7 Ways to Help Yourself (and Others) Be Successful

1 Give back.

There is an astute knowingness in understanding that we all have a limited perspective or lens. I have one, you have one and everyone who walks this earth has a limited perspective. And for a great many years, we as a collective have convinced ourselves that our differences are a hindrance, when in reality our differences are the very thing that makes each of us uniquely talented in ways other people are not. When we honor these differences and celebrate them for their uniqueness, we open up an entirely new kaleidoscope of possibilities we might not otherwise be able to see.

If everyone asked, “How can I help?” as opposed to “What can I get?” we would start to see a much different world take shape around us.

The universe aligns its bounty for a generous heart. We must take that first step toward serving the greater good. This is the greatest act of service we can offer. When we elevate one, we elevate all, and soon all of our common interests are met. Only then can we begin to transform the world. It is only then the better world we dream of becomes a reality.

It’s up to us to offer a helping hand to those struggling to climb the ladder. We stand on each other’s shoulders to elevate us to our ultimate accomplishments. This is a testament to a new tomorrow. We must clasp each other’s hands and take that first step together. It’s a step that every person, organization or institution can take together—if only we change our lens from competition to cooperation. From receiving to giving.

2 Surround Yoursel With People Smarter Than You.

Regardless of all your hard work, unique talent, good timing or good luck, success is largely a factor of the people you make a part of your journey.

When you first start, you pursue like-minded people in your social circle. But things change. You mature. Your circle widens as your interests shift from social to professional. Although you are initially drawn to people like yourself, now you start to gravitate to people who can offer alternative perspectives—the more unrelated and diverse the individuals, the more opportunity to fill in the gaps of your limited experience, which lowers your risk.

You must network, pay attention and seek out people who not only know more but are willing to challenge and push you. Because few things are as important as gaining new perspectives. It’s easy to get lost in your ideas. Alternate perspectives can eliminate the blind spots and bring you down from the clouds.

3 Find Mentor.

Mentorship is a service. How can you help this person? You need to care more about their goals than you care about your own. Actually, your number one goal is to help them with their goals.

Under promise and over perform. When you get an assignment, blow them away. Do more than expected. Make their life as easy as possible. Get them excited to work with you more.

Never stop seeking help from those who are where you want to be. At the same time, don’t neglect those who could use your help.

Never let a goal become more important than helping people. Help others generously, abundantly. Help others without expectation of a return favor. Serving others will turn you into a mentor yourself. And you will always find more joy in helping others succeed than in achieving your own success.

4 Be Influencer.

Influencers focus on helping one another without expecting anything in return. They give and balance with their own self-interests to make giving a win-win for all parties. Adam Grant, author of the best-selling book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Your Success, told me that “givers are not just philanthropists or volunteers… but people who enjoy helping others and often do it with no strings attached.” Grant explains that givers have the greatest opportunity to both succeed and fail in business because givers can often be taken advantage of, but the most successful givers thrive when they have their own self-interests aligned with giving.

5 Celebrate other’s success.

What does it mean to be just as happy for the success of others as for our own? It’s a matter of attitude. Adopting a praising and loving attitude will help you bask in the success of those you know and with whom you feel a personal connection. This might be difficult at times, but it’s a great way to help us lead more positive lives and get more in return.

By being courageous and selfless enough to embrace others’ success, we get the benefit of greater satisfaction. We feel fulfilled instead of bitter. For example, your best friend gets a job offer at a great company and you don’t know how to feel. You might feel happy but conflicted, especially if you feel less successful at the moment. But having the courage to celebrate your friend’s success as your own can lead to personal satisfaction when you think, OK, I now know someone who works at X company! Your inner circle of affiliations and acquaintances grows, and you can feel appropriately satisfied by that.

Not only does your inner circle of affiliations grow with others’ success, but you can also potentially find personal success. For example, say your best friend’s company is advertising for other positions. Now you have an internal referral that might benefit your own career should you desire working with the same company.

Beyond seizing an available opportunity where possible, our sense of embracing others’ achievements helps to expand our own willpower. American football player and coach Vince Lombardi said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, nor a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.” Our own will can be awakened, in turn, when we see the success of others.

6 Spread positivity.

In director Christopher Nolan’s film Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man named Cobb who uses futuristic military technology to steal people’s corporate secrets by digging into their subconscious while they sleep. Then a secretive entrepreneur named Saito hires Cobb to do something a little different: plant an idea—inception—instead of stealing one.

For inception to be successful, the idea that Cobb plants has to be simple, emotional and positive. As he explains to his team, “The subconscious is motivated by emotion, right? Not reason. We need to find a way to translate this into an emotional concept…. Positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time.” For Cobb, positive realities are much easier to transfer to others than negative ones because they create lasting change.

Out of the fantasy world and into the world of neuroscience and positive psychology, the research supports Cobb’s claim. Over the past several years, researchers have been investigating how perceptions and mindsets can be transferred to others. And as it turns out, the three best strategies for transferring positive genius to others are not that different from the ones Cobb employed

7 Find your motivation.

Successful people don’t become that way overnight. What most people see at a glance—happiness, wealth, a great career, purpose—is the result of hard work and hustle over time.

To be successful, you have to use each day as an opportunity to improve, to be better, to get a little bit closer to your goals. It might sound like a lot of work—and with a busy schedule, next to impossible. But the best part is, the more you accomplish, the more you’ll want to do, the higher you’ll want to reach. So as long as you have the hunger for success, you will always have the power within you to achieve it.

Use your ambition, drive and desire to make it happen.

15 Ways To Overcome Your Fears Of Writing A Book

Much of the population has aspirations of writing a book, but they’re held back by self-doubt and fear.

Not knowing where to begin, how to structure, and the steps to getting published has stopped many hopeful writers from turning their dreams into reality.

Fortunately, there are steps that anyone can take to successfully write a book and get it published.

The truth is, writing a book can help your entire career. It can turn you into an authority on your subject and put you on a road to a speaking career.

If you want to write a book, I am going to teach you 15 techniques to overcome your fear of writing, to get you going, and to get you to stop staring at a blank screen.

1) Write Often, Even When You Don’t Want To

One of the best ways to overcome your fears of writing is to write 1,000 words a day. The key to writing a book is to “Just Write!” It is one thing that you cannot get worse at by doing it.

2) Save Editing For The End

When you edit during the writing process it can hinder your creative flow. I will often write down my thoughts for my books without interruptions or editing. Get all the information out of your head and onto paper, you can go back and edit later.

3) Outline Your Book Before You Begin

 By having a strong outline it gives you a clear sense of purpose and direction. It also helps you see the end.

Start with a strong chapter that gives a lot of value and benefits to the reader, develop the subject throughout the book, and end with a strong chapter that summarizes and emphasizes the main points.

It is a simple formula, but it works, over and over.

4) Know Who You Are Writing For

When you know exactly who your audience is and who you’re writing for, you will be able to speak to your ideal reader easily in your writing.

5) Create Time For Yourself To Write

Some people will create the excuse that they don’t have any time to write. If you want to write a book, you must create a block of time every day reserved only for writing.

6) Free Yourself From Distractions

It is easy to become distracted. Especially when you are nervous about how your writing will turn out. If you need to seclude yourself in a quiet area you should do it. Free yourself of distractions and write.

7) Don’t Worry If Your Book Isn’t Perfect The First Time

Try not to get caught up thinking about errors in your book. Your goal should be to get all your ideas down and finish your thoughts before you go back and edit.

8) Stop Thinking About What Other People Will Think

Do not worry about what others will think of your writing or your book. What matters is that you get your message out.

9) Break Up Your Writing Into Chunks

Don’t think of it as writing an entire book at one time. Break up your writing. Write one chapter at a time or do a section every day. You don’t have to write it in sequential order as long as your book gets done.

10) Rid Your Mind Of The Fear Of Failure

Rather than focusing on fear and why you can’t write a book, focus on the future and the rewards that writing a book will have in your life.

11) Stay Organized

Organize your material into seven, ten, twelve or twenty-one chapters, each following in a logical order, from beginning to end.

Thinking in terms of a number of chapters forces you to decide what will be contained in each chapter, and how each of the chapters will be organized in relationship to each other.

12) Know When You’re Finished

Know when it is a time to put a bow on your work. You must be able to tell yourself that your work is as complete as can be, rather than obsessing over small details.

13) Become An Expert In Your Area

Continuously expand your knowledge on the subject you are writing about. If you have fears of becoming an author, expand your knowledge first.

Buy, read and find out everything you can about other authors, books or articles dealing with the same subject. Make sure that your material is different and better than other people writing in your field.

The more comfortable you are with your subject, the easier it will be to craft and write your book.

14) Craft Your Message First

You must know what message you want your entire book to convey.

• You have a burning desire to tell people this.
• You want to help people.
• You want your children to know about this message.

15) It’s Never Too Late To Start

If you’re worried that it is too late to start writing, it’s not. Take a look at this infographic of famous writers and when they began writing. The first step is to, “Just write!”

8 Task Management Tips To Stop Procrastinating And Get More Done

Tons of time management strategies have been developed over the years by hundreds of people to help you get more done in less time. Here are 6 of my favorite task management tips to help you stop procrastinating in your work and personal life.

Think about which one of these ideas could be most helpful to you right now, in your current situation.

1) Manage And Organize Your Tasks On Paper

Prepare thoroughly if you want to get things done. List every step of the job in advance. Break the job down into its constituent parts before you begin. Simply writing out every detail and thoroughly preparing in advance will help you to stop procrastinating.

2) Fully Prepare For Each Task

Second, come fully prepared for each task you work on.

When you sit down to work or to begin a task, make sure that you have everything on hand so that you won’t have to get up or move until the task is done. Being fully prepared is a powerful motivator for staying with the task until it is finished.

3) Take Small Steps To Manage Your Tasks

The 80/20 rule says that 20% of the task often accounts for 80% of the value of that task.

This is probably what Confucius meant when he said that, ‘‘A journey of 1,000 leagues begins with a single step.’’

Once you have taken even one small step to start the job, you will often find yourself continuing on with the task to completion.

4) “Salami Slice’’ Your Tasks

Just as you would never try to eat a whole loaf of salami at once, don’t try to take on all of a job from the start. Sometimes the best way to stop procrastinating and complete a major job is to take a small slice and complete just that piece, just as you would take a single slice of salami and eat it.

When you select a small piece of the task and then discipline yourself to do it and get it behind you, it will often give you the momentum you need to counter inertia and stop procrastinating.

5) Select A 5 Minute Task And Start There

Just as a block of Swiss cheese is full of holes, you treat your task like a block of cheese and you punch holes in it.

Select a five-minute part of the job and do only that. Don’t worry about the whole job.

For example, if you want to write an article or a book, break the task down into small pieces that take an identifiable amount of time to complete and do just one small piece at a time whenever you get a chance.

Many authors begin by writing one page a day. If you are doing research, you can read one article per sitting. Many people write complete books on airplanes or complete their college degrees with snatches of time between other activities. If you wrote one page a day for a year, you would have a 365-page book by the end of the year.

6) Do The Task That Causes You The Most Fear Or Anxiety

Often, it has to do with overcoming the fear of failure or rejection by someone else.

In sales, it may be associated with prospecting. In management, it may be associated with disciplining or firing an employee. In relationships, this may have to do with confronting an unhappy personal situation.

In every case, you will be more effective if you deal first with whatever is causing you the greatest emotional distress or fear. Often this will break the logjam in your work and free you up mentally and emotionally to get things done.

7) Start Your Day With The Most Unpleasant Task First

Get it over with and behind you. Everything else for the rest of the day will seem easier in comparison.

A recent study compared two groups of people. One group started an exercise program in the morning. The second group started an exercise program in the evenings after work. The researchers found that the morning exercises were much more likely to still be in the program six months later.

Starting the day with exercise was much more likely to lead to the habit of regular exercise than putting it off until the end of the day when it was easier to make excuses and procrastinate.

8) Think About The Negative Consequences If You Don’t Finish

What will happen to you if this job is not done on schedule?

7 Ways to Inspire Yourself

Thinking is great.  But action makes things happen.  One of the biggest differences with people that successfully grow, expand themselves, and reach their goals, is that they consistently take action.

Action takes energy though, so where does that energy come from?  It comes from within.  Inspiration is a powerful force, and inspired action is one of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself.  It beats “carrots and sticks.”   Carrots and sticks are usually external forms of motivation.  Instead, if you inspire yourself, you light your fire from the inside out.

Here are seven ways to light the fire and inspire yourself to take action:

1. Be decisive. Decide.  Make a decision and “go.”  If you waffle back and forth on things, or can’t make up your mind, you spend a lot of energy in analysis paralysis.  Instead, decide on something you want, and test it.  Take action and test your results.  The act of making a decision and taking action will build momentum, and fuel your fire and fan your flames.  Rather than trying to figure everything out up front, start taking action, test your path, and learn and adapt along the way.

2. Act like you mean it. Maybe you want to get in great shape, but are you acting like you mean it?  How many hours are you putting in each week?  What routines are you trying?  Maybe you want to be a rockstar at work.  Who are your mentors and models?  What bold actions are you taking that walk the talk?  If you act like you mean it, you’ll make better choices, show more confidence, and build energy that helps you spiral up.

3. Draw from inspirational words of wisdom. Quotes are your friend.  Whenever you need to summon your inner-strength, it helps if you have little one-liner reminders that keep you going.  One of my favorites is by Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

4. Stand on the “shoulders of giants.” Find some role models and heroes to use to lift your spirits and paint a canvas of possibility.  Just having some examples under your belt can inspire you to new levels.  For example, for me, I always look to the amazing physical and philosophical accomplishments of Bruce Lee.  Chances are, no matter what problem or challenge you’re up against, somebody’s been there and done that.  If not exactly, then at least you can draw from similar experiences.

5. Play the favorite scenes in your mind. We all have favorite scenes from movies over the years.  It’s those scenes of triumph, or courage, or an incredible move that inspires us.  Have these at your mental fingertips and draw from them.  Continue to fill and expand your collection by paying attention to the scenes that move you.  You can also draw from scenes in real life.  We all have our shining moments.  Keep those close, and think of them as flash cards to whip out when you need it most.  Simply see the scene in your mind, remember the feeling, and use that to fire you up.

6. Shift to the future. Dwelling on the past is a quick way to bring yourself down.  To lift yourself up, switch to the future and envision the possibilities.  See what’s possible.  This is where hope springs from.  By having a compelling vision, you have something to shoot for.  Now instead of having to “push” yourself to something, you will literally be “pulled” by it.  Like a magnet.  The more compelling the vision, the stronger the “pull” will be.  A few simple ways to shift to the future are … “How can I solve this?” … or “What would good look like?” … or “What’s the end in mind?”  Questions are a powerful way to shift gears.

7. Connect to your values. You can connect everything you do to your values.  This is a powerful way to inspire yourself with skill.  For example, let’s say you value “continuous learning” or “growth”.  Whenever you take on a task, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can I improve this?”  Simply by connecting to your values, you tap into your inner source of power.  Your values fuel you and get you jazzed.  For example, one of my values is, “adventure”, so at work, I turn every project into an “epic adventure” and make it about the journey.  There’s always a big villain or challenge to conquer, and an epic win to shoot for.  And plenty of “growth” along the way.

Levels of faith:

There are levels of faith that every believer should be aware of. And once you understand the various of faith, the next step is to identify your level and works towards the next level until you reached the highest level of faith.

Generally faith and belief are used as synonyms but there is a difference between two. Belief is a strong bound, while faith is our certitude and the highest level of conviction and trust in something. A belief can be based on logical reasoning, sense-perception, circumstances, context, or may be what other have told you. It can be either empowering or limiting. This is not true with faith. Faith is always empowering based on personal profound experience and deep intuitive feeling. Faith is stronger than belief. Belief is more traditional, empirical, or rational while faith is more psychological, intuitive and spiritual.

For a better understanding of the difference between faith and belief we can use the example of the chair. Find chair, look at it closely, and examine its design. Is it sufficiently engineered? Will the material chosen by the manufacturer support your weight? Most likely, you will pick a chair that you think is suitable. That is a belief! You applied sense and logic to make an informed intellectual decision. Now sit in the chair and feel the experience. That is the faith! True living requires us to put our beliefs into practice and reflect. Intellectual belief without actionable faith is hollow and meaningless. When we declare our thoughts about something we our believers; and when we live according to those thoughts we are faithful.

In the light of some verse of Quran we came to know about three levels of faith. The first of three is LLm-ul-yaqin. It is the lowest level of faith which rests on knowledge and information alone. It is belief in a statement or a fact which is supported by such proofs and evidence that lead to inner conviction. In other words, a belief of the heart but which has its base of support in the mind.

The second level of faith is Ayn-ul-uaqin, a state of credence or belief which is based on personal witness in a state of awakening,; that one witnessed with one or more of this sense. This level of faith is higher or deeper than the Ilm-ul-yaqin in certitude and confidence.

The highest state of credence and faith Haqq-ul-yaqin is obtained through one’s personal involvement, direct and physical contact with something. Here, it is not so much the mind which is active, but rather, the heart and the soul.

                   “Verily, this! Is an absolute Truth with certainty.” (56:95 )

To put it yet differently: Every truth is itself certain, but certainty has degrees. First there is the certainty of reasoning or inference, known as Ilm-ul-yaqin. Next there is a certainty of sense-perception, known as Ayn-ul-yaqin. There is a certainty, the highest degree of it, the absolute certainty, with no possibility of error, either of judgment or perception and this is the term as haq-ul-aqin. A simple example may be cited. a person hears the existence of Kaaba. He believes it exists.  That is Ilm-ul-yaqin.

Then he happens to go to the Makkah and sees it with his own eyes. He ascends to the higher  Ayn-ul-uaqin. His belief about the existence of Makkah is now stronger, because he witnessed it. But if he happens to have been involved in the construction receiving Divine instruction and inspiration, then his belief in the existence of Kabah is of the level of Haqq-ul-yaqin. Someone who build the Kabah, will not deny its exisitence. He will not led to believe it eas a dream or hallucination, because those whp receive Divine instructions or inspiration, never suffer lose of his memory of this particular kind, nor undergoes hallucination touching upon, or damaging there spiritual experiences.

WHAT IS ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY?

Islam doesn’t view ‘spirituality’ separately from everyday activities. In Islam everything is ‘spiritual’ because all actions must be in accordance with God’s pleasure. This view comes from the Islamic creed and the Muslim’s understanding of tawhid (the oneness of God).

‘There is no deity worthy of worship except God’ this convinction creates a world view, a perspective and a unique behaviour. It essential means that all actions – from having a shower to picking up litter from the floor – should be referred to the Creator. This establishes a constant awareness, mindfulness and consciousness of God in everything that the Muslim says or does.

The understanding of spirituality in Islam is unlike the secular understanding. It is the constant reference to God and ensuring that everything he or she does is in accordance with God’s pleasure.

This consciousness is not static, it is dynamic. The level of God consciousness is dependent upon how close the Muslim is with His Lord. This personal relationship is established and strengthened by following a unique programme of activities that have been prescribed by God Himself. This ‘spiritual’ programme is also an effective means to change the negative traits and habits of the Muslim. Some of these activities include remembrance of God, prayer, giving charity, fasting, reflecting on creation, meditation, reading and reflecting upon the Qur’an, memorising the Qur’an and daily supplications.

The Prophet Muhammad emphasised on developing a good character by engaging a constant practice of prayer, meditation, remembrance of God and other activities, as these actions change the heart and thereby bring one closer to God.

“Verily in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the body is all sound. If it is corrupt, the body is all corrupt. Verily, it is the heart.”

God consciousness is an essential element in Islamic spiritual practice, without it, the Muslim’s behaviour and attitude are corrupted. The benefits of God consciousness as derived from the Qur’an are:

§  Guidance: because of His words “guidance for the muttaqeen (the people of God consciousness)”

§  Help: because of His words “Truly, Allah is with the people who have taqwa (God consciousness)”

§  Closeness with God: because of His words, “Allah is the close friend of the muttaqeen”

§  Love: because of His words, “Truly Allah loves the muttaqeen”

§  A way out from unhappiness, and provision from where one does not expect because of His words, “Whoever has taqwa of Allah He will make a way out for him and provide him from where he does not expect”

§  Facilitation of affairs because of His words, “Whoever has taqwa of Allah He will make ease for him in his affair”

§  Full covering over of wrong actions and magnification of rewards because of His words, “Whoever has taqwa of God He will cover over his wrong actions and magnify a reward for him”

Islam has a unique view on spirituality as it encompasses all aspects of the Muslim’s life. All actions that are referred to God are spiritual, and these actions include the supplications we utter before we go to bed to the type of bank account we hold. God has prescribed certain actions that develop positive characters as well as bringing the Muslim closer to God thereby attain God consciousness. This state achieves many things including God’s love, closeness and divine assistance.

Ways of strengthening Faith:

 Sometimes it’s natural, during hardships and calamities, to get swept by the affliction of the moment. During such trial of faith, unless you are careful, shaytan (evil) can inject fear and plant doubts in your heart and mind. Your beliefs in such vulnerable states may become overpowered by feeling of the moment resulting in the dwindling of your faith. You may start questioning the fairness and wisdom underlying some divine decisions while others may get mired in a blame game. You may find yourself lost, helpless, and stalled finding it difficult to gather your energy and move forward.

For such situations, you should stay in control; by hanging on to the power of your faith. Only strong faith can help you cope with highly critical challenges. The strength of faith does not come automatically but you will have to do something consciously to strengthen your faith. Following are the some suggestions to develop and increase the strength of faith.

As human beings, no doubt, we are conscious and intelligent beings, but that is not enough for our success in all situations. Many a times in life we feel that we are in need of Higher Power than our own. Faith in such Higher Power gives you confidence and strengthens your ability to face challenges in life. Also in some highly emotional moments you experience Divinity in yourselves. Those are the moments of your profound personal divine experience. Noticing such experience can also strengthen your divine faith.

Faith is reinforced when it is properly fed. You can feed your faith with positive testimonies of other people. When your heart or read the positive results that the other faithful have received and contributed, you get motivated. If there are no people around you who are in the habit of testifying, read books and other materials. There are numerous books that can help you feed your faith. The most effected, of course, is the Holy Quran. This is the book of faith, guidance, and wisdom. You can also read other holy scriptures and the books written by successful, qualified, and experienced people. Biographies are considered good source of inspiration. However, you should be careful while selecting reading material. Books can do wonder of your faith but not all pf them.

Upgrade your faith from the level of traditional discipline and rituals to the level of rational investigation followed by personal spiritual experience. It can be done by challenging the claimed truths logically and rationally and answering the doubts and delusions that come to mind. If you upgrade your beliefs from imitation to rational level flowered by your personal experience, it will be out of question for you to lose your faith in critical moments and to die without the belief in the last breath. One should not be afraid of questioning his own traditional beliefs and paradigm. Critical thinking helps you to identify the strength and the weakness of a traditional belief system. It is evident that those who had the opportunity to struggle with tough questions regarding their paradigm and perception especially during academic life seemed to have a healthier faith in practical life. Applying the scientific methods of enquiry helps you upgrade you beliefs from traditional to sense-perception level. Logical investigation gives you the intellectual justification to your stereotypes and personal experience converts your belief into faith.

Man is known by the company he keeps. The company of highly, faithful, and truthful people can helps you to improve your own faith and character

  

Allah says in Holy Quran:

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true”

Reflection is also a good way of strengthening faith. It cleans off grime and tries to discover the truth – truth that manifest divine nature. And is connected to higher dimensions in the universe reflection transform experience into wisdom and wisdom into faith. It foster a sense of deeper awareness and consciousness. 

The Power of Great Dreamers;

Every person has the power of dreaming. I believe that if someone truly wants something in his/her life and he/she is ready to stand behind their desire it will surely come in the form of success. He who are in this race of riches should be encouraged to know that this changed world in which we live is demanding new ideas, new ways of doing things, new leaders, new inventions, new methods of teaching, new methods of marketing, new books, new literature, new features for television, new ideas for moving pictures. Back to all this demand for new and better things, there is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.  

  We who desire to accumulate riches should remember the real leaders of the world always have been men who harnessed, and put into practical use, the tangible, unseen force of unborn opportunity, and have converted those forces (or impulses of thought) into skyscrapers, cities, factories, airplanes, automobiles, and every form of convenience that makes life more pleasant.

In planning to acquire your share of riches, I want to tell you that let no one influence you to scorn the dreamer. To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit which serves as the life-blood of our own country—your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talent.

 If the things you wish to do is right, and you believe in it, go ahead and do it! Put your dreams across, and never mind what “ they” say if you meet the temporary defeat, for “they” perhaps, do not know that every failure brings with it seeds of an equivalent success.

  Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by the electricity, began where he stood to put his dream into action, and despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by that dream until he made it physical reality. Practical dreamers do not quit!

Whelan dreamed of a chain of cigars stores, transformed his dream into action, now the united cigars stores occupy some of the best corners of the America.

The Wright brothers dreamed of a machine that could fly through the air. Now one may see the evidence all over the world that they dreamed soundly.

Marconi dreamed of a system for harnessing the intangible forces of the ether. Evidence that he did not dreamed in vain may be found in every radio and television set in the world. It may interest you to know that Marconi’s “friends” had him taken into the custody, and examined in a psychopathic hospital, when he announced he had discovered a principle though which he could send messages through the air, without the aid of wires or other direct physical means of communication. The dreamers of today fare better.

In last I just want to say that, This world is filled with an abundance of opportunity which the dreamers of the past never knew! 

A Fifty Cent Lesson in Persistence,

This story teaches much, it teaches me how to be persistent and determinant in every walk of life. This is the story of Mr. Darby and his nephew, and a small little colored child, will told you, how to use the power of persistence.  

One afternoon he (nephew) was helping his uncle grind wheat in old-fashioned mill. The uncle operated the large farm in which a number of colored sharecrop farmers lived. Quietly, the door was opened, and a small colored child, the daughter of a tenant, walked in and took her place near the door. The uncle looked up, saw the child, and barked at her roughly, “what do you want?, “Meekly, the child reply, “My mummy say send her fifty cents.”   “I’ll not do it,” the uncle retorted, “now you run on home.” “Yas sah” the child replied. But she did not move.

The uncle went ahead with his work, so busily engaged that he did not pay enough attention to the child to observe that she did not leave. When he looked up and saw her still standing there, he yelled at her, “I told you to go on home! Now go, or I’ll take a switch to you” The little girl said “Yas sah” but she did not budge.     The uncle drop the sack of grain he was about to pour into the mill hopper, picked up the barrel stave, and started towards the child with the expression on his face that indicated trouble. The nephew hold his breath. He was certain he was about to witness an assault. He knew his uncle had a fierce temper! When the uncle reached the sport where the child was standing, she quickly stepped forward one step, looked up into his eyes, and screamed at top her shrill voice, “My mammy’s gotta have that fifty that fifty cents!”

        The uncle stopped, looked at her a minute, then slowly laid the barrel stave on the floor, put his hand in the pocket, took out the half a dollar, and gave it to her.

The child took the money and slowly backed towards the door. Never taking her eye off the man whom she had just conquered. After she had gone, the uncle sat down on the box and looked out the window into space for more than ten minutes. He was pondering, with the awe, over the whipping he had just taken.