An Inspiration

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.” Swami Vivekananda

 My boy ran in the London marathon today and I'm so proud of him. He ran for his borough in the Adidas mini marathon coming in second for his borough and beating his own set time.

And he deserved his victory. He trained so hard. Even when we begged him to scale back. He found the training sometimes very boring but nothing would stop him carrying on and setting his own  schedule.

While all the time staying well focussed on his school studies for his coming GCSE exams, putting in 6/8 hours of revision. 

There's a lesson in there for me..

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” Zig Ziglar

He's's set his own schedule and timetable and I'm lucky I don't have to do any cajoling/nagging/persuading that parents often have to do. His own inner determination and keen spirit keeps him going.

And he is such an inspiration to me. Frankly  he puts me to shame when I consider my own wasted hours. I can't turn back the clock but I wish I'd had what he has within him when I was his age.

I know if he'd fallen over flat on his face I'd still be so very proud of him and still look up to him as an inspiration because I know he'd have got up and carried right on to the end of the road.

My role model! My son!

You go boy!

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell

Blessings for today

1. My son is the biggest blessing in my life - even when he's being a bit of a pain which naturally he can be from time to time.

2 We've been hearing about an increasing threat in the world - that the basic cost of food is spirally and that there is great shortage all around the world. We've always known that food distribution worldwide has always been unequal but a new horror sits with us. What on earth is all this about? Is this some more hideous man made shortage? What does it mean for millions when they start being rationed for a once staple food item like rice that has kept so many from starvation? What does this have to do with blessings? Well, I and my family are the lucky ones living in a country our gripes are about the high petrol prices, what the government is or isn't doing, and so on. But we do not starve. In fact, we have more than enough for our needs. We are indeed well fed. What a blessing it is to be so when millions will worry tonight about where their next meal is coming from.

3. My family have all had dreadful coughs and colds and yet I have remained bug free. It is a blessing to be healthy and to feel it too.

Personal Development and Success

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Developing stronger relationships

One of my mastermind group members has a problem disentangling himself from a personal relationship that is strangling his success. We’ve been using the experience of others in the group, especially those who’ve dealt with similar situations, to brainstorm ways he can move forward but he is fragile and depressed and can only respond to these with “yes, but…”

 But before our meeting is ended, he picks up on a couple of the offered suggestions and says he will try. I hope he does more than try. And the group will be holding him accountable.

 This is most certainly not a therapy group although it can be therapeutic. I notice that with each meeting as we get to know each other better, start to build a shared history, we become more trusting and aspects of our lives that are a bit more intimately challenging, we may disclose more readily knowing that all members of the group are committed to helping each other and to our success.

 Together we can solve problems, gain insights and added motivation and achieve our goals quicker and more successfully than if we were trying to do it on our own.

We have a long way to go yet. Some people need to listen more and talk less, some to fully commit to attending meetings, some to ensure they both set their goals and keep to them, and all need to keep challenging each other to maintain the spirit and ethos of the mastermind group.

 One of the vital essences of building a strong bond with each other though is that we have compatible interests. My group was arbitrarily formed from a course we did together as a group interested in creating greater financial success. Many mastermind groups are formed on the basis accelerating financial success. 

However we assumed that meant we had similar visions and that isn’t necessarily so. And what we acknowledged from the start was that financial success could not be entirely separated from taking a more holistic approach.

 We are still coming to terms with being at different levels of our wealth creation journeys and with different needs. We have to work on that. And that will become more apparent as we work at creating stronger bonds with each other.

Blessings of today

1. There was sunshine and a bit of warmth today where before it was just horribly cold. I threw open the doors and basked in the sunshine for 5 minutes. I needed my Vitamin D fix. And it was good. Real good!

2. For all the information that a stranger gave me that could potentially accelerate my success, I am very grateful.

3. A moment to draw breath today after the frenetic and very busy last few days.

Personal Development and Success

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Fear of being unsuccessful

"True Success is overcoming the fear of being successful." Paul Sweeney.

How many times have you been on the edge of launching out on a new road and felt more than a bit of fear in your stomach? Loads! Just about any life changing event can cause such a reaction.

But I suspect truly successful people feel the fear but do it anyway.

Now take the current economy. Not a pretty sight, is it? The media is full of dire omens about the state of credit, the economy, the housing market, the banking system. Most people I know are watching it all with interest and more than a sense of foreboding.

So does it make sense to be doing a property investing course just now? For that's what we're about to do with the intention of learning the strategies of becoming successful ultimately in this area.

The warning signs are there . I've seen the You Tube videos. Well lets say, I've had to stop. Its a  pretty depressing picture and its not that I don't want to be informed, I just have this innate feeling that it increases the fear and inhibits taking action. 

I'll be writing more about how I am getting on. The stakes are high and so is the potential success.

Blessings for today

1. After a couple of weeks of not speaking, my son has finally started to communicate with me. Something to celebrate.

2. A sparrow came to the garden today. So what? Only a sparrow... They have become so uncommon as garden birds that its a rare treat now to see one. And looking out in my garden, it is abundant with wildlife of one kind or another and I am glad to live in an environment where they can be encouraged.

3. I discovered there is a cycling proficiency course for adults and which is free of the usual charge. Hurray. I get to learn to ride a bicycle and it doesn't cost me. Thank you universe.

Personal Development and Success

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