short inspirational quotes -

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?

People talk about what they are going to do all the time. I want to see it, not hear it. Actions speak louder than words. All right, you have decided to become the person others want to be. You’ve taken that first step on your journey. Goals have been set and you have written a detailed plan for accomplishing them. Now what? How are you going to get to that finish line? You see, it’s all a waste of time and energy if you don’t begin to do the work. You have to crack that egg to make your omelet. Congratulations! It’s time to take that first step on your journey to a new you. Enjoy these actions speak louder than words quotes.

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You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
~ Wayne Gretzky

You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
~ Irish Proverb

Actions, it does speak louder than words

This is the most important step, ACTION. Your actions do speak louder than words. Once you have made your decision to accomplish anything, 50% of the work is done. Congratulations once again, you are already halfway there. The other 50% comes from the action of getting it done.

It’s great that you have set your goals, written a good plan, and are ready to change. Unfortunately, nothing will change without ACTION. You must do the work. This is what stops most people. They are unwilling to do the work and make the sacrifices. This is why only 1% of people succeed. You are not like most people. It is inside you to get moving and take that step.

You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety.
~ Abraham Maslow

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home, and think about it. Go out and get busy.
~ Dale Carnegie

A Small Change

A small change in your thought process can result in a large change to your lifestyle. That change is called ACTION. Inaction creates procrastination, procrastination leads to more inaction. It is a vicious cycle. So, why do you procrastinate?

You have to get out of your comfort zone and that scares you.

The fear of failure.

You might have a fear of success.

Moving Day

Moving out of your comfort zone is difficult. It’s called a comfort zone for reason, it’s comfortable. You don’t like to be uncomfortable, nobody does. But it’s necessary for change.

Fears

Whenever you decide to do anything significant, like change, you experience a fear of failure. This is common. Those annoying little Doubt Demons will come out of hiding, repeating those thoughts of failure. “What if I fail, what will people say?”

An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.
~ Arnold Glasow

Procrastination also comes from a fear of success. Many people do not see themselves as being successful. What will happen in your life if you succeed in accomplishing your goal? How will your life change? If your business becomes successful, how will that impact your time? Your family? You will have to deal with these fears before you can take that first step.

Reasons

Other reasons for inaction and procrastination can be:

Your goal is overwhelming.

It’s too complicated.

The timing isn’t right.

Goals

Goals can be overwhelming. Think about if you have a goal to become a published author. The thought of coming up with an exciting plot and intriguing characters that keep the reader engaged. Writing 50,000 to 100,000 words can be staggering.

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.
~ Mario Andretti

That Overwhelming Feeling

When you start on a new journey there can be a learning curve. Your goal can seem too complicated. If you decide to start a new business, you might not know what it takes to run a business. You will have to spend a lot of time studying and learning.

It’s Never The Right Time

Probably the greatest cause of procrastination is timing. You want to change your life, but today is not the best day to start. You don’t feel prepared. Equipment needs to be bought. How to Books need to be read. You decide to begin an exercise program to lose weight. Procrastination sets in because you don’t have the right clothes.

The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.
~ Confucius

The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions.
~ Confucius

Oh, That Smell

I’m here to tell you that all the reasons outlined above are one thing. EXCUSES! They all stink.

There is one way to overcome procrastination which is created by inaction and you know what it is. ACTION! When you take that first step and put your plan to action, it does some marvelous things to your mindset. Does action speak louder than words? See for yourself.

Results of Action

It conquers your fears.

Provides you with the knowledge of how you’re going to accomplish your goal.

K. I. S. S. (Keep It Simple St***d). Things become simpler.

You will eliminate all excuses.

It will ignite a passion within you.

Stepping out of your comfort zone will become tolerable.

You will learn how to embrace failure.

Action will chase those Doubt Demons back into their hiding place. You will be able to control and conquer all your fears.

Focus On Your Why

Focusing on your WHY will keep you from worrying about how you’re going to accomplish your goals. You will learn new things and techniques to put your plan into motion. These actions speak louder than words quotes will help.

God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.
~ St. Augustine

Never confuse motion with action.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Your mind will take your overwhelming goal and break it down. You will look at your project in smaller more manageable bits. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. (Please don’t try to eat an elephant. They are magnificent and there aren’t enough of them.)

All the excuses that caused you to procrastinate will become trivial. With ACTION you will begin to eliminate your excuses one by one. Pretty soon they will be all gone.

Let every man or woman here remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and with what you are. He who would be great anywhere must first be great in his own Philadelphia.
~ Russel H. Conwell

The Greatest Reward

The greatest reward of taking the first step in putting your plan into ACTION is passion. It will ignite a passion within you to achieve your goal. Once you have lit this passion, you become unstoppable.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is hard. Possibly, one of the hardest things you do. Once you’re out, you realize that you can survive. Even though it might not be comfortable taking ACTION, you find that it is tolerable.

Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.
~ David Lloyd George

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
~ Aristotle

What About Failure?

Failure is going to happen. Anyone who has ever accomplished anything great has had many failures along the way. The reason that they were successful was that they persevered. You are going to have failures and setbacks along the way. Embrace your failures, don’t hide from them. Don’t use them as an excuse to quit. Once you fail, you are closer to success. They are just steppingstones along the way.

Does action speak louder than words? You bet! Do you find it difficult to get started, to begin a journey to change? Are you a victim of procrastination? Have you found that just doing something, without thinking about it, is easier for you? Do you have a story on how you defeated procrastination with action? If so, I would love to hear about it. If you haven’t joined my email list yet, click on the blue-button above. You will be able to receive my newsletters, e-book, courses, etc. You can find everything you need to grow your self-confidence.

Final Thoughts

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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. http://www.inspirechief.com is a participant of the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. http://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.

August 23, 2020July 5, 2021

InspireChief65 Comments

Quotes on Faith To Keep You Moving Forward

Going through some of my old posts, I came across one I wrote early on about the anxiety that the current pandemic has caused. I believe anxiety is predominantly caused by the unknown. You don’t know what life is going to be like in the future. Is this just a snapshot of what is to come? Will we have to wear masks and continue social distancing for years to come? Will this virus mutate into something more deadly? All these unanswered questions can create fear and panic within you. How do you handle the situations that occur in life? I hope these quotes on faith will keep you moving forward.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
~ Steve Jobs

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.
~ Khalil Gibran

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It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
~ Muhammad Ali

Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.
~ Elisabeth Elliot

Faith Quotes For Growth

If you have been following some of my blog posts, then you are familiar with the term faith over fear. Faith is what gives me the confidence that I can handle any situation. Faith gives you the confidence that everything will turn out alright. You know that it will work out in your favor. Therefore, you don’t worry about any negative things that happen along the way. Faith is what keeps those irritating “Doubt Demons” locked in their little dark spaces. No matter how bad things are today, you know that tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow can be the day when things take a turn for the better.

50/50 Chance They Would Die

Faith builds your confidence. Fear tears it down. To accomplish great achievements you must carry faith with you. As you begin a new venture it can seem overwhelming, almost impossible. To turn it into a reality you will need confidence in yourself and everyone helping you. Everything is possible with faith.

There are many talented people who haven’t fulfilled their dreams because they over thought it, or they were too cautious and were unwilling to make the leap of faith.
~ James Cameron

In 1969 we sent three astronauts to the moon. Two of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon. Michael Collins flew the command capsule. This was a phenomenal feat. When they were given the “green light” to launch in July 1969, many scientists and experts thought we were years away from being ready. It took a lot of faith and confidence from the astronauts, engineers, scientists, and mathematicians to proceed on this historic event. Experts only gave them a 50 percent chance of making it back alive. Now that’s faith and it led to the famous quote below.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Faith vs Fear

If the people that were involved in the moon landing had focused on their fears, that event would have never happened. Faith and fear are the same things, a choice. You can choose fear and do nothing or you can choose faith and accomplish great things. Fear will keep you right where you’re at, in your comfort zone. Faith will give you the confidence to control your fears and succeed. When you make that decision to change your life, see the outcome that you want, and have faith that it’s going to happen. Does that mean there won’t be obstacles along the way? No, but faith will get you through them. Focusing on your fears will have you turning around and going back to your old, comfortable life.

God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength, and ability. Prayer helps us tap and develop these powers.
~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
~ Voltaire

An Inspirational Woman

I recently read a blog post that I will link here. I found this post both powerful and inspirational. This young lady has been through financial struggles and just recently got a good job that she enjoys. She is grateful for everything she has but has been thinking about also starting a business. Being grateful is a key factor because if you are not grateful for what you have, how do you expect to be rewarded with something better. I found it inspirational because she set a goal (employment) and conquered her obstacles (financial struggles). She climbed to the top of the mountain but is now seeing a larger mountain to climb. I believe she will tackle this goal with faith, conquer her fears, and do very well.

My faith helps me understand that circumstances don’t dictate my happiness, my inner peace.
~ Denzel Washington

Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.
~ Charles H. Spurgeon

6 Basic Fears

There are many fears in our minds. The six basic fears that will cause you to fail are:

Poverty
Criticism
Ill Health
Loss of Love
Old Age
Death

Focusing on the fear of poverty will only bring you more debt. Instead, have faith that your financial struggles will end. This will bring about ideas on making more money, getting a promotion, etc.

The fear of criticism is what stops most people from changing their lives. You can be so afraid of what people will think and say about you that you will never begin to change your life. If you are scared of criticism then you value others’ opinions more than you value your dreams. Have total faith in what you are doing.

Fear of contracting COVID 19 has stopped many people in their tracks. Especially at the beginning when many people didn’t want to or couldn’t leave their house. I can understand that. This virus is real and people have died. Have faith that we will beat the disease and return to our normal lives. This will allow you to move forward and accomplish your goals. It will provide you with the inspiration you need to find a way to succeed.

Worrying is arrogant because God knows what He’s doing.
~ Barbara Cameron

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
~ Helen Keller

The Negativity Focus

How do you continue or begin to have faith when we are constantly surrounded by fears. We are inundated with negativity every day. The media focuses on negative news more than positive news. Why? Negative news plays on your fears. Fears equal viewers and viewers equal money. The media plays on your fears to keep you watching. If you don’t believe me, live in Florida during hurricane season. If one computer model out of 50 shows it making landfall, that’s the one they focus on.

From Fear To Faith

Building your faith is a matter of changing your mindset from negative to positive. A positive mindset is a growth mindset. It doesn’t focus on fears, only on faith. Speaking positive affirmations every day will grow your mind. You will replace all your fears and self-doubt with faith and self-confidence. Everything that you hear or say is taken in by your conscious mind and you believe it. If all you hear is negative information about the world that is what you will perceive as reality. Positive affirmations will change your thoughts which are stored in your subconscious mind. Anything you picture in your mind your subconscious will turn it into a reality. Therefore, it is only through positive affirmations and visualization that you can control your fears and change your life. Here are some examples.

I deserve all the great things that happen to me.
My body is healthy.
Abundance flows to me because I am open to receive it.
I am moving forward and becoming better every day.
I have great relationships with all my family members.
My businesses are successful and allow me to help many people.
I treat people with kindness and joy.

These are just a few examples and you can tailor your affirmations to your situation. Remember to be grateful for what you have and give thanks every day. Always repeat your daily affirmations with love and joy. They must come from a happy place in your mind.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead, you relax and float.
~ Alan Watts

Final Thoughts

Are your fears holding you back? Are you going to live with a negative fearful mind or a positive mind full of faith? Do you believe you have a growth mindset? If you haven’t joined my email list yet, click on the blue-button above. You will be able to receive my newsletters, e-book, courses, etc. You can find everything you need to grow your self-confidence.

“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 the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. http://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.

August 16, 2020August 16, 2020

InspireChief34 Comments

Quotes to Keep You From Quitting

How many of you would agree with me that quitting is good? Wouldn’t everyone like to be known as a quitter? Well, sometimes quitting is good. As long as you’re talking about quitting smoking, I would like to be known as a quitter. The definition of quitting is to give up or resign. There are certain things that you need to give up to live a healthy life, such as overeating. If you’re in a stressful, unenjoyable job, you should look for another. You need to quit the bad habits in your life. These motivational quotes to keep you from quitting will get you over all obstacles.

“It’s always too soon to quit.”
~ Norman Vincent Peale

“Age wrinkles the body; quitting wrinkles the soul.”
~ Douglas MacArthur

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Quitting Quotes To Move Forward

At times, you have to quit to move forward. Hanging around the wrong people will hold you back. You have to quit them. When I first started my blog I wrote a post about quitting. I wanted to revisit that post and talk a little more about the idea of quitting. I hope these inspirational quotes about quitting will help you fight on when the urge takes hold of you.

“Never give up. If you want to be something, be conceited about it, give yourself a chance. Never say you are not good, that will never get you anywhere. Set goals, That’s what life is made of.”
~ Mike McLaren

“You’re never a loser until you quit trying.”
~ Mike Ditka

We talked about when it’s good to give up bad habits. Now let’s talk about what happens when you make that decision to change for the better. Why can’t you quit and go back to your old lifestyle? For one, once you quit on a major decision, it becomes a habit. A bad habit. Now, to accomplish anything, you have to quit the habit of quitting. Wow, I am getting dizzy.

Habits

Once the habit is developed it becomes the easiest thing you will do. It becomes easier every time you do it. You will never attempt anything hard ever again. Every time something becomes difficult, you will quit. Here is a lesson I learned early on and have passed it on to my children. Life is hard and it is not fair. You must learn to persevere and drive on when everything in your mind is telling you to give up. This always reminds me of the line in the movie A League of Their Own. One of Tom Hanks’ players told him she was crying because it was hard. Hanks’ character replied, “Of course it’s hard, that’s what makes it great.” What a great quote to keep you from quitting.

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”
~ Napoleon Hill

“Most people who succeed in the face of seemingly impossible conditions are people who simply don’t know how to quit.”
~ Robert Schuller

You must have a strong mindset to change your lifestyle, become more self-confident, and be successful. A strong mind is always looking to grow. If you can develop your mind into a growth mindset, you will not quit. Imagine if plants quit growing when the conditions get hard. We would have no food. When the rains do not come their roots continue growing, searching for water. They will sustain themselves until the rains return.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
~ Conrad Hilton

40% Rule

The Navy SEALs have what they call a 40% Rule. The 40% Rule says that when your mind is telling you that you are done, you have used only 40% of your energy. You have so much more inside of you and can keep going. I utilized this mindset in completing The Murph Challenge on Memorial Day. Some science backs up the 40% Rule. In a 2008 study, subjects were given a placebo and told it was caffeine. Other subjects were given caffeine. Both subjects then lifted weights. The subjects that were given the placebo lifted significantly more weight than the subjects given caffeine.

“No man is ever whipped until he quits in his own mind.”
~ Napoleon Hill

“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.”
~ Ross Perot

If you’ve decided to do anything significant, at some point you will think about quitting. We have all been there. These thoughts are at their greatest frequency just before you are about to have a breakthrough. All you have to do to be successful is turn the corner or take another step. If you just drive one more mile you will find the answer. If you ever get to the point where you’re considering giving up and returning to your old lifestyle, think of WHY you wanted to change.

“Some people fold after making one timid request. They quit too soon. Keep asking until you find the answers.”
~ Jack Canfield

How Do We Keep Going?

How do we keep going when it becomes too difficult? We have to start with the WHY. You must remember WHY you started. You will never quit if your WHY is big enough. I talk about this a lot in my posts because I believe in its importance. Your WHY has to come from deep down inside of you. It should scare you. Success should be your only option. Choke out your “Doubt Demons” when they show up. Immediately replace any thoughts of failure with thoughts of success.

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
~ Ella Fitzgerald

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.”
~ George Allen

Rely On Others

Another way to keep from quitting is to form your team. It is a lot easier to quit on yourself than it is to quit on others. If you have family members who believe in you, make a commitment to them. You will get it done. Be honest with your teammates and rely on each other. Help everyone pull through the difficult times. We are all in this together and together we will win. Crush all obstacles in your way. As an individual and as a team you’re always moving forward. Be happy with the small victories and win the day. I like to think of it like a sports team. Before you can win the game you have to win each play. In football, you win the quarter. In cricket, you win the inning, and in soccer you win the half.

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he’s sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of men do.”
~ Napoleon Hill

Keep Moving Forward

To reiterate, when you make that life-changing decision at some point you will think about quitting. Whatever you decide to do is going to seem harder than you originally thought. The thoughts of quitting will permeate your brain if you do not have a strong mindset. Always remember WHY you started, lean on your teammates, and always move forward. Like the movie character, Rocky Balboa said, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.” So when life hits you hard, take it, smile, and keep moving forward.

Final Thoughts

Have you ever gotten to the point where you felt like quitting? What did you do to break through and succeed? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts. If you have any tips on not giving up I would like to hear them. 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.

“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!”

August 9, 2020July 5, 2021

InspireChief66 Comments

Inspirational Quotes For Achieving Goals

Goals, who needs them? What are they and who uses them? How do we set them and do they work? I want to talk a little bit today about your goals. They are instrumental in your personal development. I’ve included some inspirational quotes that I hope will help you in achieving your goals.

“It’s harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb. Continue to seek new goals.”
~ Pat Summitt

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Achieving Goals

Who writes down goals? Well, the best answer is, successful people. Did you know that 96% of all the wealth created in the world is created by 1% of the population? These are the people that are extremely successful in building businesses and making money. By comparison, I recently heard that only 1% of people write down their goals. One could deduct that the 1% who are writing down their goals are also the 1% creating 96% of the wealth. For example, in my post last week on becoming an expert, I listed some habits of successful people. One of those habits is that successful people are goal-oriented. Taking this all in, I think it’s time we started writing some goals.

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”
~ Michael Korda

What are goals? How do we decide what our goals are? Simply put, goals are just things that you want. Decide on some things that you want and write them down. Now you have some goals. For example, you might want more money, a bigger house, or fame. Maybe you want a better relationship or be in a relationship. Whatever you want, write it down.

Stay On Course

Your goals can be described as a target that gives you something to aim at. Also, they can be thought of as your internal GPS. They keep you going in the right direction and not veering off course. They get you where you want to go. Another way to think of goals is to picture a plow horse. The farmer always puts blinders on the horse when they hook them up to the plow. The blinders are simply small squares of firm leather attached to the bridal at the side of the horse’s head. Since horse’s eyes are on the side of their head, they have peripheral vision. They can easily be distracted by something off to the side and stray off course. The blinders help the farmer to plow straight rows. They keep the horse on track, just like your goals.

“If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
~ Source unknown

“It’s important to set your own goals and work hard to achieve them.”
~ Yuichiro Miura

We have already established that goals are things that you want. They are your dreams. They need to be written down. Goals that are not written down are simply a wish. They will never be achieved. When setting goals, keep in mind that they should be big but also realistic. You have to convince your mind that your goal is attainable. An unattainable goal is worthless. For example, if my goal is to live on another planet, that is currently unattainable. I wouldn’t work very hard to attain that goal. Your goal needs to be big enough to scare you. It must make you grow in the process of making it come true.

The End Date

Goals must have an end date. By setting an end date, you will stay on track to accomplish your goal. It helps you do a little bit every day to keep moving forward. You will also be able to track your progress towards reaching your goal. For example, by December 31, 2020, I have earned $1,500,000 profit in my businesses. I can now see how close or far I am to my goal. This allows me to look at my plan and see if it’s working. I recommend people to set long-term goals, medium goals, and short-term goals. A long-term goal can be five or 10 years out. This is the main goal that we know will take some time to achieve. Our medium and short-term goals will keep us on track to achieving our long-term goals.

“You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.”– Ted Turner

“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
~ Michelangelo

Now we have decided on the things we want, written them down, and set an end date. Next, we need to read them every day. I prefer to write my goals on an index card and carry it in my pocket. This way I can read them wherever I am. Remember not to write down too many goals. You will keep getting distracted from obtaining your main goal. It is better to focus on one or two goals that will change you.

How Do We Achieve Our Goals

How are we going to accomplish our goals now that we have them written down? The most important question is not how, but WHY. Once you know WHY you will figure out how to turn your goals into reality. Just keep your eyes open and pay attention to your thoughts. They will open your mind up to all the possibilities in front of you. What happens when we reach our end date and we have been successful? One answer is to set bigger goals with a new end date. What if we fail to reach our goal? If you failed to reach your goal, then look at your plan and your work ethic. Possibly, you did not work hard enough or your plan was flawed. If this happens, change your plan. Don’t change your goal.

“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.”
~ Author Unknown

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream, precedes the goal.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore

Methods

One method of staying on track with your goals is called, “The Seinfeld Method.” In this method, you get a large yearly calendar and hang it on a prominent wall. Establish your goal and your plan. Every day that you do something in your plan and work toward your goal, put a big red “X” on that date. The purpose is to establish a chain and never break the chain. Another method is to put two jars on your desk. One jar is filled with marbles, paperclips, etc., and the other is empty. Every time you do something towards accomplishing your goal, move the object to the empty jar. This is a great method for accomplishing daily goals. A lot of salespeople use this method when they have a goal of making X amount of sales calls a day.

inspirational-quotes-goals-journal-2020 — Write’em Down

The Journey

What I become from the process is what I like most about setting goals and working towards obtaining them. Will you become a better person by focusing on your goals? What kind of person would you be after working on your plan? Like me, you will change. By focusing on your goals you will begin to get a direction in your life. It will give you a purpose and you will find you are better because of it. This to me is the most important aspect of goal setting, what you become.

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”
~ Bill Copeland

“If you’re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.”
~ Lou Holtz

Have you written your goals down and carry them with you? Do you have them written on the bathroom mirror? Leave a comment below and let me know if you have any tips on attaining goals. 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.

Final Thoughts

“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!”

August 2, 2020January 22, 2021

InspireChief51 Comments

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.

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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.

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

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

Inspirational Quotes About Your Gifts

Today I want to write about something that is near and dear to my heart. Namely, your gift. This is not a gift wrapped in pretty paper with ribbons and bows, it’s a gift that you carry around inside of you. You have had it your entire life. I am talking about the gift that has been placed in you, by God, before you are born. Everyone is born with their gift and I hope that these inspirational quotes will help you to discover your gifts.

“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”
~ Leo Buscaglia

“Don’t let your talent go to waste.”
~ Anonymous

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My Secret

Where Can You Find Your Gifts?

These gifts that we are born with can be the same or different than other people’s gifts. You can choose to utilize them or not; They are specifically tailored to you. Many people don’t even realize the gift that’s inside of them. They can search their whole lives trying to find out what they should do or become. While they are on their quest to find out who they are, they search everywhere but never look inside themselves. Their gift was there all along.

“Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”
~ John C. Maxwell

. “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
~ John Wooden

“Why hide your talent in the closet of complacency when you have greatness within you?”
~ Robin Sharma

“If you have talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly, like a millionaire intent on going broke.”
~ Brenda Francis

Questions People Ask Me About Our Gifts

Frequently, I have people talk to me about not having a direction in their life. They don’t know what their gift is and seem lost. Their lives have become stuck in a rut and they’ve ceased to move forward. Next, they will ask me, what my gift is? My response is, my gift is giving. Being able to help as many people as I can by giving them inspiration. I have always enjoyed giving more than receiving, even at Christmas. The most joy I received was by watching others open gifts that I had given them than I did opening my gifts. Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely happy and thankful for the gifts I got, but happier watching others. Below is a good inspirational quote.

“All of us are talented in our unique way. We just need to recognize our capacity and develop our talents to their full potential.”
~ Anonymous

My Gift

After explaining what my gift is, the next question that I get is, how did I find out what my gift is? The answer to that question is simple, I asked. After I asked God what my gift was, I began to realize how happy it made me to give. I realized my whole life that I had been serving others, giving my time and talents to keep others safe. Also, more and more people began telling me that my words helped and inspired them. I remembered the inspirational words of my mother, who gave me one of my greatest gifts when she said, “you can become anything you want as long as you put your mind to it.” I became someone that found joy in helping others.

Sometimes everyone needs help getting up

This inspirational quote shows that your gift doesn’t have to be extraordinary.

“With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.”
~ Thomas Foxwell Burton

Questions To Ask Yourself

If you’re searching for your gift, ask yourself this question. What am I good at? Take an inventory of your life, search deep, and see what you come up with. Think about what other people have told you that you are good at. Secondly, if nobody has ever told you that you are good at something, then start asking questions of your friends and family members. Finally, ask yourself, what makes me happy? Hopefully, this will lead you to discover what your gift is. Please remember, your first step in finding your gift is to simply ask. It will be revealed to you if you ask the universe.

Unique Gifts

Your gift is simply that, your gift. It is uniquely yours and nobody else’s. It could be that you’re a good cook or can bake well, you make tasty dishes that others enjoy. Possibly, you have the gift of leadership inside you. You instill the belief into men and women that they can be better than they currently are. Do you like to tell a joke? The gift of laughter is a great one because laughter is the best medicine. We all need to laugh at least once a day.

“True happiness involves the full use of one’s power and talents.”
~ John W. Gardner

“Talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it.”
~ Maya Angelou

Your gift can be something that you’re doing every day and don’t even realize it. You can improve the lives of people around you and not even know that you’re doing it. By utilizing your gift you are fulfilling God’s purpose for you. Once you realize what is inside of you, then you need to share it with as many people as you possibly can.

Opportunities

Take advantage of the opportunities that are being presented to you every day and share your gift. Today, with the Internet, you have the opportunity to share your gift with billions of people. There are numerous different vehicles on the Internet in which you can share your gift all over the world. You can write, make videos, host a podcast, share photos, etc. Find the one that’s right for you and share your gift. Don’t let the present or the past set your future. If you don’t utilize your gift, then you wasted it. Whenever your time comes to leave this planet make sure you go out with no regrets.

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“I believe that every person is born with talent.”
~ Maya Angelou

Do You Have The Tools?

You might not think that you have the tools or the talents to share your gift but you are wrong. I, for example, have always been an introverted person. Nobody would have ever thought I would be a great speaker. Public speaking was not my forte, I even got a “C” in my public speaking class in college. I was never comfortable in front of an audience. That didn’t stop me because I practiced until I was good at it. Now it is quite easy for me to speak in front of large audiences. Don’t let anything stop you from sharing your gift. Henry Van Dyke said it best in this inspirational quote:

“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.”
~ Henry Van Dyke

“Talent is a universal gift, but it takes a lot of courage to use it. Don’t be afraid to be the best.”
~ Paulo Coelho

Success: A Definition

In previous posts, I have written about the definition of success. Different people define success in different ways. One of the best definitions of success encompasses all people in all different walks of life. Success is the completion and the fulfillment of the original intent or purpose for your existence. Simply put, you will be successful if you discover your purpose and complete it before you die. Anything less would be failure.

“Success is measured by why you were created. Success is purpose fulfilled.”
~Dr. Myles Murphy

“Success is not measured by what you have done compared with what other people have done.”
~Dr. Myles Murphy

If you consider yourself successful because of wealth, the position you hold, or the accolades you have earned, and you are ignoring your gift, then you are not truly successful. You are not fulfilling your God-given purpose. Only God can measure success. It is measured by what you have done with your gift compared to what you should and could have done. Even though I have accomplished much in my life, my purpose is to help millions of people. Until that happens I cannot consider my life to be a success.

Final Thoughts

I would love to hear if you have discovered your gifts and how you are using them. I hope that I have inspired you and you use the inspirational quotes about your gifts to accomplish great things. 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).

Impenitent Begging 😉

“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!”

June 28, 2020July 26, 2020

InspireChief7 Comments

The Murph Challenge: How I Tackled It

At the beginning of the year, I was looking for a physical challenge to keep me motivated and continuing my exercise regime. At the end of March, I watched the video of a group of people doing the Murph Challenge. Even though it looked daunting, I called my oldest daughter and asked her if she would want to do it with me. She was excited, so we set up a plan and began training. I knew in order to make it through the training and the challenge I would need to read inspirational fitness quotes on a daily basis.

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion.”
— Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven-time Mr. Olympia

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”
— Bruce Lee, actor, and martial artist

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The Murph Challenge

Lieutenant Michael P Murphy was a Navy Seal who was killed in action on June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan. LT. Murphy was severely wounded but still fought on, allowing one member of his team (Marcus Luttrell) to escape before he was killed. For his selfless actions, LT. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 27, 2007. Thousands of men and women honor his memory by competing in The Murph Challenge on Memorial Day every year. It has become a humbling tradition that gives us an opportunity to push ourselves and persevere to honor, LT. Michael P. Murphy, a man who sacrificed everything he had for our freedom.

The Murph Challenge consists of a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another one-mile run while wearing a 20-pound vest. Why would I want to put my body through such a test? Even though I’m in good physical condition, especially for a man my age (I will be 60 years young in August), I wasn’t close to being in the type of shape I needed to be in to complete this challenge. I could do only three pull-ups and 10 push-ups when I started. I knew I would need a big WHY to keep me going. My WHY was that I wanted to do it to honor my family members, my friends, and all the servicemen and women who paid that ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country.

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”
— Michael Jordan, basketball player

“A champion is someone who gets up when they can’t.”
— Jack Dempsey, professional boxer

Why Would I Do This To Myself?

After I had my WHY, I then wrote down my goal. This was easy because The Murph Challenge is specific and given to you. My goal was to complete it as specified and not modify it. I could’ve decided to do it without the vest but I really wanted to challenge myself and prove that age is just a number.

The hardest part for me was coming up with a plan to be able to tackle this challenge. When I sat down and looked at the workout, it scared me. I had no idea how I was going to get through it. Then I read my favorite inspirational quote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I came to the conclusion that I could do small parts of the whole challenge. I had two months to train so I broke down The Murph Challenge into fractions.

The Plan

I began on the first of April with a plan to do one-fourth of The Murph Challenge without wearing the 20-pound vest. I would do this workout, 25 pull-ups, 50 push-ups, and 75 squats, three times a week for two weeks.

During weeks 3 and 4, I increased my workout by attempting to do one half of The Murph Challenge. I completed this workout three times a week, but only wore the vest during one of those three workouts.

As weeks 5 and 6 rolled around, I was strong enough to complete one half of a Murph with the vest three times a week. With only two weeks to go before the challenge, I knew I had to ramp up my training.

In weeks 7 and 8, the last weeks before The Murph Challenge, I decided that I needed to do 80 percent of a Murph, without the vest, three times a week. As painful as this was, it gave me the confidence that I would need to complete the challenge. Throughout my training, I was constantly listening to motivational speeches and reading the inspirational quotes that I have included in this post.

“What hurts today makes you stronger tomorrow.”
— Jay Cutler, pro bodybuilder and four-time Mr. Olympia

“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.”
— Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, actor and pro wrestler

The Day Is Finally Here

Memorial Day has finally arrived and I will get to achieve the goal I had set for myself two months ago. I have to admit that I was glad the day was finally here because the training had become harder on my body. It took me longer to recover between training days. I woke up that morning and felt great. My body was strong and I knew I would endure the pain and make it through. Unfortunately, my daughter had moved back to her apartment to begin work again and we couldn’t do it together. It’s always easier to have a partner, someone to suffer with you, and motivate you. I would have to motivate myself, so I fired up some good music, inspirational speeches, and fitness quotes, and off I went.

One Mile Run

I put on the vest, which felt a lot heavier than 20 pounds and opened the garage door. I was disappointed at the site and the sounds of a rainstorm. Hesitating for a minute, went over my options, determining that I only had one. I went out into the dark, rainy morning. At times, the rain was coming in sideways and I felt the sting on my face of raindrops propelled by the wind. I continued on, knowing I couldn’t turn back. My adrenaline was pumping and I moved with a brisk pace, hardly feeling the extra weight.

So Many Pull Ups

After finishing my one-mile run/walk, I had decided to do 10 sets of 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups, and 30 squats. My first set was as painful as it always was. My arm and shoulder muscles felt as if they were on fire as I lifted my body off the ground. It takes a while for my old joints and muscles to get warmed up, but I knew from my training that the pain was going to go away the more sets I did.

“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.”
— John Wooden, basketball player and coach

“You have to think it before you can do it. The mind is what makes it all possible.”
— Kai Greene, pro bodybuilder and artist

By the time I finished the fifth set, I was feeling good. I was tired but my muscles were strong and I knew I could keep going. During the sixth and seventh set, I noticed that my grip strength was beginning to wane. Reading the inspirational quotes really helped me to stay focused and forget about the pain.

Almost Home

Finishing the eighth set was a milestone for me. I had never completed 80 percent of a Murph while wearing the 20-pound vest. Now I knew that nothing was going to stop me despite the pain in my shoulders, hands, knees, and elbows. Two more to go.

Approaching my last set, I was feeling extreme pain in my arms and shoulders but I was too close to quit. I just kept repeating my favorite quote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” over and over until I completed my last squat. I did it! Only one more mile to go.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan

“When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.”
—Unknown

The Last Mile

I headed out into a steady rain this time, not the downpour I endured on my first mile and was thankful it was not a normal humid Florida morning. This time I moved a lot slower than I did when I began the challenge. The weight of the vest was digging into my shoulders and felt like 100 pounds. The pain I felt in my arms and shoulders from all the pull-ups and push-ups was almost unbearable and I wanted to stop. I just kept going, putting one foot in front of the other until I saw the finish line. The inspirational quotes kept repeating in my head and gave me the strength to persevere.

Victory

Finally, it was over and I had done it. I pushed through the pain and it humbled me as I thought about my reasons for taking on this challenge. The images of my family and friends were imprinted in my mind and were there with me. They were my team along with all the men and women of the Armed Forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. My victory over this challenge is dedicated to Brad Smith a colleague of mine in the DEA. Brad passed away a little over a month ago after a long courageous battle with cancer.

Final Thoughts

Taking on The Murph Challenge is no different than taking on any of life’s other challenges. Are you facing any challenges today in life you need to take on? If so, just do what I did and use the tools of success to overcome those challenges. Decide your WHY, set a goal, make your plan, and go work your plan. Break it down into its simplest form, something you know you can handle and begin. Find your team to help you overcome any obstacles. Use these inspirational quotes to help get you through the most difficult times. When you want to quit, think about why you started. Persevere and victory will be yours.

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
—Steve Prefontaine

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”
—Jerry Rice

Have you ever took on a challenge and beat it? If so, I would love to hear about it. 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).

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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!”

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June 7, 2020July 8, 2020

InspireChief4 Comments

Short Inspirational Quotes To Improve Teamwork

Does Teamwork Make The Dream Work? Yes it does! If you want to be successful at anything, you need a team. It’s just overwhelmingly difficult to make it to the top by yourself. As I have written in past blogs, your WHY needs to come from deep down inside you, it needs to be large and emotional. The goal that you are working towards accomplishing has to be worthwhile. It must be realistic, however large enough to scare you. That is to say, difficult to obtain. Life is gonna throw too many obstacles and challenges at you to accomplish the goal by yourself. I’ve included some short inspirational quotes to help you succeed.

We always went into the jungle as teams. I was part of a 10 man team that was deployed to South America and lived in the jungle. In the military, I was part of a unit that had a mission to accomplish and could only be done as a team. During my law enforcement career, I always had a partner but most importantly, we were part of a bigger team that worked the streets. Whenever we would conduct an enforcement operation, for example, we always went out with a minimum of six team members. You will see from reading these inspirational quotes of people from all walks of society that being a part of a team is important if you want to succeed.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” – Napoleon Hill

Inspirational Quotes From Sports

On sports teams, one player cannot win it all by himself or herself. Even in individual sports, for instance, golf, the player and the caddy make up a team. You cannot motivate yourself to perform to the same level a teammate will inspire you to. Teams win championships, not individuals. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Michael Jordan, couldn’t win a championship by himself. He needed championship type players around him. The Chicago Bulls couldn’t win a championship until they formed a complete team around Jordan with players such as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, then they won it all. Read inspirational quotes from champions on your journey .

In the NFL, the New England Patriots were not awarded all of their Super Bowl rings by relying only on Tom Brady. They continually brought on championship type players to surround Brady and let him work his magic. Their success has inspired other teams to do the same. In baseball, to win the World Series, teams must have great pitching, hitting, and fielding. The US women’s national soccer team is viewed as one of the greatest in the world because they have won several world cups. Mostly due to the depth of talent they have on that team. These great players all work together in harmony to achieve their goals. I love this inspirational quote below from Abby Wambach. It really sums up teamwork.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson

The Teams That Motivated Me

I have been part of a team for most of my life. It started with youth sports, Little League, and high school sports. Next, I became part of a team when I joined the military, as well as afterward when I was hired by DEA. Wherever I worked we were always surrounded by inspirational quotes in the office.

Whenever that moment came that I moved on and left the team, I always missed the comradery the most. The hardest part of deciding to retire from DEA was knowing that I wasn’t going to be part of that team anymore.

I was on that team for almost 27 years and it was extremely hard for me to realize that that part of my life was over. The long hours, hardships we faced, and failures we endured were made easier by having my teammates around me. The successes were more joyous and memorable by sharing them with my teammates.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

“There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn

Form Your Team For Inspiration

If you find yourself all alone on your journey, I encourage you to go form a team. Find people who will be inspirational to you. It is said that two horses pulling together should be able to pull twice as much weight as a single horse. The truth is that two horses, pulling as a team, can actually pull three times the weight. If those two horses trained together as a team, then they can pull as much as four times the weight.

According to “The Book Of Drafts Horses: The Gentle Giants That Built the World”, a pair of Shire horses pulled around 50 tons (100K pounds) of logs:

Shire breed horses pulling a heavy load of logs

By forming or joining a team it will make your journey to success easier, faster, and less frustrating. It’s a lot easier to quit on yourself than it is to quit on a team. When you’re looking for a team, Firstly, look for people who are like-minded as you and are always uplifting. Next, take a deep long look at the team that you’re currently on, mainly your coworkers, family, and friends. Evaluate your team to see if they are supportive and invested in your success or are they negative and insincere.

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” – Mother Teresa

Who Inspires You The Most?

Look at the people in your life and you will see that you can fit them into one of two categories; wind or anchors. People that are in the wind category are always filling your sails and moving you forward. They are motivating and inspirational. People in the anchor category are the ones that stop your forward progress, keep you from moving anywhere, and if they wrap around you, can drag you to the bottom of the ocean and drown you. These anchors will have to be cut out of your life, at least temporarily, until you are not affected by them.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford

As you continue on your journey you will build your confidence to a level where you are no longer affected by other people’s opinions of you. In a previous post titled, A Flying Rat’s Ass, I wrote about not letting other people’s opinions affect you. For instance, if someone else’s opinions or words negatively affect you and stop you from accomplishing your goals, then you value the other person’s opinion more than you do yourself.

Inspiration From Business Leaders

Whenever you see a successful person on TV always remember that there was a team behind that person that got them there. But, you rarely see the entire team, just the face of the business such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Jeff Bezos. But you can rest assured that there was a team of like-minded people with them. This team was focused on the mission and worked together to become successful. No one accomplishes anything worthwhile alone.

Even something so sequestered as writing a blog is made up of a team. While I sit here alone, hacking away at my keyboard, I have a whole team of people in the blogging community helping me out. I surround myself with quotes of inspirational and motivational sayings. You provide me inspiration to continue and tips to make me better. This community has shared my words and helped grow my following, for that I’m much appreciative. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Final Thoughts

“Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” – Patrick Lencioni

The next step is to simply go find a mentor and form that championship team that will accelerate your road to success. I will provide many inspirational quotes in my posts that you can use and share with others. We are all here for you.

Do you have any favorite inspirational quotes? If so, I would love to here them. Send me 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).

“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!”

Sharing

I believe in the power of sharing. If I read a good blog that speaks to me and I believe it will provide value to others, I will share it. I have linked four books that I believe have value. To change you, you first have to change the way you think. Leaders Are Readers!

I still enjoy sitting by the pool or on my sofa with a good book. It doesn’t matter the genre, fiction, history, biographies, and motivational. I enjoy the quiet time I get with just me and my book. But we live in a fast pace society today where sometimes we need to combine our tasks. Do you find yourself short on time? Are you constantly saying, where did the time go? You are not alone. I believe that we all feel like we don’t have enough time to get everything accomplished and what usually suffers is “me time.” “Me time” is especially important to all of us.

I Love A Good Shortcut

A shortcut that I have found helpful is my Audible Membership and Kindle Unlimited Membership. I listen to books on audible while I’m doing other things. I can listen while getting dressed, while I’m working out, and even while I’m preparing dinner for my family. It is a great way to get my reading in even when I have a full to-do list that I have received from the Mrs. She doesn’t take kindly to me ignoring her to-do list while I catch up on my reading.

With an Audible Membership, it’s a win-win for both of us. I can download great books on this and listen to them with my AirPods. I use my AirPods every time I exercise. They don’t fall out and the sound is great. With Kindle, I can download books, magazines, and my daughters can even download their college textbooks. This is so much easier than carrying a heavy backpack full of textbooks around campus. The books can be downloaded to any device and read with the Kindle app.

Don’t Miss Out On This Deal

Both the Audible Membership and Kindle Unlimited Membership are currently offering a 30-day free trial. You can sign up by clicking on the links and give it a test drive for 30 days free. If you find it’s not for you, simply cancel your membership before your 30 days are up and you won’t be charged.

Do you know someone who is always in a hurry and can’t seem to take time for themselves? We all do. I would suggest checking out giving an Audible Membership as a gift. It is a great gift idea for someone who is always on the go.

Inspirational Books Full Of Quotes

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. A book that will change your life. It answers the question, Why do some people have everything and others struggle? The answer is simple, they know the secret. It has changed my life and can change yours.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This is an oldie but goodie that is full of relevant life lessons. It is a book that you hear speaker after speaker refer to. Successful people all have the same mentality and know you have to change the way you think to be successful. Only one percent of people set goals.

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind And Defy The Odds by David Goggins. I enjoyed reading this book and I found it very relatable. If you want to become more than you are today, read this book. After you finish there will be no excuses. David is just an ordinary guy who made the decision to be extraordinary and was determined.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. A must-read for anyone wanting to change their habits. A great book for managers and leaders. Covey teaches you how to transform your thoughts to not only help you but also to help others. These are 7 principles to incorporate into your life.

I appreciate every like, follow, comment, and share. Keep’em coming.

May 24, 2020July 8, 2020

InspireChief11 Comments