EASY TO SAY, DIFFICULT TO DO

"Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all."

Ovid (BC 43-AD 18) Roman poet.

Not sure what Ovid had to worry about but whatever it was it couldn't have been much.

If it had he'd have known his advice is easy to give, very difficult to follow.

Difficult, not impossible.

You can manage what you choose to worry about, how you manage your fears.

And the more you do the better at doing it you become.

EITHER WAY, THE CHOICE IS YOURS

"If you've made up your mind you can do something, you're absolutely right. If you've made up your mind you can't do something, you're absolutely right."

Unknown

Interesting isn't it?

Your success or failure both begin with the same choice.

HOW HIGH WILL YOU THINK?

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) British politician/author.

But there are no limits on how high you can think, just what you think.

Fail for reasons other than you never had the thought, or never acted on the thought you did have.

HERE'S WHERE YOU START

"It's not about ideas, it's about making ideas happen."

Scott Belsky

American entrepreneur/founder Behance, Inc.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, maybe a quarter adjusted for inflation.

Planning, execution, hard work make the idea worth something.

EXCUSE ME, PLEASE CONSIDER THIS IS YOU HAVE A MOMENT

"Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business."

P.T. Barnum 19th century American showman/businessman

The least invested and not just in business.

We all could and should be so much more civil in all aspects of our lives.

Check your anger, you will get back what you give.

POWER WANDERING

“Not all those who wander are lost.” 

J.R.R. Tolkien, 20th century English author

from "The Fellowship of the Ring"

Not every path you take will take you where you'd like to be.

The problem is, which paths do you take, which should you not.

A bit of wandering can help.

YOU HAVE WINGS FOR A REASON

"If there was one life skill everyone on the planet needed, it was the ability to think with critical objectivity."

Josh Lanyon, American author

from his book "Come Unto These Yellow Sands"

And the problem has nothing to do with one's level of education; many and probably most college grads are content to simply follow a path prescribed for them by someone else.

But the best are the few ready to go a different way, one they select.

Which are you? 

Which will you be?  

NOT LUCKY ENOUGH?

"It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it."

Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658) Spanish philosopher/writer.

Buying lottery tickets is fine.

Buying lottery tickets as though your life depended on you winning is not.

Continue your education (no education should ever be considered complete), plan, work hard, and you'll be amazed how much luckier you are.

WHO WILL CONTROL YOU?

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self."

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) Greek philosopher.

Very important.

You won't control much of anything until you are able to control yourself.

WHY LEARN?

"Studies serve for delight, for ornaments, and for ability."

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman/philosopher.

Ability for what your knowledge will enable you to do.

Ornament for the favorable view others will have of you because of what you know.

And delight for the enjoyment you will feel resulting from the interesting things you will learn.

For all these reasons your education should never be considered complete. 

NO STRAIGHTLINE SUCCESS

"To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet/playwright.

And in the beginning of your quest for success there is little but steep hills; obstacles you must overcome if you are to succeed.

Take your time, keep going, and your chance for success increase greatly.

ON SECOND THOUGHT . . .

"Thinking is only a process of talking to yourself."

Unknown

A process we don't do often or well enough.

I think possibly the biggest "thinking" mistake we make is thinking we've clearly thought through all our thoughts.

What do you think?

YOU'RE NOT DEFEATED UNTIL YOU QUIT

"Failure is in a sense the highway to success, as each discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true."

John Keats (1795-1821) British poet.

Each failure should cause us to seek what is true, however, unfortunately, all too often that's not the case. 

Instead many simply give up.

Total failure only happens when you no longer try to succeed.

NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET RIGHT, JUST DIFFICULT

"There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences."

Jack Welch, retired business executive/chemical engineer.

Hopefully mostly good choices but often not.

Never stop trying to get this right.

It's your life, the only one you have, and not only do your choices affect you they affect those you care about as well.

FROM WHAT YOU ATTEMPT COMES ACCOMPLISHMENT

"The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts."

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist

You'll accomplish as long as you try, not always but often enough. And the more you try, the more you'll accomplish.

THE PATH TO SELF RESPECT

"When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet deep down in his private heart no man much respects himself."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist/writer/lecturer.

Right and wrong; you know what it is and if you are to respect yourself you must live your life accordingly.

Easy to say, difficult to always do, to the point that no one always does what they should while not doing what they shouldn't.

But the more you do the more respect you will earn from others, starting with you.

INDECISIVE INACTION

"Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between the fear of death and the hardship of life; they are unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how to die."

Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher/playwright.

Our fear of what may come often outweighs our fear of what is.

While not a solution, remember this, it may help if you become more decisive.

What may come, possibly something worse, will more likely come as a result of you doing nothing.

And given thoughtful planning and action on your part there is a better chance that what will come will be preferable to what is.

SIMPLIFYING THE OVERLY COMPLICATED YOU

"Man is an over-complicated organism. If he is doomed to extinction he will die out for want of simplicity."

Ezra Pound (1885-1972) American poet/critic/intellectual.

Our world grows more complicated each day, so much so there is no way to comprehend 1/1000th of all that it is.

So your first requirement is to determine what your focus will be.

What interests you, what do you wish to do? There will likely be many, so many you will need to prioritize. 

When you know, create your plan to make that happen which is most important to you.  

IN THE AVOIDANCE OF REGRETS

"Four things come not back. The spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, the neglected opportunity."

Arabian proverb

There's little you can do about a misspent past life, other than committing to not repeat past mistakes, including words you wished you'd never spoke, emotional and maybe physical harm you wished you'd never done.

The most difficult to do is taking advantage of opportunity, starting with recognizing what it is and what it is not. 

WHAT YOU WORK FOR, NOT WHAT YOU WISH FOR

"God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them."

German proverb

If you prefer some higher power alternative to "God", by all means, use what works for you.

The sentiment remains.

Opportunities are everywhere but you have to work to earn them.

Goodbye

The end is at hand.

Eight years of Business Wisdom.

This, number 1,933, the last.