Motivation Articles, Essays, Tips and Advice

Boldness is a necessary part of courage but it must be a boldness based on an intelligent assessment of the potential risks and rewards. The wonderful nature of boldness is that, properly directed, it builds the habit of courage in the person who practices it.

Act Boldly in Every Situation…
In my experience, any virtue translated into action leads almost invariably to positive results. This applies to integrity, persistence, courtesy, love and courage. I’ve always liked the advice of an old man to his grandson. “Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.”

Take a Leap of Faith…
Perhaps the most obviously important part of courage is the courage to step out in the face of uncertainty. Every great venture in the history of man has begun with faith and a giant leap into the unknown.

General Douglas MacArthur said, “There is no security in life, only opportunity.” The creed of Frederick The Great, one of history’s most successful leaders was, “Audacity, audacity-always audacity.”

Launch With No Guarantees…
A 12-year study of successful entrepreneurs conducted by Babson College concluded that the only thing they had in common was the willingness to launch, to step out in faith. Once they had started, they learned the lessons they needed to succeed. Many of them ending up successful in completely different businesses from where they started.

Dare to Go Forward…
Dare to go forward. Successful companies are invariably those that continue to research, develop, experiment and introduce new products and services – even during the deepest recessions.

Successful executives are those who are continually stretching themselves to move out of the comfort zone, to face the twin fears of failure and rejection and to move forward in spite of them.

Action Exercises:
Here are two ways to develop greater boldness in your work and personal life.

First, just do it! Step out in faith! If you think of some action you can take to improve your life, give it a try. You may be surprised.

Second, when in doubt, act with audacity. Audacity may get you into trouble but even more audacity will get you out. Go for it!
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Brian Tracy is one of the world’s leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

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Today’s your day.

I’m convinced of it.  It’s your day.  And today you’re going to get up all your courage and just do what you’ve been aching to do.

Just before you begin taking the first actions in attacking your challenge, you might be shaking like a leaf. I don’t know.

But it’s at that moment, when you’re feeling the most frightened that you’ll be making your biggest strides. Because today, you’re not going to back down.  You’re going to take a deep breath and go forward.

Are you guaranteed success?  Will you reach your goal for sure?  Will you absolutely get the outcome you’re hoping for?

Not a chance…

But you’ll prove to yourself and everyone that thinks that sometimes you’re a dead person who just hasn’t been buried yet, that you’re alive and starting to kick.

People who know me well can tell you that I have failed at more things than I have succeeded at.  But every time I get thrown for a loop, I immediately jump up.  I ask myself what I should learn from it.  And if I have to, I start completely over.

So many years after my “awakening,” I’m still growing as fast as I ever have.

I remember my football coaches yelling at me after getting knocked down to “Get up!  The play’s not over yet!”

It’s true…

In your own life, when you make a mistake or get laughed at, if your immediate response is to put your head down and start crying, you won’t be able to see the next opportunity that’s passing right in front of you, riding in the wake of your agony.

Get up!

I’m your coach now.  Don’t you dare give up.  Not while I’m breathing will you ever again put your tail between your legs and turn away from what might be your greatest accomplishments.  I won’t accept that from you.

Not from you.  You’re too good.

Is that an odd way to describe your failure and humiliation?

Well, whenever you’ve succeeded at getting your way at just about anything, it’s rarely been on the first try. Right?  It’s usually been after being told ‘No’ a few times, or screwing something up a bunch of times before finally getting it right.

Well, isn’t that true?

Take that template for success and place it over everything you want to do.  Everything.

When you think about some goal that seems quite a stretch for you, and the thought comes in that says, “I couldn’t do that,” stop and place your previous success template over it. Know that no matter how big it is, if you just “remember” that, while it might be difficult, you can do it.  And you’re already half way there.

Do this all day today.  “I can do it” needs to be your mantra.

If you do, I promise you that your muscles will be stretched.  Your mind will be stretched. And those goals that “looked” impossible will suddenly seem do-able.

It’ll be like you’ve been given a new pair of eyes. Don’t just sit there… Get up.  Today’s not over. It’s your day.  Tomorrow may never come.  Today is your whole life.  Do what you fear today.  You may never have another chance.  Take your shot. Oh heck.  Take 20 shots. And take them all today.
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What if you had the same minute-by-minute thoughts as the super successful? Mike Brescia has developed the ultimate mental conditioning programs that can help anyone wipe out intense fears and enjoy huge successes in all areas of life. Learn more about these powerful programs here.

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I remember Navy boot camp like it was yesterday. An event that occurred on my second day still causes me to pause when I reflect on it. You can tell a new soldier who has just arrived at boot camp from one who is about to graduate based upon the clothes and ribbons they wear.

It was clearly my second day, evidenced by what I was wearing. I was walking single file with my unit down a hall and a sailor who was just about to graduate passed us.

He must have noticed my expression. It without a doubt said, “I am tired, intimidated, scared and hungry.” You can’t talk when walking in formation, therefore he whispered out of the side of his mouth as we passed, “Hang in there…you can do it.”

I turned to look at his face, but all I saw was the back of his head. Every night before I drifted off to sleep I replayed those words. I will never know that sailor’s name. He will never know how it turned my attitude around 180 degrees. He will never know that years later I still remember the electricity of encouragement that shot through my body.

I knew that the only reason he knew what I was feeling is because he had been where I was and felt what I felt. He had made it and wanted me to know that I could as well. I was eternally grateful.

Then it was my turn. On my graduation day, I walked into a storage facility and saw three sailors leaning up against the wall. They were new and scared, intimidated, tired and hungry. I walked over to them and whispered, “Hang in there…you can do it.” Within one second tears filled the eyes of the female sailor and one of the males clenched his fist and gave me a million thanks with his eyes.

As I walked away I had goose bumps. I knew that my words would be motivation for the rest of the day and fuel every night to keep them focused on their goal of graduation when they wanted to quit. I hope they passed on the encouragement to another sailor before they graduated…and I know they did.

If you are in a valley, then remember this. Others have been there (including me). Hang in there. You can do it. Whether your goal is boot camp graduation, building a business or a raising a family… since others have done it… you can too. Hang in there.

If you are at a peak, do not underestimate what a few kind words of encouragement might do for those around you.

Many find it odd that at this point in my career that I am in the Naval Reserves. I generate more income by one person attending my seminar than I do in my one weekend a month. When I was activated, I earned a fraction of my current income. But, I do it because it is right for me and in my heart I have to. I also do it because the lessons like the one above are invaluable to me. I hope you found some value in it as well.
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Ron White has spent almost 2 decades training business professionals and students on how to improve their memory, grades and income. He is the 2009 US Memory Champion and has broken a national record by memorizing a 167-digit number in 5 minutes. Take a moment to learn about Ron’s all-time, best seller, Memory in a Month program.

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Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision. Perseverance is making the decision to have courage every day, day after day.

The late M. Scott Peck said that the absence of fear is not courage – the absence of fear is brain damage! No fear requires no courage – big fear requires big courage.

In today’s world, a successful life requires the courage to take risks, and the determination to persevere through all difficulties. Today, I’d like to share a dozen ideas for confronting your fears with courage.

Recognize the difference between anxiety, fear, and worry. Anxiety is a generalized sense of dread – the black cloud on the horizon.

Fear is a reaction to a specific object or event – the raging storm overhead right now. Worry is the projection of fear into the future – a forecast of more raging storms tomorrow.

We use those terms interchangeably, but properly diagnosing your emotional state can help you avoid becoming your own worst enemy.

Anxiety is the most painful emotion because it has no object, and thus there is no sense of control over the emotion.

Thus, the mind strives to transform anxiety into fear, giving the illusion of control by identifying the object to be feared. The higher your anxiety level, the more apt you are to inappropriately assume that events or people are to be feared (paranoia is anxiety on steroids).

When you catch anxiety building, take a deep breath and calm down – the world is a much more friendly place than the anxious mind wants to acknowledge.

Fear is a Fantasized Experience Appearing Real. It is also a Fabulous Excuse for Avoiding Responsibility. Don’t let fantasized dangers prevent you from pursuing your most authentic goals and dreams and from becoming the person you are meant to be.

Talk to your fear – what’s it trying to tell you. Are you unprepared for something? Are you on the wrong path?

Give fear a name and it becomes just a problem – it’s easier to solve problems than it is to conquer fear. For example, if you are afraid of losing a job, the problem is that you have not made yourself indispensable.

Of course, no one is indispensable, but the more you work on making yourself valuable at work, the safer your job will be. And if you lose the job anyway, those efforts will help you land an even better job all the quicker.

Talk back to your fear. Fear is a cowardly emotion that will back down when it is confronted with strength and resolve.

Caring is the root of courage. When you care enough about something, you will find the courage to do what you must do to conquer your fear. When confronting fear, catalog the things you really care about – there is no more powerful source of motivation.

Fear breeds in ignorance. If you’re struggling with your fears, go to the library, pick up the telephone, Google something. When you shine a light on the shadows, you often find that the monster of fear dissolves into a mouse of timidity.

Fear can be a prison more confining than any iron bars. Action is an emotional hacksaw that can set you free. It doesn’t have to be a grand sweeping action that resolves all your fears once and for all (in fact, it won’t be), but what can you do right now that will help you confront your fear?

Be today, see tomorrow. Here’s what I mean by that. When you are afraid of the future, keep your attention in the present, on the work that’s right in front of you, and let tomorrow take care of itself. But when the source of your fear is right there at the door, keep your vision on that future time when everything has worked out far better than you ever would have imagined.

Internalize Wednesday’s Promise of The Self- Empowerment Pledge: “I will do the things I’m afraid to do. Sometimes that will mean asking for help to do that which I cannot do by myself.”

Consider the words of Jonathan Swift: Keep your fears to yourself, share your courage with others.
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Joe Tye is America’s Values Coach. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit www.JoeTye.com

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Do you have a definite purpose that guides your ambitions, vision, and goals?

It doesn’t matter how you think you arrived here on this planet or under whose direction – the fact remains that each of us has specific talents and gifts that are uniquely coded within our own DNA.

As you go through life, you don’t just pick up things you like doing by chance. You discover what you’re good at because you were meant to discover it, just as you were meant to figure out what your fingers do, and how your elbows work.

Your unique gifts are hardwired into your system just as surely as your lungs are given their blueprint to breathe.

And it’s from these specific talents and gifts that you’re able to define and determine your definite purpose… the reason why you’re here.

What’s in you cannot be found in another living human being. In fact, it’s quite possible that what you bring to the table hasn’t been duplicated – ever – since time began.

That’s right! This “purpose” is serious business.

If you fail to determine your definite purpose, everything else is wrong. It’s like working with a broken compass – you may think you’re going North, but you’re not. You’re not sure which direction you’re heading, so, you’re just wandering aimlessly.

Without your purpose identified firmly in your mind, you will wander through life, never quite feeling that you’re “in the flow.” I say, then, that it’s imperative you recognize what it is you’re good at – what it is you really love to do.

Your purpose in this lifetime is to do the thing that you love.

People will tell you they already know what they’re good at, and what they love to do most, but they’ll never earn money doing it. Whoever gave you that idea?

When you’re sorting out your purpose, I don’t want you thinking about that non-issue at all. You can earn money at anything. Once you determine your purpose, you won’t even have to think hard on how to earn money – it’s as if you’re being guided by an unseen hand, heading in the right direction… and everything falls into place.

The key to your life is not that you settle for the “safe” thing that will bring in the money. The key is to turn and do what you really love. Fall in love with an idea. That’s your life! That’s your purpose.
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If you enjoyed the article you just read from Bob Proctor, you’ll definitely want to take a moment to learn more about his life-changing program Six Minutes to Success!

-Is there anything you would like to share on this topic? Do you have any ideas which might be helpful in identifying ones purpose, talents and gifts?