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The Big Picture Horizon: Time to Soar
Men are born to succeed, not fail.
-- Thoreau
Sometimes people spend too much time focusing on problems instead of focusing on opportunities. You have to keep the big picture in mind even when minding the details, or your vision could become micromanaged in an unnecessary way. I always try to keep two wavelengths going at once, which prevents brain cramps and reminds me that I’m destined for success. How do I know this is my destiny? Because like Thoreau, I believe we are born to succeed, not to fail. If I can believe it, you can believe it too.
Here’s how. First of all, dispel all negativity. Zap negative thoughts and people the moment they appear. Remember, problems are bound to crop up, but that's not a reason to get discouraged. Even problems can be turned around to your advantage, and sometimes surprising events can happen.
Second, you have to remain determined. If you have a big picture in mind, you will need big determination to go with it. The old saying “ Rome wasn’t built in a day” is an apt one. There is no easy way, much as I’d like to tell you otherwise. But if you are doing something you love doing, that should not present too much hardship. In previous articles I discussed the tremendous difficulties faced by people like Michelangelo and Beethoven. Despite their obstacles they prevailed, and they’re still with us centuries later. It helps to know what other people have faced in accomplishing their goals. Often we don’t know how much work is required until we get into something, no matter how much research we’ve done. So, fortitude is absolutely necessary.
Then we come to the unexpected, events that happen that can thoroughly alter our plans, such as earthquakes, wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and so forth. Here’s when the theory of adaptability comes in. Are you able to remain flexible enough to handle catastrophes? Disasters happen, and aren’t always foreseen. Suddenly our big picture has a new script attached to it! Well, believe me, you can handle it if you go with the flow and remain determined at the same time. The best thing to remember here is Winston Churchill’s advice on the subject: “Never, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” We may not be experiencing the Blitz as England did during WWII, but sometimes when problems start up, they can seem much worse than they really are. Prepare yourself with strength of character to withstand discouragements as well as disasters.
People who have endured great hardship often say they survived because they kept some sort of hope going, a vision of the future, despite horrible immediate circumstances. They may not have had a big picture in mind at the time, but they had a semblance of one. Try to emulate their example. It is obviously an effective thought process for survival. Sometimes a dead end can be a new beginning.
My father used to tell us this story he thought was really funny, although I never thought it was that funny. I think he was trying to tell us something about remaining determined. Anyway, it went like this: A guy just loved soda, so he decided to go into the business, and he named his product 3-Up. It was a failure, so he started over again and named his new product 4-Up. It too failed. So he started again and named his soda 5-Up. Once again, it failed. He tried again and named his soda 6-Up, and it too failed. Well, he decided he’d had it with the soda business, and he gave up. That was the end of my father’s story! As we all knew, 7-Up became a very successful and famous brand of soda. My father's message to us: the soda guy simply gave up too soon!
We’ve had some good examples, from Thoreau to Churchill to my father, so let’s pay attention to them and keep them in mind in the years to come. I think it will do all of us some good.
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET RICH THE PIC WAY?
WITHIN 30 DAYS OF CONSISTENT FOCUS, YOU CAN MAKE IT. GIVE IT A TRY.
-- Thoreau
Sometimes people spend too much time focusing on problems instead of focusing on opportunities. You have to keep the big picture in mind even when minding the details, or your vision could become micromanaged in an unnecessary way. I always try to keep two wavelengths going at once, which prevents brain cramps and reminds me that I’m destined for success. How do I know this is my destiny? Because like Thoreau, I believe we are born to succeed, not to fail. If I can believe it, you can believe it too.
Here’s how. First of all, dispel all negativity. Zap negative thoughts and people the moment they appear. Remember, problems are bound to crop up, but that's not a reason to get discouraged. Even problems can be turned around to your advantage, and sometimes surprising events can happen.
Second, you have to remain determined. If you have a big picture in mind, you will need big determination to go with it. The old saying “ Rome wasn’t built in a day” is an apt one. There is no easy way, much as I’d like to tell you otherwise. But if you are doing something you love doing, that should not present too much hardship. In previous articles I discussed the tremendous difficulties faced by people like Michelangelo and Beethoven. Despite their obstacles they prevailed, and they’re still with us centuries later. It helps to know what other people have faced in accomplishing their goals. Often we don’t know how much work is required until we get into something, no matter how much research we’ve done. So, fortitude is absolutely necessary.
Then we come to the unexpected, events that happen that can thoroughly alter our plans, such as earthquakes, wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and so forth. Here’s when the theory of adaptability comes in. Are you able to remain flexible enough to handle catastrophes? Disasters happen, and aren’t always foreseen. Suddenly our big picture has a new script attached to it! Well, believe me, you can handle it if you go with the flow and remain determined at the same time. The best thing to remember here is Winston Churchill’s advice on the subject: “Never, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” We may not be experiencing the Blitz as England did during WWII, but sometimes when problems start up, they can seem much worse than they really are. Prepare yourself with strength of character to withstand discouragements as well as disasters.
People who have endured great hardship often say they survived because they kept some sort of hope going, a vision of the future, despite horrible immediate circumstances. They may not have had a big picture in mind at the time, but they had a semblance of one. Try to emulate their example. It is obviously an effective thought process for survival. Sometimes a dead end can be a new beginning.
My father used to tell us this story he thought was really funny, although I never thought it was that funny. I think he was trying to tell us something about remaining determined. Anyway, it went like this: A guy just loved soda, so he decided to go into the business, and he named his product 3-Up. It was a failure, so he started over again and named his new product 4-Up. It too failed. So he started again and named his soda 5-Up. Once again, it failed. He tried again and named his soda 6-Up, and it too failed. Well, he decided he’d had it with the soda business, and he gave up. That was the end of my father’s story! As we all knew, 7-Up became a very successful and famous brand of soda. My father's message to us: the soda guy simply gave up too soon!
We’ve had some good examples, from Thoreau to Churchill to my father, so let’s pay attention to them and keep them in mind in the years to come. I think it will do all of us some good.
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET RICH THE PIC WAY?
WITHIN 30 DAYS OF CONSISTENT FOCUS, YOU CAN MAKE IT. GIVE IT A TRY.
