GREAT SOULS HAVE WILLS

By: Nelson Boswell

I was taking a walk in the park early one morning and just missed seeing the last punch of a fist-fight. When I got there only one of the participants was leaving, tucking in his shirt and searching around for his school books in the wet grass. As I helped him gather his book, I asked who won the fight. “Well,” he said, “usually I can beat that guy, but today I lost. After a moment’s consideration he added what I call a profound thought for a 6 or 7 year old. He said, “I guess I wasn’t mad enough.” Then he hurried off to catch his school bus and left me musing over his remark.

It reminded me of another true story that happened several years ago. The 3-year old daughter of a friend of mine somehow managed to squeeze behind their refrigerator and then was unable to squeeze herself back out again. Her father, in his alarm, pick up the refrigerator in his two arms and moved it enough to let the child out. Tony is not a large man and ordinarily would be strained to the limit by a large bag of groceries, but that one powerful emotion of concern for his child swept away all inhibitions and supposed inhibitions and he was able to do the seemingly impossible.

In a way that’s what the little freckle-faced philosopher was talking about. When one emotion reaches a peak of intensity, it enables us to accomplish far more, than we might have thought we could. You can probably think of some examples. It seems to me I’ve read of cases where an accident victim was rescued by someone whose emotions had such a pitch of intensity that he could lift flaming wreckage off the person pinned underneath.

Mahatma Gandhi once said that strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. And I think this is where we can apply this in our own lives in striving toward our goals. If we set our mind toward a specific goal, the next step is to focus our energy toward achieving it. And that means to drive away all the inhibitory ideas and images that get in the way.

If you’re trying to reach a goal, just keep your mind on wanting it and why you want it. Keep a center of emotion driving your will. Get mad enough to do it, like the little boy, or do it for someone else’s welfare like my friend Tony; or do it for an ideal like Mahatma Gandhi. This is what character is all about. It’s the will in action. It’s the impulse to get something done driving away the inhibition not to do it. There is an old Chinese proverb that says,”Great souls have will; feeble ones have only wishes.”

(The original source of the above material is The Nelson Boswell Program.)

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU FROM REAL SUCCESS?

There are definite keys that can make your business, your family, your LIFE, more successful.

By: Roderick C. Meredith

Why do many assume that life should be drab, mediocre, uneventful? It’s time you ask yourself that question and find out how to achieve lasting success in life.

Roughly speaking, there are three broad areas of success for the average individual.

What is success?

First is the satisfaction coming from the continued mutual sharing of love, affection and fellowship with family and friends. Certainly this is an extremely important area of life–and one that will make anyone’s life more complete if handled properly.

A second major area for success in life–and one that is often put first–is the area of business, career and financial success. This, of course, involves much more than making money. For the intelligent person, his interest in and satisfaction from the building of a successful career or business is one of the high points of life.

In this area of life, everyone will certainly acknowledge that there are definite keys which can aid one greatly toward progress and ultimate success.

The third area of life in which success should be achieved is the personal and spiritual sphere. This, of course, may have different meanings to different people.

However, there is no question but that the ability to find out why you are here, where you are going–whether to excel or not and in what direction are basic questions needing to be understood for true success in the personal and spiritual aspects of everyone’s life.

Define Your Goals and Plan to Succeed

It becomes imperative that within the three areas mentioned, and perhaps in others of your own choosing, you define your specific goals.

For instance, in the “family, friends and social” areas you may have definite feelings about the type of family and social life which will fit your background, personality, and ability, and give you a deep sense of personal satisfaction and fulfillment. If you are a bachelor, you may have in mind a certain type of girl who will best complement you and happily share with you your overall “family-friend” goal.

If you already have a family, perhaps you may realize the need to become a more effective parent and have the loving, obedient and disciplined children which you realize will make your life, their lives and the lives of others more happy.

In the “business and financial” area, you may genuinely wish to remain in the field in which you find yourself. Your goal may be to become more effective and more successful in this field through developing better attitudes and more successful working methods.

Or if you are young or just starring out, you may wish to charge the field of endeavor in which you are now beginning. This, of course, is not an action to take lightly and should only be done after much thought, wise counsel and advice.

In all-these areas of life, however, one thing is certain–you must find out your own basic tendencies, strengths, talents, abilities as well as weaknesses and dislikes. Then you need to choose and chart your own course toward success. Otherwise, you will simply lose by default and be buffeted about by circumstances and the winds of chance to a final destination of mediocrity or object failure.

So in each of the above areas of success, define your own personal and practical goals.

Do be practical and reasonable and take your own talents, tendencies and weaknesses into account. But on the other hand, insist that your goal be high enough to give you something to reach for and satisfy your own deep down realization of what success for you should be in each particular area.

Area by area, write these goals down.

Have a purpose–plan for the future. Kindle within yourself a sense of enthusiasm, drive and anticipation of achieving your worthwhile goals.

Then begin to work toward these goals systematically and continually. Think, read and educate yourself toward achieving each cf these goals. Don’t go overboard or become unbalanced. Use wisdom and common sense. Get the advice and council of others whom you respect on how best to achieve the goals you have in mind.

Remember that unless you want events and blind chance to control you, you will have to set your sights and master yourself and your environment. You will have to define your goals–absolutely determine to succeed–and drive toward achieving your goals with relentless zeal and enthusiasm!

(The original source of the above material is unknown.)

MOTIVE AND AIM

Know where you are going!

Know how you expect to get there!

ONE: Determine what specific goal you want to achieve. Dedicate yourself to its attainment with unswerving singleness of purpose; the pure zeal of a crusader.

TWO: Develop a PLAN for achieving your GOAL, and a deadline for its attainment. Plan your progress carefully; day by day, month by month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellspring of your motivating power.

THREE: Develop a sincere desire for the things you want in life. A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action. The desire for success implants “succeeds consciousness”-which in turn creates a vigorous and ever-increasing “habit of success”.

FOUR: Develop supreme confidence in your God and the ability to let him work through you to do all things. Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Who can be against us is God is for US? Concentrate on your strength, instead of your weakness, LOOKING UNTO JESUS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH. Look unto His power…not your problems. Have faith in HIS strength. Do not look unto your weakness for or as an excuse for failure.

FIVE: Develop a determination to follow through on your plan, regardless of obstacles, criticism or circumstance. Construct your determination with sustained effort…controlled attention…and concentrated energy. Opportunities never come to those who wait,,.they are captured by those who dare to ATTACK!!

(The original source of the above material is unknown.)

HAZARDS TO YOUR PLAN

1. Premature satisfaction! Being content to be satisfied with a lesser goal, because the best costs you more effort.

2. Doubt…about yourself and your ability, This is lack of faith in your God to do for you what he has promised. This causes worry and confusion to take over.

3. Procrastination..,putting off important decisions; hesitating to take considered risks, hoping the problem will take care of itself.

4. Devotion to false symbols. A surrender to egotism and stasis seeking, coveting the title of the job instead of concentrating on better ways of doing the job.

5. Complacency. The surrender to the inner urge most everyone has to “take it easy”, being satisfied with “good enough” instead of “good”, and “good” instead of excellent.

6. Loss of Purpose, No mental provision or concrete plan for going anywhere else. No plans for higher goals. Your first plan becomes the end instead of a means to a higher goal.

7. Breaking the 4-minute mile was more a result of mental attitude and conditioning than of physical conditioning and training. You must first make up your mind and convince yourself that you can break a record before your mind will allow your body to do it.

(The original source of the above material is unknown.)

MY STRATEGY FOR PERSONAL GROWTH

________________________________________________Date

________________________________________________Age

________________________________________________No. Years to Age 65

I,________________________________________________________, am committed to enlarging myself, my ministry and my church. I humbly commit myself to this plan of action.

MY PURPOSE IN LIFE: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MY PERSONAL OBJECTIVES

Spiritually

A.*_____________________________________________________________________

B.*_____________________________________________________________________