Thursday, September 23, 2004

Leading a World Class Life

1. Leading a World Class Life By Jim Rohn

Every four years the world is given the gift of the Olympics. For a few weeks nations lay down their arms and come together to let their world class athletes compete on a level playing field to see who the best is in the many events. Such amazing athleticism was on display the past few weeks. It boggles the mind what these young men and women can accomplish with their bodies. Great feats of skill and determination bring them to the pinnacle of athletic achievement. Incredible.

As I think about what it takes to become a world class athlete capable of competing at the Olympic level, I realize that there are some foundational lessons for all of us to learn as it relates to becoming world class in whatever we set our hands to.

The secret of how these athletes became world class is found in the combination of two fundamental ideas: Desire and dedication.

A 22 year old man doesn't simply wake up one day and find that he is on the Olympic basketball team. No, it started years before. In fact, it probably started when he was only six or seven years old. Maybe his father took him to a basketball game and that little boy said, "Someday daddy, I am going to be a basketball player." That was the first sign of desire. Desire is key. World class people start with desire. They have to at some point "want it".

But we all know people who dream of big things but never accomplish those dreams, don't we? Why is that? After all, they have desire. They want it. But the engine that drives the dream is dedication. Desire tells you what you want, while dedication is what will get it for you.

Someone may see a young gymnast and say, "Wow, that looks easy." What they don't see or perhaps overlook is the years of practice. The years of getting up at 4:30 every morning and going to the gym before going to school. It is the dedication of the young athlete, the many times of failing in practice, the many times of falling off the equipment and faithfully getting back on that turns a wisher into a world class doer.

A person with desire but no dedication will never achieve much. You must have the powerful combination of both.

So let's take a closer look at each of these and gain some insight into what desire and dedication are all about.

Desire. There are three parts to desire:

. Dreaming
. The Vision
. Focus

First, is dreaming. Have you let yourself dream lately? Just sit down and begin to imagine all of the incredible possibilities your life could become? Spend some time just dreaming.

Next is the vision. Once you dream, you begin to cut back on all of the possibilities and narrow it to what possibility it is that you really want. You begin to create a vision for your life. You begin to see it as you want it.

Lastly under desire is focus. Once you have the vision, you have to really focus in on that dream. This is where you get really specific about what your life is going to look like.

Now for dedication. There are also three parts:

. The Plan
. Beginning
. Perseverance

First is the plan. Without a plan you will drift to and fro. You will certainly not carry out your dream if you do not have a plan. So write it down. Set your goals. Know what you want and how you are going to get there.

Second is the beginning. This may sound simple and yet it is simply profound. Many people have a dream and they even have a plan, but they never begin. So simple: Just start. The first step on the long journey is still just one step. If you have a dream and a plan, take a step in the right direction.

Lastly is to persevere. Every road to every dream has a section or sections that are hard to travel. Every great dream will encounter difficulty. The question isn't whether or not you will encounter trouble, but how you will respond to trouble. Will you quit when the going gets tough or will you persevere? I have found that every successful person I know, myself included, has encountered problems along the way that tempted them to quit. Yet they persevered and achieved their dream.

Let's take a look at the progression. As you do, think about where you are in the progression of becoming a world class dream pursuer.

1. Dream
2. Create a vision
3. Focus the vision
4. Develop a plan
5. Begin to pursue the dream
6. Persevere

Friends, I hope for you the fulfillment of every dream that you have. That is what life is about isn't it? But to do so, I know that you will have to combine your desire with good old dedication. And when you combine those two, you will be well on your way to leading a world class life!

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

P.S. Interested in your own business that can connect you to your dreams? Send me an email. davidracho at gmail dot com or david_racho at yahoo dot com.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Alleba Filipino Search Engine and Directory

Alleba Filipino Search Engine and Directory Philippines

I just applied to be listed there, so here's the link they require. =) Hope everything is okay.


Monday, September 06, 2004

Two Friends in the Desert

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During somepoint of the journey they had an argument, andone friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the neardrowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone,why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someonedoes something good for us, we must engraveit in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

Eighty Floors

There were once 2 brothers who lived on the 80th floor of a tall building. On coming home one day, they realized to their dismay that the lifts were not working and that they have to climb the stairs home. After struggling to the 20th level, panting and tired, they decided to abandon their bags and come back for them the next day. They left their bags then and climbed on............


When they have struggled to the 40th level by this time they had gone sufficiently mad and irritated. The younger brother started to grumble and both of them began to quarrel. They continued to climb the flights of steps, quarreling all the way to the 60th floor.


They then realized that they have only 20 levels more to climb and decided to stop quarreling and continue climbing in peace.They silently climbed on and reached their home at long last. Each stood calmly before the door and waited for the other to open the door. And they realized that the key was in their bags which were left on the 20th floor.........


This story is a reflection on our life and times. All of us climb the tall building called life...........some till all the 80 floors and some less. Many of us climb under the expectations of our companion.


Time to time these are our friends and parents till the 20th floor, then our spouse and our dear ones till the next level of the building. We seldom get to do the things that we really like and love and are under so much pressure and stress so that by the age of 20, we get tired and decided to dump this load. Being free of the stress and pressure, we work enthusiastically and dream ambitious wishes.


By the time we reach 40 years old, we start to lose our vision and dreams. We began to feel unsatisfied and start to complain and criticize. We live life as a misery as we are never satisfied.


Reaching 60, we realize that we have little left for complaining anymore, and we began to walk the final episode in peace and calmness. We think that there is nothing left to disappoint us, only to realize that we could not rest in peace because we have an unfulfilled dream..........a dream we abandon 60 years ago. So what's your dream.....?


Know your dreams and follow it so that you will not live with regrets.


Help others and thank God.


Accept yourself...Believe in yourself...Like yourself...


Inside each of us are powers so strong, treasures so rich, possibilities so endless, that to command them all to action would change the history of the world.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

I'll be happy when

I'll be happy when...

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire. The truth is there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with ... and remember that time waits for no one.


So, stop waiting ..
Until your car or home is paid off.
Until you get a new car or home.
Until your kids leave the house.
Until you go back to school.
Until you finish school.
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married.
Until you have kids.
Until you retire.
Until summer..
Until spring.
Until winter.
Until fall.
Until you die.


There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt, and, dance like no one's watching.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.

I just did!

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