Saturday, September 12, 2009

Thoughts on Positive Thinking Part 2 of 2 series

Now, to continue on this series on Positive Thinking...


The following are last 4 of the 9 principles that I am sharing to help you improve your ability to think positively:


6. Look Everywhere for the Best in New Ideas


Positive thinkers are constantly looking for new ideas. They increase their odds on their success by doing so. Victor Hugo said, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”


Some people believe that great ideas come only to the geniuses of the world. But finding great ideas is more than a function of attitude than aptitude.


An open-minded, creative person looks for ideas anywhere he can find them. And when he looks, he is slow to reject any idea until he has examined it thoroughly for any good that he can discover. It is said, that the great Thomas Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, discovered some of his greatest inventions when he examined a failed invention, but was able to see another unlooked-for use in it.

7. Don't Talk about your Health unless it is Good.


There are a few things in life that give people negative feelings faster than a person who talks about his poor health all the time. The first time or two that it happens, people will be sympathetic. After that, they will become irritated and negative.


Eventually, they will avoid the negative person altogether.


Share negative news about our health only with your closest friends and family.


8. Avoid Pettiness


Positive thinkers don't spend time and energy on petty things because pettiness can sidetrack them from their goals and priorities. This happens when something insignificant creates a wrong reaction in a person--a reaction disproportionately larger than a situation requires.


Consider these cases:

· Sweden and Poland fought in 1654 because the king of Sweden discovered that his name in an official dispatch was followed only by two etceteras, while the king of Poland had three.

· A small boy, by throwing a pebble at the duc de Gruise, led to the massacre of Vassy and the Thirty Years' War.

· The spilling of the glass of water over the Marquis de Torey led to war between France and England.

· A chinese emperor once went to war over the breaking of a teapot.


All of these were really petty to start a war and get a lot of lives killed in the process. But the reality is, many people are petty in nature.


Remember, a person is only as big as the things that make him angry.



9. Develop a Spirit of Giving


Albert Schweitzer, notable doctor and missionary to Africa, said, "The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others." He realized that the most positive contribution a positive thinker can make is in the area of giving to others.


When the people's attention is centered on serving others, they become more dynamic, more forceful, and harder to resist. After all, how can a person resist someone who is trying to help him solve a problem?


Develop a spirit of giving, then start living it...and you will find your life taking a positive turn.


Hopefully these principles will help you to think positively because, in truth, we all need it.


Stay Safe!






Sunday, September 6, 2009

Thoughts on Positive Thinking, Part 1 of 2 series


In the past, I used to attend a lot of success seminars that were related to building a successful business network. It is always well-attended by people from all walks of life. I remembered in one of the seminars, i heard this quote, and it made a deep impression on me: You are only an attitude away from success.


Positive attitude are derived from positive thinking. We may not have positive attitude all the time but we can start to think positive all the time.

Positive thinking will give us positive results. And the good thing about positive thinking is that it can be learned by anyone, regardless of circumstances, temperament, or intellect.

The following are 5 of the 9 principles that I will be sharing to help you improve your ability to think positively:

1. Think, Talk, Walk, and Act like the person you wish to become.

Most people will wait until they feel positive before they do things positively. They have it backwards! Attitude follows action. Positive actions lead to positive thoughts. And positive thoughts lead to positive attitude. People with negative mind-sets will never become the positive person they desired to be if they wait for the feelings to move them forward into action.

2. Hold positive thoughts in your mind.

Andrew Carnegie once said, "The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind, may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled." When we begin to think in positive terms, and we see ourselves as successful, we start to become successful. If we wish to harvest the fruit of a successful life, we must do the work of a farmer. We cannot simply plant a few positive seeds, and then expect the rest to take care of itself. We must continually water those seeds, nurture them as the plant begins to grow, and fertilize them. Always give your thoughts to what is positive and success-focused.

3. Exude the Attitude of Well-being, Confidence, and Purpose.

As your thinking and actions become more positive, you will develop a sense of well-being. Your confidence will increase, and you will begin to sense a stronger sense of purpose in your life. As these things happen, others will begin to become more attracted to you because people enjoy being with positive people. Use others' positive responses to you to develop relationships and to help others become more positive.

4. Treat Everyone You Meet as the Most Important Person on Earth
.

It is such as a fast-paced world that we live in. Most people move quickly from place to place focused on activities that they need to get accomplished. Often, they neglect to make time for the people that they come in contact with.

If you take time with the people you meet and give them your full attention in a positive way, it will make their day. You have added value to them, and in return they will also add value to you.

All people have the desire to feel important, needed, and appreciated. It is who we are as human beings. When you meet that need in people, it makes them positive about themselves and you. It creates a win-win outcome.

Another benefit of making others feel important is that they will make you feel important in return. The treatment most people receive is a reflection of how they treat others.

5. Look for the Best in Everyone.

Similar to the idea of making people feel important is the idea of looking for the best in people. There is good in the worst of us and bad in the best of us. What you look at is what you see. I have been blessed with a wonderful family, friends and colleagues. In part, that has been a gift from God. But it is also a result of my positive expectations for those around me.

I often tell people I work with to mentally place a"10" on the heads of everyone they meet. In other words, if you evaluated people on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, expect those people to perform and act like a 10, and really believe it. More often than not, people will rise to your positive expectations. Looking for the best in others makes them feel good about themselves and gets them growing and striving to be the best they can be.

In my next blog, I will give the last 4 principles. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Most Valuable Resource


Time... is the most valuable resource a man owns.


I do not care where you are in life right now--whether you are rich or poor, young or old, healthy or sick--we are all given the same time to use every day.  Imagine, you have $86,400 in the bank every morning you wake up.  What will you do with it?  Will you just let it waste by not using it?

Or will you invest it to make the most out of it?

That is the same thing with our time...we have 86,400 seconds in a day.  What will you do with it?

Here are some of the tips that may help you use your time wisely and be productive:

1.  Start the day early.  

There is this saying:  "The early bird gets the worm."  Somebody who started the day at 6am will always be ahead of the person who wakes up at 10am.  By starting the day early, you will have more time to prepare for the day.  Going through the list of things-to-do that you made the night is another way to start the day since most people are lost if they are not organized to work the next day.

2.  Just do whatever is found on the list.

It's not rocket science...just do whatever you find on the list.  You can work on the first item on the list, or start doing the list in terms of priority.  Do not mind the distractions.  Do your best to stay focus on doing what is on the list. Whatever you accomplish for the day, just check it off and you are done!

3.  Do your list of things-to-do for the next day.

This will ensure that you will continue to be productive for the next day.  You can add on the list.  You can  also change the list all together.  This is a good activity since you will feel good about yourself for being productive and for using your time wisely.

 So...what are you doing with your time?




Monday, August 24, 2009

I'm really new with this....blogging thing!


I love to read.  

I read anything about business, family, leadership, personal development, money matters, and current events.  I'm interested with history, movies, sports, food, places, people, theology, even the harsh but funny "Calvin and Hobbes".

However...I am now entering into the unknown...Blogging!  



My wife said that I should have started writing blogs a long time ago since I know lots of stuff and done lots of things that may give readers helpful insights.  

"But what will I write?" I asked her.  She answered, "Just write about anything that you know, and have opinion of.  Just be deliberate."
  

So allow me to invite you to read my next blogs as I deliberately tackle all subjects under the sun--and hopefully, you may get to learn something, or even laugh about something that you can relate to.  

Now the journey begins!