THE TIME TO USE YOUR PERSONAL POWER IS NOW!

Most of the world's truly great people will be forever unknown. You and I will not hear of them and no one will write their biographies. Fortunately, fame has nothing whatever to do with greatness.
Sure, like most people, I love watching Oprah Winfrey and am inspired by her story. It's fun to watch Donald Trump or Bill Gates, although neither of them started in what most of us would call poverty. Perhaps the greatest recent example is President Obama. As a toddler, few would have predicted his current job title.
But most of us will never be famous and it's unlikely anyone will write our biography. And that has nothing whatever to do with "greatness!" All of us want to achieve. Whether our goals are to make more money, to have more time with loved ones or to achieve some other goal, the thing TIPS subscribers have in common is the desire to do, have and become more. How do we achieve that?
We all have greatness within us. Every one of us is born to make a difference, to play our part, and transform our corner of the world. We all--every single one of us--has the potential to live with joy and gusto and greatness. Why do so many of us settle for small problems, and small lives?
I think too many of us fail to grab hold of our personal power.
Because we are not "powerful" on the world stage, we forget that we have tremendous power in our choices. We may not be rich or famous but we have the power to live with dignity and integrity and ambition. We have the power to smile, to try, to persist. We have the power to read and learn, and to pick ourselves up and try again, perhaps in a new and smarter way. We have the power to be loving, to be kind, and the infinite power to create.
We have the power to decide how we live our lives.
My sense is that it helps to have a big dream. My father always told us that if we were going to dream, we might as well dream BIG dreams. I think it matters what we expect in life. I think it helps to imagine the best and focus our thoughts, our attention and our intention on big dreams.
But I also think it's vital that we not be distracted by our own dreams. It's helpful and fun to aim for the sky, so long as we realize that even the biggest dreams happen one step at a time. Donald Trump's fancy skyscrapers are build one rivet at a time. Oprah built her empire one interview, one decision at a time. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."
Both Nelson Mandela and Marianne Williamson have been credited with the insight that our greatest fear is not that we are powerless, but that (in fact!) we are powerful beyond measure. Whoever said it first, I think it's true.
You are powerful beyond measure! You have the power to change your world any time you wish. Use your power! Get up a bit earlier, or work a bit longer, stand a bit taller. Give a smile to someone who needs one. Put legs under your dreams and make them happen.
High achievers use their personal power. They get up early. They exercise. They make key phone calls. They read great books. They monitor their time, their nutrition, their investments, their relationships. And so can you! These are the pesky "little things" that create big results!
Use your power every single day! Write a note or call a friend. Do it today, not tomorrow or "someday." Use your power to take a hike, read a story to a child or make one more sales call. Today, set aside an hour to read a book, practice a new skill or take a mentor to lunch. Today, initiate some action that, if repeated over time, will take your life in the direction you want to go.
For the month of August, promise that you will use your power every single day. Choose a few key areas and commit that each day you will take the ordinary actions that will move you forward. Remember the cliché that "mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow?" The world's strongest athletes started with a few sit-ups or push-ups. The world's great fortunes often began with one small investment. Use your power! Whatever you have and wherever you are, begin and persist.

Quotes of the Week
"We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility." -- Albert Einstein
"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T. S. Eliot
"Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash." -- Harriet Rubin