Never Quit, Persistence Is The Way

                                         

Persistence attracts opportunity, with those three words, I begin this article. Sure, when you are exasperated, early quitting always sounds good, especially when it all gets "bloody" or hard. When you are tired, some of the greatest successes come after the next wind. I will not say "second wind", because it sometimes takes multiple streams of persistence to succeed, and not any streams of persistence, and just one try without trying again to genuinely fail.

The greatest quitter in the world is never known, because all quitters quit before they succeed or "make it". Rest assured, though, the greatest successes in the world are the ultimate seeming "failures in the beginning". From Gautama Buddha who spent seventy years "going crazy" trying to figure it all out from suffering in the world itself to the "biggest why things in the world" under the Bodhi Tree, to Jesus Christ who "ended" his ministry with assassination by Crucifixion, only to come back in an even better form ultimately, and have one of the greatest mass ministries on Earth bigger than anything else going on Earth. So, what is the greatest persistence in the world? It is one of us if we do not genuinely quit too early.

The only thing that separated Alexander Graham Bell and the rest of the inventors of the telephone, was this, persistence and a simple turn of a screw connecting a wire, also an understanding of vibration and consistency that matched nothing else going. Alexander Graham Bell understood vibration and consistency (knowing it would take a constant and not intermittent current to transmit speech over electrical wires), although it seemed simple, that turn of the screw was the difference between intermittent inconsistency and consistently and productively working, and what stemmed form all of this to full fruition?: Oh, just cell phones, every communication medium on the planet including radio and wireless gadgets like that we use every day. Even though Lewis Latimer really invented, drew and patented the light bulb, and not Edison technically, I genuinely give credit where credit is due and warranted, whatever the realistic consequences. This is what separates Christianity from the other religions in a sense when Jesus Christ said the simply logical statement: "Render unto Caesar what is the property of Caesar, and render unto God genuinely what is the property of God." in the New Testament Biblical Books of Matthew and Mark.

My point and synopsis is as follows, then I will end this article: To live in reality whatever the consequences is success. To follow through with a genuine path is success in every way. That is the synopsis. Success is guts, persistence and genuinely good work and little else. That is the point, take what you need from that, and make it work for you. Thank you for reading.

My name is Joshua Clayton, I am a freelance writer based in Inglewood, California. I also write under a few pen-names and aliases, but Joshua Clayton is my real name, and I write by that for the most part now. I am a philosophical writer and objective thinker and honest action taker. I also work at a senior center in Gardena, California as my day job, among other things, but primarily I am a writer.

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Finding Success - How to Accept Criticism

                                     

Do you hate it when somebody criticizes you? Sometimes, however, criticism can be good for us. How is it possible? Does it seem incredulous? Why don't you read on?

Our mentors, peers, and bosses- all criticize our work. If it weren't for them, we would never stretch to think and grow. So, we should not allow their criticism to hurt us.

At this point, I remember when I was about nine years old, I was a learning nerd at school and was excelling academically. But when a drama participation became mandatory, I freaked.

There was going to be a cultural program at school, and everyone had to participate. A man was helping to supervise our acting roles in the drama. I remember I had a small role as a baker at the beginning and end of the drama. I didn't feel happy about it because the supervisor criticized me badly about all my moves every single day we practiced the drama.

It was painful for me, and when the grand day came and the time to act in the drama approached, I gave it my best shot and made a hit being a baker in a baker's costume with brown bread in my hand. Everyone loved my parts and was full of appreciation and praised me highly.

Today I look upon the drama supervisor with gratitude. His constant criticism helped me to perform super well. I owe him a lot of credit.

So, let us not be heartbroken at peoples' criticism; sometimes they do mean well. Can we blame our supervisors and bosses at work? Sometimes they are so judging and badly comment on our performances. But this can be advantageous.

To satisfy them and present fruitful and meaningful work, we outperform and, in the process, we make a name for ourselves. That is the way of life.

So, to attain success, accept criticism warm-heartedly and with goodwill. You have a lot more to give and contribute, which becomes obvious to your company/organization.

So, the more criticism you hear from the people in your life, the better. You get to live a better life because you have improved yourself and have become more skilled.

Apart from this, the worst critic in your life is your mind. Your mind is constantly giving you critical thoughts about everything, and you may feel paralyzed. Your mind's criticism may not be the best choice after all. Try to be calm and soothe yourself and be comfortable in your skin.

Listen to melodious songs or watch a comedy and divert your attention. You may not listen to your mind's constant negative chatter.

How other people criticize your work and life roles is much more meaningful. So, be gentle to yourself, give a good ear to others, and sort out things for yourself.

You do not have to pay attention to everyone's criticism though - only those that speak to you and resonate with you.

After all, you can hardly ignore the constructive criticism of the people around you who mean well, and without that, you miss out on life. So, stay connected, pay heed to these people, and become a mighty success at whatever you love to do and enjoy doing for your life and living.

Rosina S Khan has authored this article. For a wealth of free resources based on stunning fiction stories and academic guides, amazing self-help eBooks, articles and blogs, all authored by her, and much more, visit: https://rosinaskhan.weebly.com. You will be glad that you did.

Alternatively, for a different layout of free resources, visit: http://www.facebook.com/RosinaSKhan.hub. You won't be disappointed and remember to like her Facebook page.

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6 Ways to Work Smarter Not Harder

                                     

The phrase work smarter not harder could have a different meaning for everyone. After researching this phrase, I discovered the term originated in the 1930's by Allen F. Morgenstern. As an industrial engineer, he created a work simplification program to increase productivity using less effort.

There are differing opinions on this idea, some agree, while others don't. These opinions come from the perspective of each person. My perspective, or opinion, leans the way of agreement in the phrase, work smarter not harder. Allow me to explain.

In the past I wrote an article titled 'Why I Say Professional Organizers Are Lazy'. The gist of this article speaks to the term work smarter not harder. In the article I explain why I say that. In a nutshell, professional organizers find ways to complete tasks with the least amount of effort.

Everyone has their own ways of doing things, and as I've said in the past, what works for one may not work for another. Finding ways to work smarter not harder based on your specific lifestyle requires some internal investigation.

Think about the ways that you work on projects and tasks, both professionally and personally. Then look at the list below to see if any of these ways will work for you. Including ways to work smarter not harder will allow you to get things done easily and consequently reduce your stress in the process.

Get Organized

Naturally this way would be first on the list! When all of your things are organized, you can find what you need quickly. You don't waste time looking for required items to work on a task or project. Your spaces are clear and there is no clutter to distract you from thinking clearly.

Brain Dump

You probably have a lot of things swirling around in your head. Do a brain dump by getting them out of your head and onto a piece of paper, or if you're electronically inclined, on your computer or phone. Knowing what you need to do is the first step.

To-do List

Now that you understand what you want to get done, put those tasks on a to-do list. You may have more than one list. I know that many will tell you not to do that but sometimes it's necessary. For example, you may have one list for work and another list for home. That's OK, it's less confusing that way. At this point you want to prioritize the tasks on your list(s).

Processes

Using processes is a great way to work smarter not harder. I am a huge fan of using processes for repetitive tasks. Whether it's work related or personally, everyone has repetitive tasks of some sort.

When you put a process together by listing the steps, and referring to the process each time you perform the task, it will become a routine or a habit and you get things done quicker.

But don't become complacent and stop referring to these processes, or you take the risk of forgetting a step. It may not seem like a big deal, but it may cost time and/or money, and in the professional realm may be detrimental to your career.

Eliminate Steps

This is a good way to streamline processes. As you work a process and the situation changes, tweak the process to adapt to the change. This may occur in the way of eliminating a step or steps in the process. By eliminating a step, the consequence is likely to save time. Be mindful though, not to sacrifice quality in your quest to streamline a process.

Schedule Everything

This point is probably the most effective way to work smarter not harder. When you schedule all tasks, projects and appointments, there is no question when and what you should be doing at any given time.

Use your prioritized to-do list to schedule all tasks and appointments, either in a paper planner or an electronic device. Check your paper planner frequently, or set up audible alerts on your electronic device to stay on schedule.

Factor in additional time for travel, or unexpected things that may pop up. Downtime also needs to be factored in to your busy schedule. Downtime is not wasted time, it's a time to regroup, relax and refresh to achieve an effective work smarter not harder strategy.

Sally E Morgan is the owner of SOS: Simple Organized Solutions LLC. For more information on how SOS can eliminate stress and create peace of mind in your life, go to, http://www.sossimpleorganizedsolutions.com.

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Gobs of Gratitude

                                     

There's a theory that if you exercise aerobically for a minimum of 20 minutes in the morning, you raise your metabolic rate for the entire day. Since I'm most adamantly not a morning person I'll never know if this works for me or not.

However, there is one exercise I perform regularly every morning to raise my energy for the day. It's easy to do, takes only a few minutes, no special gear is required, and you don't have to work up a sweat or be concerned about straining muscles or hurting other body parts. Best of all it can be performed while still laying in bed.

Like aerobics, this exercise sets your energy to a higher level, but in this case it's emotional energy. Your higher emotional energy then supports you during the day so you react and respond to events that come at you in a positive, efficient, and effective manner.

As you may know from reading my past article, How Fear Makes You Stupid, any form of fear, from mild stress to high anxiety to intense terror, affects how your brain functions. When you're feeling fear to any degree, all brain activity is halted except for that in the brain stem, which is where your Fight or Flight response is stored. In other words, all logic and reasoning is halted when you're feeling any type of fear to any degree. This results in your being able to think of only two things - running away from the cause of your discomfort or fighting it. Neither of these options will solve the problem and, in fact, only cause it to linger and often to grow even larger.

Imagine, then, how you'll respond more effectively and positively to any challenges that come at you during the day because you did an exercise in the morning to raise your emotional energy and now you're feeling emotions far above those that are in the range of fear.

I call this simple yet amazing exercise Gobs of Gratitude.

Here's how you do it: Think of something that you're grateful for. As you think of something, say out loud "I'm grateful for ____________". Repeat this a total of ten times. Whatever you're grateful for doesn't need to be monumental. For example, here's what I was grateful for this morning:

• Warm flannel sheets
• My new bunny slippers
• Organic olive oil which I use for moisturizing my skin
• Being retired so I can get up when I want
• The furnace that keeps our house warm and cozy
• Non-fluoridated water to drink
• The squirrels in the back yard that are so entertaining
• Hot Licorice Root tea
• My two loving cats
• The sound of rain on the roof

That's it. Easy peasy. So simple and yet so very powerful.

Try it for a few days and notice the difference in how you feel and thus how you respond to people and events during the day. When and if you feel your emotional energy rate dropping, just say three or more Gobs of Gratitude to revitalize your emotional energy.

Kathy Wilson helps people create a better life for themselves using a multi-faceted approach. She's a Certified Professional Coach, spiritual teacher, Reiki master, vibrational healer, author many eBooks and articles.Your needs are unique, and the methods she uses are customized to your specific needs. As her client, you and she may use Life Purpose Coaching, spiritual mentoring and consulting, NLP, vibrational healing, PSYCH-K, Tarot, teaching... whatever is in your highest and best interests. For information about her products, services, and classes, and to sign up for her email newsletter, visit her website: http://www.warrior-priestess.com.

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