‘Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm.’ R. W. Emerson

Throughout my life I know for a fact that the only thing that allowed me to succeed at times was that I attached to my limited talent, my minuscule knowledge, and my defective abilities my secret winning ingredient – and that was enthusiasm.

The day I started a cleaning business after being retrenched, vowing that I would never again work for another man for the rest of my days, I printed some leaflets and walked the streets with my young family putting them into the local neighborhood’s mailboxes. Within a very short time I was earning more part-time in my own business than I was earning working full-time for someone else. Three years later I sold that business at a profit.

I then published my first book ‘Memories, Thoughts & Photographs’ and spent $70 to fix my typewriter so that I could type the manuscript. My first sale of that self-published book netted me over $100,000. Not a bad return on an investment that had been coupled with enthusiasm.

Then when I started my web design business with no design or technical experience, with the assistance of my 14 year old son who was the only one in the business technically inclined, again I printed some leaflets and this time walked alone into some industrial areas. On the very first day of canvassing I returned home having sold five websites.

The only common ingredient in these three success stories was my enthusiasm.

And so I continue to take this same enthusiasm into every day and into every project or adventure that I undertake. For I know that it is through making enthusiasm an essential ingredient in our daily recipe of success that we will surely triumph.

The Triumph Of Enthusiasm is a post from: Motivational Memo Blog

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Destruction is not the purpose of humanity, for all humans have been built to build.

And what are we to build?

1. We Are To Build Each Other

An encouraging word, a pat on the back, an uplifting text or email can change the course of one life in an instant. Be a builder, not a destroyer.

2. We Are To Build Strong Families

A nation is only as strong as the family unit. With the divorce epidemic rampant in our midst there is a need for us to stand up and say no to the ‘D’ word and to say yes to the ‘F’ word – and that word is FORGIVENESS.

3.  We Are To Build Strong Economies

And how do we do that? By working diligently, by giving generously, by providing excellent service, by helping others, and by putting them first in all we do. For those in business – if you serve your customers and your staff well, then they will serve you well. And if you work for a boss, then take ownership of the business and act accordingly as though it is your very own.

4. We Are To Build A Strong Faith

As a Christian my faith comes from hearing and doing God’s word. There is no other way to develop my faith. And to my faith must always be added corresponding action, for faith without works is dead. I must practice what I preach, or else I am nothing but a hypocrite.

Make it your mission to be a builder, for you have been built to build.

Built To Build is a post from: Motivational Memo Blog

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I have to pinch myself sometimes to be reminded that I just could be the luckiest man alive on planet earth.

I live in a democratically run country. I have freedom of religion. I have an abundance of food, the ability to earn as much money as I want, and plenty of opportunity at my disposal.

I can drive what I want and where I want. I can travel freely throughout the world. There are no limitations placed upon me and my dreams. I am loved by my family and my friends – even when I make mistakes.

I can set goals. I can make plans. I can sip lattes, read books, listen to music, watch films,  swim in the ocean, paddle up a river, climb a mountain, and breathe in the fresh air. To do these I don’t ever have to ask anyone’s permission.

I can tap into the latest technology available and communicate with my friends in an instant – whether they live in Peru, Panama, Paris or Portugal.

But with all that freedom I am ruled by one law – the law of kindness. And that law states that the more that I get the more responsible I need to be when it comes to giving.

Get more? Give more!

For I have walked the streets of poverty. I have visited the corridors of leprosy colonies. I have smelt the stench of lack and I have heard need’s cry.

So I am fully aware that as a citizen of planet earth I have a responsibility to reach out to those around me and to  share what I have, as directed by the one who created kindness, with those I am divinely brought in contact with all the days of my life – demonstrating the spirit of the law called kindness.

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The next generation that we have influenced will unveil clear evidence as to how we have lived our lives, unless of course there is divine intervention.

However, as wise as King Solomon was, who lived long before Christ, there were areas in his life where he lived like a fool. And the resulting next generation revealed that fact. The kingdom that he had built, as the richest and wisest man on planet earth in his time – at his departure – was swiftly ripped from the hands of his family through the foolishness displayed by his heir, and the fruit of the foolish things that he himself did throughout his ‘wise’ years.

A tree is always evidenced by the fruit it bears. And if we choose to live foolishly or wisely – the next generation will bring forth the fruit of our lives.

Be aware that our decisions impact the generations. Our values determine the paths of our future inheritance. We cannot stand idly by living as we wish without it having ramifications into the future.

If we sow wild oats we will reap the devastating implications from such choices. If we sow good crops, then we and our heritage will flourish from such a planting.

None of us can ever claim perfection, but we can claim our future and the future of the future generations that will follow -  by choosing on a daily basis to make right and good choices that will build and not destroy.

May the fruit of your life be blessed because you continue to choose life and not death.

Wisdom Is Justified By Her Children is a post from: Motivational Memo Blog

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Every one of us has been given certain abilities. But in life, if we are to ever stand above the crowd, we must take those abilities and develop them if we’re ever going to make a significant contribution to the world in which we live.

I must admit that I have come across individuals more talented, more intelligent, more handsome, more connected, more capable, more financial, more able than myself who have failed to reach their full potential, because they have never fully developed or even used those abilities to benefit others.

And yet I have observed others who lack the charisma, the charm, the opportunity, and all the things that one would consider necessary to live an influential life, and yet they have soared. They have turned their limited abilities, in the eyes of others, into what I would call ‘poss-abilities’.

And what is required to take the ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary?

Here are just a few courageous qualities that I have identified in those who live lives filled with ‘poss-ability’.

1. They Have The Courage To Dream

Dreamers are those who dare to live differently. They are forged with a desire to make a difference, to contribute, and to inspire. And it all starts by having the guts to dream something bigger than their ability.

2. They Have The Courage To Take Action

A dream on its own is simply a dream. A dream backed up with a plan and corresponding action is a dream being fulfilled. It positions the dreamer to do one of three things – win, fail, or to have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Through the lessons they learn they will become stronger.

3. They Have The Courage To Persist

Once action has begun, there is going to be a time where persistence will need to kick in. This is the period between identifying the dream and actually fulfilling the dream. This gutsy persistence separates those who think that they have a dream from those who know for a fact that the dream is real and true, and will require a double dose of determination to see its ultimate fulfillment. This is where the champion takes over – all the way to victory.

Through these courageous qualities someone’s ability is totally transformed into that wonderful creature called ‘Poss-Ability’.

Poss-Ability is a post from: Motivational Memo Blog

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I read this obituary the other day that brought a smile to my face. How good would it be to die, and in your death you actually inspire those who are living.

Here is one example of exactly that…

For a late starter, the career of award-winning Hollywood producer David Brown took an extraordinarily successful course. The former journalist produced some major hits that not only became classics, but also made him – and his sometimes employer 20th Century Fox – plenty of money. They included Jaws, The Sting, Chocolat, A Few Good Men and Driving Miss Daisy.

He was a partner with Richard Zanuck in the early 1970s – when they produced the blockbusters Jaws, The Verdict and Cocoon – before Brown started his own career as a film and theatrical producer.

Brown was still producing movies such as Chocolat well into his 80s, including supervising filming on location.

Before going independent with Zanuck, he helped produce Elvis Presley’s first film, Love Me Tender, in 1956. Amazingly, that film covered its costs in its first week.

Successful as he was, it was not all roses for Brown as he was caught in the 1963 production debacle over Cleopatra, in which a saucy liaison between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and her illness cost the studio millions in delay. He made a comeback with no less than The Sound Of Music and followed it up with Patton starring George C. Scott.

Brown was exceptionally modest, a rarity in Hollywood.

He returned to writing late in life, publishing Brown’s Guide To Growing Grey in 1987, followed by a memoir, Let Me Entertain You in 1990, and the bestseller, The Rest Of Your Life Is The Best Of Your Life just a year later.

At 85, he worked on a Broadway production of Lehman’s Sweet Smell Of Success and produced Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Not a bad career for Brown, who went to Hollywood only because he was involved in a messy divorce and wanted a change of scenery.

Source: The Courier Mail

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‘See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings] of Christ (the Messiah).’ Colossians 2:8 (Amplified)

And yet I love to study the philosophers of the ages and their writings – whether it be Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Demosthenes, Homer, Hippocrates, Aeschines, Plutarch, Montaigne, Machiavelli, Aurelius, Seneca, Spinoza, Hegel, Kant, Kierkegaard, Bacon, Nietzsche, Emerson, Thoreau amongst many others.

But if you allow yourself to be swayed wholeheartedly by any of these great writers and thinkers, without rightly dividing it against truth, then you could possibly find yourself in the company of those who have yielded to a mindset that is warped, and at times misguided.

When I spend time in the company of great thinkers I make sure that my internal moral and spiritual compass is set – so that I can chew on what is good, that builds, that adds to my life, and which makes me a better contributor to my society and my family. The rest I simply spit out or put aside for another time.

However, there are rare times when I will pick up a volume written by a particular author, like one I recently found, that the author spent his time criticizing everything and everybody. I tossed it aside.

I choose to read those works that build – not destroy. We live in a negative enough world without me feeding on such a distasteful mind meal.

A true leader in the world of philosophy, in my opinion, is one who constructs.

Obviously, the basis of my own philosophic thought is firmly founded upon the teachings of the Bible – and there are many philosophers throughout history who concur with that stance. But I allow my mind to open up to those who may not have had the same convictions – for in the midst of differing thought patterns and beliefs, structures can be discovered, gems of wisdom can be found that add value to my life and to those with whom I communicate.

For as I travel through the dangerous waters of philosophic teachings, I am confident that my vessel will carry me safely to my distant shore – for it is anchored in faith, established in hope, and guided by the wind – which is the very breath of God.

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‘It is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man and the security of a God.’ Seneca

So in Seneca’s view there are two poignant points that equate to true greatness. So let’s look at them more closely.

1. The Frailty Of A Man

The longer I live the more I realize how fragile the human life really is. We can never tell when our time is up, or the number of years we have here on planet earth. When compared to the powers of nature’s force – such as wind, earthquake, rain, snow, or fire we are so puny, so insignificant in power to combat whatever mother earth decides to present to us.

For all man’s advancements in knowledge and technology we still reside within the mercies of the elements. We are but ants in an expansive planet that sits within the vastness of a far greater universe. Specks we are. Twinkling stars in a spatial arena that is beyond explanation. Our greatest strengths exhibited do not even register on the scale of weakness when compared to the rest of creation.

2. The Security Of A God

The Apostle Paul, one of the greatest apostles who ever lived, wrote that God said to him that God’s ’strength comes into its own in your weaknesses’.

And then he went on to write, ‘Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size – abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get the stronger I become.’ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10(The Message)

That speaks of an incredible security. A security in a God who cares for you, enables you and equips you. As someone once said, ‘God and you are a majority.’ My weakness with His strength is enough to carry me through and over all that I face. Now that is security.

This is the testimony of my life upon planet earth to date – for without such security my frailty would have led to my demise time and time again. And yet because of my personal relationship with this God of the Bible I watch my life continue to grow from strength to strength.

For in that quietness and confidence is my strength.

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When I find myself involved in a one on one conversation with a friend or a colleague, I suddenly find myself throwing about my thoughts more easily. They seem to present themselves with a greater sense of order. And for some reason I see those thoughts just that much clearer when they have been translated into words.

It is at that point that I at times seem to be much wiser than I ever imagined. And from just one hour of interactive discussion I find that I have stumbled upon more than I would ever have unveiled if I had locked myself away for a day on my own in the company of one.

For with the assistance given through good counsel and stimulating conversation my affairs are suddenly surveyed with a greater clarity and a straightening resonance.

I walk from these times empowered and enabled – better equipped to fulfill the next steps towards my destiny.

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‘All mankind is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.’ Benjamin Franklin

1. Those Who Are Immovable

There are those amongst us who are stuck. Stuck in tradition. Stuck in their ways. Stuck in comfort. Stuck in religious thought-sets. Stuck in bad habits. Stuck in mindsets. Stuck.

And there is a chance that as they live stuck they will die stuck. Immovable. Not even an atomic bomb will move them. In business, if you’re stuck, you won’t be in business for long. Immovable in life, in family life, in organizations, in education, in institutions, in politics, in anything and everything.

To be stuck is to be unstuck – destined for destruction. Immovable.

2. Those That Are Movable

This is a better place to be in. But again this is where we need to ask the question, ‘Where do I move?’ This is not being in a position where you are moved by every rumor. This is the place where you are to be moved by convictions, by passion, with a sense of purpose and direction. Not moving as a result of a knee jerk reaction to changing circumstances.

This is positioning yourself in the company of wise counsel and sound mentoring. This is choosing wisely and selectively. For otherwise you will be battered by every passing wind that blows your way.

3. Those That Move

These are the directors of their destiny. These are the voices in the wilderness. These are the up-stream swimmers. These are the original thinkers. These are those who chart their own course. These are those who don’t wait to be asked. These are the trendsetters.

These at times are the eccentrics. These are the fashion manufacturers. These are the movers. These are the shakers. These are the speech makers. These listen to the beat of their own heart. These are the history makers. These are the leaders of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I have a question for you – Who are you, and whom do you wish to become?

Those That Move is a post from: Motivational Memo Blog

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