THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS- IN WORK AND IN Life

* Self -imposed limitations impose a ceiling above you, so look to
extend yourself to your full potential. The human mind is an amazing
thing which can be expanded.
Like a telescope!

* Use your imagination.

* Self discipline is an acquired habit. Teach your children this habit
(and other good habits...but not point one!) when they are young.

* Establish other good habits. Start your day early. Use your most
productive time and especially, your first hour wisely - when you are
most alert (if ever?).

* BE ENTHUSIASTIC and AVOID DISTRACTIONS.
I think enthusiasm is a vital key to success. You have to enjoy what you
are doing and not merely "go through the motions".

We all have choices in the way in which we are going to live our lives.
We can also choose the attitudes we are going to take: whether we are
going to hold a positive or a negative outlook on life. Far more on this
intriguing and complex subject later; but it is critical to whether you
achieve success or not.

So make DAILY AFFIRMATIONS or short positive statements to yourself, eg.
say, "I am on the right track", or "I can do it". These positive
thoughts encourage you, especially if they are repeated frequently. The
effects of daily affirmations are that they imprint upon our deeper
consciousness, which reflects in the way we function. They make you feel
better about yourself and in so doing enhance your confidence.

"A pessimist is one who sees a difficulty in every opportunity.
An optimist is one who sees an opportunity in every difficulty..."
- anon.

It is best to have a positive self expectancy by looking at "the bright
side of life". Mexican wisecracking golfer, Lee Trevino is one of the
world's greatest optimists. He visualises each shot having the best
possible outcome - dropping in the hole. Whereas the weekend "hackers"
in all spheres of life often think what can go wrong with each shot. And
it often does!

It doesn't happen every time that Lee gets the ball in the hole, but it
happens a lot more than most others. Time for a book on sports
psychology, perhaps!

Many successful sportsmen and even ordinary happy people EXPECT success
and happiness. And they get it...

It's all in ONES ATTITUDE TO LIFE.

Always bear in mind..."the greatest pleasure in life is doing what
people say you cannot do."
- Walter Bagehot

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do"
- John Wooten

Whatever you do, be enthusiastic and avoid distractions. Focus totally
on your task at hand. American President Franklin Roosevelt said ..."the
only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

Are your fears holding you back? Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Take the blame and the credit for your position in life honestly and
openly. You alone are responsible for it.
Break your routines:
Remember,
"If you always do what you've always done,
you will always get what you've always got". Make sense?
Spend 30 minutes alone each day to meditate. Contemplate your life and
where you're heading.

Seek and talk to a person who currently is doing what you want to do
most and doing it well. It doesn't matter how humble or famous they are
or what it is they do: acting, singing, or merely being a good
parent...or just a hard "plodder". Get advice from the "experts".
When we talk of success we usually think of winning: the topic of the
next section. Not that we all can be winners in every aspect of our
lives.


Who and what are winners?:

* Winners take responsibility for themselves. They know what they want
and set realistic goals for themselves.

* Winners make it happen, losers let it happen (but then losers I
believe are only misguided winners). "Losers" probably lack only a right
attitude, maybe a bit of knowledge or perhaps motivation or direction at
crucial times.

* Winners have a positive self image. They read biographies of famous
people. They watch educational and inspirational cassette tapes for self
improvements, as well as stimulating television programmes in general.
Winners have a quest to gain knowledge and make the most of themselves -
they know their time is limited and precious and so they make the most
of it.

It is easy for you to become a winner too. You can read positive books
and other inspirational works. Like this one. You can listen to
motivational tapes, which can also serve to improve one's attitude to
life. At first I was very sceptical, but they definitely do work if you
allow them to sink in through repetition (it is not brainwashing, but
controlled learning). I feel I am learning something new every day.
There is such a great amount of truth and knowledge to be found in
books.
Feed your mind continually with positive thoughts.

Remember to take time out to relax and unwind. Before the mind can be
relaxed, the muscles must be. A relaxed body makes for a healthy mind,
which can absorb information more easily. So you can watch the
"soapies", if that gives you enjoyment and relaxes you! But DO EXERCIZE
as well. I definitely don't get enough of that. Winners visualise
success and positive outcomes to their endeavours and they know when to
relax. Remember how and what you think determines the way your life will
turn out; because our thoughts determine our attitudes.

It is said that winners have only 5% of the available talent, but have
95 per cent of the drive. Usually there is not such a great difference
between the world's top sportsmen, in terms of pure talent. Much of what
distinguishes the winners amongst them comes from the mind... thinking
positively that you are a winner and handling pressure. Think of the
sportsmen who got to the top through sheer hard work, far more than
their natural talent. I often think of a small man, like South African
golfer Gary Player. A man not physically endowed (sounds rude!), who was
out-driven metres and metres by the far larger American golfers. He was
always at his best when the "chips were down". Not French fries.

Remember, on your journey to the top (if that's what you want ...and
it's not for everyone), sheer hard work and DETERMINATION is just as
important as your intelligence and ability. It is most probably the
single most important step on your stairway to success.

To be successful yourself, associate with winners - not because they are
successful people whose coat-tails you want to hang onto. Rather,
because they are positive people who have achieved something in life, no
matter how small it may be. They do not have to be rich and famous - as
long as you enjoy their company... and them yours. There's nothing wrong
with admiring or envying them as role models.

Ask yourself: Would I like to "fly with the eagles, or scratch with the
turkeys"?

NB: Remember

"Success comes from 90% perspiration and 10%
inspiration"
- famous American inventor Thomas Edison and one of the men who has had the
most impact on the world in the twentieth century.

THE FORMULA TO SUCCESS:

As I see it...

CONCEIVE + BELIEVE = ACHIEVE

VISUALISE + INTERNALISE = REALISE

SUMMARY:

THE STEPS TO SUCCESS

There are a number of important factors that make people successful in
achieving their personal goals... and I believe goal-setting is the key
ingredient to success. These, I believe, are the crucial ingredients:

* Have a VISION of what you'd like to be. What thoughts would you like
to change? Where do you want to go?

* Belief in oneself and the ability to succeed.

* Good self esteem.

* Self confidence.

* Self discipline.

* A burning desire to achieve your pre-set goals.

* NB: Personal integrity and good ethics. This is of absolute
importance.... because once you lose your integrity, you've lost
everything.

* A desire to give something back to society and to invest in people - a
very worthwhile life mission. If you help people get what they want and
achieve their full potential in life, so will you.

* Having worthy goals which benefit oneself and others.

* Consistency and commitment.

* An ability to avoid distractions.

* Affirming oneself daily.

* An ability to take calculated risks.

* An ability to learn from your mistakes and overcome the fear of making
them.

* An ability to handle stress well. Most important in today's fast-paced
and ever -changing world.

* Exercise.

* Relaxation.

* Self motivation.

* Try looking at yourself through other's eyes.

* Talk yourself and others up (through self-affirmations)..

Project a positive self image as often as you can. It's not always
possible though, as we all feel discouraged from time to time. It's
perfectly natural. The difference is that winners can pick themselves up
when down.

Remember always the only limits to your accomplishments in life are
self imposed.

* NB: Have a winning focus and a positive attitude.
At least as often as you can.

Stay positive and determined, even when "the chips are down".

Concentrate and contemplate.

Practice and be patient.

Keep pen and paper handy (to write down new and better thoughts and
ideas). I keep them by my bedside. Not the thoughts; but pen and paper!

Try to understand your unique personality make up.

Be COMMITTED and PERSEVERE.

Draw on and develop the courage that is within every one of us.

Finally, continually keep your eyes fixed on your ultimate goal, your
grand purpose in life. What are you trying to do with it? You can yet
achieve it, no matter how far you are down the track of life. I
sincerely believe that.

Then have absolute FAITH in yourself and in a Higher Power... and His
plan for your life (which is God speaking to you through imagination and
inspiration).

* * *

To end off, a few quotations which help inspire me often in my personal
journey...

"Be bold and unseen and mighty forces come to your aid"

"The greatest risk in life is to risk NOTHING...
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and
becomes nothing..."

- Norman Vincent Peale.

"Only the person who risks is truly free. A man's conquest of himself
dwarfs the conquest of Mount
Everest".
- N.V.Peale (again).


The key lies in FINDING YOUR PASSION: what drives you and presses your
"hot buttons"..


"A passion for anything will ensure success, for the desire
of the end will point out the means"
- William Hazlitt

"Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it".
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


Whatever you want or desire in life, remember Hamlet's words written by
the great English playwright, William Shakespeare:

"To thine own self be true".

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Just remember,

You are launched on a great journey
and...

"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir the blood to action,
make big plans, aim high in work and hope"

- D. Burnham