you think you'll lose, you're lost; For out in the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outcla.s.sed, you are, You've got to think high to rise, You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go To the stronger and faster man, But sooner or later the man who wins Is the man who thinks he can.

THE GREATEST GIFT.

Man, of all creatures, is physically the most ill equipped in this world. He cannot fly like a bird, can be killed by a tiny insect, cannot outrun a leopard, cannot swim like an alligator, cannot climb the tree like a monkey, doesn't have the eye of an eagle, nor does he have the claws and teeth of a wild cat. Physically, man is helpless and defenseless.

But nature is reasonable and kind. Nature's greatest gift to man is the ability to think. He can create his own environment, whereas animals adapt to their environment.

Sadly, very few people use the greatest gift the ability to think to its full potential.

Failures are of two kinds: those who did and never thought and those who thought and never did. Going through life without using our ability to think is like shooting without aiming.

Life is like a cafeteria. You take' your tray, select your food and pay at the other end. You can get anything you want as long as you are willing to pay the price. In a cafeteria, if you wait for people to serve you, you will wait forever. Life is like that too. You make choices and pay the price.

LIFE IS FULL OF CHOICES AND COMPROMISES.

There is a contradiction here. If life is full of choices, where is the question of compromises? Remember, even a compromise is a choice. Let's evaluate this.

How is Life Full of Choices?

When we eat too much, we make a choice to be overweight. When we drink too much, we make a choice to have a headache the next day. If you drink and drive, you make a choice to risk being killed or killing someone in an accident. When we ill treat people, we make a choice to be ill treated in return. When we don't care about other people, we make a choice not to be cared for by other people.

Choices have consequences. We are free to make our choice but after we have chosen, the choice controls us. We have equal opportunity to be unequal. The choice is ours. Life 37*can be compared to a pottery maker who shapes clay in any form he wants. Similarly, we can mold our lives into any shape we want.

How is Life Full of Compromises?

Life is not just party and pleasure; it is also pain and despair. Unthinkable things happen.

Sometimes everything turns upside down. Bad things happen to good people. Some things are beyond control, such as physical disability and birth defects. We cannot choose our parents or the circ.u.mstances of our birth. So if the ball bounced that way, sorry. But what do we do from here; cry or take the ball and run? That is a choice we have to make.

On a clear day, there are hundreds of boats sailing in all different directions in a lake.

How come? Even though the wind is blowing in one direction, the sailboats are going in different directions. What is the difference? It depends on the way the sail is set, and that is determined by the sailor. The same is true of our lives. We can't choose the direction of the wind, but we can choose how we set the sail.

We can choose our att.i.tude even though we cannot always choose our circ.u.mstances.

The choice is either to act like a victor or a victim. It is not our position but our disposition that determines our destiny.

It takes both rain and sunshine to create a rainbow. Our lives are no different. There is happiness and sorrow. There is the good and the bad ; dark and bright spots. If we can handle adversity, it only strengthens us. We cannot control all the events that happen in our lives, but we can control how we deal with them.

Richard Blechnyden wanted to promote Indian tea at the St. Louis World fair in 1904. It was very hot and no one wanted to sample his tea. Blechnyden saw that all the other iced drinks were doing flourishing business. It dawned on him to make his tea into an iced drink, mix in sugar and sell it. He did and people loved it. That was the introduction of iced tea to the world.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, we can react responsibly or resentfully.

Human beings are not like an action which has no choice. An action cannot decide whether to become a giant tree or to become food for the squirrels. Human beings have choices. If nature gives us a lemon, we have a choice: either cry or make lemonade.

QUALITIES THAT MAKE A PERSON SUCCESSFUL.

1. Desire

The motivation to succeed comes from the burning desire to achieve a purpose.

Napoleon Hill wrote, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you 38*want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.

2. Commitment

Integrity and wisdom are the two pillars on which to build and keep commitments. This point is best ill.u.s.trated by the manager, who told one of his staff members, "Integrity is keeping your commitment even if you lose money and wisdom is not to make such foolish commitments."

Prosperity and success are the result of our thoughts and decisions. It is our decision what thoughts will dominate our lives. Success is not an accident. It is the result of our att.i.tude.

Playing to Win Requires Commitment

There is a big difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. When we play to win, we play with enthusiasm and commitment; whereas when we play not to lose, we are playing from a position of weakness. When we play not to lose, we are playing to avoid failure. We all want to win, but very few are prepared to pay the price to prepare to win. Winners condition and commit themselves to winning. Playing to win comes out of inspiration, whereas playing not to lose comes out of desperation.

There are no ideal circ.u.mstances. There will never be. To reach anywhere we cannot just drift nor lie at anchor. We need to sometimes sail with the wind and sometimes against it, but sail we must.

Ask any coach or athlete what the difference between the best and the worst team is.

There would be very little difference in their physique, talent and ability. The biggest difference you will find is emotional difference. The winning team has dedication and they make the extra effort.

To a winner, the tougher the compet.i.tion

the greater the incentive the more motivated he is the better the performance the sweeter the victory

New challenges develop new potential. Most athletes' best performances have come when the odds are slightly against them. That is when they dig deeper into their reservoir.

When I'd get tired and want to stop, I'd wonder what my next opponent was doing. When I could see him still working, I'd start pushing myself. When I see him in the shower, I'd push myself harder.

--Dan Gable, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling

Success is not in the achievement but in the achieving. Some people never try because they are afraid to lose. At the same time, they don't want to stay where they are because 39*they are afraid to be left behind. There is a risk either way. Ships that go out into the open water face risk from a storm. But if they sit in the harbor, they would rust and that is not what they were built for. That is the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. One cannot be committed and not take risks. People who play to win thrive on pressure and those who play not to lose don't know how to succeed.

Pressure makes people who play to win, prepare harder. For those who play not to lose, the pressure saps the energy. They want to win but they are so afraid to lose that they can't reach their full potential. They lose energy worrying about losing instead concentrating their efforts on winning.

Losers want security, winners seek opportunity. Losers are more afraid of life than death.

Failing is not a crime but lack of effort is.

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

Vince Lombardi Conviction Leads to Commitment

There is a difference between preferences and conviction. Preferences are negotiable; convictions are not. Preferences give way under pressure; convictions become stronger.

That is why it is important to have a good value system so that our convictions are worthy because convictions in turn lead to commitment.

3. Responsibility

A duty which becomes a desire will ultimately become a delight.

--George Gritter

People with character accept responsibilities. They make decisions and determine their own destiny in life. Accepting responsibilities involves taking risks and being accountable which is sometimes uncomfortable. Most people would rather stay in their comfort zone and live pa.s.sive lives without accepting responsibilities. They drift through life waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen. Accepting responsibilities involves taking calculated, not foolish, risks. It means evaluating all the pros and cons, then taking the most appropriate decision or action. Responsible people don't think that the world owes them a living.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot enrich the poor by impoverishing the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage pay or .

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting cla.s.s hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.