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I like motivational speakers. I know a lot of people don't care for them but only the weirdest get on my nerves. Even the ones with different social and scientific views than I have are fun to listen to, and they all promise that there is a formula for financial success. They say that the playing field is essentially level and that if we work hard and work smart we can have all the good things in life.
My favorites are Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale and Jim Rohn (the early Jim Rohn not the stuff he put out later which seems the same except watered down). Earl isn't alive anymore. I'm pretty sure the other two are, but they are getting up there. I know Zig started in cookware sales and I think Earl was a radio personality but I wonder if Jim made his fortune as a motivator from the start.
Anyway, as wonderful as it is to believe that there is a formula for success that involves only proper time management, a good attitude, and hard work, I'm starting to wonder if it's just a fantasy. Maybe hard work has nothing to do with it. Maybe it's all the luck of the draw. Maybe I'm just feeling a little more pessimistic than ussual? What do you think?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
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10 comments:
Whenever I hear about motivational speakers, I always think of Matt Foley... a character played by Chris Farley in some Saturday Night Live skits.
He was a motivational speaker who lived in "a van down by the river."
It was funny when he said it. :)
The best formula for success I ever heard of was 99% perspiration, 1% luck. As for luck, the best description I heard was a lifetime of dedication meeting a moment of opportunity.
Marilyn,
I do think luck figures into the picture somehow! And that hard work is inevitable.
Better lucky than good. Zig's voice always cracks me up when I hear it. Cheers Marilyn!!
I'm guessing you are a bit more pessimistic than usual. I find you generally optimistic. That's why I like you...that positive attitude. Have a great day. :)
I think positive attitudes and personal dreams ARE the path to success. As long as we're open to the various ways it might come into our lives...I love motivational speakers, too, by the way!
zig zigler....there's a name I haven't heard for a while!
Sometimes they are good reminders of things we already know...
I think that working hard and a positive attitude are important, but there is no formula that works unless you find and take advantage of opportunity.
And sometimes opportunity can be damn elusive.
Janna: I don't think I saw those skits, but I love that guy.
Anthony: Maybe my moment just isn't here yet.
Sandy: I suspect that those people who seem to coast through life easy are either working a lot harder than it looks like or aren't having as good a time as it seems.
Matt-man: He has a great accent but I like the way Jim Rohn says, "Nooooooo!" I guess it doesn't work as well in print.
Sandee: I'll probably be all bubbly again by this time next spring. Till then I'll try not to be too much of a bummer.
Steven: They are way cheaper than antidepressants.
Katherine: This is true. We all know that we should try to think positive, work hard, and waste less time. It just works out to be a lot harder than it sounds, I guess.
Travis: I need some opportunity calls... you know, like deer calls? Hey! Maybe that's my opportunity. I should make opportunity calls.
I think that new motto of mine is one you should think about: "Whether you think you can or you think you can't...you're right!"
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