Archive for the ‘Goal Setting’ Category

Create Your Own Circumstances

August 22, 2010
Wine and Cheese

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

by Vic Johnson edited by Jared Houser

“A person only begins to become the person he/she wants to be when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life.” – As A Man Thinketh

I had to look up the meaning of the word revile because I’ve never seen it used.  It means to condemn, despise, berate.  I didn’t have to look up the meaning of the word whine.  In fact, I’m sure some of my friends have sometimes wanted to ask me if I “wanted some cheese with that whine?” (Thanks, Mike!)

When we whine and revile we gie power to that which we revile and whine about.  We cease to be in charge of our life.  I love the way that Wanyne Dyer describes it in You’ll See It When You Believe It.  He says, “I no longer view the world in terms of unfortunate accidents or misfortunes.  I know in my being that I influence it all, and now find myself considering why I created a situation, rather than saying, “why me?”  This enlightened awareness directs me to look inside of myself for answers.  I take responsibility for all of it, and the interesting puzzle becomes a fascinating challenge when I decide to influence areas of my life in which I previously believed I was not in control.  I now feel that I control it all.”

One of my favorite quotes on this subject is from George Bernard Shaw.  “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I don’t believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in the world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

So how do we develop the necessary character to make our circumstances instead of allowing our circumstances to make us.  Emmet Fox tels us that “you can build any quality into your mentality by meditating upon that quality every day.  If you seem to yourself to be lacking in certain necessary qualities, if your  character seems to lack strength, ask God to give you what you need – and He will.”

And that’s worth thinking about.

Image captured from http://www.gooddeedaday.wordpress.com

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Be Blind To Failure

August 20, 2010
Keynote Address by Erik Weihenmayer

Image by gary j wood via Flickr

Erik Weihenmayer Time Magazine Cover

Blind Faith

As told by Vic Johnson and edited by Jared Houser

There was an incredible story in the June 18, 2001 issue of  Time magazine about Erik Weihenmayer who had recently climbed Mt. Everest.

Now there’s been quite a few people who have climbed the world’s highest summit since Sir Edmund Hillary first did it in 1953.  But no one had ever climbed Mt. Everest that was blind, until Erik Weihenmayer did.

What’s even more amazing is that on September 5, 2002 he reached the top of Mt. Kosciusko, the highest peak in Australia.  That made Erik the first blind climber to reach the top of the traditional Seven Summits, the most challenging peaks in the world.

Erik can’t see like most of us can, but he knows, like James Allen knew, that if we settle for what we can see today, we’ll never live the life of our dreams.  We have to have a vision for our life, for what we want to become.  Most importantly, we have to cherish it and hold on tightly to it when circumstances are telling us that we’ll never see our vision.

If you read Erik’s story you’ll discover that Erik stumbled into the Camp on the first floor of Mt. Everest bloodied, sick, and dehydrated.  And he was still 9,ooo feet (almost two miles) from the summit.  But Erik had cherished and lived with his vision for years and would not be denied. Live the title of the story says, Erik was “blind to failure.”

The ancient writer tells us in Proverbs that “Without a vision, the people perish.”  So we must take the time to determine the vision for our life.  But once we’ve settled on our vision, then it’s important that we take James Allen’s advice to cherish it in our heart.

And, as Erik says, “Success is not just the crowning moment, the spiking of the ball in the end zone or the raising of the flag on the summit.  It is the whole process of reaching for a goal and, sometimes, it begins with failure.”

And that’s worth thinking about.

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Definitely Directed Thought as told by Vic Johnson

August 18, 2010
University of Texas at Austin Library

Studying For Success

How many times have you heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their life.  I would expand that expression by adding that most people spend more time thinking about their vacation than they do thinking about what’s important in their life.

The power of “definitely directed thought” (the power of purpose) is why I love the story of John Goddard so much.

When he was fifteen years old, Goddard was inspired to create a list of 127 “life goals.”  By one count, the young seventy-something has accomplished 109 of these PLUS 300 others he set along the way!

Here’s just a few of the ones he reached:

He climbed the Matterhorn, Ararat, Kilimanjaro, Fiji, Rainier, and the Grand Tetons.  He retraced the route of Marco Polo through all of the Middle East, Asia and China and was the first man to explore the length of the world’s longest river, the Nile.  He also boated down the Amazon, Congo and others.  He has been to 120 countries, explored the underwater reefs of Florida, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Red Sea, visited the Great Wall of China, the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, and the Everglades of Florida.

He has flown 47 different types of aircraft, and set several civilian air-speed records including one at 1,500 miles an hour.  He flew an F-106 to an altitude of 63,000 feet, making him the only civilian to pilot an aircraft that high, a record which he still holds.

And I’m just getting started.  But I think you get the point.

Okay, maybe it’s been awhile since you were fifteen, and maybe coming up with 127 life goals is a bit intimidating at this point.  But how about 10?  How much would the quality of your life improve if you accomplished just one life goal in each of the next ten years?

You won’t ever know if you don’t start now — and you don’t WRITE them down.

More than just one of the greatest adventurers the world has ever known, Goddard is an incredibly wise person, as this quote of his demonstrates: “If you  already know what you want out of life, it’s amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry them out.”

And that’s worth thinking about.  Thinking back to your early years, what were some of the things you wanted to accomplish? As a child? As a teenager?  As a college student?  As a newlywed?  As a professional?

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