I believe the purpose of your life is to find and do the purpose of your life - your truest passions. For me, it's writing self-help books. For others, it's creating new technology, designing various products, learning medicine -- and at least one person was put on this planet to invent that little plastic doohickey which holds up the pizza box.
I recognize there are many challenges on your path to greatness, and you can offen grow discouraged. But far too often it's not outside circumstances which stop you - but your internal beliefs. Far too many people get in their own way of greatness - by telling themselves what I call "Blame Excuses" and "Mythtaken Thinking."
For example, right now you might be telling yourself you're too old, too broke, too inexperienced to snag your passions. If so, let me tell you about a guy named Colonel Harland Sanders.
When the Colonel first tried to sell his chicken recipe he was 65 years old -- with only a small pension -- a tiny bit of money in the bank -- and an old Caddie roadster. His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe to restaurant owners, who'd give him a residual for every chicken piece sold -- a nickle per chicken.
He knocked on the first restaurateur's door, and was greeted by a NOPE. Second door: NOPE. Third door: NOPE. In fact his first 1008 sales calls all served up a NOPE. Still, the Colonel continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA, sleeping in his Caddie to save money.
It wasn't until prospect number 1,009 that the Colonel received his first YES. Then, after two years of making daily sales, he had only signed up a total of five restaurants. Still the Colonel kept knocking on doors, staying passionately focused in the belief that his golden fried chicken would create a big pile of gold.
Finally by 1963 the Colonel procured 600 restaurants across the country to sell his Kentucky Fried Chicken! In 1964 he was bought out by a multi-millionaire -- who made The Colonel a multi-millionaire himself.
I love this story - because it's an "against all odds" tale. The Colonel was a senior citizen, with no money, entering a new field - and yet he succeeded! How? He knew how to fuel his greatness instead of fueling his fears, insecurity and excuses. Robert Louis Stevenson said it well when he said: "To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying amen to what the world tells you that you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive."
Below are some soul-energizing, FUEL YOUR GREATNESS tips:
1. WRITE MAKES MIGHT: I'm a big believer in the power of writing lists, writing in a journal, writing in a schedule book. Writing helps to clarify and organize your scattered thoughts and goals. If you never write down your thoughts and goals, they remain wishy washy vague ideas. And wishy washy vague ideas become wishy washy vague plans which bring wishy washy lousy results. It also helps to put your motivational lists and crystallized goals in places where you might see them often -- and thereby not fall off the Greatness Bandwagon
2. KNOW THAT "SEEDING IS BELIEVING." Overnight success rarely happens overnight. But it doesn't mean it's not a-comin' when it's slow in a-comin'. You know how if you plant seeds, it takes time for the fruits of these seeds to grow -- push up through the ground's surface? Ditto on your new thought seeds and habit seeds. They take time to manifest into the change you are seeking. Hence, while you're on your path to greatness, it's important to keep reassuring yourself that what you see with your limited short-term lens is not necessarily what you are getting in your long-term future. It's essential to recognize that seeing is not always believing. However, SEEDING IS BELIEVING. What you seed is what you get. If you are seeding positive thoughts and positive habits, then success will eventually blossom. Remember: The universe's delays are not necessarily the universe's denials.
3. REMEMBER: MONEY DOESN'T BRING YOU HAPPINESS, BUT HAPPINESS BRINGS YOU MONEY. Studies show that the more positive you are, the more positive results you achieve in life. Some of this is because of "The Law of Attraction." And some of this is simply "The Law of Logic." After all, happy people have more energy and positivity to jump over obstacles in a single bound - or a few bounds. Plus other people prefer to work with positive peeps. Whatever the reason being happy literally PAYS. A recent study reported by Marci Shimoff stated: "People who are happy earn $750,000+ more in their lifetime than others."
How can you keep yourself joyful during your challenging pursuit of greatness? Eat lots of fish, for starters. Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln preformed a study which showed that high fish-eating countries like Japan and Taiwan have very low rates of depression, while low fish-eating countries like Germany and the U.S. have high rates. Indeed, overall, major depression is 60 times more prevalent in countries where little fish is eaten. Preferably eat your fish in a "supercharged meal" - which means having your healthful fish, with some healthful carb (brown rice), and some healthful greens (salad or spinach). Plus whenever you're stressed/depressed it's especially important you take empowering vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements. I particularly recommend supplementing with NatureMade's SAM-e. Basically SAM-e is a naturally occurring molecule produced in your body that is there to help regulate your mood. When you're stressed, SAM-e gets depleted, which increases moodiness and irritability -- two success-busters you want to avoid!
If you do all the above, you'll be destined for greatness for sure. And not only will you achieve absolute pride in your fabulousness, you can also achieve a little added fame (be in a documentary film) and fortune (win one thousand buckeroos) by submitting your tale of greatness story in this Fuel Your Greatness contest here: www.NatureMade.com. Go get 'em, tiger! Remember: No Blame Excuses and Mythtaken Thinking allowed!
Follow Karen Salmansohn on Twitter: www.twitter.com/notsalmon
When you say "what you seed is what you get" what are you thinking in terms of people like Martin Luther King and Ghandi who both got shot to death? I'm confused by this. Maybe in your philosophy getting shot for trying to seed love and peace follows...? I can't see the connection but I'd love to hear how you see it.
I appreciate your openness and willingness to share your ideas and hear out mine. Best of everything to you.