 The Two Dirtiest Words in the English Language
Here goes, at the risk of offending...
The two dirtiest words in the English lexicon today are:
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Of course, giving due respect to readers of PowerPAGE I'm
probably preaching to the choir today. So be it; help me spread this message!
It's easy to complain about the state of politics, or
politics in your state. It's also easy not vote. Not everyone has the drive or
ambition to run for public office; even if you can't drive they'll pick you up
to go out and vote! That's the least you can do. If you truly want a voice
accept Personal Responsibility, go out and vote.
It's easy to complain about the people who have what you
don't have. It's harder to go out and get what you want. Fact: the reason you
don't have what you want has nothing to do with those who have what they want.
Fact: there is plenty of everything for those willing to accept Personal
Responsibility for success and happiness. It's up to you to go out and get it.
It's easy to point at nearly any disaster and say we didn't
do enough. It seems much more difficult to appreciate whatever help someone
gives us. When disaster strikes it's my Personal Responsibility to do my best
to help myself; it's my Personal Responsibility to help others...it's also my
Personal Responsibility to offer sincere gratitude to those who lend me a
helping hand.
When things aren't going well it's easy to look at others
and ask when somebody is going to do something; it's more difficult to ask
"What can I do to help?" It's my responsibility to try to improve what I see as
deficient in my life, at work and in my community.
There are conditions and circumstances outside my control. I
will face disasters I had no part in creating. I will face challenges I didn't
ask for. I must accept Personal Responsibility for responding to those
disasters and challenges.
When you accept Personal Responsibility for your actions and
responses the rewards are yours. Facing challenges makes you stronger, smarter,
wiser and better equipped to help others who might face the same challenges in
the future. Making yourself better makes you a better resource to those around
you. Improving yourself is the least selfish thing you can do!
Of course, first you have to desensitize yourself to the two
dirtiest words in the English language. You've got to become very comfortable
using these words without worrying about who will be offended. These words have
to live in your heart and roll off your tongue.
One more time: Personal Responsibility! Doesn't it just feel
good to curse sometimes?
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| Power Moment
Each issue we'll feature a quick technique for developing and cultivating Personal Power in personal and professional life!
In personal develop there's a lot of promotion around
"secrets." That was once true in the martial arts community as well.
A few months ago I read an interesting article by a martial
artist who was born in China
and immigrated to the U.S. In this article he said that the word
"secret" was poorly translated by martial artists in the West.
In martial arts we practice "forms." These are sequences of
choreographed movements resembling dances; in fact they're sometimes called the
martial dances. These forms often contain a series of self-defense techniques,
although these techniques are not always obvious to the non-practitioner.
Through training and with the guidance of an instructor, a martial artist can
learn to unlock the "secrets" of the form and use these movements in
self-defense.
That writer said that in the West, we translated these
movements as "secrets" as they were not obvious to the untrained eye. His
further explained that a better translation would have been "applications."
The same is true in personal development. We can make a lot
of money by selling the "secrets" of successful people, the "secrets" to
attaining wealth, health and happiness. It would be more accurate to say that
we're offering instruction in the "application" of techniques that successful
people use.
With a little training in martial arts, you can easily learn
to "read" a form. Once you've learned how to read a form, you can learn the
techniques contained in that form. The form then becomes a living textbook of
useful techniques, packaged in a portable format that can be taken anywhere and
shared with others.
A self-improvement book or video works the same way. Once
you understand how successful people do what they do, you can take those
techniques with you and apply those "secrets" to create your own success and
happiness.
In a martial arts form, watching someone else do a form may
be educational and inspirational, but the real learning comes from doing the
form.
Once again, the same is true in personal development. A
book, video or speaker may educate and inspire, but the real work begins when
you finish the book or leave the seminar. You've got to make your success a
reality.
There are no "secrets" to success; this information is
readily available. To learn the "applications" you've got to study and
practice.
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"The prayer of the chicken hawk does not get him the chicken."
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