The Ultimate Investment

Martha was a divorced mother of three living in poverty.  On and off welfare rolls, she'd recently moved hoping for a new start.  She had interview after interview hoping to find a job, any job, but she was never hired.  Why?  She had all the skills, her health was good, she had a desire to work and she was dependable.  Then she learned something which changed her life.  Something simple, but powerful!  One evening after a long day of fruitless job searching, her daughter asked, “Mommy, how come you’re always frowning?  Are you angry all the time?”  Looking in the mirror,   >> [Read the rest of the post]

In the country of Pazichstanh an artist has a special talent sought after by all within the surrounding countryside.  His ability is to mold clay into head and shoulder busts of the living.  So perfect is his craft, so subtle is his power, it is said he can glimpse into the inner parts of his subject and sculpt an image of what the person has the ability to become.  People flock to him as if to a fortune teller, giving the best news any can imagine; for who would not want to catch a glimpse of their best possible future. Gazing into   >> [Read the rest of the post]

Brainstorming is a simple, effective way to approach problem solving of any kind.  Here’s how it works: First, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed.  Set aside about an hour.  Take out a clean sheet of paper and write down your problem in detail at the top of the page.  Include the parameters you need to work within, such as how much money you can afford to spend, how much time it can take, what location it has to be within, etc.  Be careful you don't include restrictions which don't legitimately exist.  It will restrict the list of possible   >> [Read the rest of the post]

At my home in the mountains, I have an automatic sprinkler system tied to a new well.  Each evening the water comes on and starts my sprinklers to water my lawn and shrubs and trees. I’ve noted a diminishing water pressure from the pump causing my sprinklers to lose their reach and effectiveness.  As the pressure gradually goes down, one of the heads in each setting stops working well.  Instead of moving around watering a wide area it sits in one place just pathetically spurting.  The problem isn’t with the well or the pump.  The problem is I’m trying to run too   >> [Read the rest of the post]

"Excuses are the tools with which persons with no purpose in view build for themselves great monuments of nothing."  ~Steven Grayhm Going through life, you are conditioned not to think.  You're taught through unpleasant experience that it's safer to conform, to take an easy solution, then prepare with ready excuses if something goes wrong.  Gene worked for a large corporation as it was going through a downturn in a tight economy.  There were cut-backs going all through the company, and everyone was worried about losing their jobs.  One day Gene was talking with his supervisor.  "Whatever you do,” the supervisor said, “create a   >> [Read the rest of the post]

That's right, inherent creativity.  That implies you already are creative, and you are.  When you were young you were very creative.  As you grew older you were taught to conform to social patterns, to color within the lines, that the sky should be blue instead of purple.  You were criticized for being different from what was expected so you suppressed your differences, your creativity, to conform.  Your creativity is still there. Think about when you labored over a problem for a time and then left it to pursue something else.  Then, when you least expected it, the solution to the problem   >> [Read the rest of the post]

Life is full of obstacles.  When you run into an obstacle, do one of three things:  break through it, go around it, or change the conditions under which the obstacle exists.  First, try to break through.  In doing this, remember it takes time.  Don't be discouraged or give up when things don't happen as fast as you'd like.    Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, was constantly rejected before his creation became a cult icon of a generation.  Many publishers turned him away before he finally sold a serialized version of his first novel, A Princess of Mars, to a low-class pulp   >> [Read the rest of the post]

The final catalyst which unlocks your hidden potential is the principle of obedience. When you obey eternal laws you receive a reward flowing there from.  The converse holds true too.  When you disobey eternal laws, you receive consequences.  It is cause and effect, pure and simple. Take the law of gravity.  The law of gravity says that all things fall "down" when dropped.  What would happen if you were to jump off a cliff and expect to fall "up" instead?  You would be sorely disappointed you hadn't heeded the law of gravity.  The law of gravity can also be used to your   >> [Read the rest of the post]

Another Catalyst of Success is Persistence. Nicholas, a highly successful businessman taught, "All the problems we ever encounter eventually yield to the power of our mind." This is true.  You never fail until you give up. The members of the country Mega-group, Diamond Rio knew this from experience.  Each member struggled through years of odd jobs in Nashville making ends meet until they finally found each other and formed a band initially named, The Tennessee River Boys.  They were quite popular as a "front" band for headline country stars, but they were never able to get an acceptable recording contract for themselves. After   >> [Read the rest of the post]

Like a powerful chemical reaction, we often need a catalyst to get us started down the road to success.  A catalyst is like a lit fuse on a stick of dynamite.  It's what starts a reaction of explosive power.  In a gasoline engine, the catalyst is a tiny spark from a spark plug.  It sparks a chain reaction many times greater than itself, and drives immense machinery. Your success also needs a catalyst.  One such catalyst is Desire. Desire, like the spark plug in a car, in and of itself it is not really that powerful, but it ignites a force within   >> [Read the rest of the post]