Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s.


The one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.

Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us what we can be.

To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.

Imagination is not a talent of some men, but is the health of every man.

In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.

Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances. Strong men believe in cause and effect.

If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap, than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.

They can conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson in life who does not every day surmount a fear.

Speak the affirmative; emphasize your choice by utterly ignoring all that you reject.

Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons.

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.

The years teach much which the days never knew.

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it

An Idea For Action...

Japanese Garden Portland Oregon

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An Idea For Action

How Routine Is Your Routine?

Schedule an established weekly routine for your most productive activities. As you go through the day, identify activities that have the highest payoff for you and build enjoyable routines around those activities.

Today's Quest...

What are your most productive work activities?

Wouldn't it be helpful to increase the number of times that you perform your most productive activities?

What supportive activities could you transform into a routine that assists and augments your more productive activities?

"Don't tell me how hard you work. Tell me how much you get done."~ James Ling

Look back on your hopes and dreams for 2008. Now, look forward to 2009.

Are you ambitious enough to achieve even more?

"The men/women who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves." ~ Herbert N. Casson

I define AMBITION as a strong inner-desire to achieve your most heart-felt goals... to actually LIVE what you value most.

Without moralizing the issue, ambition is about power. And you will find no greater power in life than actually declaring—and then living—your personal values.

What more is there than living your top 10 values? That's right, nothing.

You will have your best day ever—every single day—when you put more of what you value into every single action you take.

The simple fact is, a short list of values is all you need to design a well-lived life. Your values are those ideals such as freedom, beauty, honor, love, wisdom, giving, teaching, family or adventure that are more important to you than anything else.

A condensed list of values gives clarity to your life and establishes your ideal standards. This list is your best guide to personal and professional satisfaction. Put your list of personal values in writing—commit it to memory—and live each word—each and every day.

Have You Put It In Writing Yet?

If you haven't written down what's most important to you, at least find the time today to start the list. This will be the most time-productive thing you'll ever do.

Create a file called "most important" and begin a list before you leave today. This list will give clarity to your life and establish firm standards for you to live by.

Don't Know Where To Begin?

If you're hung up contemplating which values mean the most to you, go with your first response. Write it down. You can always review and revise your list later. Write down at least one of your deepest values before the end of this day.

How Can You Get To The Heart Of The Matter?

To discover what's most important to you, quiet the incessant chatter inside your head and listen closely to what your heart has to say.

Take a moment today to see if you can quiet the inner chatter, even briefly. A heart is a terrible thing to ignore.

How Will You Be Remembered?

If you want to know what's most important in your life, try writing your own obituary. The prospect of your own mortality quickly puts everything in perspective.
Start examining your life today, and record what's most important for you to experience during the limited time you have.

What Are The Ideals You Live By?

Values and ideals are similar. When determining your values, look toward the ideals you've always held. Use these to help specify your list of guiding values.

Examining your ideals gives you insight into your most heartfelt values.

It Takes Ambition...

Again, I ask the question, just how ambitious are you? Do you have the ambition to LIVE what's most important to you?

Why not?

Personally, I believe that if you learn to set highly desirable GOALS for yourself, and approach them with a high ENERGY level, together with a positive/optimistic ATTITUDE, you are well on your way to the success you desire.

We are now closing in on the end of summer. Time is running out for achieving your dreams and goals THIS year. But, if you have the AMBITION, you can still fast-track your success... simply by turning up your TQ a notch or two. -- E.R. Haas, CEO

"It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." ~ Roy Disney

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QUOTE BY JIM ROHN

Columbia River and Mt Hood - Portland Oregon

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You must take personal responsibility.

You cannot change the circumstances,

the seasons, or the wind,

but you can change yourself.

That is something you have charge of.

Jim Rohn - Motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur

You Can't Win If You Don't Play.

Setting a goal may arouse the fear of failure. But not to set goals -- not even to try -- represents the ultimate failure.

You'll never know until you try. Before the day is over, set a specific goal for something you've always wanted. Then put a date on it!

Today's Quest...
Which of your goals are you the most afraid to make into a Specific Target?

Can you see how each attempts at a goal is your Greatest Success, Simply You Tried?

Which would be worse: to live your life in constant pursuit of your Biggest Dream, or to not even try?

"In life, as in football, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are." Arnold H. Glasgow

Harvard University conducted interviews of its graduates in the MBA facility in 1979 among the questions they asked were if they had clear written goals with plans for their accomplishments when they left the school. The results were amazing only 3% had clear written goals and plans, 13% had goals but they weren't written down, the other 84% had no goals at all.

In 1989 just 10 years later they interview this graduating class and ask then how much they were earning at that time. The 13%of graduates that had goals but weren't written down were earning an average of twice as much as the graduates who had no goals at all. But the 3% of graduates who had clear written goals and plans when they left the university were earning on average 10 times as much as the other 97% put together.

Goals: Think, Plan and Take Action! All Goals should be in writing. Set short-term and long-term goals. Get into the habit of writing our your goals on a daily basis. If you don't know exactly what your goals are, set a goal for yourself to decide upon your goals.

Take the time to think through of what you want in all areas of your life. There are six areas of your life to set goals in.

Financial/Career

Family/Home

Mental/Education

Physical/ Health

Spiritual/Ethical

Social/Cultural

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

Any man's life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day.

I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.

Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life.

No man, who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper reward.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.

The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts. Character is power.

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
No race can prosper 'till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.

Booker T.Washington (1856-1915): There are people whose abilities and energy take them far past any limitations life tries to place on them. Booker T. Washington was one of those people. He rose up from slavery and illiteracy to become the foremost educator and leader of black Americans at the turn of the century.

Lecturer, Civil Rights/Human Rights Activist, Educational Administrator, Professor, Organization Executive/Founder, Author/Poet Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, reportedly on April 5, 1856. After emancipation, his family was so poverty stricken that he worked in salt furnaces and coal mines beginning at age nine. Always an intelligent and curious child, he yearned for an education and was frustrated when he could not receive good schooling locally. When he was 16 his parents allowed him to quit work to go to school. They had no money to help him, so he walked 200 miles to attend the Hampton Institute in Virginia and paid his tuition and board there by working as the janitor.

Dedicating himself to the idea that education would raise his people to equality in this country, Washington became a teacher. He first taught in his home town, then at the Hampton Institute, and then in 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. As head of the Institute, he traveled the country unceasingly to raise funds from blacks and whites both; soon he became a well-known speaker.

In 1895, Washington was asked to speak at the opening of the Cotton States Exposition, an unprecedented honor for an African American. His Atlanta Compromise speech explained his major thesis, that blacks could secure their constitutional rights through their own economic and moral advancement rather than through legal and political changes. Although his conciliatory stand angered some blacks who feared it would encourage the foes of equal rights, whites approved of his views. Thus his major achievement was to win over diverse elements among southern whites, without whose support the programs he envisioned and brought into being would have been impossible.

In addition to Tuskegee Institute, which still educates many today, Washington instituted a variety of programs for rural extension work, and helped to establish the National Negro Business League. Shortly after the election of President William McKinley in 1896, a movement was set in motion that Washington be named to a cabinet post, but he withdrew his name from consideration, preferring to work outside the political arena. He died on November 14, 1915.

IS IT TIME TO SWEEP OUT THE OLD?

You can re-create your experience simply by changing what you say to yourself. Sweep out the old negative thoughts and replace them with new positive expressions of enthusiasm, love and joy. When you change your words, your life will change accordingly.

Make this day an expression of your best thoughts and feelings. Add some passion to your conversation today.

What's positive about your situation right now?

Where can you speak with more enthusiasm in your life right now?

What's on your schedule today that will benefit from a more positive conversation?

"Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force." Tom Blandi

Have you lost your power to dream... or do you have truly inspiring dreams guiding your life right now?

"You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however." Richard Bach

Your dreams are critically important in the grand scheme of things—because without them, your life has no future.

Like Richard Bach, I believe that your dreams can come true if you apply sufficient power to make them real. In other words, dreams aren't realized by DREAMING—they are realized by DOING.

Some dreams require little or no power... just enough to insure forward momentum. Other dreams require massive power... applied over decades.

The Power to Dream...

How much dream-achieving personal power do you have?

If you want to live your dreams, you can. But you'll have to do the work.

My function is to provide you with information, and motivate you to change.

To Keep Hope Alive.

Your role is to look at your life as it is right now, and determine if change is necessary. If you are happy with your life as it is... if you are actually LIVING your DREAMS... then change is not necessary. Continue the path.

The year is half over, have you written your goals for 1-year, 5-years, 10-years and 20 years from now?

Do you have a written plan of action for your goals?

Write out the benefits for achieving each goal.

Write out possible Obstacles and write out possible Solutions in achieving your goals.

It is by far better to have tried and failed, then to not have tried at all.

Set Your Goals and Take Action Today and Design The Life You Want To Live.

AN EXCERPT FROM EAT THAT FROG! By Brian Tracy

HERE IS A GREAT RULE FOR SUCCESS:

THINK

ON

PAPER!

Only about 3 percent of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five or ten times as much as people of equal or better education and ability but who, for whatever reason, have never taken the time to write out exactly what they want.

There is a powerful formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use for the rest of your life. It consists of seven simple steps. Any one of these steps can double and triple your productivity if you are not currently using it.

Decide exactly what you want. Either decide for yourself or sit down with your boss and discuss your goals and objectives until you are crystal clear about what is expected of you and in what order of priority.

Write it down. Think on paper. When you write down a goal, you crystallize it and give it tangible form. You create something that you can touch and see. On the other hand, a goal or objective that is not in writing is merely a wish or a fantasy. It has no energy behind it.

Set a deadline on your goal; set sub deadlines if necessary. A goal or decision without a deadline has no urgency. It has no real beginning or end. Without a definite deadline, you will naturally procrastinate and get very little done.

Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new activities, add them to your list. Keep building your list until it is complete. A list gives you a visual picture of the larger task or objective. It gives you a track to run on.

Organize the list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence. Take a few minutes to decide what you need to do first and what you can do later. With a written goal and an organized plan of action, you will be far more productive and efficient than people who are carrying their goals around in their minds.

Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Do anything. An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.

Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. Build this activity into your daily schedule. You may decide to read a specific number of pages on a key subject. You may call on a specific number of prospects or customers. You may engage in a specific period of physical exercise. Whatever it is, you must never miss a day.

Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don't stop. This decision, this discipline alone, can dramatically increase your speed of goal accomplishment and boost your personal productivity.

Eat That Frog Hardcover - So you want to get organized. You want to simplify your life. You want to learn to focus on priorities... to get more done in less time. The answer... read Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog

QUOTES BY ALBERT EINSTEIN

Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879 and died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.

I have little patience with scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where drilling is easy.

If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

Only a life lived for others is worth living.

Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed.

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Perfections of means and confusion of goals seem-in my opinion-to characterize our age.

Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

Einstein's researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important.

Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920's he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.

AN IDEA FOR ACTION......

A child-like imagination is required to create unlimited visions. Let nothing limit your dream of how life should be.

As Einstein said, "Imagination is more powerful than knowledge." Keep your focus on your vision and "the how to" will be discovered in time.

What areas of your life require a little imagination right now?

Bushwhack through the jungle, swim with dolphins, put out a blazing fire, build a castle, make a spaceship . . .? What's your uninhibited voice telling you?

Where's the best place for you to get creative and let your imagination soar? When can you schedule 30 minutes to go there?

"Success... it's what you do with what you've got." ~ Leroy Van Dyke

It's now June. Are you living a life of purpose -- ON purpose? If not now, when?

"Too often we visit the well of divine abundance with a teacup instead of a bucket." ~ Elinor MacDonald

Study Today's Quote. What is it telling you?

Aristotle's observation that: "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We ARE what we repeatedly DO."

Do you see the connection?

Simple, isn't it?

There is an underlying, systematic process to achieving the success you desire. The process is simple, understandable and repeatable. It works for old and young... men and women alike.

Yes, the road to success is paved with "Training and Habituation". There is no "other", other way.

The "secret" to success is to simply Expect MORE... and Execute Better.
This is not a catch-phrase. It is the shortest instruction set that puts you on the path to your dreams.

Develop the skills to Expect More...

IMAGINATION: The first step in achieving your dream is to move it out of your heart and head—onto a sheet of paper. Your idea is now PHYSICAL.

CLARIFICATION: The second step is to add exciting DETAIL to your idea... making it crystal-clear. This step is where you move from "creative visualization" to "conceptual desirability". Simply do a GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH on whatever you are dreaming about.

EVALUATION: The third step is to carefully evaluate the DESIRABILITY of your dream against your POWER to make it a reality. This is the step where you move from "conceptual desirability" to absolute BELIEVABILITY.

DETERMINATION: The fourth step is to make the absolute determination that YES, you will COMMIT your POWER to this carefully evaluated idea... an idea in which you now firmly BELIEVE... or NO, you don't currently have the power to make it happen.

Develop the skills to Execute Better...

EXECUTION: The first SMART Action—Setting an entire series of crystal-clear GOALS for what must happen in order to achieve your dream in the shortest TIME possible... with the fewest number of obstacles, setbacks and derailments.

OBSERVATION: The key question—"Right now, am I getting the RESULTS I EXPECT?" This is the single most important question you can ask yourself throughout the day. If you don't know WHAT to expect, you need to drop back. If you know what to expect, but aren't close to achieving it, you need to take corrective action—sooner, rather than later.

CORRECTION: Taking even SMARTER Actions—By frequently checking your personal Time Prism. This will ELIMINATE what's holding you back from achieving the results you want.

EXPANSION: Producing even bigger RESULTS... achieving even greater GOALS... dreaming more inspiring DREAMS—By consistently transforming performance NEGATIVES into powerful POSITIVES. By systematically monitoring, and then turning Negatives into Positives, you generate the raw, results-producing personal POWER needed to move your GOALS off the page, and into your life.

Repeat Until Healthy, Wealthy and Wise! You are GROWING old and SUCCESSFUL rather than old and CYNICAL. You have REAL POWER.

The power to transform dreams into reality. This is not philosophy. However, there is a principle at play here:

Rising Expectations Fuel Brilliant Execution. Brilliant Execution Fuels Rising Expectations.

THINK TQ - The world leader in on-demand assessment and virtual training products for personal, corporate, and professional excellence.

QUOTES BY HENRY FORD

Henry Ford with a Model T in 1921.

About one million Model T's were produced that year.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do.

Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.

Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.

There is no man living who isn't capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.

You will find men who want to be carried on the shoulders of others, who think that the world owes them a living. They don't seem to see that we must all lift together and pull together.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward.

I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say definitely what is and what is not possible.

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.

The best we can do is size up the chances, calculate the risks involved, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence.

Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.

When I can't handle events, I let them handle themselves.

Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.

Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863, was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children. He grew up on a prosperous family farm in what is today Dearborn, Michigan. Henry enjoyed a childhood typical of the rural nineteenth century, spending days in a one-room school and doing farm chores. At an early age, he showed an interest in mechanical things and a dislike for farm work.

In 1879, sixteen-year-old Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist, although he did occasionally return to help on the farm. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn. During the next few years, Henry divided his time between operating or repairing steam engines, finding occasional work in a Detroit factory, and over-hauling his father's farm implements, as well as lending a reluctant hand with other farm work. Upon his marriage to Clara Bryant in 1888, Henry supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill.

In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. This event signified a conscious decision on Ford's part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. His promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893 gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines.

These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle-the Quadricycle. The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.

Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists.

After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The infant company produced only a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies.

Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This vehicle initiated a new era in personal transportation. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, immediately becoming a huge success.

By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model Ts. To meet the growing demand for the Model T, the company opened a large factory at Highland Park, Michigan, in 1910. Here, Henry Ford combined precision manufacturing, standardized and interchangeable parts, a division of labor, and, in 1913, a continuous moving assembly line. Workers remained in place, adding one component to each automobile as it moved past them on the line. Delivery of parts by conveyor belt to the workers was carefully timed to keep the assembly line moving smoothly and efficiently. The introduction of the moving assembly line revolutionized automobile production by significantly reducing assembly time per vehicle, thus lowering costs. Ford's production of Model Ts made his company the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.

QUOTES BY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions.

Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land.

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.

I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT FORMULA

Put Your Career on the Fast Track
There are many things you can do to put your career onto the fast track. You can set clear, specific goals for each area of your life and then make plans to accomplish them. You can plan your work and work your plan.

Ask For Greater Responsibility
You can accept 100% responsibility for everything you are and everything you become. You can refuse to make excuses or to blame others. You can tell your boss that you want greater responsibilities and then when you get them, put your whole heart into doing an excellent job.

Utilize Your Inborn Talents
In the parable of the talents in the New Testament, Jesus says, "Oh good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over small things. I will make you master over large things."If you too will carry out every assignment to the very best of your ability, you will be given larger and more important things to do and you'll be paid more as a result.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Improvement
The key to long term success is for you to dedicate yourself to continuous improvement. If you become one tenth of one percent more productive each day, that amounts to 1/1000th improvement per working day. Is that possible? Of course it is!

Improve a Little at a Time
If you become one tenth of one percent more productive each day, that amounts to one half of one percent more productive each week. One half of one percent more productive each week amounts to two percent more productive each month and 26% more productive each year.

The cumulative effect if becoming a tiny bit better at your field and more productive amounts to a tremendous increase in your value and your output over time.

How to Double Your Productivity
Twenty-six percent more productive each year, with compounding, amounts to doubling your overall productivity and performance every 2.7 years. If you become 26% more productive each year, with compounding, times 10 years, you will be 1004% more productive over the next decade. That is an increase of ten times over ten years.

The Reason For All Great Successes
This is called the Law of Accumulation, or the Principle of Incremental Improvement. It is the primary reason for all great success stories. By the yard, it's hard. But inch by inch, anything's a cinch!

Become A 1000% Person
Make a decision, right now, to be a 1000% person. Commit yourself to continuous personal and professional development. Read, listen to audio programs and take additional courses. This process will completely transform your life.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put these ideas into action immediately.

First, make a plan to become a little bit better every single day. Learn and apply one new idea each day to help you to become more productive and effective at your work. The incremental effect will amaze you.

Second, be patient. Don't expect overnight changes or instant results. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Become a little bit better each day and your future will take care of itself. "The Continuous Improvement Formula" By Brian Tracy
BREAKING THE SUCCESS BARRIER - By Brian Tracy

Quotes by Winston Churchill

I like things to happen; and if they don't happen, I like to make them happen.

Perfectionism spells paralysis.

I never worry about action, but only inaction.

When I look back on all the worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.

If you are going through hell, keep going.

There are plenty of good ideas if only they can be backed with the power of action.

Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

Personally, I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965), the son of Lord Randolph Churchill and an American mother, was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst.

After a brief but eventful career in the army, he became a Conservative Member of Parliament in 1900. He held many high posts in Liberal and Conservative governments during the first three decades of the century.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty - a post which he had earlier held from 1911 to 1915. In May, 1940, he became Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and remained in office until 1945. He took over the premiership again in the Conservative victory of 1951 and resigned in 1955. However, he remained a Member of Parliament until the general election of 1964, when he did not seek re-election. Queen Elizabeth II conferred on Churchill the dignity of Knighthood and invested him with the insignia of the Order of the Garter in 1953. Among the other countless honours and decorations he received, special mention should be made of the honorary citizenship of the United States which President Kennedy conferred on him in 1963.

7 SIMPLE PRINCIPLES OF WINNING THE GAME OF SUCCESS.

RULE #1: WINNING REQUIRES VISION.

Winners have a strong sense of purpose, mission and clarity of VISION—with the ability to turn their dreams and goals into solid EXPECTATIONS upon which they can take ACTION.

Successful people know WHO they are... WHY they are here... and WHAT they are going DO with the only life they have to live.

They have given themselves PERMISSION to EXPECT success rather than to FEAR failure. They then PROMISE themselves to live up to those EXPECTATIONS.

Yes, winners set huge goals for themselves—directly from the HEART—and fully expect to achieve them.

RULE #2: WINNING REQUIRES RESULTS.

Winners are successful, because they are able to transform their EXPECTATIONS into tangible RESULTS over Time. They LIVE their vision rather than just DREAM about it. They quickly turn their hopes and dreams into crystal-clear GOALS and focus their efforts on achieving their PLANS—not just once in awhile—but consistently... day-in-day-out.

Winners NEVER quit until their actual RESULTS meet or exceed their EXPECTATIONS. They live the old adage: Quitters never win... Winners never quit.

RULE #3: WINNING REQUIRES POWER.

Winners produce better RESULTS, because they have the POWER to consistently PERFORM better. Consistency of performance is what leads to consistency of winning.

RULE #4: WINNING REQUIRES POSITIVITY.

Winners have more POWER, because they have fewer NEGATIVES and more POSITIVES driving their performance at any point in time. You can SEE it in their performance.

Successful people are highly Energetic, Passionate, Enthusiastic, Self-directed, Focused, Supportive, Systematic, Organized and Action Oriented.
By contrast, how successful can you be if you are frequently Drained, Directionless, Pessimistic, Rash, Vague, Critical, Haphazard and Hesitant?

Yes, winners have far more POSITIVES, and far fewer NEGATIVES than people who just dabble at it.

Why?

Winners take ACTION to put these positive characteristics into play. They WORK at it. When they see a NEGATIVE, they take ACTION to transform it into a powerful POSITIVE.

It is no more complicated than this: When they see DISCOURAGED entering their performance, they quickly take a positive ACTION to once again become PASSIONATE.

RULE #5: WINNING REQUIRES YOUR 10 COLORS TO BE BURNING BRIGHTLY.

Successful people have more POSITIVES driving their performance, because each of the 10 COLORS in their Performance Spectrum is consistently burning brighter.

Think about it. What NEGATIVE stands a chance to undermine your performance when each of your 10 Colors is burning at maximum intensity. Since you can't be Energetic and Drained at the same time, the Positive always trumps the Negative. If you commit to keeping your 10 colors burning brightly, you will have have a power reservoir of amazing positivity.

RULE # 6: WINNING REQUIRES SKILL.

Winners' COLORS burn brighter, because they have the SKILLS to transform any Negatives holding them back into Positives that produce the Results they Expect.

In "TQ Speak" we call this taking a Factor Action... the 100 sequenced actions that drive the intensity of your 10 Colors.

What happens when you get DISCOURAGED?

This negative will dead-stop you in your tracks if you let it. However, learn to take Attitude Factor Action 3E "I look for the best in every situation, and the opportunity in every problem." and you will instantly move from Pessimistic to Optimistic.

RULE #7: WINNING REQUIRES CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

Winners Consistently produce superior Results over Time, because they consistently IMPROVE their Power of TQ over Time—which, of course, leads to bigger dreams, goals, visions and EXPECTATIONS.

Winners don't just win once in awhile. They do it consistently. They are constantly honing their edge, looking for small changes in their performance that lead to a serious advantage.

Little-by-little, day-by-day, they see minor improvements that combine to make them champions.

You can too.

Winning is not just a "once in awhile" event. It is a way of life.

It's May 13, 2008. Today, I want you to think about your WIN/LOSS record one last time. Not to dwell on your losses, but to discover issues in your performance that, when corrected, will allow you to WIN a great deal more frequently.

I want you to think about the last 10 years of your life. You have the scars. Your achievements have gotten you this far. Be proud of your accomplishments, however small you might think they are.

Large or small, they have defined your life thus far.

Now, look out 10, 20, 30 years or more to your last days here on Earth. How do you want to be remembered? You have the POWER to define your life any way you want.

Write Out Your Top 3 Personal Goals:

Look at your 3 goals. What will it take for you to WIN these by the time the Old Croaker or Grim Reaper comes calling for you.?

Believe Emerson. Believe Larry Bird. Believe Ali. Believe Kerrigan. Believe me. No one is going to just hand you these 3 goals anymore than they will hand you a prize for just showing up.

The best advice I can give you right now is this: Stop dabbling at it. Give it all you've got. -- E.R. Haas, CEO

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TQ CLICK HERE: THINK TQ - The world leader in on-demand assessment and virtual training products for personal, corporate, and professional excellence. We have been publishing award-winning software, books, and systems for over 25 years. Our Business Plan Mission: Test the world's TQ and turn it up by 20 points! This means helping people learn, remember and master the skills necessary to produce outstanding results—both personally and professionally.

THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECTS

The law of cause and effect: If you do what other successful people do, you will eventually get the results that other successful people get." ~ Brian Tracy

Study Brian's quote carefully. Successful people DO things differently from those who continue to struggle.

Find out what you need to DO differently—then DO IT. You will start moving faster in the direction of your dreams and goals. Don't, and you will be stuck running in place... until you DO!

You cause success to happen in every THOUGHT you think... and every ACTION you take. Thus, becoming the success you desire can be reduced to this simple two-step process:

THINK: Create Clear Expectations.

ACT: Execute Beyond Expectations.

When your Power to Execute exceeds the size of your Expectations, you produce exceptional RESULTS. You move closer to the success you desire. No question, the success you desire depends on the RESULTS you produce.

Want greater success?

Expect More—Execute Better.
Rising Expectations lead to a life of RESULTS. Falling Expectations lead to a life of REGRETS. You will either grow old and successful—or old and cynical. It's your choice.

What's Driving YOUR Performance?

Want to know what's driving your successes and failures right now? Is it what you have given yourself the right to Expect... or is it your power to Execute?

Take a few minutes to spot-check your performance again this morning, by taking the Quick Quiz for a few Colors. You will find this to be a truly illuminating experience!

Your Expectation Colors:
How's your sense of purpose and Mission?
Is your Attitude positive and proactive?
How well do you turn dreams into crystal-clear Goals?
Do you have Plans to support each of your goals?

"High Expectations are the key to everything." - Sam Walton, Founder Wal-Mart

THINK TQ - The world leader in on-demand assessment and virtual training products for personal, corporate, and professional excellence.

THE MENTAL DIET - By Brian Tracy

One of the most powerful personal programming activities you can engage in is positive self-talk. Be your own cheerleader and talk to yourself positively all of the time.

Think About Your Dreams
As it happens, the average person talks to himself in a negative way. As much as 94 percent of your inner dialogue tends to be about the things you fear, your worries, the people you're angry at, your problems, your concerns and so on. You have to consciously keep your words, your inner dialogue, consistent with what you wish to accomplish.

The Most Powerful Antidote
Psychologists have proven that the words, "I can do it," are the antidote to the fear of failure that often holds you back from trying. Repeat these words over and over to yourself whenever you feel fearful or doubtful about anything that you want to attempt. Say very enthusiastically to yourself, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!" When you start saying, "I can do it, I can do it," you drive that message deep into your subconscious mind. This message lowers your fears and builds your self-confidence.

Make A Million!
Another thing you can say to yourself is, "I make a million. I make a million." Impress that message into your subconscious mind. Whenever you think about your work, say over and over again, "I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the best." Making any one of these three statements, or anything that is positive makes you feel good about yourself and causes you to be more motivated. You become more focused, more determined. Wealthy, successful people have a continuous inner dialogue that is positive and constructive and uplifting and consistent with their goals and objectives.

Feed Your Mind Continually
Feed your mind from morning to night with words, pictures, information and ideas consistent with your goals for financial success. Develop the habit of thinking positively and confidently about wealth accumulation. Read stories, books and articles about other successful people. Think about how you could be like them. Visualize yourself, imagine, fantasize, pretend in your mind that you are like the kind of people that you admire and respect and want to be like.

Select A Role Model
Psychologists have proven that role models are essential for magnetizing your mind with the qualities and characteristics that you wish to develop in yourself. Pick a person that you admire. Whenever you face any kind of difficult situation, ask yourself, how would this person act in this situation? What would this person do? How would this person behave? You'll find that when you think about how someone you admire might behave, your own thinking becomes better and you tend to act at your very best.

Become An Expert
Read everything you can find about your business. Become an expert in your field. The more you learn about your profession, your trade and your craft, the more confident you will become that you can do well in it.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put yourself on the new mental diet for financial success:

First, repeat to yourself, over and over again, the wonderful words "I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!" Whenever you are anticipating any new goal or opportunity. This affirmation builds your self-confidence and conditions you for success.

Second, monitor your mental diet the way you would your physical diet. Be sure that you feed yourself throughout the day with positive stories, words, pictures and conversations about the things you want to have in your life. Refuse to read, watch, listen to or discuss things that are negative or depressing. This will make a tremendous difference in how you feel and how you act. Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

QUOTES By Marie Curie (1834 -1934)

You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.

I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

All my life through, the new sights of nature made me rejoice like a child.

Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.

Marie Curie, née Maria Sklodowska (1867-1934), was born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867 , the daughter of a secondary-school teacher. She received a general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father.

In 1903, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Pierre Curie, Marie Curie, and Henri Becguerel the Nobel Prize in Physics, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."

Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Eight years later, she received the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element".

HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY

Webster defines hope as “the confident expectation that a desire will be fulfilled.” What a powerful statement! Have you ever said, “I sure hope things will change?” Did you then have a confident expectation that this desire would be fulfilled?

Hope is a very powerful emotion. It’s the gas that drives our positive actions and behaviors. Conversely, the lack of hope is the brakes that stop us and cause a lack of action and analysis paralysis. Hope by itself, though, isn’t the key to success. You Can’t “Positive Attitude” your way to success; you must “Positive Action” your way to success. Hope is not a strategy. Developing a well-thought out plan of action for your life will have a profound impact on your results. As your results improve, your attitude will become more positive. If you’re spinning your wheels right now and aren’t where you “hoped” you’d be in your life, it’s because your goals aren’t clearly defined.

Ask yourself these questions, as you develop your goals and share this with your children:

WHAT DO I REALLY WANT IN MY LIFE?

WHY DO I WANT IT?

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT?

IF THAT IS WHAT I REALLY WANT, WHY DON'T I ALREADY HAVE IT?

WHEN WILL I START?

Visualize everything you have ever wanted to have or to be in your life. Set goals with specific action steps and target dates. Ger started today on your plan, and move forward with “the confident expectation” that your desire will be fulfilled. This strategy will never fail you, and what started as hope will become a reality!

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