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It’s the time I started writing again. Inspired by Chris Guillebeau’s book “The Art of Non-Comformity”. I wanted to continue writing for a long time. Days went by, nothing happened, because everyday I thought – I’ll do it tomorrow.
No more tomorrows for me, thanks.
This post consists of some of my favorite quotes. I sincerely hope they will be of help to you.
When You believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.
Walt Disney
If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the Universe against me.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whatever you dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Samuel Beckett
We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell.
Lance Armstrong
We will either find a way, or make one.
Hannibal
The best thing in the world is improvisation. In this state Your rational part of brain isn’t working, but the creative imagination does.
If you’re a musician or an actor, It’s easier to understand the state of improvisation.
But the results of spontaneous plans, ideas, action are stunning! The reason is when you’re in a state of improvisation, you are absolutely mindful (zen term), and that escalates your vibration to much higher level, stimulating the creative faculty of your mind.
Sometimes It’s better to not know where You’re going, because You can reach the places You haven’t ever thought existed. Artists, Speakers, Musicians are always ready to improvise. So get ready too!
Let the flow go naturally, and You will be surprised, when You create something valuable, just living the moment, emerging in activity. Plunge into the moment. You’ll feel great about it. And the results will be much better, than you expect.
“The simple willingness to improvise is more vital, in the long run, than research.” Rolf Potts
You will win, if you strongly believe You can. But common sense tells us that we will get more self-confidence only after we’ve achieved something.
Don’t be humble! I mean of course You should be humble, when you communicate with other people. You just can’t let yourself be humble inside. Ego is a good thing. You must be sure that You are capable of achieving everything You want.
Don’t limit yourself. I see so many people around, who could do much more, and be much more, than they allow themselves. And, I know my limits are too close – and I’m doing everything to move them as far as possible. So should You.
Believe deep in your heart You can win, and You will win. Faith is like that – You have to believe before You can see the results. Even when you’re in doubt, try not to lose faith. The key word is Before. Be sure You get what you want before You see the opportunities and means to get it. Make no room for doubt.
You are Genius. And You will become, If You believe it. Ask Salvador Dali, or Muhammad Ali.
“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.” Muhammad Ali.
“I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.” Salvador Dali
Forget the usual sequence of things – achievement-confidence. Reverse it. (The new way is confidence-achievement.)
Know deep inside who You are. Maybe You shouldn’t tell anyone how great You’re or how great You want to become. But never let anyone make a negative influence on You. If You think that there’s no way You can be the second Albert Einstein, stop underestimating Yourself! You have the same two legs, two arms, one head, and all the rest.
So, How can you become a Genius?
Believe You’re already a Genius. I know You are. Now it’s your turn to believe.
You’re working on something for a long time and still got nothing, no result? Happens to everyone. It’s even worse, when that something is the most important thing for You. You give your labor, time, everything to achieve your goal. And still nothing.
That is a tricky spot to be. This is where Your choice has the biggest impact, determining the path you take – path to Failure, or path to Success. Place, where You feel discouraged and want to give up is the spot I’m talking about. Most people get to that invisible line, the line of so called “limitations” and quit.
You must go one step further, to zone of uncertainty, where You can’t see the destination, because everything is so blurry. This step leads to Success.
When You feel like giving up, don’t do the thing everyone would do in your situation. Remember, You are not everyone. Than imagine hundreds of people who got to that point too, and then gave up. And then, do the opposite thing. Go one step further. Just one step.
Don’t think about what You’ll have to do then, throw away garbage words like “if” and “whether”. It all will make sense later. You will have time to think about it.
Instead of giving up, saying “I can’t”, reverse it – don’t quit. Try even harder, as if failure is impossible. It’s difficult to go there in outer space, but necessary.
“You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.” – Babe Ruth
Try harder.
How the truly great people had become that way? I’ve been pondering over this question for a long time. The reason is I want to become a great man some day, and the real question for me is “How?” I will share some thoughts on the subject.
I think first of all We should ask “What distinguishes people who fail and those who succeed?”
The answer consists of two equally important parts. First one is – Your thoughts. Close your eyes for a moment and listen to your thoughts. They fly fast. This is the starting point. The flow. Wherever the flow goes, You will certainly travel in the same direction. Lucky You, if the flow is positive and leads to successful and happy life. But too often our “mental flow” goes in undesirable direction. Don’t blame anyone for that, especially yourself. Even if You’re guilty of the negative thinking habit, don’t feel bad about it. What You think now matters most, not what is in the past. Reverse the flow, one positive thought at a time. You can work miracles with your mind. Start now.
But, if this is so simple, just replacing the thoughts, changing minus to plus, why only few men succeed?
The second part of the answer comes now. Action. And by action I don’t mean your usual routine. It’s great if You wash the dishes daily. But to be great, you must differ from the common herd. Your actions, dictated by your new thoughts (self-confident thoughts) will be different. It’s not enough to do what the others do and do it thoroughly and compete with the millions of the same way designed human beings.
You need to follow the uncommon set of rules. Where do you get the rules?
1. Read.
Choose carefully what you read. You may find later, that nobody from your social environment reads anything like that. Be strong. It’s may be dissapointing when you don’t have the same things to talk about (like some popular books) , but You will gradually become more sophisticated and broad-minded. You will have a lot to tell.
2. You must do today the things, of which others will start thinking tomorrow.
I don’t remember the author of the quote, and I’m not sure if I put the words right, but you get the idea. Get used to being one step further.
3. Get out of your comfort zone.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Walsh
The Golden rule. As the title says – embrace discomfort. If you aim to the top, you’ll live under big pressure. So train yourself not to bend. “You must do the thing you’re afraid of” said Eleonora Roosevelt. Willingness to do the things, which are not comfortable is the determining factor. It’s hard to go out for a run, when you watch TV. And that’s just the small example. Stress is a good thing. Everytime you go further than your limitations are, the borders spread. Every single victory brings power and motivation to achieve more.
I think the idea that you should get out of the comfort zone is the most valuable in this post. Write it down somewhere. It’ll skyrocket your progress.
When an idea comes, be sure to act upon it immediately. At least, put it on paper, not to forget.
Ideas die, if you don’t feed them in the first minutes of its lives. That’s why, you should do at least one small thing which will start transforming your idea into reality. Not tomorrow. Right now.
Tomorrow never comes. Literally, everyday is “today”. So stop procrastinating. Even if your idea is the greatest among all, it’s nothing until you do something. Action makes your thoughts and hopes real. Procrastination ruins lives of many. Don’t let it ruin yours. Become a person of action.
Also, If you are in a big game, for instance, you want to become a famous writer, guess what you have to do?
Write, write, then rest and write some more. Not tomorrow, not next month. We all have these thoughts – “Right now i’m so busy, i can’t write just for myself. But I will definitely do it next year”, or “I’ll play with my children next week”. Then, the Week gets to many “s” in the end of the word, and your children are grown-ups. Kinda late to play, isn’t it. So, NOW is your time.
Don’t waste your time, or time will waste you. (c) Muse
Whatever it is you do, instead of making it more comlicated, simplify.
According to the famous Pareto Principle, or 80/20 principle, 80% of your efficiency comes from 20% of your activity. Knowing that, start breaking everything you do into small parts, and analyze which of them bring the results, and which are just time-wasters.
If you surf the Internet, trying to find something, set up a timer and stop it everytime your attention goes away from the subject of your search. It’s amazing how much time we waste everyday.
When in doubt, ask yourself “What will I lose if I stop doing this thing for a week?” If the answer is “nothing”, or close to it, boldly eliminate unnecessary activity.
Imagine yourself a Sculptor. When you take your life in order to change it, it looks the same as the lives of others. You want to change it, you take this huge piece of granite, and start working. You gradually shape it, as you remove all the unnecessary material, and create a masterpiece, a beautiful sculpture.
Simplify, simplify, and then simplify some more. The results will come. Happiness is found in simple things, so don’t worry that with the fuss your joy in life will go away. Also, remember, that you are responsible for usage of the spare time you get after simplifying. Don’t make same mistakes again.
Sorry, I haven’t written here for a while already, all because I had problems with Internet. Now, I’ve solved them, I’m back on track.
“Failure is impossible” Susan B. Anthony
First – Everybody has doubts from time to time. Make it your business not to be influenced by them. It’s hard. But it’s possible.
We are all tightrope walkers. This profession takes a lot of concentration. If a tightrope walker is taken over by doubt for a second – he falls. You don’t want to fall – that’s why you need to get rid of any doubt coming to your mind.
The tricky thing about it is – you can’t get rid of all doubt. It’s like dust. You wipe the dust, and it appears again. Imagine what happens if you don’t bother wiping it. You get more and more dust.
Doubt destroys your chances for victory. Don’t pay attention to it anymore. Anyone has doubts. But I think Napoleon and Hannibal were able to eliminate doubt. So can you.
It’s even harder when the doubt is connected with your chief aim in life. You think you’re doing great, and all of the sudden you find yourself in fear of failure. Each time the thought full of doubt comes to your mind – replace it with the favorable thought (“I’ll deal with all the problems I may have”, for instance), before it spins faster and faster inside your head, gaining momentum.
If you want to win big, remember that your mind should be free of doubt. The winner is the one who thinks he can win. No “what if”s allowed.
Usually, we notice bad things around us much easier than good ones. For example, somebody’s habit of biting nails annoys you. When you see that person you think about him biting nails or wait for him to start doing it. But what about other good traits of his character? You don’t have time for looking – you’re very busy thinking about nails.
We do the same thing when someone makes a mistake. We usually tell him smth like “Be careful next time”, or “Try not to do this again”. That depresses his feelings. It’d be better to tell him – “You work well, and I think you will gradually become even better” The positive attitude will give him inspiration to proceed and become a pro.
Now, what You can do for yourself is to reverse the instinct. Stop punishing yourself for mistakes. Before, you were afraid of making a mistake – your instincts were expecting pain and subconsciously you tried to prevent any negative influence. Your were concentrating on attempts not to do anything wrong. You need to turn the process upside-down. From now on start rewarding yourself for every little victory. As I wrote in the previous post – every little victory empowers you. And now, the subconscious mind of yours will by all means try to get more pleasant feeling. Rewards feed your subconscious mind. So, what you have to do is simply connect achievement and reward.
You wrote a list of goals – buy yourself a cake. You did something unpleasant but important – don’t forget to reward yourself. Every time. And don’t blame yourself for mistakes – blaming won’t make them right.
And after sometime, your instincts will work for you – leading you to step by step to huge success.
Kallavoice 