Fulfilling your purpose

Do you feel that you have found your great purpose in life?
I asked Lexington High School students that question yesterday.
I told them that unfortunately many people never find theirs.
Some don’t even know they need to look for it.
We are born with a great purpose. There’s just one catch.
We come without an instruction manual.
We have to find our great purpose for ourselves.
It took me a long time to find mine.
This made me want to help others find theirs.
That’s why I wrote "Your Life’s Great Purpose".
In September, I will be teaching a course to help you find yours.
It will be at Midlands Technical College in South Carolina.
"Your Life’s Great Purpose" comes with an autographed copy.
We will explore the eight key areas of life and set goals in each.
These include your faith, family, fun and community.
Your career, financial goals, mental growth and physical fitness.
You can download course information at www.mtctraining.com
The class meets 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays at the Harbison campus.
The course is for seven weeks, Sept. 9 to Oct. 21.
You may register online or call 732-0432.
To watch a video interview about the book, just click here.
To comment, please click on "comments" below.

Prioritize your projects

Have you so much to do you can’t figure out where to start?
When you prioritize your projects, that pressure disappears.
You know what you must do first and what to do next.
As Mark Twain suggested, go for the big frogs first.
Here’s an example of how you might make this work for you.
Jim Howard and I drove to Charlotte for an NSA Carolinas meeting.
That's our local National Speakers Association chapter.
Jim’s a great friend who also handles my Internet marketing.
Ted Janusz spoke at NSA on social networks and other eTools.
By the end of the day, 14 new projects were on my list.
These included setting up a Google Ad Words budget.
Another was to rewrite our website Home Page copy.
A third was to write my next book’s marketing plan.
Ted stimulated many ideas, concepts and strategies.
On the way home from Charlotte, we talked these over.
We set priorities based on what promised the biggest payoff.
Google Ad Words topped the list. Set up a new blog came next.
Then a Home Page rewrite. Everything else fell into place.
If you’re struggling with a long to-do list, you can do this, too.
Put the biggest frogs on top of your list. Do them in order.
Set deadlines for completing each. Be accountable.
You may be surprised by what you accomplish in record time.
To share a productivity strategy, click on "comment" below.
For more on making your life richer, click here.

Good habits vs. bad habits

More than 500 high school students heard my message last week.
It was an eye-opening experience for me and perhaps for them.
One’s grandfather said it was an eye opener for his grandson.
Schools are nothing like they were in my day.
TV had not been invented. Now there are TVs in every room.
Students regularly present school news by closed circuit.
In my school days, Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet.
Laptops and PCs are everywhere in today’s classrooms.
Here’s a story I shared with them about choices and habits.
My early military school days were marked with constant fights.
One of my classmates stabbed me with a pencil. I still have the scar.
I’m sure he has not forgotten how I retaliated. I haven’t.
They tested me. Before long I was atop the demerit list.
That meant no weekends in town. I was stuck in detention.
One of my coaches taught me the error of my ways.
Make good choices, he counseled. They are easier to live with.
Develop good habits. They’re harder to develop, easier to live with.
Do your homework. Quit fighting. Stay out of trouble.
Bad habits are easy to develop. Harder to live with.
Smoking. Drinking beer. Ignoring your school work.
Good habits win rewards. Bad habits bring consequences.
But for that coach, I may have been kicked out of school.
I asked them to teach that to their younger brothers and sisters.
And be conscious that what they do, the younger ones will do.
You are already a leader to younger ones who look up to you.
Being "cool" is setting an example that they can safely follow.
If you have not been back to school recently, think about it.
Schools are eager for guest speakers to talk about the real world.
To inspire their students. To extend their education.
You could make a difference in the lives of many young people.
To comment on this blog, please click on "comment" below.

Achieve your dreams

Growing up on India’s dusty streets, Krish Dhanam had a dream.
One day he would find success and prosperity in America.
In 1986, he did exactly that. He came with $9 in his pocket.
Today Krish has spoken in 45 states and 52 countries.
We heard him at the Get Motivated seminar in Columbia.
Krish is a powerful speaker and inspiring ambassador for America.
Here are Krish’s seven steps for achieving your goals.
1. Identify your goal. Write it down in specific detail.
2. List all the benefits it will bring to you and yours.
3. Identify all obstacles that could stop you from achieving it.
4. Define the skills and knowledge you will need.
5. Locate those you will need to help you achieve your goal.
6. Write a detailed plan of action.
7. Set a target for achieving it.
I would add one step to Krish’s list.
8. Take action, overcome obstacles and let nothing deter you.
See Krish at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpFpcPm8c1s
His book is available at www.strategicbookpublishing.com/TheAmericanDreamFromAnIndianHeart.html
Thanks, Krish, for an inspiring speech and a great list.
To leave a comment, please click on "comment" below.
I did a little inspiring of my own yesterday.
More than 500 Gilbert High students heard my message of hope.
We talked about life goals and great purposes in three sessions.
They heard my big dream: $200 million for literacy.
Money from my book sales and speaking fees go to this cause.
Book sale proceeds will teach an illiterate person to read.
To help me raise $200 million, please click here.

Believe in yourself

Rev. Robert Schuller tells this story of a young math major.
He was late for an important test because he stayed up late studying.
At stake was a job as assistant to the math department dean.
If he aced the test, he might get the job, his ticket to graduate school.
Time ran out before he finished the last two problems.
His professor let him work on the problems over the weekend.
The young man copied two other problems from the chalkboard.
By Sunday night he had solved all but the last chalkboard problem.
Around midnight, he gave up and fell asleep.
On Monday he turned in his test believing he would get a poor grade.
He would not get the job nor be able to go to graduate school.
Two days later his professor called. He had just made history.
He had solved one of two "unsolvable" math problems.
Even Albert Einstein had been unable to solve either problem.
Because he was late he did not hear the professor’s explanation.
The other students knew they were unsolvable and didn’t try.
The young math student didn’t know this.
By the way, he won the assistant’s job.
Have you been dissuaded by those who say it can’t be done?
Have you given up a dream because of what naysayers said?
Believe in yourself. Stretch your wings. Go for it with all your heart.
Impossible dreams may not be impossible after all.
To leave a comment, please click on "comment" below.
For more on pursuing dreams, please click here.