persistence

Staying Inspired and Learning New Skills

2nd February 2022 by UBee

Are you ready for your inspirational thought for the day? When you first read it, it may seem too simple. However, if you think about it for even a moment, you’ll see that the implications are profound – and inspiring. This is it:

“Whatever goals you have in your life, and no matter where you are start, someone has succeeded at something similar or even more difficult, starting with less than you have.”

There may be some of you out of the six billion on the planet for whom this doesn’t apply. Perhaps some really want to do things that are far beyond anything a man or woman has ever done.

Want a loving partner? Somebody less attractive, charming and intelligent than you is getting happily married somewhere today. Want to create a new food and successfully market it? You probably already have more resources than Harlan Sanders had when he started trying to sell his Kentucky Fried Chicken. Want a big beautiful home? Three or more people in your town have such a home after being poorer than you at some point in their lives.

Is This An Inspirational Thought?

Anthony Hopkin’s character, in the movie “The Edge,” says “What one man can do, another can do.” He goes on to kill the bear that is stalking him. What if you aren’t as strong, as rich, or as smart as others? Not all those who have done great things were always stronger, smarter and richer than you. Just like them, you can learn the right things, take the right actions and put in the effort. This is why this is an inspirational thought. See where some people started from, and you’ll find yourself saying, “Hey! If he can do it, I can too.”

I told a guy he could save money to buy a home, and he claimed he just didn’t have any extra to save. He forget that he already knew several people who were making less money than him and surviving just fine. If he lived like those people for a while, couldn’t he bank the difference? (Just say yes – finding reasons why you can’t do something is a terrible habit to encourage.)

Would you like a date for this Friday? How? Here’s a clue: An awkward young man asked a woman friend why he couldn’t get a date. She asked if he had asked anyone out. After he thought about it for a moment he said, “No.” “That’s why,” she told him. Better example: I know a jerk who always had a date – after asking twenty women a week out. These are lessons, aren’t they? If a geek and a jerk can get a date, you can too, right?

Colonel Sanders drove around in an old van living off his benefits check as 900 restaurants told him they were not interested in his recipe. One eventually said yes, and he eventually made millions of dollars. Maybe this could inspire us to try something more than three times?

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Inspiration For New Skills

26th January 2022 by UBee

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

No matter how this topic is tackled, the question remains a mystery.

Do you need to be inspired to aspire or do you need an aspiration to get inspired?

The same holds true for the second question. Others may argue that in order to have a strong desire to achieve something, you must be inspired. On the other hand, some argue that for you to be inspired, you may need to aspire first.

This is very much like the chicken and the egg question, right? There is no definite answer. Concerning inspiration vs. aspiration, the best course of action is to discover how to get people inspired, rather than focus on which is the right answer. For some people, inspiration helps them stay motivated and become an achiever.

So, how do people get inspired?

The feeling of frustration forces some to seek inspiration. Some need to experience unpleasant circumstances to trigger an inspiration. This path may not be at all pleasant. But who says that the road to greater achievement is always smooth sailing?

Take for instance the case of an average earner. He just earns enough to make a family survive. On his way to work, he could see other people barely having three square meals a day, hardly having anything to keep them warm on a cold night, practically living on a roofless shanty with paper boards as walls. He wanted to help but can’t.

He feels helpless for he can’t do anything to alleviate their condition. This feeling of helplessness urged him to promise himself that his family will never experience extreme poverty. This feeling of frustration inspired him to aspire for a better life for himself and for his family. His fear that his family might end up like one of the economically challenged people makes him determined to do something about improving his financial stability.

Someone who is successful can be an effective source of inspiration. People tend to look up to somebody who has reached the top. They wonder how it is to be like their idol, so they set themselves on a course headed in their idols direction. They study their idols past and how he was able to overcome all adversities.

People who wish to be inspired associate with successful people. Successful people have big ambitions. Being ambitious and dreaming big dreams can keep the inspiration alive. Being ambitious is actually good as long as you do not step on other people’s toes and provides inspiration to fellow men.

A strong desire can trigger people to get inspired and aspire for it. Again, stay within the confines of good fellowship, not hurting anybody along the way. Some people desire popularity. They aspire to be well known in society. They set their sights higher and aim to be recognized and respected.

Love is a strong motivator. There was once a man who pursued his love interest. He was able to get married to the girl of his dreams. His love for his wife motivated him to do his best in his job to provide for his growing family. Love provided the spark and nurtured his dreams to aspire for the best that life has to offer for him and his family.

Many sources of inspiration can help you in achieving success in life. Arguing about whichever comes first – whether inspiration or aspiration – is not one of them. The important thing is to find your true source of inspiration and to remain focused in the achievement of your goals.

Persistence Makes for Breakthroughs

12th January 2022 by UBee

Persistance Makes For Breakthroughs with any skill

Although flying from New York to Paris is no big deal today, Charles Lindbergh flew his 3,600 mile, 33 1/2 hour flight in 1927 without a telegraph, radio or Global Positioning System (GPS). In his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh packed a few sandwiches, a couple canteens of water, 451 gallons of fuel and a few maps. Several men had attempted to fly the same distance as Lindbergh, but failed only weeks before he made his record-setting flight. Lindbergh made a seemingly impossible journey come true.

In order to maximize gas mileage, Lindbergh travelled as lightly as he could. He wore a light jacket compared to a traditional leather pilots’ jacket, which made him more vulnerable to the elements. He used a thinner seat in which to pilot the aircraft, which compromised his comfort. Since he opted to travel solo, he had The Spirit of St. Louis built as a one seat airplane. If he fell asleep, he could crash in the Atlantic. Lindbergh also excluded night flying equipment and a parachute, which sacrificed his safety. Some could argue that Lindbergh literally bet his life on flying from NY to Paris.

Charles Lindbergh proved to the world that someone can succeed without needing to use luxuries. Lindbergh did not use luxuries in 1927 or electronic navigational devices.

How many times have we complained that our desktop or laptop is running slowly? How many of us have said that our office equipment is not the greatest? After what Lindbergh endured with his record flight, just how big do your problems really seem?

Here are some of the great things that Lindbergh taught us:

1. The Spirit of St. Louis was designed and built in 60 days

Many of us complain that we don’t have enough time to do things. A single-engine airplane that was going to be flown across the Atlantic Ocean, which was never done before, was built in two months. Lindbergh, Donald Hall and a crew of 35 other men worked on the airplane. Hall worked an average of 90 hours per week. At one point, Hall worked on the plane for 36 and 20 consecutive hours. Many of us think that life was so much easier in yesteryear. History provides the contrary.

Lindbergh knew his time was limited. A $25,000 prize was offered to the first one who could fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Others had perished attempting to set Lindbergh’s record. A few weeks prior to Lindbergh’s start of his flight from New York, a couple of Frenchmen had died attempting to fly from Paris to New York. Charles Lindbergh was determined enough to have a plane built in two months and fly the plane over the Atlantic Ocean. How determined are we in a time crunch? Although we may not feel the same pressure as Lindbergh did when he attempted to set a flying record, we still have situations where more time would be needed.

Are we asking for help like Lindbergh did? Lindbergh’s dream may have been impossible without the help of Donald Hall and the 35 men that built the Spirit of St. Louis. Asking for help is no disgrace. If asking for help was good enough for Lindbergh, it can be good enough for us.

2. “Why shouldn’t I fly from New York to Paris?

Lindbergh was quoted as saying, “Why shouldn’t I fly from New York to Paris? …I have more than four years of aviation behind me, and close to two thousand hours in the air. I’ve barnstormed over half of the forty-eight states. …Why am I not qualified for such a flight?” Lindbergh put possibility out there for himself and did it!!

What is keeping us from thinking the same way? There is no reason why we cannot make a trip of our own.

3. Lindbergh did not compromise his goals

Initially, a company offered Lindbergh a plane for $15,000, but the company’s president wanted to choose the pilot and Lindbergh was not the president’s choice to fly it. Another company offered to build Lindbergh a plane for $6,000. Ultimately, Lindbergh accepted the deal and within 60 days, the plane was completed.

How often have we compromised our goals? Many of us have always wanted to write a book, an article, a poem, prose, fiction or nonfiction. Unfortunately for many of us, we have settled for what we are doing instead of making our dream of what we could be doing happen. What is stopping us from making that dream happen? We give all kinds of reasons as to why we cannot devote a few minutes a day to obtaining our goals. Fortunately, goals do not have to happen overnight. Only three percent of the population writes down their career dreams, goals and aspirations. How many of us are writing down our dreams?

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. – Goethe

What goals do you have and how determined are you to attain them? What goals have you accomplished that initially seemed impossible? Although the magnitude of your goals may not seem as impossible as Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, they are still your goals. How many of your goals have you compromised and how many goals have you achieved? Lindbergh did not settle for anything less than his goal of flying across the Atlantic. Although some of your goals may initially seem impossible, you also should not settle for anything less than achieving what is important to you.

persistence

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