 |
| |
Issue # 34 | To Your Success | Nov, 2006 |
Ambition: "The determination to achieve success or distinction, usually in a chosen field." ----- Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary AMBITION, WHO NEEDS IT? Do you consider yourself ambitious? Are you consciously striving for something above and beyond what you are and have now? How do you feel about ambition anyway, do you think it's a good thing? This past weekend I attended an out of town seminar for two full days that was jam-packed with information on the subject of Internet marketing. It dealt with the 'how tos', 'when tos', and 'things you will definitely need' in order to do it effectively. This is still a fairly new area for me and I have so much to learn. Why would I invest a whole weekend (and considerable expense) in learning more about this? Obviously there must be a good reason, and there is. It's because I happen to have several ambitions, one of which is to make all of my live workshops available on the Internet in the form of 'home study' courses. Why? Because the Internet is the world's fastest growing marketplace and, because this will allow me to share my programs with people anywhere in the English-speaking world, and even beyond if I choose to apply language translation software that's already available. Why is this important to me? Two reasons: Reason 1. When people apply what they learn in these programs they receive similar life-changing benefits to those that I've experienced. I love offering that to people in fact, that's why I sold out of my previous business several years ago and set out on this journey. Reason 2. Successfully marketing these programs online will allow me to generate an additional income stream. The end result? A classic win / win situation, everyone involved benefits! So how about you? What are your ambitions? What do you want that isn't now part of your life or, what do you currently have that you would like to expand even further? In our society we tend to associate ambition with monetary, career, or recognition kinds of achievement. But is it confined to those? I believe not. Not that I think there's anything wrong with having those ambitions, I certainly have my share, it's just that I see no reason that one can't be ambitious in other areas also areas such as personal growth, meaningful relationships, health and fitness, or contribution to society or the environment. Why can't we be ambitious in these ways as well? Which brings me to another of my ambitions, and that is to contribute to spreading the KindActs Coin-spiracy program to schools and youth groups in communities around the world. Are you familiar with Coin-spiracy? It's a wonderful, non-profit program (originating here in BC, Canada) that invites young people to be agents for positive change through providing three acts of kindness one for self, one for the environment, and one for others. Once the kind act for others is completed, a numbered coin is passed on to the recipient who then also performs three acts of kindness before passing the coin on again. Kind of like the movie 'Pay It Forward', only more measurable and with structure to sustain it. Each act of kindness is then journaled on the Coin-spiracy website (a page specific to that coin), so that those involved can track the 'positive' that they have played such an important part in sending out into the world. That makes it even more rewarding for them. If you're interested in learning more about this amazing program, check out the website at http://www.investinakinderworld.com/. Okay, I've digressed a little let's go back to our main point. My observation is that as human beings we seem to have a built in need to grow, expand, and become more than we presently are (and I'm not talking about physical girth here). When we deny that, we find ourselves feeling less than satisfied incomplete. In a word, we stagnate. It's like we're designed to continuously add to who we already are and just don't feel right if we're not doing so. Each time we fulfill an ambition we feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment, yet if we stop and rest there for too long, we begin to feel either lethargic or restless. You can see this quite frequently in people who have retired young. So in my view, ambition is a very natural and healthy thing, particularly when it's channeled in a direction that has benefits for all concerned. For example, if your ambition is to grow into a person with all of the positive qualities you admire in others, you will benefit from increased feelings of self-respect, self-worth, and self-confidence and others in your life will benefit from your actions and influence. If your ambition is to develop and nurture your important relationships (spouse, family, close friends, work associates), you will benefit by experiencing trust, respect, understanding, and open sharing of thoughts and feelings and those others will benefit by experiencing the exact same things. If your ambition is to achieve optimum health and fitness, you will benefit from having more energy and feelings of vitality and well-being and those who love you will likely benefit from having you around longer. If your ambition is to make a contribution to your society or environment in some way, you will benefit from the excitement and positive feelings associated with being part of something bigger than yourself, of making a difference and your community or environment and even the world at large will be a better place because of what you've done. Perhaps the biggest personal benefit of having ambition, any ambition, is the resulting sense of purpose. You wake up each morning anticipating the day, chomping at the bit to get at it. It's a great feeling one of total aliveness. It's how you are MEANT to feel! Is that how YOU feel? If your answer is 'sort of' or 'not exactly' then you may want to ask a few good questions of yourself, such as: 1. What do I want to do, have, be or accomplish in my life? You will find that each answer (if you do them in order) takes you a little deeper, leading you to a better understanding of who you are and what's really important to you. This awareness helps you become clearer as to which of your objectives you find truly meaningful. This clarity then, leads to increased focus and determination. Now if you remember the definition from the beginning of our conversation, determination is a key ingredient of ambition so it's useful to deliberately develop it in this way. So give it a go, nurture and strengthen your ambitions. Enjoy waking up anticipating each new day. Appreciate the feeling of being totally alive. LIVE your life. "There is nothing so unpardonable as to consent to a senseless, aimless and purposeless life." ----- Helen Keller To Your Success, WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE FOR YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You can as long as you include the following complete statement with it: Reg Neufeld, founder of Growing Into Success Training, is a teacher of life success and achievement principles using practical, step-by-step processes that can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. If you're ready to take control and begin living a truly happy and successful life, get your FREE success tips now at www.growingintosuccess.com SHARE WITH FRIENDS!... If youre enjoying this free newsletter you can pass it along by forwarding this issue to a friend who might appreciate it. Should they wish to receive it regularly they can be automatically added to our subscription list simply by emailing newsletter@growingintosuccess.com with their name and subscribe in the subject box. WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK! Our intent for this FREE newsletter is that it be brief, informal and include articles, tips or suggestions to help you achieve the life success you desire and for each one to be of real value to you. Also included are dates, times and locations of some of our upcoming programs. (Complete Calendar of Public Venue Events on our website.) If you have any comments, questions or suggestions we would love to hear from you. Simply click Reply on your toolbar, jot down your thoughts, and hit send or email reg@growingintosuccess.com. Should you no longer wish to receive To Your Success, just hit Reply on your Toolbar type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box and we will take you off the list immediately. Thank you. Growing Into Success Training |