Turning Negatives Into Positives

High achievers have the ability to turn negative situations into positive ones. They have the knack when given a lemon to make lemonade. Regardless of how difficult the circumstances are they are able to turn them into stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks.

Life is filled with negatives. They cannot be escaped. Everyone goes through difficulties from time to time. However, those who refuse to be defeated by adversity are the ones that enjoy success in life.

Robert Schuller says, “Tough times never last but tough people do.” A friend of mine says, “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!” Being tough, in this sense of the word, means not giving up or stopping short of what you are striving to accomplish.

The following suggestions will give you some ideas for turning negatives into positives.

Expect the best.
You get what you expect. This is true both in the positive and the negative. Jesus said, “As your faith is so be it unto you.” Quit expecting the worse. Don’t borrow trouble. Determine to look for and anticipate the best.

Get a different perspective.
Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. At times you have to step away from the problem and look at it from a different angle. Ask others close to you what they see. Get their input as to what to do about the current condition. Taking a break from the situation can give you a whole new outlook.

Ask questions.
When writing a story a good investigative reporter always asks Who? What? Why? Where? When? and How? Asking these same questions about your situation gives you great insight not only into the problem you are faced with, but also into what caused it, and how to turn it around.

Failure isn’t final.
It is one thing to fail it is another to see yourself as a failure. Failure is not an event it is an attitude. Just because you have blown it doesn’t mean you’re finished. By not giving up or losing heart you are able to turn your negatives into a positive. I like to look at my times of failure as learning experiences. Every time I try something and fail I have simply discovered something that didn't work. I am constatly seeking to find ways to improve what I am doing. Babe Ruth was the strike out king of baseball. But he never quit swinging. His failure isn't final attitude led him to become the home run king of baseball. So you've failed. Big deal! Get up and keep trying. Success is just around the corner!

Change the way you speak.
According to Solomon, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Your words have power. People that talk failure, struggle and negative situations all the time, experience exactly what they are speaking. Much of what happens to people is the result of self-fulfilling prophecies. Choose to begin to speak positively about your situation. Begin to declare what can be not what can’t be. Jesus taught, “A good man out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth that which is good. An evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart brings forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” What you say has an impact on what you experience.

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Release the Champion Within (Part One)

Did you know on the inside if you is a champion waiting to be awakened and released? Like a sleeping giant, the champion within is of no worth until he is awakened and released. One thing I have learned in my 65 years of life is that winning in life is an inside job!

Most people are controlled by external, rather than internal forces. We allow our environment, our circumstances, our failures, the economy, what other people do or say to us, the hurts and abuses of our childhood, the government, etc, to control the direction of our lives. We allow these things to dictate how we think, how we speak, and how we behave. As a result, we never fully maximize our potential, live our dreams, step out in faith, take risks, and become the person God has created us to be.

Now I am not, by any means, downplaying the reality of these things, but as humans, we tend to use these external forces as excuses for our lack of effort. We allow the negative circumstances of life, the problems we face, the rejection we encounter, the struggles we have, to discourage and dissuade us from being all we can be. At one point or another, we all struggle with the disease of “excusitis.”

Someone once said, “It’s not what happens to me that’s important, it’s what happens in me that’s important!” In other words, how do I allow the negative experiences of life to affect me on the inside? Do I allow them to discourage or challenge me? Do I allow them to make me want to quit or keep trying? Do I allow them to I allow them to become obstacles or stepping stones to winning in life?

True champions view setbacks as a temporary annoyance on the road to success. Even the most successful people on earth experience setbacks. Think about the great home run hitter Babe Ruth. Did you know he struck out almost 3 times more than he hit a home run? But we don’t think of him as the strikeout king; we think of him as the homerun king, a distinction he held for more than 50 years. He never allowed the fact that he struck out so much to keep him from swinging as hard as he could, every time he came to the plate!

What about you? Do you give up when the going gets tough? When obstacles or setbacks occur in your life to you quit?

The most successful salespeople understand they will get many no’s before they get a yes in the sales process. My wife, Holly, is a great marketer. She not only has a powerfully wonderful outgoing personality, but also never meets a stranger, but when she hears the word no, it doesn’t faze her. I asked her one day what her key was. I will never forget her answer. She said, “When someone tells me no, what they really mean is, not yet!” As a result when she made her living as a marketer she was very successful. She got accounts no one else was able to get, simply because she wouldn’t take no for an answer! In my estimation, she had learned to release the champion within.

As a young boy, Michael Jordan, dreamed of playing in the NBA. He believed he could be great. When he tried out for the basketball team in his freshman year he didn’t make the team. (How would you like to be the coach that cut Michael Jordan?) But, he didn’t let that discourage him. Rather than being down on himself and giving up, he redoubled his efforts. He spent the next year working hard on his game and developing his skills. He used the setback as a stepping stone to his future. You know the result. He became the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. Today, the greatest in the game right now are always compared to Michael Jordan.

Whether you realize it or not, you have what it takes to be a champion in life. Your personality type, your talents, your dreams, your desires, your knowledge, the skills you’ve developed, your strengths, and what you are passionate about, are all indicators of who you really are and what you can really do. You have on the inside of you the potential for greatness. You already have everything you need, on the inside of you, to win in life. To be a champion.

Unfortunately, most people never fully realize their full potential in life. Sadly, most people wake up to who they could have been, what they could have done, or how they could have made a positive difference in someone’s life or in the world, just before they die. I have known far too many people who on their death beds didn’t talk about what they had accomplished in life, but rather talked of the regrets they had of what they could have done but didn’t. But, this doesn’t have to be you and me.
So how do we release the champion within?

You have what it takes to win in life. There is a champion on the inside of you just waiting to be released. Over the next few blogs I will share ideas and concepts with you that you can adapt to your own personal life. In doing so you will begin to release the champion within!

Advancing In Adversity

Advancing in Adversity from Sam Verret on Vimeo.

In life we all face difficult times. How you face adversity determines whether you allow it to make you bitter or make you better! The choice is yours. In this teaching G Samuel Verret teaches you how to advance in spite of the adversity you are facing.

How to Have a Great Day

Far too many people are caught up in reliving their yesterdays or fantasizing about their futures, but few are living in and enjoying the now. Several years ago I spoke on the subject, “The curse of yesterday and tomorrow.” I spoke about the fact that if all you think about is your yesterdays or your tomorrows, and then it becomes a curse to your today.

 

Today is the most important day of your life. Your destiny is determined by what you do today. The attitudes and ideas you have today will help to determine your successes tomorrow.

Think about the following statements:

• Today is the day of Action.
• Today is when the battle shall be won.
• Today is yesterdays tomorrow.
• Today is all you have.
• Today is the time for winning.
• Today you will take a step toward your goal.
• Today must not be wasted.
• Today is under your management.
• What will you do with today?

If you are going to experience great success then you must learn to live in the present. You must quit just dreaming about tomorrow and reminiscing about yesterday. Determine to live today with all the gusto you can muster.

 

Determine that nothing is going to keep you from having a great day today. Nothing is going to keep you from recognizing the opportunities that each day presents you with.

 

Believe that something good is going to happen for you today. Having a positive mindset determines the course of your life. Jesus said, “as your faith is so be it unto you.” In other words what you believe is what you will receive. This is true in both a negative and a positive sense. If you start your day with a negative mindset, expecting the worse, then that is what you are going to experience. Conversely, if you start the day with a positive attitude, expecting the best, then that is what you will enjoy.

 

Make the decision to begin looking for and believing for the best in your life every day. Begin to say to yourself “something good is going to happen for me today.” Repeat it often until it becomes a part of how you really feel.

 

Begin each day with prayer. Prayer is simply spending time communing with God. It is what gets God involved in your circumstances. As my mom used to tell me, “Things go better with prayer.”

 

The Bible is full of teachings as to the power of prayer. Jesus said these things about prayer, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) He further said, “Hitherto have you ask nothing in my name, ask and you shall receive that you joy may be full.” (John 16:24) “What thigs you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)

 

Organize your day. Much time is wasted by people who don’t take the time to plan their days. As someone has so rightly said, “Time is money.” Start each day with a list of prioritized things that must be accomplished. Learn to manage your time so as to get the most out of each day.

 

Look for opportunities to use your skills and abilities. God has created you with certain talents and abilities that make you unique and important. There is nothing more fulfilling than doing what you were made to do and using the talents that God has blessed you with. On any given day you will encounter many opportunities to use what God has given you. Be who God made you to be not what others want you to be.

Have a positive attitude. It is very important that you maintain the proper perspective if you are going to enjoy the winning life. Many have said that attitude is more important that aptitude when it comes to being successful. While aptitude is important without a positive attitude it is powerless. Having a positive attitude is a prerequisite for using what you know in a productive manner.

 

Your attitude determines how far and how high you will go in life. We have all met extremely talented and brilliant people that are not accomplishing their dreams because of a poor attitude. On the other hand, we’ve all met less talented and less brilliant people that are accomplish great things because they have an upbeat positive attitude. The attitude you possess is your choice. Make the decision to start each day with a positive outlook and high expectations.

 

Do something kind for someone you come in contact with each day. When I was in the Boy Scouts as a young man we were expected to do a good deed for someone everyday. That was part of our motto as Boy Scouts. I still remember the positive feeling I had every time I did something nice for someone else. While most of my deed of kindness were not a big deal, it was a nice feeling to see how good you made the other person feel.

 

I have paid peoples meal tabs without them knowing who did it. I have paid toll for the people in the vehicle behind me for no reason at all. I’ve pasid for the groceries of people in line ahead of me just because I wanted too. Now, none of these things are to brag on myself, but to simply illustrate what I am talking about. Try it and see if you don’t get the same feelings of joy that I’ve experienced. If you want to have a great day, help someone else have a great day!

 

Live each day as if it’s your last. Enjoy each moment. Enjoy the company of others. Learn to appreciate the sunshine, the flowers blooms, the birds songs and everything else that you come in contact with. Make each moment count. Do the things that will bring lasting results, thins that will benefit and promote others. If you are going to experience success in life then you are going to have to begin to live in the now. Oh by the way, Have A Great Day!

 

 

 

 

 

You’re Not A Failure!

Motivational speaker and author Van Crouch says, “You’re not finished when you’re defeated, you’re finished when you quit.” Winners in life understand that failing is part of success. You can’t know victory if you don’t have a battle. There is nothing like the joy of something good happening for you like you do after you’ve experienced something negative.

The truth is “Bad things happen to good people.” Jesus once said, “In this world you shall have tribulation.” (John 16:33) In other words, you are going to have some bumps on the road to success. Things aren’t always going to be rosy. People that see themselves as winners simply pick themselves up after a setback and move on. If you have a dream, and you are actively pursuing it, you are going to fall short from time to time. It’s not what happens to you that is most important; it’s what happens in you!

Failure is not an event, it is an opinion. You are not a failure until you say you are. Every time you fail you simply learn how not to do something! We learn a lot from trial and error. Jay Leno, host of the Tonight Show, spends his Sunday evenings going to comedy clubs and practicing his jokes for upcoming monologues. Some go over well and some bomb. But he is not deterred. Just because a joke fails doesn’t mean he is a failure. He learns from his mistakes and continues to hone his craft. The result is success when he performs his monologue on a nightly basis.

Winners are not people that never get knocked down; they are people who refuse to stay down. There is something in the heart of a champion that won’t let them give up regardless of what they are going through. We’ve all witnessed it watching sporting events. Just when you think there is no way a team or an individual has a chance to win, they find a way to win anyways. They understand that they aren’t finished as long as they don’t quit. Failure is not in the falling down but in the giving up!

Two of my favorite people from history are Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln. It is reported that Thomas Edison did 10,000 experiments before he found a filament for the light bulb. Someone once said to him, “so you’ve failed 10,000 times.” His response, “No I found 10,000 things that didn’t work!” Abraham Lincoln failed at business and numerous forays into the political arena before he was elected the sixteenth President of the United States of America. He goes down as perhaps the greatest or at least one of the greatest Presidents of all time. The common denominator between both of these great men of history is they never viewed themselves as failures.

Here are some questions to ponder in your pursuit of accomplishment.

• How do you see yourself?
• Do you see yourself as a success or a failure?
• What do you do when what you are attempting doesn’t seem to be working?
• Do you give up and quit?
• Or, do you get up and find a way to do it anyways?

My challenge to you today is that you begin to see yourself as the winner God says you are. Refuse to let setbacks hold you back from fulfilling your life purpose and accomplishing what you are capable of. Choose to use failures and setbacks as stepping stones to reaching your goals and enjoying a successful life! Say like the Apostle Paul of old, “I can do all things through Christ which gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) You are not a failure!

What Is Your Dream?

We are back on track.  Have had some trouble getting our blog posted.

Yesterday, across the United States, we celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Of all the men who have lived in my lifetime, perhaps none has been more influential on our society, than Dr. King. This one man, through the power of a dream, set in motion the thoughts, ideals, and actions that brought about unprecedented change to the very culture of our nation, and many nations around the world.

On August 28, 1963, in Washington DC, Dr King delivered a speech that goes down in history as one of the greatest speeches ever made. The “I Have a Dream” speech has been rightfully compared to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, as not only one of the finest speeches ever made, but also as a turning point in our country.

Someone has said, “The world belongs to the dreamer.” Everything that has ever been created or developed started as a dream or idea in somebody’s mind. Take a look around you for a moment. The computer on which you are reading this blog started as a dream. The chair you are sitting in was somebody’s dream. The clothing you are wearing is the result of someone’s dream. The car you drive started as someone’s dream on a drawing board. You get the point. Without a dream nothing is created or accomplished.

You will never enjoy success in any venture if you don’t have a dream. Having a dream of what you want to do, accomplish, or become in life is the foundation for personal success. The key to your future is found in the dream you possess and pursue. Centuries ago the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon wrote, “Without a vision (dream) the people perish.” One translation says, “They cast off restraint and run wildly.”

There is no future if there is no dream. In order to become all that God created you to be, you must begin to see beyond what is to what can be. See beyond the present.

Here are seven things I’ve learned about dreams:

Dreams give you purpose. Life is meaningless without purpose. In order to be fulfilled in life you must have a purpose or reason for being. Your purpose in life is found in the dream of what you want to accomplish.

Dreams give you direction. They help you to have the right priorities and objectives. They give you something to aim at. Dreams help you do what you were created to do.

Dreams help you focus. Through having a dream you are able to fully concentrate on what needs to be accomplished. We are all faced with many things in life that can distract or deter us from what we were created for. Dreams help us to not be distracted.

Dreams motivate and inspire you. They are what give you a passion for life. When you truly have a God-given dream you think about it all the time. It fills every waking and sleeping moment. You become obsessed with it. It encompasses everything that you do. You eat it, sleep it, drink it, talk about it, study it, read about it and pray about it. It is what gets you up in the morning. It is something you can’t wait to get up and pursue.

Dreams keep you going in spite of adversity. When you have a God-given dream it doesn’t matter what opposition comes your way, it can’t stop you. Adversity cannot slow you down, deter you or keep you back, when you have a dream. It doesn’t matter what comes your way, lack of finances, health problems, interpersonal relationship problems, a dream gives you a reason not to quit or give up. A dream will cause you to be persistent. “Quitters never win and winners never quit.”

Dreams are the seed to your future. What you dream about today determines where you will be tomorrow. The key to your future is found in the dream you have today. Instead of accepting life as it now is, get a dream of where you want to be and what you want to do.

Dreams must be acted on. I saw a sign not long ago that said, “Don’t just dream it. Do it!” Dreams can produce powerful results, but only if acted upon. At some point in order to accomplish great things, you must put legs on your dreams. They can only be effective if acted on.

Action Steps:

1. What is the BIG dream God has placed in your heart?

2. Are you pursuing it? If not why?

3. Do you have a plan in place for seeing it become a reality?

4. What is standing in your way to it becoming a reality?

5. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to see it become a reality?

 

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