Are You Ready For Some Good Luck?

"If you're waiting on good fortune to smile on you, that first social security check might arrive at your door first."

Our lives are governed by the realities of "cause and effect" and "as we sow, we reap". Therefore, we cannot accept the concept of luck being the reason for someone’s success.

JD Hancock / Foter / CC BY

The equation for creating our own "good luck" is:

P + O = GL which stands for Preparation + Opportunity = Good Luck.

Notice it takes both preparation and opportunity to equal the "good luck" we are seeking.

Make a decision now that you won't leave your success up to hope, chance or luck. Understand that over the long run, the skilled person will beat out the unskilled person.

From now on, when you hear someone attribute luck to the success of another individual, you can reflect on how that person has matched their preparations with their opportunities to create their own “good luck” success story.

You can create a lot of "good luck" by simply preparing yourself and being aware of opportunities and then taking action on them.

Good Luck!

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program (affiliate link)

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Is Being Competitive Really Good For You?

"If you have always believed that being a highly competitive person is a habit necessary for success, you are in for quite a surprise."

I must admit right up front that this lesson on being competitive versus being unique has been difficult for me to comprehend and implement in my own life. See what you think...

Being competitive places your life in the hands of others while personal initiative gives you the freedom to choose your own destiny. Being part of a herd, trying to keep up with the Joneses, being involved in one-upmanship are all ways we erode our personal initiative and allow others to set the goals and the pace for us.

Competition can be so insidious because over time it reduces personal initiative and personal responsibility.

Personal initiative is so important because it allows you to study, understand and solve problems.

Personal responsibility provides you the freedom to choose and create your own destiny, it gives you the opportunity to create your own life results.

The traits of personal initiative and responsibility accomplish what competition can never do, the ability to be unique.

Goldmund100 / Foter / CC BY-SA

Yes, you are unique...don't you dare compare yourself to others. Compete only against yourself, strive to do better than you have previously done.

Being unique really is your best competitive advantage. Do you agree or disagree?

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program and Og Mandino's University of Success.

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Are You Living with Stress or Tension?

"Your body is an amazing creation, capable of performing great wonders, but you can destroy that miraculous machine's potential with an overdose of stress."

Alan Cleaver / Foter / CC BY

Stress is defined as the wear and tear of mind, body and spirit caused by changes in our inner and outer environment, whether it be our thoughts, emotions, or outside physical activities.

Tension is defined as the energy that creates the possibility of moving toward desired results. Life without tension is like a bowl of soup without any salt. The right amount of tension is needed. Excessive tension will commonly manifest itself as fatigue, or a constant sense of exhaustion.

Let's choose to reduce our excessive tension, or stress, and increase our potential and achievement. Here are some tips:

Plan your days and your life – it is so much easier to remain calm and focused if you know what you want to accomplish each day and where you are going with your life.

Exercise at least 30 minutes each day - the best cure for tension fatigue is exercise and the best form of exercise is simply walking.

Get enough sleep - make sure you know what your ideal amount of sleep time is and then make it a priority.

Be aware of what you are putting into your body - eat nutritious foods and take your time when eating.

Eliminate procrastination so things don't pile up - use the previously discussed "do it now" technique for this.

Just like in everything, you have a choice to make: use tension to your advantage or let stress exhaust you. Which will you choose?

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program and Og Mandino's University of Success.

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