May 26, 2014 Focus Point

A Time to Reflect, Remember, and give Thanks!

"At the end of our lives we may ask ourselves. Did I live, did I love, did I matter?" ~Brendon Burchard

 

 "In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." ~President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." ~Nathan Hale

"I don't have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. Every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are reminded that liberty is a rare commodity in this world." ~President Ronald Reagan

Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered. The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the final Monday of May,  was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.

What a blessing it is to live in America, the most free of all Countries in the world. My thoughts this week are two fold. First, that we will do well to give thanks to God for the men and women who have fallen to provide, ensure, and keep America free. To remember that all gave some, but our fallen fellow Americans truly gave all that they had to give. I am so thankful that they lived. That they lived well and brave. That they loved America, other people, and freedom itself enough to give the ultimate contribution.

Secondly, I believe it is an opportunity to reflect on the purpose and direction of our own life. Are we living life fully with energy and enthusiasm? Are we loving those around us with sincerity and openness? Are we making a difference in someone's world? Are we leaving a mark that is worth noticing?

May 19, 2014 Focus Point

Change Is A Good Thing!

"Change your thoughts to match you values, change your attitude to clarify your perspective, change your priorities to sharpen your focus." ~John Maxwell

"Change starts with you, but it does not start until you do." ~Tom Ziglar

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." ~Wayne Dyer

"You cannot become who you need to be by remaining who you are." ~Maxwell Maltz

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." ~John Wooden

In late 1999 as the turn of the century was approaching, there was much debate on who may have been the top 100 most influential people over the past one thousand years. The list was selected and then worked down to one person. That's right, the number one most influential person who lived over the past one thousand years. Any guesses? The name is Johannes Gutenberg the inventor of the printing press.

Just think of it, the invention of the printing press would change the world and every person who ever lived upon it from that time forward. This was the beginning of the era of enlightenment which meant that the use of books, reading, and gaining knowledge would be available to the common man and woman. Up until this time the important papers and documents were held in the hands of the powerful religious and powerful political. The result of his work changed the entire world, but the result only happened after many changes to his method which led to the end result. If he had not made change, how could he ever effect change?

I am a dealer in hope, ideas, and concepts. When the "light turns on" in the human mind there is no limit to the possibilities. When we make the necessary changes in our thinking, action, and habits, it leads to making positive changes in the lives of others, just like the printing press.

May 12, 2014 Focus Point

Thoughts Become Things!

"I refuse to make agreement with limitations." ~Paul Martinelli

"You don't go anywhere until you decide where you want to go." ~John maxwell

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." ~Henry Ford

"You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win." ~Zig Ziglar

"Poverty is attracted to the one whose mind is favorable to it. Just as money is attracted to him whose mind had been deliberately prepared to attract it, and through the same laws." ~Think & Grow Rich

Last week I mentioned success as being a scale, one side action, and the other side thought. When I think of the power of thought in our lives, I think of the law of gravity and how it is a constant in our lives. It is at work every moment of every day. Even if we do not understand it or agree with it, it is still alive and well. To have a proper channel for our efforts, we must have a goal and a point of destination. If there is no aiming point we can work all day long but the effort is more of a wasted energy and has little purpose. But with focus and as Napoleon Hill describes, a clearly defined purpose with a burning desire for its accomplishment, now our efforts become inspired action.

People can argue that hard work alone can get you anything, but to be in proper balance and to turn action into inspired action, we must have clearly defined purposes for the hard work. The statement think and grow rich to me not only refers to money or material wealth, but also to becoming rich in mind, body, spirit, and friendship as well.

Just because we know something, it does not mean we understand it. Just because we understand something, it does not mean we apply it. It is the understanding and application together that moves a person forward. There is a relationship between passion and potential. Therefore I maintain that a person will fulfill more of his or her potential in life if they take the time to think about and plan what it is they really want. Set goals that point to it and then work like crazy to receive. And if you are doing what you really love, you'll never work a day in your life. You do the work, but it does not feel like work.

May 5, 2014 Focus Point

Work and Persistence Pays Off

"Nothing will work unless you do." ~Maya Angelou

"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." ~Vince Lombardi

"By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day." ~Robert Frost

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Do you love work? I love work. You do not have to look very far to see that hard work is becoming a lost art, a thing of the past. Something that many, many people appear so much to be afraid of. Like I always say, "A little work won't hurt you", and so far it has held out true. I am convinced that those who are afraid of rolling up their sleeves and diving in will never receive the reward of the satisfaction that only comes after the sweat breaks the forehead. If success is a scale that suggests balance, one side would be thought or the goal setting, which includes vision and direction. The other side would be action or the mechanics of doing the thing. Buckling down and working hard, causing something to move. After all nothing works unless and until you do. You hear people say, "I don't feel like it". Well the truth of it is that you are much more likely to act yourself into feeling like it, then you are to feel yourself into any sort of action.

In a 1903 Labor Day speech, Theodore Roosevelt said something about work in such a powerful way that we still remember it and quote him to this day. "Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." The key is doing what you love. Work hard at a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Successful people are not afraid of work, they are willing, able, and capable of doing what it takes. They expand their capacities and become more capable by just going for it. They do not however work in hectic fashion but rather with purpose, direction, and specific goals. Having a goal is like going on a hike in the mountains with a specific aim and destination and the work of course is hiking down the trail. No goal or direction would be like setting out on a hike with no destination in mind. You can hike all you want and put tremendous effort in, but you will never get there. It is impossible to get to somewhere that is nowhere. If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.