The other day I was reading a very interesting article concerning a shark attack that occurred way back in 1916. It played off along the North East coast of the U.S. and concerned a great white shark, that had been had been terrorizing the New Jersey beaches.
Now everybody knows and accepts that a shark is a creature of the sea and needs salty water to survive. Therefore nobody thought that a shark may attack them in freshwater, but that is exactly what happened later that year.
This particular shark remained close to the shore and eventually swam up a river stream around Raritan Bay, attacking a couple of bathers upstream.
Shortly before the attacks occurred, a retired Sea captain, by the name of Thomas Cottrell saw this shark swimming upstream while crossing a bridge. He couldn't believe his eyes, but nevertheless got into his boat and raised the alarm. Not surprisingly nobody believed him. "A shark in a river? C'mon, get real, It's not possible."
But you know what? As incredible as it seemed there was a shark in the river and all those who didn't heed the warnings were in danger of being attacked.
Eventually this shark killed two people. The first victim was a teenager who may or may not have heard Cottrell's warning. Shortly after this attack another man jumped in the water to look for the victim, even though he was told there is a shark in the water. He too was attacked and died from a severe loss of blood.
While reading this I couldn't help thinking about September 11 and see the parallels between these two stories.
When asked by the U.S. Congress and the media, why "clues" which should have been picked up were disregarded, the heads of the FBI and CIA as well as members of the Bush administration replied, "We didn't think they would use airplanes as missiles."
Had the FBI and CIA believed that something like what happened on 9/11 was possible they might have put measures into place which would likely have prevented this from happening. But they didn't, even though the hijackers left dozens of "clues."
Similarly if the swimmers at the US East Coast had believed Captain Cottrell when he told them there was a shark in the river, chances are that nobody would have been killed by this shark on that day.
But because they believed it is "impossible" for a shark to be found in freshwater they disregarded the warning altogether, just as the US law enforcement agencies did, resulting in many paying with their lives.
On the other hand there are human beings who overcame extraordinary odds and accomplished great feats. Everyday we hear stories of people who were told by the so-called "experts" they didn't have what it took, yet made it regardless.
The lesson here is that anything is possible, both the good and the bad. By believing or not believing in something doesn't mean you will not be affected by whatever happens. But it means that based on what you believe, you may take some action which may save you from something terrible or may get you out of a terrible situation.
There are many of us who are in terrible situations, including poverty, unhappiness, debt, etc. Those of us who have changed their situation, did it because they believed they could make it.
Those who don't obviously don't believe that they can change their situation otherwise they would have done something about it, right?
How many opportunities have you missed just because you thought it wouldn't work or wasn't possible. Just think what you could do if you believed that you could do anything, even realise your dreams?
What great talent do you have which you have done nothing about, because you probably believed you can't do it.
I hope to have shown you through this short article that anything is possible. And that by just believing, "I Can," your battle is already half-won.
Did you know that by applying a simple strategy you can become successful beyond your imagination?!
Success is not dedicated for a certain category of lucky talented people and hence anyone can become similar to those success gurus.
Success doesn’t depend on your environment, circumstances, level of education, financial situation,...etc.
All successful people faced a lot of negative circumstances and failures before they achieve what they want. They were poor, with little or no education, and were brought up under tough circumstances.
But they all followed the same strategy, to change their circumstances and reach their dreams.
You must follow this simple strategy, if you want to achieve your goals and become successful.
Here is the ultimate success strategy:
"Apply the Principles of Success"
Simple, right?!!!
But always remember: “The true power lies under the real simplicity".
This powerful strategy guarantees your success because principles are the same and always work.
Success principles are the same no matter where you live or when you live.
Success principles always work because they are proven facts used by all successful people to achieve their goals.
Success leaves clues. And these clues are timeless success principles.
Principles will work for you as well but this depends on a single condition.
This condition is: "Principles always work if you work the principles"
You must apply these principles and put them in action.
Action makes all the difference.
Successful people believe in principles and so they persist until they see the results.
Apply success principles and they will always work. Since they worked with all who applied them, they will work with you too.
But remember you must work the principles yourself. Don't wait for somebody else to apply the principles for you.
You must apply the principles by yourself. Don't wait for somebody to give you permission to become successful.
Analyze your situation and see how this principle can work for you. Do it yourself.
You must lead your life.
And never surrender.
Keep practicing the principle until it works.
It takes time to master success principles. Like when you start driving your car, it took time to be a good driver.
It needs practice until you get positive results.
And here comes the benefit of having a mentor in your life. He can guide you through your journey and support you in every step. And, he can teach you these principles and how to master them.
Read success books and you will gain life time experience from the expert authors.
Attend success and personal development seminars and courses to get close to success mentors and learn from their experience.
Success Principles always work if you work them. Keep practicing the principles until you master them.
You too can become successful with the same principles used by all successful people in the world.
First, imagine that it is real. See every detail so clearly that you can reach out and touch it. You can feel the emotions of being there. For example, if you want a certain car, then what kind is it? What color is it? Imagine you are sitting in it like you will when it is brand new. How does it feel? How does it smell? Go for a drive in your car. If it's a convertible, drive with the top down! Experience the wind blowing in your face and through your hair. Hear the sounds around you. If you can take a real test drive in one, do that!
Get a picture and post it where you will see it each day. Do this visualization several times a day until it becomes part of you. This action is important because your subconscious will help enable you to reach your goals to achieve your dream.
Next, break the big dream down into specific, measurable goals to get you there. If you are dreaming of something that costs a certain amount of money, like the car, you will set a date on when you want to have this money.
Once you have your date, then break your timeline down into segments. Perhaps you set the date one year from today. So the next step is to break that down into a goal for each month, then a goal for each week, then a goal for each day. It may be easier to start with the days, and then multiply out to the weeks and months.
Now that you know what your specific timeline is, you need to determine the specific actions you can take to reach each specific goal. If it is a money goal, like in the example above, you know how much money you need to put away each day. So now you need to figure out what actions you need to take each day in order to be able to do that.
If your goal is accomplishing a project, your timeline will be broken down into different steps you need to finish in order to get the whole project done. For example, if you are writing a book, you may need to do some research before you can write it. So the first major accomplishment on your way to that goal is to complete the research. Then you need to set a time to complete your basic outline. Then a time to complete each chapter. Then a time for editing. You can break each major step down into little steps that must be done each day in order to complete the entire book by your target date.
Now that you see what you will need to do each day in order to achieve your big goal, ask yourself if each day's task is reasonable. Be truthful. If you know you can do what is required each day, then you have your plan. If it will be very difficult to meet each day's requirement, then extend your timeline until you have something you know you can do every day. This way, you are setting yourself up for sure success!
It's just like the ancient philosopher said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." No matter how big your dream is, if you break it down into baby steps that you can do each day, you will find your journey to success filled with the joy of achieving many goals.
Reaching your smaller goals will, indeed, assure you that you are on your way to reaching your dream! You will gain the confidence you need to continue and receive the desire you need to do whatever actions are required each day!
Celebrate achieving even the little goals, and enjoy your journey to your certain success!
