Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Power of One


The Power of One - Originally performed by Donna Summer
[from Pokemon 2000: Power of One Soundtrack ]

You must always remember

Life can be a challenge
Life can seem impossible
It's never easy when so much is on the line

But you can make a difference
With courage you can set things right
The gift to dream and make dreams real
Is yours and mine

The power of one
Begins with believing
It starts in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

Each of us is chosen
There's a mission just for you
Just look inside you'll be surprised
What you can do

The power of one
Begins with believing
It starts in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

And one by one
We can make the world a much better place

The power of one
Begins with believing
It starts in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds the key
It's inside of you and me
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Achieving Your Dreams

Success

To laugh often and much,
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better,
Whether by a healthy child or a garden patch...
To know that even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived
This is to have succeeded!

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dream Search

Are you happy? That's the million-dollar question. If your answer is an unqualified yes, then congratulations! You are doing the things you want to do, you have plenty of love in your life, and you have something to hope for.

If your answer to the question is a qualified yes, you have another question to answer. Do you want to be happier and "raise the bar?" If so, you have to go through the same process as those who answer the million-dollar question with a definitive "no". The process starts with a dream search, and as the CEO of SELF, you have to lead the search.

The most obvious place to start the search is in your heart. Throughout this book and my life, a central theme has been, "Hope is the key to happiness, and happiness is the key to success." What do you hope for in your heart? It may be something you used to dream about as a child or teenager, but circumstances caused you to put it aside. That's very typical, because success is a journey, and the journey is not a straight line.

When I speak to students, one of the questions I always ask of them is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When I speak to adults, I sometimes ask the same thing, but they think it's a trick question.

Students know they are still on their journey to success, and most of them have been asked this question before, so it makes them think about their answer.

Adults wonder why I'm asking such a dumb question. When they realize that they still have dreams in their hearts that go all the way back to when they were a child or student, they recognize that it is not such a dumb question after all.

You may have already realized some of your dreams, and others you may have just forgotten. It may not have even been a dream, but something you just always loved to do. That's a good place to start your dream search.

When I ran that first Burger King restaurant, I had to fire an assistant manager for consistently poor performance. He should have been "redirected" much earlier, but the previous management did not want to make the tough call. When I sat down with him and gave him the bad news, the young man was shocked and became emotional. After he regained his composure, we started to talk, and I asked him what he had really enjoyed doing earlier in his life.

After about a five second pause, he said he used to love fiddling with old broken radios and TVs, and got a lot of satisfaction out of making them work again. I then asked why he had not pursued that as a career, and he said he'd never thought about it as a career and just took one of the few jobs he was offered immediately out of college. And besides, liking the job was not a big priority when he accepted the Burger King assistant manager job. He just needed a job.

After our talk, I suggested that he contact a friend of mine who worked in Human Resources at Honeywell, Inc., a computer company. He did, and after taking some technical aptitude tests, he was quickly hired and trained to be a computer repair technician. He called me a couple of years later to thank me for firing him. He had turned his "play" into "pay," and became a happy CEO of SELF.

You may not be as lucky as this young man, and your dream search may require more searching, but seeds from your childhood or earlier experiences could provide seeds of hope in finding the dream that will make you happier. Dreams come in all sizes, shapes, and speeds, so keep an open "head" as you search your heart.

Technology puts your dream search at your fingertips, and it can literally span the globe. You can conduct your dream search, for example, using cable TV, learning about things you never dreamed of. Ever since CNN succeeded at 24/7 news programming, the cable services have a specialty channel for nearly everything under the sun. There are 24-hour news, sports, weather, cartoons, shopping, cooking, history, science and nature, science and technology, the arts, documentaries, home improvement, automotive, aviation, animals, travel, music videos, and the latest from my cable service, digital music channels. They even have digital music channels for types of music I have never heard of, such as Tejano, Folklorica, and Boleros. I must be behind the times. My next project might be a 24-hour CEO of SELF cable network.

You can also conduct your dream search using the Internet. Chat rooms and listservs on the Internet even allow you to talk with people you do not know about subjects you might have in common. Warning: If there's a chat room for unhappy people, stay away from it. If you do not have access to the Internet, go to a library. Most of them now provide Internet access, and they still have thousands of books on everything.
In fact, a dream search can start in your heart, your head, from TV or radio, from an article in a newspaper or magazine, on the Internet, on your job, in a conversation, gazing at the stars, or in a dream. The key, however, is persistence. A very familiar and famous song has a passage that may say it best, "Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, 'til you find your dream."
If you want an excuse for not being happier, you can find one. CEOs do not look for excuses. They look for dreams and the "happiness zone."

The Happiness Zone

Happiness is a zone. The objective is to be and stay in the happiness zone as much as possible. Unhappiness is also a zone, which can be created by a multitude of factors, such as the loss of a loved one, seeing a loved one who is unhappy, or just habit. My two-year old granddaughter, Celena, is a typical, happy child with a very happy personality. If she is unhappy about something other than being hungry or some other physical discomfort, it rips my heart out. And, as you would expect, "Pa-Pa" wants to fix it to make her happy.

There is also a middle zone called "not happy-not unhappy." My executive assistant, Sibby, pointed this out to me one day after trying to explain to her daughter that there are times in life when you are in the middle zone, no matter how much you try to be in the happiness zone. You're not unhappy. You're just not happy at that moment.

She's right! That's when I started to realize, even more so than before, that happiness and leadership are "joined at the hip." Just as a CEO has to constantly work at sustaining success, you have to constantly work at staying in the happiness zone. Athletes can get in a zone. They don't get in that zone in every game or tournament, but it happens. I remember watching Michael Jordan play basketball in a televised game one day. As the commentators would say, he was "on fire." He just seemed to sink every shot he made.

After one particularly unbelievable shot, Michael, passing in front of the camera, just shrugged his shoulders as if to say even he was in disbelief that that last shot had gone in. Michael was in the zone. He knew he was in the zone. An athlete is in the zone when exceptional conscious ability and exceptional subconscious execution come together.

A CEO of SELF is in the happiness zone when dreams and goals come together, and the CEO is in the right position to succeed. Staying in your happiness zone or getting out of an unhappy zone is a leadership challenge. People in the happiness zone most of the time are there because they work at it. If they slip into the middle or unhappiness zone, they make no excuses and waste no time before they take charge and lead themselves back into the happiness zone as CEO of SELF. This is the same challenge a CEO has when a business is trying to sustain its success, or is in trouble. In either case, the CEO removes identified barriers to self-motivation, works on the right problems, and inspires himself.

The Million-Dollar J.O.B.

Most people need a job to support themselves and their families, and if they are really successful, they may even have enough left over to satisfy some of their desires beyond the basics. A job also gives you something to do, which itself is a key component of happiness.

But not everyone is happy with the job they have. Some people love their job. Others like their job. And still others hate their job.

If you love your job, congratulations. You have a "million-dollar job," even if you don't earn a lot of money. Income alone does not make you love your job. You think of your "J.O.B." as "Just Outstanding and Better" everyday, instead of "Just Ordinary and Boring." For you, it's not a job, it's a j-ah-ah-b!
 
Some people who "like" their job think they'd love it if it suddenly paid a million dollars a year. Not necessarily. People with actual million-dollar a year jobs have walked away from them, primarily because they, as CEO of SELF, did not love what they were doing, and in fact were either unhappy doing it, or actually hated the job itself. Granted, they had probably saved enough money to walk away, but they did walk away in order to be happier, and, given the stress reduction, probably added years to their lives.

If you like your job, ask yourself what could make you love it, and then turn it into a j-ah-ah-b!M If there is something within your control, why not do it? You are, after all, the CEO of SELF.

When I graduated from high school, I was able to get a summer job working as a laborer for a housing project. They assigned me to a "Mr. Rogers," to help him dig out a section of the concrete floor in one of the buildings using a jackhammer. I had never used a jackhammer before, but it didn't look too difficult and, after he gave me a brief lesson, he put me on the jackhammer, and kept me on it all day. When I got home that night, I was too tired to eat and my head was ringing from the noise. I finally ate dinner and went to bed, so I could work with "Mr. Rogers" again the next day. After that experience, I came to one big conclusion in my life: I am the CEO of SELF and I will finish college even if it kills me! I hated that job.

People who hate their job are constantly stressed, which is not healthy. Circumstances may prevent you from just walking away, but you can look for ways to reduce some of the stress. If the problem is a boss or a colleague, then maybe a "heart to heart" talk might help you at least coexist. If you tried that and it did not work, you should already be working on a plan to get out of there. (If the work itself is the problem, then you need the plan anyway.)

Another common circumstance is the amount of time invested in the job, which may place you too close to retirement to leave now. In that case, your dream is retirement. So focus on the dream rather than the "potholes."

In trying to make your job less ordinary and more interesting, another option is to focus on the "cans" and not the "cannots." Some bosses think their job is to tell people what they can and cannot do, and then spend more time on the "cannots," which makes people afraid to make a mistake. But you can choose to focus on the "cans," which would positively affect your attitude, and possibly the attitude of others around you. When you choose to focus on the "cans," you are also making the choice to exceed expectations, rather than just meet them.

Return with me again to my first Burger King restaurant. When the District Manager told me that I was being given the responsibility to manage the restaurant (although I thought of it as being CEO of the restaurant), I asked him to explain his expectations of me. "Just increase the sales and the profits," he said. When I asked if could change any of the menu prices, he said I could not. I asked if I could spend some discretionary marketing dollars. He said nope. I asked if I could eliminate the Parmesan sandwich from the menu, since we only sold two a month. He again said no. Everything I asked about was a big fat "cannot."

As I started to take charge of the restaurant, I started to think about one thing he did not put in the "cannot" category. He did not say I could not change the attitude of everybody in the restaurant. I had remembered from "Burger Boot Camp" at Burger King University (yes, there is one) how much they emphasized telling the cashiers to smile, to get customers to smile, in order to make them feel like coming back. I noticed a lot of my cashiers were not smiling either, and so a lot of the customers were not smiling. This is when I created the BEAMER program, which taught people (mostly teenagers) how to make people smile.

You look people in the eye and smile, and they will smile back.
 
Unless someone is among the walking dead, it works every time.

When I took over as manager of the restaurant, its end-of-year sales projection was about $800,000. After three months of the BEAMER program, the District Manager (Mr. "Cannots") revised the projection upwards to one million dollars, since the sales trend had moved up noticeably. (I still had the Parmesan sandwich on the menu.)

"Work" is a big part of what we do in life to live and be happy. Most primary "bread winners" in a household will work about forty-five years during their lifetime before "retirement." You may not always be able to choose that dream job or control your circumstances, which can get you stuck in a job, but you can choose to be CEO of your attitude in every job you have.

A million-dollar attitude can change a job into a j-ah-ah-b -- one that is Just Outstanding and Better everyday!

The Other Question

Dr. Mays reminds us that, "We make our living by what we get, but we make our life by what we give." Everyone must not only search for their dreams and happiness, but for what gives their life meaning. As pointed out earlier, Reiss's value-based happiness is a sense that our lives have meaning and fulfill some larger purpose, and that there is no limit to how meaningful our lives can be. The more we give, the more our lives have meaning.

Some people find life's meaning by dedicating themselves to helping others meet basic needs, such as Mother Teresa, who was admired throughout the world for always putting the needs of those most in need over her own desires or comfort. Or, take my friend Joe Edmonson, whose trampoline accident left him a quadriplegic. He and his wife Jean started a youth outreach center in Omaha, Nebraska to give kids from economically challenged homes a sense of belonging and purpose when the home was fatherless, or motherless or sometimes both. After his accident, Joe focused on his "cans" instead of his "cannots."

Some spouses are the unsung heroes and heroines of successful people, who give a lot to life and are also able to sustain a happy and functional family. Most successful CEOs have a strong and supportive Vice-Chairman, who adds meaning to their success and their life.

Still others find life's meaning by creating wealth and resources that assist other people through charitable organizations they establish. Warren Buffet, for example, says he will leave his multi-billions to a foundation, which will work for the public and social good. I know Warren. And I know he believes that making money should help make people's lives better.

Yes, we all lead fast and busy lives, and life is getting faster and faster, and busier and busier. But as Emerson says in his poem,


"To leave the world a bit better,
Whether by a healthy child or a garden patch...
To know that even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived,
his is to have succeeded!"
What are you giving back?
 
That's the "other question."

Focusing Your Dreams

In football, it's called a touchdown
In baseball, it's called a run
In basketball, it's called a basket
And in both soccer and ice hockey, it's called a goal


In each game, the objective is the same - before time runs out, score more touchdowns, runs, baskets, or goals than your opponent. If you do, you win. The dream is to win.
Dreams in life may seem impossible. They are not. Impossible dreams are achieved one goal at a time.

Goals are destination points to reach your dreams, when you put yourself in the right position to succeed. No one knows how much time we will have to succeed, but we always have time to set our goals and to start our clocks. To quote Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the late president of Morehouse College, "The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach for."

Dreams have to start somewhere and sometime. If you do not have a dream, then you will not know if you got there.

My father was raised on a dirt farm near Memphis, Tennessee. When he left his father's farm in 1943 at the age of 18 to pursue his version of the American Dream he took with him but three possessions: his belief in God, his belief in himself and his abilities, and his belief in the promise of the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. He didn't have a job or a car, and he had hardly any money at all. But he had his dreams.

Shortly thereafter he and my mom moved our family to Atlanta. Though he struggled and worked three jobs, seven days a week, my father never lost his focus on achieving the dreams he had for himself and his family. He dreamed of purchasing his own home, of sending his two sons to college, and of leaving enough savings to take care of Mom.

During his life's journey, Dad never spent a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror or wishing he had done a lot of things differently. He just kept moving ahead despite the "speed bumps, red lights, and detours" he encountered - and there were plenty of them.


Most important, Dad achieved all his dreams and he inspired me to achieve beyond what I ever thought possible. By following Dad's example I have set goals and followed my dreams my whole life. And I've learned an important lesson - successful people never stop dreaming and setting new goals. There is always another mountain to climb, another touchdown, run, basket, or goal to score.

This is your opportunity to focus on your dreams. Below you will be able to answer questions about your dreams and the steps you are taking to achieve them. You can use your answers private as a starting point to focus on your goals and dreams and how you plan to achieve them.

  1. What is your dream?
  2. What are you doing to achieve it?
  3. Have you already achieved it?
  4. If yes, how?
  5. If no, why not?
  6. What obstacles have you encountered?
  7. How do you plan to overcome these obstacles?
  8. Write down our answers to the previous questions. Date it, and review your answers one year from now.

Friday, January 27, 2012

"Do Something"


"Do Something"

"The only thing that causes evil to prosper, is when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"Positive Possibilities"


"Positive Possibilities"

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale documented in modern times, "The Power ofPositive Thinking". A protégé of Dr. Peale, Dr. Robert Schuller, built the incredible Crystal Cathedral Ministries on the philosophy of "PossibilityThinking".

Both men published books on those respective philosophies, which, along with the Holy Bible, have had a profound impact on my thinking, my life, and how I live.

I believe that's why I am a positive possibilities person, and I live a positive possibilities life, and I speak a positive possibilities language. We all encounter plenty of negative possibilities everyday. Just ask someone how they are doing. Positive possibilities have an empowering effect on people, because people would rather succeed than fail. They would rather be happy than sad. They would rather laugh than cry.

Do you notice all of the positive possibilities in your life, but, more importantly, do you notice the positive possibilities in the people around you and the people you meet everyday?

It begins with "The Power of Positive Thinking", and YOU.

"Know Thyself"


"Know Thyself"

I knew at an early age that I was driven to not just survive, but to thrive. Maybe, it's in my genes. I also knew that I was willing to follow the advice of Mr. Johnson, my high school mathematics teacher. Work a little harder, and work a little longer, if you have to.

I knew I would have to make some sacrifices, be inconvenienced and, at times, take some risks. Not all or nothing sacrifices and, not all of the risks were do or die. But I had to make sacrifices and take risks, which I felt good about. I had to know myself.

Success is the pursuit of your goals, following your path, and at yourspeed. As the Greek philosopher and teacher Socrates said, "Know thyself."

Know thyself.

"It's Right In Front Of Your Eyes"


"It's Right In Front Of Your Eyes"

Have you ever been looking for something and could not find it, only to be told that it's right in front of you eyes.

We not only overlook the obvious when we are in search of the little things, we sometimes miss the obvious when we are trying to solve a problem or find an opportunity.

A problem may not seem so hard to solve if you break it down into smaller pieces. And there may be a bigger opportunity for you if you look at all the little ones right in front of your eyes. You build a house one brick at a time. You learn to read one word at a time. We learn to love one heart at a time.

That old saying, "the best things in life are free", may not be true anymore. But, the best things in life might be right in front of your eyes. Look around and see what you can find.

"Be There"


"Be There"

In our very busy lives, death or personal tragedies do not make appointments to fit into our schedules. We often have to attend the funeral services of family or friends, as I have done many times recently.

If it is a close family member, we have to be there. If it is close friend we want to be there. In other instances, we might be there.

As I observed the families of the friends I lost, or reflected on the loss of my father and brother years ago, I was reminded of just how important it is to just be there. Be there to let them know you care. Be there to let them know they are not alone. Be there so they might find a smile in the midst of their grief.

Dr. Robert Schuller made the observation that we are not human beings having a spiritual encounter. We are spiritual beings having a human encounter. Even when you are at a lost for words, your presence can be spiritually uplifting. Just be there.

"If You're Stuck in Neutral, Do Something!"


"If You're Stuck in Neutral, Do Something!"

A business associate was addressing a Board meeting concerning an issue that the Board had to deal with, when he reminded them of the obvious. "If you are in a hole, stop digging." In that same sense, if you feel your life is stuck in neutral, do something. Success starts somewhere.

Fear of making a wrong step is worse than not taking any steps at all. How would a baby ever learn to walk if they never took that first step? It may be a wobbly first step, but it is the first step of the rest of their life.

You may not remember the first step you took as a child, but you instinctively knew that you did not want to crawl for the rest of your life. If you are stuck in neutral, carefully evaluate the situation, then do something.

"Patience and Prayer"


"Patience and Prayer"

Following a recent speech at a well-known university, a student approached me and asked "How do you deal with big dreams and goals when it seems as if things are moving too slow in getting there?" I told him it takes patience and prayer. It takes patience because noble goals are on a Divine timeline, which may not be the same as the one you would like. It takes prayer to find the strength to be patient, especially when setbacks occur.

As Rudyard Kipling reminds us "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters the same." Success is temporary. Failure is temporary. Patience keeps you from celebrating your successes too early, or whining about your failures too long. Prayer helps you to count your blessings first, so your problems won't seem so bad.

Remember, it's not our will, but Thy will be done.

"Be Good at Something"


"Be Good at Something"

None of us are expected to be good at everything. But we should strive to be good at something, because to be good at something we must believe passionately in something. Believe in a mission. Believe in a cause. Believe in an idea. Or, believe in yourself. When you believe in something and add a large dose of motivation, it's called inspiration. When you are inspired, you can maximize your potential as one person. As the closing song to the 2000 Olympics says…
"Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. 
It's never easy when there is so much on the line.
But you can make a difference.
There's a mission just for you.
Just look inside and you will find,
Just what you can do.
The power of one begins with believing
That you hold the key to all of your achieving."
Be good at something.

"A Motivation Crisis"


"A Motivation Crisis"

It was over twenty-five years ago when I first heard Dr. Peter Drucker say, "you can't motivate people, people must motivate themselves." This means that leadership is about removing barriers, which prevent people from being self-motivated. Recently, I saw some research results by the Gallup Organization, which quantified this fact, showing that 70% of the U.S. workforce goes to work everyday unmotivated… seventy percent! That's sad. But more importantly, the Gallup research identified the 12 critical barriers, if they are removed, which can drive motivation up in an organization for greater productivity and better business outcomes. What are the barriers to self-motivation in your business, or with your kids, or in your life? A motivation crisis is a barrier removal crisis.

"Focus, Focus, Focus"


"Focus, Focus, Focus"

Focus is the ability to block out the unnecessary "stuff", so you can concentrate on the necessary.

That means eliminating or minimizing distractions, which do not directly contribute to bottom line performance of your business, or your personal happiness, especially when times are tough.

When I became president of Godfather's Pizza Inc. in 1986, we had too many types of crusts on our menu, with different flour formulations, with different mixing procedures, which made product consistency nearly impossible. I made an executive decision and eliminated three of the four crusts, so we could better execute the original Godfather's crust. Our business got better.

What are the unnecessary crusts-s-s (metaphorically) in your business or life, so you can concentrate on "what brought you to the dance".

The essence of Focus is sacrifice. You don't add "stuff" when times are tough. You eliminate "stuff". That's Focus.

"Life is about Choices"


"Life is about Choices"

Life is about choices. If it's your life, it's your choice. The question is, who's making the decision?

Life is filled with conflicts.
Work hard, but take some time off.
Eat healthy, but don't eat too much.
Spend some quality time with the family, but succeed at work.
Speed up but slow down.

Life is about the choices that you have to make to balance the priorities in your life. And remember, there are still only 24 hours in the day.

"A Better World"


"A Better World"

When my first grandchild was born and I held her in my arms for the first time, I looked at that little fifteen-minute old face and the first thought that came to my mind was NOT "how do we give her a better start in life?" My first thought was "How do I make this a better world?"

As I looked at that little face, I couldn't help but think about all the other little faces born into the world THAT day, and what type of world they would inherit. We face many challenges as a nation, and as a world of nations. Everyone is blessed with different abilities. But when we allow ourselves to dream and empower ourselves to use our God given abilities to make a difference in the lives of others, we make this a better world…One little face at a time.

"The Road to Success and Happiness is not Straight"


"The Road to Success and Happiness is not Straight"

Many people have a desire to succeed, and to be happy. But people are also frustrated because success does not come easy, and sometimes, it seems as if life is not fair.

But the road to success and happiness is not straight.

There's a curve called failure,
A loop called confusion,
Speed bumps called friends,
Caution lights called family,
Red lights called enemies,
And jobs that sometimes go flat.
But with a spare called determination,
An engine called perseverance,
Insurance called faith,
And a driver called God Almighty,
You will make it to a place called success and happiness.

The road is not straight.

"The Other Side of Winning"


"The Other Side of Winning"

In every competitive sport the objective is to make more good shots than bad shots. But, the one who ultimately wins is the one who also makes fewer mistakes. That's the other side of winning.

As a champion, Tiger Woods has raised the level of play so dramatically in professional golf that people who can't even spell "golf" will watch him compete. He recently did something that no other professional golfer has ever done. He won four major tournaments successively. When he did it, even his closest competitors made the observation that he not only made great shots, but that Tiger Woods also made fewer mistakes.

Success in life or business is not about achieving every goal perfectly every time. It's about having goals, and making fewer mistakes each time. That's the other side of winning, and the other side of living.

"Ten Cans"


"Ten Cans"

You CAN have a dream, without knowing how to get there.
You CAN have a life, just start somewhere.

You CAN make a difference, one person at a time.
You CAN make things happen, don't expect a straight line.

You CAN be happy, if you have a hope inside.
You CAN have love in your life, but look beyond the outside

You CAN solve your problems, but FIRST, count your blessings.
You CAN find the strength, like an eagle, waiting, and resting.

You CAN make this a better world, but life is just a minute.
God CAN lead you through it, if all your heart is in it.

HERMANATOR

"Making a Living and Making a Life"


"Making a Living and Making a Life"

Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, late President of Morehouse College, reminds us that we make our living by what we get, but we make our life by what we give. Everyone must find their mission in life, but they must also find their meaning in life. You can find meaning in your life by focusing on your "CANS" instead of your "CAN'TS".

Yes, we all lead fast and busy lives, and they're getting faster and faster and busier and busier. But as Emerson says in one of his poems,

To know that one life has breathed easier because YOU have lived, This is to have succeeded.

We make our living by what we get. We make our life by what we give.

"Entrepreneur means r-r-r-Risk"


"Entrepreneur means r-r-r-Risk"

So, you want to be an entrepreneur, OR you think you are already an entrepreneur. Before you conclude that you are, consider how GEORGE GILDER defines an entrepreneur:

"He who casts aside his assurance of forty-hour weeks,
Leaves the safe cover of tenure and security…and
Charges across the perilous fields of change and opportunity.
If he succeeds, 

His profits will come NOT from what he takes from his fellow citizens,
But from the value they freely place on the gift of his imagination."

That's an entrepreneur.

"Life is Just a Minute"


"Life is Just a Minute"

When we think of our lives on that timeline called "eternity," our years are just a speck. The objective is to make a difference while we are here. My grandmother lived to be a hundred and four, and she made a difference, with 11 children, 38 grandchildren and 62 great grandchildren, in her speck of eternity. As an anonymous writer put it…

Life is just a minute, only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon you, can't refuse it, 
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it.
But it's up to you to use it.
You must suffer if you lose it.
Give an account if you abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.

Think about your minute.

"The Million Dollar Question"


"The Million Dollar Question"

The million-dollar question everyone must answer: Are you happy? That's the question. If your answer is an unqualified, "yes", then congratulations, you have something to do, you have some love in your life, and you have something to hope for.

But if your answer to the question is "maybe" or "no", then you have some work to do, and it starts with your dream. What is your dream? What do you hope for in your heart?

If you want an excuse for not being happy, you can find one. Happy people do not look for excuses. They look for hope to find happiness. But first, you have to ask yourself the million-dollar question: "Are you happy?"

"I just want to be Happy"


"I just want to be Happy"

Most people just want to be happy. They may not always know how, but they want to be happy.

But, first, you must be able to recognize it when you find it. I believe happiness is three things…something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for.

Now, most people have something to do, even if it's not what they prefer to do. Most people have someone to love, because everyone needs a little love in their life. But, with most unhappy people, the missing component is hope. What do you hope for? What do you look forward to?

Hope comes from within. It is uniquely your hope. Hope is the key to happiness, and happiness is the key to success.

"Impossible Dreams are Possible"


"Impossible Dreams are Possible"

Dreams in life might seem impossible, but they don't have to be. Impossible dreams are possible if you pursue them one goal at a time, because goals are just destination points on the way to your dream. They can be big or small, as long as they are YOUR dreams, AND you are willing to put yourself in position to get there. Dreams have to start somewhere, sometime, and with someone… and that's you.

One of my dreams was to become President of something, for somebody, somewhere, someday. In order to get there, I worked for four different companies, and had to move my family five times before I was asked to become President of Godfather's Pizza, Inc.

Impossible dreams are possible, one goal at a time.

"The First GREAT Leader I Knew"


"The First GREAT Leader I Knew"

My father was the first great leader I ever knew. Before I had even heard the word "leadership," I saw in my father the self-motivation to succeed. Here was a man who, at the age of eighteen, walked off of his father's very small dirt farm to pursue his dreams. He didn't have a car, a job, or a degree … but he had his dreams, and the desire to succeed.

Raising a family in Atlanta in the fifties and sixties was not easy, especially considering the economic and social conditions of that day. But he still wanted to give his sons a little bit better start in life than he had. He worked three jobs to make it happen.

Dad died at the young age of 56. But he had achieved all of his dreams. As time goes by, some things grow dimmer and dimmer, but Dad's inspiration grows brighter and brighter. Thanks Dad.

"It's a Calamity to have NO Dream"



"It's a Calamity to have NO Dream"

One of the greatest leaders I have ever known was the late Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the unforgettable president of Morehouse College. Dr. Mays used to challenge the young men of Morehouse when he would say:
"Let it be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach for.It's not a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity to have no dreams.
It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture.
It's not a disgrace to be unable to reach your stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for."
What are your dreams? What are your goals? What ideals are you willing to fight for, and are you reaching for your stars? If not, what are you waiting for?

"Chief Executive Officer of Self, You're In Charge"


"Chief Executive Officer of Self, You're In Charge"

Think of yourself as the Chief Executive Officer of a company called SELF, Incorporated. You are in charge, but have you decided to take charge? As the CEO, YOU have to identify your dreams, YOU have to determine your goals, and YOU have to develop the action plans to get there, because you're in charge of SELF. You're responsible for surrounding yourself with the right people because you're responsible for increasing shareholder value.
You are a shareholder, your family is a shareholder, and even your place of employment is a shareholder, because they all have a vested interest in you…the CEO of SELF.
So go ahead. Take charge.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Patriot (L.B. Strawn, WWII Vet.)


PATRIOT

Two centuries ago our nation was born---
To fight to the finish our forefathers had sworn,
And now, over many a patriot's grave
We can sing, "Land of the free and home of the brave".

They gave this heritage to everyone,
Using sword and cannon and musket gun;
Marching o'er fields where blood ran red,
Over the bodies of comrades, dead.

In summer's humid and stifling heat--
Mostly forward and seldom retreat.
In dreaded cold of winter's snow;
Always onward to meet the foe.

In hunger, in thirst, with battle wound,
In agonizing strife, with scarcely a sound
Of complaint o'er the lot of a soldier, brave,
Marching onward into many a grave.

Often weary or fevered and ill,
Lack of clothing against winter's chill,
Lack of munitions, with which to fight,
But, fight they did, with all of their might.

Some gave their wealth but gained their fame,
And, with all who fought, gained a name.
"Patriot!" It rings, as it flies through the land.
"Patriot!" Wonderful name, so grand.

That's right!! They gave for you and me;
Died that America might be free.
Let's vow to keep it that way--you and I.
And, for this great land, be willing to die.

"Patriot!!" Are we worthy of the name?
"Patriot!!" Like those of old, are we the same?
Would we uphold their traditions, true?
I know that I would---would you????
By L. B. Strawn
July 4, 1976 WW II Vet

Little Faces (The Hermanator)


Little Faces

As she lay there in her mother's arms,
She was only a few minutes old.
My baby daughter had just had a baby girl,
A precious new member of a great big world.

My baby daughter said, "Would you like to hold her?"
Of course I said yes, as my smile grew bolder.
As I picked her up with a gentle touch,
She was small, so fragile, and yet so much.

She had gone back to sleep after the struggle to start her life.
Baby and mommy were fine, everything was allright.
When I looked at that little face, sent from God above,
It was truly the face of a miracle, and of God's divine love.

For a moment I didn't know who I was or the where,
I could only think of her and so happy to be there.
Born into the world with all the other little faces,
What will we do, to make it a better place?
The Hermanator

Ask in Faith (James 1: 5-6)


Ask In Faith

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,That giveth to all men liberally, and unbraideth not;
And it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering."
James 1: 5-6

Believe in Yourself (from "The Wiz")


Believe In Yourself

"Believe there's a reason to be,believe you can make time stand still,
and know from the moment you try,
if you believe, you know you will.

Believe in yourself, right from the start,
believe in the magic, there in your heart,
believe all these things, not because I told you to.
But, believe in yourself, believe in yourself,
believe in yourself, as God believes in you."
From the Broadway Musical, "The Wiz"

An Entrepreneur (Gilder)



An Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur: He who casts aside his assurance of forty-hour weeks, leaves the safe cover of tenure and security…and charges across the perilous fields of change and opportunity. If he succeeds, his profits will come not from what he takes from his fellow citizens, but from the value they freely place on the gift of his imagination.
George Gilder

Freedom (Epictetus)



Freedom

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Epictetus

No Man Is An Island (Whitney and Kramer)



No Man Is An Island

No man is an island,No man stands alone.
Each man's joy is joy to me,
Each man's grief is my own.

We need one another,
So I will defend,
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.

Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer

Success (Ralph Waldo Emerson)


Success

To laugh often and much,To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better,
Whether by a healthy child or a garden patch…
To know that even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived
This is to have succeeded!
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday, January 12, 2012

We Are Troubled on Every Side (2 Cor. Ch 4)



We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;
We are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken;
Cast down, but not destroyed...

2 Corinthians, Chapter 4

Still I Rise (Maya Angelou)




You may write me down in history With your bitter twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Maya Angelou
(Excerpts from her poem "Still I Rise")
The Completed Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

The Road Is Not Straight (Author Unknown)


"The road to success and happiness is not straight. 

There's a curve called failure,

A loop called confusion,

Speed bumps called friends,

Caution lights called family,

Red lights called enemies, and

Jobs that go flat.

But with a spare called determination,

An engine called perseverance,

Insurance called faith, and

A driver called God,

You will make it to a place called

Success and happiness."

Unknown