Faith In Myself

by: Marjorie Holmes

God gave me faith in myself,
not only on days when I'm going great and winning
and nothing seems impossible
but on days when the whole world looks lousy
and I'm losing and the road ahead seems too hard.
When I wonder if I'm brave enough, smart enough
and I must be crazy to try,
don't let me quit Lord, not ever.

Let me keep the faith in myself.
No matter how many people
discourage me…
doubt me…
laugh at me…
warn me…
think me a fool…
Don't let me listen.

Let me hear another voice telling me,
"You can do it and you will!"
If nobody else in this world gives a darn or believes in me,
let me believe in myself.

I know there'll be times when I will doubt my own abilities,
when I'll be discouraged and on the verge of despair,
don't let me give up,
hang onto me.
Fan the fires so that I'll try even harder.
Give me more faith in myself.

Dear Lord, you are the source of life and power.
You are the source of my abilities and my faith.
Thank you for reinforcements.
I know that you will give me for what I ask…
Faith in myself.

I Dream To Become A Great Man

By: Moses P. Reconalla, MAT, MAEd - Guidance & Counseling
      Guidance Counselor/General Education Lecturer

I was born as a poor boy and grew up in the street without the care, guidance and supervision of my beloved parents. I have experienced an empty stomach, being almost naked, existing without permanent shelter and without proper education.

As a young man, with deprived and some sad experiences of life, I started to think of innovation and dream for my future. I dream to become famous, I dream to become a great man!

Yes, I to dream to become a great man, a great man with power and authority; a great man like Abraham Lincoln, Brian Tracy, Benjamin Franklin, Dave Higgins, John Maxwell, Manuel Quezon, Martin Luther King Jr., Og Mandino, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

Yes, I dream to become a great man because I want to have a change and improvement, a change and improvement to my beloved country, a change and improvement to the lives of the needy.

I thought to become a great man was to have power and authority, power and authority over the lives of the people, power and authority to become their lord and master.

But now I realize that to become a great man, it is not to become the lord of their lives, instead the lord of good example.

I also realized that to become a great man it is not to become the master of their lives, instead a master of change in helping to improve their way of living.

Now, with these precious thoughts that are still fresh in my mind, I am thankful to my beloved Creator for helping me to realize this.

Another thing is that to become a great man, is to change and improve first myself. Not be a self-centered, lord and master to others, instead a lord and master of my own self.

I realize that by changing my own self, I can gradually change my own destiny. I realize that by changing my own self, I can gradually brighten up my future.

Lo! Today I will live as if it is my last. I will improve my character, my skills, my talents and myself. I will serve and help others with love and care and I will become great!

Yes, I will become a great man if I will think about the good of others before myself. For only in serving, helping, loving, and sharing the blessings from Above, I can finally win the hearts, favors and support from my beloved human being. And my name will be hailed forever in the pyramid and pages of history!

--- Copyright © 2007 Moses P. Reconalla

Article Source: http://motivateus.com/stories/becoming-a-great-man.htm


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Sing, Dance and Climb

By: William Arthur Ward

"Sing a new song; dance a new step; take a new path.

Think a new thought; accept a new responsibility; memorize a new poem.

Try a new recipe; plan a new adventure; entertain a new idea.

Learn a new language; blaze a new trail; enjoy a new experience.

Make a new friend; read a new book; see a new movie.

Climb a new hill; scale a new mountain; launch a new career.

Find a new purpose; fill a new need; light a new lamp.

Exercise a new strength; grasp a new truth; practice a new awareness.

Add a new dimension; encourage a new growth; affirm a new beginning.

Discover a new answer; envision a new image; conceive a new system.

Dream a new dream; chart a new course; build a new life.

Open a new door; explore a new possibility; capture a new vision.

Start a new chapter; seek a new challenge; express a new confidence.

Write a new plan; turn a new page; follow a new direction.

Watch a new program; be a new person; radiate a new enthusiasm."

Learn How to Put Failures Behind

By: Steve Goodier

Unless we learn how to put failure behind us:

We will never ask for what we need for fear of rejection.

We will never ask a boss for a promotion for fear of her saying no.

We will never go back and take classes for fear of failing.

We will never change careers for fear of it not working out.

We will never forgive others who hurt us for fear of being hurt by them again.

We won't do the things we want to do for fear of letting ourselves and others down.

Unless we learn how to put failure behind us, we won't take any risk at all! And we'll never fully live, either.

Believe in yourself

Believe in yourself!

Believe you were made to do any task without calling for aid.

Believe, without growing too scornfully proud,
that you, as the greatest and least are endowed.

A mind to do thinking, two hands and two eyes
are all the equipment God gives to the wise.

Believe in yourself!

You are divinely designed and perfectly made
for the work of mankind.

The truth you must cling to through danger and pain;
the heights others have reached you can also attain.

Believe to the very last hour, for it is true.
That what ever you will, you've been gifted to do.

Believe in yourself and step out unafraid.

By misgivings and doubt be not easily swayed.

You've the right to succeed;
the precision of skill which betokens the great
you can earn if you will!

The wisdom of the ages is yours if you'll read.

But you've got to believe in yourself to succeed.



Winning Words of Champions,
p. 103

CHARACTER

By: Jim Rohn
Success Philosopher

CHARACTER is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you will still be somebody. You will still be alive, but may have a personality rather than a character.…

CHARACTER is not something you were born with and can't change like your fingerprint. In fact, because you weren't born with it, it is something that you must take responsibility for creating. I don't believe that adversity by itself builds character and I certainly don't think that success erodes it. Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life. Whether it's winning every game or losing every game. Getting rich or dealing with hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself.…

CHARACTER sustains itself and nurtures itself even as it is being put to work, tested, and challenged. And once character is formed, it will serve as a solid, lasting foundation upon which to build the life you desire.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn


www.jimrohn.com

Finish Every Day

By: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities
no doubt have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely
and with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with
your old nonsense.

This day is all that is
good and fair.
It is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on yesterdays.

Attainment of Success and Happiness

By: Jim Rohn

All of the books that we will ever need to make us as rich, as healthy, as happy, as powerful, as sophisticated and as successful as we want to be have already been written.

People from all walks of life, people with some of the most incredible life experiences, people that have gone from pennies to fortune and from failure to success have taken the time to write down their experiences so that we might share in their wealth of knowledge. They have offered their wisdom and experience so that we can be inspired by it and instructed by it, and so that we can amend our philosophy by it. Their contributions enable us to reset our sail based upon their experiences. They have handed us the gift of their insights so that we can change our plans, if need be, in order to avoid their errors. We can rearrange our lives based on their wise advice.

All of the insights that we might ever need have already been captured by others in books. The important question is this: In the last ninety days, with this treasure of information that could change our lives, our fortunes, our relationships, our health, our children and our careers for the better, how many books have we read?

Why do we neglect to read the books that can change our lives? Why do we complain but remain the same? Why do so many of us curse the effect but nourish the cause? How do we explain the fact that only three percent of our entire national population possess a library card - a card that would give us access to all of the answers to success and happiness we could ever want? Those who wish for the better life cannot permit themselves to miss the books that could have a major impact on how their lives turn out. The book they miss will not help!

And the issue is not that books are too expensive! If a person concludes that the price of buying the book is too great, wait until he must pay the price for not buying it. Wait until he receives the bill for continued and prolonged ignorance.

There is very little difference between someone who cannot read and someone who will not read. The result of either is ignorance. Those who are serious seekers of personal development must remove the self-imposed limitations they have placed on their reading skills and their reading habits. There is a multitude of classes being taught on how to be a good reader and there are thousands of books on the shelves of the public libraries just waiting to be read. Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. We must not permit anything to stand between us and the book that could change our lives.

A little reading each day will result in a wealth of valuable information in a very short period of time. But if we fail to set aside the time, if we fail to pick up the book, if we fail to exercise the discipline, then ignorance will quickly move in to fill the void.

Those who seek a better life must first become a better person. They must continually seek after self-mastery for the purpose of developing a balanced philosophy of life, and then live in accordance with the dictates of that philosophy. The habit of reading is a major stepping stone in the development of a sound philosophical foundation. And in my opinion it is one of the fundamentals required for the attainment of success and happiness.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Autograph Your Career And Your Life With Your Life Excellence

By: Dr. Denis Waitley

In 1644, a child was born. He lived to be 93 at a time in history when the average life span was but 35 to 40. He taught himself his trade and began his career. He often worked alone with primitive tools, but his focus every day was to put the best he had into his work. The man made violins. He labored over each and every process and step to ensure that he had "autographed" them with excellence and the best that was in him. He created his own personal standard of excellence for his craft, and he actually signed his name on each instrument that passed the test.

Today, some three hundred years later, the name of this craftsman who was committed to excellence is the benchmark for the best in musical instruments. His name? Antonio Stradivari! His Stradivarius violins sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars because they are the best.

When Stradivari labored, he did not know of the legacy he was creating. He was doing his best, day in and day out, to reach his standard of excellence. He didn’t spend the extra time and care to get the accolades of upper management or to be the top producer in the company. He did it because excellence was part of his focus, mission, and obsession.

It is easy to do world-class work when a boss is looking or a supervisor is around. But the test is in what you do when no one is looking. High achievers have developed the ability to stay focused when no one else is around. Does your quality or performance fluctuate based on who is in the office or which customer you are serving? Excellence is not something that you can just turn on and off whenever you feel you need it. It is a habit rooted in your attitude about your life and career.

Are you just going through the motions day to day, or are you creating a masterpiece? Autographs are valuable because they are rare and are tied to excellent performance. In today’s world, superior effort and service are becoming endangered species. Is the autograph you place on your work and service each day a Stradivarius or a Michael Jordan or a Tiger Woods? Or is it unknown, with little value? Autograph your career and your life with excellence.

Having a firm commitment to excellence, like Stradivari, has an amazing effect on your achievement motivation. When people who are simply going through the motions or who are just working for a paycheck hit a challenge or obstacle, they often run to their boss and get him or her to do it, or they procrastinate by getting a cup of coffee or shuffling the papers on their desk. On the other hand, when individuals who are committed to excellence hit a similar challenge, they immediately bounce back with energy, and they are actually exhilarated by the chance to stretch themselves to overcome the problem. A commitment to excellence will create focus, and focus will assist you in maintaining your positive motivation and in creating a balanced life.

Do You Use These Alibis

By: Dr. Napoleon Hill


People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in common. They know all the reasons for failure and have what they believe to sir-tight alibis to explain away their own lack of achievement.

*If only I had time…
*If times were better…
*If other people understood…
*If conditions around me were only different…
*If I could live my life over again…
*If I did not fear what "They" would say…
*If I had been given a chance…
*If I were only younger…
*If I had the talent that some people have…
*If I dared assert myself…
*If only I had someone to help me…
*If I could just get started…
*If my talents were known…
*If I could just get a "break"…
*If I didn't have so many worries…
*If I were sure of myself…
*If luck were not against me…
*If I didn't have to work so hard…
*If I didn't have a past…
*If other people would only listen to me…
*If—and this is the greatest of them all—if I had the courage to see myself as I really am…

Building alibis with which to explain away failure is a national pastime. The habit is as old as the human race and is fatal to success!

Life's 10 Principles of Success

By: Dennis Gaskill

As with any subjective list, there could be points you believe are missing and perhaps points you believe don't belong here. I'm under no illusion that everyone will agree with everything I say, so take what you can use and leave the rest behind.
Live Thoughtfully

When I was a very young man I tended to live for myself. I thought I was thoughtful at the time because I would help my friends, remember my mom's birthday, hold the door open for people and things like that. But I really wasn't very thoughtful. I confused being polite and being helpful with being thoughtful. I didn't think too far ahead. I didn't look for ways to make people feel good about themselves. In truth, something would have to be very obviously wrong with someone before I'd even notice it.

When we're that wrapped up in ourselves we really don't make a very impressive package. I can say that with hindsight. We really need to live for more than our own benefit and comfort. If we just take the time to find ways to add sweetness and light to the lives of others our own joy will increase.

Live Reflectively

Great philosophers from antiquity to modern times have encouraged us to live an examined life. To mark the growth and decay of our soul, as George Herbert put it, is to let go of ego attachments and learn what we can from our daily living. The idea is simple—learn what we can about ourselves from each day so we can be better tomorrow. Hard to argue with that.

Live with Integrity

Integrity means moral soundness, and I mean it in that way, but I also have a deeper meaning in mind for living with integrity. It's also being true to yourself. It's standing up for what you believe in. It's not compromising your deeply held beliefs for the sake of convenience, profit, or to gain an unfair advantage over others. It's also respecting others as your equal, and yourself as the equal to others.


Own Your Life

In an age where it's popular to blame our parents, the government, our teachers, religion, lack of religion, and everyone or anything but ourselves for our troubles, it may seem odd to say we have to take responsibility for our own life and everything in it, but that's how it is.

Until we come to that point, where we own our lives and all the results we get from living it, we'll never have the kind of life we want. Being a victim, however legitimate or illegitimate the claim, just does not produce happiness and prosperity. Playing the victim role is antithetical to happiness and prosperity. Until we accept responsibility for all we do and say, and for all the outcomes of what we do and say, we will never be in charge of our own evolution. We cannot assign blame to someone without also giving up some of our power and promise.

Live with Intent

The difference between living with intent and just living can be subtle. Living with intent is having a passion for life and choosing our course, while just living is going through the motions needed to get by. Perhaps most of us are not called to do great things, but we can all do small things in a great way.

Living with intent is also choosing the direction your life takes as much as possible, as opposed to taking the path of least resistance. We are not made strong by being washed downstream by every passing influence. We are made strong by choosing our own course and standing against the tide when it isn't flowing in our chosen direction.


Be Willing to Pay the Price

Success is never guaranteed, but if you want to succeed, we have to be willing to pay the price. The "price" depends on what we want to succeed at: it could mean years of education, years of developing a skill or skills, years of sacrifice, years of failure, or any number of things.

Paying the price may also mean being willing to make changes. These changes could be in our self, in our environment, in our location, or even in who we associate with if they are detrimental to our success. This trips up a lot of people. We humans like our comfort zones. The trouble is, we grow very little within our comfort zones. We must step outside of the familiar and safe and into the unknown in order to become more than we already are.

Have Finishing Power

Fortitude is having the strength of mind to endure adversity with courage. Focus is the ability to concentrate our attention where it's needed. Having the fortitude and focus to keep working toward our goals in the midst of difficulties, distractions, obstacles, and opposition will give you the finishing power that carries you past any hindrances and into the rarified air of high achievement. Finishing what they start sets the winners apart from those who shrink away in laziness or defeat.

Live in the Now

Someday never gets here, it is always now. Don't put off your goals because it isn't the ideal time, or you lack funds, or lack time. You can work toward your goals in spite of all those excuses. The time will never be right if you aren't prepared for it, so prepare! You can prepare while you save money as well. As for not having the time, a person that says they have no time for something usually does find time to do other things that aren't necessary, such as watching television for example. In most cases, it's really a matter of where we place our priorities.…

Never Stop Learning

The more knowledge and wisdom you possess, the better the mental resources you have to draw upon for problem solving, brainstorming, product development, creativity, and a host of other needs. It's been proven that learning helps keep us young, and some studies indicate learning helps stave of diseases…And then there's the way Dr. Albert Einstein put it, "Once you stop learning, you start dying."…


Be a Goal Setter

We can have all kinds of marvelous ideas, but until we set them down on paper as goals we aren't likely to act on them. If we don't set them down on paper we are more likely to give up on them in the face of difficulties. By putting our goals down on paper and making an action plan to achieve them, it sinks into our mind better. We will be more likely to follow through.

Writing our goals down also serves notice to our subconscious that these ideas are important because we made the effort to separate them from the thousands of other ideas that flow through our consciousness on a daily basis. That tells our subconscious mind these are the ideas to go to work on, on our behalf, bringing ideas and intuition to us that will help us achieve our goals.

There you have my ten principles to success. I firmly believe you can succeed at anything you care enough about.

Ambition Takes You Far

By: Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

"Taking Action" - pp. 86-87
Artscroll.com

Ambition can be powerful. Ambition helps a person mobilize his resources. Ambition enables someone to face challenges and persist. Ambition prevents a person from giving up.

A person with a high degree of ambition will be able to accomplish much more than someone with similar intelligence and skills but without ambition.

Ambition enables a person to overcome laziness and a tendency to procrastinate. When you have an authentic ambition to excel in a certain area, you will put in the necessary time and energy to gain the knowledge. You will have the energy to practice the skill you want to perfect.

Ambition helps you overcome potential obstacles that might get in the way. The stronger your ambition, the less any obstacle can deter you from proceeding.

7 Things You Must Give to Others If You Want to Achieve Success!

A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth though that the true path to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you sow, you shall reap. If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way…

1.Give Others Your Honesty. The world we live in has a simple rule that most follow: Lie when you have to. Unfortunately, this may make some people wealthy but it make us humans poor. To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money, but in character. To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals and keep your character at the same time!…

How about you? Are you honest in all things? The problem with little lies is they become big ones. Lies spin out of control. You get caught in one lie and you lie to get out of it etc. In all things and at all times, give others your honesty.

2.Give Others Your Respect. Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done or what they have accomplished. We gauge whether or not they are "worthy" of it based on what we know of what they have achieved or who they know or are related to.

But I believe we should have a higher standard: We respect people not for what they have done or for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. Instead, we respect people for simply being.…

3.Give Others Your Vulnerability. We are taught to "be strong." And yes, we should be strong. But we have also embraced something that I think keeps us from having the kind of life that we long for. It is an idea that keeps us from experiencing the kind of relationships that would bring deep meaning to us. It is the idea of vulnerability.…

"But Chris, make yourself vulnerable and people will step all over you!" It is true that this will happen. But I have also seen that most people will be drawn to you. They will help you. They will open up to you. You see, we are all broken people inside. We all have secrets. Yet everyone plays the poser. When one let's down their veil, others soon follow—and we all win.

4.Give Others Your Care. Too many people are running around this old earth not caring about others. The days of "Look Out for Number One" and "Winning Through Intimidation" are over! Let's bring about a new day when we can care about others and succeed!

Take the time to show people you care. Listen to them. Empathize with them. Love them. Now, I don't mean that you have to go around hugging everyone—that probably wouldn't fly in corporate America anyway—but we can take some time to step back from business and be human! And I have found that when we do so, our business succeeds as well!

5.Give Others Your Passion. There is nothing this world needs more than passionate people. And people need passionate people. Living in this day and age can be tiring. The hustle and bustle of it all can wear you down and tire you out. Give your passion to others and fire them up.

Don't just be humdrum—be excited. Give people all the energy you can muster up. And you will find that energy reciprocal. They will get energized and passionate. This in turn will fire you up more when you are already charged and get you going altogether when you don't feel like moving at all!

6.Give Others Your Experience. We all have areas that we excel in and they are usually areas that we have experience in. One of the things we can do to make our lives more meaningful and be of utmost help to others is to show them the way through the experiences we have.

Sometimes it will be what they should do: Shortcuts to take, people to meet etc. Sometimes it will be what they should not do: Shortcuts not to take and people to stay away from! Whatever it is, we can be of service to others by giving them our experience and ultimately it will make us all better!

7.Give Others Your Help. All in all, what we want to do is to help others. Zig Ziglar says that if we will "help others get what they want, we will in turn get what we want." If we want to be successful, we should consider ourselves servants of other people. What can we do to help them and make them better? This is the true path to greatness and success, not only in business but in life!


About the Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer
as well as the President of Made for Success
Your Success Store.

Remember Your Dreams

Looking back, I can still see the face of my closest friend. How happy and excited he was but a little bit hesitant in saying, “Really? You will treat me in the Jollibee?”

I was then in my third year of high school when God showed me His mercy and love in due time, the deepest confusion, inferiorities and hardships of my life.

I'm an ambitious young man and I have a lot of great dreams for my future. But how can they be? They're the same questions that are always lingering in my mind.

I'm a product of a broken home family. Grew up in the street and stayed with different people - even with the cruelest person in this world! It's good that that part is finished; the bitter memory of my childhood!

Now, I'm renting in this lonely old small house a room of my own while working on a construction site. My salary is P120.00 pesos per day and I must pay for house rent, food and my studies.

In this kind of situation I felt as if I was still trapped in misery and strife but living with great hope and determination to reach out, even for a single one of my dreams: to finish my studies as a capital and to have a brighter future because I believe in sayings that go like this, "Do your best and God will do the rest".

One day, one of my closest friends approached me and said, “Friend, are you still working?”

“Yes!” I said, “Why?”

“We have a quiz today. Please attend the class because if you miss it, then you know absolutely what will happen, right? Remember your dreams that you told me?”

These were the warning words of my friend while leaving.

“Thanks so much friend, I will,” I assured back to him.

So I hurried up to finish my work, loading the truck with some cement and gravel. When I was done, I quickly headed toward my lonely home to make some quick preparations of my school things because the class would start at 1:30 p.m. and it was then 12:30 p.m.

“At least I have one hour to prepare myself.” I thought.

While doing so, this close friend of mine knocks on my door and we leave to go to school together.

It was not yet time for the class to start, so we decided to go into the library. While there, my adviser saw and called me!

“Mr. Reconalla, can you come to my office? I have an urgent matter to discuss with you!”

I paused for a while to think and guess what we were going to discuss and oh, what came in my mind just made me feel nervous and a little bit sick!

Why? Because I was thinking that most of the time the adviser talks privately with his/her students when they are delinquent in their academics, behavior or for any kind of poor performances. I felt too weak to think about a positive reason since I hadn’t eaten or rested well before I went to school.

Of course I don't have any choice but to go see her. With heavy feet and heart, I entered my adviser's office and there she was waiting patiently. I could hardly wait to hear what she was going to tell me because before she opened her mouth to start, I can hear the tremendous pounding of my heartbeat. I almost couldn’t hold down the different emotions and feelings I was feeling, anticipating the horrible things she was going to tell me. And at last, she started to talk.

“I understand what you feel right now, my dear!” she said, as she was reading the expression on my face and looking straight into the window of my soul.

“Oh! Thanks!” I said relaxing a little and finding some relief.

“You know, I have a better plan for you! I am aware of the situation you are in, through your friend, and I have been observing you for a long time in your class performance and I salute you!”

“ It's really hard for you to finish your schooling in high school with this kind of situation for there are only a few opportunities here to help you to support your needs to go to college, so I encourage you to take the Philippine Examination Placement Test by next week. I have confidence in you that you can do it!” she said, unaware of my informal education background.

I did not passed through a step-by-step grade level from elementary and some of my cards were just faked by merciful teachers to let me jump to a higher grade. And now, here in my third year of high school, I could hardly believe my teacher wants me to jump again to college and that she has confidence on me!

Confidence- a word that I needed most to hear at that time for inferiorities succumbed me most of my life!

“Just prepare this and that, and so and so... and I will help you to register when you have all the things you need.”

Some other things she was talking about were not clear anymore because of my excitement and happiness that replaced the feelings I felt before I entered her office. I thanked God and my adviser for such a good opportunity for me!

I really thanked God with great relief and with a deep sigh for providing an instrument so that step by step, I could fulfill my dreams.

After our class, I shared the news with my closest friend. He was so very happy and excited for me. I told him that I would treat him in Jollibee if I was able to pass the exam, and I also asked him to pray for me.

“Of course my dear friend!” he assured me and we separated from each other with happiness and excitement in our hearts.

Night came and I was visited with so many various emotions in my heart and thoughts in my mind that I could hardly sleep. What if I failed? What if I did not finish my studies? So many, many ‘what ifs' questions entered my mind again.

“Oh! My life maybe has really no direction and I’ll be worthless after if I fail this good chance for me.”

So I bowed down and prayed hard for wisdom and strength to face another challenge of everyday life that would come, especially the coming test that I was about to take!

After that, I slept peacefully with a lighter load of burden and cares of uncertainties of life!

A few days before the examination, I went to my sister's house to ask for money that I would need. When I arrived, she was so happy that I was able to visit her but when I told her the real reason for the visit, she was a little bit disappointed but granted my request and gave me her last bit of money in her pocket.

She wished me luck and I immediately headed to my adviser's house because she promised that she would go with me to register.

So we went to the registration office and lo and behold! There was only one blank registration form left - as if it was really waiting for me. If we would have been late a little bit or just a second, then it might have been taken by someone else and I would need to wait another year or perhaps some other year to try again.

My kind teacher and I were so very thankful to God for this miracle event.

The examination day came. Nervousness haunted me once again, for I was thinking that maybe I'm the oldest guy taking an exam there and can't imagine being surrounded by young people staring at me to make me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.

So again, I prayed fervently to God that just do His Will for me and let me overcome the feelings I had.

When I entered and sat in my designated place, I tried to look around to see if I was right in my imagination. But I was surprised. There's a lot, lot older people than myself, more than I was thinking before.

The exams were so hard for me. I couldn't remember anything that I had to study or learn from the classroom. Why? Because many times I arrived late for class, and if I wasn’t late, I was absent. So I had to rely on the Will and Wisdom from above and information I learned from my personal readings of books, books that I had sometimes borrowed from my good friends.

One month had passed; I could hardly wait for the result of my exams. My closest friend and adviser were also waiting with me. During this time, I could hardly sleep because I was always thinking about it, so I decided to go on the office of the examination center and ask for a result.

Surely, I was not disappointed; they gave it to me!

When I got the result, I wanted to shout... shout for joy because I made it! But instead, I looked up to heaven and ascended my thanksgiving prayer!

I went to my adviser and thanked her and she said that I am free now to enroll in college. Oh! What a blessing for me! But of course before my story ends, for sure we have a little celebration in Jollibee with my closest friend.

How happy I was during those times but for sure I was much, much happier when I received my diploma! A Bachelor holder in History and Minor in Political Science and passed the Philippine National Teachers Board Exam; the fulfilled dream of my life!

Now, I am upgrading in Guidance and Counseling and the same time working as a School Guidance Counselor, Part-time College Instructor, and Working Students Supervisor.

To you, my dear readers, always remember that the only person who can stop you from what our Great Creator intends for you to become is you!

About the Author:

Moises P. Reconalla is the Guidance Counselor at North Davao Colleges, Panabo City, Philippines.

All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright © 2006 -2010 by Moises P. Reconalla

NOTE: You're free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided that the article is reproduced in its entirety, including the author information.

17 RULES TO LIVE BY

From A Better Way to Live BY: OG MANDINO

1. Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play and you will finally be able to move forward toward the life that God intended for you...with grace, strength, courage and confidence.

2. Today, and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do. The victory of success will be half won when you learn the secret of putting out more than is expected in all that you do. Make yourself so valuable in your work that eventually you will become indispensable. Exercise your privilege to go the extra miles, and enjoy all the rewards you receive. You deserve them!

3. Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come.

4. Always reward your long hours of labor and toil in the very best way, surrounded by your family. Nurture their love carefully, remembering that your children need models, not critics, and your own progress will hasten when you constantly strive to present your best side to your children. And even if you have failed at all else in the eyes of the world, if you have a loving family, you are a success.

5. Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide that you can. Never consider defeat again. Let the vision in your heart be in your life's blueprint. Smile!

6. Let your actions always speak for you, but be forever on guard against the terrible traps of false pride and conceit that can halt your progress. The next time you are tempted to boast, just place your fist in a full pail of water, and when you remove it, the hole remaining will give you a correct measure of your importance.

7. Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles, and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. You can never win when you wear the ugly cloak of self-pity, and the sour sound of whining will certainly frighten away any opportunity for success. Never again. There is a better way.

8. Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busywork. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!

9. Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find "tomorrow" on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday's defeats, and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have. Make it the best day of your year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, "If I had my life to live over again..." Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day!

10. Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

11. Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat of the moment. Banish tension and concern and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.

12. Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.

13. Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter.

Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.

14. You will achieve your grand dream, a day at a time, so set goals for each day-not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you, step by step, toward your rainbow. Write them down, if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build your pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to become so cluttered that you neglect your most important goal-to do the best you can, enjoy this day and rest satisfied with what you have accomplished.

15. Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the faultfinding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealousy and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.

16. Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through all the darkest valleys you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So will you learn things in adversity that you would never have discovered without trouble? There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper.

17. Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

--- From A Better Way to Live by Og Mandino

Seven Steps To Achieving Your Dream

“Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to carry out the mundane.” — Chris Widener

Can achievement be broken down into steps? Well, it isn’t always that clean and easy, but I do know that those who achieve great things usually go through much of the same process, with many of the items listed below as part of that process.

So if you have been struggling with achievement, look through the following and internalize the thoughts presented. Then begin to apply them. You will be on the road to achieving your dream!

1. Dream it - Everything begins in the heart and mind. Every great achievement began in the mind of one person. They dared to dream, to believe that it was possible.

Take some time to allow yourself to ask “What if?” Think big. Don’t let negative thinking discourage you. You want to be a “dreamer.”

Dream of the possibilities for yourself, your family, and for others. If you had a dream that you let grow cold, re-ignite the dream! Fan the flames. Life is too short to let it go.

2. Believe it - Yes, your dream needs to be big. It needs to be something that is seemingly beyond your capabilities. But it also must be believable.

You must be able to say that if certain things take place, if others help, if you work hard enough, though it is a big dream, it can still be done. Good example: A person with no college education can dream that he will build a 50 million-dollar a year company. That is big, but believable.

Bad example: That a 90 year-old woman with arthritis will someday run a marathon in under 3 hours. It is big alright, but also impossible. She should instead focus on building a 50 million-dollar a year business! And she better get a move on!

3. See it - The great achievers have a habit. They “see” things. They picture themselves walking around their CEO office in their new 25 million-dollar corporate headquarters, even while they are sitting on a folding chair in their garage “headquarters.”

Great free-throw shooters in the NBA picture the ball going through the basket. PGA golfers picture the ball going straight down the fairway. World-class speakers picture themselves speaking with energy and emotion.

All of this grooms the mind to control the body to carry out the dream.

4. Tell it - One reason many dreams never go anywhere is because the dreamer keeps it all to himself. It is a quiet dream that only lives inside of his mind. The one who wants to achieve their dream must tell that dream to many people.

One reason: As we continually say it, we begin to believe it more and more. If we are talking about it then it must be possible. Another reason: It holds us accountable.

When we have told others, it spurs us on to actually do it so we don’t look foolish.

5. Plan it - Every dream must take the form of a plan. The old saying that you “get what you plan for” is so true. Your dream won’t just happen.

You need to sit down, on a regular basis, and plan out your strategy for achieving the dream. Think through all of the details.

Break the whole plan down into small, workable parts. Then set a time frame for accomplishing each task on your “dream plan.”

6. Work it - Boy, wouldn’t life be grand if we could quit before this one! Unfortunately the successful are usually the hardest workers. While the rest of the world is sitting on their couch watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island, achievers are working on their goal – achieving their dream.

I have an equation that I work with: Your short-term tasks, multiplied by time, equal your long-term accomplishments. If you work on it each day, eventually you will achieve your dream. War and Peace was written, in longhand, page by page.

7. Enjoy it - When you have reached your goal and you are living your dream, be sure to enjoy it. In fact, enjoy the trip too. Give yourself some rewards along the way.

Give yourself a huge reward when you get there. Help others enjoy it. Be gracious and generous. Use your dream to better others. Then go back to number 1. And dream a little bigger this time!

Chris Widener
____________
Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, and best-selling author. Visit his website to receive his newsletter as well as learn about the inspiring work he does helping others to achieve their full potential!

Seven Character Traits of Successful People

1.They are hard working. There is no such thing as easy money. Success takes hard work and people who are willing to do it.

2.They are honest. Those who are successful long-term are the honest ones. Dishonest people may get the first sale, but honest people will get all the rest!

3.They persevere. How many success stories will go untold because they never happened? And all because someone quit. Successful people outlast everybody else.

4.They are friendly. Have you noticed that most successful people are friendly and people oriented? This endears them to others and enables them to lead others to accomplish the task.

5.They are lifelong learners. Successful people are people who stretch themselves and grow continually, learning from all areas of life, including from their mistakes.

6.They over-deliver. The old statement of under-promise and over- deliver became famous because it made a lot of people successful, including the richest man in the world—Bill Gates.

7.They seek solutions in the face of problems. Problems are opportunities to do the impossible, not just complain. Successful people are the ones who find solutions.

Chris Widener
____________
Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, and best-selling author. Visit his website to receive his newsletter as well as learn about the inspiring work he does helping others to achieve their full potential!

Your Achievement Ezine, # 148
YourSuccessStore.com

Dare Mighty Things

Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the U.S. and
winner of 1906 Nobel Peace Prize


In the battle of life, it is not the critic who counts; nor the one who points out how the strong person stumbled, or where the doer of a deed could have done better.

The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Change Begins with Choice

---

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life—If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life—and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

About the Author

Jim Rohn is a popular American motivational and business coach that has been giving seminars to large companies and indivuals for more than 40 years. He is a published author of many books that cover leadership, business skills, self development, dealing with customers, and motivation.

Jim Rohn simply cannot be described nor defined. Instead, he must be experienced. The remarkable combination of his personal style and his message does something to people that cannot be captured in a text description. The power that is behind his extraordinary effect on people is not found just in what he enables them to learn, but in what he makes them feel. Time spent with Jim Rohn, whether at a live seminar or through his audio and video programs, is an indescribable emotional journey that will expand your self-confidence, rekindle your determination to succeed and enrich your attitude - further intensifying your ambition to alter your life for the better.

Reproduced with permission
from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine:
subscribe at: http://www.jimrohn.com

Rise Above the Ashes!

If you are now living in the lowest status of life and a life that have always a storm, great disappointment and failures, don't be discourage and worry my friend, I tell you, you can rise! Rise Above the Ashes!

Yes, you can rise above the ashes! For you are destined to be a conqueror of this world. The Loving God gave you the power of choice to choose and to live an ideal life that you want to be. Therefore, stop wasting your time living in a mediocre life. Learn to stand once again and prove to the world that you are a dare to fail individual. That cannot be easily sway and cannot be easily discourage by the challenges of life.

Beginning today, tag yourself with a higher price. Dream a big dream. Think a big plan for your life and make a firm resolution to dare mighty things to make your plan into reality.

To achieve your dreams, always work hard with definite purpose and don't ever think of backsliding because the world cannot be won with a doubtful spirit.

So, move on and don't ever give up! Always motivate your mind to have faith and believe in yourself. Remember, the larger your faith, the smaller your fears. The great your trust, the lesser your doubts. The stronger your beliefs, the weaker your worries. Therefore, keep your faith and believe in yourself for it will guide, help and bring you to the door of success!

If the time comes spark to tempt you to give up and back to the life of mediocrity, remind yourself with these words... My Loving God balances my life by giving me enough blessings to keep me happy. Enough failures, to keep me humble. Enough trials, to keep me strong in the challenges of life. Therefore, I will face these tests of life with an open-mind, enthusiasm, persistence, and determination that once again, I can rise! Rise Above the Ashes!

Finally, remember my friend, that the Loving God helps those who help themselves!

Wish you many blessings to come and God bless!

Moises P. Reconalla

About the Author:

Moises P. Reconalla is the School Guidance Counselor at North Davao College, Panabo City, Philippines.

You can send your comments about this article through his email wisdomisgreat@gmail.com

All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright 2007 by Moises Padin Reconalla

NOTE: You're free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided that the article is reproduced in its entirety, including the author information.

Article Source: Reconalla, Moises. (2007, November 13). Rise Above the Ashes!. EzineArticles. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Rise-Above-the-Ashes!&id=828121