Positive Motivation (for the real world)

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Comment by Kathy Hanzek on January 13, 2009 at 3:21pm

hi yes in this tough economic times, try to turn your attitude around, and Keep positive, and attitude of gratitude also helps. Kathy.

Comment by Kip Davis on October 2, 2008 at 2:30pm

There are a lot of myths and old wives tales that circulate around the world. There is one in particular that stands out in my mind. I have heard it over and over. Parents tell it to their kids, teachers tell it to their students, and they grow up believing it. “What myth is that?” you say. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

Now that sounds like a great philosophy if you live in say… Fantasyland, but in the real world, you do have to prove yourself, and you should.

I once had a martial arts instructor whom I respected very much. I heard him say over and over again, “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone but yourself. That’s the only person you have to impress.” It didn’t take me long to figure out that he really didn’t mean that. He expected me to do things to his standards and nothing less. I could tell he was probably taught that philosophy by his instructor and was still using the same old speech in his training, but deep inside, his real feelings were, “You will impress me or I will let you know about it.” I knew that, too. I worked hard and before long, I maintained a high position in the class.


It is important to show people what you can do. Some people you will never be able to please, so don’t over exert yourself trying to gain their respect, but there are many who can boost you to the top, so it is important to show your usefulness.


Lets go ahead and put an end to this myth. If you want to reach your goals, if you want to move ahead, if you want to quit spinning your wheels and pull out of that rut, “Yes, you do have to prove yourself.”

Comment by Grace McCarthy on September 18, 2008 at 3:25pm

Subject: Teamwork and unity.

I dont know where this came from but I love it! A great message for the professionals in our industry. Enjoy.

1. As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird behind it. By flying in a V-formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent more flying range than if each bird flew alone
Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier when they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
2. When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down. They stay with the goose to help and protect it until it is able to fly again or dies. Then they launch out with another formation to catch up with the flock.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other.
3. Whenever a goose falls out of the formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go.
4. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position.
Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership.
5. The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging- -not something less than helpful.

Comment by Grace McCarthy on September 7, 2008 at 3:26pm

If someone has taken a bite out of you or you're just plain beaten up about something take a note of this one, I love it, it's pinned up on the sloped ceiling of my attic just above my head where I sit at my desk:

Look up, laugh loud, talk big, keep the colour in your cheek and the fire in your eye, adorn your person, maintain your health, your beauty and your animal spirits

William Hazlitt
1778 0 1830, Essayist

Comment by Marion on September 5, 2008 at 7:01pm

One of my favorite daily newsletters is from Steven Goodier at www.LifeSupportSystem.com . His message today is inspiring ....

UNSTOPPABLE
When a group of two hundred executives were asked what makes a person successful, eighty percent listed enthusiasm as the most im­portant quality. More important than skill. More important than training.
Even more important than experience.

Before water will produce enough steam to power an engine, it must boil. The steam engine won't move a train an inch until the steam gauge registers 212 degrees. Likewise, the person with­out enthusiasm
is trying to move the machinery of life with lukewarm water. Only one thing will happen: that person will stall.

A. B. Zu Tavern asserts that en­thusiasm is electricity in the battery. It's the vigor in the air. It's the warmth in the fire. It's the breath in all things alive. Successful people are enthusi­as­tic about what they do. "Good work is never done in cold blood," he says, "heat is needed to forge any­thing. Every great achievement is the story of a flaming heart."

You may have all of the skill, training and experience you've ever need. Add enthusiasm to those assets and you will be truly unstoppable!

Comment by Kip Davis on August 30, 2008 at 10:58am

“Vulgar people take huge delight in the faults and follies of great people.” This is a very bold statement, and, it is also a very true statement. If you have begun your journey to be all you can be and have set your goals high, you’ll soon find this out for yourself. But, have some peace of mind, you are not alone, nor have you ever been alone.


In 1929, a very important event took place in the education field. A young man named Robert Hutchins had worked his way through Yale as a writer, lumberjack, clothesline salesman and tutor. Eight years, he worked and did all he could to reach his dream and the day finally came that he was being inaugurated as president of the University of Chicago. He was only 30 years old at the time, and this brought much criticism his way. The older educators were up in arms, everyone talked and sprayed their poisonous venom. “This boy wonder is too young!” They shouted. Even the newspapers joined in and publicly attacked him.


The next morning, a friend approached young Robert Hutchins’s father and said, “I was shocked to read the newspaper this morning. They were really putting your son down.”


“Yes,” replied the Father, “But just remember, no one ever kicks a dead dog.”


Zig Zigglar always says, “The only taste of success some people get is when they take a bite out of you.”


So, remember when you are kicked or someone tries to take a bite out of you, it is often done because it gives the attacker a feeling of importance. It often means that you are accomplishing something and are worthy of attention. Many people get a sense of satisfaction from it. That unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. Remember the lesson of Young Robert Hutchins, “No one ever kicks a dead dog.”

“Never be bothered by what people say, as long as you know in your heart you are right.” Auntie Bye, Aunt of Eleanor Roosevelt, and sister of President Theodore Roosevelt

Comment by Ronald Earl Wilsher on August 18, 2008 at 8:07pm

Oh how true, Mr. Kip!

In my few years of observing and studying the opposite sex, I've always wondered why there is such a difference between the sexes.

The MarsVenus guy, John Gray, chronicles this phenomenon in his Men Are From Mars....etc...series and something I learned from him is that one of the reasons there's such a difference is because of the way we use our memory.

When men remember something, they (usually) only use 2 or 3 of their senses. When women record something in their memory, they use all five senses.

This difference makes things MUCH more vivid and real. Think about this for a minute. I could go on but I digress.

Just another reason why we're soooooo different but ya know what I say, CELEBRATE the differences!

Good article, Mr. Kip!

Comment by Larry on August 18, 2008 at 6:11pm

Hi Kip, I finally joined WKF. I been getting your newsletter from when i asked if i could run one of your articles in my newsletter (51 state). Thought i would officially sign up here.
I too have a few of Napolean Hills books and audio tapes. Awesome advice from decades ago still changes lives today.

Comment by Kip Davis on August 4, 2008 at 12:42pm

There's a Difference :)

Human behavior has always fascinated me, especially that between a man and a woman. I have noticed over the years and I’m sure you have too, that men and women are very different.

Whether you are a man or a woman, I want you to pay close attention to the differences I am about to describe and see if you have noticed them too. I’m sure you’ll be able to name someone you know right off the bat.

When I hear someone say, “So and So just had their baby,” I always ask them, “Oh, what was it?”

When I ask this question to a woman I get the reply, “It was 9lbs. 8 ounces, 22 inches long, and was born at 12:13 am, Saturday night.”

When I ask a man the same question, he replies, “It was a girl.” And to be honest, from a man’s point of view, that’s all I was really wanting to know. :)

I have come to the conclusion that women probably pay more attention to detail than most men do. I know ladies who have spent up to one hour fixing their hair in a different way and say to their husbands, “What do you think about this new style?”

Well, the man’s first response is one of panic. “Huh oh, she’s done something different. If I don’t figure out what it is I’m going to get in trouble.” He hasn’t paid close attention to details in the past. He knows his wife has hair and could probably even tell you what color it is, but as far as what has changed he is at a loss. On the other hand, try moving the man’s television remote control to a different location in the house and see how fast he notices the change.

I have also encountered both sexes when they were upset. I may see a man crying and ask him, “Sir, what’s gotten you so shaken up?” And to this he replies, “I’ve just been fired from my job and robbed of my last cent on the way out of the bank.” The man has a legitimate reason. On the other hand when I approach a woman in the same situation and ask, “Ma’am, what has you so upset?” She may reply, “I don’t know.”

Did you know that men and women even look at their fingernails differently? A man will bend his fingers towards his palm, turn his hand over and look at them, while a woman will hold hers straight out, nails facing the sky, with her fingers spread apart.

It is a funny thing how different the sexes are, yet so compatible with each other. Although I may never fully understand why a man leaves the toilet seat up or a woman parks her shopping cart sideways in the isle at Wal Mart, I just can’t help but laugh and ponder our differences.

It’s okay to be different.

Kip

“If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happen if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?” Stephen Wright, comedian

Comment by Marion on July 25, 2008 at 10:46am

One of THOSE Days...
Kip, how timely. I had one of THOSE days, yeserday. And, it was topped off, when I returned home to find a notice from the constable on my car, saying that I was illegally parked on public property and that parking my car in front of my house was a traffic hazzard. (I've been parking there for 3 years.) I will admit to fuming a bit. But as I got over it, it made me think....really think.

I firmly believe that we can control our circumstances and invent (as Sherry would say) our lives. I've done it all of my life, with jobs, homes, events....and now parking spaces with my new family member, NormHill. :o) But maybe, positive thinking and imagineering our lives isn't the whole ball of wax. I have thought this for a long time. That while we can (and many of us do) invent our lives, while we are in this physical realm, there are things that we came here to experience. Things that we invented intentionally, before we got here.

I laugh at the quipe, "You asked for it," because I know, what happens in my life is exactly, what I asked for, and I wonder sometimes, if it's some sort of insanity that I chose this life. It's difficult to imagine, what the purpose is for some of these experiences while in the midst of them. This is where faith comes in, I remind myself, when I'm having one of THOSE days, to have faith that I knew and that our Creator knew, what we were doing. Then, I can smile and proceed with happiness, knowing I am accomplishing something. I don't know what it is, but I'm convinced it's wonderful, even when everything is crashing down on me on one of THOSE days.

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