A Kings Son

A great and powerful king decided to send his son to be educated in a distant land. He could have let him stay in the palace itself and brought him the best teachers and the best possible education. But the king knew that the prince will get a lot of experience when he is out of the palace. Good education plus physical distance from the palace will toughen and strengthen the confidence and independence of his son.

In that distant land, the king’s son began to study. He worked hard and experienced life differently, which made him stronger. But along with all the hard work and accomplishments, he began to enjoy the joys of life which that country offered him. He no longer felt obligated to keep all the trappings of monarchy as had to in his father's palace.
He abandoned his studies and began to neglect or postpone the execution of tasks, responsibility and duties... and all this for the parties and small pleasures that the new life offered him. Without realizing it, he began to neglect his own appearance. And people started to flinch and keep a distance from him. He had hit rock bottom!

He had slumped to a low point in his life. When the situation was so bad that he could not bear it any more, then he remembered... He recalled the king, his father, who had sent him on a journey to strengthen his capacities, and he was ashamed that he had deteriorated to such lows.

The king’s son decided to act. He decided to return to his father's palace knowing that his father wouldn’t deny him.

The king’s son came to the palace gates; he wanted to go inside, but two armed guards with bayonets blocked his way.

"I am the King's son'' he said.”We are too," they replied, laughing at the man in torn clothes with overgrown unkempt hair and beard.

After several vain attempts of trying to convince the guards to let him enter the palace, the prince decided to go close to the window of his father's room to call him.

''Father! Father!'' called the king's son.

''Father! Father!'' the king’s son cried again.

The king recognized that voice as the voice of the son he had not heard for many years. The king rushed to the window and saw a strange, unkempt looking man standing. Is that the son whom he had sent to school many years ago?

''Father, I came back and I want to come home...'' said the king’s son.

The king, whose heart was filled with longing for his son, called the guards and ordered them to bring his son into the palace.

Dear Reader,

You are the king's son!

You do not need to reach low life to go home like the king's son.

Your palace, your home is within you; it is in your heart. Listen to your heart; only there you will find the answers to your destiny and your success.

Jacob Shekrel

Jacob Shekrel is a LifeSuccess Coach who lives in Spain and is building up his International Personal Improvement coaching company: Jacob's ladder to Success - lectures, seminars and master mind groups. Please feel free to visit his website at: www.jacobsladdertosuccess.com 

A Perfect Achievement In An Imperfect World

Imagine … you are a little boy or girl. You are trying to keep up with kids around you, but you can’t. Other kids are teasing you or bullying you because you have a disability. 

Why is the world so imperfect? Why are there, people with severe disabilities like Down syndrome, blindness and deafness to name but a few?

Young Frankie sustained brain damage at birth. He also had a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe.

He badly wanted to play softball with the other boys at school. Because of his motor coordination difficulties Frankie could not really play with the other boys.

But it meant a lot to him, and we asked the boys if they would like to include them in their team.

The boys hesitated for a moment before saying yes. The fact that their team was losing made the decision easier. Nothing Frankie could do was likely to affect the outcome anyway. Frankie was given a mitt, and went to stand in short centre field as his team's tenth player.

Frankie’s turn came. Frankie was handed a bat and pointed to the plate.

What happened next was nothing short of amazing.

The opposing team saw that Frankie couldn’t  even begin to play, and the pitcher moved closer to him and pitched the ball in a way Frankie could have a chance to hit it.

He missed the ball. One of Frankie’s team mates then came to help him hold the bat to help him hit. And he hit the second ball just a little way.

The pitcher then pitched the ball way to the right. Frankie’s teammates yelled: “Run Frankie! Run to first!” Two of his teammates started running with him to help him and to cheer him on.

A player on the opposing team tracked the ball, and then intentionally threw the ball out to the other direction. By this time, both teams were chanting “Run, Frankie, run!” Frankie reached second base.

Ball forgotten, all players from both teams joined Frankie on his triumphal run home, and together they hoisted the hero onto their shoulders. Frankie was beaming.

This is why the world is imperfect: To give us the chance to achieve spiritual perfection. All the boys achieved spiritual perfection that day in accepting someone who isn’t like them and who would normally never have a chance to play in a softball game. If it wasn’t for Frankie, they never would have.

The Great Challenge of Life

Here's the great challenge of life - You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.

I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development. Once in a while income takes a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are. 

Somebody once said if you took all the money in the world and divided it among everyone equally; it would soon be back in the same pockets. However, you can have more because you can become more. You see, here is how the other side of the coin reads - unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got. 

The marketing plan won't do it. It's a good plan but it won't work without you. You've got to work it. It is the human effort that counts. If you could send a sales manual out to recruit - wouldn't that be lovely? The major thing that makes the difference is what YOU do.

In order to have more, you need to become more. The guy says "If I had a good job I would really pour it on, but I have this lousy job so I just goof off." If that is your philosophy, you are destined to stay there. 

Some people say if I had a lot of money I would be really generous, but I don't have much so I'm not generous. See, you've got to change that philosophy or you will never have "the lots of money." Unless YOU change, IT won't change. 

Amazingly, however, when we throw out our blame list and start becoming more ourselves - the difference is everything else will begin to change around us.

Jim Rohn
1930-2009, Author and Speaker
www.jimrohn.com

You're NOT Alone On That Island!

It is a year of challenge; a year of change; a year of learning that it is time to let go!
You may feel like you’re all alone on an island; and nobody understands how you think or feel; but you are not alone!  There are more people here than you could imagine .... patiently waiting.

There are people who really do care; who want to listen, and want to actually hear you! They can help you to step out of that emotional cave that you may have retreated into.  

It's so easy to withdraw into what we think is a safe zone; but then we start to live in our heads; and not in the world around us!
We think it's safer at first; but then it starts to get very lonely and dark in there; doesn't it ... ?

It takes a lot of courage and determination to stick our heads out, and have a look around at who or what might be just outside waiting for us to re-appear .... And it takes a stack more courage to step outside and stand tall amongst the uncertainty of it all .... doesn't it ... ?

Far too often people get overwhelmed by the stigma that can be attached to 'not being a 100%' ...

If we reach out to people who we trust and feel safe with; then there is no stigma; not one tiny bit of it; and the personal empowerment that begins to take place is often stronger than we could have ever imagined.

I see it every day in my work; and I've been in some pretty dark places during my run through life too.  Lot's of us have!

I've learnt that 'a problem shared is a problem halved'; every time; not just sometimes!
The value of talking and sharing your stuff (with someone who actually does care and wants to help); is priceless; absolutely priceless!

C'mon now; reach out to that someone who does feel right; and allow yourself to be heard!

You'll be so glad that you did!

(c) Phil Evans - People Stuff TM - 2012

Phil Evans is a Motivator, Business Coach, Life Coach and Inspirational Writer specialising in Relationship Dynamics and Adoption Issues. You can visit his website at: www.peoplestuff.com.au and join his newsletter.

You Are Never Too Young Or Too Old To Be Successful

Sean Black was a kid in my class. He was 13 years old, and had a love of life. We were talking about money one day after singing the song: “Money, money, money,” by Abba and the kids were saying how they would love to have a lot of money.

Well, we started dreaming aloud about having more money, and Sean then said that he was very frustrated about the fact that he always had to ask for money; he wanted his own money. Did I know of anything he could do because he was too young to work and had to do chores in and around his house in order to earn some pocket money.

We started dreaming around what kids could do and I said: Why don’t you start a car washing or a pool cleaning business? You get a lot of people to sign up to get their car or pool washed every week. Then you either go and wash it yourself, or you get someone to do it for you. You pay them half the money, and you pocket the other half. 

Sean decided to go and give it a try. He kept us up to date for a couple of weeks. He had a lot of employment problems and discovered that other people aren’t reliable. Besides, washing cars was hard work, and took a lot of time if he couldn’t get others to help him. He was just wondering what to do about it when he spotted an ad in the paper.

The ad had nothing to do with car washing, but was about bouncing castles. He read the ad with interest, and then went to talk to his dad. He said: “Hey Dad, I have a business proposition for you.” Dad was surprised, but went to sit down seriously, and asked how he could help. Sean told his dad that he had made $200 with his car wash business, and about the problems he was having with reliability. He then told his dad about the ad and asked his dad if he would like to help him with finance of $1000 so that he could buy a bouncing castle. He offered his dad $250 as a deposit, and showed him that if he helped him, the castle could be paid off in four weeks. Then they would have pure profit.

His dad was very impressed with the deal, and decided to help his son, taking his deposit, and giving him a loan. The last time I saw Sean, he and his proud dad were both watching their bouncing castle at a school fete.  Apparently Sean was able to pay his dad back in two weeks. His dad helped him to invest the rest of the money he made. They were planning to buy a second castle. 

There are some lessons in here for all of us: 

1.       You can be successful in business at any age.
       You need to dream first, and then find a way to make that dream a reality.

3.       Don’t look at the problem. Look at the solution. You will always find one.