Preparation Meets Opportunity

Luck is Preparation and Opportunity. If you believe in Luck, understand that you control preparation. Whatever it is that you want to do, being prepared for that opportunity puts you in a position to be considered lucky.

The first step in Preparation is believing in yourself. Once you believe that you can and will achieve your goal, you have begun preparing for that opportunity. The second step in Preparation is acquiring knowledge for what it is that you want to achieve; understanding what you will need to know and to do. The third step in Preparation is physically doing whatever it is; practice.

Opportunities are always around us. Opportunities are choices or decisions. The difference between being lucky or unlucky is how prepared you are for your opportunity. If you are prepared, you will recognize when your opportunity comes. It sounds simple because it is. Athletes prepare all their lives to get the opportunity to play for a championship. The difference will always come down to how prepared they are. It starts with believing in themselves and their teammates (if a team sport). It continues with the next two steps. Achieving your goals is no different. You will get the opportunity to do whatever it is you want to do. The difference will be if you are prepared. Sometimes just having the right mindset (believing in you) is enough to recognize the opportunity and capitalize on it.

When I was in college, I majored in Electrical Engineering. After my sophomore year, I was mentally burned out. I needed a break but I did not want to leave school. In the fall semester of my junior year, I attended my school's annual career fair in September. I happened to talk to a recruiter who suggested that I look into either a summer internship or a cooperative education position. Later that week, I submitted my resume and application to my Career Services department. Right before Thanksgiving break, I received a call from a Human Resources recruiter for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. She told me that they where looking for an electrical engineering major to be a cooperative education student fulfilling the role of project engineer. I interviewed with her and was offered the position. I accepted and worked at the Air Force Base during my spring and summer semesters. I got the break I desperately needed. I also was able to work as an engineer, using the knowledge I had gained from my classes. This opportunity allowed me to assess what type of engineer I might consider once I graduated. On some many different levels, the experience was valuable beyond words that can explain.

The takeaway: people told me I was lucky. I was prepared. I was mentally ready for an opportunity that would allow me to work but still be in school. I had the knowledge. The opportunity presented itself. This is one of many examples.

Whatever it is that you want to do, be prepared. You will get the opportunity. I promise you.

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Motivation Is the Key But Success Is Up to Me

Everyone dreams about what they want to do or have in their life. The question sometimes is how do I get there? The answer to the question could seem to be complex but it is rather simple. The answer is in two parts explained in one statement: Motivation is the key but Success is up to me. Let's break down this statement so that you will understand that your dreams are merely steps away from being a reality.

Motivation is the key. Motivation is the driving force that energizes us to push forward towards a goal. Motivation is internal and/or external as well as positive and/or negative. You can get words of encouragement from your family and friends. You can get discouraging words from your family and friends. You can accomplish one goal that drives you to push on to your next goal. You can fail in reaching a goal. Motivation is similar to fuel. When someone drives a car, they need fuel. When you set a goal, you need motivation. Other elements are needed such as persistence and perseverance just as you need oil, transmission fluid and coolant for a car. Yet, that car will not move until you have fuel. You need motivation of all types to fuel your tank. The point is: it does not matter if motivation is just from you or if it is positive or negative from others. Embrace it and use it to drive you to your goal. Motivation is the key but...

Success is up to me. So now you have this fuel in your tank. Use it. Do it. You have to believe that you will accomplish your goal. This is worth repeating: YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOAL. Regardless of whom you are or what you know, you and only you can and must have faith in yourself. An abundance of motivation will do you know good if you don't believe you can do it. You simply must proceed on your journey to success. A full tank of gas in a car is useless if the car is not driven. Furthermore, with no direction, the fuel is wasted. You must have a specific goal. You must have a plan to achieve that goal. Failure along the way is always relevant and real. Failure is not defeat unless you choose it to be. Believe that you can accomplish your goal and you will be able to embrace failure. You will not be afraid to fail. You must not be afraid to fail. Failure is nothing more than motivation.

Motivation is the key but Success is up to me!

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Become an Inverse Paranoid to Turn Around Your Fortunes for the Better

Become An Inverse Paranoid

In the last issue we introduced the sad story of two friends who were rookie rugby spectators at a stadium. When the players gathered for a scrum and started whispering and encouraging one another, the two friends had different reactions about what they assumed was being said by the players. The first suspected that the players were conspiring to beat them up, and he was dead sure that he had heard something to that effect. The second was totally convinced that the players were indeed talking about them but for a good reason. Since it was their first time at the stadium and they were the only rookie spectators, he was convinced that there was a plan to reward them as a way of encouraging them. The first was also convinced that for the very same reason; that they were new at the stadium; the players did not want them there and were therefore planning to eject them out of the stadium violently. Of course, both of them were wrong, because what the players were engaged in was nothing but a routine rugby ritual of restarting the match after an accidental foul or after the ball has gone out of play.

The two friends represent two contrasting attitudes towards life, which ultimately lead to diametrically opposite outcomes. The first man is the most common. He is what is called a paranoid. The paranoid believes that everyone and everything is conspiring against him to cause evil to visit him. His suspicions enslave him and literally dictate his conduct. Mentally, physically, emotionally and in almost every way the paranoid lives a damned life.

The second man is representative of an inverse paranoid. By definition an inverse paranoid believes that everything and everyone is planning to do him good. Quite unlike the paranoid, the inverse paranoid lives a charmed life and indeed good things tend to follow them.

In this issue we take a closer look at the inverse paranoid.

The Inverse Paranoid Believes In Miracles

The first characteristic that distinguishes the inverse paranoid is that he believes in miracles. He believes and is fully persuaded on the inside that something good will come out of every situation. He does not bother himself by trying to figure out exactly how the miracle will come by, he simply believes that somehow events, people and the universe will converge and act in a manner that will advance his interests and his well being. His approach is summarized by one simple statement, "All things work together for me."

He believes that people are on his side and not against him. He believes that events are God sent not manufactured by the devil. By doing so he primes himself to receive the best out of everyone and out of every situation.

The Inverse Paranoid Has A vivid Expectation of Good

The inverse paranoid not only believes, but actually actively expects good things to happen to him. He is constantly in a state of what Charles Dickens would call Great Expectations. Our expectations have a huge impact not only on our health but also on our state of motivation. Compare and contrast the emotions, attitudes and actions of two ladies; one on death row expecting to be executed any time and one on the morning of her wedding day. Both of them are not likely to be in a neutral gear. When the bride hears the sound of footsteps from her chamber, she immediately imagines that the groom has arrived to take her to the wedding hall for the solemnization of the vows. On the other hand when the lady on death row hears sounds of footsteps she imagines that the hangman has arrived. If the bride sees a man dressed in a priest's garments she is betrayed into believing that the priest who is to conduct the vows has arrived. However, when the condemned lady sees a priest is betrayed into believing that he has come to read the last rites before she is hanged. They are actively expecting different outcomes for the day. Hence, they are in different emotional and psychological states.

This may seem simplistic but it is very important. Over the long haul our actions are actually shaped by our expectations. Our actions in turn influence the outcomes we get; thus our expectations actually become self fulfilling prophecies. For this reason alone the inverse paranoid tends to live a charmed life while the paranoid tends to always attract the worst possible outcomes.

Attitudes Are More Powerful Than Facts

There are two elements that are ever present in any situation. These are attitudes and facts. The two have mutually reinforcing effects. Our attitudes influence the progression of the facts because facts are not static but continuously changing in response to it taken. On the other hand, attitudes cannot be insulated from the outside facts.

The instinctual tendency is to allow the facts to influence one's attitude. However, the winning approach is to clothe oneself with an attitude that one can actually influence developments in a positive direction. It is a proven scientific fact that people can change the outcomes they get in life by first changing the attitudes of their minds by conscious endeavor. Attitude is a product of conscious choice and decision.

No one is born a paranoid or an inverse paranoid. These are acquired attitudes. They are learned behaviors which can also be unlearned. The first step to becoming an inverse paranoid is to make a conscious decision to work towards becoming one. One can never become an inverse paranoid incidentally, coincidentally or accidentally. Conscious endeavor is the key. The decision to become an inverse paranoid should then be followed by another very important decision; to give the most generous interpretation to events and human behavior. Nothing is bad by itself, but our thinking makes it so. All sound human relations are based on the assumption of the existence of goodwill between interlocutors. Without the assumption of goodwill, paranoia sets in.

The books you read, the company you keep and the imaginations you entertain also have a huge influence over whether you become paranoid or an inverse paranoid.

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