaning in life. This example shows that one way to make lemonade out of lemons is by remaining grateful, calm and most of all hopeful.

Stephen Hawking is the most celebrated physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. He is the symbol of courage for so many people who think life is not fair. Mr. Hawking is suffering from motor neuron disease. He is paralyzed and communicates through a “Speech Synthesizer” yet he has achieved such remarkable success which is dreamt by many. Stephen Hawking’s own words brighten the world of opportunity as following

I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.

There is no doubt to the fact that we all have a spark in ourselves. This spark is powerful enough to brighten our lives, to pave our ways to success, to achieve the unachievable, and to be role models for the generations to come. The necessary ingredients which make this spark a torch, that illuminates the gloomy path and shun the darkness, are determination, fortitude, courage, and persistence. If you think you are devastated, all hope has turned into ashes for you and you are the most unfortunate person, look at the life struggles of the people stated above. We have ample to learn from these people. Their achievements speak substantially for the potential possessed by the human beings. It is never too late to start again, just have faith and confidence in your abilities.

Each of us has the potential to laugh in the face of adversities, to find the blessing in disguise and this potential, my fellows, is the prerequisite to turn the lemons into lemonades.

I Leave You With This: When life gives you lemons, don’t just make lemonade, make life take the lemons back, Get Mad!

A Day With A Wise Man

A Day with a Wise Man Is Better than Ten Years of Formal Education.

Jack Ma is apparently the wealthiest man in China today, he founded Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce website that, according to Boss Hunting, "handles more traffic than Ebay and Amazon combined". Not too long ago, his company raised the largest Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange, with the company valued at $200 Billion, and making his net worth $20+ Billion. 

Jack Ma was literally rejected from Harvard ten times. 

Ma spoke with Charlie Rose at the Davos World Economic Forum about his path, and there were some key takeaway points when it comes to perseverance in life and career.

 

1. Don't Give Up. Ever.

In addition to being rejected from Harvard ten times, Ma failed his university entrance exams three times, and applied to thirty jobs and was rejected from every single one (did I mention that one of those job apps was for KFC?).

It goes without saying that this man has faced the stinging blows of rejection, but what sets him apart is how he reacted to the negative feedback. Instead of going inward and dwelling in defeat, he went outward and turned the negative energy into positive action. He persevered.  

When Ma was asked about his failed attempts in getting into Harvard, he replied, “Someday I should go teach there maybe”. 

2. Take initiative and make your dreams happen. Take action.

How did Ma come up with the idea for his business? Well, the first word he searched on the internet in the 90s was 'beer'. When he saw all the types of beer sprawling across the web, he then proceeded to search for 'China' and it produced no results. From there, he got the sweet idea for his first internet business called China Pages. He took his vision and turned it into a reality. 

"We can never win the world by talking."

3. Trust your instinct.

When the idea came to Ma to start Alibaba, he gathered 17 of his friends in his apartment and pitched the idea for hours. Only one friend thought it was a good idea. And the next day? He decided to officially start his company. Knowing that those 16 people couldn't fully see his vision (yet), he trusted in himself that what he'd thought of was a solid idea, and he just went for it. 

4. Don't have enemies.

Let's get real. There will always be people out there who we don't click with and who do not like us. Yet, when it comes to business and dealing with competitors, Ma has a strong philosophy that they shouldn't be viewed as enemies, but as people to learn from in life. 

“A real businessman or entrepreneur has no enemies. Once he understands this, then sky’s the limit”.

5. Say no to fear.

When he launched China Pages, he and his wife borrowed $2,000 to set up the business. When he was asked about his decision to pursue the company full throttle, he stated “I knew nothing about personal computers or e-mails. I had never touched a keyboard before that. That’s why I call myself a blind man riding on the back of a blind tiger“. He knew it was a risk, and I can imagine had an inkling of fear, yet he didn't let it overcome him. He was able to rise above the obstacle of fear, and push forward. 

6. Have ownership over your decisions and take responsibility. 

The story goes that Jack Ma needed a license from the Chinese government in order to begin an e-commerce website that had a payment system. Having learned that receiving a license would not be an easy process, he knew he had to pursue it -- otherwise proceeding with the business without one would be illegal. Upon discussion with a leadership panel, he told his staff, “Do it, now, immediately. If something’s wrong and the government isn’t happy about that (Alibaba), if one body has to go to prison, Jack Ma goes to prison”. 

Winston Churchill once famously exhorted an audience to “never give in”. There is another saying attributed to him about perseverance: “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm”. If those words are applicable to any being, it must be Jack Ma the Chairperson of Alibaba.

 

Is Jack Ma an inspirational compass? You Answer…….