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Never Give Up

Live a life of your dreams.  Many of us have become so disillusioned in life that we no longer make any effort to reach for our dreams.  Never Give Up!  Failure is the resultant the moment you give up.

Remember the times when you were young and the many dreams that you had dreamed of and wanted to achieve?  The times when you allowed your minds free rein to imagine all things possible?  The times when you were not hindered by negativity and impossibility of achievement?  How many of those dreams are still alive and on your vision board of goals to be attained?

What happens as we go through life and slowly see our dreams get shattered one at a time?  As Napoleon Hill put it:- What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.  We have seen many examples of this throughout history.

• Thomas Edison’s discovery of the light bulb
• Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone
• Steve Job’s invention of Apple’s best selling products

As long as you passionately believe in your dreams, and hold on tight to them without giving up, the possibility of your dreams manifesting still stand strong.  However the moment you surrender and give in to harsh reality is the moment of truth for yourself that you will never attain your dream.

However if you stand firmly behind your dreams and not let them die, go through life everyday knowing that one day your dreams will become real, what a difference it will make!  Your attitude is everything!  How you think will decide your outcome!

Never ever give up on your dreams.  The moment you do, you are admitting to yourself that they are only dreams and will never make it to reality.  If you want to live a life of your dreams you need to keep your dreams alive.  Live your dreams in your mind daily.  Feel your dreams come alive.  Make use of all your five senses to live your dream.  The clearer the picture of your dream in your mind, the stronger will it become a reality.

Hold it in your heart that your dreams are your reality and not just a dream.  Live it with passion.  Do not doubt.  Dreams DO become reality.  J  And what if you could make your reality better than your dreams?

How to make your reality better than your dreams~~

Just came across this story on Facebook and thought that it was so true…  Hope that his little story can inspire you to be more understanding toward your parents…  They did a whole lot for us since the day we were born and love us a thousand times though in certain cultures, we may not notice it as it is not shown in a very verbal manner.  However, deep down in their hearts, they do love us.  Lets remember to show them an attitude of gratitude no matter what may happen.

If you would like to send them a physical greeting card with some memorable pictures of the family, feel free to check out my online greeting card site and do so.

Attitude of Gratitude

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“My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.

If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”… Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.

Attitude of Gratitude

By Robert Piper

Here are ten life changing tips inspired by quotes from the great Sufi poet, Rumi:

1. Challenge Fear
“Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.”

2. Be Bold
“Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth.”

3. Have Gratitude
“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.”

4. Take Action
“Why should I stay at the bottom of a well, when a strong rope is in my hand?”

5. Have Faith
“As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.”

6. Embrace Setbacks
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?”

7. Look Inside
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

8. Learn From Suffering
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

9. Don’t Be Concerned With What Others Think Of You
“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.”

10. Do What You Love
“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”

As we know that in life, every person has to suffer from difficulties and challenges. These are a part of life but oftentimes the only way that can help you get out of your groove are words of encouragement, motivation and inspiration. It is human nature that a person knows full well that he should not give up but sometimes we find it hard to stay affirmative and hopeful.

Words of encouragement can have a huge positive impact especially in times of hopelessness and difficulties.  In such times, an upbeat word can go a long way to help a person see things in a different light and maybe even change their mindset and shift their paradigm.  Such words can help to alleviate their anxiety and enhance their confidence. Sometimes words of encouragement are the biggest strength of any person and sometimes it is the most crucial feature in the curing progression of a person.

The first and main influential strength in our life is encouragement. Offering words of encouragement is so important because they could be life saving. Every once in awhile, there pops up some moments when a man totally loses hope, then the only thing that gives him strength are these specially worded positive words of encouragement.

Occasionally we get disheartened because of a slight hiccup that is likely to be ended by the end of the day. Permit yourselves to be tolerant and look at the event in a different way from another point of view. Avoid making any decisions when you are facing such a situation because you may make an erroneous one.

The three ways by which you can embrace encouragement in your life are:-

1. believe in yourself
2. offer encouragement to others
3. accept encouragement from others

The most important suggestion is for people to embrace such words of encouragement, motivation and inspiration as these can have a philosophical effect on many people’s life. When we encourage people, we could be giving them a motivation to follow their dream and goal. There are many people who never listen or take heed of advice from others. These type of people are either too stubborn or they feel that they are worthless and not worthy of any assistance.

It is important to be able to be encouraged by others as this can help you to believe in yourself and to go all the way out to achieve your goals. You should accept the encouragement that people are offering you because this will bless you and give you a wining situation. Do believe in yourself.  Individuals with belief in themselves will be able to rise up and face whatever difficulties they may come across.  As long as they have some support and good advice, they will tend to come out of their dark hole even stronger than before.

It is advisable as well to go for daily words of encouragement as these can help to strengthen you as a person and increase the positivity around you and make you a stronger person.

When we were small kids, we started learning the basic skills of communication as they form the essence of any form of communication. Communication skill enhances a person’s effectiveness in his professional life as well as personal life. There are many skills that can be helpful for your success; the most important of which is communication skill because in business you have to deal with many people and it is of great importance that it can either build your career or break it. When you are going to start up your new business, you will have to meet many prospects and clients.  In order to be effective and get your message, targets and goals across, you will need to communicate with them in great detail.  If you are an effective communicator, it would be easier to get yourself understood whether they are from the same background or not.

There are many people who think that it is not easy to learn some efficient communication skills. However, taking the time and effort and making progress in the communication abilities at work as well as at home can go a long way in creating and increasing the productivity and happiness.  Possessing effective communication skills can lead to a strong interaction among employees, increase the understanding and trust which create a good atmosphere among people and also build a satisfying and sustainable relationship with many people whether in your home and with whom you are working.

A good conversation is a sign that the person is well aware of some communication skills. When a person is well aware of effective communication skills then he can handle most tough communication easily. Communication skill not only refers to the way in which we communicate with others but also involves other forms of communication such as body language.  Body language plays a huge part in communication.  Imagine speaking to a person who keeps his arm folded throughout the meeting.  Does it not give you a feeling that he is not interested in what you have to say?

An effective communicator is able to get his/her message across to the recipient and understood in the way it was intended.  A person with great communication skills also makes an active listener, as he/she tends to clarify what he/she has heard to ensure that the message is received as was intended.

A person with effective communication skills tends to be able to handle emotional interferences better.  For example, if someone is angry, he may be upset and frustrated and if he is not able to handle the emotions well, his message could end up being more negative than intended.  Thus if he is an effective communicator, he will somehow be able to hide the negativity and turn the outcome into a successful one.

An effective communicator will not put his listener on the defensive.  This means that he may be more tactful as well.  Even if a person is at fault, he will not likely say it directly to his face.  He will be able to word it in a manner that the recipient will take it well and accept the consequences.

We cannot increase our communications skills overnight.  It takes time to learn and if we take things one-step at a time, we can increase our confidence.  Communication skill can be increased by regular practice since we know that practice makes a man perfect.

Communication is one of the significant features of life. Communication skills are necessary in all specialty of life.  Communication skills are the most important skill that will help you to succeed in your personal and professional life. There are two types of communication skills; one is verbal and the other non-verbal.

In verbal communication you can use all form of words including all varieties of word practice. Both written and oral words can be used in this first category. Most people use this type of communication skill but some more than others. People are able to send accurate messages by using the verbal communication skills.

In non-verbal communication, people make use of symbols instead of words to express implication. Normally this type of communication depends upon the understanding of the person getting the messages. Hence this means that the messages is open to understanding and thus may be correct or not, depending upon the awareness of the recipient.

If a person wants a successful professional as well as personal life, he/she needs to brush up on his/her communication skills. Such communication skills encompass listening skills, writing skills, speeking skills and, last but not least, non-verbal skills. A person should experience communication skills such as reading, writing, listening, conservation and speaking with various people in the office, factory as well as in the home.

Listening skill:- The listener must have patience to listen, show his/her interest, maintain eye contact, and not interrupt the communicator. By proper listening you get the team goal and you can get a better chance to think about more productive ideas both for team and for individual levels. By listening properly a supreme significant importance is given in teamwork which results in the building of new and better inter-personal relationship at the place of work.

Writing skill:-  Writing is the main factor for the best communication skills with the use of sweet, sensible, legible and readable words so the reader will easily understand what you are trying to say.  This incorporates accurateness, appropriateness and thoughtfulness to your listeners.  If you are not able to capture your idea well, then you should try again and again.

Speaking skill:-  A person who speaks well is not necessarily a good listener. Information, self-confidence and deliverance are the essential fundamentals of an effective speech and that requires training. A person has to build up self-confidence and try to take away the fear of obsession gradually especially if he/she is required to speak publicly in front of a large audience.

Reading skill:-  Reading is also very important in any communication.  A person should read motivational and inspirational books as this can help them in their communication skills. We should underline the words that we find difficult to understand and then consult the dictionary.

A person who wants to develop good communication skills in order to communicate effectively should not only understand the basic communication skills, he/she should be able to engage the audience with their words as well as voice.

Everyone has been angry at some time or other.  Some more frequent than others.  For some, anger management is a big issue as they are not able to control their anger.  This inability to keep their anger in check can take a toll on relationships, work, health, etc…  Worse still, it can cause them to be destructive and lead to criminal offense.

Here are some anger management techniques as shared with us by our pastor.  As such, you may find some references to the Bible on how to control anger issues and deal with anger.

The Bible tells us, “In your anger do not sin”.  When you feel the thermometer rising, that is not sin.  HE does not tell us that we are not to get angry.  Yes, we have the right to be angry with the things that anger God.  These include abortion and rape amongst others.

Think about the issue of anger carefully and you will realize that many times, we are angry because we are being personal.  At the point of anger, we are irrational and we always think that we are right.

Dangers of Anger

Why should we be careful about anger?

-       Human anger does not make us do what is right and does not please God

-       Anger begets anger.  When you are angry, your anger rubs off on others.  Sometimes we want others to be angry when we are angry.  If we are not careful, this can cause others to sin, fight and commit crimes.

-       When we are angry, we do not process and analyse well.  We just do not make good decisions at that point of time.  The best decisions are made after the tidal storm.

-       We have greater understanding when we are slow to anger.  We are better equipped to handle situations when we are not angry and are thinking rationally with a clear unclouded mind.

-       Do not put foolishness on a pedestal.  When anger is not in check, our tongue is let loose.  We then say or do things that we may regret once the bout of anger is over. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

How to Control Anger

-       Think calmly and speak softly.  Don’t stir up anger and speak harsh words.  When this is not adhered to, many friendships that were once held dear can be broken in a matter of seconds.

-       Be slow to anger.  It is better to be long-suffering, compassionate and gracious.  However, as humans, we find it tough to exhibit those godly characteristics.  It is good to learn how to control our anger by not getting upset over each and every small issue.

-        Do not follow the ways of angry men.  Have no friendship with such people as they will lead you astray and get you entangled in a web of deceit.  You can be friendly with them but there are only few real friendships.  To real friends, we can cast our cares upon them and they will support us.

If you want to be successful in your business and happy in your life as well as achieve your goals, then being effective is the best thing. As we know that our life is the compilation of habits and these habits have a very important function in our life. A habit corresponds with skills, knowledge and desires. First of all skills give us the ability to know how to do a given task. Knowledge allocates us the information to know everything about the goal that you want to achieve and desires are the inspiration to achieve your goals. To be effective is hugely important as it is the most inspirational way to achieve your dreams and what you desire in your life.

Here are the seven habits of highly effective people as per Stephen R Covey, author of the book of the same title.

1.  Be proactive.  The first and main difference between a person and an animal is the self-awareness and capability to decide what type of response is being shown to a stimulus. Proactive people exploit their inventiveness and proposal to discover elucidation moderately than just reporting troubles and waiting for other people to resolve them. To be proactive means to judge the condition and then build up an optimistic reply for it.   Spend your time and focus on things that you can do something about.

2.  Begin with the end in mind.  The second habit is to start on something with a vision of what you want the results to be. Stephen Covey said that every thing is formed two times; first in the mind by visualization and then in physical reality by corporal, definite conception.  To be your individual author means to think about and plan what you want to do as well as what you want to achieve and then create your life success according to your visualization.

3.  Put things first.  This is basically creating your life with proper time management.  Do those things that are urgent and of most importance first and prioritize your time.

4.  Think win-win.  In anything that you undertake, think always of sealing the deal with a win for everyone involved.  This way, everyone mutually benefits and wins!  Life becomes a co-operation rather than a competition.

5.  Seek first to understand, then to be understood.  Effective communication is key.  Be a good listener and listen with the intent to understand.  This will help you understand the concept and you will be able to convey your message, opinions, plans, etc… easily to others.

6.  Synergize.  Create a process where teamwork and open-mindedness are practiced regularly.  This will help you open your mind and heart to new opinions, new alternatives as well as new possibilities.  Value differences as strengths as these can truly add to the synergy when brainstorming and coming up with new ideas.

7.  Sharpen the saw.  Sometimes a person is busy working with the first 6 habits that they forget to renew, recharge and re-energize.  By sharpening the saw, Stephen R Covey is reminding us to have a balanced program for ourselves.  Some of the techniques Covey advocates include planning, nutrition, exercising, reading, building relationships, meditating, etc…

The 7 habits of highly effective people have helped thousands of individuals solve their personal as well as professional problems as well as created a paradigm shift in their way of thinking.  Stephen R Covey believed that every individual is unique and capable of greatness.

Motivational Speech

In the history of a few years, there has been an unexpected increase in the number of motivational speakers. They come into view in magazines and on television as well as at seminars. We have noticed that any person who speaks professionally and is able to motivate and inspire the audience is called a motivational speaker.

According to the dictionary, a motivational speaker is a qualified facilitator, instructor or speaker who generally speaks to an audience, usually for a fee. Motivational speakers are repeatedly hired as keynote speakers to open or close events in a lively style. A classic speech made by the motivational speaker usually ranges from 45 to 90 minutes where the speech can be as short as 30 minutes or as extended as two hours. Motivational speakers stem from various backgrounds and vastly different environment.

While the motivational speaking occupation requires no proper guidance or qualifications, those who speak professionally and achieve something in the field acquire the verified capability to teach, lift up and inspire their listeners. The best presenters are the ones that can connect the listeners and allocate best understanding, performance and life lessons without boring their listeners.

A successful and highly-in-demand motivational speaker is usually busy not just delivering powerful high energy performances and boosting enthusiasm, they have to be sure to convey appropriate, realistic content that will correspond with a meeting’s objectives. At the same time, many top motivational gurus are able to inject lots of laughter from start to finish, somehow woven into their powerful message.

A good motivational speaker must show self-confidence by being enormously well-informed in contrast to others, such as one’s own contemporaries, about a particular issue. This is a key reason that makes or breaks a speaker’s popularity. A speaker is extremely popular and in demand particularly when the coordinators want to set up a seminar or an event with the aim to teach the people about the specific topic. The more experiences and knowledge the speaker has, the better placed he/she will be.

Some of the popular motivational speakers whom I have personally heard at some seminar or other over the past few years include T. Harv Eker, Nick Vujicic, Stephen Pierce, Anthony Robbins and Randy Gage. These speakers come from diverse backgrounds, yet all have the gift of the gab; being able to share their success stories in a way that motivates their audience to emulate what they have achieved and have their audience yearning to hear more of their motivational speeches.

The main thing that the speaker has to consider is that he/she should be able to convey the basic information that the listeners are there for and end up encouraging and empowering individuals to lead a better life. The professional and successful motivational speakers are available to give a totally unique and fresh approach to a particular subject as well as infect the audience with their enthusiasm.

Seven Habits of Highly Successful People

Almost every single person wants to be successful. However, not many will attain the success they desire because they do not possess the qualities of highly successful people. If a person wants to be successful, then he should take heed from some of the habits of highly successful people and learn from these people who have made it in life.

There is a book titled “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” written by the late author, Stephen R. Covey. This book was first published in 1989 and has proven to be a bestseller. This self-help book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and delves into the proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity.

There are numerous traits that a successful person possesses. Here we shall cover just seven habits of highly successful people:-

1. Be zealous. The first habit that a successful person should have is the zeal to perform the tasks that he has been given. He dedicates his entire body, mind and soul to achieve the goal to complete the tasks with great passion.

2. Manage your time wisely. All of us have just 24 hours in a day. However, we sometimes wonder how some people are able to get so much done in the same amount of time. Every successful person takes the time to schedule their tasks for the day and arrange them in order of priority. In doing so, they easily manage their time in a way where they are able to achieve their goals and complete their task.

3. Plan your day. The third and crucial habit that is important in their daily routine is the planning of their activities. They make it a point to tabulate the list of daily routine work and complete it in the given time limit.

4. Give your all. You should be 100 percent loyal in whatever you do and you should give all of 100 percent to your work. If you not able to give your 100 percent, you will never achieve what you desire in your life and the possibility of becoming a highly successful person is slim.

5. Have a tangible purpose and set a goal. You should have some tangible reason to be a successful person in your life. You cannot be successful when you do not know what you have to achieve in your life. Setting your goal is very important if you wish to achieve something in your life. That way, you have something concrete to work for and a direction to follow.

6. Take action. You should take serious action towards your goal if you want to succeed in life. To be a successful, much thinking and planning may be required to achieve your goal. If you want to move closer to your goals then you should make it a habit to do something every day.

7. Accept failure. The last of the 7 habits of highly successful people is that the successful person must be able to embrace failure. If you want to have a successful life then you should have the courage to face up to failure. Accept the fact that we all make mistakes and learn from them. We should never give up no matter how difficult the task may be and never give up.

In conclusion, in order to be successful, do put into practice the seven habits of highly successful people and take action. Just knowing and not doing will get you nowhere. And if I may just add, remember to always be humble and live an attitude of gratitude.  I wish you all the best for success!