Be Smart; Know “Smarts” Ain’t The Answer
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”~Albert Einstein
Many of us may not give this quote a second look. Some have actually laughed at it. However, when they recognize Einstein said it, at the very least it gives them pause. However, sadly, most of us really don’t take the time to truly understand its significance.
Consider for a minute: If mankind worked only from what we know today, how could society progress?
For the purposes of ingraining Einstein’s message further, draw your own time-line on a sheet of paper. Now, mark the middle of it with a small vertical line (as above), and to the left of this vertical line, write the words “past/knowledge”; to the right, please write “future/imagination.”
Pep Talk
Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.
~Winston Churchill
Guest Post by: Suzanne Grenoble
What might I share with your audience?
Aristotle once said: “Excellence, then, is not a single act, but a habit.”
So, the reverse must hold true: Failure is not a single act, it is a habit.
Who knowingly practices the habit of failure? None of us, I am sure. But tiny things erode our success. It is the small detail that sets us back. For example, the habit of blaming others prevents us from changing ourselves. So this habit might be part of a framework of habits that surround failure.
There is no doubt that neither failure nor success are guaranteed. We control what we put out, and how we deal with feedback. If our efforts come to nothing, we can make improvements in our practice, or we can make excuses to avoid working on weaknesses and liabilities.
The choice is daily, and the choice is ours. Look at the success stories of history. Winston Churchill is credited for saving England from total collapse under Nazi bombardment. Yet he experienced failure, and depression. For Churchill to live through World War II and the Allied Victory, only to be voted out of office when England had arrived safely in the harbor of peace, must have been a blow. Yet he is remembered for his valor and deep belief in England and in freedom, not for petty politics. He endured when others gave up, because he knew those who had little courage or faith needed him, and he came through.
We pick ourselves up and carry on, we set our sights high, and we do not settle for anything less than the best of ourselves.
I think success is the habit of catching the little things, of starting over, and of aiming high, day after day. Success is indeed a habit, the habit of believing.
——
Suzanne, Thanks again! Wonderful post and appreciate you sharing!
BTW: All others, we are accepting guest posts if YOU are interested and brave like Suzanne submit your post to {Mitchwsteel AT G m A iL .C Om} oneword. We will review and put in the queue!
peace
~mws
Reconstructing The 3 C's
Whoopie! For the second time now! (maybe 3rd!?) It’s happened again – we’ve been hacked!
for those of you who’ve stuck it out through our significant downtime, THANK YOU! Appreciate your patience.
The webhost has taken some of the responsibility and when i find the time i’ll share Ma.tt ’s post about the situation (wordpress & netsol). It’s pretty classic.
please enjoy the site once again (share) and we’ll have some new content soon.
Note: comments are now OFF as we’ve lost hundreds in the first attack. oooops. what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and we’re practicing what we preach here.
cheers.
~mws
Write Your Own Obituary; The Best Advice Nobody Ever Gave Me
You might consider this the ultimate “begin with the end in mind” exercise and, really, it falls perfectly in line with one’s attempt to create their ideal future – their success.
Rest assured, there isn’t a greater ‘end’ to consider than YOUR END- (your death/departure from this planet).
So, if it’s helpful to ‘begin with the end in mind’ for goals and projects you can bet it’s pretty darn valuable for your life.
For those who haven’t heard the story there is a terrific anecdote about Dr. Alfred Nobel. What you may not know is that while today everyone hears his name “Nobel” and thinks “Peace Prize” originally, this was far from the case.
In fact, turns out that in 1888 a French paper erroneously proclaimed “The merchant of death is now dead.” The story went on to explain that the man who invented and patented dynamite (his original claim to fame) and a faster, cheaper, quicker way to kill people died in a fatal explosion. As you might expect, a very alive and able Dr. Nobel read this account of his death and its merciless headline and was mortified by the prospect that his lifetime work and his legacy would be relegated and labeled synonymous with death and destruction. This was not the legacy the good doctor had in mind.
Turns out, after reading his own obituary he instantly knew he had to redefine just what his life was to mean; what he was to represent and how he wanted to be remembered.
Drum roll please…
So, here’s a couple KEY questions for YOU to answer…
What do you want your life to represent?
How would you like to be remembered?
Courage; A Call To All Creatives…
“We do not try things because they are hard,
they are hard because we do not try them.”~Seneca
Is that you? Are you NOT trying “hard” things…
The 3 C’s of Succcess was written for YOU or “a really good friend” designed to showcase the absolutely essential ingredients necessary for you to “Create Your Ideal Future” – your SUCCESS!
So, back to YOU. I’m calling on those creative and courageous souls who have an inspirational story or lesson to share based upon any one of the 3 C’s; Creativity, Character & Completion.
So, what is it that keeps people from achieving their ideal future – their success? YOU tell me.
Please submit any content for posts at “mitchwsteel (AT) Gmail (.) com.
never forget “It’s ALL a choice.”
peace
~mws
Time: Don’t Manage it – Channel it
Time may be the ultimate illusion but in the final analysis it’s is all we have. Consider that without it there literally is nothing else, not within our perceivable, physical realm. And with it, seemingly all possibilities exist.
Yet how people “manage” their time is ultimately what separates those who achieve their ideal future – their success, and those who don’t. On the most basic level, “success” becomes a derivative of time management. But, the question is; do high achievers really “manage” their time or do they do something else? Do they regard time differently?
PERCEPTION & RELATIVITY
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. Now THAT’S relativity.” – Einstein
Not only is time relative – it’s illusive. more »
Amazon, “Inside the Book” Tour
Now that The 3 C’s of SUCCCESS is selling on Amazon; honest, quality reviews are requested and welcomed. Even if you’ve only downloaded and read the FREE version, (yes, there are a few of you) please consider taking a few minutes to share a review. Feedback is the breakfast of champions as Ken Blanchard likes to say.
It’s been remarkable to watch the book go from a sales rank (about two weeks ago) of #1,879,087 in sales all the way up to the X00,000’s! The 3 C’s isn’t being distributed through any big publishing house. To date, there has been no concerted marketing effort - this is essentially a grass-roots effort, sold through a micro publisher.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, with some very modest early success in sales, we’ve decided that it made a great deal of sense to reward the two non-profits who were largely responsible for the inspiration of the work; Big Brothers Big Sisters and Junior Achievement.
Proceeds to the tune of $1 per book will go to each non-profit. My direct experience volunteering and working with these fine agencies the last 10 and 5 years respectively helped to inspire the book and we want to make certain their fantastic missions and visions are realized to support and inspire our great country’s youth.
Thanks so much for the continued support. ***Just added, check out this youtube video i found clearly demonstrating the power of positive role models! INCREDIBLE!
Enjoy.
~MWS
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When there is no “Why?” 9 Lessons in Achievement from a “Crazy” Man
Brilliant. astounding, outstanding and remarkable
There aren’t enough superlatives for MAN ON WIRE!
Things have been a little busy lately – and wanting to get to this “review’ / post since I saw this movie well over a month ago! Man on Wire is incredibly entertaining movie and not just for the never-to-be-repeated, remarkable feat itself (tight-rope, in this case wire-walking from one World Trade Center tower to the other) but, also, for its direction, production, and original footage.
I happened to see this movie (wifee’s recommendation) just before the Academy Awards (no surprise it won for best documentary). The story features Phillipe Petit and his mission to realize his life’s dream of walking a tight rope between the two world trade towers. The brilliance from a production standpoint is the reenactment is interspersed with some fantastic original footage. But, what makes the movie truly so powerful and riveting is the UNDERLYING THEME.
We are all walking a tight rope.
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Ten Great Life Lessons from a Legend; Coach John Wooden
Success is the peace of mind which is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you made the effort to become the best at what you are capable of becoming.”
~ John Wooden
Whether you like basketball or even know what a basketball is — chances are you will love this man! At 98, John Wooden is still regarded a quick wit and sage to many players, coaches and friends seek his friendship and counsel. To give you a little flavor, this from the same article referenced above.
“When asked about the keys to successful aging, Coach was quick to respond: stay busy, stay active, enjoy every day like it is your masterpiece, have some variety and try to learn something new every day,” Castel said. “One of Coach’s famous quotes, ‘When I am through learning, then I am through,’ illustrates his lifelong commitment to learning.
“Make everyday your masterpiece!?” I almost let the brilliance of that comment escape me. It sounds too cliché, right? “Make everyday your masterpiece.” Wow! That is super powerful. If I could only possess that type of presence, that type of awareness – to make each encounter, each moment of each day a masterpiece. In order for each day to be a masterpiece, each moment would have to be a masterpiece. By definition that is what a masterpiece is right? All pieces/component parts masterfully interwoven to produce magnificence? I ask you, just what affect would that have on my life’s outcome?
And, “Lifelong commitment to learning.” Sound familiar? more »
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Steve Jobs, Synchronicity, Connecting the Dots & Trust
Stanford Commencement Address 2005.
Mr. Steven Jobs; Monster-Entrepreneur, Apple & Pixar CEO, Super-Hero Extraordinaire
“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward.” ~Kierkegaard
Every time I see this speech I’m awed by the number of gems Steve shares. I find it interesting to overlay these anecdotes against the backdrop of my personal experiences. His tales of opportunity, following his heart, continuous learning, failure, humility, and of course, mortality are both profound and inspiring.
However, I ask you, “How unique are they?” Just how rare are these “coincidences?”
The question I encourage you to ask is, “where are the parallels?” Surely you recognize you don’t have to be CEO of a couple fortune 500 companies to notice that, ultimately, the song remains the same; that these synchronistic events happen daily for everyone. The real question is not, “how rare is this?” But rather, “How aware am I to the events and all the possibilities?”
Think about it. One day Jobs is walking eight miles to eat at a Hare Krishna Temple – the next, he’s revolutionizing the computing industry. A slight exaggeration perhaps. However, the point is not to be lost, those were two very real “stations” in his life separated only by awareness, purity of intent and of course time.
