Thank And Grow Rich
July 18, 2007
By Rebecca Fine
No, that title isn’t the written expression of my old Okie* accent kicking in. “Thank” is EXACTLY the right word! (My apologies to the late Napoleon Hill, author of the classic, Think and Grow Rich.)
Gratitude is like a muscle. It takes regular exercise to strengthen it and make it strong. And if you find yourself in a situation where it SEEMS like there’s nothing much to be grateful for, you’ll find it of little avail to try to FORCE gratitude. It’s slippery that way — kind of like trying to force yourself to sleep when you’re wide awake.
In those times, the key is simply to relax and just let yourself be WILLING to be grateful. To just let yourself look around with “soft eyes.” I heard it said once that there is no one who has so little that gratitude is impossible — and there is no one who has so much that gratitude is inevitable.
It’s a choice. In every moment.
Once your gratitude muscle is toned up from regular use and repetition, you’ll find things that were formerly difficult become effortless — just as walking up four or five flights of stairs doesn’t “wind” you when you’re in shape.
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Your Dark Side And How to Benefit From It
April 12, 2007
Why It is So Difficult to Live at Maximum Power…and How You Can Turn Your Inner Darkness to Your Positive Advantage.
Now I am going to talk about something that is the last thing that you would want to talk about. Your dark side (notice I didn’t say I would talk about mine:)
—Jesus Christ, the Gospel of St. Thomas
The darkness we have within us is what psychologist Carl Jung calls”our shadow”. A person may consider these aspects of them self bad, evil, or unwanted. After all, that is what darkness is right?
The archetypal belief that dark equals evil makes it difficult to gain power from the darkness within. For if you do, then social ideas about right and wrong, good and bad can restrain your passions and deepest inspirations.
The purpose of my writing today, is to ask you this question: What is it that you might have locked away inside of you that you would not like it to see the light of day? These are the very things that properly cared for and nurtured could be the source of some of your greatest power for good.
In your quest to discover them you must venture with light into your own darkness. This is a task that naturally we are not inclined to do. Read more
Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success Still Standing
April 4, 2007
At the age of 96, living in Encino, California and making 20 to 30 speeches a year, former UCLA coach John Wooden still keeps in touch with more players than he could name in one breath, including Bill Walton, Andy Hill, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Keith Erickson, Keith Wilkes, Mike Warren, Kenny Washington and John Vallely. And those are just the ones he has breakfast with on a regular basis. But that only seems natural for a leader whose “Pyramid of Success” includes friendship, loyalty and team spirit as three of its 15 blocks.
Wooden has been called the greatest college coach in history thanks to a long list of accomplishments, including a record 10 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship titles. But for him, it’s not about the number of wins and losses: It’s about how the game is played.
In fact, his players say they don’t recall their coach ever stressing the importance of winning a game. For Wooden, it was about sticking to the fundamentals. “On the first day of practice, I remember him saying, ‘I’m not going to be talking to you about winning or losing because I think that’s a byproduct of our preparation. I would much rather be focused on the process of becoming the best team we’re capable of becoming,’” says John Vallely, who played under Wooden on the 1969 and 1970 UCLA national championship basketball teams.
- Andy Hill on how Coach Wooden helped him become a good leader
- Coach Wooden on how he created his definition of success
- Coach Wooden on what he’s most proud of
- John Vallely on how the Pyramid of Success applies to all aspects of life
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the importance of preparation and the fundamentals
- Bill Walton on what Coach Wooden has taught him about basketball and life
Building the Pyramid of Success
Wooden’s famous philosophy on coaching and life has become ingrained in the minds of his former players and continues to guide many of their lives today. But Wooden didn’t create the pyramid with basketball in mind; he worked on it over a 14-year-period, aiming to create a new definition of success. While teaching high school English, he saw parents criticizing their children for receiving less than an “A” or “B.” That’s when he knew he needed to find a way to pass on his message that success isn’t just about how much stuff you have or how powerful you’ve become; it’s about finding peace of mind.
After completing the pyramid in 1948 while coaching at Indiana State University, Wooden coined his definition of success as, “Peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” Wooden says that even though he had new ideas about the pyramid throughout its building years, the cornerstones–industriousness and enthusiasm–have always remained constant.
Mastery Over Mediocrity In 3 Steps…
April 1, 2007
Sticking with it and staying at the top of your game is one of the most difficult skills we ever have to master. Yet, it is the one thing that will determine if you succeed in life - or not.
How many times have you been close to reaching a goal or dream - gotten tired of the struggle - quit - and then realized a month or year later just how close you really were to your dream coming true?
It happens all the time - yet it doesn’t have to be that way.
There are ways you can keep yourself going - despite the setbacks - and despite your natural instinct to stop and try something else.
People are funny that way - the first sign of resistance (which many of us create ourselves anyhow) and we run with our tails between our legs. Meanwhile - it is a simple test to see how much we truly want our dreams to happen.
If you keep going - you pass the test and your dreams are much closer.Bail out - fail the test and start over again - dreams further than ever.
How do you stick with it - despite all the naysayers in your life telling you otherwise or that little internal voice that is telling you to run, run, run?
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