If I was to start a massage parlor, I would focus on massaging broken egos. My guess is that my clientele would be successful people who let their success get into their heads. I reckon I could say a few nice things to make them feel better. But since I do not own such a business I can freely talk about the dangers of inflated egos. I have no incentive for waiting until your ego is broken. (more…)
After my accident I could not work for a while so I spent a lot of time as a couch potato watching movies. One day I went to a video store in Subiaco, Western Australia to borrow some DVDs. The store staff member at the checkout was a lovely, truly lovely girl in her early twenties. She looked at me and started smiling, smiling flirtatiously I suppose. I smiled back with my eyes and lips tightly closed. (more…)
For four years in high school, we sang about riding in pride in our school anthem. Moments after the school anthem we would go to the school chapel where the chaplain would preach about humility. It was instilled in us that we were a great school and we should be proud boys; but were constantly reminded that humility is a virtue, the opposite of pride. It was hard reconciling the idea of riding in pride whilst being humble. More than a decade later, I still have not got the answer. (more…)
I hope you were inspired to make healthier choices in life in this blog series. A human body is not like a computer operating system; you cannot reboot when you have a crash or when ill. Until they start cloning humans, we are stuck with one body. We need to relentlessly take care of our physical and mental wellbeing. Success without good health is not complete. Below is a quick recap of this series. (more…)
Ministry of Health warning for the upwardly mobile; cover your backside! It is possible to be advancing in economic and social standing one day and to be sinking in medical bills in the next day. With the escalating costs of health care and uncertain global economic times, it is prudent to be insured to the brim. Health insurance is one of the must have insurance policies for the upwardly mobile, and for good reason. (more…)
I recently attended a church service where the guest preacher was paralyzed from waist down. He told a story of how he was once depressed and stayed up one night trying to come up with a list of things that were wrong in his life. I cannot recall the exact wrongs that he found, but I do remember that he defined them with the letters of the alphabet. Let us say he was “Ailing, Bruised, Crying, Depressed, Emotional, Fearful, Gloomy etc”. He then fell asleep and when he woke up the next morning, he told his wife what he had been doing the previous night. He had a small problem though; when he got to the letter Q he could not think of a word that started with Q that was wrong with him. His wife told him, “Have you forgotten that you are a Quadriplegic?” Ouch! (more…)
Senator John McCain may have lost the 2008 US presidential campaign, but he did not lose his sense of humor. Shortly after the elections results he went to the The Tonight Show and told Jay Leno “I have been sleeping like a baby - I sleep two hours, wake up and cry. Sleep two hours, wake up and cry”. Do you sleep like a baby? (more…)
In his song “I shot the sheriff“, Bob Marley shot the sheriff but did not shoot the deputy. All around in his home town, they were trying to track him down. Trying to bring him in guilty, for the life of a deputy. He admitted shooting the sheriff, but said it was in self defense. He said Sheriff John Brown always hated him. For what? Every time Bob planted a seed, the Sheriff said “kill it before it grows” and so he shot the sheriff but swore that he did not shoot the deputy. What seed was Bob Marley trying to plant? Why was Sheriff John Brown and governments world over against that same seed? (more…)
The food you eat determines your state of mind and health. A healthy body that is well nourished equips you with energy to take on challenges in life. What you eat will often determine your emotional state, energy level and body image. If you eat the right kind of foods, you will protect yourself from disease and get an edge in life. You are what you eat. (more…)
After 50 daily blog posts, I took a moment to reflect on the distance we have come on this blog. I realized that the journey has just begun. The purpose of this blog is to inspire you, my friend, to be the best you can be. There are many areas of life that I will be writing to you about and I need to have a good system for presenting information to you. (more…)
It is now about two months since I launched this blog. I am humbled by the support that my friends and dear readers have given me. Your comments and messages have been my inspiration to continue writing even when I felt tired. It has not been an easy road but you have made it easier for me by being there and supporting the blog. Thank you to all those who have invited their friends to the site, posted comments, sent me encouraging messages and phone calls. Thank you so much. (more…)
A beautiful mind asks why things happen. A beautiful mind questions instead of accepting whatever it is told. Do you have a beautiful mind? What kind of questions do you ask yourself? What kind of questions do you ask others? (more…)
Those who create sustainable success do it by building others up. Succeeding at the expense of others or by putting people down is a mean habit and often a recipe for long term failure. The people you surround yourself with and your attitude towards other people will determine your level of success.
You will need other people in order to reach the apex of your success. Call it standing on the shoulders of giants or what you may. Contacts building strategies are vital for the upwardly mobile. A winning contacts building strategy focuses on quality & sustainability not just numbers for the sake of numbers. (more…)
Have you ever been discriminated against? I have. Have you ever been treated like you are not there? I have. Have you ever been made to feel insignificant? I have. Have you ever been made to feel like you were invisible? I have. (more…)
Given a long enough time line, people do not remember what you say to them. They only remember how you made them feel. Be careful how you make people feel. Be sensitive about people’s emotional states. Take the time to be more attuned to emotions and adjust our words to suit the occasion or prevailing mood. (more…)
What if you dared to be different? What if you did not feel the need to conform to social norms or succumb to peer-pressure? What impact would that have on your happiness and success? Many of us do not realize that by trying to conform to social conditioning, we may be unknowingly limiting our success. If you do what everyone else is doing, what will make you special? What will give you an edge? (more…)
Show me your friends and I will tell you what kind of person you are. The company you keep reflects on you. Birds of a feather flock together. People assume you are just like the people you hang out with. Have you ever done an audit of the kind of people you allow into your space? (more…)
This website is a story, a story of a young man who left Kenya in 1998 to study in Perth, Western Australia. That young man had a burning desire to succeed and overcome the myriad of obstacles that he faced due to his humble beginnings. He was so hungry yet ill prepared for success. He was talented yet naive in the ways of the world. He was strong willed but had a million character flaws. (more…)
Self mastery means becoming the master of your own ship. It means becoming the primary guiding force to your destiny. It is the ability to reign supreme on your desires, impulses, emotions, appetite and mind. This ability cannot be bought with money or fame, but can be developed through discipline. Self mastery means being in control of yourself and not letting your emotions and impulses dictate your life. (more…)
Gain an edge in life by following up with people. Many people meet and promise “to keep in touch” but never really do. Many companies spend a fortune attracting new customers instead of following up with their current customers and leads. It is not enough to make contact with people or customers once and then forget. Following up opens up doors that would otherwise be closed. This is true in business, networking, relationships, health, finance and many areas of life. It is a powerful skill that you could add to your success arsenal. (more…)
Action is what separates dreamers from doers. Action is the difference between success and failure. If you only think big, visualize or just dream about success, you will never amount to much. It is only when you take action towards your goal that you start getting results. It is better to shoot-aim-shoot than to aim-aim-aim. It is better to act and make mistakes than keep wishing that you did something when you had the chance. (more…)
If you picture something vividly in your mind, it is as good as done. Visualizing your goals in your mind, on paper or using pictures will give you power and confidence to be a winner. Expand your horizons by daring to dream and by thinking big. Manifest your intentions by using the power of visualization. (more…)
You can employ the power of commitment to get amazing results in your life. There are many benefits of committing to an idea, cause, career, relationship, religion, organization, friendship, values or goals. Committing to your goals will give you better results than jumping from one big idea to another. A wise man once told me that rolling stones gather no moss; unless you are willing to commit to your success, you will be like a rolling stone hurtling towards mediocrity. (more…)
The power of perspectives is a little known secret that can help your defy gravity. Your will soar like an eagle once you master it. Learn to look at things from different perspectives and get into the other person’s shoes, hearts, mind and pockets. Believe you me this is a skill worth your time in your quest for success. You will be like a grand master of chess with this skill. You will be able to anticipate what people want thus giving you an edge in life.
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Don’t throw in the towel if you need to succeed in life. You will need it 99% of the time. Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Success does not come easy. You must be willing and able to work hard and sweat for it. Positive thinking will only take you so far. You need to put in the hours and apply yourself to your goals. (more…)
Your mind is very powerful. You become whatever you think about or envision. Positive thinking means changing the predominant thoughts in your mind to pleasant and empowering thoughts. Some people think of it as self hypnosis, while others think of it as a way of connecting with the mystic of the universe. If you populate your mind with positive messages, you will see a fundamental shift in your fortunes, feelings and outcomes. (more…)
We are born free but gradually become prisoners or hostages of emotions, environment or circumstances. The process is so gradual we never realize it is happening until we end up deep in captivity. There are no loud sirens, hand cuffs, guns or judges before incarceration. But once behind the bars, we loose our freedom and rights. To be successful we need to let freedom ring. (more…)
Your success or failure in life will be reflected on your obituary unless someone manipulates the truth on your behalf. Writing your own private obituary is an out of the box way of thinking about your life and what you call success.
It is an excellent way to put your life in perspective and I recommend that you try it. Many people would rather not think about it. There is comfort in not thinking about death. It is a taboo subject. But given a long enough time line we shall all cease to exist. Why not use this taboo subject to change the course of your destiny to improve the days and years ahead? (more…)
Have you ever met people who pack too much even for a weekend getaway? It is likely that you may have questioned their rationale or how long they really were going away for. Travelling light is both stress free and more economic. It is more fun with less hassle. Just make sure you carry all the essentials for the journey. If you want to succeed in life, you have to travel light. Get rid of excess baggage and enjoy yourself fully. (more…)
