Spend it or invest it (and I'm not talking about money)...

By Dr Robert Anthony

If you look at socioeconomic studies for low income households, you
will find that they may have a copy of the National Enquirer or a
Bible in their homes. If you go to a medium income household
you will find a few books (usually by the toilet!) with a glossy
gossip magazine in the family room. But what do you think you will
find in high income household?  A library of non-fiction books.

So the question we must ask is this: is the socioeconomic status
determined by what people read or does what people read bring the
status? I will guarantee you it is the latter.

All great leaders are readers.  You will never grow spiritually,
emotionally or financially by watching TV news and reading the
tabloids.  Remember there are only two things you can do with your
brainpower as it relates to time.  You can either spend it, or
invest it. Time spent (wasted) is gone forever. Investment in the
form of learning creates a lifetime of payoff not only in knowledge,
but in income as well. Decide right now that you are going to
invest your greatest asset, which is your time, in learning and
studying things that will bring you closer to your desires.

You Are What You Think

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't;
If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world you'll find
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
Full many a race is lost
Ere even a race is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work's begun.
Think big, and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you fall behind,
Think that you can, and you will;
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise;
You've got to be sure of yourself
before You can ever win a prize.
Life's battle doesn't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can.

By an anonymous author

Books:


You Are What You Think
 
You Are What You Think
 
You Can If You Think you Can

Is there Such a Thing as Instant Success?

"The best preparation for good work tomorrow is good work today." - Elbert Hubbard

The most frustrating thing that you can feel is to want something really badly, and not be able to get it straight away. 

Yes, frustrating – but is it realistic to want something straight away?

Many people will tell you yes it is. You just have to type “instant success” in Google, and look at the headlines: Everyone promises to deliver you instant success.

And when it comes to products being sold, you are expected to buy it instantly too.

We live in an “instant” society. Anything we want can be delivered right now, and you start expecting things you want instantly too. Most people are expecting their wants to be delivered instantly. When they want it, they want it NOW!

Most people give up on their wants if they can’t get it instantly. It is becoming increasingly rate to find people who are willing to put in the time or effort required to get the success they want. They are after instant gratification. 

This is how we’ve been taught, and we see it as our right.

Now, this is your right: It's your right to have the same opportunity to work for what you want.  You have to sacrifice to reach your dreams just like every other person who ever lived.

Your right is not instant gratification, but working for what you want. Have you ever heard the saying:  “God helps those who help themselves?” You are not helping yourself if you are after instant gratification. You are hurting yourself.  Instant gratification does not help you to grow, it does not give you any satisfaction, and it only keeps you contented. Setting and reaching goals, and taking the time to do so, gives you immense pleasure.

So take time to have the things you want. Set goals, and find out what to do to achieve them. No-one is lucky that way. Luck takes work.

Put the effort in today and you'll get luckier and luckier.  Will you reach your goal immediately?  Probably not.  Anything worth having takes time and effort. Nothing falls into your lap.

You can’t put tomorrow before today.

So set those goals. Be all you can be.

Books on Success:

The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be 


Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life 

The Real Truth about Success: What the Top 1% Do Differently, Why They Won't Tell You, and How You Can Do It Anyway! 

The KEY To Success - Are You Missing It?

By Dr Robert Anthony

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?  Psychologist Martin Seligman, the godfather of the positive psychology moment, conducted extensive research in optimists versus pessimists. What he found was optimism can be learned. He discovered that optimists consistently talk about what they are rather than what they are not, or what they have instead of what they don't have. Pessimists have one thing in common, they talk about why things are not the way they should be and what they don't have.

We are not born pessimists. In fact, all children are optimists until we program them differently. Stand outside any amusement park on any given weekend and talk to the families that exit. Kids come out and you ask them, "What did you think of the park?" The gush, "Oh that was so cool!" Now talk to the parents and here is what they say, "Lines are too long".  "Food was overpriced". "The damn noise and crowds get on my nerves". So is the amusement park a happy place or a place from hell? The answer is - it is neither. It depends on the meaning we give to it.

How did we go from being born optimists to being pessimists? Somewhere along the way we were trained not to be optimistic in case things don't work out.  If you are too optimistic and things don't work out you will be very disappointed.  But if you are pessimistic and they don't work out you will be less disappointed and of course, you will be "right".

Seligman also states that we can learn or relearn how to be optimistic. According to his research optimists outperform pessimists ten to one!  Maybe it is time to reprogram our thinking and ask, "What is good about this situation?" and if we cannot find the good, ask, "What does my reaction to this say about me?" This can help you to become more of an optimist.

Books by Dr Robert Anthony:


Think Again , By Dr. Robert Anthony 
Dr Robert Anthonys Advanced Formula For Total Success 
Beyond Positive Thinking: A No-Nonsense Formula for Getting the Results You Want

You Are No Different

By Bob Perks

Picture in your mind the most incredible thing designed by mankind that you have ever seen. Perhaps the Empire State Building, the Shuttle built by the technicians at NASA, The Golden Gate Bridge or even the intricate detailing in a painting you've seen.

What name comes to mind when I say the words "creative genius?"
Who do you think of when I mention God-like compassion, caring and loving?
What author's name do you think of when I mention "poetry," "drama," "mystery," "fiction," and "comedy?"

What do you see when I say "strength," and "stamina?"

Finally "winner," "successful," or "role model?"

I'll bet you a Kids Meal at McDonald's you never saw yourself in any of those images. And yet...

Look at your hands. Are they not the same as the hands of the skillful artist, architect, mason, or technician?

If you were to x-ray your skull, would you not find the same brain matter that takes up the space between the ears of Einstein, Plato, and Disney?

Hold your hand to your chest. Can you feel the beat of a heart capable of paining for the homeless and starving? Have you not the same heart that beat in the chest of Jesus, Gandhi, Mohamed or the thousands of missionaries around the world?
Look at your fingers. Are they not like the fingers of Frost, Churchill, Stevens, Wilder and King that held tightly the pens that wrote the words that shaped the world?

Look at your feet. Show me the difference between yours and gold medalists of the Olympics or the rescuers who carried the people out of the rubble in a tragic earthquake.

Finally. Close your eyes as you stand in front of a mirror and picture in your mind that man or woman who you think of as a success, a winner and role model. Open your eyes and explain to me the difference between you and that person.

There is no difference...except in how you perceive yourself.

You have the mind, the hands, the feet, the fingers, the heart to be exactly what you want to be. The only thing that is stopping you is the person you see in the mirror.

You have all that it takes.


Bob Perks
Bob Perks is an inspirational author and speaker. Bob's new book I Wish You Enough has been published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. A collection of stories based on his Eight Wishes expressed below. Available through your favorite bookstore or online. Visit www.BobPerks.com