CELEBRATING LES BROWN

This week we celebrate Les Brown, foremost motivational speaker, speech coach and best selling author. No one gave him a chance in life. He was adopted by Mrs Mammie Brown at a very young age, and was even labelled 'educable mentally retarded' in the American educational system.

Today he's an international best seller and celebrity. And he's made a lot of money during his illustrious career as state congressman, motivational speaker, author and coach.

Today we look at some of his quotes, and they make so much sense.

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.


You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.

You may not accomplish every goal you set -- no one does -- but what really matters is having goals and going after them wholeheartedly.


Forgive those who have hurt you.


Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.


Review your goals twice every day in order to be focused on achieving them.


As you reach your goals, set new ones. That is how you grow and become a more powerful person.


Choosing goals that are important to you is one of the most essential things you can do in order to live your dreams.


Goals are not dreamy, pie-in-the-sky ideals. They have every day practical applications and they should be practical.


If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.


Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.


You are the only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life.


Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.


If you view all the things that happen to you, both good and bad, as opportunities, then you operate out of a higher level of consciousness.


If you are carrying strong feelings about something that happened in your past, they may hinder your ability to live in the present.


When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Let your reason get you back up.


If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.


The things you want are always possible; it is just that the way to get them is not always apparent. The only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience.


The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today.


Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.


"Act The Way You Want To Be And Soon You'll Be The Way You Act"

HOW TO BE GROUNDED IN A STORM – AND HOW TO SURVIVE THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE

HOW TO BE GROUNDED IN A STORM – AND HOW TO SURVIVE THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE

We would all like life to be plain sailing. We would to be able to predict life – and expect happy times all through. However, even though experiences differ, there’s bound to be some downtime. And how you comport yourself during this interregnum – how you execute the bounce back, and how fast you achieve it, define what you can achieve in life.

In other words, it is crucial to know how to handle yourself during bad times. It was Robert Schuller that said “Tough times never last, but tough people do”. History abounds with examples of tough people who pulled through tough times by refusing to give up, who by sheer determination and perseverance changed their situations.

So you’ve got to know what to do when you are going through tough times. The most important thing you can do is to be grounded. This refers to your having a baseline of sorts, a focal point where you have stored up things that keep you going, things that help your inner resolve despite whatever is going on around you. I refer to things that keep you motivated, that keep you going on. So here are some suggestions on how to stay grounded in a storm:

KEEP YOUR GOALS IN YOUR FACE

Keep your goals in perspective. You must plan beyond this present situation. This is assuming you are someone who sets goals often. So where do you want to be in 3 months, in 6 months, in a year, in 5 years? How are you planning to go beyond this turbulent time? What are you reaching out for? You need to keep looking at and reviewing your goals and aspirations. It is important to keep them written them and near you at all times – by your bedside, on your phones and ipad, everywhere you can reach them in a jiffy. This will keep you grounded, so you won’t stray far from your course in life.

ARTICULATE REASONS TO SUCCEED

You need to articulate reasons to succeed. Les Brown, a renowned motivational speaker tells us in his book ‘Live Your Dreams” that his initial motivation for excelling in life, was his dream of buying his mother a home. It was a magnificent obsession for him. It kept him going despite the many doors slammed in his face. He kept looking for the ‘yes’ behind every ‘no’ he received. Yours may be to give your children a sound education; yours may be to make all the money you can and give it all away to charity. Whatever reason you can find and decide upon to motivate you to succeed, you need to hold on to it. Cling to it. Articulate it. And keep it real and active to you.

MOTIVATIONAL RESOURCES

It’s important to read books. A wiseacre once said  - "The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." And it is so true. There’s nothing you are going through that others have not already gone through and overcome. So find books and materials – motivational speeches, books, articles, this blog (ha ha) –that will help you. Find out how others were able to succeed where you are stuck. When you pick up a book by some expert, you gain his perspective and his experience. For example, an important manual for life – in my view – is the book “Think and grow rich “ by Norman Vincent Peale. It is not just a book about riches – it’s an important book to read, study and master for everyone who is serious about whole-life success. Dr Peale did a research on over 500 millionaires of his time to find out the common denominator in their lives of success. Can you imagine? When you read such a book, you glean wisdom from 500 men, and 25 years research done by Dr Vincent Peale. So do not underestimate the impact carefully selected motivational resources can have on your life.

SITTING DOWN FOR IDEAS

I remember reading somewhere, one philosopher wrote – you do not have a money problem; what you have is an idea problem. There isn’t any problem therefore, that sitting down for ideas won’t solve. Find some quite place, get writing materials and think through your issues. You may need to do so for hours, or even days before you hit the right chord – depending on how fast you can calm your mind. But one thing I am sure of – if you can get calm on the inside, it will eventually get calm all around you, in life. So sit down for ideas – listen to the inner you. The Creator is talking to you – He is always on. You may the one turned off. Keep quiet. Get calm. Listen in for divine ideas. You may need to refer to my article – ideas rule the world for more on this.

TAKE ACTION CONTINUALLY

 This naturally follows from sitting down for ideas. You may need to take some drastic action to get out of the rut. But be certain they are well thought out, and that you have looked at all sides. Be certain that the universe loves motion. You must constantly be taking requisite action to better yourself, to better your situation. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck. Refuse to be the under-dog for long. Start doing something today. And keep doing it.

These are just a few of the things that can help you navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of life. This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure you can come up with a few more ideas, honed in to your situation that will help you further. By every means explore your options. Keep going. Keep moving. And nothing will stop you

Let me end with my favorite maxim – How can you stop a man who won’t be defeated?

IDEAS DO RULE THE WORLD

I have had the privilege of reading Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” at least 16 times. I have had my personal copies missing 5 times at least. But each time I have purchased a new copy without delay. The book has become a manual for life of sorts, for me.

Do not be deceived by the title. The book isn’t so much about making money, as it is about being a success in life. I do not in this write up intend to review the book, however. I want to speak about ideas. The book does speak about ideas, as do other great philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates and the like.

Ideas do rule the world. I subscribe to that. Ideas are so very important. Every human improvement, every great invention, every commendable feat achieved by man, started as an idea in the mind of some person.

Ideas are borne on the wings of thoughts that come to us. Psychologists tell us that we think about 50,000 thoughts per day, i.e. the average human being thinks all those thoughts daily. Hidden in that multitude of thoughts is an idea or ideas that can drastically improve our lives , and that of others. And this process occurs daily.

In 1876, Alexander Bell registered his patent for the telephone, in the United States. The process began as an idea for men to communicate without being in the same room.  Men also had for long thought about growing wings and flying. This idea had largely been confined to the metaphysical realm, with old women dressed in black and funny long hats flying by means of long brooms (now you know what I’m talking about). But it became a physical reality when the Wright brothers invented and built the world’s first successful airplanes in 1903. Napoleon Hill’s book speaks about Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie and other great thinkers ‘sitting for ideas’ By this means Edison created many inventions and patents, including amongst others the phonograph, the motion picture camera, the incandescent bulb, etc.

Suffice it to say therefore that you do not have problems; you do not have financial problems. You do not have health problems. Neither do you have marriage problems. What you have is an idea problem. So the earlier you settle down, shut the world out, and think out your problem, the better for you. It may take you hours, maybe even days, to reach the threshold. But one thing is certain: it does work. My authority? The great thinkers of the 20^th and 21s century agree with me. Talk about Edison, Einstein, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, just to mention a few.

So think your way through today. See you at the top. And I daresay I am nearer there than you are *wink*

MOTIVATION FOR THE ROAD-SOME GOOD ONES TO GET YOU KICKING

 Hi everyone. I'm in the mood to pontificate so here goes. Some quotes to help you along the road:

 Once you are defeated in your mind, Ladies and Gentlement, its all over! - Kanmi Abioye Oyebisi

 Who can guarantee that you won't make it, that you can't achieve your goals? No one can. Not even you. Go after it! -Kanmi Abioye Oyebisi

 He who thinks he stands should take heed lest he falls. Self audit should be a continual process-Kanmi Abioye Oyebisi

 As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot - John Lennon

 If there's no enemy within, the enemy without can do us no harm - Yoruba proverb made more popular by Les Brown

 An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he’s in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots. - Charles Kettering

 You need to get going now. Today! You have only one shot at life-this ain't no dress rehearsal! You won't be coming this way again- Kanmi Abioye Oyebisi

 

 

POISONOUS STUFF To Get Your Creative Juices Running Today

This is a short one and no, its not about poison. But it can poison and mortify mediocrity and lack lustre performance in your life. This is about stirring up creativity which no doubt lies within you. This is about strangulating failure in your life.

There isn’t any human being placed on this planet without the necessary equipment to survive and excel here, chief of which is creativity. This blessing from the Almighty – which we all possess –can ensure you churn out great stuff continually continually (repetition intentional) at work, play or business. Unfortunately, creativity has a great enemy which limits progress in every life. Its called noise.

There’s so much noise around us. And am not talking about neighbourhood kids making a din at a party down the street. I refer here to every distraction which prevents us from looking inwards to stirring up our creative juices. I refer to the great enemy of getting quiet…..entertainment.

Entertainment. I am not against everything or anything that  provides amusement – from social media to the latest soaps, serial movies, clubbing, gaming (and I am a great fan of X-box, so I am no sadist) and the like. We so keep our minds engaged with undefined activity all day long, that we do not have time to get quiet – and harness great thoughts which can lead to great actions and a great life.

So find time to think about this. Get creative by getting quiet. Create time to get quiet. Schedule it. Find what time of the day works best for you. Give it 15 minutes daily on your time table (for starters) and ensure you discipline yourself to do it daily. Keep a notebook at hand to document great thoughts and ideas that will surely come to you.

Don’t wait. Start today. It is guaranteed to improve your life immediately. Get great thoughts , get creative, GET QUIET!

                                                      MINDBLOWING THINGS

Have you ever heard the term 'mindblowing'? Usually in colloquial usage means information or phenomenon that is incredible. I have always wondered why the idiom was never couched as 'body blowing'. I guess its because the crafters of the English Language from old times always knew the importance and power of the mind.

 

How far do you want to go in life? How much do you ever want to achieve? Its not going to be possible if you can't ever grasp it with your mind. If you can't see far with your mind's eye, you won't be going far.

 

Yes, mind power is real. As a man thinks in his heart (thats your mind, and not the physical organ that pumps blood through the body), so is he. So said the good book. So say I. Great minds in history where just that - great minds. They dared to think the seeming unachievable; they went after the unbelievable.

 

Who could have ever thought man would fly on two wings? Who could have ever thought man would elongate his life by changing deficient organs in his body? Who could have ever thought that man would reclaim land from seas and limit the advance of mighty oceans on his cities? Who could have ever thought? Well someone obviously did. Thats why we have all the tech progress. And now am sending you this piece over the internet. It really is good to engage the mind to achieve great things.

 

So watch what you are cluttering your mind with. Engage it in progressive pursuit - think big, plan big. Plan to achieve great things. See with your mind's eye the possibillities laid out before you. Expose your mind to the great thoughts of others as penned down in books. Educate your mind. Get it to working for the good of all humanity.

 

How To Reduce Your Cell Phone Bills In A Recession - Top quality information absolutely free!

Griiinnnngggggggg……..Your phone ring tone goes off. It may also be some top dollars going off with that ring tone, if you aren’t real careful. The Global Recession, which is threatening to drive us all crazy – has everyone scrambling for cost saving measures on virtually everything. Aren’t we all trying to save costs everywhere, from toilet soap to double salamis?

So you’ve got to know what to do to reduce your cell phone bills (amongst other bills) in this recession. Why the focus on the cost of this essential? You may or may not be addicted to your cell phone like I am, but I am pretty sure its accounting for at least 15% of your recurrent expenditure monthly.

You can set goals to reduce your cell phone bills by 40%-50% over a period of time. I have achieved 40% savings over a 3 month period, and I can testify to the fact that it is achievable. In light of this, here go some essential cost cutting measures to keep your cell phone bills under check.

Discounts abound everywhere

That should be pretty obvious. You may need to shop around for cheaper services without compromising quality. Cheaper rates for text messaging, e mail, voice and video calls are being offered continually in a competitive market where loyalty to networks is constantly being rewarded or punished. I particularly like looking at new entrants into the market, or new products on offer by the telecoms companies.

 Free texting is available

I read from a site on the internet that texting was originally intended for short messaging usage by office staff who just needed to send short notices to callers to indicate they were busy in office meetings. Now text messaging is in usage in all manner of situations.

 

You should therefore explore free messaging apps and services. Some apps send your sms to your recipients via your e mail account (I use Freedom SMS on my iPhone). Recipients respond via email also . You can save anything between $5-$10 monthly this way.

 

Also explore text bundle services on local networks. Some networks offer free texting incentives for PAYG (pay-as-you-go) users, though these may be limited to free texting within the network.

 

You may also examine your texting habits. You do not need to reply ‘ok’ to every text message, except you enjoy free texting to the recipients network. Short calls within or less than a minute are also cheaper to some networks than text messages. So keep exploring.

Avoid Contract Packages

Yes you read it right. Avoid contract packages like a plague. Apart from the fact that many lack the discipline to keep their calls within limits on their various packages, and therefore rack up unnecessary expense and penalties, the billing systems of some of these telecoms operators go crazy at times. I have had to be engaged in a long dispute with a local telecoms operator over spurious call claims on my bill.

Being on a pre-paid package also enables you to be mobile, able to switch between operators who offer better and cheaper services ( as I said earlier, new entrants into a market offer good incentives to enable them penetrate the market). A pre-paid package also gives you better control and time to think about making that call or not, given the consequences of dwindling credit balances.

Use VoIP whenever you can

Services like Skype or Vonage offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services . Skype has several mobile versions so you may not need to sit at your pc all day making calls. The service also offers free calls to other Skype accounts. Generally VoIP offers cheaper call rates (where charged) and sometimes better quality. So explore this money saver. After all, if you aren’t making more money, you should research how to spend less, shouldn’t you?

Family is good

Many networks offer ‘family and friends’ services whereby you make cheaper calls and text cheaper to nominated phone numbers, or you enjoy cheaper rates within a group. Some of these are designed for corporate organizations, others for nominated phone numbers. Costs are usually halved within these nominated groups, and provide great savings on cell usage costs.

 These are just some tips. You can keep checking within your network of choice for better and cheaper options, or look outside your network for services which appeal to you. Whichever option you adopt, you can achieve goals of reducing your cell phone bills by 40% over a 90 day period.