Excellence comes from an internal standard that asks, “How can I deliver beyond what’s expected?
Seek clarity. Generate energy. Raise necessity. Increase productivity. Develop Influence. Demonstrate Courage. These are the six habits that you need to adopt if you are to reach high performance in any situation.
There are two types of people. One walks into the room and announces, ‘Here I am!’ The other walks in and says, ‘Oh, there you are!
Gratitude is the golden frame through which we see the meaning of life.
We must remember that the power to direct our destiny comes only from a mindset that makes us willing to struggle through learning, effort, and growth.
We compromise too easily when life becomes difficult. Most sacrifice individuality and integrity without a fight, although arrogance prevents seeing this truth.
Hurt has nothing to do with love, and love is unaffiliated with and unaffected by pain. We say, “My heart is full of love,” but love is not bound in our heart or our relationships, and thus, it is not caged and capable of being poked, taunted, or trapped. And no amount of love – no matter the pain or hurt – is ever.
Destiny turns its favor toward those who act, awarding them with success and a heroic recognition in life.
When your actions are congruent with who you want to be in life, how you want to feel, and what you think you should be doing and achieving, then you start to have a stronger internal constitition. You feel more grounded, responsible, sure. A new level of harmony and steadiness enters your life, and you feel proud of who you are and how you interact with the world. You barely blink at an unsteady and uncertain world, because you find steadiness and certainty within. Life becomes yours.
Be yourself. Be honest. Do your best. Take care of your family. Treat people with respect. Be a good citizen. Follow your dreams.
Do not give your ear to a lazy person, as he will surely pour fear and apathy into your soul.
What we do with what we have tends to be far more important than what we have in the first place.
Integrity is learning to feel hurt but not integrate its darkness into our soul or cast it onto another.
The only difference lies in whether someone decides it is necessary to get better. No necessity, no consistent action.
High performers are clear on their intentions for themselves, their social world, their skills, and their service to others. I call these areas self, social, skills, and service, or the Future Four.
If we are not vigilant, being around constant worry can quickly limit who we are and what we might be capable of. What can we do, then, with our caring families and friends who unintentionally limit our vision or striving?
I bring all this up because in the end our self-image is a self-fulfilling prophecy – remember, our human drive makes us behave in accordance with that image. So if you’re running your life based on an old, outdated, past self-image shaped by others’ opinions and actions, then you’re in big trouble.
The world belongs to the energetic.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Often, breaking integrity means repeatedly doing things we do not love with people we do not care for. Isn’t life meant to be a passionate love affair with our work, our faith, and those we are blessed to know, care for, and serve?
Social oppression is at work when the ways of others diminish who we are or stop us from pursuing our own goals. Often the most highly adaptive among us are the least aware of this process, and often they are socially the least successful and authentic – they have adapted into a predictable character and have lost their spontaneity and authenticity.