September 11, 2009
Starting off the day I at going to make sure from this day forward I am going to successfully live. Yeah, I tried it before, but some days I relax and that’s cool cause I need to do that. Just for a moment though; too long and I’ll become complacent, replaced quick by the person that wants to have my place. No more complaining. I am going to live through the pain, mental, physical, emotional, and economical. With God I welcome any challenge that life presents. I will help myself help others help me. Life is a journey with many adventures along the way, some good, some bad, all needed.
As you are reading this, I imagine you are joining me on this journey. Willing or not, time goes on. September 11, 2001 changed the world forever. That day I learned that life is precious and should be valued. Do you remember what was going on that day? I was heading to class, running late as usual, stopped at my friends house and he didn’t have cable, so it was impossible to miss. I did not see the crash and crumble of the first tower, only the replay. Then I saw something on TV that looked like something out of the Matrix or a Schwarzenegger movie. Unbelievable. I stood there thinking this can’t be real. But it was. I pray for everyone associated with that horrific, yet life-appreciating day.
I started writing. I going to leave you with words of motivation as we focus on our goals and live life to the fullest. TODAY STARTS THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. When the sun rises and we open our eyes, it’s time to visualize our future. All we have is 24 HOURS A Day; 7 days a week. You are reading a book that is to aid you in reaching your dream. Please understand that you will not succeed if you do not recognize what you are passionate about. But we will definitely drill into the importance of passion a little later. In today’s world there are so many built in “things” that can sway you from reaching your goal. I’m not going to go into this with detail; you must look within yourself and determine what’s holding you back. In my case, procrastination and financial situations were roadblocks to reaching my dream. I always waited until the last minuteto do something. When I finished, the project was rushed and did not contain my top quality.
To beat procrastination, I started making weekly lists of the top things I needed to do to make my dreams come true. Each weekend, I write down 10 things I need to do within the next week to see my dreams come true. As I complete a task on the list, I strikethrough the item and move on to another task, until I finish all ten. If I do not finish the 10 tasks, I carry the remaining items over to the list for next week. This helps me stay organized and focus my attention on things that I need to do. I learned that trying to do 5 different things at one time, usually resulted in nothing getting done.
IMAGINE THAT
If you had a choice between halfway completing 100 tasks to help you reach a goal or fully completing 10 tasks,which do you believe will help you get their faster?
IMAGINE THAT
If you are the determined type, you’re probably thinking “Nothing can defer me from my Dream, I’m feeling a get-rich-or-die-trying attitude over here!” Good for you–no, great for you! It’s often the lack of believing in your own ability that causes a person to stay on the ground. Instead, we should be thinking about successfully rising up and soaring high where the eagles fly.
What makes a person successful? Getting to the next level, where success can be defined by the amount of people you help in your life’s journey or by the number of diamonds in your platinum chain. Maybe this is your chance to bring your entire family into a different economic class? Perhaps spiritual success is your goal and you want to secure your spot in Life. Even physical success may be on your agenda. Ultimately, success has the potential to be what you make of it. Do you dream to be better than you were before? Do you want more out of life than you are getting right now? Then press on. Do you feel like you are owed something? Let’s think about the word owed. I owe banks for the college loan that I took out to pay for my education. I owe credit card companies money because I went out and purchased clothes that are out of style now, shoes that only matched one outfit and on gas to go places that don’t mean anything to me now. I owe all these creditors because they gave me something. I have to pay them back with interest, and that’s affecting my flow of getting to where I want to go. Why am I owed, because of whom I am? Who am I? What have I donated and contributed to ask the world to give me a return with crazy interest? Think about it; if I worked 5 days a year and you worked 5 days a week, whom do you expect to get the promotion at the end of the year? If that makes sense, why does it seem people forget that when pursuing their dreams? In this instant society, we don’t always get to see the hard work that someone puts into realizing his or her dream. Think about how many years a student invests to receive a high school degree, approximately 12 years. After all those years of hard work, you receive a diploma that opens new doors for you.
IMAGINE THAT
If you invested 12 years of your time towards your goal, what do you think you will get. Hopefully, you don’t have to wait that long, but in case you do, make sure you love what you do and be prepared to pay for it in advance. I heard a rumor that Bill Gates only took six days off in six years to make his dream a reality. Now that’scommitment.
IMAGINE THAT
Nearly everything I have received in my adult life has been because of my efforts or lack there of. In writing this book, I decided long ago there were going to be many long hours. I might lose a couple of friends during the process as we choose our own path. Maybe it’s in the same direction as family, a job or just a pleasurable destination. With our choice we must recognize that there will be situations that are unique to the road that we are traveling on. So choose wisely, because you can’t back up on a oneway street. Someone with your same idea will gain ground on you because of your lack of effort. They will build up speed and roll through anything or anyone in their way. So ask yourself, where do you want to go? If you don’t know where you’re going, there’s a good chance that you will run out of gas before you get there, no matter the size of your tank.
One of the great things about life is that there is not another person that will ever go everywhere you have been. No one else can walk in your shoes or see through your eyes, that’s your design. Did you ever feel like things were going so bad that it couldn’t get any worst? Each time you’ve felt like that, you rose from those situations and it only made you stronger. Perhaps you are going through that right now; well at least you are taking steps to improve your life. It may be true that no one else will be able to see your dream. That is why it’s yours, so make it come true.
A funny thing about life is that there aren’t any referees to call the right play, there isn’t a multi-million-dollar coach there to tell you what play is going to work best for the situation, or a fortune cookie that is going to give you the address to success.
Use history to help you visualize your future. History repeats itself in the form of mistakes. If it is a success, it will be a one of a kind experience. How many times did Garrett Morgan fall short before he was able to build the stoplight? How many songs did Jay Z produce that never made it to the top of music lists? How many times did Arnold Schwarzenegger run for Governor? Well it only took Arnold one try, but look at his achievements before that election, blockbuster hit after hit. Successful people are able to visualize their dreams before they come into fruition. They were able to see the big picture and did not just focus on everything that’s happening in the current moment.
Visualize your desires because what you see is what you get. Create an “image board” that contains pictures and words of people, places and things that motivate your success. In creating your board, think to the extreme. This image board is just like your success; the results are only limited by your action. Let your unique vision be utilized and expressed. If you want to be a successful CEO, see yourself in that role. If it’s a new car you want, imagine yourself driving it and using all of the power switches/features. Smell the new leather interior. Be specific. Don’t just say I want this car; say I want the 2010 Black Lexus 300 with leather interior and heated seats.
Draw your dream house and include as many details that you can think of. “I want a 4 bedroom single family home with 2 ½ baths with a balcony, spiral staircase and 2 car garage. What color is the furniture? Always keep a notebook handy to document all things related to your successful future. Write down things that you want to change in your life. Don’t limit yourself; think of things that are outside of your daily environment. Vision is one of the most important parts in being a success. If you cannot see what you want, how are you going to get to your destination? Wouldn’t it be great if you could put SUCCESS in your GPS system and it gave you the directions? Turn by turn, wouldn’t that be great. What if it said 8,495,031 miles gets you there? If you drove your car 60 miles an hour it would take 141,583 hours to get there. That’s not including stopping for food, birthday parties, or TV time. That would take you nearly 16 years. Initially, you may think that is a long period of time and that may true, but sitting around waiting for success to arrive can take even longer.
