What Carries People To The Top ?

Ever wondered What Carries People To The Top? What makes people tick? Experts say the answer lies in understanding Human Motivation. The people in the society who live their lives need to have a key purpose defined in their life which is meant to serve others The best way to impact or influence the life of the common masses is through the power of motivation.

It’s my observation that when individuals undergo mental turmoil, encounter negative situations, problems, and people with passage of time they loose their interest levels and their endeavour turns out to be a lackluster. Not to forget that mental turmoil is also the time when some individuals visit a fortune teller or an astrologer to get some good startling predictions on their roads to achievement. Well, God helps those who help themselves. Rightly said, motivation relates to the mind just as exercise relates to our body.
Individuals feel that motivation is not permanent. It lasts only for a brief period of time after which the individual is back into the comfort zone. Well, the answer is clear. To keep the lamp of motivation burning it is vital that we read some thing inspiring and motivating everyday to set the spiritual tone for the day. The result, we are sure to be ahead of the game.

The Power of Motivation if given justice has proved time and again that individuals cannot be dismissed as useless. With motivation people have not only been able to come back from the jaws of the death and debts but have also been able to keep their peckers up and maintain a happy home.
So, what carries people to the top – “The Power of Motivation”. To me it is the burning desire an individual has to achieve something Big in life. The feeling should be similar to what a fish may feel when it is taken out of the water. Rightly said by the renowned Industrialist Andrew Carnegie “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity."

By Nilesh Rane

Three Words of Wisdom: "Don't We All?"

One evening I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was, what society would consider, a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of the "don't want to be bothered" times."I hope he doesn't ask me for money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop and he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very nice car," he said. He was ragged but had an air of dignity around him.I said, "Thanks," and continued wiping off my car.He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside me said, "Ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say yes, but I held true to the inner voice."Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke three words that shook me.
"Don't we all?" he said.
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. -- Cal
by jaydeebug

The Bouncy Ball That Changed Me

This is not a story that describes kindness that I have done but rather kindness that I have received and in a way the kindness that you receive gives energy to the kindness that you show to others.
Last night I entered myself into a poetry slam. It was very rushed. Very last minute and I was unprepared. Yet I really wanted to do it. I have wanted to get out and perform one of my poems for a while now. So without the support of my family, I got up in front of a group of people and got ready to present my poem.
The slam was a competition but I did not expect to win. Judges were randomly chosen from the audience by having bouncy ball thrown out into their midst to see who would catch them. As it is with most slams performers had 2 minutes to impress the judges who would then give a score from 0.0 to 10. There were 5 judges.

I was easily the youngest person in the competition. i am only 16 and everybody else about 20-70. Yet i didn't feel out of place because I was surrounded by people like myself. Writers. Still, I was a little apprehensive because I had only performed once in my life.

My poem went really well. People liked it and I think many were impressed that I had the guts to get up on stage and perform my own work. I was so preoccupied with the fact that I had recalled the entire poem from memory that I never looked at the judges score. In the end I came third but I was not disappointed. After all, it was only 0.3 points that separated me from second place.

When it was all over I was waiting in the car-park for my dad to pick me up when one of the judges came up to me and told me I had done a fantastic job and she was envious that I had the courage to stand up and put my words on the line. Even though many people had congratulated me this was different. The lady judge was very genuine. Almost on impulse she said, "Here, have the ball, so you remember tonight". I don't know what it was but I couldn't speak. It was like I got all warm and tingly. This random stranger had reached out to me.
Finally I came to my senses and pulled a smile card out for the woman thanking her for her words and the ball. She was impressed by the card but no words passed between us. It was a silent understanding. Words would ruin the moment.

My father beeped from the carpark so I nodded my goodbye and hopped in the car, holding in my hand the bouncy ball that changed me.

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by freeHUGSrock

Dare to Dream

Let nothing hold you back from
exploring your wildest fantasies,
wishes, and aspirations.

Don't be afraid to dream big
and to follow your dreams
wherever they may lead you.

Open your eyes to their beauty;
open your mind to their magic;
open your heart to their possibilities.

Dare to dream.
Whether they are in color
or in black and white,
whether they are big or small,
easily attainable or almost impossible,
look to your dreams,
and make them become reality.

Wishes and hopes are nothing
until you take the first step
towards making them something!

Dare to dream,
Because only by dreaming,
will you ever discover
who you are, what you want,
and what you can do.

Don't be afraid to take risks,
to become involved,
to make commitment.

Do whatever it takes to make
your dreams come true.

Always believe in miracles,
and always believe in you!

- Aakash

A Lesson in Dignity

Everyday as I drove through town, I saw a one-legged man going through ash cans for cigerette butts and trash cans outside of fast food restaurants looking for food. It was only a month before Christmas, starting to get cold (I lived in a town that was over 6,000 ft. altitude) and I could not quit thinking about him. It was a year where we didn't have enough money to really have much in the way of presents but I figured what was too little for us would be a lot for someone who had nothing.

So I bought a brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, pack of cigerettes, cans of tuna, just little things that didn't cost much and then I added a blanket and sweatshirts. I made a box up like a present and went in search of this man. I saw him hobble away from the dumpster next to McDonalds. I pulled over, grabbed the box and went up to him. I said, "I would like to give you a Christmas present, there are some food items in here and some things you might be able to use."

He sidestepped around me and said, "No thank you, I just had lunch. I don't need anything." Then he hobbled on down the sidewalk, leaving me standing there in tears. I took the box down to a little shop that gave things out to the poor and homeless and told them what had happened and asked that they give the box to someone who could use it. The person there said not to be upset and let my feelings be hurt as I was still crying. I told her I was not crying for me but for him because what I had done was take away his dignity by treating him like a person in need. I was so ashamed. What a great lesson for me to learn, though.

A few years later I was able to volunteer for a day in St. Anthony's Dining Room in San Francisco where 1,500 to 2,000 homeless are fed everyday. These folks give up their sleeping spot, carry everything they own and stand in line for up to 6 hours to receive the only food they will get to sustain themselves for a 24 hour period. We took one tray of food at a time, and treated them as if they were in a restaurant ordering a meal they were paying for. And when we took our break, we would sit down with one of them and talk and share our food with someone if we had too much.

Since that time, I have had the opportunity, rephrase that, the blessing of being able to sit down and visit with people who at the time just happen to be displaced. I have heard that statistically, the majority of us could not make it if we had to go two months without an income and homelessness were to happen to us. Speaking for me, yes, that would be true and my immediate reaction would be like the first gentleman I mentioned. I might have nothing else but I would want to maintain my dignity as long as possible.

Tough insight, but accepting help is sometimes harder than giving it. But I have also learned a very good lesson about that as well. Someone said to me at one time, "Please let me help you, don't take away MY blessing." And in that statement lies the whole truth of Paying It Forward. I have to accept so I can pass it on!

Have a wonderful giving and accepting day.

- by Jaydeebug

Basic But Essential Success Strategies

Success Can’t Be Bought, It Must Be Earned

First off, success comes at a great price. That’s right, there are no free handouts. fundamental success strategy concepts follow a distinct yet proven course of action. A price must be paid in the action it takes for completion. What! Hold it right there, you mean I got to do something? There are many people who believe you can simply buy success. That’s right, just put it up on the auction block and it goes to the highest bidder. Even though you must pay a price for success, it cannot be purchased.

If you have to pay a price for success but you can’t buy it, what then, is success? This is a question you must answer clearly in your mind before you attempt to pursue it. Success has different meanings for different people. For some it is wealth, power and recognition while for others it is simply having enough to eat each day.

Is The Price To Much?

There are no clear cut explanations for success. We believe Success is simply “achieving worthwhile personal goals,” while that doesn’t sound difficult in itself; very few people are able to accomplish it. Most people live day do day in quiet desperation, never experiencing their true potential. They don’t have a life’s plan or any goals other than getting from one day to the next. Husband’s and wives argue about finances and fear the likelihood of loosing their jobs. Our whole society lives in fear of what tomorrow will bring. But they don’t have to, they can free themselves.

Is It Freedom We Seek?

Doesn’t the idea of freedom have a sweet ring to it? Many would argue that no one is truly free and success is simply chasing a dream. I say, “what is man that he can’t dream.” Dreams are what happiness is built on. If a man can’t dream then he has no hope, for hope is indeed in seeking a dream. Don’t be a day dreamer, be a dreamer of action.

Perhaps It Is Only A Dream

There are many who may find Essential Success Strategies demands too much for them and perhaps they are right. If you believe you are beaten before you begin the fight then, it’s not a fight, it’s an approved defeat. To be defeated before the battle begins, is conceding to the enemy and allowing their domination. Many people don’t realize success comes as a result of planning and is not a result in itself. Success cannot follow itself as it must be a defined path which leads toward a projected result. It demands full involvement or immersion as an approach to obtainment. Once the decision to obtain a defined result is made, the individual must make it his/her committed challenge. Like jumping from an airplane, once you leave the door, you can’t go back. You must, at all cost, do what is necessary to survive or plummet to the ground.

It Takes Planning

For example; If you decided to become a doctor, it would take a minimum eight years of higher learning and a cost of hundreds of thousands yet a degree does not make you successful. It takes thousands to set up a practice. The fact is, more than 80 percent of medical students borrow money to cover education expenses. Cost run at least $175,000 to $200,000 after adding up tuition, room and board, books and equipment and all the rest. It would be slightly less if you go to a state medical school as an in-state resident. After countless hours of classes, bookwork, lectures, internship and test you may qualify to be called a Doctor. Even then success rest squarely upon the shoulders of the person involved. No one can do it for him/her. Why? Because it is personal.

Top people in sports sign contracts for millions, at what cost? It takes hundreds of hours training and learning the game before a player becomes professional. It's the same in any industry. Airline pilot, Ships captain, architect, CEO of a fortune 500 company as well as many others, take years of study and thousands of dollars, to rise to the position. There are no free rides; everything comes with a price or doesn't come at all.

It Takes Hard Work

But wait! What if you could make the same or more money than a doctor or any other professional with much less cost and time? What if you could be making the same as any MIT. Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford Universities graduate? What would you do for the opportunity to be a top wage earner? How much time and dollars would you be willing to spend?

A few years ago the wife and I hosted exchange students. I was intrigued by the fact that much of their learning came from their total immersion into our society. They had to speak our language and adhere to our customs. Their experience was the experience itself. Their perception was changed from their native point of view into ours.

It Takes Focus

Learning is a progressive process. A person must learn one thing before he/she can learn another. Like building a stone wall, each stone must fit exactly in place in order to support the next stone. A stone is only a stone but by placing many stones together, they become a wall. A wall then is designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It becomes a barrier for unwanted people and animals and provides safety for those behind it.

It Takes Mind Control

The mind is much the same. It uses experiences in place of stones. It piles each experience on top of the other until an impregnable wall is built. Unknown to the person, a wall is built so strong, so high, so thick that it can't be torn down. You may chip at it or attempt to dig under it, but you simply can't get to the other side. Look around at the preconceptions, the mind sets, the prejudice that stem from preset thinking. What we believe is an accumulation of our and others experiences. What is fed into the mind is either accepted into our belief system or rejected as untruth. Many times, false becomes truth in the mind and truths are questioned as false.

Dream, find your interest, develop a plan, set goals and work, work, work. Never give up, it’s your life at stake.

- by Donald Yates

God Gave Us Each A Talent

God made us all unique,
Born in a world of talents,
Giving us one each,
Helping us all to balance.

But sometimes these are used wrong,
Sometimes we forget to thank God,
When in his arms we should belong,
Singing and chanting "I love you God."

So let those who haven't found theirs yet,
Tackle their way through life,
Give them the joy of knowing they can't regret,
In using for wrong and right.

Even when we're feeling low,
Or think there's no way out,
We think we have no way to go,
Not knowing what you're about.

Finally we pull through,
Because you're our only hope,
we know it's you we'll never loose,
You give us the strength to cope.

So as you made us all unique,
Giving us different talents,
Help us to find one each,
So we can truly balance!

- Unknown