This will make you think! I have to thank Orrin Woodward and all the policy counsel for inspiring me to do just that! We are so blessed to have the leadership we do at LIFE and TEAM. Enjoy!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Albert Jay Nock was a thinker of immense proportions. Even when I disagree with him, he forces me to think through my foundational principles and beliefs. His article entitled Isaiah’s Job, discussing the remnant is a good example of this. Nock compares Isaiah’s life and God’s encouragement to him through a remnant people – who had not bowed their knee to Baal – to the need today for people who will lead, speak, and write for today’s remnant. Here is a portion of Nock’s article:
The prophet’s career began at the end of King Uzziah’s reign, say about 740 B.C. This reign was uncommonly long, almost half a century, and apparently prosperous. It was one of those prosperous reigns, however – like the reign of Marcus Aurelius at Rome, or the administration of Eubulus at Athens, or of Mr. Coolidge at Washington – where at the end the prosperity suddenly peters out and things go by the board with a resounding crash.
In the year of Uzziah’s death, the Lord commissioned the prophet to go out and warn the people of the wrath to come. “Tell them what a worthless lot they are.” He said, “Tell them what is wrong, and why and what is going to happen unless they have a change of heart and straighten up. Don’t mince matters. Make it clear that they are positively down to their last chance. Give it to them good and strong and keep on giving it to them. I suppose perhaps I ought to tell you,” He added, “that it won’t do any good. The official class and their intelligentsia will turn up their noses at you and the masses will not even listen. They will all keep on in their own ways until they carry everything down to destruction, and you will probably be lucky if you get out with your life.”
Isaiah had been very willing to take on the job – in fact, he had asked for it – but the prospect put a new face on the situation. It raised the obvious question: Why, if all that were so – if the enterprise were to be a failure from the start – was there any sense in starting it? “Ah,” the Lord said, “you do not get the point. There is a Remnant there that you know nothing about. They are obscure, unorganized, inarticulate, each one rubbing along as best he can. They need to be encouraged and braced up because when everything has gone completely to the dogs, they are the ones who will come back and build up a new society; and meanwhile, your preaching will reassure them and keep them hanging on. Your job is to take care of the Remnant, so be off now and set about it.”
Apparently, then, if the Lord’s word is good for anything – I do not offer any opinion about that, – the only element in Judean society that was particularly worth bothering about was the Remnant. Isaiah seems finally to have got it through his head that this was the case; that nothing was to be expected from the masses, but that if anything substantial were ever to be done in Judea, the Remnant would have to do it. This is a very striking and suggestive idea; but before going on to explore it, we need to be quite clear about our terms. What do we mean by the masses, and what by the Remnant?
As the word masses is commonly used, it suggests agglomerations of poor and underprivileged people, laboring people, proletarians, and it means nothing like that; it means simply the majority. The mass-man is one who has neither the force of intellect to apprehend the principles issuing in what we know as the humane life, nor the force of character to adhere to those principles steadily and strictly as laws of conduct; and because such people make up the great and overwhelming majority of mankind, they are called collectively the masses. The line of differentiation between the masses and the Remnant is set invariably by quality, not by circumstance. The Remnant are those who by force of intellect are able to apprehend these principles, and by force of character are able, at least measurably, to cleave to them. The masses are those who are unable to do either. . .
Orrin Woodward:
However, anytime one styles his message to the masses, it gets dumbed down to the point where it no longer contains the kernels of truth needed to fuel the remnant. Think about how much in education, leadership, politics, etc., has been dumbed down. In most cases, the real issues aren’t even addressed because the majority of the people cannot comprehend them. Is there any hope for America and the West if we continue to dumb everything down?
I have a counter-proposal. What if we grew the intellectual capacity of the people, rather than dumbing down the message for the people? Marva Collins has proven this model can work, teaching inner city kids Shakespeare, Plato, etc, through her unyielding love for her young community of students. What if we did that across America, Canada, and eventually the world?
Ok, sorry about that. I get a little carried away when I think about the condition of Western Civilization. Let’s get back to Nock’s Remnant:
. . . The main trouble with all this is its reaction upon the mission itself. It necessitates an opportunist sophistication of one’s doctrine, which profoundly alters its character and reduces it to a mere placebo. If, say, you are a preacher, you wish to attract as large a congregation as you can, which means an appeal to the masses; and this, in turn, means adapting the terms of your message to the order of intellect and character that the masses exhibit. If you are an educator, say with a college on your hands, you wish to get as many students as possible, and you whittle down your requirements accordingly. If a writer, you aim at getting many readers; if a publisher, many purchasers; if a philosopher, many disciples; if a reformer, many converts; if a musician, many auditors; and so on. But as we see on all sides, in the realization of these several desires, the prophetic message is so heavily adulterated with trivialities, in every instance, that its effect on the masses is merely to harden them in their sins. Meanwhile, the Remnant, aware of this adulteration and of the desires that prompt it, turn their backs on the prophet and will have nothing to do with him or his message.
Isaiah, on the other hand, worked under no such disabilities. He preached to the masses only in the sense that he preached publicly. Anyone who liked might listen; anyone who liked might pass by. He knew that the Remnant would listen; and knowing also that nothing was to be expected of the masses under any circumstances, he made no specific appeal to them, did not accommodate his message to their measure in any way, and did not care two straws whether they heeded it or not. As a modern publisher might put it, he was not worrying about circulation or about advertising. Hence, with all such obsessions quite out of the way, he was in a position to do his level best, without fear or favor, and answerable only to his august Boss.
If a prophet were not too particular about making money out of his mission or getting a dubious sort of notoriety out of it, the foregoing considerations would lead one to say that serving the Remnant looks like a good job. An assignment that you can really put your back into, and do your best without thinking about results, is a real job; whereas serving the masses is at best only half a job, considering the inexorable conditions that the masses impose upon their servants. They ask you to give them what they want, they insist upon it, and will take nothing else; and following their whims, their irrational changes of fancy, their hot and cold fits, is a tedious business, to say nothing of the fact that what they want at any time makes very little call on one’s resources of prophesy. The Remnant, on the other hand, want only the best you have, whatever that may be. Give them that, and they are satisfied; you have nothing more to worry about. The prophet of the American masses must aim consciously at the lowest common denominator of intellect, taste and character among 120,000,000 (now 300 million)people; and this is a distressing task. The prophet of the Remnant, on the contrary, is in the enviable position of Papa Haydn in the household of Prince Esterhazy. All Haydn had to do was keep forking out the very best music he knew how to produce, knowing it would be understood and appreciated by those for whom he produced it, and caring not a button what anyone else thought of it; and that makes a good job. . .
Orrin Woodward:
Nock is describing the joy of teaching hungry students. Joseph Haydn was a world-class musician and composer. Even at a young age, he displayed the aptitude, hunger, and joy of learning to develop mastery in his musical craft. I truly believe that the masses are the masses, not from lack of talent, but from lack of passion and purpose. This is the LIFE business goal, to bring passion and purpose back into people’s lives. By creating a leadership community, the goal is to reach people where they are at, teaching them principles, that if applied, would change their lives forever. We are on a mission to find the hungry masses, helping them to discover their God-given potential, passion, and purpose. Let’s return to Nock’s article:
. . . What chiefly makes it so, I think, is that in any given society the Remnant are always so largely an unknown quantity. You do not know, and will never know, more than two things about them. You can be sure of those – dead sure, as our phrase is – but you will never be able to make even a respectable guess at anything else. You do not know, and will never know, who the Remnant are, nor what they are doing or will do. Two things you do know, and no more: First, that they exist; second, that they will find you. Except for these two certainties, working for the Remnant means working in impenetrable darkness; and this, I should say, is just the condition calculated most effectively to pique the interest of any prophet who is properly gifted with the imagination, insight and intellectual curiosity necessary to a successful pursuit of his trade. . .
Orrin Woodward:
LIFE is a plan to reach the people with truth in the 8F’s, knowing that a remnant exist in the living rooms of the world; a remnant who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. This is the exact spot that Laurie and I were in. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired. We wanted changes and were willing to change ourselves if needed in order to accomplish it. The problem with the prophets to the masses today is they immediately start with a dumbed down message that only exacerbates the problems rather than solving them. In today’s battered economic conditions, people need real hope for the future like never before in America’s history. Real hope begins with changes on the inside before things can change on the outside.
Call me a dreamer, an idealist, a nut, or even a scam, but I will not cease doing what I know is right! A man with the facts is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion. I know first-hand what happened in Laurie and my life. To not offer the same opportunity to others would be selfish and wrong. I do not desire to create a political community that demands their rights. Instead, I dream of revealing to each hungry person the capabilities hidden inside of them as I discuss in the book, RESOLVED. In this way, they will demand more from themselves, becoming champions without having to demand anything from others, but simply an opportunity to perform. Alright, back to Nock:
. . . One of the most suggestive episodes recounted in the Bible is that of a prophet’s attempt – the only attempt of the kind on the record, I believe – to count up the Remnant. Elijah had fled from persecution into the desert, where the Lord presently overhauled him and asked what he was doing so far away from his job. He said that he was running away, not because he was a coward, but because all the Remnant had been killed off except himself. He had got away only by the skin of his teeth, and, he being now all the Remnant there was, if he were killed the True Faith would go flat. The Lord replied that he need not worry about that, for even without him the True Faith could probably manage to squeeze along somehow if it had to; “and as for your figures on the Remnant,” He said, “I don’t mind telling you that there are seven thousand of them back there in Israel whom it seems you have not heard of, but you may take My word for it that there they are.”
At that time, probably the population of Israel could not run to much more than a million or so; and a Remnant of seven thousand out of a million is a highly encouraging percentage for any prophet. With seven thousand of the boys on his side, there was no great reason for Elijah to feel lonesome; and incidentally, that would be something for the modern prophet of the Remnant to think of when he has a touch of the blues. But the main point is that if Elijah the Prophet could not make a closer guess on the number of the Remnant than he made when he missed it by seven thousand, anyone else who tackled the problem would only waste his time.
For these reasons it appears to me that Isaiah’s job is not only good but also extremely interesting; and especially so at the present time when nobody is doing it. If I were young and had the notion of embarking in the prophetical line, I would certainly take up this branch of the business; and therefore I have no hesitation about recommending it as a career for anyone in that position. It offers an open field, with no competition; our civilization so completely neglects and disallows the Remnant that anyone going in with an eye single to their service might pretty well count on getting all the trade there is.
Even assuming that there is some social salvage to be screened out of the masses, even assuming that the testimony of history to their social value is a little too sweeping, that it depresses hopelessness a little too far, one must yet perceive, I think, that the masses have prophets enough and to spare. Even admitting that in the teeth of history that hope of the human race may not be quite exclusively centered in the Remnant, one must perceive that they have social value enough to entitle them to some measure of prophetic encouragement and consolation, and that our civilization allows them none whatever. Every prophetic voice is addressed to the masses, and to them alone; the voice of the pulpit, the voice of education, the voice of politics, of literature, drama, journalism – all these are directed towards the masses exclusively, and they marshal the masses in the way that they are going.
One might suggest, therefore, that aspiring prophetical talent may well turn to another field. . . So long as the masses are taking up the tabernacle of Moloch and Chiun, their images, and following the star of their god Buncombe, they will have no lack of prophets to point the way that leadeth to the More Abundant Life; and hence a few of those who feel the prophetic afflatus might do better to apply themselves to serving the Remnant. It is a good job, an interesting job, much more interesting than serving the masses; and moreover it is the only job in our whole civilization, as far as I know, that offers a virgin field.
If you are part of the leadership remnant, or desire to be; if you are hungry and willing to change; if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, then LIFE is calling. It’s time for the leadership remnant to answer the call.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
We Have The Cure!
This is an absolute epidemic in society today! Please take the time to review Chris Brady's outstanding article depicting this epidemic and exposing the affliction that threatens society today. Live a life of intention! You have a purpose! One person can make a difference!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Passivity an Active Destroyer
There is a simple step people can take to radically improve their lives. Most, however, will not do it.
In almost two decades of working with people in personal development, I am continually amazed at the lack of proactive behavior exhibited by the "average" individual. Food is consumed almost absentmindedly, mass media programming (movies, television shows, satellite radio, etc.) is imbibed without even a thought (even when it comes to children). Video games are played incessantly. Days, weeks, and often years go by without any intentionality in family interaction. Scripture, worship, and prayer are, at best, reached for only in times of trouble. Relationships are used only for personal gratification and cause shock and surprise when strained and ruptured. And our political freedom is ignored to the point of neglect.
I could go on.
The results of this passive attitude toward life and the living of it are enough to cause despair. Obesity is at an all-time high in the United States, television watching and Internet surfing are through the roof, video game addictions are a reality (especially among grown men!), family units are breaking down and disappearing, churches are either emptying or if full, often full of nothing, meaningful relationships have, to at least some degree, been relegated to "friends" on social networks, and our freedoms are slipping into the history books.
What lies behind all this?
Rampant passivity.
In my opinion, at least part of our sad state of affairs can be attributed to a habitually passive approach to life. The society in which we live seems to accept everything that comes along without scrutiny. Cries of warning are disregarded as prudish, old-fashioned, or simply no fun. But these cries have tremendous merit. We DO need to be vigilant. We DO need to be intentional about how we live our lives. We MUST be discerning when it comes to technology, media, food, relationships, worship, family, and our responsibilities as citizens. If we don't, we will necessarily and summarily suffer the consequences. If ideas have consequences, imagine what ignoring them produces!
Just how can we be more proactive in the living of our lives? How can we stem the tide of mediocrity and passivity that creeps in to destroy us? Here are some suggestions I hope you'll find useful:
1. Organize your categories - this means to give some thought to the many categories in which you live out your life (parent, spouse, child of God, professional, business owner, friend, physical being, political citizen, etc) and write them down.
2. Write down your overall aspiration, highest ideal, or purpose in each category.
3. Next, write down what threatens your achievement of excellence in each category. These are things that are outwardly bad and should be avoided entirely. You might label this column "Overt Attacks."
4. Then, write down the distractions that are possible in each category. These are things that aren't bad in and of themselves, but have the capacity to subtract away from the things that are even better. This is where "good" is the enemy of "great." You might label this column "Covert Attacks."
5. List things about which you've been passive or undiscerning for each category in the past (in other words, when you've failed to produce excellence through pro-activity).
6. List what you could have done to prevent those instances.
7. Set a specific goal for each category.
8. Develop and write out a game plan for how to hit that goal in each category.
9. Put a date for checking up on your progress toward the goal.
10. Make adjustments as necessary.
11. Involve accountability partners and/or mentors towards those goals, as desired.
12. Bathe the whole process in prayer.
Passivity in our lives needs to be rooted out with aggressive pro-activity. Intentionally seeking excellence in every category of our lives may sound like a daunting task. However, clear thinking and intentionality are almost never daunting, instead, they are liberating. When we open our eyes to all we've been allowing to creep in unobserved, we will feel more alive, more in control, and more excited about the possibilities for excellence.
Do you agree or disagree that passivity is a problem in our culture?
What less-than-excellent things have you allowed to passively enter as "normal" into your life?
What victories have you had eliminating these things?
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Chris Brady
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Passivity an Active Destroyer
There is a simple step people can take to radically improve their lives. Most, however, will not do it.
In almost two decades of working with people in personal development, I am continually amazed at the lack of proactive behavior exhibited by the "average" individual. Food is consumed almost absentmindedly, mass media programming (movies, television shows, satellite radio, etc.) is imbibed without even a thought (even when it comes to children). Video games are played incessantly. Days, weeks, and often years go by without any intentionality in family interaction. Scripture, worship, and prayer are, at best, reached for only in times of trouble. Relationships are used only for personal gratification and cause shock and surprise when strained and ruptured. And our political freedom is ignored to the point of neglect.
I could go on.
The results of this passive attitude toward life and the living of it are enough to cause despair. Obesity is at an all-time high in the United States, television watching and Internet surfing are through the roof, video game addictions are a reality (especially among grown men!), family units are breaking down and disappearing, churches are either emptying or if full, often full of nothing, meaningful relationships have, to at least some degree, been relegated to "friends" on social networks, and our freedoms are slipping into the history books.
What lies behind all this?
Rampant passivity.
In my opinion, at least part of our sad state of affairs can be attributed to a habitually passive approach to life. The society in which we live seems to accept everything that comes along without scrutiny. Cries of warning are disregarded as prudish, old-fashioned, or simply no fun. But these cries have tremendous merit. We DO need to be vigilant. We DO need to be intentional about how we live our lives. We MUST be discerning when it comes to technology, media, food, relationships, worship, family, and our responsibilities as citizens. If we don't, we will necessarily and summarily suffer the consequences. If ideas have consequences, imagine what ignoring them produces!
Just how can we be more proactive in the living of our lives? How can we stem the tide of mediocrity and passivity that creeps in to destroy us? Here are some suggestions I hope you'll find useful:
1. Organize your categories - this means to give some thought to the many categories in which you live out your life (parent, spouse, child of God, professional, business owner, friend, physical being, political citizen, etc) and write them down.
2. Write down your overall aspiration, highest ideal, or purpose in each category.
3. Next, write down what threatens your achievement of excellence in each category. These are things that are outwardly bad and should be avoided entirely. You might label this column "Overt Attacks."
4. Then, write down the distractions that are possible in each category. These are things that aren't bad in and of themselves, but have the capacity to subtract away from the things that are even better. This is where "good" is the enemy of "great." You might label this column "Covert Attacks."
5. List things about which you've been passive or undiscerning for each category in the past (in other words, when you've failed to produce excellence through pro-activity).
6. List what you could have done to prevent those instances.
7. Set a specific goal for each category.
8. Develop and write out a game plan for how to hit that goal in each category.
9. Put a date for checking up on your progress toward the goal.
10. Make adjustments as necessary.
11. Involve accountability partners and/or mentors towards those goals, as desired.
12. Bathe the whole process in prayer.
Passivity in our lives needs to be rooted out with aggressive pro-activity. Intentionally seeking excellence in every category of our lives may sound like a daunting task. However, clear thinking and intentionality are almost never daunting, instead, they are liberating. When we open our eyes to all we've been allowing to creep in unobserved, we will feel more alive, more in control, and more excited about the possibilities for excellence.
Do you agree or disagree that passivity is a problem in our culture?
What less-than-excellent things have you allowed to passively enter as "normal" into your life?
What victories have you had eliminating these things?
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Chris Brady
Monday, June 18, 2012
Truth & Tact: The Art of Loving People & Truth
Just the other day Orrin and I were having this discussion. I'm constantly in awe of how the leaders Orrin has developed like Tim Marks, Dan Hawkins, and Claude Hamilton, (to highlight a few), instinctively understand how to confront people about self deception without hurting feelings. Here's a great article written by the #6 Leadership Guru explaining just that concept!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Truth and tact are two concepts that rarely mix; however, when they do, one knows that he is in the presence of leadership greatness. On one side, the world is filled with blowhards who will bluntly state truth while influencing no one, and honestly, even annoying those who agree with them. On the other side, are the people who refuse to share the truth for fear of causing offense. These people would rather see someone run a car off a cliff than offend him by urging him to slow down. Both extremes are wrong but, unfortunately, ubiquitous.
Imagine the leadership revolution that would be possible if we learned to speak truth in love. I know this may only be a dream, but it’s one I am willing to pursue. My life through twenty-five years of age was moving from one disastrous incident of lack of tact to the next. I'm not exaggerating here; I was clueless when it came to tact and truth. Sadly, my cluelessness hurt those closest to me. Although I have certainly improved in this area, not a day passes without catching myself lacking tact in some conversation. Indeed, I would say tact, next to character, has been the biggest stumbling block for many potential leaders.
Chris Brady states, “You don't know what you don't know,” and it wasn’t until I started reading, listening, and associating with leaders that I realized how tactless I truly was. Where do you fall in the truth-tact continuum? Anyone can change, but he must first begin with a clear perspective on the truth of his current condition. Read the following excellent essay from the 19th-century writer J. R. Miller and honestly confront your current level of tact. Would to God that more people would confront reality on their current level of tact and choose to change.
I guess what I am saying is: Imagine if more people applied the unvarnished truth (while committing to change, grow, and win) upon themselves and loving tact upon others, instead of the current method of applying loving tact upon themselves and unvarnished truth upon others. Now that would be a LIFE revolution worth participating in!
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Truth and tact are two concepts that rarely mix; however, when they do, one knows that he is in the presence of leadership greatness. On one side, the world is filled with blowhards who will bluntly state truth while influencing no one, and honestly, even annoying those who agree with them. On the other side, are the people who refuse to share the truth for fear of causing offense. These people would rather see someone run a car off a cliff than offend him by urging him to slow down. Both extremes are wrong but, unfortunately, ubiquitous.
Imagine the leadership revolution that would be possible if we learned to speak truth in love. I know this may only be a dream, but it’s one I am willing to pursue. My life through twenty-five years of age was moving from one disastrous incident of lack of tact to the next. I'm not exaggerating here; I was clueless when it came to tact and truth. Sadly, my cluelessness hurt those closest to me. Although I have certainly improved in this area, not a day passes without catching myself lacking tact in some conversation. Indeed, I would say tact, next to character, has been the biggest stumbling block for many potential leaders.
Chris Brady states, “You don't know what you don't know,” and it wasn’t until I started reading, listening, and associating with leaders that I realized how tactless I truly was. Where do you fall in the truth-tact continuum? Anyone can change, but he must first begin with a clear perspective on the truth of his current condition. Read the following excellent essay from the 19th-century writer J. R. Miller and honestly confront your current level of tact. Would to God that more people would confront reality on their current level of tact and choose to change.
I guess what I am saying is: Imagine if more people applied the unvarnished truth (while committing to change, grow, and win) upon themselves and loving tact upon others, instead of the current method of applying loving tact upon themselves and unvarnished truth upon others. Now that would be a LIFE revolution worth participating in!
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Monday, April 30, 2012
Orrin Woodward And Life!
What an inspiring weekend, and how about that Mental Fitness Challenge? The LIFE opportunity just keeps getting better and better. This movement to improve our community is the brain child of Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady and the entire founding policy counsel of LIFE! Read below for more information!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
The Mental Fitness Challenge, the product that has required more study, time, effort, input, design, and blood, sweat, and tears than anything the LIFE company or Team have ever come out with, is coming soon!
How soon? At the Spring Leadership Convention in Columbus, Ohio this coming weekend!
What is it? A life-changing package of information, including three best-selling books, a bunch of CDs, an online environment for tracking progress, a video library which accumulates for future viewing as videos stream in through email on a regular basis, a self-assessment test, unlimited 360 feedback, accountability partners, goal and tracking sheets, and more! This product encompasses years and years of learning how people change and maximize in their lives in all the 13 areas of resolutions from Orrin Woodward’s best seller RESOLVED.
Why is this such a great thing for LIFE members? Because it embodies an extremely low-priced, overall package of life improvement that can easily be sold to customers who want to “Live the Life They’ve Always Wanted to Live!”
There is so much more to tell you than we can possibly do in this little blog. Therefore, we’ll just have to put it all out there for you at this convention (One big reason, among about 100, that you need to be there!) You won’t believe what you will learn about this product and how it is especially designed to help your business (and your future) go viral!!!!-Orrin Woodward
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
The Mental Fitness Challenge, the product that has required more study, time, effort, input, design, and blood, sweat, and tears than anything the LIFE company or Team have ever come out with, is coming soon!
How soon? At the Spring Leadership Convention in Columbus, Ohio this coming weekend!
What is it? A life-changing package of information, including three best-selling books, a bunch of CDs, an online environment for tracking progress, a video library which accumulates for future viewing as videos stream in through email on a regular basis, a self-assessment test, unlimited 360 feedback, accountability partners, goal and tracking sheets, and more! This product encompasses years and years of learning how people change and maximize in their lives in all the 13 areas of resolutions from Orrin Woodward’s best seller RESOLVED.
Why is this such a great thing for LIFE members? Because it embodies an extremely low-priced, overall package of life improvement that can easily be sold to customers who want to “Live the Life They’ve Always Wanted to Live!”
There is so much more to tell you than we can possibly do in this little blog. Therefore, we’ll just have to put it all out there for you at this convention (One big reason, among about 100, that you need to be there!) You won’t believe what you will learn about this product and how it is especially designed to help your business (and your future) go viral!!!!-Orrin Woodward
Thursday, April 05, 2012
You have To Have Friends!
One of the greatest blessings in my life is the ability to call Orrin Woodward my friend. Here's why....
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
True friends begin as companions, but soon go further, developing a love and respect for one another. Author Fred Smith shares a poignant description of love, “Love is willing the ultimate good for the other person.” Only deep friendship will build loving bonds of this magnitude. C.S. Lewis shares the process of discovery from companions into friends, “Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one’. . . In this kind of love, as Emerson said, Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth? – Or at least, ‘Do you care about the same truth?’ The man who agrees with us that some question, little regarded by others, is of great importance, can be our Friend. he need not agree with us about the answer.” There is an indescribable joy in the discovery of, and being discovered by, another human being, providing a brief respite from the loneliness of life. Emerson pinpointed the thought, writing, “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” Aristotle distinguishes between genuine friendship and two other counterfeit types – one founded upon utility, the other upon pleasure. Friendship based solely upon utility, like the mailman, survive only as long as both parties receive benefit, while a friendship based only upon pleasure, like golfing buddies, end when one party no longer finds the activity pleasurable.
Genuine friendship, on the other hand, is based upon something more enduring, according to Aristotle, “It is those who desire the good of their friends for the friends’ sake that are most truly friends, because each loves the other for what he is, and not for any incidental quality.” Genuine friendship then, will last as long as both parties remain committed to virtue, since virtue desires good for his friends as much as for himself. But virtue does’t signify lack of fun. The best of friends laugh often and heartily. Just as one can tell a man’s character by his ability to laugh at himself, so in a friendship, one can tell the quality of friends by their ability to laugh at each other. Not a derisive or condescending laughter, but simply one that acknowledges the imperfections inherent in the human condition. Any person or friendship that cannot laugh at itself isn’t real. True friends enjoy one another’s company. When a person finds someone, who can help him become better while enjoying fellowship, he is on his way to developing a true friend. Each person should be this type of friend and seek a friend of this caliber, in order to fully enjoy life’s experiences during his pilgrimage on earth.
-Orrin Woodward
"Resolved"
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
True friends begin as companions, but soon go further, developing a love and respect for one another. Author Fred Smith shares a poignant description of love, “Love is willing the ultimate good for the other person.” Only deep friendship will build loving bonds of this magnitude. C.S. Lewis shares the process of discovery from companions into friends, “Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one’. . . In this kind of love, as Emerson said, Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth? – Or at least, ‘Do you care about the same truth?’ The man who agrees with us that some question, little regarded by others, is of great importance, can be our Friend. he need not agree with us about the answer.” There is an indescribable joy in the discovery of, and being discovered by, another human being, providing a brief respite from the loneliness of life. Emerson pinpointed the thought, writing, “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” Aristotle distinguishes between genuine friendship and two other counterfeit types – one founded upon utility, the other upon pleasure. Friendship based solely upon utility, like the mailman, survive only as long as both parties receive benefit, while a friendship based only upon pleasure, like golfing buddies, end when one party no longer finds the activity pleasurable.
Genuine friendship, on the other hand, is based upon something more enduring, according to Aristotle, “It is those who desire the good of their friends for the friends’ sake that are most truly friends, because each loves the other for what he is, and not for any incidental quality.” Genuine friendship then, will last as long as both parties remain committed to virtue, since virtue desires good for his friends as much as for himself. But virtue does’t signify lack of fun. The best of friends laugh often and heartily. Just as one can tell a man’s character by his ability to laugh at himself, so in a friendship, one can tell the quality of friends by their ability to laugh at each other. Not a derisive or condescending laughter, but simply one that acknowledges the imperfections inherent in the human condition. Any person or friendship that cannot laugh at itself isn’t real. True friends enjoy one another’s company. When a person finds someone, who can help him become better while enjoying fellowship, he is on his way to developing a true friend. Each person should be this type of friend and seek a friend of this caliber, in order to fully enjoy life’s experiences during his pilgrimage on earth.
-Orrin Woodward
"Resolved"
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Orrin Woodward Scams, Coercion, And Network Marketing- Part 2
In the second part of Orrin Woodward's review of Scams and Networking, Orrin reviews personal responsibility and the victim mentality. What a pertinent essay considering the current state of our country. I suggest we reprint this and float leaflets of this information over the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters. This is nothing short of fantastic information on how to succeed in today's world, something that isn't taught in any learning institutions but should be!
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Robert Kiyosaki - author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad
Network marketing teaches basic, critical life skills. It teaches people how to overcome their fears, how to communicate, and how to handle rejection and maintain persistence. This kind of education is absolutely priceless. Here’s what I tell people: “Even if you don’t like it, stay with it for five years and you’ll be better equipped to survive in the real world of business. And you’ll be a better person.” The people who are successful in network marketing have a spiritual cause. They genuinely want to help better others’ lives. If you don’t have that, if you just want a paycheck, then work for the post office!
Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure
When people call the entire Network Marketing profession a scam, merely because they didn’t succeed, it demonstrates their lack of understanding of scams and personal responsibility. No one should teach that success in Networking is easy, since it’s not, but failure certainly isn’t easy either. Malcolm Gladwell, a best selling author, teaches that success in any field requires 10,000 hours of diligent study and action. Anything less, and that person is still an amateur in his profession. For someone to try Networking for several years, and then state it’s a scam, is simply a version of Aesop’s fables, sour grapes from an amateur fox who couldn’t reach the desired fruit. For example, in high school, I wrestled in many tournaments. I could not of imagined any wrestler calling the tournament a scam because he didn’t receive a medal. The sour grapes wrestler would have been laughed out of the arena, since many do not win medals, not having at that moment, learned the skills and put in the hours to win at a tournament level.
Seth Godin is author of the New York Times bestsellers The Dip and Tribes
Network marketing works when it’s not about you. It works when it is about the customer. Not sort of about the customer as a way of helping you, not kinda about the customer when you imagine how they could act like you and become part of your downline. No, it works when it is generous and transparent and true. If someone buys from you because they are a friend or because it’s easier than avoiding you, that’s not about the customer. Here’s my dream for you: find a product and a price and a story that people choose to seek out. Discover a niche that people would miss if it disappeared. Offer an experience that’s about more than money, more than making a living and more than recruiting a new salesperson. When you bring joy and utility and trust to people (at a fair price), they’ll embrace you.
Anonymous Victims Online
In today’s society, people can write anonymously about their victimization, crying about their lack of results, claiming to be scammed from the Networkers (better wrestlers) who kicked their butts in free enterprise, while the victims claim it was rigged against them, even though others seem to be winning while they are whining. If someone felt they were hurt, why not seek out the leaders of the company or community for resolution? Doesn’t this sound like the right thing, not to mention the honorable thing to do? Rather than post anonymously, hiding their identities as well as their real motives, assaulting the reputations of people that they don’t personally know, why not call the community leaders or the company to get the issue resolved? This is why anonymous blog postings hold no value with me. If someone doesn't feel strong enough about his opinion to state his real name, then why should I give his opinion any credence at all? Any reputable company would serve the customer in a heartbeat. I have personally been involved in several customer issues myself over the years, and they were amicably resolved. I believe in customer satisfaction and have grown my business through the application of this principle consistently. In fact, the TEAM initiated a email help system, similar to Amazon's, to ensure all issues are resolved promptly. If anyone leaves the TEAM unhappy, it wasn’t through lack of concern, but through lack of interest by the customer to address. Perhaps, the real reason that many post in Networking are anonymous, postings that act as if they are upset at the company, are because they are from competitors, not real customers. These are the bottom feeders of Networking, the parasite marketers, who, believing in a win-lose scarcity mentality, blatantly attack one company’s reputation for the alleged benefits supplied to their current company. Sadly, this egregious behavior happens often, leading to much of the negative written online. When the perceived opportunity for gain exceeds the applied character of those involved, parasite marketing will typically occur.
Orrin Woodward
God Bless!
Capt. Bill
Robert Kiyosaki - author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad
Network marketing teaches basic, critical life skills. It teaches people how to overcome their fears, how to communicate, and how to handle rejection and maintain persistence. This kind of education is absolutely priceless. Here’s what I tell people: “Even if you don’t like it, stay with it for five years and you’ll be better equipped to survive in the real world of business. And you’ll be a better person.” The people who are successful in network marketing have a spiritual cause. They genuinely want to help better others’ lives. If you don’t have that, if you just want a paycheck, then work for the post office!
Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure
When people call the entire Network Marketing profession a scam, merely because they didn’t succeed, it demonstrates their lack of understanding of scams and personal responsibility. No one should teach that success in Networking is easy, since it’s not, but failure certainly isn’t easy either. Malcolm Gladwell, a best selling author, teaches that success in any field requires 10,000 hours of diligent study and action. Anything less, and that person is still an amateur in his profession. For someone to try Networking for several years, and then state it’s a scam, is simply a version of Aesop’s fables, sour grapes from an amateur fox who couldn’t reach the desired fruit. For example, in high school, I wrestled in many tournaments. I could not of imagined any wrestler calling the tournament a scam because he didn’t receive a medal. The sour grapes wrestler would have been laughed out of the arena, since many do not win medals, not having at that moment, learned the skills and put in the hours to win at a tournament level.
Seth Godin is author of the New York Times bestsellers The Dip and Tribes
Network marketing works when it’s not about you. It works when it is about the customer. Not sort of about the customer as a way of helping you, not kinda about the customer when you imagine how they could act like you and become part of your downline. No, it works when it is generous and transparent and true. If someone buys from you because they are a friend or because it’s easier than avoiding you, that’s not about the customer. Here’s my dream for you: find a product and a price and a story that people choose to seek out. Discover a niche that people would miss if it disappeared. Offer an experience that’s about more than money, more than making a living and more than recruiting a new salesperson. When you bring joy and utility and trust to people (at a fair price), they’ll embrace you.
Anonymous Victims Online
In today’s society, people can write anonymously about their victimization, crying about their lack of results, claiming to be scammed from the Networkers (better wrestlers) who kicked their butts in free enterprise, while the victims claim it was rigged against them, even though others seem to be winning while they are whining. If someone felt they were hurt, why not seek out the leaders of the company or community for resolution? Doesn’t this sound like the right thing, not to mention the honorable thing to do? Rather than post anonymously, hiding their identities as well as their real motives, assaulting the reputations of people that they don’t personally know, why not call the community leaders or the company to get the issue resolved? This is why anonymous blog postings hold no value with me. If someone doesn't feel strong enough about his opinion to state his real name, then why should I give his opinion any credence at all? Any reputable company would serve the customer in a heartbeat. I have personally been involved in several customer issues myself over the years, and they were amicably resolved. I believe in customer satisfaction and have grown my business through the application of this principle consistently. In fact, the TEAM initiated a email help system, similar to Amazon's, to ensure all issues are resolved promptly. If anyone leaves the TEAM unhappy, it wasn’t through lack of concern, but through lack of interest by the customer to address. Perhaps, the real reason that many post in Networking are anonymous, postings that act as if they are upset at the company, are because they are from competitors, not real customers. These are the bottom feeders of Networking, the parasite marketers, who, believing in a win-lose scarcity mentality, blatantly attack one company’s reputation for the alleged benefits supplied to their current company. Sadly, this egregious behavior happens often, leading to much of the negative written online. When the perceived opportunity for gain exceeds the applied character of those involved, parasite marketing will typically occur.
Orrin Woodward
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Failure Is One of Life’s Greatest Teachers!
Orrin studies leadership and success in absolutely everything. Everyone has a story we can learn from, some are by example to emulate, and some are by example to avoid. I hope you enjoy this tidbit as much as I did!
Capt. Bill
I found this excellent article about Michael Jordan. MJ was one of the most enjoyable athletes to watch in any sport—he was a consummate professional in his field. From last minute heroics,stellar defense or deft passing, Michael helped everyone on his team play better. In fact, he even helped the opposing team play better because of his presence. There is much we can learn from individualswho accept nothing less than excellence in their life. MJ is one of the greatest and we all should learn from his hunger to rise above the field.
God Bless, Orrin Woodward
Growing up every body wanted to be like Mike. Kids would wear Michael Jordan shoes in the hopes that some of his magic might rub off onto them. No other man in history has been able to single handedly shape a game as Michael Jordan did in his career. He was one of the most fiercest competitors to ever
grace the courts and as a result dominated the game like no one else in history.
His sporting achievements read like a dream list, winning 6 NBA championships, 10-time All-NBA First Team, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, 14-time All-Star, two time Olympic gold medalist, countless MVP’s to his credit and inducted as one of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. There is no question that Jordan was a winner, here are some timeless lessons we can learn from his legacy:
1. Winners Aren’t Afraid To Fail
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
Jordan ended his amazingly stellar career with a field goal shooting average of 0.497%. Imagine one of the greatest players in history missing nearly one in every two of his shots, some of which were no doubt in pivotal moments of the game and even potential game winners. Most people make decisions in their life as if one misstep or setback would cause their house of cards to come crumbling down beneath their feet. They fear failure, fear letting down their friends or family, fear what others might think about them, fear the consequences of their actions and thus visualize the worst case scenarios in their mind.
Winners are those rare individuals who in spite of all odds, choose to put their hand up for that game winning shot and whether they make the basket or not, know that they put 100% into that moment. The difference between hero and villain is a fine line and winners know the highs and lows of both. To be given the responsibility and the privilege like Jordan did over and over again in his career to take the game winning shot you must prepare the best you can, live the best you can and believe in every ounce of your ability. Winners don’t just rely on blind faith and see failure as a lesson to learn from. Failure is one of life’s greatest teachers and if you but embrace those lessons you will bestronger for it.
2. Winners Work Harder And Smarter
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan
It is always surprising to hear people who talk about achieving success in their field, instead of being willing to put in the hard work they look for short cuts. They look to gain as much as they can by working as little as they can. To look for shortcuts is a fools game, no one ever achieved excellence in any great undertaking by subscribing to the ethic of laziness. Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore during his time at Laney High School in Wilmington. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said, “and that usually got me going again.” He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship. At age 35 he was still working harder than most of the players half his age, and he was still out maneuvering them on the basketball courts. He out hustled, out played, and out skilled his contemporaries a fraction of his age. Jordan’s secret was his work ethic was like no other, even at an age where he had already proved he was the greatest living basketball player, he still worked harder than everyone else to continue to develop his game.
3. Winners Rise Above The Low Expectation Of Others
“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” – Michael Jordan
You have to be willing to rise about the mediocrity of your peers and critics. Mediocrity is a disease that takes hold on those who aren’t strong enough to hold onto their dreams, who don’t have enough belief in them self or too scared to rise above the crowd. When Jordan was cut from the Varsity team
in high school, he was relegated to playing for the Junior Varsity team and worked on his skills during the summer with his brother. He spent that year developing his skills and honing his craft earning him a spot in the varsity team a year later. The rest is history. If he was to have believed that he wasn’t good enough like his coach then imagine history without Jordan jumping through the air and making impossible jump shots. Winners aren’t confined to the domain of the most gifted, the most talented or the one with the most opportunities and resources. At the end of the day winners are the ones who rise above everybody else’s thinking and believes in themselves. They pay the price to become the best.
4. Winners Love What They Do
“Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Jordan loved the game. Basketball for Jordan was something that brought him joy and fulfillment. He played basketball as a young kid with his father and older brother way before his skills and talents were even known. He worked hard to follow his passion even when obstacles were presented in his path. The path to greatness is all uphill and if you aren’t doing something your passionate about then that road uphill very quickly becomes a grinding slog. Life is too short to slog your way through life, if you know the path is uphill then at least find something that you love to do so that you can have fun while doing it.
5. Winners Are In It To Win
“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.” – Michael Jordan
Jordan might be considered an over achiever, but he wasn’t sweating it out week in week out to just be in the game. Jordan’s tenacity and drive to win iswhat fueled much of his devotion to the game and his outstanding record ofsuccess was the scorecard. He pushed his body to it’s limit so that he could see
what it was possible in achieving. Sure you might argue that it’s just a game,it’s not like world peace is at stake but what separates winners from losers istheir willingness to get off the sideline and play all in. They dedicatethemselves to an undertaking of excellence in everything they do and commit to a path forged with professionalism.
6. Winners Overcome Obstacles In Their Path
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
It is amazing how often people quit at the first sign of defeat. Instead of pushing through that defeat they see it as some sort of sign that this path was not theirs to begin with and go seeking another path for their life. The problem is that these people never stick to one thing long enough for success to sprout. They dabble at this and dabble at that and achieve mastery at nothing in life. Obstacles are put on your path to challenge you to rise to a whole new level, a level often time you didn’t even knew existed in your human potential. Obstacles give you a reason to strive further, work harder and find that inner strength that each and everyone of us possess if we just are willing to tap into it.
7. Winners Make Things Happen
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
Opportunities don’t magically fall into your lap, you have to create those opportunities. Winners are proactive with their dreams, they are willing to do what the loser’s only dream about. Instead of complaining, getting upset or trying to explain why things didn’t happen for you, stand up and take charge of your destiny. Shape it the way you want, if one door closes, work twice as hard till the next door opens. You can turn around your life today if you just subscribe to the winners mindset that all things are possible if you put your mind to it. Jordan revolutionized the game of basketball, he created what to mere mortals look like impossible shots from impossible angles.He dazzled professional athletes by making them look amateurish by dribbling around them and pulling out jump shots. Jordan devoted his life to masteringhis craft and created shots that generations to come would emulate. He didn’tjust play the game, he created the game as he went and defined the game.
Capt. Bill
I found this excellent article about Michael Jordan. MJ was one of the most enjoyable athletes to watch in any sport—he was a consummate professional in his field. From last minute heroics,stellar defense or deft passing, Michael helped everyone on his team play better. In fact, he even helped the opposing team play better because of his presence. There is much we can learn from individualswho accept nothing less than excellence in their life. MJ is one of the greatest and we all should learn from his hunger to rise above the field.
God Bless, Orrin Woodward
Growing up every body wanted to be like Mike. Kids would wear Michael Jordan shoes in the hopes that some of his magic might rub off onto them. No other man in history has been able to single handedly shape a game as Michael Jordan did in his career. He was one of the most fiercest competitors to ever
grace the courts and as a result dominated the game like no one else in history.
His sporting achievements read like a dream list, winning 6 NBA championships, 10-time All-NBA First Team, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, 14-time All-Star, two time Olympic gold medalist, countless MVP’s to his credit and inducted as one of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. There is no question that Jordan was a winner, here are some timeless lessons we can learn from his legacy:
1. Winners Aren’t Afraid To Fail
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
Jordan ended his amazingly stellar career with a field goal shooting average of 0.497%. Imagine one of the greatest players in history missing nearly one in every two of his shots, some of which were no doubt in pivotal moments of the game and even potential game winners. Most people make decisions in their life as if one misstep or setback would cause their house of cards to come crumbling down beneath their feet. They fear failure, fear letting down their friends or family, fear what others might think about them, fear the consequences of their actions and thus visualize the worst case scenarios in their mind.
Winners are those rare individuals who in spite of all odds, choose to put their hand up for that game winning shot and whether they make the basket or not, know that they put 100% into that moment. The difference between hero and villain is a fine line and winners know the highs and lows of both. To be given the responsibility and the privilege like Jordan did over and over again in his career to take the game winning shot you must prepare the best you can, live the best you can and believe in every ounce of your ability. Winners don’t just rely on blind faith and see failure as a lesson to learn from. Failure is one of life’s greatest teachers and if you but embrace those lessons you will bestronger for it.
2. Winners Work Harder And Smarter
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan
It is always surprising to hear people who talk about achieving success in their field, instead of being willing to put in the hard work they look for short cuts. They look to gain as much as they can by working as little as they can. To look for shortcuts is a fools game, no one ever achieved excellence in any great undertaking by subscribing to the ethic of laziness. Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore during his time at Laney High School in Wilmington. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said, “and that usually got me going again.” He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship. At age 35 he was still working harder than most of the players half his age, and he was still out maneuvering them on the basketball courts. He out hustled, out played, and out skilled his contemporaries a fraction of his age. Jordan’s secret was his work ethic was like no other, even at an age where he had already proved he was the greatest living basketball player, he still worked harder than everyone else to continue to develop his game.
3. Winners Rise Above The Low Expectation Of Others
“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” – Michael Jordan
You have to be willing to rise about the mediocrity of your peers and critics. Mediocrity is a disease that takes hold on those who aren’t strong enough to hold onto their dreams, who don’t have enough belief in them self or too scared to rise above the crowd. When Jordan was cut from the Varsity team
in high school, he was relegated to playing for the Junior Varsity team and worked on his skills during the summer with his brother. He spent that year developing his skills and honing his craft earning him a spot in the varsity team a year later. The rest is history. If he was to have believed that he wasn’t good enough like his coach then imagine history without Jordan jumping through the air and making impossible jump shots. Winners aren’t confined to the domain of the most gifted, the most talented or the one with the most opportunities and resources. At the end of the day winners are the ones who rise above everybody else’s thinking and believes in themselves. They pay the price to become the best.
4. Winners Love What They Do
“Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Jordan loved the game. Basketball for Jordan was something that brought him joy and fulfillment. He played basketball as a young kid with his father and older brother way before his skills and talents were even known. He worked hard to follow his passion even when obstacles were presented in his path. The path to greatness is all uphill and if you aren’t doing something your passionate about then that road uphill very quickly becomes a grinding slog. Life is too short to slog your way through life, if you know the path is uphill then at least find something that you love to do so that you can have fun while doing it.
5. Winners Are In It To Win
“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.” – Michael Jordan
Jordan might be considered an over achiever, but he wasn’t sweating it out week in week out to just be in the game. Jordan’s tenacity and drive to win iswhat fueled much of his devotion to the game and his outstanding record ofsuccess was the scorecard. He pushed his body to it’s limit so that he could see
what it was possible in achieving. Sure you might argue that it’s just a game,it’s not like world peace is at stake but what separates winners from losers istheir willingness to get off the sideline and play all in. They dedicatethemselves to an undertaking of excellence in everything they do and commit to a path forged with professionalism.
6. Winners Overcome Obstacles In Their Path
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
It is amazing how often people quit at the first sign of defeat. Instead of pushing through that defeat they see it as some sort of sign that this path was not theirs to begin with and go seeking another path for their life. The problem is that these people never stick to one thing long enough for success to sprout. They dabble at this and dabble at that and achieve mastery at nothing in life. Obstacles are put on your path to challenge you to rise to a whole new level, a level often time you didn’t even knew existed in your human potential. Obstacles give you a reason to strive further, work harder and find that inner strength that each and everyone of us possess if we just are willing to tap into it.
7. Winners Make Things Happen
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
Opportunities don’t magically fall into your lap, you have to create those opportunities. Winners are proactive with their dreams, they are willing to do what the loser’s only dream about. Instead of complaining, getting upset or trying to explain why things didn’t happen for you, stand up and take charge of your destiny. Shape it the way you want, if one door closes, work twice as hard till the next door opens. You can turn around your life today if you just subscribe to the winners mindset that all things are possible if you put your mind to it. Jordan revolutionized the game of basketball, he created what to mere mortals look like impossible shots from impossible angles.He dazzled professional athletes by making them look amateurish by dribbling around them and pulling out jump shots. Jordan devoted his life to masteringhis craft and created shots that generations to come would emulate. He didn’tjust play the game, he created the game as he went and defined the game.
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