“The same wind blows on us all. The economic wind, the social wind, the political wind. The same wind blows on everybody. The difference in where you arrive in one year, three years, five years, the difference in arrival is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sail.” Jim Rohn
It seems like everywhere you turned this past year, you heard stories of friends and colleagues having tough times.
It’s easy to mistakenly think tough times exist to keep us from achieving a goal. In reality, tough times exist to help us develop new “response” muscles and to help us discover things about ourselves that we may not have discovered otherwise.
Today’s affirmation is to simply remind you that you are bigger than any challenge in front of you: Tough times make me more tenacious.
I accept that life is filled with a variety of experiences. I treasure the good times and allow the positive memories to last. I take the tough times and use them to make myself a stronger person.
I believe the best way to build inner strength and focus is to experience tough situations. These situations force me to find solutions.
I am more resolute after making it through a challenging situation. My self-esteem increases when I realize I have made it through something difficult. I am prepared the next time around to handle it flawlessly.
I strive for a happy life, so when challenges arise, I am determined to overcome them. I know I deserve to return to the uncomplicated happiness I am accustomed to. So I push myself to overcome the challenges.
Even when others tell me to give up, I persevere. I am persistent because I know everything is possible if I only believe. When there seems to be no way out, I start digging a new exit path.
I am unfazed by naysayers. I recognize they only exist to distract me.
Today, I am proud of the person I have become. I know that the hardships I sometimes face only last for a relatively short time. I make it through these challenges knowing that they help make me more tenacious.
Self-Reflection Questions:
1. Is my tenacity sometimes viewed as stubbornness?
2. Where and when have I succeeded in spite of enormous odds?
3. How am I better as a result of those experiences?
I think Jim Rohn is one of the greatest teachers and mentors that ever lived. He has inspired me on so many levels.
[author] [author_info]Personal success is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you may make that gradually turn who you are at any given moment into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you’ll still be somebody—you’ll still be alive—but you may have a personality rather than a character, and to me that’s something very different.Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you must take responsibility for forming. You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life, whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times.
You build character from certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself, just like you would plant and water a seed or gather wood to build a campfire. You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away rock to create the sculpture that previously existed only in the imagination.
But the really amazing thing about character is that, if you’re sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you’ll not only create those qualities, you’ll strengthen them and re-create them in abundance, even as you’re drawing on them every day of your life. That’s why building your character is vital to becoming all you can be.
Forging Your Character by Jim Rohn[/author_info] [/author]
The day may have 24 hours of equivalent length but author Laura Vanderkam says not every hour is created equal. Drawing on her own research, surveys of executives, and the latest science on willpower for her forthcoming ebook What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Vanderkam argues that making smart use of the early morning is a practice most highly successful people share.
From former Pepsi CEO Steve Reinemund’s 5 a.m. treadmill sessions, to author Gretchen Rubin’s 6 a.m. writing hour, examples of highly accomplished folks who wring the most from their pre-breakfast hours abound in the book. What do they know that the average entrepreneur might not have realized yet?
“Seizing your mornings is the equivalent of that sound financial advice to pay yourself before you pay your bills. If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing left over. Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won’t happen,” Vanderkam writes. “If it has to happen, then it has to happen first,” she says.
Track your time: “Part of spending your time better is knowing exactly how you’re spending it now,” writes Vanderkam, who recommends you, “write down what you’re doing as often as you can and in as much detail as you think will be helpful,” offering a downloadable spreadsheet to help.
Picture the perfect morning: “Ask yourself what a great morning would look like for you,” suggests Vanderkam, who offers plenty of inspiration. Shawn Achor uses the early hours to write a note of appreciation. Manisha Thakor, a personal finance guru, goes in for transcendental meditation. Randeep Rekhi, who is employed full time at a financial services firm, manages his side business, an online wine store, before heading off to work.
Think through the logistics: “Map out a morning schedule. What would have to happen to make this schedule work? What time would you have to get up and (most important) what time do you need to go to bed in order to get enough sleep?”
Build the habit: “This is the most important step,” writes Vanderkam before explaining how to gradually shift your schedule, noting and rewarding small wins along the way.
Tune up as necessary: “Life changes. Rituals can change, too.”
Check out the short-but-useful ebook to learn more details on becoming more of a morning person, as well as additional ideas on how to put those reclaimed hours to use.
What’s your morning ritual?
