Present Outlook

Would you take financial advice from the guy who owns this car?

Yeah right.

You’d take financial advice from someone who has their finances in order and clearly knows what they are talking about.

If you want to know how to make a success of your life it makes sense to model people who are successful, people who’ve ‘been there, done that’.

They have proved they know how to be successful by their actions.

Talk is easy. Experience counts. Experience is proof that they know what they are talking about.

Read about them, learn how they think, see how they respond to challenges, see how they deal with change, get a feel for their attitude to life.

Read their biographies and find out how they have overcome adversity and risen to face incredible challenges. There are also lots of stories of ordinary people who have overcome incredible adversity. Like these inspiring people who don’t even have the usual number of limbs, or this guy, and here are some famous failures.

And there are plenty more to choose from: Lance Armstrong, Sir Edmund Hillary, Oprah, Winston Churchill, J K Rowling, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Louise Hay, Dr George King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Richard Branson…to name but a handful…

Image: Danilo Prates

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Wow, those lyrics never resonated with me until now. I just got back from LA you see. The weather was great, the people were beautiful and I discovered how much I love burritos.

So now I’m back at work in Auckland and the thing is that I’d rather be still on holiday in the good ol’ U S of A.

But I can’t. I only get a few weeks holiday a year and so like everybody else I gotta stick with what I got.

So if you can’t always get what you want, then you will have to make do with what you’ve got. While you’re at it, you might as well really enjoy what you’ve got, because that’s ALL you’ve got!

So rather than moping around and wishing I was somewhere else, I should really make the most of what I’ve got. Cherish life! Enjoy and appreciate the many wonderful things that are around me!

There are always going to be things you want really badly. Some of those are within your reach but not all. So what to do?

You’ve just got to suck it up and move on, you can’t always get what you want.

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I work like this:

(Never mind what the graphs are about, they’re just free images from Flickr’s Creative Commons that suit the purpose)

Image: taberandrew

Yes the graph goes up and down. There are periods of intense activity, and also periods of inactivity. That’s just how I work.

Some people work like this:

Image: tristanf

Perhaps an artist’s output would look something like that?

Then there’s those who have a more consistent level of effort/output maintained throughout the day:

Image: Mulad

Is one better than the other?

I don’t think so. Graph 1 is what most people do, graph 2 is perhaps an artist’s output, and graph 3 is really just for accountants ;)

But should we all work like accountants?

I don’t think I’d have the peaks without the troughs. And sometimes in those troughs there’s some thinking happening which ultimately leads to the peaks.

Play to your strengths – if you have a peak in the morning then do the difficult things then. If you have a trough in the afternoon then do the fun and easy things then.

How your graph looks doesn’t really matter if you’re getting the job done. If you’re not then it’s probably something you should think about.

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A positive attitude is actually a protective thing.

It will stop the world getting you down. It will shelter you from the small minded comments of others. It will keep you from getting depressed. It will carry you through the difficult times. It will help keep your friends and family close. It will make bad things seem less bad. It will bring the respect and admiration of others. It will make you live longer. It will keep you healthy.

It is one of the best investments in your future health and prosperity that you can make.

So stay positive!

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We’ve all heard that line before. How you take what comes after it is up to you.

If it’s criticism you could let it pull the rug out from underneath you. You could allow it to completely deflate you and leave you feeling helpless, useless and depressed. You could let it ruin your life and haunt you forever.

Or you could listen, consider and then accept or reject. If it’s reasonable criticism then why not let it help you become better?

But if it’s unreasonable criticism then let it go. Why hold on to? Why let it affect you? It’s only the small minded thinking of some idiot.

Other people’s words can’t change you, unless you let them.

Don’t take this the wrong way but…how you react to them is your choice and within your control.

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There is only one. Not two. Not more than that. Just one.

You and I are both a part of this great big oneness. We are all small parts of a greater whole.

We are interconnected with each other and with everyone, and everything, else.

If you help another person, then in some small way you will help the greater whole, which you are a part of.

So in helping another, you help yourself.

If you hurt another person, then in some small way you hurt the greater whole, which you are a part of.

So in hurting another, you hurt yourself.

It’s that simple.

Image: LondonBrad

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Rejection is something we all face in life. In many ways.

Everyone has experienced an unrequited love or a job they didn’t get. We build these things up in our minds so that when they don’t pan out it hurts.

The feeling of rejection is the ego realising that it’s not all it thought it was.

Get used to it for everyone experiences rejection. And not just losers. In fact all successful people have experienced a great deal of rejection. Failure in some way or other almost always comes before success.

Next time you are rejected in some way remember to see it as this – a stepping stone to future successes.

For that is what it really is.

Image: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel

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You don’t have to become Mother Teresa, although that would be fantastic. You can make your life a gift to the world in any number of ways.

You can donate money to an organisation that is helping the world. These organisations can’t operate without donations so you are helping the world even if you aren’t at the front line.

You can do volunteer work. But do something that really makes a difference in people’s lives.

You can use your talents. If you are a web designer you could offer to update a charity website. If you are a nurse you could offer to help train volunteer ambulance staff, if you are a brilliant teacher then take a job in a low socioeconomic school where you can really make a difference. If you feel you don’t have any particular skills (you do if you look) then go door knocking to raise funds for a charity that means something to you.

You could convince your employer to give you and your team the day off to go around town collecting money for a specific cause.

Or simply raise your hands in a heartfelt prayer for world peace because as Mahatma Gandhi said:

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.

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I was recently excitedly telling some people about a new project I was working on. It’s one I’m very enthusiastic about and have high hopes for. I was very surprised by their response. They talked about hurdles I would have to jump through. They raised issues, issues that were pure ‘red tape’ bureaucracy. They really dwelt on the difficulties of what I was trying to achieve.

I’ll bet that this attitude pervades all areas of their lives and that because of it they achieve very little.

Some people just seem to enjoy binding themselves up in as much red tape as they can find. If they’re bound by red tape then they have an excuse for doing nothing. It gives them permission to be lazy. It builds a comfortable and secure prison of inaction for them to while away their time.

These kind of people may be very pleasant and nice but this attitude, whether it comes with a smile or a frown, is something to be avoided.

Instead, seek out people who will help you in your endeavours. Look for people who will support you in what you do, people who want to see you be successful.

Leave the naysayers to their own and seek out people who will say ‘yes, you can do that and I will help you!’

Image: timparkinson

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What’s the best way to prepare for success in the future?

Success now.

Sounds like horse before the cart?

If success in your big goals is impossible now, then look for smaller ways that you can be successful. There are tons of ways to do this, to give yourself a platform to build future successes upon.

eg.

• Get out of bed when your alarm goes off
• Exercise 3 times a week
• Actually do the things on your ‘To do’ list
• Be nice to people

By doing these little things you will build a feeling of accomplishment and an upwards spiral of achievement.

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