YOUR DATE WITH DESTINY

Destiny. What a powerful word. And the great thing about it? Everyone has one! You have a destiny! Another great thing about destiny? We have a significant role in shaping our own destiny! In essence, you can choose your date with destiny – powerful!
Your destiny is the dream that lies within you of your desired and preferred future. And the things that we choose each day are what lead us to that destiny: Our actions, our words, our attitudes, and our relationships. They all add up to develop and shape that date on which we will reach our destiny.
Here are some thoughts to think about as you work on shaping your Date with Destiny:
The Mental Question: Do you believe that you can achieve a life of abundance?
The frank truth is that many people simply do not believe that they can achieve what lies in their heart. Success is for someone else, a better person, or a smarter person. This is not true and is perhaps the greatest obstacle we face on the journey to our destiny. If we are to achieve the abundance in life we must first believe we can, or face our own continual self-sabotage of what a college professor of mine called “stinkin’-thinkin.’”
Here is the truth:
It doesn’t matter what your intelligence is.
It doesn’t matter what your current resources are.
It doesn’t matter what you currently earn.
It doesn’t matter what family you came from.
Nothing in your current circumstances matter in whether or not you can achieve your destiny! Nothing! Now, your current state may make it a longer or harder journey than someone else, but the possibility is always there no matter what your current circumstances are.
And that is the message we need to continually tell ourselves. “I can do it.” Not “I can’t do it.” Clear vision. Do you have one of your destiny? Here are some questions to determine whether or not your vision is clear.
Can you describe it in intricate detail?
Can you “see” it?
Can you “feel” it?Can you “hear” it?
Here are a couple of illustrations.
Perhaps you came from a dysfunctional family and your dream is to have great moments with your family. Let’s start with a Thanksgiving meal.
Can you see each person there?
What are they wearing?
Are they smiling?
What is the conversation?
Can you hear the laughter?
Can you experience the joy?
Can you smell the turkey?
Can you see people hugging each other and saying “This was wonderful,” as they leave?
Another scenario: Your company.
Can you see the large building you are in?
Can you see the workers?
Can you feel the positive attitude they have as they carry out their work?
Can you experience the excitement as you get the quarterly results?
Can you see yourself handing out healthy bonuses that bring pleasant surprises to your employees?
This is where it begins. A clear vision of your destiny. Consider your resources. Are you aware of the resources you will need in order to set your date with destiny? Do you know how you will go about getting them?
What are your natural gifts and talents that you have? How can you best utilize them in achieving your destiny?
What are your current level of resources?
Money?
Time?
Emotional health?
Help from others such as friends, family, employees or volunteers?What will be your needed future level of resources? And have you developed a plan to achieve this level?
The last thing I would encourage you to do is fix a date in the future that you believe you could believe you will be living your destiny by. A real date. What this enables you to do is then begin to work backwards in setting goals to move you along the way, proving you with future points to strive for and evaluation point to reflect upon.
Here are the points again:
Answer the mental question: Do I really believe?
Develop a clear vision.
Consider the resources needed.
Set a date with destiny.
Develop a plan to get there.

THE PRIMARY KEY TO ALL PERSONAL SUCCESS

I owe EVERYTHING I have to one very important skill. If it weren't for this one skill, I would not be able to help anyone discover the tremendous Power that lies within them, nor would I have been able to reach a level of success where I enjoy as much happiness and joy as I do today. When I was in high-school, I was a very insecure kid - full of self-doubts, and scared out of my wits to reach out and make friends. In my mind, I was a nobody, and before I would be interesting enough for people to accept me, I had to become more than I was. Because of that belief, I started reading self-help books and anything I could find on personal relationships. Luckily, I stumbled on a book that opened my mind to a concept I'd never considered. It was called "The Greatest Salesman in the World" and was written by Og Mandino. In the preface of the book, the author talked about some of the 1000s of letters from readers telling about how the book helped them find their niche in life and reach personal success in areas that seemed to have nothing at all to do with sales. In some cases, the book literally saved their lives. At that time of my life, I didn't want anything to do with selling anything, so this was a radical concept to me - that selling was in some way related to personal success. Very quickly, I discovered the truth of it, as every situation in life requires that you 'sell' an idea to someone. When you want to make friends, you have to 'sell' yourself as someone who is enjoyable to spend time with. The same is true when you want to ask someone out on a date. When you go in for a job interview, you have to 'sell' yourself as the best choice for the position. When you counseling a friend, you're 'selling' them on taking your suggestions and acting on them. When you negotiate to buy a car or house, you're 'selling' the seller on the idea of lowering the price. And if you're the one selling a car or house, you're very definitely selling. Selling the idea that what you have is worth at least as much as you're asking for it. And if you have a business, your ability to sell will spell either success or failure for that business. In short, sales skills are the most important key to success in all areas of life.

OBAMA: THE CHALLENGE OF LEADERSHIP

What would I say if given just one more chance to give a short speech that would challenge people to step forward and lead? Here it is:
The topic of leadership has been and continues to be one of the most vital topics in human history. From ancient civilizations to modern day multi-national corporations, men and women of passion, fervor and zeal have sought to discover the secrets of moving others beyond the gray of their mundane reality to the rich array of colors that embody the palate of the extraordinary life.
Every organization or collection of people, from large to small, requires ardent and skilled leaders. It has been said that everything rises and falls on leadership, and it is true. Every group – families, cities, churches, associations and yes, even nations – fulfills its purposes and potential based on the leadership it is shown.
As leaders we are given the charge, the responsibility, and the privilege to see grand visions, to dream lofty dreams, to forge new ground, and to challenge and encourage those who would follow our leadership to ascend the heights with us. We beckon them to come. We implore them. All for their own good. This is to lead them toward their possibilities.
Be assured that there will be a leader of every group. There will be those who influence others, even if you don’t. There may even be unscrupulous people who use their abilities to lead others astray. The quote “All it takes for evil to prevail is for the good man to do nothing,” remains true today, as it has through the annals of time. This is the compelling motive for you to rise up and lead the way for others.
Our families depend on it.
Our community groups depend on it.
Our nations depend on it.
People will follow you for two reasons:
-They follow you because of your character, for who you are.
-They also follow you for your skills, for what you can do. Make it your every effort to impart skillful and honorable leadership for them that would look to you for your wisdom, your guidance and your belief in the promise of the human spirit.
Someone will lead. Will it be you? If not you, then who will lead? If you will not lead now, then when?
Today, more than ever, you are needed. Your strong character is needed. Your finely honed skills are needed. I know you will rise to the challenge.
Lead boldly. Lead with faith. Lead others to the pinnacle of the human existence. This is the highest calling and the reward is of the utmost kind.
You can also become an OBAMA!

MAGIC 8-BALL

Do you remember that little toy many of us had when we were little that supposedly “answered” questions? It was a black eight ball like one you would play pool with that had a window in it that, when turned upside down, would display a floating unit inside with pre-scripted answers to your questions. What is funny about this is that there was a remote chance that the answers could be reasonably close to a possible answer!
This got me to thinking: Are there a set group of answers you could find most of the answers to life’s situations in? I think we could come close, so I sat down and thought about all of the issues that I deal with in people’s lives and realized that most answers do come from the same pool of answers.
Why is this? Because there is nothing new under the sun and the problems of the human existence tend to repeat themselves.
So here are MY answers. See if one of them won’t do the trick for your question, problem, or situation.
You Need Clearer Vision. Sometimes the problem lies in the fact that our vision isn’t clear enough. We “kind of” know where we are going and that means we “kind of” get there! By getting our vision clearer, we are able to refine our path, which brings us the results we are looking for on our journey.
Question: Do you need to clear up your vision before you move on?
Stop Whining – Life Isn’t Fair. Yes, some people have it better than others. Sometimes that is just the way it is. But to get our minds on that fact is useless, and to constantly lament the fact that an office mate “gets all the breaks” is simply whining. It is time to get over it and quit focusing in on your differences and start focusing in on creating the life that you want, because you can live the life you dream of if you redirect your whining energy into success energy!
Question: Are you spending more energy whining or working on your success plan?
Persevere and Give It Time. Sometimes it is hard, that is true. Sometimes we just need to go one more day. I have had this happen in my life many times. There have been times in my life when my whole goal was to get through another week. Plug away, push through, and persevere. Give it time and you will find yourself making ground toward your desired destination.
Question: Is this a time when you simply need to keep persevering and giving your situation time to work itself out?
Increase Your Skills. There are times we don’t get what we want because we just don’t have the skills. That is the bad news. The good news is that we can always increase our skills! Sometimes we find ourselves in a spot where the proper thing to do is to readdress our skill level so the next time we take a stab at it we can succeed because of our increased skill level.
Question: Is it time to refocus on increasing your skills?
Forgive Them and Move On. People will burn you. I have had countless people burn me in my life. It happens. Sometimes we even burn other people, even when we aren’t trying to. The key to success is to forgive them and move on. Unforgiveness will root you in your undesired past through your memory and that is not where you want to live the rest of your life! When you forgive those who burn you, you set yourself free.
Question: Whom do you need to forgive?
Time for An Attitude Adjustment! It has been said that “Your attitude determines your altitude” and it is true! Sometimes we do not achieve what we want to because our attitude stinks. And a stinky attitude affects a lot of what happens to us including how others treat us. Sometimes we have to take a long look in the mirror and realize that we need to see a change in our attitude.
Question: Is your attitude the element that is holding you back?
When all else is said and done, at least you have a great family. Many times we get caught up in things that just really don’t matter. Much of what we consider to be “so important” just isn’t. The most important thing we can do is lead a healthy family life and raise our children to become great people themselves! If you can rest in this, my friend, you can truly rest.
Question: Are you valuing your family as you should?
You need to take a break and gets some rest. All work and no play makes Johnny and Suzie a dull boy and girl! Sometimes when I am dealing with people and helping them to sort things out, I simply tell them to walk away for a while. They need a break. They need a rest. Time away will make them stronger for the battle when they re-enter the arena.
Question: Is it time for you to take a break?
What do you think? Is there an answer for you in the above statements? I think if we are honest with ourselves, almost all of life’s situations could be answered by one of the above! So, the next time you need a little advice, read the article again and see if you don’t find the answer!