Okay…here it is. I’ve been holding out on you. Do you really want to know what it truly takes to become a success?
One of the greats, even Albert Einstein said:
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
Profound words, right? But what the heck is a man of value and how does one become that?
A good reference to begin with is encased in one of my favorite church hymns, “Have I done any good?”
On New Year’s Eve, in between sweating to death while playing “Just Dance 3” and stuffing my face with pizza, I managed to see a commercial or two. One of the commercials was a preview for upcoming movies scheduled to be played on the network. One of the previews was a brief snippet from the all too popular movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” One of my all time favorites, but the way.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Now I’m not real sure, but the fact that it was New Year’s Eve could have been the reason this phrase stuck out to me the most. Life DOES move by really fast and if you’re not careful, you’ll miss a lot of it, if not the entire thing.
In fact, I took this entire holiday season off from any kind of work. Starting on Friday, December 21st, through January 1st, 2013, I was invisible to everyone who wasn’t with me in the flesh.
I’d like to write a quick tribute to personal development Guru, Zig Ziglar. He was born on November 6, 1926, and left this world on November 28, 2012. He was 86 years old.
I remember the first time I listened to Zig as if it were yesterday. I had recently joined a network marketing company within the personal development industry, and we had purchased some audio cd’s to listen to as we were on the road. Amy had just purchased her dream vehicle, a Hummer (H2), and we were driving through the Salt River Canyon, between Showlow and Globe, Arizona.
As I listened to Zig, he was captivating, and had a great speaking ability. His audio was mixed in with several other professional speakers and his message seemed to stick out above the rest.
Hilary Hinton “Zig” Ziglar, was a great author, salesman, a veteran and public speaker, to name a few. His message has inspired the hearts of many.
Benjamin Franklin is a figure of our history, experiencing success as a businessman, politician, inventor and life in general. A study of his life could prove extremely useful to someone aspiring to walk the same or similar path as he did. And for those of you who feel that keeping a journal is a waste of time, imagine the lessons that would have been lost if Benjamin Franklin had that same point of view. If you feel your life is important, it might be a good idea to jot some things down every once in a while. Your life will probably have more of an impact than you realize if you choose to do so.
I also encourage you to choose for yourself council, and when I speak of council, I mean appointed men and women who inspire you. It’s more or less a board of directors, a group of people you can ask questions to and confide in when making important decisions. These people can be dead or alive, and they don’t even have to know they are on your board of directors. Benjamin Franklin is one of my personal directors and his wisdom and learning effects certain decisions I currently make and will make in the future. Principles are eternal, only if we put them to good use.
For you scholars out there: Have you ever heard of a term called “Topus Uranus?” It’s a term used by the Greek philosopher Plato and refers to his world of ideas where, according to him, reality is found. He argued that reality isn’t contained in the physical, material world, but outside of it, in the world of ideas. The material world is really only a reflection of what is in the world of ideas.
Sound at all familiar?
Personal Development Today
As the personal development industry has evolved, especially within the past decade, terms such as the “law of attraction” and “the secret” have surfaced. These terms have spread like wild fire inside and outside the home based business industry. People were given the idea that they could attract absolutely anything they desired into their life through their focused thoughts. Basically, if a person could hold a concentrated thought for long enough that the “universe” would present this desire in physical form. Now… hold that thought for a moment while I go on.
If you haven’t truly listened, not just heard, but listened to this song from Johnny Cash, do it……and whatever success you strive after in this life…..don’t be that guy! Achieve your dreams without losing yourself.
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