Fear can so often paralyse its victim rendering dreams and success ineffective. So, how do you overcome it?

FEAR or rather (False, Expectations, Appearing , Real) must be recognized for what it it. Ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen and what 2 things could you do in that scenario. Once you have got that out of your system do not dwell any further on that but instead consider what it will cost you NOT to take the action you have opted to take. Further more it is important to understand that as much as fear attacks everyone it is not a NATURAL emotion. The Bible teaches that, God has not given man a sprit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. Fear is destructive if you allow your mind to focus on it.

Information is a wonderful thing but sometimes too much can be destructive. In our modern world we are daily bombarded with info from multiple sources whether that be newspapers, radio, TV, emails, magazines, books, brochures, internet and so forth and so on.  It is knowing what to give time to and what not to give time to that so often separates the successful from the average man on the street. So much time can be spent and often fruitlessly when we just accept all that is presented to us when probably 80% of what we look at/listen to serves us no real and immediate purpose. My proposal to you if you want to experience more success is to be more pro-active when deciding what you will give your time to -is it really worthwhile reading 20 emails each day when you could delete 15 of them without having to even open them. Does reading the newspaper build you up for the day or does it depress you. Get really picky and ask yourself of the info you are about to digest will help you meet your priorities - your purpose? In the same way that you decide intelligentlywhat to eat and what not to eat you can decide what info to spend your time on and what to lay aside.

Just a quick reminder that although technical expertise and subject knoweledge are an important part of success it is vital to realise that it is the ’soft skills’ that make up about 80%  of Success. By ’soft skills’ I largely mean things such as attitude, interpersonal skills, language and belief. So, just as getting the technical expertise and subject knoweledge is something you would pursue when setting up a new venture or making your dream a reality - stop to consider where you are with regards to the ’soft skills’. It just may mean the difference between success and failure!

Outwith the basic desire to succeed at something there is one component that is absoloutely crucial when it comes to success. That component is INFORMATION. Information on how to succeed. One of the things that sets apart those who succeed from those who dont is an ‘enquiring mind’. Those who determine to ’seek’ out the next step - the treasures hidden in secret places. The Bible teaches that if you ’seek’  you will ‘find’. This applies to every arena of life. For most people however this is not something they put into practice and instead of applying themselves to a seeking mentality they expect/hope what they need will just fall out of the sky for them - with no effort involved. Alternatively, they choose to believe that those who are successful are just more ‘lucky’ than others. This of course is not the case. Although we were created to succeed we were also given the privilidge and responsibility of being participants in the process. Sourcing information does take time, perserverence and the right attitude but always yields results in the long term. Often, the information you are looking for comes in bits and pieces - a little from one source and then a little more from another. It takes time to learn and process and most importantly - to apply the information you have gleaned. In life anything can happen at any time - you could lose everything in an instant in todays turbulent times. However, IF you have learned new skills and other types of life changing information then you have the ‘raw’ material from which to begin again - even more effectively. Glean learning not only from the ‘good things’ but also from the more difficult challenges you move through in life. This will help to set you up for a life that is ‘rich’ in more ways than one. So, start today to be more open, follow your intuitition, explore, study those you admire - look and EXPECT learning to come your way - crave it and receive it. Enjoy the experience and rise beyond the experience of ‘average’.

I really believe that true success is bigger than financial rewards/achievements and goes right back to fundamental attitudes and practices such as respect for yourself, others, the environment -including the very food we eat. I have learned over the last few years that we really ARE WHAT WE EAT. When you understand this it changes the way you eat - what you look for when it comes to food purchases as well as other types of goods. You start to ask more questions and to look for certain labels identifying  what I will term the RESPECT level of the product  you are considering- is it local, free-range, organic, fair-trade and so forth. Considering the quality of life of the animals that you are choosing to consume will give you a clear indication as to whether or not the meat you will eat is from most contented animals who have lived out a natural life or as in many cases the animals are stressed, sickly and/or demented. These kind of choices always have a knock on effect to your long term health and well-being. Consuming sickly/stressed flesh should tell you something about how your body will be able to utilise it. It is the same when buying other foods such as fruit and vegetables. Have they flown from the other side of the world? Does it have any nutritional value? Have the products been cruelly tested on animals? Of course you don’t want to get obsessive about it but on the other hand neither do you want to be ignorant about these factors either. Making gradual changes to some of your shopping habbits is the best way to go about it. Remember as in everything - what you sow is what you reap. So next time you are out shopping ask yourself how you are showing respect to yourself/others buy what you are buying and most of all enjoy the pleasure of making more informed, successful choices.

One thing to always do a regular review of when you are not getting the desired results in life is to analyse the Input you are allowing into your life. What/who are you listening to/watching? Does this build you up and empower/encourage you or does it do completly the opposite? We  largely become the product of the Input we receive. We receive this Input  primarily via the gateways of our eyes and ears which then forms the basis of our thoughts. Our thoughts laregly determine our beliefs (beliefs are repeated thoughts). Our beliefs determine our actions and consequently our actions determine our RESULTS (our Output). Therefore, to change our results it is necessary to go all the way back to the Input we allow into our lives.

I  was thinking about an excuse that came up for me today when something I was working at just wasn’t coming easy.  It would have been so easy for me to just say - you know that’s true I may as well quit on this. Then I realised what I was doing and stopped in my tracks - I was listening to a really good excuse and momentarily accepting it. I am sure everyone has at some time or other given up on a dream/not pursued their passion because of an EXCUSE. They are even more convenient than fast -food and readily available at all times.  They seem to be the great ‘get out of sticking with it to the end’ clause and cause the abortion of more successes and dreams than anything else. Everyone of us, including those who have achieved great success are suseptable to them. Most people bow to them and give up/let go of what they were pursuing because of them and consequently remain in the mediocre zone.   However, it is worth noting that there is an alternative to this and it is simply deciding that you will no longer bow to the great excuse but that it will have to bow to you and your success. If you want to be successful at anything you must keep this attitude in the front of your mind. When you have a bout of the excuses bring to your remembrance the predominant reason  behind what you have set out to do - the ‘passion’ of your pursuit. This will help you to overcome the excuse and put it in its place.

I heard an interesting piece of info yesterday re - research into the average American IQ which was quite disturbing. It seems that when IQ’s have been tested over recent years they have been dropping the standard a little  bit at a time. The question then begs, WHY are people getting dummer? One reason for this I believe is the amount of  TV and computer games people spend so much of their time in front of. It bypasses the need to use our creativity and indeed much of the rest of our minds.  Consequently our minds become sluggish and cells die off. Of course there is a place for chilling out in front of the ‘box’ but it is worth bearing in mind that there are lot’s of things one can do to relax/de-stress and stimulate your mind and creative flow at the same time such as dancing, painting, potting some seedlings, reading, writing anything from poetry to defining your life values and assessing if how you are living matches up to them. We were designed to be creative and to use our imagination. It is inbuilt within our design. Einstein himself recognised this when he said,” Imagination is more important than knoweledge.” Apart from anything else, being involved in mind stimulating activities keeps us energised mentally, emotionally and physically. It keeps us vital and engaged with life which in turn helps to keep us more youthful. Is there really any need to say more to encourage you to switch off the set and do something more creative?