Precious David-Ogaga

“Focus your time and your life on your highest talents and dreams.”

I turned 40 a while ago and I am spending a lot of time reading obituaries. I get rejuvenated when I look at people’s obituaries and the lives they’ve lived. The differences that people have made inspire me.

As we reach the half-time point of life a lot of us begin to reflect on whether or not we are living the lives we want to live. We ask ourselves, “How can I make a difference?” We ask ourselves this important question because the biggest regret of all is to reach the end of our lives only to realize that we walked the planet in vain.

The Story of Peter
I want to share a story with you on this point. It is about a little boy named Peter. Peter was a child who could never live in the moment. He could never present his gifts to the world; he was always in a rush to get through life. He’d be in class and he’d want to be on summer vacation. He’d be on summer vacation and he’d want to be on Christmas holidays.

One day this little boy was walking in the woods and he came across a patch of grass. He laid down and fell asleep. Suddenly, he was roused by the sound of his name.

“Peter. Peter. Peter.”

He opened up his eyes and could not believe what he saw. In front of him was an ancient woman with snow white hair. In her hands she held a ball. In the center of the ball was a hole out of which dangled a long piece of thread. She looked at him and she said, “Peter this is the thread of your life.”

“What?”

She said, “This is the thread of your life. And if you pull on it days will go by in minutes and if you pull it a little more weeks will go by in days.”

“Do you want it?” she asked.

Peter said, “Absolutely. I’ll be able to fly through the boring parts of life.”

The next day he was sitting in class, not enjoying the moment or experiencing the gifts of the day. Then he remembered the ball, so he pulled it out and tugged on the thread. Tug, tug, tug. The next thing he knows he’s on summer vacation.

He said, “This is fantastic!”

He pulled out the ball again. Tug, tug, tug. The next thing he knew he was a teenager.

He said, “Well, being a teenager is great but now I think I need a girlfriend.”

So he grabbed the ball and pulled on the thread again and found himself with a pretty young girlfriend named Elise.

He said, “This is great but I don’t want to be a teenager anymore. I want to be an adult now.”

The next thing he knows he’s married to Elise and the couple has two wonderful children. Then he noticed that his once jet black hair was slowly turning gray. His once vibrant and vital mother was growing old and frail.

Perturbed, he pulled out the ball and tugged on the string again. The next thing he knew he was an 85-year-old man. As for his wife Elise, she had passed away years earlier and the children were grown up and leading lives of their own.

For the first time in his life, he became very sad. He realized that he had not used his time and had not experienced life fully. In his sadness he walked out to the woods that he had loved as a child and found that patch of grass and he laid down to take a rest.

All of the sudden he heard his name being called, “Peter, Peter, Peter.”

When he opened his eyes he couldn’t believe what he saw. It was the old woman with snow white hair and she looked at him and said, “Peter, how have you enjoyed this gift I gave you so many years ago? Have you lived life fully? Have you been your best?”

He looked at her and said, “At first I loved this gift. I could fly through life quickly. I was always on the move. But now I realize that I didn’t live life. I didn’t watch the sunrises. I didn’t make great friendships. I didn’t give my potential to the world. I didn’t make a difference. It was all a waste.”

The old woman looked at him and said, “Peter, you’re a very ungrateful man but I’m going to give you a second chance to live your life over again.”

Confused, Peter went back to sleep. Then, he heard his name being called again. But this time he couldn’t believe what he saw. It wasn’t the 100-year-old woman. It was his mother. And she was young and vital and laughing.

She shook him awake and said, “Peter, you silly little boy. You’ve slept in again. It’s time to go to school.”

Peter realized that it was all just a dream. He stared at his mother. Looked out the window at the day and went off to school grateful for every moment.

The point of wisdom from that story is that every one of us knows that we’ll never have a chance to live our lives over again—yet so many of us postpone living. Here’s the big idea: you will never have a better time to play your best game. Most of us postpone being better at work until our children grow older. Or we postpone traveling until we have more time. Or we postpone taking better care of our health until we manage our workload better. Yet there will never be a better time to play your best game and shine as brightly as there will be today. Chinese philosophers once said the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is today.

Elite performers understand that life is short—there may not be another chance to be great.

-by Robin Sharma

In the process of living, the winds of circumstances blow on us all in an unending flow that touches each of our lives.

We have all experienced the blowing winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak. Why, then, would each of us, in our own individual ship of life, all beginning at the same point, with the same intended destination in mind, arrive at such different places at the end of the journey? Have we not all been blown by the winds of circumstances and buffeted by the turbulent storms of discontent?

What guides us to different destinations in life is determined by the way we have chosen to set our sail. The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrives. The major difference is the set of the sail.

The same circumstances happen to us all. We have disappointments and challenges. We all have reversals and those moments when, in spite of our best plans and efforts, things just seem to fall apart. Challenging circumstances are not events reserved for the poor, the uneducated or the destitute. The rich and the poor have marital problems. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. In the final analysis, it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives; it is what we choose to do when we have struggled to set the sail and then discover, after all of our efforts, that the wind has changed directions.

When the winds change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet once more and reset the sail in the manner that will steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly and responsibly we react to adversity is far more important than the adversity itself. Once we discipline ourselves to understand this, we will finally and willingly conclude that the great challenge of life is to control the process of our thinking.

Learning to reset the sail with the changing winds rather than permitting ourselves to be blown in directions we did not purposely choose requires the development of a whole new discipline. It involves going to work on establishing a powerful, personal philosophy that will help to influence in a positive way all that we do, think and decide. If we can succeed in this worthy endeavor, the result will be a change in the course of our income, lifestyle and relationships, and in how we feel about the things of value as well as the times of challenge. If we can alter the way we perceive, judge and decide upon the main issues of life, then we can dramatically change our lives.

-by Jim Rohn

When the World Series or the Super Bowl rolls around, there’s usually a reliable way to pick the winners: The guys who say “I’m just glad to be here,” aren’t going to be the ones wearing the championship rings when the game is over. They achieved their goal before the game began.

What’s really more important, goal-setting or goal-getting?

A teenager will mow lawns all summer in order to buy the jalopy that he is certain will impress Mary Anne. The real lesson—learning solid work habits—is easily lost if Mary Anne is not impressed.
We all know companies that were household names, the bluest of the blue chips, that are fading memories today. W.T. Grant. Woolworth’s. Zenith. Studebaker. Montgomery-Ward. Every salesperson knows an ace who was on top of the sales charts for years and all of a sudden lost his stroke. He didn’t go from first to second; he went all the way to the bottom.

In each of these cases, the goal was the same, to get on top. But once they got there, they started to lose their way.

They lost the hunger, the ability to innovate, to listen to their customers, to adapt to change, to be humble.

They had achieved their goals. Now was the time to reap the rewards. About 20 years ago a fellow named Parkinson wrote a series of books in which he cleverly framed his observations into “Parkinson’s Laws.” Most are just as valid today, because these rules of human nature are timeless. One was, and yes, I’m paraphrasing a bit, “Whenever a company proudly announces the establishment of their beautiful, new, modern, efficient corporate headquarters, you can be sure they’re heading downhill.”

Why? Because instead of focusing on their business, the company’s managers are focusing on themselves. Messy desks, cramped quarters and unlovely surroundings are the physical manifestations of people too busy getting the work done to care much about their own creature comforts.

The greatest danger to a business is not risk. It’s lack of risk: complacency. As success piles upon success, the goal changes. Number 1? We are number 1. Roll out the red carpet. Get that door, will you? And where’s my driver?

Look back at that list of corporate casualties and you won’t see Wal-Mart. It didn’t matter how much money Sam Walton made, he still drove a beat-up pickup truck. Instead of hanging around a plush office, he got out and walked the floor of his stores and his competitors’ stores. His people were well aware of his habits. The Walton-lifestyle is ingrained into the Wal-Mart culture.

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, was never so wrapped up in enjoying material things that he lost his desire to get the education denied him by his impoverished childhood. At 60 he went back to high school and got his GED. He attended the prom with his wife and they were crowned Prom King and Prom Queen. His fellow students voted him “Most Likely to Succeed.” Not all of today’s high schoolers are in the dark about goal-setting.

What’s your goal? Whatever it is, I suggest you commit it to writing and keep it on your desk where you’ll see it every day. At least quarterly, give yourself a report card. If you ever achieve your goal, be like Curt Carlson, the billionaire founder of the Carlson Companies, the parent of the Radisson Hotels.

As a young soap salesman, Curt used to set yearly sales goals for himself, write them down and stick them in his wallet. About halfway through the year, when he reached his annual target, Curt would tear up the slip of paper, toss it, and set another goal.

Curt has the reputation of being a tough boss. There’s a reason: he’s never quite satisfied with himself.

Curt knows the answer to the question I posed earlier: It’s not goal-getting that matters. It’s goal setting. You never want to reach your goal.

-by Harvey Mackay

Law of Capital: Your most valuable asset, in terms of cash flow, is your physical and mental capital, your earning ability.

YOUR EARNING ABILITY

You may not even be aware that, unless you are wealthy already, your ability to work is the most valuable asset that you have. By utilizing your earning ability to its fullest, you can bring thousands of dollars each year into your life. By applying your earning ability to the production of valuable goods and services, you can generate sufficient money to pay for all the things that you want in life. The amount of money that you are paid today is a direct measure of the extent to which you have developed your earning ability so far.

USE YOUR TIME WELL

The first corollary of the Law of Capital says, “Your most precious resource is your time.”

Your time is really all you have to sell. How much time you put in and how much of yourself you put into that time largely determines your earning ability. Poor time management is one of the major reasons for poor productivity and underachievement in every industry in America. It is the No. 1 problem for both managers and salespeople in every field.

INVEST YOURSELF CAREFULLY

The second corollary of the Law of Capital says, “Time and money can be either spent or invested.”

One of the smartest things you can do is to invest 3 percent of your income every month back into yourself on personal and professional development, on becoming better at the most important things you do. In fact, if you just invested as much in your mind each year as you do in your car, that alone could make you rich.

Invest one hour of your time reading in your field every day. Listen to audio programs in your car. Attend every course that can advance you in your career. Get personal and professional coaching to help you to get the very best out of yourself.

GET BETTER AT THE THINGS YOU DO

There is nothing that will give you a bigger and better “bang” for your buck than reinvesting a part of your time and money back into your capability to earn even more. All wealthy and successful Americans have learned this sooner or later, and all poor and unhappy Americans are still trying to figure it out.

INCREASE YOUR RETURN ON LIFE

The third corollary of the Law of Capital says, “One of the best investments of your time and money is to increase your earning ability.”

The purpose of corporate strategic planning is to increase “return on equity,” or ROE. This requires organizing and reorganizing corporate activities so that the company is earning a higher return on the capital invested in the organization. In your work life, your personal equity is your mental and emotional capital. Your job then is to earn the highest possible return on your human capital, to increase your “return on energy.” This way of viewing yourself must become a key part of your attitude throughout your work life.

-by Brian Tracy

I have not often admitted this, but I was inspired to become a public speaker by perhaps the worst motivational speaker I’ve ever heard in my life.

This fellow is still working, surprisingly, so I won’t give his name. He was the opening speaker in a seminar I attended early in my speaking career and he nearly closed the show early with his monotone, unenthusiastic presentation. As he spoke, the room grew as quiet as a graveyard between funerals.

I went to sleep to be awakened by what could only be called courtesy applause for his presentation. You could make more noise clapping with one hand. After the less-than-stirring speech, I leaned over to the guy sitting next to me and said, “That was really boring.” And he said, “You should be so boring for the kind of money he makes.” The fellow told me this terrible speaker was making $5,000 for each terrible speech.

After hearing how much money a really bad speaker could make, I decided it was time for me to go after this dream. A few days later, I caught a Greyhound bus from Miami to Orlando, where I’d signed up for a seminar for beginners held by the National Speakers Association. It seemed like the bus ride took weeks. I know it took every last dollar I could scrape together. And so I was road-weary but eager to hear some inspiring, motivational and dynamic speaking when I finally took a seat at the event. But who should walk out to lead the first session but that same terrible $5,000-per-speech speaker? I could not believe it!

All that time on a stinking bus, stopping in every one-horse town between Miami and Orlando, to hear this guy again? I nearly got up and walked out. By the time he’d gotten halfway through his speech, nearly half the audience had fled. But I stayed on until the bitter end and the speaker’s parting shot, as it turned out, was worth the price of admission. He obviously had noted the exodus of the audience and the drooping eyelids of those who remained because, as he built up to his anticlimax, he stopped suddenly, looked out at the remaining numbers of aspiring public speakers and said, “You know, the only reason that I am standing up here and you are sitting down there is that I represent the thoughts that you have rejected for yourself.”

I don’t know about the other dozen or so people in the audience, but Mr. Monotone hit me right between the eyes with that shot. It was true. He had acted upon something that I had only dreamt of doing. I’d spent years dreaming of becoming a public speaker. But dreaming was all I had done. This guy may not have had any talent for it. He may have been the most un-dynamic public speaker in history. But he was up there while I was still dreaming. And so that is how I became motivated to start a new career by perhaps the worst motivational speaker I have ever heard.

-by Les Brown

Have you ever wondered how to turn nothing into something?

First, in order to turn nothing into something, you’ve got to start with some ideas and imagination. Now, it might be hard to call ideas and imagination nothing; but how tangible are those ideas? That is a bit of a mystery. I don’t believe that ideas that can be turned into a hotel, ideas that can be turned into an enterprise, ideas that can be turned into a new vaccine or ideas that can be turned into some miracle product, should be called nothing. But tangibly, you have nothing. Interesting! Think of it; ideas that become so powerful in your mind and in your consciousness that they seem real to you even before they become tangible. Imagination that is so strong, you can actually see it.

When I built my first home for my family in Idaho all those years ago, before I started construction, I would take my friends and associates out to the vacant property and give them a tour of the house. Is that possible? Is it possible to take someone on a tour through an imaginary house? And the answer is, “Yes, of course.” “Here is the three-car garage,” I used to say, and my friends would look and say, “Yes, this garage will hold three cars. ” I could really make it “live.” I would take them on a tour throughout the house…. “Here is the fireplace, and look, this side is brick and the other side is stone.” I could make it so real…. “Follow me through the rest of the house. Take a look through the picture window here in the kitchen, isn’t the view great?” One day, I made the house so real that one of my friends bumped his elbow on the fireplace. I mean, it was that real.

So, the first step of turning nothing into something is to imagine the possibilities. Imagine all of the possibilities. One of the reasons for seminars, sermons, lyrics from songs and testimonials of others is to give us an idea of the possibilities; to help us imagine and to see the potential.

Now here is the second step for turning nothing into something: You must believe that what you imagine is possible for you. Testimonials, like “If I can do it, you can do it,” often become a support to our belief. And we start believing. First we imagine it’s possible. Second, we start to believe that what’s possible is possible for us.

We might also believe because of our own testimonial. Here is what your testimonial might say: “If I did it once, I can do it again. If it happened for me before, it could very well happen again.” So we believe not only the testimonials of others who say, “If I can do it, you can do it; If I can change, you can change; If I can start with nothing, you can start with nothing; If I can turn it all around, you can turn it all around.” Then we also have the support of our own testimonial, if we’ve accomplished something before. “If we did it once, we can do it again. If we did it last year, we can do it this year.” So those two things together are very powerful. Now, we do not have actual substance yet, although it is very close.

Again, step one is to imagine the possibilities. Step two is to imagine that what is possible is possible for you. Here is what we call step two: faith to believe. In fact, one writer said this, “Faith is substance.” An interesting word: “substance,” the powerful ability to believe in the possibilities that are possible for you. If you have faith to believe, that faith is substance, substance meaning “a piece of the real.” Now it’s not “the real,” it’s not this podium, but it is so powerful that it is very close to being real, and so the writer said, “The faith is a piece of, the substance of.” He then goes on to call it evidence, substance and evidence. It is difficult to call substance and evidence “nothing.” It is nothing in the sense that it cannot be seen except with the inner eye. You can’t get a hold of it because it isn’t yet tangible. But it is possible to turn nothing, especially ideas and imaginations, into something if you believe that it is now possible for you. That substance and evidence becomes so powerful that it can now be turned into reality.

So the first step is to imagine what is possible, the second is to have the faith to believe that what is possible is possible for you. And now the third step is that you go to work to make it real. You go to work to make it a hotel. You go to work to make it an enterprise. You go to work and make it good health. You go to work and make it an association. You go to work and make it a good marriage. You go to work and make it a movement. You make it tangible. You make it viable. You breathe life into it and then you construct it. That is such a unique and powerful ability for all of us human beings. Put this to work and start the miracle process today!

- by Jim Rohn

It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hope of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as “The Butterfly Effect.” He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns.

One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result, but he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas? Thus, you have “The Butterfly Effect” theory.

This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz’s 1960 experiment.

What does it mean for your life?

It means that every decision or action that you make, no matter how small, could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure is the case with yours, is a testimony to “The Butterfly Effect.” When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. More than two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12-year-olds called him a nerd), and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities, and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone.

Did you follow that?

You are receiving this email from me, reading my books, or hearing me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job if Brian hadn’t gotten me the telemarketing job, and Brian would never have known me if we hadn’t met at the age of 12 in P.E! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym two decades ago; that is “The Butterfly Effect.”

ACTION POINTS
- Realize that “The Butterfly Effect” is very real and small decisions or actions can make a huge impact on your life.
- Take responsibility for your decisions, actions and friends—even the tiny decisions—realizing that they can dramatically alter the course of your life.
- Understand the importance of attention to detail. Years before 1986, the smallest flaw was overlooked in a Space Shuttle O-Ring. That flaw led to a horrific “Butterfly Effect” and the deaths of seven astronauts years later in January 1986.
- Do not allow “The Butterfly Effect” to paralyze you into inaction. Instead, use it as the spark of motivation to fan the fire of action, realizing that you control your destiny even in the tiniest of ways.

- by Ron White

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to get rich quick.
Everybody wants everything instantly—instant rice, instant pudding, instant success—served in pablum form. My father was from Germany, and he said, “Always take time to be an apprentice and learn the whole job.” I did this… and it worked!

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to take shortcuts.
Taking shortcuts and cutting corners is a character flaw. You will be building on sand, and it will surely collapse. It always has. It always will.

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to believe that “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.”
We need to stay focused on where we are now, what we are doing now, our present opportunity, our present job, our present activity. We need to be able to make our present responsibilities work, whatever price we have to pay.

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to quit too soon.
History books, storybooks and movies are filled with illustrations and parables of people who quit “three feet too soon digging for gold.” Just one more try to complete an invention; just one more call to make a sale.

COLLECTIVELY, WHAT DO ALL THESE TEMPTATIONS CAUSE?

They cause you to…
1. Lose sight of your goals,
2. Develop a lack of confidence, and
3. Suffer from an eroding self-esteem.

HOW DO YOU AVOID THIS?

1. Commit to a singleness of purpose.
2. Set and put into writing specific and clearly defined goals.
3. Outline exact action steps you must take to achieve your goals.
4. Repeat daily affirmations to support your goals.
5. Form a support group of your spouse, friends, associates and work partners.
6. Create an accountability factor.

I don’t have enough paper to write or tell you the thousand sad stories I know about from my lifetime of all the educated, gifted and talented people who fell into the temptation to get rich quick, looked for something for nothing, ceased to persist and do, believed false promises, and took a shortcut.

It is very sad to watch people chase false dreams—or their tails, the wind and rainbows.

A solid life of personal, family and business success is built more like climbing stairs than by mounting a rocket ship.

-by Paul Meyer

I believe that in the 21st century it is so important to have multiple skills. But what I also find is that if you have an entrepreneurial business (or plan to in the future), you can gain the needed skills for the future while you create your income now.

Here’s my short list for on-the-job training, so that you can learn while you earn.

Sales
I began my journey with sales, which, of course, dynamically changed my life at age 25. The first year I multiplied my income by five. Being raised in farm country, I knew how to milk cows, but it didn’t pay well. Sales altered the course of my life, where I learned to present a valid product in the marketplace, talk about its virtues and get somebody to say “Yes.” Then give them good service.

Recruiting
Then came recruiting, how to expand my business and build an organization. We have all heard the question, is it better to have one person selling a $1,000 or have 100 people selling $10? If you ask me, I’ll take the 100 at $10. Once mastered, recruiting, the ability to multiply your efforts, is one of life’s and leadership’s greatest time-management resources.

Organizing
Then I learned organizing. Keeping your own schedule can be difficult at times, but now you have to balance multiple tasks and people to get maximum results. You will find that the payoff is massive once you have tapped into the synergy and momentum of group dynamics and teamwork.

Promotion
Next is promotion. First it’s the spring campaign and then the fall campaign, and then it’s this month’s objective’s campaign. You never know when it’s going to click for someone to want or need to buy from you or be a part of what you are doing, so having the offer or the special or the contest going when they’re ready can make all the difference.

Recognition
Then it’s the recognition. Some people work harder for recognition than they do for money. It’s the chance to belong. It’s getting people to do something that, ordinarily on their own, they wouldn’t think of doing. They could, but they don’t think of it. You come along with a little promotion for this month or this quarter and everything changes for them, and I found that paid big money.

Communication
Then I learned communication. How to do the training, how to do the teaching, and probably the greatest gift of all is learning how to inspire with words. Inspire people to see themselves better than they are with all of those gifts, all of those skills. Be the voice that tells them they have made a wise decision and here’s why.

Now, I believe with just this little short list I’ve given you, you’ll be equipped. We’ve all watched what has happened the last 15 years. The guy had one skill; the company downsizes. His division is eliminated and since he only had one skill, now he is vulnerable. He’s wandering around saying, “Oh my, the last few years I should have taken some classes that would have taught me a couple of more things and I wouldn’t be here in this vulnerable position.”

So my admonition: Learn some multiple skills, or should we say, backup skills for the 21st century, and no better place to learn them than in what you’re already doing now.

- by Jim Rohn

When a group of soldiers found themselves locked away in a German prison camp during World War II, they easily could have waited out the end of the war there. Or, they might have made a few small attempts to free one or two people.

At one such camp, however, the goals were much bigger. These prisoners organized themselves around the collective goal of freeing 250 soldiers in one night. Their story became the basis for the 1963 movie The Great Escape.

Imagine the teamwork required to pull off such an ambitious goal. Groups of prisoners had to engineer and dig tunnels, build supports from wooden slats, dispose of dirt, create bellows to pump air into the tunnels, and light the tunnels. According to one list, the supplies included 4,000 bed slats, 1,370 battens, 1,699 blankets, 52 long tables, 1,219 knives, 30 shovels, 600 feet of rope and 1,000 feet of electric wire.

In addition to finding materials for the tunnels, each escapee would need civilian clothes, German papers, identity cards, maps, homemade compasses and emergency rations. Everyone had a job, from tailors to pickpockets to forgers. There were even teams that specialized in distracting the German soldiers.

“It demanded the concentrated devotion and vigilance of more than 600 men—every single one of them, every minute, every hour, every day and every night for more than one year,” John Sturges, who directed the movie account, once said. “Never has the human capacity been stretched to such incredible lengths or shown such determination and such courage.”

To pull off such an elaborate mission, the soldiers moved beyond cooperation and into collaboration. You see, there’s a difference between cooperation and collaboration. Cooperation is working together agreeably. Everybody sits down, and they’re agreeable. Collaboration is working together aggressively; and there’s a world of difference between those two.

There are four changes needed to become a collaborative type of a player:

1.         Perception. You need to see teammates differently; you need to see them as collaborators, not as competitors.
2.         Attitude. As a team player, you need to be supportive, not suspicious, of teammates, because if you trust others, you’ll treat them differently—you’ll treat them better.
3.         Focus. A collaborative type of team player concentrates on the team, not himself or herself. Cavett Roberts said it right: “True progress in any field is a relay race and not a single event,” so the focus is different.
4.         Results. You begin to create victories through multiplication.

One is too small of a number to produce greatness. In fact, nothing can be accomplished in a great way without help. You have to learn to collaborate. You have to learn to come together. When you’re developing a team that collaborates, it begins to be aggressive, not just agreeable. And it begins to accomplish a vision that mere cooperation never would allow.

- by John Maxwell

The ultimate expression of life is not a paycheck. The ultimate expression of life is not a Mercedes. The ultimate expression of life is not a million dollars or a bank account or a home. Here’s the ultimate expression of life in my opinion, and that is living the good life. Here’s what we must ask constantly, “What for me would be a good life?” And you have to keep going over and over the list. A list including areas such as spirituality, economics, health, relationships and recreation. What would constitute a good life? I’ve got a short list.

1) Number one, productivity. You won’t be happy if you don’t produce. The game of life is not rest. We must rest, but only long enough to gather strength to get back to productivity. What’s the reason for the seasons and the seeds, the soil and the sunshine, the rain and the miracle of life? It’s to see what you can do with it—to try your hand. Other people have tried their hand; here’s what they did. You try your hand to see what you can do. So part of life is productivity.

2) Next are good friends. Friendship is probably the greatest support system in the world. Don’t deny yourself the time to develop this support system. Nothing can match it. It’s extraordinary in its benefit. Friends are those wonderful people who know all about you and still like you. A few years ago, I lost one of my dearest friends. He died at age 53—heart attack. David is gone, but he was one of my very special friends. I used to say of David that if I was stuck in a foreign jail somewhere accused unduly and if they would allow me one phone call, I would call David. Why? He would come and get me. That’s a friend. Somebody who would come and get you. Now we’ve all got casual friends. And if you called them they would say, “Hey, if you get back, call me and we’ll have a party.” So you’ve got to have both, real friends and casual friends.

3) Next on the list of a good life is your culture. Your language, your music, the ceremonies, the traditions, the dress. All of that is so vitally important that you must keep it alive. In fact it is the uniqueness of all of us that when blended together brings vitality, energy, power, influence, uniqueness and rightness to the world.

4) Next is your spirituality. It helps to form the foundation of the family that builds the nation. And make sure you study, practice and teach. Don’t be careless about the spiritual part of your nature; it’s what makes us who we are, different from dogs, cats, birds and mice. Spirituality.

5) Next, here’s what my parents taught me. Don’t miss anything. Don’t miss the game. Don’t miss the performance, don’t miss the movie, don’t miss the show, don’t miss the dance. Go to everything you possibly can. Buy a ticket to everything you possibly can. Go see everything and experience all you possibly can. This has served me so well to this day. Just before my father died at age 93, if you were to call him at 10:30 or 11:00 at night, he wouldn’t be home. He was at the rodeo, he was watching the kids play softball, he was listening to the concert, he was at church, he was somewhere every night.

Live a vital life. Here’s one of the reasons why. If you live well, you will earn well. If you live well it will show in your face, it will show in the texture of your voice. There will be something unique and magical about you if you live well. It will infuse not only your personal life but also your business life. And it will give you a vitality nothing else can give.

6) Next are your family and the inner circle. Invest in them and they’ll invest in you. Inspire them and they’ll inspire you. With your inner circle take care of the details. When my father was still alive, I used to call him when I traveled. He’d have breakfast most every morning with the farmers. Little place called The Decoy Inn out in the country where we lived in Southwest Idaho. So Papa would go there and have breakfast and I’d call him just to give him a special day. Now if I was in Israel, I’d have to get up in the middle of the night, but it only took five minutes, ten minutes. So I’d call Papa and they’d bring him the phone. I’d say, “Papa, I’m in Israel.” He’d say, “Israel! Son, how are things in Israel?” He’d talk real loud so everybody could hear. “My son’s calling me from Israel!” I’d say, “Papa, last night they gave me a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean.” He’d say, “Son, a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean.” Now everybody knows the story. It only took five or ten minutes, but what a special day for my father, age 93.

If a father walks out of the house and he can still feel his daughter’s kiss on his face all day, he’s a powerful man. If a husband walks out of the house and he can still feel the imprint of his wife’s arms around his body, he’s invincible all day. It’s the special stuff with the inner circle that makes you strong and powerful and influential. So don’t miss that opportunity. Here’s the greatest value. The prophet said, “There are many virtues and values, but here’s the greatest, one person caring for another.” There is no greater value than love. Better to live in a tent on the beach with someone you love than to live in a mansion by yourself. One person caring for another, that’s one of life’s greatest expressions.

So make sure in your busy day to remember the true purpose and the reasons you do what you do. May you truly live the kind of life that will bring the fruit and rewards that you desire.

- Jim Rohn

I used to think that as I  gained maturity and experience I would make fewer mistakes. I thought,  “I’m going to get better at this, because I made a lot of mistakes in the  beginning.”

I believed that there would  come a day when I wouldn’t make very many mistakes, because I’d get better. What  I learned was that as I gained maturity and experience, I would continue to  make mistakes, but I would learn more quickly from them.

What I found out was that I  didn’t lower my “mistake quota” but I learned better from my  mistakes, and it’s because of maturity. Maturity helps us learn more quickly  from our mistakes and here are the reasons why:

1. We become more self-confident.
As we become more  self-confident, we’re willing to admit things that we would not admit if we had  lower self-image.

2. We realize that mistakes are not usually fatal.
It was a happy day for me  when I realized that when I made a mistake, it was seldom fatal. After you make  a mistake and say, “Oh, I lived! I’m okay. I’m going to see another  sunrise.” Then all of a sudden you say, “They’re not as big of a deal  as I thought.”

3. We find that we make the same mistakes unless we learn from them.
Unless I learn from a  mistake, I usually keep doing it over and over again. You see, the question is  not, How many mistakes have you made? The question is, How many of the same  mistakes have you made? If I always do what I’ve always done, I’ll always get  what I’ve always gotten.

4. We understand that mistakes are unavoidable.
Look back at your early  years. Can you think of the times you tried to avoid mistakes? You know what  I’m saying? “Well, I’ll just be careful. I won’t make any mistakes  here.” Well, after awhile you just plunge in because you know the mistakes  are unavoidable.

5. We see others make mistakes.
Wasn’t it wonderful when you  saw all the people that you admired make mistakes? You thought, “Oh, good  night! Look where they are, and they blew it!”

The following illustration  says a lot about life and learning from our mistakes. It comes out of a  university commencement address many, many years ago by Brian Dyce, who at that  time was the CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises. He spoke about the relationship of  work to one’s other commitments.

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling  five balls in the air. You can name them—work, family, health, friends and  spirit—and you’re keeping all of these in the air and you will soon understand  that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it’ll bounce back; but the other  four balls—family, health, friends and spirit—are made of glass. If you drop  one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even  shattered. They’ll never be the same, and you must understand that and strive  for the balance of your life.

“How? Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself  with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special. Don’t  set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best  for you. Don’t take for granted the things that are closest to your heart.  Cling to them as you would your life; for without them, life is meaningless.  Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the  future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your  life. Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really  over until the moment you stop trying. Don’t be afraid to admit that you are  less than perfect—it is this fragile thread that binds us to each other. Don’t  be afraid to encounter risk—it is by taking chances that we learn how to be  brave. Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find—the  quickest way to receive love is to give, and the fastest way to lose love is to  hold it too tightly, and the best way to keep love is to give it wings. Don’t  run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been but also  where you’re going. Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to  feel appreciated. Don’t be afraid to learn—knowledge is weightless, a treasure  you can always carry easily. Don’t use time or words carelessly; neither can be  retrieved. Life is not a race but a journey to be savored each step of the way.  Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why we  call it the present.”

- John C. Maxwell

Over the years I’ve been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept—the ant philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part: ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to think ahead. In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.

And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow, what a great philosophy to have—the ant philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

- by Jim Rohn