July 2020 -

Becoming An Expert Has Advantages

Would you like to be considered an expert in your field? Who wouldn’t?Becoming an expert in your field comes with some nice perks. What are some of the advantages of being known as an expert?

You can charge a higher rate.
People have more confidence and trust in you.
It’s easier to grow your client list.
It helps in marketing what you have to offer.
Etc.

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
~ G.K. Chesterton

“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.”
~ Sabrina Bryan

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Successful People Are Experts

In one of my post-retirement lives I consult for an expert witness. He is an expert in premises liability and policing. He is considered an expert because of the decades of experience he has in his field. Also, he has written several books and papers on the subject of law enforcement. Because of this, he has been certified as an expert by courts throughout the United States. It allows him to charge more and his phone is ringing off the hook.

“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” ~ Steve Jobs

“You can’t fake passion.” ~ Barbara Corcoran

People who are considered experts in their field are also some of the most successful. Author Stephen King is an expert in the genre of horror fiction. If you wanted to begin writing horror fiction novels, he would be a good source. In the field of business, Richard Branson would be considered an expert. He has taken a small record store and turned it into several other highly successful businesses. When I’m thinking about American football one name comes to mind, Tom Brady. Because of his success, he would be considered an expert on being a quarterback as well as on becoming a champion.

Put In The Work

The thing about becoming an expert and being successful is there are no shortcuts. I know today, living in our fast food society, we want everything right now. Unfortunately, striving to be the best takes time. No one is born an expert. Your gift is inside you when you’re born but you must develop that gift. Becoming an expert only happens through training and experience. For instance, It is said that to be an expert at anything you must do it repeatedly for at least 10,000 hours. As an example, when I was a Special Agent with DEA, I was considered an expert in narcotics trafficking and smuggling techniques. I didn’t have that knowledge when I was hired or even after I graduated from the Academy. It took many years of studying and experience to become an expert.

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” ~ John C. Maxwell

“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” ~ Bishop T.D. Jakes

Above, I have listed some of the benefits of being known as an expert. These are reasons why we are willing to put in the required time and sacrifice. It takes more than just putting in the time. It takes passion. Passion is what lights the fire. To be passionate about something gets you out of bed in the morning. It keeps you going when you run into the obstacles and things get hard. This is the reason you need to have a big WHY. You have to be passionate about your WHY.

Grit

It also takes Grit, what I call perseverance. It’s only through being persistent that you will ever become successful. All experts are willing to persevere through the struggles and conquer every obstacle presented to them. They do everything they can to move forward. Some days are giant leaps, some days are small steps, but they are always forward. Successful people know that the bigger the obstacle, the harder the struggle, the closer they are to victory. They embrace those difficult days.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
~ Anthony J. D’Angelo

Growth Mindset

Becoming an expert also requires a growth mindset. The importance of this trait cannot be understated. You must always be growing mentally. You must continually be thinking of your end result and not what is happening at the moment. This will allow you to continually look for ways to improve. You are always moving forward.

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
~ Denis Diderot

“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.” ~ Jon Bon Jovi

When I was in the Army, we learned how to make defensive positions, a.k.a. foxholes. When you first arrive, you dig a small hasty defensive position in case you are attacked. Then you begin to dig your foxhole. After the foxhole is dug, and mounds of dirt are placed in front to stop any bullets, you camouflage it. You are constantly looking to improve your foxhole and make it more protective. The longer you’re at that position, the more elaborate and protective it becomes. You are always looking to improve it. You have to do the same with your mindset.

Team

It also takes a team to help you become an expert. Your team becomes your family and will help you persevere. One of the members of your team can become your mentor. Your mentor will teach you what you need to know to succeed. They will be your guide on your journey. Your team must consist of like-minded individuals. They are there to guide you and support you through the difficult times. They must be positive and have the same passion as you do. A negative member of your team can destroy it. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Habits Of Successful People

As I was conducting research for this post, I realized that successful people tend to have the same habits. In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill spent 20 years studying the richest and most successful men in America at that time. He came up with 13 qualities that all these men shared. I came upon an article on the website weekplan.net which lists 50 habits of successful people. Here are a few of those habits.

They are early risers.
Meditation is a daily activity.
They have a love of reading.
They spend time on focused thinking.
Exercise is a part of their day.
Their network contains like-minded individuals.
Goal setting is a must.
They don’t rely on a single source of income.
Avoiding things that waste time.
They consider problems as gifts.

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
~ Albert Einstein

Final Thoughts

This is only a few of the habits that successful people share. If you are not where you want to be in life, go through this list and see which habits you need to acquire. Leave a comment below and let me know how you have changed your habits. Subscribe to my email list by clicking on the blue button above and receive my checklist to keep you moving forward in attaining your goals.

If anyone would like to support this blog please click on the product icons if you need to purchase anything from Amazon. You can purchase whatever you want and I earn a small commission as long as you enter through my links. This is at no extra cost to you and you will be supporting my blog. I appreciate it and I am grateful to all my followers and readers.

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs, and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

Sources Cited:

“50 Habits of Successful People.” Week Plan, 16 Aug. 2019, weekplan.net/50-habits-of-successful-people.

Sigmundsson, H., et al. “The Passion Scale: Aspects of Reliability and Validity of a New 8-Item Scale Assessing Passion.” New Ideas in Psychology, Pergamon, 4 July 2019, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X19300625.

July 26, 2020August 10, 2020

InspireChief33 Comments

Eliminating Doubt For Personal Development

I’ve talked about this in several previous articles and want to discuss it more thoroughly today. I’m talking about those little creatures that hide deep inside our minds. The ones that pop up at the worst of times. Their only function is to prevent you from living the life you so richly deserve. Yes, I am talking about those dreaded “Doubt Demons!” There they are, waiting for the right time to come out. They are dug in deep and camouflaged. It is imperative to stifle these demons. If at all possible, they should be eradicated. Eliminating doubt for personal development must become a priority.

I want to say that I have recently gone over 100 followers and I’m humbled. I am grateful and appreciate each and every one. Thank you.

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
~ Sylvia Plath

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.”
~ Honore de Balzac

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Eliminating Doubt

In my previous post, “Inspirational Quotes about Your Gifts,” I gave you a definition of success. “Success is the completion and the fulfillment of the original purpose of your existence.” For you to have success, you must know what Doubt Demons are and where they come from. Just like a cancer in the body, Doubt Demons are there to destroy you. Doubt Demons are those little voices and thoughts inside your head. They are constantly telling you that you can’t do it. They will stunt your personal development and must be eliminated.

“Worry, doubt, fear, and despair are the enemies which slowly bring us down to the ground and turn us to dust before we die.”
~ Anonymous

“If you are going to doubt anything in life, doubt your own limitations.”
~ Dan Brule

Fear creates Doubt Demons just like it creates all demons. They are particularly active right after you make a decision to change yourself for the better. Have you ever tried to lose weight and began to get cravings for unhealthy foods? Doubt Demons. If you’ve ever attempted to get a promotion, you might have started noticing the quality of the other candidates. You begin to compare yourself with them and believe that they are better. Doubt Demons. Did you start a business for financial freedom? Were you engulfed in fear, after you made that decision? Did you ask yourself, “how will I pay the bills?” Doubt Demons.

“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.”
~ T. Harv Eker

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
~ Suzy Kassem

How Do Our Thoughts Form?

Any thought you have that fills you with fear is placed there by the Doubt Demons. Where do they come from? Unfortunately, these Doubt Demons can be given life inadvertently. When we are young and our thoughts are forming, we are very vulnerable. As we go through our personal growth our thoughts are developing. Many times adults place Doubt Demons into our subconscious mind inadvertently. They don’t realize the harm they are doing. Often your parents, teachers, etc. have tried to protect you from disappointment. They say things like, “he’s just shy,” “she’s not a good test taker,” or “it takes money to make money.”

“Don’t waste life in doubts and fears.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Doubt is only removed by action. If you’re not working then that’s where doubt comes in.”
~ Conor McGregor

Any statement such as the ones above give life to these Doubt Demons. Imagine what will happen if you want to ask out the girl of your dreams but you have been told that you are shy. You want to go to the college of your choice but are “not a good test taker.” Doubt Demons are not exclusively given life just when we’re young. They can also be placed in us as adults by our coworkers and friends. Have you ever told a friend about a big dream? If their response was less than enthusiastic, it gave life to your Doubt Demons.

“Don’t let them make you doubt yourself. All the greatest visionaries in history have been told they were insane at some point.”
~ Michele Jaffe

“We all have genius within us, never doubt that fact.”
~ Catherine Pulsifer

Look For These Symptoms

What are some of the symptoms of Doubt Demons? Fear creates Doubt Demons. They feed off our internal fears, especially the six basic fears. There are six basic fears that we suffer from at different times. The fear of poverty, of criticism, of sickness, of loss, of old age, and of death. Once we decide to make a positive change in our lives, we begin to experience some of these fears. At times, it is a combination of these fears. These fears can lead to symptoms such as indecision, procrastination, gossip, and eventually quitting. Once we quit, we return to our old life which is the goal of the Doubt Demons. We must be eliminating doubt for personal development.

Have you made the decision to start your own business? If so, you might have woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. The thoughts of failure and not being able to pay your bills raced through your head. Here come your Doubt Demons invoking the fear of poverty. Do you worry about what your friends or family will say? The Doubt Demons have inserted into you the fear of criticism. This is a very powerful fear and you need to know how to handle it. For some good tips and information, you can check out my post, “A Flying Rat’s Ass.”

“I love it when people doubt me. It makes me work harder to prove them wrong.”
~ Derek Jeter

“I’ve learned that the mastery of self-doubt is the key to success.”
~ Will Smith

What To Do?

What can we do about these Doubt Demons? We know we have them, they are always with us whether we believe it or not. We must find ways to exterminate them if we can. If we can’t, we must live with them and control them. You will never be able to fulfill the intent of your existence if you don’t. Eliminating doubt for personal development is a must. Solutions for controlling/eradicating them are:

1. Identify Them. Understand your Doubt Demons for what they are. These are thoughts that have been placed in your subconscious mind and allowed to grow. That’s all they are and once you identify them, you can develop a plan to fight them.

2. Positive Affirmations. You can replace any and all thoughts placed in your mind by other people. By writing down the Doubt Demons which you have identified, you can now replace all negative thoughts with an opposite positive thought. Write down these positive thoughts and speak them out loud several times a day. Remember that your Doubt Demons have had years to grow in your mind. It won’t happen overnight, but if you develop the habit of speaking your positive affirmations daily, you will change your paradigm.

3. Release Them. Now that you have identified your Doubt Demons, began changing your paradigm through positive affirmations, you can release them. As you release them, you will see yourself changing. You will grow more confident, be more decisive, and know how to handle criticism. You will begin to live a happy life because you know how to control your fears and live by faith. It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are doing your best with the gifts God has placed inside you.

Final Thoughts

Are you eliminating doubt for your personal development? Are you struggling with anything right now? Do Doubt Demons stop you from living the lifestyle you deserve? Do you have any tips to share that would be helpful to someone who is struggling with doubt? I would love to be able to help you out. Leave your comments below. Subscribe to my email list by clicking on the blue button above and receive my checklist to keep you moving forward in attaining your goals.

If anyone would like to help me out please click on the product icons if you need to purchase anything from Amazon. You can purchase whatever you want and I earn a small commission as long as you enter through my links. You won’t incur any extra costs. Also, you will be helping me out. I appreciate it and I am grateful to all my followers and readers.

“Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.”
~ Anonymous

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

July 19, 2020January 18, 2021

InspireChief31 Comments

Inspirational Quotes For Strength And Hope

These are difficult times we are living in and I know there are many people who are struggling with the changes we are facing. I hope these inspirational quotes will give you some strength and hope to make it through difficult times.

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

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My Secret

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
~ Psalm 28:7

Needing Inspiration For Strength

One hot July evening, after dinner, I found myself hiking on a dirt road up a hill in the North Georgia mountains. My classmates and I had just arrived at the US Army Rangers training center and were being taken to the top of the hill to have a class on terrain features. In the heat and humidity, we walked for over an hour until we arrived at the top of the hill. The instructors pointed out the different terrain features we would need to learn for our land navigation class the next day.

At the end of the class, the instructors told us we would have to find our way back to camp by ourselves and couldn’t use the road. Simple enough, I thought, we can just walk down the mountain through the woods until we get there. I was hoping to be in my bunk in a couple of hours. To add a little difficulty, the instructors would not let us leave until it was completely dark.

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
~ William Ellery Channing

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
~ Khalil Gibran

Into The Darkness

We began our trek down the hill in a single file line. Quickly, we became aware that this was going to be more difficult than we thought. It would take all of our strength and my hope of an early night was fading. Once we entered the tree line, it was completely dark and you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The only thing that we could see was glowing moss on the ground and the two strips of phosphorescent tape we had sewed onto the back of our boonie hats, they called Ranger eyes.

We had to walk painfully slow as we did not know what was in front of us. Every now and then the Ranger eyes in front of you would disappear and somebody would cuss. We knew that the person in front of us had fallen into a ditch and we would have to navigate our way down the ditch and back up the other side.

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
~ Michael J. Fox

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. “No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”
~ 14th Dalai Lama

Strength and Perseverance

It took us several hours and used up a lot of our strength to make it down the hill and find the road. We met up with the Ranger instructors and just had a short walk back to camp. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning because our instructor got lost. After several hours of walking and constantly being told, “It’s just 500 yards more,” we knew something was wrong, especially when we came upon a civilian neighborhood. Luckily, it was probably 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning and no one was out.

As the sun was coming up, we walked through the gates of the Ranger camp. We were all exhausted, cut up, bruised, and battered by the time we made it back to our barracks. Something that started out sounding so easy turned into an all-night struggle. We all persevered and overcame and no one had any serious injuries.

“The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.”
~ Criss Jami

“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”
~ J.K. Rowling

A Real-Life Mission

About a year later, I found myself in a similar situation during a real mission in the jungles of Peru. We had to move our team through the jungle at night and find an airstrip. There was going to be several hundred kilograms of cocaine delivered to that airstrip the next day. As we were walking through the jungle, I thought back to that night with the Rangers and how we used our stamina to overcome all the obstacles in front of us and find our way back. Going through those struggles made us better and gave us the strength to complete our mission in the jungle.

Why Can’t It Be Easy?

Do you ever wonder, why isn’t everything easy? Wouldn’t it be so nice if we could go through life without any struggles? Especially during these trying times in which we are currently living. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen because life itself is a struggle and it takes strength and perseverance to get by. People who succeed in life are persistent. They learn how to improvise, adapt, and overcome. This is a phrase that Clint Eastwood made famous in his movie, Heartbreak Ridge.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
~ Walt Disney

The Butterfly

I remember hearing a story one time about a man who came upon a cocoon in a tree. As he looked at the cocoon he could see the caterpillar had changed into a butterfly and was struggling to break free. The butterfly continued to struggle and the man thought he would make it easier by opening up the cocoon. The butterfly emerged once the cocoon was opened and he could see that there was something wrong. The body was thin and the wings were misshapen and fragile. The butterfly fell to the ground and died. What the man didn’t know was, it is the struggle in which the butterfly goes through trying to break out of the cocoon that gives strength to its body and wings and allows it to fly off. Humans are no different, our struggles make us stronger.

Laws Of Nature

These are simply laws of nature that illustrate you can’t get something great without giving something up. The struggles that we go through are necessary in order to accomplish our goals. God presents these struggles to us and we must learn to overcome. Even though our struggles seem mighty, God never gives us more than we can handle. Whatever you’re going through, rest assured that it’s already inside you to overcome that struggle. The comedian Steve Harvey talks about his struggles when he first tried to make it in comedy. Looking at him now you would never know that he had to live in his car for three years while he was struggling to make it. He persevered and now leads an abundant wealthy lifestyle. He had no idea of how long it would take him to achieve his goals.

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
~ Marcus Aurelius

The unknown causes more anxiety in people than probably anything else. The hardest time we go through is when we don’t know how long our struggles will last and they seem like they will never end. There is no timeline to life’s difficulties. Unfortunately, most people give up right before they would have succeeded. It just gets too hard and they go back to their old life. Perseverance is the key to success.

“Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.”
~ Demi Lovato

Persevere

We must persevere because our struggles don’t last forever. As I said earlier, they can never be too hard because God never gives us more than we can handle. If you improvise, adapt, and overcome, you will come out stronger and better. You can have the life you always wanted. In order to persevere you must have a definitive purpose, a big WHY. This will get you through when it gets too hard, and you don’t feel like it’s worth the struggle. Do a little bit every day to get you closer to your goals and always keep moving forward, never go back. A great book to read on perseverance is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
~ Christopher Reeve

Adapt

Are you hurting right now? Is life kicking you in the teeth and every day is a struggle? We are all going through tough times these days and no one knows when it will end. All we can do is improvise, adapt, and overcome. Set your goals, make a plan, and put action to that plan. Find your definitive purpose and if you don’t have one, ask. It will be shown to you. Keep things simple and form a team of people who will support you until your struggle ends. Were all in this together and we will need the help of each other to get through.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.”
~ Louisa May Alcott

Final Thoughts

If you would like to share any struggles you are having, we might be able to help you out. Leave a reply along with your quotes, advice, tips, or links to helpful groups or sites in the comments section below. If you have any questions or requests for topics I would love to hear them. If you like this post, click on the little star and feel free to share it with others it might help. As always, my posts are based on lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. I don’t claim to be an expert or professional therapist, I just play one on TV (some of you might get that joke).

“Anyone can give up; it is the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, now that is true strength.”
~ Chris Bradford

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
~ Maya Angelou

Unashamed Begging 😉

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“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

This article may include affiliate links. www.inspirechief.com is a participant of Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. www.inspirechief.com participates in other affiliate programs and receives commissions when purchases are made through the links. This is at no extra cost to you.

July 12, 2020August 9, 2020

InspireChief26 Comments

Quotes To Help You Make Life Choices

Enjoy these empowering quotes to help you make the life choices we face everyday. I’m going to begin with a situation I found myself in where I had to make a life-threatening decision.

I kneeled behind the largest tree I could find. The timer on my watch was ticking down the seconds as I wiped off the beads of sweat dripping on the watch face. Minutes earlier, we were flying over the jungles of Peru and spotted the large cocaine lab from the air. After finding the lab and placing the explosives, I had cut a length of fuse for a 2 minute 30 second burn, fired off the igniter and started my timer. 10 seconds to go and we should hear the large boom and see an immense fireball. Three… Two… One…, Nothing, just silence. What just happened? Did I miscalculate the length of the fuse? Maybe it was a bad fuse? Did the fuse stop burning or was it still burning at a slower rate? All these thoughts flew through my head.

“You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice.”
~ Ezra Taft Benson

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
~ Nelson Mandela

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My Secret

“Decisions are the hardest thing to make especially when it is a choice between where you should be and where you want to be.”
~ Anonymous

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”
~ John C. Maxwell

Life Decisions

Now I had a choice to make. Leave the unexploded ordnance like it was which could injure someone or risk my life going back to the lab to see what went wrong and fix it. The decision was simple and I slowly made my way through the jungle back to the lab. It seemed like it took forever because with every step I took, I would stop and look for smoke or any telltale sign that the fuse was still burning. With God on my side I made it and found out that the fuse had looped back on itself and burned out. Everything turned out well and another lab was destroyed.

We make choices every day and sometimes several choices a day. Luckily, the choices we make are not always life-threatening, but they can have an enormous impact on our lives. I hope these inspirational quotes on life choices will be of some help to you when making decisions.

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
~ Denis Waitley

“Every morning you have two choices: Continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase your dreams. The choice is yours.”
~ Anonymous

You Are The Deciding Factor

How your life turns out depends on the choices you make every day. If you make more good choices than bad choices, you will enjoy the benefits of living a good life. We make many decisions every day and most of them will not have a significant impact on our life. They can however have an impact on how your day is going to turn out. If you choose to eat a sketchy gas station burrito for breakfast, you might not have the best day. In this article I don’t want to focus on the minor decisions that we make, but rather the ones that are life-changing. This is a great anonymous quote to help you make life choices; “We make our choices, then our choices make us.”

Life is a game and like all games the choices that you make during the game decides if you win or lose. You are 100 % responsible if you win in life or lose in life based on the choices that you make. Success doesn’t see race, socioeconomic status, or what country you are from. It only matters what you do with your life and the choices that you make. Always remember, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.

“I believe we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.”
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.”
~ Sammy Davis Jr.

Changing Destinations

You can change your destination simply by making the right choices. The end always matters more than the beginning. For example, you might decide that you want to attend Harvard University but do not get accepted. You make a choice to attend a local community college, study hard, make the right choices, and do everything in your power to apply for a transfer to Harvard. Eventually, you are accepted and graduate with honors. It didn’t matter what school you started at; you are a Harvard graduate.

I grew up in a middle-class family. My father was a federal law enforcement officer and even though he didn’t make a lot of money, he provided very well for us, and we never wanted for anything. I remember there were some lean times when we had to switch to powdered milk and other less expensive food items, but there was always food on the table.

“Every test in our life makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to break us or make us. The choice is ours whether we become victim or victor.”
~ Anonymous

“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

My Kingdom For A Chainsaw

Dad always wanted to teach us the value of hard work, so he made a choice not to invest in power tools. This meant that if we had a tree fall on our property, my brother and I were given the task of cutting it into firewood. Without a chainsaw, my brother would get on one side of the tree and I would get on the other. We would use a bow saw and saw back-and-forth for hours until we reduced the tree to smaller logs. Once that was accomplished, we would spend hours splitting the logs with an ax. If he had chosen to, he could have purchased a chainsaw which would have been smarter and faster. Using a chainsaw though wouldn’t have developed the necessary attributes such as teamwork, planning, and perseverance that helped us later in life. Today, I’m thankful for his choices.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
~ William Jennings Bryan

“Our talents are the gift that God gives to us… What we make of our talents is our gift back to God”
~ Leo Buscaglia

When The Sun Comes Up

I choose at the beginning of every day how my day is going to be, based on my words, my thoughts, and my actions. The first thing I do when I open my eyes in the morning is give thanks for the day I’m going to have an all I’m going to accomplish. I always start my day off with a happy thought. That thought is always the first time I ever saw my wife.

I make the choice what I’m going to do that day. I choose to work because I enjoy what I do, I like to learn new ways of making money, and I want to continue to have the ability to give. It is my choice to live my life by faith and not pay attention to the fear-based media. I have determined my purpose in choosing to spend my days in activities that will lead me to success.

“Life is the sum of all your choices.”
~ Albert Camus

You can have anything you want in this life if you choose to have it. First, you must make a choice to decide what your life is going to be. Second, you must define your purpose, what it is that you want, and why you want it. Third, you must be willing to do what it takes and sacrifice to make it happen. Fourth, you must make a plan on how you’re going to attain it and write it down. Lastly, you must read your purpose, your sacrifice, and your plan every day. Think about these motivational quotes when faced with life choices

“Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible.”
~ Cherie-Carter Scotts

“You can let things define you, destroy you, or strengthen you. It’s your choice.”
~ Anonymous

Final Thoughts

You can choose to be happy or angry. The life that you have, either good or bad, is your choice. The amount of money you want to have is all up to you. Make a choice today to live the life you want to live. Make a choice to leave this life with no regrets. If you will make the choice, follow the steps above, persevere through any failures you might have, and never quit, you will live the life of your dreams.

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“This Train is moving on! You can get on or you can get off, but the train keeps moving on. We are going to the top of the mountain!”

July 5, 2020December 16, 2020

InspireChief8 Comments

56 Inspirational Men And A Decision

To celebrate Independence Day, this is the story of 56 inspirational men who made a decision that changed the world.

Saturday, July 4^th, we will celebrate one of the greatest decisions ever made when 56 men signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. Most people know the story of this famous document which gave birth and freedom to a nation. What they don’t know is the events that led up to such a monumental decision by these men. The power behind this decision was not to be taken lightly. Each man was signing his own death warrant if they failed.

March 5, 1770

Everything began with a battle on the streets of Boston on March 5, 1770. The colonists resented the presence of armed British soldiers patrolling the streets and openly threatening them. Infuriated, the colonists began hurling stones at the soldiers. This resulted in the commanding officer ordering his men to, “Fix bayonets and charge!” The battle resulted in many men being killed and injured. Because of the incident, the Provincial Assembly called a meeting to take definite action. During the meeting, John Hancock and Samuel Adams bravely declared that all British soldiers must be ejected from Boston.

Adams was selected by the members to speak to the Governor. He requested a meeting and demanded the withdrawal of troops. The request was granted and the troops were removed. Even without the troops, issues remained. Adams and Richard Henry Lee began communicating frequently by letter about their concerns for the people. Adams then conceived the idea to coordinate the efforts of the 13 colonies through a mutual exchange of correspondence.

Two Years Later

Two years later in March 1772, Adams presented a motion to the Assembly that a Correspondence Committee be established by the colonies. This was the beginning of the organization of a power that gives us the freedom we enjoy today. This Correspondence Committee constituted the first organized planning of the disgruntled Colonists. The Colonists had been conducting disorganized resistance similar to what took place in the city of Boston. However, their individual grievances had never before been consolidated.

The newly appointed Governor of Massachusetts, sent a messenger to Adams in order to get him to cease his actions. The messenger, Colonel Fenton, told Adams that if he stopped his activities in opposition of the Crown, he would receive great personal advantages. On the other hand, if he did not cease he would be sent to England and be tried for treason. Adams made his decision instantly. He told Fenton that he had, a long time ago, made his peace with the King of Kings. Therefore, no bribe would make him abandon the righteous cause of his Country.

The First Continental Congress

When the Governor received Adams’ answer, he was enraged. He issued a pardon to all who would lay down their arms and return to being peaceful subjects of the King. This pardon applied to all subjects except for Adams and Hancock. Upon hearing this, they were forced to call a secret meeting of their followers and locked the doors. They said it was imperative that a Congress of the Colonists be formed. No man should leave until they had made their decision.

Objections, doubt, and fear were raised by the men in the room. Some questioned the wisdom of such a definite decision defying the Crown. Through the influence of their minds, Adams and Hancock convinced the others to agree. Arrangements were made for a meeting of the First Continental Congress, on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia. This is a particularly important date. If this meeting were never held, there wouldn’t have been a signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Richard Henry Lee

Before the first meeting was held, Thomas Jefferson published his work, “Summary View of the Rights of British America.” Shortly after it was published, he was informed by the representative of the Crown in Virginia that he was subject to prosecution for high treason. These were men of great fortitude. They lacked authority, military strength, or power. Still they sat and deliberated the destiny of the colonies while under the threat of death.

They continued to meet at intervals for two years. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee made this motion: “Gentlemen, I make the motion that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states, that they be absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved.” The members continued to discuss the issue for days until Lee addressed the Assembly once again by saying, “Why still deliberate? Let this happy day give birth to an American Republic. Let her arise, not to devastate and to conquer, but to reestablish the reign of peace, and of law.”

Declaration Of Independence

Shortly thereafter, John Hancock established a committee, chaired by Jefferson, to draw up a Declaration of Independence. The document was written and when accepted by the Congress, would mean death to every man who signed it should the colonies lose the inevitable war to follow. The original draft was read before the Congress on June 28 and for several days it was discussed and altered. On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson read: “When in the course of human events it is necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature, and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impelled them to the separation….”

A Death Warrant

After Jefferson had finished reading, the document was voted on, accepted, and signed by the fifty-six men. Each man knowing that he was staking his own life by making the decision to sign his name. The rest is history. May God Bless America.

“This Train Is Moving on, You Can Get on, You Can Get off, But the Train Keeps Moving on! We Are Going to the Top of the Mountain!”

Works Citied:

“Chapter 8 – Decision.” Think and Grow Rich: the Complete Classic Text, by Napoleon Hill, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008, pp. 203–213.

July 1, 2020July 2, 2021

InspireChief10 Comments