A friend who has a highly successful career in fashion says his secret is being able to deal with the unforeseen. That is what problems are - events that we do not always make
allowances for or expect. His to-do list is never done at the end of each day, he says, because he has had the unfore- seen events to deal with. Rather than seeing them as prob- lems, he makes the unforeseen a series of challenges, and deals with them in that way.
Thomas Edison, while trying t o find a filament that would light the world's first lightbulb, struggled for months and made hundreds of mistakes. Every time h e tried an unsuitable material, h e simply took t h e view that he had eliminated another possibility. When asked by a journalist how h e felt t o have failed time after time, Edison replied that h e had not failed: he had successfully found many ways that did not work. This attitude kept him motivated and positive, and he persevered until he found the solution t o the challenge he faced.
Do you prefer problems or challenges in your own life? Think of a problem you have, whether it be to meet a deadline or deal with a particular person or situation.
Notice how that feels.
Now repeat this, but this time say: The challenge /have
is
Notice how that feels.
You probably know, having read this far, that the words we use and the words we hear really do have an effect on the way we feel. People in general much prefer challenges to problems. Challenges do just that: they challenge us to do them. Problems are things we wish we never had to deal with.
Be aware of how often you use the word 'problem' in your life. When you next find yourself using it, stop and replace it with the word 'challenge'. You might find the idea of doing this daft or silly, but have a go.
How to Be Successful
What does being successful mean to you? When asked, a great many people will define success as being when they have achieved something or reached a particular goal. Strange, what about all the times in between? You are being successful even on the way to achieving a goal. Start being successful at being happy, and judge your success by how happy you are.
One of the secrets to doing this successfully is to love what you do and do what you love. We know this is not always easy, especially if you are in a job that you don't like or in a difficult relationship. But make a decision to enjoy what you do now, in the present, because that is what it is, a
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I t o be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
present, and it won't come round again. You are making your future now, so make the most of it.
After all, if your life is not the way you want it to be, who is responsible? Fair enough, your parents, siblings, relatives, partners, teachers and friends might have played some part, but come on, who is ultimately responsible? Are you really willing to change your life and take on new habits, or do you just think it is a nice idea? If you think it is merely a nice idea or is something you think you 'should' do, forget about it.
Watch What You Wish For
So how do any of us become what we want to be? Well, some things may come about by chance, but most of us start out by wishing. Through that wish comes an expectation, a purpose and a direction, then whatever we wish for, hap- pens. It sounds simple, almost unbelievable, but if we look at it from another angle, we can see how wishing works.
' I wish this didn't keep happening to me.' ' I wish life wasn't so awful.'
' I wish people wouldn't keep dumping me.' ' I wish I didn't find it so difficult to find a job.'
Do any of those phrases sound familiar? Most people wish for what they don't want instead of thinking about what they do want and using their imaginations to create that possibility.
It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.
Whatever you can do. Or dream you can. Begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
The thing has already taken form in my mind before I start it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable. I say this because I want you to know that if you see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it is not by accident but because of real direction and purpose.