The mean AUM of the top 100 hedge funds is a little under
$13.9 billion. Seventeen of the 100 largest hedge funds have AUM of
more than $20 billion. About 75% of the of the top 100 hedge funds are
based in the United States
A study conducted by Preqin
reveals that the top 100 hedge funds manage about 61 percent of the
hedge fund industry’s total capital. Preqin says in its May edition of
Hedge Fund Spotlight that hedge funds currently have about $2.3 trillion
of assets under management, of that $1.4 trillion is managed by the top
100 hedge funds.
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are.
Forbes released its list of the most powerful celebrities. The top ten is dominated by women with Oprah making her fifth appearance atop the list. Among those missing this year are Adele, Britney Spears, Bethenny Frankel, and Johnny Depp.
Forbes' methodology
consists of evaluating social-networking power, money earned, and media
mentions, among numerous other factors between June 2012-2013.
Different this year is less of a focus on celebrities who
land magazine covers with the publication noting magazines today aren't
placing people they consider powerful on its covers.
These days, mobile phones have become the basic needs of the people.
You would hardly see a person who does not have a mobile phone in his
hand. And hence, the mobile phone companies are flourishing. In this
article, we will talk about the top 10 biggest mobile phone companies of
the world. The mobile phones produced by these companies are of high
quality and very reliable. Also, the after sales services provided by
these companies are very good.
Let us have a closer look at the top 10 mobile phone companies in the world. 10. HTC
With the Paris Hiltons and Kim Kardashians of the world so
omnipresent in today's popular culture, it's tough to remember that
success is possible without a rich dad and some nice connections.
Sure, the American dream isn't all it's cracked up to be, and rich people obviously have a nice head start,
but there are also the wonderful exceptions to the rules -- the actors,
CEOS, singers and average Joes who beat the odds and rose to the top on
their own terms. It's because of such inspirational stories that so
many Americans continue to strive for something more. Here are some of
the best ones ever:
Jim Carrey - Actor
All
his jokes aside, Jim Carrey has a dark past. The Canadian actor grew up
in poverty and at 12 years old was forced to get an after-school
factory job working eight hours per day. "My father lost his job when he
was 51 and that was the real 'wow', the kick in the guts. We lived in a
van for a while, and we worked all together as security guards and
janitors," Carrey once said of the experience. His 2003 film, "Bruce Almighty" grossed $484.6 million according to the Washington Times.
Who are the richest human beings ever? We've been researching this
article for the last week so get ready to have your mind blown by these
mega mega billionaires. The 25 people on this list are the wealthiest
human beings to ever walk the earth. We started off with roughly 50
people then finalized the top 25 after adjusting for inflation to
convert the fortunes into 2012 dollars. For example, the annual rate of
inflation change between 1913 and 2012 is 2199.6% so $100 million in
1913 would be equal to $2.299.63 billion in 2012 dollars. We also used
the most recent price for an once of gold which is roughly $1750 as of
October 17, 2012.
In addition to some familiar modern names like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett,
our list features older magnates like Vanderbilt and Carnegie. We also
included lesser known billionaires from history that you may have never
even heard of before. We guarantee the #1 person on this list will make
your jaw drop. Fun Facts About The Richest People Who Ever Lived:
1) These billionaires control a combined $4.317 trillion!
2) The richest people ever are all men. Sadly No women cracked the top 25.
3) 14 out of the 25 people are Americans.
4) Bill Gates is the richest American and the richest person still alive on this list.
5) Carlos Slim Helu, the current richest person in the world, did not even crack the top 20.
The 25 Richest People of All Time - inflation adjusted
Information Technology has
given the world some of the biggest companies and leaders that many
admire. Most of these companies have become such an integral part of our
routine that we cannot imagine a life without them.
Think of work
without Google or other search engines, it will surely be unimaginable
for most. Ditto is the case for smartphones.
To rank the best CEOs of such organisations, Harvard Business Review
has come up with a scorecard that takes into account the financial and
corporate social performance of CEOs and ranks them accordingly.
Here are top 10 best-performing CEOs in the world.
Eight years ago Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China ranked 32nd among the world's top 1,000 banks
by Tier-1 capital, which is mostly common stock and retained earnings,
according to The Economist.
Within less than a decade the
whole picture has changed. Notwithstanding China's recent financial
hiccups, the country now boasts four of the world's 10 biggest banks and
96 of the top 1,000, it says.
Let's take a look at 10 biggest banks in the world, according to recent figures released by The Banker.
Number of millionaires: 460,700 Number of multi-millionaires: 3,525 Number of billionaires: 12 Total population of the city: 13.1 million Global rank: 1
We saw a lot of remarkable planes at the Paris Air Show last month, but one new jet really stood out: the Gulfstream G650.
At $65 million, it's the biggest, fastest, and overall best private jet money can buy.
It also takes a lot of patience to get your hands on one — order now, and you'll get your G650 in 2017.
But once you're on board, you can fly around the planet faster and
higher than on any commercial jet, in a cabin flooded with natural light
and filled with air that is actually richer than what you breathe in
cheaper planes.
With the G650, Gulfstream "established a new market segment for the
whole industry," communications head Steve Cass said in an interview at
the Paris Air Show. And there won't be any real competitors until 2016/2017, when Bombardier's Global 7000/8000 is scheduled to go into service.
Until then,the G650 will remain the gold standard, and it's easy to see why.
The G650 is the largest purpose-built private jet on the market, and has the tallest, longest, and widest cabin in its class.
At its maximum takeoff weight, it can climb to
41,000 feet (above bad weather and crowded commercial jet routes) in
just 22 minutes.
With two Rolls-Royce engines, the plane has a
top speed of Mach .925 — nearly the speed of sound, and much faster than
commercial jets.
Big windows in the cockpit allow the pilots to see the tips of the plane's wings, helpful for navigating on the ground.
1 Beatles - 1
Apple - 2000 - 31 million copies
2 Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Blue Note - 2002 - 22 million copies
3 Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Aftermath / Interscope - 2000 - 22 million copies
4 Eminem - The Eminem Show
Aftermath / Interscope - 2002 - 20 million copies
Tokyo,
a bustling city of Japan with over 13 million inhabitants has some of
the most remarkable architecture in the world. Its young skyline is one
of the most beautiful in the world and many photographers go to the city
just to take pictures of its skyline. But you don’t have to go to Tokyo
to get a taste of its beautiful skyline; we’ve compiled a gallery
consisting of 20 gorgeous pictures of the Tokyo skyline for your viewing
pleasure. Enjoy!
The orange tower is the Tokyo Tower, a communication and observation
tower that reminds visitors of the Eiffel Tower. Since its opening in
1958, over 150 million people have visited the tower.
Every city on the planet has something to offer, but it certainly
doesn’t hurt to have lots and lots of money on hand. Take these cities,
the nine richest in the world according to their GDPs. What’s a GDP? It
stands for “Gross Domestic Product,” the sum total of the value of all
the goods and service produced within the city.
Our list spans several continents, time zones, and (of course)
countries, and there’s probably at least one or two you haven’t visited
before. Check them out before planning your next globe-spanning world
tour, and hit the richest countries first – as a general rule, they cost
the most to visit.
A new report by Moody’s Investor Services claims
that if Apple doesn’t change its current policies regarding stock
buyback and dividends it may end up with a cash reserve of $170 billion
by the end of current year.
Assertive
men and women shape the world. Actions are rewarded. Thoughts and
potential without assertive action lead to a heart filled with regret,
and a life half-heartedly lived.
If you’re going to succeed in life, you need to be assertive. Whether
success, to you, means happiness, financial freedom, or billions in
assets, if you’re not assertive, you’ll not only leave a lot of your
potential unfulfilled, but you’ll fail to take the risks needed in life
to accomplish whatever it is that you want to accomplish.
Luckily, assertive is a learned action. It’s learned through
practice. If you want to become more assertive, taking control of your
life in the process, follow the steps in this article and claim the
greatness that is yours for the taking.
Have you ever missed out on a great opportunity because you played it safe?
Think about it. Look back over your life and think about the things
you could have done. The opportunities you could have taken, the people
you could have befriended, the experiences you could have savoured.
But back then those things seemed scary and risky. Wanting to play it
safe, you elected to stay in your comfort zone at the time.
From where you sit now, you can easily and clearly see that you
should have acted upon some of those things. In retrospect, those things
were scary or risky at all – just different and new. They were, in all
actuality, blessings that you walked away from.
It’s a sobering and outright sad feeling, isn’t it?
Playing It Safe Isn’t About Safety At All
You’re not the only one who has done that. Most of us have a tendency to play it safe.
Some of us equate playing it safe with being sensible and prudent. But most of the time, it’s something else all together.
The real problem isn’t safety or risk at all. The real problem is fear.
As humans, we are hard-wired to allow fear
into our decision making. Most of us simply don’t understand fear,
where it comes from, or the role it plays in what we choose to do or not
do.
By understanding it more, you can prevent fear from clouding your decision-making process.
It’s Not Brain Surgery
What if I were to tell you that there was a little tiny part of your
brain that pre-wires you to avoid risk and play it safe? Well, there
actually is.
It’s called the amygdala and it plays a big part in what motivates us
to behave the way we do. One of the functions of the amygdala is
processing emotions – particularly those associated with survival. Like
the emotion of fear for instance.
When you are in a familiar situation that you know to be safe, your
amygdala is happy and secure – and so are you. But when something new or
seemingly risky comes along, the amygdala kicks into high gear. It lets
you know, “Hey, we’re outside our comfort zone here. Retreat! Withdrawal!”
Sometimes that reaction can save your life. Other times it can hold you back from a more fulfilling life.
The trick is learning to know the difference between valid fears of
very real danger to our safety – and invalid fears of something new.
Mauled or Embarrassed – The Choice Is Yours
There are basically two types of decisions we make when we perceive
danger or consequences. The first type, I call safe decisions – which
are survival based. They keep us alive and assure we have adequate food
and shelter. The second type I refer to as fearful decisions – which
tend to keep us from taking less life-threatening risks and prevent us from spreading our wings.
Let’s take a look at some examples of both.
Safe decisions come from a very real fear of severe consequences to
your health, life, or quality of life – while fearful decisions come
from someplace completely different.
Look at that right hand column. If any one of those scenarios goes as
badly as it’s capable of going, what happens? Does anyone die, go to
prison, or lose their shelter? No. As it turns out the things we fear
most seem to be much more about our feelings than they are about very serious consequences.
“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.” – Mark Twain
Our Five Most Common Baseless Fears
In my professional life, I’ve noticed time and time again that there
are five major feelings-based fears that people let trip them up on
their path to a better life. You’ll notice that they’re all very closely
related.
1.Fear of failure
Have you ever passed on an opportunity to try something truly
exciting because you were afraid you might fail at it? I have. The
ironic thing is the fact that if you don’t try, you’ve already failed.
So there’s really not much to lose. And yet we talk ourselves into
believing that by not risking failure we’re somehow better off.
2.Fear of rejection
If you pitched your idea to the boss, or asked out that cute girl you
like, or submitted your novel to a publisher, you might get rejected –
and rejection hurts. So instead of feeling that emotion, we limit our
potential and call it “playing it safe.”
3.Fear of inadequacy
This one usually manifests itself as, “I’m not good enough to do this
thing I really want to do.” While this fear doesn’t necessarily
originate from survival instinct, it’s no less powerful than any of the
others.
4.Fear of unworthiness
Closely related to the fear of inadequacy, the self-talk associated
with the fear of unworthiness sounds like, “Who am I to think that I
might achieve that thing?” It comes from a place of humility, which
normally is a good thing. But it’s also self-deprecating and
destructive.
5.Fear of further commitment
This one should sound familiar, because we’re all guilty of it from
time to time. We don’t always pass on opportunity because we’re afraid
that we’re not good enough. Sometimes we know darn well that we’re good
enough, but the ramifications of succeeding and the additional
commitment needed after success is achieved scare the bejesus out of us.
Fighting Emotion With Logic
So now that you know that these fears are normal and that you’re not
the only one who struggles with them, the question becomes: What can you
do to get over them?
I find that instead of fighting raw innate human fears head-to-head, it’s best to use logic to take their power away.
When you find yourself letting any of those fears stop you from bettering yourself, run yourself through these three questions:
1.What is the worst thing that could happen if I ignored my fear and did this?
Take out a pen and paper and list all the potential (realistic)
consequences. Would there be a loss of life, health, or livelihood? Or
is the real risk just having to temporarily deal with an uncomfortable
emotion like rejection or embarrassment?
2.What is the absolute best thing that could happen if I ignored my fear and went for it?
List all these, too. How might your life be different? What things
might you learn? Who might you have the opportunity to connect with?
3.Are the possible consequences under #1 worth the potential benefits under #2?
Take a good look at both lists and give this question some thought.
If the consequence of a particular action is death and the upside is a
10% pay raise – then your choice is simple. Avoid death.
But if the consequence of your action is rejection and the potential benefit is your dream career, swallow your fear and go for it.
Logic Tames The Beast
I know this seems incredibly simple – and it is. It’s simple and
obvious because we just took an emotional issue and made it logical.
When you take the emotional power away from your fear and look at the situation as data – good decisions become much easier.
Do me a favor. The next time you find yourself “playing it safe”, run
yourself through this quick exercise. Reduce the emotional to the
logical. Then come back and let us know how things turned out.
Time to speak up!
Share a time when you felt fearful but took the leap anyway. Or share a tip about taking calculated risks.
An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business
students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students
will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered
overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz” and he pulled out a
one-gallon, mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also
produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one
at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone in the class yelled, “Yes.”
The time management expert replied, “Really?”
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped
some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work
themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the
group once more, “Is the jar full?”
By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket
of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of
the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the
question, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.” Then he grabbed a
pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the
brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this
illustration?”
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how
full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some
more things in it!”
“No,” the speaker replied, that’s not the point. The truth this
illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first,
you’ll never get them in at all.
What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life — time with your loved ones, your
faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or
mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll
never get them in at all.” So, tonight,
or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask
yourself this question: What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life? Then, put
those in your jar first.
Warren Buffett served as a mentor to young professionals yesterday during an "Office Hours" session with Levo League, a networking and career advice site.
During the live stream video chat, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO told women to "stop holding yourself back" and shared personal stories — including how he overcame his fear of public speaking — to highlight universal career lessons.
Key takeaways from Buffett's interview below:
1. Find your passion.
"Never give up searching for the job that you’re
passionate about," he says. "Try to find the job you’d have if you were
independently rich. ... Forget about the pay. When you’re associating
with the people that you love, doing what you love, it doesn’t get any
better than that.”
2. Be careful who you look up to.
"If you tell me who your heroes are, I'll tell you
how you're gonna turn out. It's really important in life to have the
right heroes. I've been very lucky in that I've probably had a dozen or
so major heroes. And none of them have ever let me down. You want to
hang around with people that are better than you are. You will move in
the direction of the crowd that you associate with."
3. Learn how to communicate effectively.
While he was getting his MBA from Columbia University,
Buffett said that he was "terrified of public speaking," and signed up
for a Dale Carnegie class, but changed his mind at the last minute.
After graduating, Buffett saw the ad for the course again and decided to
give it a second chance.
"I
became associated with the 30 other people in the class. We couldn't
stand up in front of a group and say our own name. I mean it was — we
were — it was pathetic. But that class changed my life in a big way."
4. Develop healthy habits by studying people.
"Pick the person that has the right habits, that is
cheerful, generous, gives other people credit for what they do. Look at
all of the qualities that you admire in other people ... and say to
yourself, 'Which of those qualities can't I have myself?' Because you
determine whether you have them. And the truth is you can have all of
them."
5. Learn how to say "no."
"You won't keep control of your time, unless you can say 'no.' You can't let other people set your agenda in life."
6. Don't work for someone who won't pay you fairly.
"I do very little negotiation with people. And they do little with me, in terms of it ... if
I was a woman and I thought I was getting paid considerably less than
somebody else that was equal coming in, that would bother me a lot. I
probably wouldn't even want to work there. I mean, [if] somebody's
gonna be unfair with you, in salary, they're probably being unfair with
you in a hundred other ways."
7. Become involved with growing businesses.
"I mean, you want to get on a train that's going to go 90 miles an
hour and not one that's gonna go 30 miles an hour and you're gonna try
to figure out how to, you know, push it along a little faster. So it
really does make a huge difference. And there are some businesses that
inherently [have] far more opportunities than others."
8. Learn everything you can about your industry.
Buffett says he reads six hours every day because he
believes that growing your intellectual prospective will also help you
critically solve future problems that may arise.
"I knew a lot about what I did when I was 20. I had read a lot, and I aspired to learn everything I could about the subject. "
9. Young women should seek male mentors.
Buffett says it's important for women to have male
mentors, because the majority of today's leaders in the workplace are
still men.
“These [mentoring] relationships all just evolve. I never
set out to become a mentor ... It’s amazing ... how the person that
really wants to do a terrific job just jumps out. There aren’t that
many. You will be perceived as exceptional and as a worthy person for a
superior to spend some extra time with if you just do something extra
all the time. It seems elementary, but it’s true.”
At the end of his office hour, Buffett told everyone that even if they fail along the way, "the world isn't over," because "you are healthy, and bright and have decades ahead of you."
You'd like to be successful in everything you do, of course. Here's how to make it happen.
Getting what you want in your career and in life isn't as difficult as it may seem. I mean it.
I've been very fortunate, both professionally and personally, and
along the way learned seven key ways to help make it happen. In essence,
I work to put others first, and to be more likeable, to end up with
what I want in everything I do.
In the meantime, here's a sneak peak at how you can be successful in everything you do, too:
Listen First and Never Stop Listening
Listening
is the single-most important skill in professional and personal
relationships. Ernest Hemingway said, "When people talk, listen
completely. Most people never listen." It's sad, but true: Most people
have their own agenda and are too busy talking (or waiting to talk) to
listen to you. So here's the paradox: If you, unlike most people, can
truly listen with empathy, then people will like you--and eventually
help you get what you want.
Help Others
It's perhaps another paradox, but it
works: When you want something from someone, instead of asking for it,
help that person get what he or she wants. If you don't know what he or
she wants, then simply ask, "How can I help you?" Since
so many people are out to only help themselves, when you genuinely seek
to help others succeed in their goals and dreams, you'll stand out. And
those people you genuinely help will in turn fight to help you succeed
and give you everything you want. Help others first, without expecting
anything--and the returns will be enormous.
Be Yourself: Authentic, Transparent, and Vulnerable
Oprah
Winfrey stated, "I had no idea that being your authentic self could
make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot
earlier." Professionals, especially of an older generation, tend to have
a tough time with authenticity and transparency in the workplace.
People, especially men, tend to have a tough time being vulnerable,
especially with people they don't know well. Many also aren't sure how
much to reveal online, or at work, or to people they've just met. But,
hard as these choices may be, authenticity, transparency, and
vulnerability all breed trust. And when people trust you, they'll do
anything for you. Open up to people, and take a chance, and you'll be
rewarded.
Tell, Don't Sell
As important as it is to listen
and help others, in order to get what you want, eventually you've got to
tell people what that is. But nobody wants to be sold to. So whether
it's a product, service, idea, or yourself that you're trying to
sell--give up on "selling." Instead, focus on telling a great
story--captivating your audience, bringing to life what the future will
bring, and painting a great picture of what will happen if you get what
you want. When you get good at storytelling, people want to be part of
that story--and they want to help others become part of that story too.
Inject Passion Into Every Interaction
Passion is
contagious, but so is lack of passion. If you're not passionate about
what you're talking about, why should someone else care? If you want
something, you must be more excited and dedicated to it than anyone
else. If you're not passionate about it, maybe it's not really that
important to you. Not everyone is super high-energy and extraverted,
though these qualities can help convey passion in many cases. Passion and energy alone put me through college with my first job.
But ultimately, you don't need to be bouncing off the walls to convince
someone of something. You just need to reveal your true passion, in the
way that's genuine for you.
Surprise and Delight Others
You know how when you
walk into a casino, there's always a slot machine going off somewhere
in the background, telling the world that another person just hit a
jackpot? This is what social psychologists call variable rewards.
You don't know when you're going to win; you just have enough positive
experiences that you feel excited, even when you're not winning. When
you surprise and delight others, not only do you make them happy--you
remind them that you're the type of person who might surprise and
delight them soon again. Some classic examples: bringing home flowers to
your wife for "no reason"; telling a customer his order will arrive
next week but then overnighting it; and now, tweeting to a random
prospect that she's won a free prize. If you go out of your way to make
an experience with you special, especially when people least expect it,
you will get huge results over time.
Use The Four Most Important Words in Business and Life Say
"I'm sorry" when you make a mistake and "thank you" as much as you can.
These words are so simple, yet so often people overlook the importance
of saying them. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone knows that. It's
not when you make a mistake that's a problem; it's when you make a
mistake and are too proud or embarrassed to be vulnerable, fess up, and
apologize. Just say "I'm sorry" and let another person forgive you, so
you can move on, and eventually get what you want. Conversely, sincere
gratitude to people is a powerful emotion to convey, and opens up many
doors. I send three hand-written thank you cards every
morning. I send them to staff, customers, vendors, the media, and
friends, and not only do I find people love receiving cards, but writing
"thank you" puts me in an incredible mindset to start my day. This is
not just about sending cards, though. It's about having a deep
appreciation for and wonder about the people and world around you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I'd love to know
what you think of these seven ideas. Let me know in the comments
section below.
Aren't you somethin' to admire?
'Cause your shine is somethin' like a mirror
And I can't help but notice
You reflect in this heart of mine
If you ever feel alone and
The glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I'm always
Parallel on the other side
'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go
Just put your hand on the glass
I'll be tryin' to pull you through
You just gotta be strong
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin' back here to you once I figured it out
You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn't get any bigger
With anyone else beside of me
And now it's clear as this promise
That we're making two reflections into one
'Cause it's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
Aren't you somethin', an original
'Cause it doesn't seem merely a sample
And I can't help but stare, 'cause
I see truth somewhere in your eyes
I can't ever change without you
You reflect me, I love that about you
And if I could, I would look at us all the time
'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go
Just put your hand on the glass
I'll be tryin' to pull you through
You just gotta be strong
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin' back here to you once I figured it out
You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn't get any bigger
With anyone else beside of me
And now it's clear as this promise
That we're making two reflections into one
'Cause it's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
Yesterday is history
Tomorrow's a mystery
I can see you lookin' back at me
Keep your eyes on me
Baby, keep your eyes on me
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now (please show me, baby)
I'll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin' back here to you once I figured it out
You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn't get any bigger
With anyone else beside of me
And now it's clear as this promise
That we're making two reflections into one
'Cause it's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
You are, you are the love of my life [x10]
Now you're the inspiration for this precious song
And I just wanna see your face light up since you put me on
So now I say goodbye to the old me, it's already gone
And I can't wait wait wait wait wait to get you home
Just to let you know, you are
You are, you are the love of my life [x8]
Girl you're my reflection, all I see is you
My reflection, in everything I do
You're my reflection and all I see is you
My reflection, in everything I do
Hide me now, Under your wings, Cover meWithin your mighty hand When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm, Father you are king over the flood, I will be still and know you are God Find rest my soul, In Christ aloneKnow his power In quietness and trust.
REMIND GOD OF HIS PROMISES ISAIAH 62:6 • God, you said, I am blessed and cannot be cursed. (Numbers 23:20) • God, you said, with a long life You would satisfy me (Psalm 91:16) • God, you said, when the enemy comes at me, You would defeat
them and they would flee seven different ways. ( Deuteronomy 28:25) • God, you said, Your favor is not for a season, but for a lifetime. (Psalm 30:5)
PUT GOD IN REMEMBRANCE • God, you said, You would supply all my needs, according to your riches. (Philippians 4:19) • God ,you said, You are the Jehovah Jireh, My Lord , my Provider. (Psalms 23) • God, you said, You would restore health unto me, heal me of my wounds (Jeremiah 30:17) • God, you said, you will be my vindicator, You would fight my battles.
(2 Chronicles 20:17)• God, you said, I would live and not die. (Psalm 118:17) • God, you said, what’s impossible with men is possible with God (Matthew 19:26) • God, you said, You would open the windows of Heaven (Malachi 3:10) • God, you said, whatever I touch I will succeed (Proverb 3:6) • God, you said, You would prosper me even in a desert (2Chronicles 20:20) • God, you said, You said a seed of the Righteous is blessed (Genesis 17:18) • God, you said, my children will be mighty in the land (Psalm 112:2) • God, you said, You would give me beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3) • God, you said, You would pay me back double for the unfair things that have happened to me (Isaiah 40 ) • God, you said, my end would be better than my beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8) • God, you said, all things are going to work together for my good (Romans 8:28) • God, you said, the moment I pray the battle will turn (Daniel 9:23) • God, you said, I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
REMIND GOD OF HIS PROMISES • God, you said, You hold victory in store for the upright (Proverb 2:6) • God, you said, You go before me and make my crooked places straight (Isaiah 45:2) • God, you said, the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter (Proverbs :18) • God, you said, the glory of the latter house will be greater than the former house (Haggai 2:9) • God, you said, no weapon formed against me will prosper (Isaiah 54:17) • God, you said, the strength of the wicked is being cut off , but the power of the Godly is being increased (Psalm 75:10) • God, you said, you would do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond in my life (Ephesians 3:20) • God, you said, I will make your name great (Genesis 12:2) • God, you said, You would restore what the enemy has stolen (Joel 2:25) • God, you said, come close to You and You will come close to me (James 4:8) • God, you said, I will inherit a double portion of your land and everlasting joy will be mine. (Isaiah 61:7) • God, you said, if I walk with the wise I grow wise. (Proverbs 13:20) • God, you said, You will give me the desires and secret petitions of my heart (pslam 37:4) • God, you said, you will give me my desires I ask for. (John 15:7) • God, you said, if I give freely I will gain even more. (Proverbs 11:24) • God, you said, You know the plans you have for me, plans to prosper, not to be harmed and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) • God, you said, You are making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19) • God, you said, call on You in my day of trouble, and You will deliver me, and shall honor and glorify me. (Psalm 50:15) • God, you said, You would bring me to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:12) • God, you said,You said this is the day you will give me victory. (Judges 4:14) • God, you said, You are the one who gives me power to acquire wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18) • God, you said, if I decree a thing, it will be established for me. (Job 22:28) • God, you said, what a man sows so shall he reap. (Galatians 6:7) • God, you said, You will bless me and You will multiply me (Hebrews 6:14) • God, you said, You would make my cup runneth over. (Psalms 23:5) • God, you said, You are the source of all good. (Psalms 84:11)
If you’ve found yourself putting off important tasks over and over
again, you’re not alone. In fact, many people procrastinate to some
degree – but some are so chronically affected by procrastination that
it stops them fulfilling their potential and disrupts their careers.
The key to controlling this destructive habit is to recognize when
you start procrastinating, understand why it happens (even to the best
of us), and take active steps to manage your time and outcomes better.
What is Procrastination?
In a nutshell, you procrastinate when you put off things that you
should be focusing on right now, usually in favor of doing something
that is more enjoyable or that you’re more comfortable doing.
According to psychologist Professor Clarry Lay, a prominent writer
on procrastination, procrastination occurs when there’s “a temporal gap
between intended behavior and enacted behavior.” That is,
procrastination is occurring when there’s a significant time period
between when people intend to do a job, and when they actually do it.
How to Overcome Procrastination
Follow these steps to deal with and control procrastination:
Step 1: Recognize That You're Procrastinating
If you're honest with yourself, you probably know when you're procrastinating. But to be sure, take our Are You a Procrastinator? self test.
Here are some useful indicators that will help you know when you’re procrastinating:
Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List.
Reading e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them.
Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee.
Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it's important.
Regularly saying "Yes" to unimportant tasks that others ask you to
do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the
important tasks already on your list.
Waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle the important task at hand.
Notes: Putting off an unimportant task isn't necessarily procrastination: it may just be good prioritization!
Putting off an important task for a short period because you’re
feeling particularly tired isn’t necessarily procrastination either, so
long as you don’t delay starting the task for more than a day or so,
and this is only an occasional event. If you have a genuine good reason
for rescheduling something important, then you’re not necessarily
procrastinating. But if you’re simply “making an excuse” because you
really just don’t want to do it, then you are.
In his 1986 article “At Last, My Research Article on Procrastination”, published in the Journal of Research on Personality,
Lay noted that procrastinatory behavior is independent of need for
achievement, energy, or self-esteem. In other words, you may be a
procrastinator even if you’re confident in your own abilities,
energetic, and enjoy achieving things.
Step 2: Work Out WHY You're Procrastinating
Why you procrastinate can depend on both you and the task. But it's
important to understand which of the two is relevant in a given
situation, so that you can select the best approach for overcoming your
reluctance to get going.
One reason for procrastination is that people find a particular job unpleasant,
and try to avoid it because of that. Most jobs have unpleasant or
boring aspects to them, and often the best way of dealing with these is
to get them over and done with quickly, so that you can focus on the
more enjoyable aspects of the job.
Another cause is that people are disorganized. Organized people manage to fend of the temptation to procrastinate, because they will have things like prioritized to-do lists and schedules
which emphasize how important the piece work is, and identify
precisely when it’s due. They’ll also have planned how long a task will
take to do, and will have worked back from that point to identify when
they need to get started in order to avoid it being late. Organized
people are also better placed to avoid procrastination, because they
know how to break the work down into manageable “next steps”.
Even if you’re organized, you can feel overwhelmed by the task.
You may doubt that you have the skills or resources you think you
need, so you seek comfort in doing tasks you know you're capable of
completing. Unfortunately, the big task isn't going to go away – truly
important tasks rarely do. You may also fear success as much as
failure. For example, you may think that success will lead to you being
swamped with more requests to do this type of task, or that you’ll be
pushed to take on things that you feel are beyond you.
Surprisingly, perfectionists are often
procrastinators, as they can tend to think "I don't have the right
skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won't do it at all."
One final major cause of procrastination is having underdeveloped decision-making skills. If you simply can’t decide what to do, you’re likely to put off taking action in case you do the wrong thing.
Step 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies
Procrastination is a habit – a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior.
That means that you won’t just break it overnight. Habits only stop
being habits when you have persistently stopped
practising them, so use as many approaches as possible to maximize
your chances of beating procrastination. Some tips will work better for
some people than for others, and for some tasks than others. And,
sometimes, you may simply need to try a fresh approach to beat the
“procrastination peril”!
These general tips will help motivate you to get moving:
Make up your own rewards. For example, promise yourself a piece of
tasty flapjack at lunchtime if you've completed a certain task. And
make sure you notice how good it feels to finish things!
Ask someone else to check up on you. Peer pressure works! This is
the principle behind slimming and other self-help groups, and it is
widely recognized as a highly effective approach.
Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task.
Work out the cost of your time to your employer. As your employers are paying you to do the things that they
think are important, you're not delivering value for money if you're
not doing those things. Shame yourself into getting going!
If you're procrastinating because you're disorganized, here's how to get organized!
Keep a To-Do list so that you can’t “conveniently” forget about unpleasant or overwhelming tasks.
Use an Urgent/Important Matrix
to help prioritize your to-do list so that you can’t try to kid
yourself that it would be acceptable to put off doing something on the
grounds that it’s unimportant, or that you have many urgent things
which ought to be done first when, in reality, you’re procrastinating.
Become a master of scheduling and project planning, so that you know when to start those all-important projects.
Set yourself time-bound goals: that way, you’ll have no time for procrastination!
Focus on one task at a time.
If you're putting off starting a project because you find it overwhelming, you need to take a different approach. Here are some tips:
Break the project into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks. You may find it helpful to create an action plan.
Start with some quick, small tasks if you can, even if these aren't
the logical first actions. You'll feel that you're achieving things,
and so perhaps the whole project won't be so overwhelming after all.
If you’re procrastinating because you find the task unpleasant:
Many procrastinators overestimate the unpleasantness of a task. So
give it a try! You may find that it’s not as bad as you thought!
Hold the unpleasant consequences of not doing the work at the front of your mind.
Reward yourself for doing the task.
Finally, if you’re procrastinating because you can’t decide what action to take, and are putting off making a decision because you’re nervous about making the wrong choice, see our decision-making section. This teaches a range of powerful and effective decision-making techniques.
Remember: the longer you can spend without procrastinating, the
greater your chances of breaking this destructive habit for good!
We all have dreams and goals that God has placed in our hearts,
things we’re believing for, situations we’re praying will turn around.
These promises start off like seeds. They don’t come to pass overnight.
There’s always a period of waiting involved. From the time we pray till
the time we see it come to fulfillment, that’s called the trial of our
faith. This is when many people get discouraged and give up. They start
believing the negative thoughts, “It’s never going to happen. It’s taken
too long.” Now, that seed is lying there dormant, but it’s still alive.
It still has potential. You have to do your part and start watering the
seed. The way you water it is by thanking God in advance and declaring
His Word. You can’t wait until you receive the promise. You have to
thank God that the answer is on the way!
Today, no matter what
you are facing, know that God is greater than all of it. He has the
answer and is working for your good behind the scenes. All through the
day say, “Father, thank You that whatever I touch prospers and succeeds.
Thank You that Your favor surrounds me like a shield.” Thank God in
advance, water those seeds of faith, and take hold of every promise He
has for you!
Many people feel as if they're adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don't seem to get anywhere worthwhile.
A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven't spent
enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven't set
themselves formal goals. After all, would you set out on a major journey
with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!
Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal
future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future
into reality.
The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in
life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you
have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the
distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.
Why Set Goals?
Goal setting is used by top-level athletes, successful
business-people and achievers in all fields. Setting goals gives you
long-term vision and short-term motivation.
It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize
your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your
life.
By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take
pride in the achievement of those goals, and you'll see forward progress
in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. You will
also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you've set.
Starting to Set Personal Goals
You set your goals on a number of levels:
First you create your "big picture" of what you want to do with
your life (or over, say, the next 10 years), and identify the
large-scale goals that you want to achieve.
Then, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit to reach your lifetime goals.
Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals.
This is why we start the process of goal setting by looking at your
lifetime goals. Then, we work down to the things that you can do in,
say, the next five years, then next year, next month, next week, and
today, to start moving towards them.
Step 1: Setting Lifetime Goals
The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want
to achieve in your lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant
age in the future). Setting lifetime goals gives you the overall
perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making.
To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your
life, try to set goals in some of the following categories (or in other
categories of your own, where these are important to you):
Career - What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve?
Financial - How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your career goals?
Education - Is there any knowledge you want to
acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to have
in order to achieve other goals?
Family - Do you want to be a parent? If so, how
are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a
partner or by members of your extended family?
Artistic - Do you want to achieve any artistic goals?
Attitude - Is any part of your mindset holding
you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you?
(If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the
problem.)
Physical - Are there any athletic goals that you
want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What
steps are you going to take to achieve this?
Pleasure - How do you want to enjoy yourself? (You should ensure that some of your life is for you!)
Public Service - Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?
Spend some time brainstorming
these things, and then select one or more goals in each category that
best reflect what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that
you have a small number of really significant goals that you can focus
on.
As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones
that you genuinely want to achieve, not ones that your parents, family,
or employers might want. (If you have a partner, you probably want to
consider what he or she wants - however, make sure that you also remain
true to yourself!)
Step 2: Setting Smaller Goals
Once you have set your lifetime goals, set a five-year plan of
smaller goals that you need to complete if you are to reach your
lifetime plan.
Then create a one-year plan, six-month plan, and a one-month plan of
progressively smaller goals that you should reach to achieve your
lifetime goals. Each of these should be based on the previous plan.
Then create a daily To-Do List of things that you should do today to work towards your lifetime goals.
At an early stage, your smaller goals might be to read books and
gather information on the achievement of your higher level goals. This
will help you to improve the quality and realism of your goal setting.
Finally review your plans, and make sure that they fit the way in which you want to live your life.
Staying on Course
Once you've decided on your first set of goals, keep the process
going by reviewing and updating your To-Do List on a daily basis.
Periodically review the longer term plans, and modify them to reflect
your changing priorities and experience. (A good way of doing this is
to schedule regular, repeating reviews using a computer-based diary.)
SMART Goals
A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART
mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which we've
included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for:
S - Specific (or Significant).
M - Measurable (or Meaningful).
A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
R - Relevant (or Rewarding).
T - Time-bound (or Trackable).
For example, instead of having "To sail around the world" as a goal,
it's more powerful to say "To have completed my trip around the world by
December 31, 2015." Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of
preparation has been completed beforehand!
Further Goal Setting Tips
The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective, achievable goals:
State each goal as a positive statement - Express your goals positively – "Execute this technique well" is a much better goal than "Don't make this stupid mistake."
Be precise: Set precise goals, putting in dates,
times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this,
you'll know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take
complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
Set priorities - When you have several goals,
give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by
having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most
important ones.
Write goals down - This crystallizes them and gives them more force.
Keep operational goals small - Keep the
low-level goals that you're working towards small and achievable. If a
goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress
towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities
for reward.
Set performance goals, not outcome goals - You
should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as
possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal goal
for reasons beyond your control!
In business, these reasons could be bad business
environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, they
could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck.
If you base your goals on personal performance,
then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals, and draw
satisfaction from them.
Set realistic goals - It's important to set goals
that you can achieve. All sorts of people (for example, employers,
parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will
often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions.
It's also possible to set goals that are too
difficult because you might not appreciate either the obstacles in the
way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a
particular level of performance.
Achieving Goals
When you've achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction
of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and
observe the progress that you've made towards other goals.
If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence you deserve.
With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:
If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goal harder.
If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goal a little easier.
If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.
If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this.
Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting. Remember too that
your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect
growth in your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any
attraction any longer, consider letting them go.
Goal Setting Example
For her New Year's Resolution, Susan has decided to think about what she really wants to do with her life.
Her lifetime goals are as follows:
Career - "To be managing editor of the magazine that I work for."
Artistic - "To keep working on my illustration skills. Ultimately I want to have my own show in our downtown gallery."
Physical - "To run a marathon."
Now that Susan has listed her lifetime goals, she then breaks down each one into smaller, more manageable goals.
Let's take a closer look at how she might break down her lifetime career goal - becoming managing editor of her magazine:
Five-year goal: "Become deputy editor."
One-year goal: "Volunteer for projects that the current Managing Editor is heading up."
Six-month goal: "Go back to school and finish my journalism degree."
One-month goal: "Talk to the current managing editor to determine what skills are needed to do the job."
One-week goal: "Book the meeting with the Managing Editor."
As you can see from this example, breaking big goals down into
smaller, more manageable goals makes it far easier to see how the goal
will get accomplished.
Key Points
Goal setting is an important method of:
Deciding what you want to achieve in your life.
Separating what's important from what's irrelevant, or a distraction.
Motivating yourself.
Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.
Set your lifetime goals first. Then, set a five-year plan of smaller
goals that you need to complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan.
Keep the process going by regularly reviewing and updating your goals.
And remember to take time to enjoy the satisfaction of achieving your
goals when you do so.
If you don't already set goals, do so,
starting now. As you make this technique part of your life, you'll find
your career accelerating, and you'll wonder how you did without it!
Self-confidence is a skill. You can build confidence by practicing what
you want to get better at doing. Public speaking, playing a sport, or
writing a book all requiring practice to get better and build your
confidence. This is one technique to gaining self-esteem. Here, college
soccer coach Dr. Ivan Joseph shares this skill and others as he weaves
pearls of wisdom on how to improve your confidence.
Life
can be very demanding and the things you have to deal with on a daily
basis can have a huge impact on your energy levels and the achievement of your success.
For example, not having enough time to focus on the important aspects
of your life and lack of progress towards meaningful goals and
overwhelm.
Each of these situations drains your reserves. Once you experience
powerlessness, your brain “bookmarks” it and it is no surprise that it
reappears again. To re-enforce this, you add convenient stories, such
as, “I haven’t had the breaks”, or, “The times are just getting worse.”
What motivates you?
Power needs to come from within you, however, it is important to
understand that you are responsible for your own power alone. So, what gets you up in the morning and drives you every day?
This should be a question you ask yourself daily. What gives you the
desire to do whatever it takes to succeed? Is it your drive for
connection with others, growth as an individual, contribution, or how
you will feel when you achieve your goals? It is important for all of us
to know this so that we can approach our day with the total focus
required for success.
Staying driven can be a challenge — your drive can be attacked by
negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Everyone faces doubt at
some stage in their lives however, what separates the average performer
from the highly successful is your ability to keep moving forward. Take a
moment to imagine the single biggest thing that motivates you
to succeed. If you want to be your own boss, win a fitness competition,
start a charitable cause, write a book – what is the biggest driver of
those desires?
Is it money? Status? Fame?
Do you want more time with your family?
What about security?
Do you love doing something so much that being able to do it for a living drives you?
Do you need the autonomy of working for yourself?
Now that you have an insight into what drives you, it is important to have inspiring goals for success
that also allow for balance in your life. Goal setting is about
creating new possibilities in your life, to have a life filled with
meaning and purpose and having goals that you will be excited and
passionate about leading to a new you. For example, start your new
business by July 2013, or writing your new book on success by December
2013.
What is your plan for success?
It is all very well to have goals, however, how focused are you on
achieving your outcomes? As individuals we carry out many roles, for
example parent, wife/husband or manager and you we need to ensure you
have balance in each of these areas as well as look after yourselves and
spend time with your family and friends. We live in a fast paced world,
very much like an express train and what you must decide is when you
need to get off that train and spend time on important things, for
example, time for reflection, enjoying an amazing sunset etc. This all
becomes a balance of urgent versus important, understanding how you feel
about constantly being in urgent mode, what it costs you, or
alternatively, what it would be like being in a relaxed situation and
totally focused. Each of us needs to be aware of the right balance and
focus for success.
Techniques for balancing your time will effectively reduce the amount
of stress in your life? There are several things you can do to keep
yourself organized and on top of your career, not to mention your very
busy social life! Here are a few tips for surviving the year with your
sanity intact – start using them now, and your chances of successfully
balancing your time throughout the year will be much improved!
Use a time management system to keep track of your life.
Review your goals and schedule in blocks of time each week
Manage around these blocks of time ensuring that your decisions are based on your goals and your true values
Review progress daily
Knowing what drives you is a key factor for success.
Once you know this you will be totally motivated to focus on your goals
and create the right approach for success in your life. It is important
to acknowledge achievements and remember:
I was never really a popular child in school. I
was not weird enough to get totally ignored, but I didn’t really fit in.
I initially went to a predominantly Asian school, then was transferred
to a predominantly indigenous one and soon after to a boarding school in
the interior of our beautiful country.
The adjustment from the culture in one school to
another did not come easily. I took a while to make friends and stuck
out like a sore thumb.
The farther I get from those early days, the more I
realise that life in the real world is a lot like school. We have the
popular kids who generally know it all — or at least they think they do.
Then we have those who simply need attention, and the people that no
one ever notice.
I made some major mistakes as I moved from school
to school in an effort to fit in. I tried to act like the “popular
people.” But the popular people’s outfit did not fit me very well so I
kept on trying out different ones.
The costume that finally fitted me best is the one
I had not noticed I was wearing the whole time— that of a smart
student, a hard worker and now the assertive entrepreneur and personal
development coach. That’s me.
When I finally figured out I could simply do away
with all the shenanigans and wear my natural outfit, I faced the next
issue; my outfit “adventure” was over. Now all that was left was hard
work as myself — within my natural outfit.
Its difficult to get anywhere if you spend all
your time looking for suitable outfits. You only start making progress
when you finally pick out the natural one and start “doing the work
required to make your outfit the best it can be.
Soon, your work begins to speak for itself. You
start to receive recognition for the outfit that you wear most
naturally. You are in your element when you put it on and your best
traits effortlessly come to the fore.
That’s when others start calling you “great”,
“fantastic”, “wonderful”, “genius” and so on. They think you had some
secret to success. But the secret is to understand your purpose.
Each one of us has specific talents and gifts that
are uniquely coded within our DNA.. As we go through life, we discover
what we are good at. It is not by chance that we pick up the things we
like doing.
Our unique gifts are hard-wired into our systems
just as surely as our hearts are given their blueprint to pump blood.
And it is from these specific talents and gifts that we define and
determine our definite purpose.
What you have is unique. It is even quite
possible that what you have to offer has not ever been duplicated . This
purpose is indeed serious business. It’s the key piece in your success
jigsaw.
If you fail to determine your definite purpose,
nothing else fits. It is like using the wrong map to get to your
destination. You are moving in some direction thinking you’re making
progress only to realise you were going southwards when you should have
been going north.
Without your purpose firmly identified, you will
wander through life never quite feeling that you’re in the flow. It is
imperative to recognise what it is you’re good at — what you really love
to do. Your purpose in this lifetime is to do the thing that you love.
Most people tell me they already know what they’re
good at, but what they love to do most will never earn them any money.
This is the reason artists wear accountants’ outfits, sportsmen wear
marketers’ outfits and musicians wear ill-fitting doctors’ masks. They
are utterly miserable in thinking they would never earn any money living
on purpose.
Forget about what everyone else thinks and says, You can earn
money at anything. Once you determine your purpose, you won’t even have
to think hard about how to earn money —you will be guided by an unseen
hand, leading you in the right direction. Everything will fall into
place.
The key to your life is not that you settle for
the “safe” thing that you think will bring in the money. The key is to
turn around and do what you really love. That’s your life or purpose.
Understand that when you discover your purpose,
you serve it. By serving it, you solve real problems for real people.
When you do this long enough, you truly make a difference. That’s what
the world calls VALUE. That’s what the world will pay for.
Not happy with your professional or personal life? If that's
the case, the problem isn't your upbringing, or a lack of opportunities,
or bad luck, or the result of other people holding you back.
The problem is you.
If our lives suck, we're letting it happen. Maybe the problem lies in what we believe – and in what we do.
1. We mistake political gain for achievement.
Infighting, positioning, trying to look better by making other people look worse... playing politics can help get you ahead.
But if you win by politics you ultimately lose since political
success is usually based on the impulses, whims, and caprices of other
people – often other people you don't even like. That means today's
success can be tomorrow's failure – and that success or failure is
largely outside your control.
Real achievements are based on merit. Real achievements can't be given or taken away by anyone.
Real success is truly satisfying.
2. We're afraid of sniping or sarcasm.
Try something different. Try something other people won't try. Almost
immediately people will talk about you – and not in a good way.
The only way to keep people from being snide, disparaging, or
judgmental is to say and do what everyone else does. Then, of course,
you live their life and not yours. And you won't be happy.
See people talking about you as a sign you're on the right track – your track. Your track is the happy track.
Not theirs.
3. We don't try to be last.
Everyone likes to be first. But often it's better to be last: The
last to give up, the last to leave, the last to keep trying, the last to
hold on to principles and values.
The world is full of people who quit. The world is full of people who
pivot (even though pivot is sometimes just a fancy word for "give up.")
There will always be people who are smarter, more talented, better
connected, and better funded. But they don't always win. Be the last to
give up on yourself; then, even if you don't succeed, you still win.
4. We equate acquisition with satisfaction.
Psychologists call it "hedonistic adaptation," a phenomenon in which
people quickly turn the buzz from a new purchase into their emotional
norm.
That "Aaah..." feeling you get when you look at your new house? It
quickly goes away. The same is true for our new car, new furniture, and
new clothes. Soon they're not special; they're what we have. They become
"normal." In order to recapture the "Aaah..." feeling we have to buy
something else. The cycle is addictive.
And so we're never satisfied. We can't be. That's not how we're made.
That's why real and lasting satisfaction comes from doing, not
having. Want to feel good about yourself? One way is to actively help
someone. Knowing you've made a difference in another person's life is an
"Aaah..." that lasts forever.
Knowing you've made a difference also creates an addictive cycle... but this time in a really good way.
5. We're waiting for that big idea.
Stop trying. You won't hit the big idea lottery. And even if you did
come up with the ever-elusive big idea, could you pull off the
implementation? Do you have the skills, experience, and funding?
Maybe you do. Maybe you don't.
Either way, here's something you definitely have: Tons of small ideas.
You don't need to look for a big idea if you act on your little
ideas. Happiness is a process, and processes are based on actions.
Try your small ideas – as many as you possibly can.
6. We don't ship.
We're naturally afraid to be "done" because then our idea, our
product, or our service has to sink or swim. And we're desperately
afraid it will sink.
Maybe it will – but if you don't put it out there it can also never
swim. No product can be successful until it's shipped. No application
can be successful until it's released. No service can be successful
until it's out in the field.
When in doubt, ship it out. Then make whatever you produce next a little better. And ship that. And keep going.
You can't feel proud until you ship. So as Seth Godin would say, ship – a lot.
7. We see our resume or CV as an end result.
Many people collect jobs and experiences in pursuit of crafting a "winning" resume.
That's backwards. Your resume is a report card. It's a by-product of what you've accomplished, learned, and experienced.
Don't base your life on trying to fill in the blanks on some "ideal"
CV. Base your life on accomplishing your goals and dreams. Figure out
what you need to do to get to where you want to be, and do those things.
Then let your resume reflect that journey.
8. We wait.
For the right time. The right people. The right market. The right something. And life passes you by.
The only right is right now. Go.
9. We don't collect people.
Walk around your house. Or look around your office. Look at your stuff.
Now have your extended family over for dinner. Or get together with friends. Look at your people.
Which is more fulfilling – your stuff or your people? Thought so.
You can love your stuff... but your stuff can't love you back.
10. We don't realize we're already happy.
Close your eyes.
Imagine I have the power to take everything you hold dear away from
you: Family, job or business, home... everything. And I do. All of it,
everything, is gone.
Would you beg and plead and offer me anything to get that life back?
Would getting that life back mean everything to you? Would you realize
that what you had is so much more important than what you didn't have?
Would you realize that what I just took away was pretty freaking awesome? Of course you would.
Now open your eyes. Literally... and figuratively.
11. We don't call our parents.
Your parents give you love and support in spite of all your faults and failures. You don't even have to work for it.
Who can't use a little more love and support?
