Month: October 2014

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month Ends Today

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In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I am making a conscious decision to share my own personal story with dealing with a potential diagnosis of Breast Cancer.

The story I am sharing was written in my journal last month to help me get over the fear of cancer as I awaited test results from my secondary screenings for breast cancer.  I am sharing this in an effort to encourage all readers to participate in annual testing.

The Fear of Cancer
The fear of cancer comes upon your home like a thief in the night. It creeps in slowly without warning and often without a sound.  It robs you of your most precious possessions – joy, time, hope, security and replaces them with worry, fear and anxiety.   This thief occupies your mind and deposits an element of horror much like the masked man you find creeping up your stairs.  One day you are blissfully unaware in your home’s(bodies) lack of security and the next you are considering security options of which you never thought would be needed like ultrasounds and biopsy.   And why would you,  these things happened to other people it just doesn’t occur in your neighborhood (body).   People tell you to be strong and not give in to the fear but how can they, who haven’t experienced it, know what it’s like to face the reality of not being able to protect your young kids from this trauma.  How can they know the reality of the shattering of your inner faith.  The fear of cancer weighs heavily on your heart your mind and your home.  It alters your perceptions and impacts your decision making.  It makes the strongest person feel weak and suddenly there isn’t enough time you can spend with the ones you love.

Til next time,
Attend all medical appointments and participate in medical screenings. You can get another job, another friend, another spouse, another home, but not another life.

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Target Think Thursday

Target Think Thursday: Chapter 10

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Chapter 10 already, five more chapters to go.  I hope you are practicing the skills Mr. Hill is imparting upon us.  As you practice means action and action means progress.  Think of the reason you started this journey and use that reason as your overall motivation to actually put reading into action.  It is this action that will move us out of our comfort zones and get us one step closer to our desires.

So, enough of the pep talk.  I am curious re-considering my choice of our next book.  As I continue to read this book, I can’t help but think that it may be beneficial to come back to The Law of Success after we have had an opportunity to hear from another author.  Maybe an author with a message for this recession.  But then I can’t help to think that Mr. Hill’s lesson’s are timeless so I should stick with the original selection.  Well, at least I have five more chapters before I must make the final decision.  I would love to read your thoughts and suggestions.  Until then, I am going to return to the task at hand – posting my favorite quotes and our questions for reflection.

Favorite Quotes of Chapter 10:

Plans are inert and useless, without sufficient POWER to translate them into ACTION – Napoleon Hill

Power is required for the accumulation of money!  Power is necessary for the retention of money after it has been accumulated – Napoleon Hill

Men take on the nature and the habits and the POWER OF THOUGHT of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony – Napoleon Hill

                     Poverty and riches often change places – Napoleon Hill

Questions for Reflection:

1.  ____ is essential for success in the ___ of money.

2.  How does the author describe power?  How is organized effort produced?  Are you producing organized effort?

3.  What are the sources of knowledge?

4.  How is the Master Mind defined?  Have you met with your personal Master Mind group yet?  What are two characteristics of the Master Mind principle?

5.  What happens when individual brains are coordinated in harmony?  How was this demonstrated by Ford & Carnegie?

6.  How did Ford master his three handicaps?  When did Ford’s strides become noticeable?  Are there any characteristics that Ford demonstrated which could assist you in combating your handicaps?

7.  How did Gandhi come by power?  How can you translate the skills he possessed into your own planning?

8.  What is the greatest of all sources of power?

9.  There are some traits that we use when wooing a life partner that are similar to the traits needed to woo money.  What are those traits?

10.  What must you do to propel yourself from the stream of poverty?

Bonus Question:  What happens when riches take the place of poverty?  Knowing this, what is standing in your way of riches?

Til next time,

Riches are shy and timid.  They have to be “attracted” – Napoleon Hill

Target Think Thursday

Target Think Thursday: Chapter 9

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Here we are at Chapter 9: Persistence.   This chapter reminded me of sayings my family used to say – “If you don’t get it right the first time, try again.”  It’s amazing how these crazy little sayings actually turn out to hold a lot of wisdom which shouldn’t be ignored.

Much like the contents of this chapter, it also contains a lot of wisdom which shouldn’t be ignored.  Two of my favorites includes:

With persistence,  you will win.

Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

Since my boys are so young and I am beyond my twenties, I maintain journals filled with lessons I want them to learn.  I hope to give these as graduation gifts so the quotes above will definitely make it onto a few pages.  This way, they have a piece of me with them at all times.

Back to the purpose of this post,  I read this chapter and had to remind myself to practice the art of persistence as I turned each page.  I must admit I was a little inpatient so I feel like I may have missed a couple of nuggets of wisdom.  Thus at some point I will re-read it and likely post a few more questions.

Until then, here are your questions for reflection.  ENJOY.

1.  What is persistence?   Do you possess this trait?

2.  The basis of persistence is?

3.  Which of the six steps from Chapter 2 have you accomplished?  If not all, what is holding you back?

4.  What is one of the major causes of failure?

5.  TRUE or FALSE.  Weak desires bring strong results.

6.  What can you do if you are weak in persistence?

7.  What must you do to get results?

8.  What develops without a conscious application of habits favorable to it?

9.  Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy what?

Application Challenge:
Go back to Chapter 6 and answer all six questions. 

Til next time,
“With persistence,  you will win” – Napoleon Hill

Recommendation of the Month · Target Think Thursday

Target Think Thursday: Chapter 8

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TGIAF:  Thank Goodness It’s Almost Friday

Target Think Thursday is here again and this week we are focusing our attentions on Chapter 8:  Decision.  Per Mr. Hill, decision is the seventh step towards Riches.  I thought it would be best if we began our exploration of this chapter with a listing of my favorite quotes from this chapter. 

“Opinions” are the cheapest commodities on earth.”

“Genuine wisdom is usually conspicuous through modesty and silence”

“If you talk about your plans too freely, you may be surprised when you learn that some other person has beaten you to your goal.”

“Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it”

“Indecision is a habit which usually begins in youth”

This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the story behind the Declaration of the Independence and the lessons which can be learned from the signers of this historic document.  Do not skip over this section as it details the practice of not only the power of decision but also the power of confidence.  If you did skip it, I implore you to go back and re-read it.

Questions for self reflection:
1. How do you define decision?  How do you define failure?

2.  What are your personal top five causes of failure in your life?

3.  What does the author indicate as the opposite of DECISION?  How has this impacted your life?

4.  What will happen to you if you are influenced by the opinions of others?

5.  If you need facts or information to enable you to reach decisions, how does the author suggest you obtain it?

6.  What happens when you talk more than you listen?  Have you experienced this phenomenon?

7.  What can be learned from the first American Master Mind Group?
What was the common thread Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson possessed which lead to the creation of the Declaration of Indepence?

8.  What are the six principles of POWER illustrated in the story of the Declaration of Independence?

9.  What is not in reach of the person who neglects or refuses to EXPECT, PLAN, AND DEMAND?

Application Steps:
If you have not completed the Self-Analysis Questionnaire for Personal Inventory, pick up paper and write each question and your answer.

Til next time,
Definiteness of decision always requires courage, sometimes very great courage – Napoleon Hill

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Why I Almost Never Say: “We Can’t Afford That” – Andrea Dekker

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A funny thing happened to me a few days ago when I was speaking with my daughter regarding a purchase she wanted me to make for my closet.  I said to her, I can’t afford that.  Being the smart and observant teenager she is, she made this remark – “mom, don’t you always say that we shouldn’t use the words I can’t? ”  You know the only thing I could do was laugh because me being the smart mouth mommy wanted to reply,  “Oh, now you choose to remember what I say?”  Instead, I laughed because she was right and I needed the reminder.

Her words reminded me of a post I read online regarding why we shouldn’t say, “I can’t afford that.”  One of the key lessons we have learned from our readings of Think and Grow Rich is from Chapter 4: Auto Suggestion.   Your subconscious mind recognizes and acts upon ONLY thoughts which have been well-mixed with emotion or feeling. – Napoleon Hill

It is with this understanding that I am choosing to share with you another bloggers perspective on the value of our words and the connection to our thoughts.  Enjoy and feel free to share your opinions.

http://andreadekker.com/why-i-almost-never-say-we-cant-afford-that/

Til next time,
“If you’re not learning while you’re earning, you’re cheating yourself out of the better portion of your compensation.” – Napoleon Hill

Recommendation of the Month · Target Think Thursday

Target Think Thursday: Chapter 7

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Welcome to another edition of Target Think Thursday.   It’s amazing to think we are at the half way point towards completion of this recommendation.   I hope you have learned something not only about yourself but also about what it takes to obtain your heart’s desire.

Without further adieu, indicated below are the questions of the week.

Questions for Reflection:
1.  What is the plan for success?  Have you personalized your own plan for success?

2.  What causes most men to fail?  What has caused you to fail in the past?

3.  What does temporary defeat mean?  How can you ensure you don’t give in to temporary defeat again in the future?

4.  According to the author, what should you do when defeat comes?  What have you done in the past?  What were the results?

5.  ____ of itself, is nothing but inert matter.

6.  What does the author say is essential for success?

7.  Do you wish to be a leader or a follower?   What do you need to do in order to accomplish this?

8.  What are the advantages of being an intelligent follower?

9.  What are the factors of leadership you would like to possess? How can you attain these characteristics?

10.  What are the 2 forms of leadership?

11.  Utilizing the 10 major causes of failure in leadership, which have factors have contributed to your failure?

12.  How can your leadership skills benefit you in your pursuit of desire?

13.  What are present day options for market services in the media? Which can you access this year?

Application Steps:
1.  Write a plan to get the exact position you desire
2.  Complete the self-analysis questionnaire for personal inventory

This week, I felt compelled to include my favorite quotes.   These two touched my spirit and have made it to my wall of  inspiration. 
Til next time,

Success requires no explanations, failure permits no alibi – Napoleon Hill

No man is ever whipped, until he quits – in his own mind – Napoleon Hill

Target Think Thursday

Target Think Thursday: Chapter 6

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“It has been said that man can create anything which he can imagine” – Napoleon Hill

“If you can dream it, you can do it.  Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse” – Walt Disney

Chapter 6 of Think and Grow Rich reminded me of the intrinsic value imagination has had on our society today.  It was imagination that got us things we take for credit such as the internet,  iPods, smartphones, tablets & eReaders, GPS, and the list goes on and on.  Imagination can take a passing thought and make a movement.   After all it was from someone’s imagination that the strongman competitions, 5K fundraisers and airplanes were created. 
As you read & apply this week’s questions for reflection, consider how your imagination can increase the probability of the achievements of your goals.

Questions for Reflection:
1.  What are a few things that have been created over the last 20 years due to someone’s imagination? What can you contribute?

2.  What are man’s limitations?

3.  Desire is only abstract until what?

4.  Have you begun implementing the exercises profiled throughout this book?  What have you found to be the most helpful?

5.  What can you learn from the story of the Old Kettle?

6.  How can ideas be transmuted into cash?  How do riches come?

Application:  What would you do if you had a million dollars?  Write that answer on a 3×5 card and carry it with you in a place where you can view it each day.  Use that answer as your daily inspiration.

If you learned nothing else from this chapter,  learn this: always let your imagination run free and follow its path so you can achieve your dreams.

Til next time,
“I failed my way to success” – Thomas Edison