Good luck? Sieze it now!

I am currently reading a book titled "The richest man in Babylon" by George S. Clason. This is an amazing book written in the 1920s. It is written in a story form about the richest man in Babylonia and the conversations he had with others who wanted to learn about how to be wealthy.

It talks about the rules of gold, how to accumulate it, how to invest it, how not to invest, and what how those rules help. One particular paragraph caught my attention (among many others!). It states:

"I had thought of it as something most desirable that might happen to a man without effort upon his part. Now, I do realize such happenings are not the sort of thing one may attract to himself. From our discussion have I learned that to attract good luck to oneself, it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities. Therefore, in the future, I shall endeavor to make the best of such opportunities as do come to me"

Why did this paragraph stand out?

It is so basic that we may have forgotten. It is about taking action NOW! Not later, not another time, not after I finish my lunch. For the goddess of good luck smiles upon those who take action...NOW. (THis is my interpretation of several other paragraphs)

So what have I been posting about the past year? Its all about taking action. Its all about planning. Its all about being structured in your time management to unleash maximum effectiveness, in order to take advantage of such opportunities when they arise.

I must say, this is an amazing book, a small and short book, but amazing nonetheless. I highly recommend it. It should not be read as a story book. After the first reading, reflect and contemplate if you have put into practice any of the principles. The laws and principles are so simple, yet we do not do them.

I wonder why.

For fear of failure? For fear of starting? For fear of not knowing how it will all turn out?

Get out of this undesirable mental state. What's it going to cost you to to take one principle and apply it for 30 days? One of the principle is to save at least one-tenth of your income. Believe it, even after saving one-tenth, you must make the adjustment to your lifestyle. Its worth it. Its possible, because our desires for material things always grows beyond our income. Control it!

Take charge. Set your goals. Do your daily planning to take advantage of the opportunites that come your way when the goddess of good luck smiles upon you. :-)

Bernard


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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006,2007.
All Rights Reserved

Why goals fail

Goals do not fail. We fail goals.

I've been really busy with work and working towards my goals. Its been a tough ride, balancing my time between work, personal goals and family...And its all worth it. I can see my achievements gaining strength, day after day. As I had written in previous posts, it takes one small step at a time. If I take 365 small steps, that puts me 365 steps closer to my goal.

Many do set goals but do not follow through. One very glaring reason is that we live in an instant world. Instant noodles, instant TV using a remote, instant messenger, instant communication. When we set goals, we also expect instant results. If we do not achieve our goals in 24 hours or 48 hours, we get bored with it and the goal fades away. We tend to forget, we cannot have a tree unless we take the time to plant the see and continually nurture it...and this takes time. If we see a seedling and wanting for it to grow quickly, we decide to pull it out of the ground, the seedling will never grow into a tree. This is the same for our goals. We must have patience. As long as we know we are taking one step at a time towards our goal, we have to wait to see the results.

Do, do not be afraid. Go forth and set you most ambitious goals and dreams. Then begin by taking one step at a time. Write it down and paste it on your wall or planner and update it everyday. You will see that this will be your motivation. This motivation comes from your internal self, not from any external influence. Motivation from your internal self last much longer than from any external stimuli.

I am pumped up with my goals and steps I have taken. You should be too. So enough typing and reading. Just go write your goals down, write down the first 3 to 5 steps, and JUST DO IT. (See my previous posts for techniques on doing this.)

Go, go, go....!!!
Bernard

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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006,2007.
All Rights Reserved