Qualities of a winner

Out of millions, comes one big winner and out of billions, comes a winner who overtakes every other winner in the world. Look at the history of the world, and you will always find few individuals during a certain period who were winners of that time. Lincoln, Gandhi, Churchill, Roosevelt, were all winners of their time. The question is not, who is the winner of a given time, but what makes a winner.

Who is a winner and what qualities are needed to make a winner?
Overcoming Obstacles

Winners come across same obstacles as everybody else. But they take them as challenges. An obstacle can be treated as a hurdle or something that challenges the mind to overcome it. Winners take them as challenges and rather than getting frustrated, thrive on obstacles. Every new obstacle makes them sharper and better, while a large majority surrenders in front of the same obstacles.

Focus

The winners have focus. Rather than giving away their energy to small ideas, they focus on the larger objective and work towards that. It is like walking on a road. The winner keeps walking, whereas other mortals try to explore smaller streets that connect to the road. Walk towards the goal.

Hard work

Winners are not afraid of hard work. To achieve their objective, they work ceaselessly. There is no word such as tiredness in their dictionary. The objective of working towards the goal gives them so much energy that the tiredness finds no place in their scheme of things.

These are some of the qualities that define a winner. Many other qualities add up to make a true winner in the millions. Why shouldn't all of us become winners?




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5 Fun & Easy Ways To Get Out Of The Rut

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel less than great. Low, grouchy, fed-up, and bored are all words you could use to describe what I’m like on those days and I’m probably not the best company. The thing is, days like those are part of the deal with being human – it’s not an elective. There will always be off days, and that’s okay.

But what happens when you get a whole string of those off-days, maybe lasting weeks, months or even years? Too many of us say that we’re in a rut, feel stuck, fed-up, or bored and admit that we don’t want things to be that way, but we don’t know what to do to change. That’s the problem, when you’re in a rut, you don’t have the energy or motivation to change things for the better, and it’s tough to find the insight or resources you need to make that jump.

Here are five fun and easy ways you can use right now to climb, or better yet, leap, out of the rut and start to get something better for yourself.

1. Do Something Differently
Life tends to run smoothly when we establish systems and routines for things, but the problem comes when things run too smoothly and we become blinded to any ideas or choices that sit outside of our routine. All the stuff we do every day becomes the norm, running on auto-pilot, and it becomes our whole world.

Start with making one or two simple changes to your day - be it at breakfast time, your radio station, gym routine, route to work, lunch routine, etc. Don’t worry about what the changes are or whether they’re right or wrong, just make a couple of simple choices that will serve you well.

Doing something differently or changing parts of your routine, instantly takes you out of the norm and allows you to shake off the things that make you feel confined. Step out of your routine and you’ll be in a position where you’re able to make different choices, see things differently and get a different result.

2. Use your Intuition

Your intuition is a powerful ally, and we all have it even though you might not recognize it. The dictionary says that intuition is:

1.a. The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

1.b. Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight.

2. A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

One of the best friends you'll ever have in life is your intuition, and tuning in to it and learning to trust it is something that can have some truly remarkable effects. Accessing your intuition is a bit like working and developing a muscle, but unfortunately it can be harder to locate than a bicep or quadriceps, which tend to stay in the same place. Here are some quick tips for accessing and trusting it –

• Practice maintaining an open-minded, playful, experimental, non-judgmental attitude. This is the most fertile ground to tap into your intuition.

• Practice making wild guesses in your everyday life. Guess what a salesperson's name is, what a new person or place will look like or who's calling on the phone. Don't worry about getting it wrong, you're just working that muscle.

• Try a few simple observation exercises in your daily life. Whether you're in a restaurant, on a train, in a bar, or out shopping, practice noticing non-verbal behavior in others. Look for shifts in posture, eye movements, vocal tone or tempo, etc. Guess how they're feeling or what they're talking about.

3. Nourishment

Imagine you’re walking home from the supermarket with a couple of bags of groceries, but those bags have holes in them. You’re walking along merrily leaving a trail of your things behind you, but when you get home you unpack what’s left and ask, "Didn’t I have more than this?"

Nourishment is about plugging those holes in your life and making sure you have things that keep you feeling nourished – nourished in your head, nourished in your heart, and nourished in your stomach. Remember that you can’t give away what you don’t have, and can’t spend energy you’ve already spent.

It doesn’t have to be the big things in life that nourish you and it’s often the simplest little thing that strikes a chord, makes you feel like yourself again, or makes you smile from ear to ear – calling a friend, talking a walk in the park, or listening to your favorite song, for example. So what keeps you balanced? What relaxes you or makes you feel peaceful? What makes you feel like you again?

The fact is that you’re important enough to spend time taking care of yourself and it doesn’t matter what it is, just take the time to do it. If necessary, go as far as booking time in your diary. You’re the only one of you there is, so it’s your responsibility to make sure you’re okay.

4. Perfect Day

Here’s something to play with – your Perfect Day. This idea came to me a few years ago when a good friend suddenly asked me "What would be your perfect day?" I’d never been asked that before and I found myself spontaneously making up a story – telling her about my Perfect Day from the moment my eyes flickered open to the moment my head hit the pillow.

I went through each part of the day telling her what I was doing, who I was with, where we were, how it felt and what happened next. Bit by bit and without even thinking about it, I’d put together a rich, colorful, exciting, and comforting day, which still holds true as my Perfect Day. The best part is that you can start introducing little bits of your Perfect Day into your real life or working to make some of it happen. For example, in part of my Perfect Day I visit a company where I’m helping the directors and employees to focus on their strengths and to create a environment where people love to work and can be their best – and that was even before I knew that there was such a thing as coaching or that I could be a coach. My Perfect Day has now become like a good friend of mine whom I can call on whenever I want to.

So what’s your Perfect Day? Don’t think too much about it and don’t worry about it sounding silly or too grand. Just shoot from the hip and see what comes out naturally for you. Write down words, ideas, themes or a whole narrative – even draw pictures if you want to. Have fun with it, play with it – it’s your Perfect Day.

5. Get Some Fun, Fulfillment and Freedom

The Three F’s – Fun, Fulfillment, and Freedom - encompass a lot of what people are looking for in life, and also contain the solutions to having, doing and being those things. Here are some definitions,

Fun, n. - A source of enjoyment or pleasure; playful activity.

Ful-fil'ment, n. - To bring into actuality; to complete; a feeling of satisfaction at having achieved your desires.

Free-dom, n. - The capacity to exercise choice, free will; frankness or boldness; the absence of constraint in choice or action.

Read those again. Those things are huge, deep, and broad, and are a lot simpler than we make them.

Where are you in relation to each of the Three F’s? How much of each do you have right now? How much of each do you want? Whatever gap there is, recognize that it can be closed, and that you can close it. What would things be like if you were to close that gap? What would happen if you climbed a point or two on the Fun scale? What if you could add a point to your level of Fulfillment or Freedom? How would that feel? Pretty good, right? So what one thing can you do right now to help you get more?

By themselves each of the Three F's are a powerful thing, and can really help to move you forward, enjoy where you are, and feel alive. But when the Three F's come together . . .well, just hold on to your hat and keys.

Rut? What rut?""






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3 Simple Winning Strategies

Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes has a few sideways thrown in too. When things go wrong or don’t go as planned, or when something happens to throw us off balance and doubt ourselves it can be tough to deal with. After all, we all want things to go well and to end up as ‘winners’. But life will always throw challenges at us, and we can’t control everything. Nor should we try. It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that makes the difference. Here are three easy ways that you can always come out on top.

1. Focus on Your Strengths

We’re a bunch of contradictions – sorry to break it to you. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad; sometimes hopeful, sometimes pessimistic; sometimes childish and sometimes mature. We also have a whole load of strengths and weaknesses that affect what we do and how we do it, but tend to put more focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths.

A strength is something that you do consistently well or at a near-perfect level of performance – it’s something you’re just able to do, you’re hard-wired to do it well and you get an inherent satisfaction from doing it. It could be tackling and solving complex problems, empathizing with people, having a lively imagination or being able to make the perfect omelet.

Focusing on what you do well rather than what you’re not so good at makes all kinds of sense. When you look at what you’re not good at you feel bad about yourself and your ability, but when you focus on and play to your strengths you’re guaranteed to get results, and can even eliminate any negative effect your weaknesses might have.


2. Set Things Up Ahead Of Time

Sure, there will be times when you can just head into something, do brilliantly at it and get the result you were hoping for (normally if you’re playing to your strengths), but other times you might blunder forwards, wing it and not get the result you wanted. Whatever challenges or opportunities you’re facing you’ll stand a much better chance of getting a great result if you set things up to succeed ahead of time.

So what exactly do you want to happen? What solution, outcome or result would be great? Get really clear on the outcome you want from what’s facing you and how it would feel to get the outcome you’re looking for. Then start breaking it down – what can you do to set things up so that your desired outcome happens? What needs to be put in place? What will help to make what you want to happen, happen? And to ensure the best outcome, what are you willing to do?

Whatever faces you, it’s possible to get the result you want by being crystal clear about the kind of result you want and by putting effort into setting things up so that it happens. Look at this way – you’re infinitely more likely to get your most wanted result by putting time or effort into setting things up ahead of time than if you don’t. Your choice.

3. There’s No Such Thing as Losing Anyway

What’s life all about, really? Getting a good job, getting married, feeling valued, having fun? It’s about different things to different people, but to boil it down I think it’s about doing the best we can to have, do and be the best for ourselves and those we care about. Sometimes it’s a struggle and sometimes it’s a joy, but what is constant through it all is our capacity to learn, develop and grow. Humans have an unparalleled ability to learn and adapt, which is exactly why we’re able to do the best we can and find ways to have, do and be more.

That’s why everything you do takes you one step forwards and it’s only by doing one thing, then another and another that the most astounding things in our world came about. As Thomas Edison said while he was on his 207th prototype for the electric light bulb - 'I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.' He's absolutely right – everything you do that doesn’t work out is another tick in another box and another step forwards, because you know one more way not to do something and what not to do next time. You’ll never get to 100% without going from 1% to 99% first.

In all that you do, whether it turns out how you wanted it to or not, there’s the capacity for learning. That means that it’s all part of the process and everything that you do and learn is an important step forwards.

There’s no such thing as losing, only learning and growing. So here’s to your continued success!"

Have a positive and confident day,

JD

Live your life the way you want!

If you are one of those people for whom things are just not going the way they want .... if you think that things work out wonderfully well for everyone else BUT you, then you should sit back, relax and ponder upon your situation in this light:

We have all been brought up "in comparison" to others. There is an ideal time to go to school, finish college, get married, make money, have children etc and then everything HAS to repeat itself the same way for our children and so on!

If we are ever "behind" anyone (or everyone) in achieving a certain goal, a lot of anxiety and despair comes rushing into our lives. We then desperately try all kinds of things to get to that goal, all the while worrying that it will not happen for us...and what is the result? It actually doesn't! The more you despair for something, the more of these "wanting" vibrations will be released into the Universe and you will end up with more of "wanting" and no "gaining".

I want you to remember that it is always a BIG mistake to judge your life by comparing it with others. Your circumstances are completely different from them.... plans and things that work for them cannot work in exactly the same way for you. By worrying about why things are not working out for you in the same way, you CREATE a reality for that time; that those things or plans are not working for you. It is all because you are defining your reality by comparing it with someone else. Some one else's reality does not have anything to do with your reality.

Here is a better way of thinking and putting things in perspective: First and foremost, realize completely how you have acquired this state of mind. Accept that you have been comparing your reality with others and that is not taking you anywhere... they have a completely different path in life than yours. Love yourself the way you are, love your circumstances and accept that things at present are exactly as they should be. Also, allow yourself to believe that you WILL succeed although not in EXACTLY the same way that you want to. Perhaps God/Universe/Spirit wants to take you through a different path, but you WILL get there. Trust that although things may or may not turn out to be the way that you want them to, they WILL turn out in a way that is best for you. You have to be relaxed and non-judgmental for things to start working in the direction of your success. Set your OWN definitions of success, and do not base your happiness on how everything is working out for others.

Take action, but do not struggle to control each and every event in your life. Try to do all that you can to make things right and then trust in God/Universe/Spirit to take you to your goal. You will be happier, more secure and will have peace and love in your heart and best of all, eventually things will start going your way.

Have a confident and positive day,

JD




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23 Points to Ponder

I trust everyone had a great weekend! Some of you may still be enjoying an extended weekend, but I hope all is well and everyone had a great time.

Just a brief post to share some great points that I rediscovered over the weekend and thought I would share. Please feel free to share this with your friends and family also.

1. The most destructive habit…………………………Worry
2. The greatest Joy………………………………………….Giving
3. The greatest loss……………………Loss of self-respect
4. The most satisfying work………………..Helping others
5. The ugliest personality trait………………..Selfishness
6. The most endangered species……..Dedicated leaders
7. Our greatest natural resource………………..Our youth
8. The greatest “shot in the arm”………..Encouragement
9. The greatest problem to overcome……………………Fear
10. The most effective sleeping pill………….Peace of mind
11. The most crippling failure disease………………..Excuses
12. The most powerful force in life…………………………Love
13. The most dangerous pariah………………………..A gossiper
14. The world’s most incredible computer……….The brain
15. The worst thing to be without………………………….. Hope
16. The deadliest weapon…………………………………The tongue
17. The two most power-filled words…………………..”I Can”
18. The greatest asset………………………………………………Faith
19. The most worthless emotion…………………………..Self-pity
20. The most beautiful attire……………………………….SMILE!
21. The most prized possession………………………… Integrity
22. The most powerful channel of communication…..Prayer
23. The most contagious spirit…………………………Enthusiasm

Have a confident and positive day,

JD
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Aim High

Change is difficult for many people. Often times our whole identity is wrapped up in what we've learned as children will work for us when dealing with people, allowing us to survive, thrive and fit in. While some people have had to learn to thrive in the midst of change and learned to be adaptable by being open to new ideas and embracing change, many others have had to fight for survival and every table-scrap that came their way. Behavior is learned and it takes work to unlearn and dismantle these old beliefs.

The truth of the matter is that win-win is always possible. When you are able to see beyond the ego and recognize the abundance that is available, people, minds, and ideas come together and can create amazing changes that improve the current scenarios for many, many people. When you work with people who have this abundant and generous attitude, you are uplifted, the team soars, and amazing energy and creativity is unleashed. This is much harder to do, to sustain, and to elevate within others when you encounter individuals driven by the thought of scarcity and competition.

People like Steve Jobs are visionaries that have sought to bring about such shifts in society and in business. One thing I've learned along the way is that it is often better to take the high road. This isn't about judging others as wrong or seeing yourself as better than others. This is about recognizing your truth as to how you wish to BE in the world. Don't compromise your integrity. Don't get caught up in the competition. See the vision, see the outcome, feel the purpose and passion you're driven to offer the world, and give it freely. We all die. You can’t take anything from this life with you. So give what you have to offer the world. What is not given is lost forever.

If your goal is to truly bring about a positive change and serve others, how it is accomplished becomes less important and seeing it accomplished becomes more important. While it may be a blow to your ego when others criticize your inspiration, or someone takes the credit for something you've introduced, holding fast to the benefits for everyone will often soften the sting. You do need to pick and choose those places where you'll offer yourself, the key is to evaluate whether it is serving a common good. When you’re getting compensated for your contributions, gratitude would serve you spirit of peace. If you continually feel abused and stomped on, maybe it is time to move on to a more collaborative team, as well as a more receptive and appreciative audience.

Knowing that you are accomplishing your purpose and living your passion will be reward. In time, it will be recognized. Imposters will eventually be seen and heart & soul will always outlast the mind & ego. Along the way, through the journey that is your life and career, you will need to hold fast to the true inner qualities and nature of the brilliance that is you. Don’t allow these negative experiences to become something that undermines your value. You are not the negative experience. Often times, the negativity we experience from others, is more a reflection of them and less about who you are.

We all have different lenses, different gifts, different wiring, and different experiences. Difference is not something to be judged, it is a gift of diversity that brings the pieces of the puzzle of life together and creates a society, a solution, a technology, etc., together for the benefit of us all. Don’t doubt yourself when others cannot see the vision you see. Keep true, keep your intentions, and you will attract the right support, the right people, and the right opportunities. Lower the ego and aim high the vision. Lets make a difference.

Have a confident and positive day,

JD

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The Thieves of Personal Development

Nothing is worse than having a dream for yourself and entities getting in the way to keep you from it. The sad truth is those barriers to your dreams are usually self-created. Personal development is hindered by four main thieves operating on a daily basis within your life.

- Attitude
- Motivation
- Habits
- Time

Everything you do is a choice. With you choices is always an outcome. On another level, you could call it taking a personal responsibility for yourself. If your life isn’t flowing in the direction you wish, then perhaps it is time to dissect these four areas in a self-evaluation.

Attitude: Accomplishing great things in your life is impossible if your thoughts and words are contrary to it. When you wake in the morning are you happy to have the new day? Has your mind closed down to the potential each day brings? Doing an attitude self-check is essential to personal growth. Without maintenance on our attitude daily, it is near impossible to embrace opportunities which bring dreams closer to reality. If you take a good look around you, you will see people stuck on auto pilot, caught up in stoic repetition. An indifferent attitude is almost worse than a bad attitude. As you grow older, it becomes even more necessary to feed your mind, wash your belief systems and do daily maintenance checks on your attitude. Being unaware of poor thoughts is a poor excuse for not being able to reach out for your dreams. Attitude accountability is reaching out for resources and self-help tools purposely. By not doing so, this thief surely will steal your joy of self-discovery.

Motivation: Simply put, motivation is having an “iron will”. If you do not mean to do something, you won’t. You might dance around thoughts of doing something while melting away on your couch, but until you actually initiate your will through actions, it is only fluff. The hard truth is you are the biggest poser in your own life if you have no motivation to accomplish a wanted dream or goal. No one said finding motivation would be easy either. Every single person has or has had difficulties with motivation. It remains a number one challenge in personal development. There will always be the little voice inside you telling you to get motivated later. Until you make up your mind to exercise your will now, motivation will elude you, keeping it thief number two in personal growth.

Habits: Habits keep you in your comfort zone. Habits provide security. They feel safe, whether they are good habits or bad ones. They can also keep you from moving on into new and uncharted areas of growth. Which habits do you possess? Are they a part of your problem or part of your solution? Sometimes poor habits become so ingrained into who you are, you don’t even notice how they rob your dreams. Developing new habits that are in sync with your goals, is the key to personal development. You must emit behavior which supports the results you want. The reason they are called habits is because you do them over and over and over. To keep this thief robbing your life, you must find ways to eliminate unproductive habits.

Time: The word speaks for itself. It is a universal container for holding all of our life meaning. Finding time, not enough time, out of time…and to each and every human is a lifetime. This is your food for thought: at the end of your life, how will you have defined your journey in regards to time? Did you make time work for you or did you do time? Each moment belongs solely to you, to your choices and to your dreams. Respect the value of each moment life gives you for all things meaningful.

Have a confident and positive day,

JD
Discover How to Control the One Thing that Means More to Your Accomplishments and Happiness than Anything Else ... Your Attitude!

How To Develop Your Own Personal Mission Statement

Your personal development and motivation is the key to a successful and happy life. If you want to feel fulfilled from day to day then you need to know what makes you tick and how to get it. You need to be able to meet your goals and even exceed them and with a personal mission statement you will be that much closer to being in the position to do so.

Even businesses are getting in on these mission statements. They are a great way to make it known to yourself and others just where you want to be and what your goals really are. When you know your goal you can be constantly working towards them. If you simply bumble through life you will not stay on course with the same amount of steady ease. Everyone can benefit from a mission statement and if you want to get where you are going you will start writing your own today.

Your personal mission statement is not only about getting what you want out of work or the people around you, it is also about giving back to the world and your loved ones. This mission statement will help you to find out just where you stand in the world and help you to find out just what you should be doing for those around you. Take your time with this mission statement and see how you can change the world for the better. If you know that there is more that you could be doing for the entire world then this will help you to realize those dreams as well.

Your personal mission statement will help you to evolve into the person that you have always dreamed of becoming. If you are sick and tired of being the kind of person who simply lets things happen to them then a mission statement is for you. You will become a person to reckon with, a powerhouse of determination and skill. This statement is going to change your entire life for the better and it will begin to do so immediately. As soon as you take the step to start writing it you are going to begin to grow and evolve in ways that you ever thought that you could.

Start with just a simple pen and paper. Sit down and write about the person that you are today. Do you like yourself? Do you think that there are areas in your person that you could improve? Write about it and how you are going to change for the better and how you are going to do it. Focus also on your strengths and your abilities. Write how you want to change and in what areas of your life as well as about the goals that you want to see yourself meet over time. Which goals are short term ones and which are long terms goals. Write down all of the personal tings that you want to see happen and change in your life and you will change from that day forward.



Dana Goldberg, Author

Making and being a great friend

Have you come across a person who is so naturally friendly that when you put him inside a room of strangers, he'll be friends with almost everyone in no time? We call such a people-person, someone unbelievably nice and charismatic that he can charm anyone into doing anything.

A socially-empowered person achieves so much greatness, basically because of the people that catapult him to success. He earns the trust and all-out support of the people, whom he had helped before. He never runs out of help. He can do anything with the plethora of people behind him. All because he knows he maximizes his social potential!

See, if you know your social skills and you make use of them, you will reach self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is making a general overhaul in your life and turning yourself into a happier and more successful person.If you can be one of those people-persons, then I can't see any reason why you will not succeed. You just have to know how to start.

1. Be genuine.

Hypocrisy will just bring you all the way down. Be genuinely nice and interested to people. Once they perceive that you are Mr. Hypocrite with selfish intentions, you might as well say goodbye to self-empowerment.

2. Be the greatest listener that you can be.

To earn the love and trust of the people, listen to their problems and sympathize with them. Do not just hear them out, listen to them with your heart. Make eye contact when the person talks to you. Listen as if every word matters, and it does. Brownie points when they find out that there is a confidante in you.

3. Laugh out loud.

I do not mean that you force yourself to laugh for every joke cracked by someone, albeit you do not find it funny at all.This means finding humor in things and not being too darn serious. A person oozing with an awesome sense of humor attracts crowds and eventually, attracts success.

4. Don't forget yourself.

In the process of fluttering around like a social butterfly, you might forget yourself, allowing everyone to push you over. Remember, love and value yourself before anyone else. If you deem yourself respectable and worthy of affection, people will flock to you and not trample on you.

5. Do random acts of kindness.

You don't have to do a John Rockefeller and blow your savings to charity. Little acts of kindness matters the most, and this can be as simple as giving someone a surprise you-take-care card or helping an elderly cross the street. When we were kindergarten students, kindness was taught to us and greatly practiced. Now is the time to revive the good deeds and this time, let them stay for good.

6. Contact your old friends.

Sad how some friendships are destined to goodbye, but thanks to technology, you can do something about it. Relive the good old days by flipping your yearbook and look for the great people whom you want to communicate with again. Adding these old friends to your roster of support peers will surely make you feel good all over.

7. Develop your personality.

Are you grouchy, grumpy and generally morose? Whoa, you can't go through life with those. Get rid of the bad traits and habits that perpetually hamper your growth. And really, who wants a grouchy friend anyway?

8. Be confident.

Be able to stride to the other corner of the room and introduce yourself to people with that winning smile of yours. Just remember: be confident, not arrogant.

9. Practice control.

When angry, don't snap at anyone. Never throw a tantrum. Stay calm and collected. Be adult enough to take control of situation and transform your anger into something more productive and passive. As soon as people think your anger goes to volcanic proportions easily, they will find it hard to come to you.

10. Keep nurturing your relationships.

Your relationship with your family, friends and significant others is too precious that you must not neglect it whatever happens. Go out and have fun with them. Do things together. Happiness will never fly from your side as long as the people who matter the most are close to you.

In the end, using people for self-empowerment means becoming a better and more lovable person. It's a win-win situation: the people know they can turn to you anytime and vice versa.

To sum things up I truly hope that each of you see me as such a friend. If you feel that I am lacking in any area, don't hesitate to give me a swift kick to wake me up so I can correct my faults.

Thank you to all my friends!

Best wishes,
JD
Discover How to Control the One Thing that Means More to Your Accomplishments and Happiness than Anything Else ... Your Attitude!

What Innovation Can Do to Your Life

It's a talent that everyone has, yet they think they don't. The power of innovation. If you've ever marveled at somebody's creative prowess, guess what, you can create and innovate too. It just takes time. Everyone is born creative. The box of crayons in kindergarten were not limited to those who possessed potential; because the truth is, everybody has potential.

You know how long it took to learn to ride a bike or drive or to never commit the same mistake again? It's the same with innovation. It takes a bit of practice and a lot of time before this mind function comes easily when called. This article will teach you a few tips on how to bring innovation into your life.

Don't listen to what other people say. Follow the beat of your own drum. Allowing for the input of other people will only bring cacophony to the music you are trying to make. If you have an original idea, don't waste your time and effort trying to make people understand. They won't. And the help you will probably get comes in the form of negative feedback. If all those geniuses listened to their peers, we would probably still be living in the middle ages.

Spend time on it. I cannot stress that enough, although, please do not mistake this tip to tell you to quit your day job entirely. Do not. This involves some tricky time management but with a little discipline you'll be able to squeeze both in.

Exercise. Take a walk. Run a mile or two. Send all those endorphins coursing through your veins. Exercising certainly clears and relaxes your mind and allows for anything to pop up.

Record your dreams. Aren't some of them just the craziest things that your conscious mind would never have thought of? If you've had these dreams before, and I'm sure have, this only shows you the untapped innovative power you have lying within. So jot down those notes. Those dreams may just create an innovative spark in you.

Find your own style. You can always tell a Van Gogh from a Matisse. You'll know Hemingway wrote something by the choice of words on the paper. So it is the same with you. People will appreciate your innovation more because it is uniquely yours and that no one else would have thought of what you were thinking. That will let people see how valuable an asset you are.

Don't hide behind nifty gadgets or tools. You don't need the most expensive set of paints to produce a masterpiece. The same way with writing. You don't need some expensive fountain pen and really smooth paper for a bestseller. In fact, J.K. Rowling wrote the first book of the Harry Potter Series on bits of tissue. So what if you've got an expensive SLR camera if you're a crappy photographer? Who cares if you've got a blinging laptop if you can't write at all? The artist actually reduces the number of tools he has as he gets better at his craft: he knows what works and what doesn't.

Nothing will work without passion. What wakes you up in the mornings? What keeps the flame burning? What is the one thing that you'll die if you don't do? Sometimes people with talent are overtaken by the people who want it more. Think the hare and the tortoise. Ellen Degeneres once said that if you're not doing something that you want to do, then you don't really want to do it. And that's true. Sometimes you just want something so bad you become a virtual unstoppable. And that is passion. Passion will keep you going.

Don't worry about inspiration. You can't force it; inspiration hits when you least expect it to, for those unpredictable yet inevitable moments you should prepare. An idea could strike you on the subway, yet alas, you poor unfortunate soul; you have no sheet of paper to scribble down a thought that could change the world. Avoid these disasters. Have a pen and paper within your arm's reach at all times.

I hope this article has helped you bring more innovation into your life. Keep in mind that you're doing these things for your own satisfaction and not anybody else's. But soon enough they will notice, and everything should snowball from there.

The ABC'S of Motivation and Self Improvement

Learn the new ABC's and watch your motivation surge.

A - Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

B - Believe in your self, and in what you can do.

C – Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.

E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.

G – Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place at work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things.

H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force.

I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.

J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone.

K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement.
L – Learn to love your self. Now isn’t that easy?

M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.

N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be.

P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.

Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?

R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.

S – Stop procrastinating!

T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self control coincides synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement.

U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second.

V – Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land.

W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement.

X – X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.

Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once.

Z – Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!!