Super Bowl Achievement

"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." ~Napoleon Hill

Another American NFL Football game was completed last night. The 44th Super Bowl in which the winner of the American Football Conference plays the winner of the National Football Conference for bragging rights. Last night it was the Indianapolis Colts (NFC) taking on what for many years were the hapless New Orleans Saints (AFC).

I don't mean to bore you with football statistics and aim to get you excited about American football. World soccer, rugby and many other sports have their own fans. What is interesting is that in each sport, there is always one team that never seems to quite make it.

In American football, one of those teams are...excuse me...were the New Orleans Saints. With their famed "Who Dat" slogan, they kept believing, kept dreaming of achieving one of the greatest rewards in American sports.

Achievement, an overnight success story one might say that was 43 years in the making. During that entire time, a whole lot of dreams were dashed and disappointment seemed to always find its way in. Pretty much like life in general I would say.

Each of us have dreams of achieving some level of greatness. The "journey" can be a spiritual one or a physical one. Either way, the journey is a process leading to some level of achievement that will have dashed dreams and disappointment along the way.

We will change things up, the players we once had in our lives will leave and new ones will enter. The journey will take a team effort of support and guidance as we seek the goal. Our connections to others will be a great force to help achieve the "overnight" success.

The New Orleans Saints could have settled for winning a couple of games each year. But they kept dreaming and striving for even greater achievement. And you need to keep dreaming and striving for greater achievement.

Battle the disappointment, battle the dashed hopes, battle those things that will get in the way. You will get there and the feeling will be astounding.

The New Soap Box

“Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.”

~John Wesley

Each of us will at various times get up on our 'soap box' and evangelize our thoughts. It might be in a meeting at work, at the dinner table or in a crowded room filled with party guests. An opinion or belief will get expressed to the masses.

There have been great speakers going way back in time. Well before the biblical time of Jesus up until today, many have spoken from their own pulpit. And you may have been speaking from a pulpit and not even realized it. They come in all shapes and forms, but are real regardless of what they look like.

The above quote by John Wesley is one that I learned many years ago. Now while John Wesley was a a co-founder with his brother of the Methodist movement. But he 'evangelized' in open-air places. To bring good works to the community outside the church walls.

In today's world, I stand on my 'soap box' called a blog that reaches a fair amount of people through BLOGGER, TWITTER, FACEBOOK and other sources. I do what I can to bring goodness to others and to encourage them to do the same.

My soap box is much different then the old wooden one...

The Certainty Of Possibility

"When nothing is sure, everything is possible." ~Margaret Drabble

While in New York on business recently the above quote was used in a presentation at one of my meetings. It was used in the vision being presented for this year. It was meant to inspire and push people to excellence in their pursuit of success.

It stuck with me as the day wore on and had me thinking about how it can be applied to everything we do. "When nothing is sure", pretty much describes what life can be like. A birth, school, marriage, divorce, job, money and even with death, nothing is sure.

One could think back to the days of the Cold War when a concrete barrier called the Berlin Wall was erected not to keep people out, but to keep them in. The uncertainty of ones life and would this wall ever come down. People dreamed of the day it would happen and it did eventually. Many thought it never would, but the dreams overpowered the uncertainty. Today the German people are no longer seperated by a wall, today they live with greater possibility.

We can spend all of our time concentrating on these uncertainties. Will my baby be healthy and smart? Will our marriage be all that I dreamed it would be? Will a divorce be the end to all that my life was ever going to be? Will I achieve my full potential in my job and have enough money to live a comfortable life? Will the death of someone close change everything.

The answer to these questions is yes and no. The answer to these questions is that "everything is possible" when everything is unsure. Events and circumstance will occur in your life. One aspect of your life may end or be radically changed. But it also means that a new chapter is beginning and you have limitless possibility.

So instead of worrying about the uncertainty, focus on possibility and see your life expand.

New Game Or Continue

“When you are in the valley, keep your goal firmly in view and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb.” ~Denis Waitley

The game is played and you reach a point in which failure occurs. Mario couldn't jump the deep gorge; the race car veered off course; maybe the wall of Tetris bricks fell down around you. When this happens, you get two choices presented. One selection is to start a "NEW GAME", while the other option is to "CONTINUE".

Similarly in the game of golf, if you flub a swing, you have the opportunity for what is called a mulligan. Some call it a do-over or something that allows you to take another swing at the ball.

Yet when it comes to life, we only get this one to live. We can't start over our lives in order to avoid mistakes made. What we have is the ability to continue on with our life. All we have to do is make changes in how or what we are doing and then press the "CONTINUE" button.

Keep your eye ahead of you, towards the road further on. Find a different path, find a different way and continue on with your life. A NEW GAME may not be possible, but a NEW WAY is.