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Tuesday 23 December 2014

Things can go wrong


When things are not going like we would want them to go, why do we focus on the outside and spend our energy whining?

We have a limited amount of energy that we can use; it’s up to us to use it wisely. The wise will always invest his time and energy in what he thinks will bring back the best return.

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
 - Jimmy Dean

Let me tell you a little story.

*********

Marc was working in a big jeans factory. He was in his 15 years over there and things were great. He was earning a good salary and he spent most of it every month. He did put some on the side for bad time. He was living a good life without much worry.

Joe was also working at the same factory and earning the same salary as Marc. He did not put more on the side and was living a good life without much worry too.

Things weren’t going as good as they did, but the factory was still running at 75% of its capacity. So, Joe and Marc weren’t worried that something bad would happen.

Then someday, the factory closed. Bang! No warning! Joe and Marc just showed up to a lock door with a note indicating that the factory was in bankruptcy. They got a compensation for one month salary and it was all.

Marc got really angry and started a group to protest against the bankruptcy of the factory. He got into the media and worked really hard to build a public response to what they were living. He got a lot of fellow feeling from a lot of people. He got a lot of energy, but he did also spend a lot. He spent also a lot of time. That campaign didn’t bring him anything more then a moment of fame. 3 months later, he was still without a job or income.

Joe got angry about what happened. But he didn’t join Marc on his campaign of sympathy. He took a few days to think about his option and what he could do to find a way to make as much as he did with his old job. Joe started to apply for job the next week. It was hard, he wasn’t alone applying to those jobs, but he didn’t give up. He kept going on, investing a lot of time and energy toward finding a new job. 3 months later, he was still without a job.

Marc found out that he would not get his job back with the old factory. He would not get anything back with his anger campaign. People just got tired of him and he could not find a media to publish anything about his fight anymore. His fame was fading fast. So Marc started to look around to see what he could do to change his situation. He started to apply for new jobs. 4 month later he was still without a job.
Joe didn’t give up and kept applying for new job. He was getting more and more chances to get an interview and sell himself to a lot of good company. He didn’t know what would happen, but he kept on applying daily for new jobs. 4 month later he was still without a job.

Marc didn’t have enough energy to really keep himself motivated. His past 3 month of campaign drained a lot of his energy. He’s doing his best to apply to new jobs, but he’s doing it with what he has left of motivation. 5 month later he was still without a job.

Joe finally found a good job in a good company. He’s motivated and looks behind to what happen as a great opportunity to find a job with this great company. He’s positive about the future. 5 month later he has found a great new job.

Marc just can’t put enough energy into his job search. His results are low and his interview results are even worst. Some of the new employer recognises him for the protest campaign he did for his old job. Some of those new employers didn’t agree with Marc and discard him as a trouble maker. Marc is discouraged; he’s talking all the time about the way he lost his job and how bad it is for him. He wants others to take care of him and give him a new job. He think he deserve it because he lost a lot. 12 month later he was still without a job.

Joe is happy in his new job. He’s investing a lot of energy to make his mark and gain the respect of his fellow worker and employer. 12 months later he’s happy in his new job.

*********

Marc and Joe are two good people. They didn’t deserve to loose their job. Between the two, Joe got the better.

Why Joe did get the better result?

-          First, he took the time to look around for his options.
-          Second, he chooses the action that would bring him what he wanted (a new job).
-          He worked hard. Investing a lot of energy into that project. He kept himself motivated and positive to reach his goal.
-          He didn't give up even if the result were long to come.

Marc did what a lot of people would have done. He got angry about something that he could not change. He worked hard to change that and he lost time and energy that would have been best invested into something more positive. In the end, he had to take the same road as Joe, but when he got on that road he didn't had the energy he had when he lost his job. With less energy, he couldn't do a good job as did Joe. And it’s the main reason why he never got half of the result that did Joe.

We all have choices to make. We all have battle to choose. What ever you choose, you’ll have to live with it.

Yes, maybe Marc could have won something with his campaign. But let’s be real, the company gave him what the law ask them to give, and it was money because they closed the factory. Bankruptcies are under law. You can do a lot of noise about it, but it will not make much more then that…   noise…

Choose your fight! You are the one to choose where you should invest your energy. And choose wisely, because when your energy is spent, it’s gone. You can’t change the past.

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
 - Aristotle Onassis

Don’t focus your energy on negative action.

Look to the future and invest your energy to make it better.



Wednesday 17 December 2014

The Shark


I think that it’s great for us to help someone else. But I don’t like when people use others to get what they want without giving back.

The great philosopher Andre Moreau once told me about a shark waiting under our happiness. The shark is lurking deep under your level of happiness. When you are living a happy moment, give a happy moment to others. If you don’t, then the shark comes from under, grab you and bring you back down into unhappy land.

“Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.”
 - Arnold Schwarzenegger

“The more credit you give away, the more will come back to you. The more you help others, the more they will want to help you.”
 - Brian Tracy

Give without any hope of getting anything back and you shall get 3 times what you gave.

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Mind to everything


“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
 - Buddha

You are what you think. If you let the outside influence you, then you choose that to be your reality. Nothing outside can force your thinking. It’s always about your will to resist the influence and make your own choices. Too many people don’t take the time to think before they choose.

“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
 - Swami Vivekananda

Too many people think they think, but in fact they only reproduce what they were told. Make up your mind on your own. Take the time to build your thinking and choose what is of value to you. Don’t become one among the many that think they know what they should think because many think like them.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
 - Steve Jobs

Learn to listen to your intuition. Not what others have told you to think, but the little voice inside of you. That little voice is there for you and you alone.

“There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance.”
 - Albert Einstein

Your intuition will help you understand what lies behind the appearance. It will guide you into the world of the real under the seams.

“Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way.”
 - Florence Scovel Shinn

It’s a little weird to talk about thinking and intuition in the same text.



Thursday 4 December 2014

Lucky


Luck, I think I’m a lucky man. I've been winning lottery a lot in my life. Not the big buck, but a lot of small one. I found out that most people don’t win that often. So, I guess that I’m a lucky guy.

Are you disturbed by my first statement in this post? If not, that first part of my post didn’t disturb you. Don’t you think that it’s a little disturbing in itself that you think it’s a good statement? Luck doesn’t exist. It’s a concept that is base on nothing.

Luck is like a religion, a lot of people are thinking that luck will come to them if they pray for it. This is wrong, luck doesn’t exist. And nothing will ever happen if you don’t take action.

“I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.”
- Brian Tracy

…“Show up more often.”

Are you among the ones who get ups in the morning with the rush to start the day and a smile on your face? If you are, then you don’t need luck. You’re doing what is good for you, you have something that drives you to get up and smile. You have more then most of the people that are waiting on luck.

Find something that you love and work your ass in that until you’ll earn a living out of it. This is a simple concept that 98% of the populations in the world do not apply. Yes, it can be hard. Yes, you could have very difficult time. Yes, you could be earning little money for many years. But when things start to fly, there’s no telling where it will go.

“Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.”
 - Ray Kroc


Sweat more then the competition and you’ll be more lucky then them.