IF YOU THINK YOU CAN, YOU CAN

If you Think You Can, You Can!
You can be a total winner even if you're a beginner,
If you think you can, you can,
If you think you can, you can,
You can wear the gold medallion,
You can ride your own black stallion,
If you think you can, you can,
If you think you can, you can,
It's not your talent or the gift at birth,
It's not your bank book that determines worth,
And it isn't in the color of your skin,
It's your attitude that lets you win,
You can upset Connors or Austin,
Or win the marathon at Boston,
If you think you can, you can,
If you think you can, you can,
You can profit through inflation,
You can redirect this nation,
If you think you can, you can,
If you think you can, you can,
It doesn't matter if you've won before,
It makes no difference what's the half time score,
It's never over until the final gun,
So keep on trying and you'll find you've won,
You grab your dream and then believe it,
Go out and work and you'll achieve it,
If you think you can, you can,
If you think you can, you can!

~ Denis Waitley ~

YOU CAN IF YOU THINK YOU CAN

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~

Don't Make Resolutions go for Transformation

As the New Year draws to an end, I have been in a place of reflection and have been reflected upon as well. So many things have happened in a year that has sped by faster than I can dare to remember. The older I get, the more life seems to become a swirling mass of time, a cyclonic movement, a myriad of experiences towards something more tangible and greater than. For me life has been an exciting, interesting and insightful journey taking me to places where previously only my dreams existed. 2008 kicked in for me two weeks ago on that roller coaster of a ride which many people leave until 1st January has and is already taking me into a phenomenon place. The progression of another great journey towards an even bigger destination.

An online dictionary described the word journey as thus:

· “journey a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip: a six-day journey across the desert.
· a distance, course, or area travelled or suitable for travelling: a desert journey”

So there we have it again, that word “journey” which is being and has being used and over-used time and time again. Yet its significance in terms of summing up life seems quite apt because on any journey, there will be ups and downs, experiences which we sometimes wish had never occurred and others which will be pleasantly steeped in our memories forever.

So I am wishing you all a truly wonderful and prosperous New Year where all your dreams can come true. So many people will be making New Year’ s resolutions. Many will follow through, yet most, will falter by the end of the month, regressing back into old ways, thoughts and behaviour patterns. The word “resolution” too is often over used and I think misunderstood or even mis-interpreted. Actually, I think the word “resolution” is a word which has become cheapened, loosing its true meaning, and just being a word to use at a certain time of year because it has come to be expected that in January one must make a resolution.
Dictionary.com’s definitions of the word are:

1. to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something): I have resolved that I shall live to the full.
2. to separate into constituent or elementary parts; break up; cause or disintegrate (usually fol. by into).
3. to convert or transform by any process (often used reflexively)”.

Making a resolution sounds almost as if one is being forced or coerced to do something, so final that it looses its sense of purpose. When we decide to make changes in our lives, it has to be about transformation, even evolution. It is about taking a dream, a situation, a thought an idea and wanting to do something different or even bigger with it. It is about wanting to take that situation from the place it is now to eventually a better place. It is about looking at the bigger picture, the end result and realising that whatever it is you want to achieve, or whatever place it is that you need to get to, it is going to take determination, belief, action and maybe even sacrifice and it should be about reaching that rainbow at the end of the tunnel. Transformation is not just about the here and now, a short transitionary period where results are brief and dreams fade away back into the past of the last year. Think about a caterpillar and how that transforms into a beautiful butterfly and how that process can never go back to its original form. Think about your dreams, your New Year’s “Resolutions” from that point of view and if you can visualise that beautiful vision, then you are well on your way to making something incredibly wonderful in whatever you choose to transform.

Wishing you a truly wonderful New Year

What does this Season mean for you?

Well One and All

Once again we have come to the end of another year. Many are looking forward to the festive break so they can spend quality time with family and friends. Yet what has become obvious to me over the past month, and what has probably been obvious to many for a long time now, is that the reason for this season, has simply disappeared in maelstrom of frivolity and commercialism.

Maybe it’s just that as I get older, I am seeing life from a more rounded perspective. I now think things through more, wondering and pondering at the effectiveness, the usefulness, the message behind the scenes, the tale behind the story. Maybe too, as I journey along life’s wonderful yet sometimes challenging pathway, experience and life have taught me to be cautious, to ask more questions, to delve further than what is presented on the surface.

Hence, I found myself two years ago standing back and looking at all that goes on around and before the so called Big day, trying to get a feel for what it is all really about. Certainly the birth of Christ has been lost amidst all the hype and build up.

I frequent the gym regularly and what I’ve noticed since September was the constant bombardment of spend, spend, spend, eat, eat, eat that flickered its way on the tv screens. Everything was about, excess and overindulgence. I guess it was when I saw the advert for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) advertising their food in a festive manner, as if receiving KFC was some sort of welcomed gift that I realised that things were a little askew? There was nothing in the adverts which promoted the significance of this season or even if one is not religious, then the significance of spending time with those whom we love and cherish. There was nothing which determined what it was exactly that everyone was so fired up and stressed about. There was nothing to justify the huge amounts of money that would be spent on presents, food other than to spend, spend, spend. As always, the same old reports in the press about people getting into debt makes this whole charade even more worrying.

For me, Christmas is a time to relax with people who you trust and love. It is a time to laugh, eat good food, to find yourself again, to relax and just vegetate in front of the television, to enjoy being with people you care about. This is a time when everyone can relax without the hustle and bustle of daily life and just be. In reality I know for many, this is not the case as often times, this period can be fraught with conflict as families who do not meet often, converge onto one place and for others, there is no family or time to share with.

Yet, because this is such an individual time for us all, let us just remember one thing, whatever we believe and wherever we are. Firstly, no man is an island, and as we fill our stomachs and enjoy time with each other, just from this alone, we are truly in a good place and we should spare a thought for those less fortunate than ourselves. There are many who have passed, many who are suffering and many who do not have the privilege of being in a caring environment. So I guess the greatest gift for me is that I will be sharing this season with my two sons and my sister and my best friend. People who really mean the most to me in my inner circle.

Whatever you get out of December 25th, make it a good one and if you can find some way to give it a sense of meaning, to give back, then do so, because life is about memories, experiences, sharing and giving and we cannot ask for more than that as treasured gifts.