Be, Do, Have

You normally hear this phrase in Network Marketing or prosperity meetings, but it is true in practically every aspect of life. Put simply, if you want to achieve something, you first must become the kind of person who can achieve it and do the kind of things that person will do. Then you will enjoy the fruits of those achievements. These achievements do not have to be life-changing, they can be just small steps in a career or relationship.

“You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”

Abraham Lincoln

You will do as you practice

There is a quote by author Jeremy Schwartz which goes "Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be" which I like for a number of reasons. The main one being that if you had a good ethical and spiritual foundation, you would be the best that you could every day, in every way.

Most of us don't bother to do that, because we foolishly believe that we will really behave differently when it counts. Even though we don't bother during our normal day-to-day activity, we will rise to the occasion when it is important. The reality is that what we practice every day is what you will do even when it really counts.

The most graphic example of this is a Canadian policeman who was an avid martial artist. He learned to disarm a firearm from an attacker and practiced long and hard, becoming very skilled in disarm techniques. However, in practice, they would disarm the firearm and then hand it back to the attacker so they could practice it again. They thought that in a real situation, they would behave differently.

The unfortunate policeman was confronted by a firearm wielding attacker in real life and his training paid off - he disarmed his attacker, taking the gun cleanly from the man. But then just as he had practiced in training, he handed the gun back. He was shot on the second disarm attempt.

Practice being the best you can be every day, in every way - because every day is your training for the real situation, when being your best will be essential. Imagine the difference that would make!

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems”

Mahatma Gandhi

Be all that you can be

It is amazing how you affect other people without speaking a word. The people who carry a stormy winter's night in their heart, cloaking anyone who gets close enough and those who beam like rays of sunshine on a frosty morning, projecting love, trust and friendship.

Everybody has problems. The only place you find people without them, is a cemetery. Be different, let go of your troubles and start to shine. Be all that you can be.

“What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”

Anne Frank

Giving & Receiving

There is only one way to truly receive, to truly enrich yourself and enjoy prosperity and that is to first give. It is just one of those universal laws, like the law of gravity and there is really no way around it.

If you went to college, you did not first seek proof of a job, but gave of your time and money to enrich yourself so that you would be ready when a job came your way. In the same way, you did not wait to be loved before loving, you gave love and in return were loved. You gave trust and in return were trusted.

“Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.”

Jim Rohn

"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered."

Proverbs 11:24-25

To See Opportunity, You Need A Clear Mind

I love the old tale about the two shoe salesmen going to a remote part of Africa. One, completely discouraged by what he saw, called his company and said: "It's a complete waste of time, bring me home, they don't like shoes here". The other, bursting with enthusiasm said "Get a shipment ready, you are not going to believe this, there is no competition here. Nobody has any shoes."

To really see opportunities we have to step away from our paradigm, the believe system we have created through our past experience. We have to clear our mind of any prejudice. Only then can we really see what is laid out before us.

"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone."

Orison Swett Marden

Happy New Year

As we see another New Year in, it is time to reflect on the learning experiences (or mistakes) we were blessed with the past year, to take ownership of these mistakes and responsibility for them, learn from them and look forward to a year of opportunities, armed with new knowledge and experience we didn't have a year ago.

It's time to pause, rest a while, then grit our teeth and walk out like a champion, ready to win spectacularly.

And here is some good advice from one of the greatest entrepreneurs who ever lived:

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person."
Benjamin Franklin

A time for giving

At Christmas, what better time to reflect on the law of giving and receiving, on of the seven laws of attraction.

Deepak Chopra says this about the law : "The universe operates through dynamic exchange...giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives."

What better way to enrich our lives than to give heartily to somebody who needs it, for instance a child who has never had a toy before - and experience their joy in receiving that gift.

If you want to experience true happiness this Christmas, give heartily.