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Bibliography: Schuller, Robert H. ‘TOUGH TIMES Never Last, But Tough People Do!’ Bantam Books. 1983

Points To Ponder

1. You can always share your own story.

2. People who never take a chance, never get ahead.

3. Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of determination!

4. You can do anything you want to do. You can be anything you want to be. You can go anywhere from where you are - if you are willing to dream big and work hard.

5. Never underestimate the value of an idea.

Action Program

No matter what your religious persuasion, this book needs to be read in its entirety and deserves to be on every thinking person’s shelves.

Do whatever you can to locate a copy of this book and devour it and apply it in your personal life. You will be amazed at the long-term effect it will have on your life.

As the reviewer I am amazed at the impact it has had on my life!

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

He concludes his great book with an Alphabet For Action.

'Winning starts with beginning, and beginning starts with a single action.' he assigns positive, possibility-thinking verbs - action words - to each letter of the alphabet to help us get started with simple positive actions to change our lives.

A... Affirm that you can do it... affirm that you deserve to succeed.

B... Believe that '... somehow, some time, somewhere, through someone's help, you can achieve your heart's highest goal.' Believe that you can make it happen.

C... Commit yourself to a dream. 'When you are inspired with a dream, God has hit the ball into your court. Now you have to hit it back with a commitment. Nobody who tries to do something great but fails is a total failure - he defeated the fear of trying.'

D... Dare to try. Dare to make a commitment. Dare to take a risk. 'Risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, are nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.'

E... Educate yourself. 'Ultimately, the knowledgeable person who has the right answers is the one who will impress the powerful people.'

F... Find the talent, the possibilities, the time, the money, and the way. 'There is a great bible verse: "It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter" (Prov. 25:2) God does not lay it all out into the open. No. The diamonds are buried deep in the earth. Pearls are concealed in oysters. The gold has to be carefully mined. Your real talent dwells deep down within, and you may not have discovered it yet.'

G... Give it all you've got. 'There is a principle: New powers are discovered every time you push yourself farther than you've ever gone before."

H... Hope '...is holding on, praying expectantly. It's never giving up. It's never quitting. The single most important healing force is hope: hope of recovery, hope of loving and being loved, hope of making it, and succeeding.'

I... Imagine solutions to your problem. Imagine yourself scaling your mountain. Imagine yourself crossing the finishing line.

J... Junk the junk food of your mind. Throw away the self-pity, the worry, anxiety, and the fear and negative thoughts. Junk them!

K... Knock out depression, knockout discouragement, knock out all kinds of forecasts of doom and gloom. Take control of your life and your future by knocking out all negativity.

L... Laugh at yourself.

M... Make it happen. 'Do you want excitement? Do you want your dream to come true? Then make it happen!'

N... Negotiate. 'You have to be able to negotiate, to compromise. You can't have your way all the time.'

O... Overlook and overcome. 'You have to overlook your own and other people's imperfections. You can't succeed without a team. There are some problems that can't be solved. However, every problem can be overcome, manipulated, molded.'

P... Persevere; don't give up.

Q... Quit complaining! Do something.

R... Reorganise yourself, your life, your plans. Times change!

S... Share. 'God can do tremendous things through the person who doesn't care who gets the credit and is willing to share the credit, share the power, and share the glory.' 'It's better to let somebody else do a worse job than I would do, than not have it get done at all. The surprising thing is that, more often than not, they do a better job of it than I would have done!'

T... Trade-off that which you are prepared to give up to get or keep what you want.

U... Unlock '...some human values you never experienced before - faith, hope and love.'

V... Visualise the dream before you. 'Don't ever lose the vision. When you lose the vision you're dead. Where there are no dreams, people perish. Success doesn't come through the ways you may think it comes, it comes through they way you think! Think positively. Visualise success!'

W... Work - there is no substitute for work.

X... X-ray your deepest motives. 'There are people who have high moral and ethical integrity in their businesses.' do you?

Y... Yield your life and your problems to God. 'Once you've given God control of your life, it won't be free from difficulty. God has not promised that our skies will always be blue, but He has promised to see us through.'

Z... Zip it up. Schuller zips up his book by closing with... 'Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Rev. 22:13). You can face whatever is ahead of you, and with Christ as your friend, you can succeed.'

Concludes Schuller: ' "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31). That is the ultimate secret of becoming tough enough to face the toughest battle and win! Only then can you be sure that your life will prove the truth of the title of this book - Tough Times never last, But Tough people do! - eternally!'

Wow, what a great book... and this review has only just skimmed through it. Get it!

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Schuller shares a fantastic piece of philosophy - that has had an enormous impact on this writer for many years - that he discovered in the Readers Digest, December 1982, entitled 'ANYWAY'... it reads:

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred... Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives... Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will false friends and true enemies... Succeed anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable... Be honest and frank anyway.

The good you today will be forgotten tomorrow... Do good anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people
with the smallest minds... Thing big anyway.

People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs... Fight for some underdogs anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight... Build anyway.

Give the world the best you've got and you'll get kicked in the teeth...
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

Isn't that just great? It is a confirmation of the admonition - "To thine ownself be true."

Says Schuller: 'Prayer is the umbilical cord that allows you - with your embryonic ideas - to draw nourishment from a source that you, like an unborn infant, can neither see nor fully know or comprehend - God our heavenly Father. Prayer is the power that pulls everything together successfully.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Robert Schuller reminds us that the key ingredients in the recipe of success are:

1.) Put your problems in proper perspective
2.) Apply the 12 principles of managing problems effectively
3.) Take charge and control of your situation
4.) Tackle impossibilities with the Ten Commandments for Possibility Thinking
5.) Count to 10 and Win
6.) Apply the Faith that will move your mountain
7.) Apply the One Power that pulls everything together successfully

And... To Schuller... the One Power that pulls everything together successfully is Prayer : '...there must be a steady and unfailing practice of positive prayer if you are to succeed. God guides praying people through tough times until the beautiful breakthrough finally comes.'

He shares a very personal story concerning his own son which highlights God's divine intervention... it makes compelling reading - get to it!

Again Schuller warns, 'But remember, keeping in touch with God won't eliminate your problems... it will only help you manage them.'

He offers a simple mnemonic formula to help you to '...RENEW your strength and spirit' when you're feeling burnt out or smarting from a failure of some kind.

R... Review your past - he suggests that we go back to the great times we've had in the past and work out what it was that turned us on then... to review what was the source of our emotional energy at the time. 'Review your private practices, your philosophy of life, your value system, and your religion.'

E... Examine all the possibilities - he reminds us to do 'what if' scenarios... 'There are far more possibilities than you think. Examine them.'

N... Name the price you're willing to pay - there is always a price to pay for whatever we wish to achieve. When you are willing to pay the price you will receive the rewards due. 'When you feel that deeply about something you are going to make it.'

E... Elect the best possibility no matter what the price - 'Choose the best; shun the mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shrivelling up enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy. Elect the best, no matter what the price tag.

W... Wait and Work - says Schuller: 'Probably nothing is more difficult than to keep waiting, working, plodding, and maintaining patience through dark times. But we must.'

He offers some great advice: 'Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst mood.'

'Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. New feelings will come over you, and they will be positive. Keep waiting affirmatively and positively in prayer for God's strength to return.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Schuller goes on to talk about the importance of living a life of unbending, mountain-moving faith.

'Faith is indeed the greatest miracle-working power imaginable. Faith never fails a person; we fail when we give up on our faith.' He suggests that there are five phases to developing faith, and if any one of these five phases is ignored we will not get the results we are looking for.

He writes: 'Faith is like a seed. If a seed is not planted, it can't bear fruit. But planting is just the first phase. Unless the seed is watered, it won't sprout. Sprouting is the second phase. Once the seed is planted and watered, growth will begin. But unless the plant is nourished, it will not reach full maturity. It will not blossom, which is the third phase.'

Then, the right climactic conditions are needed to bear fruit - the fourth phase. And, finally it must be harvested at precisely the right time - the fifth phase.

1. The Nesting Phase.

This phase begins when an idea first enters your mind. Schuller asks the reader to consider where that idea first comes from. 'Faith begins when you begin to believe in the ideas that God sends to you. Greatness does not depend upon your position in life, but upon your respect of the positive ideas that flow into your imagination!'

He regularly states his assertion from the pulpit as to the source of all ideas: 'All of us have incredible creative potential because all ideas come from God and all of us can tap into this wisdom. Don't reject the ideas simply because of your awareness of your own imperfections.'

He provides some insightful wisdom of his own: 'Common people are brilliant only if they believe in their own ideas. Most human beings have the same basic brain capacity. The major difference is the attitude that a person has towards his own ideas!'

Schuller does caution: 'Of course, no idea is perfect.' He suggests that we should be looking for the positive potential in every idea. He does point out that: 'Positive results follow a positive mental picture. This is the irrevocable law of faith built by God into the universe.'

2. The Testing Phase

Schuller balances his enthusiasm for all ideas with the understanding that they need to be tested for their validity and practical application. 'No person plunges recklessly and irresponsibly ahead with every idea that moves through his brain.'

He suggests that the ultimate test of the quality of an idea is whether it will be an inspiration to others or... make a positive difference in the lives of others.

3. The Investing Phase

This is 'the point at which you make a public commitment. You commit time, money, energy, and - possibly the most valuable products of all - pride and prestige to the publicly announced project.'

Schuller comments: 'Many people fail their faith at this third phase. They are just not faithful enough to invest everything they've got into their dream.'

4. The Arresting Phase

This is when the problems begin to arise, where the troubles begin to crop up. 'The arresting phase of faith is God's way of testing us before the final victory. He wants to make sure: Are we really depending on Him? Will we really be grateful if we make it? Can He trust us with success? Are we going to prove humble enough to handle the big prize?'

'Every project I've ever tackled has gone through its severe arresting phase. And at that point in time, you have the choice to hang on or to give up. You and you alone reserve the ultimate choice: Quit or keep believing. Which response will inspire the most people?'

5. The Cresting Phase

This is where success comes shining through. Schuller uses Christ's life story to demonstrate how all five phases were experienced by Christ.

He closes this discussion on Faith with the comment: 'The God who created you gave you a brain that is brilliant. You are as deserving and as capable of achieving success as any other person alive in the world today. God created you as an inspiration to many people. Open your mind to receive possibility thoughts. They will come like eggs dropped in a nest. Tenderly receive them and be prepared to trust in them through the testing phase, the investing phase, the arresting phase. Never abandon the dream until you've reached the cresting phase.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

In playing the Possibility Thinking Game, Schuller came up with a very simple strategy to begin to solve seemingly impossible problems. He discovered that when he '...listed ten possible ways to do what was impossible at that moment...' he ultimately came up with a solution.

He described how he needed to raise $1,000,000 (One Million Dollars) and began to list his possibilities on a piece of paper:

1. Get 1 person to give $1,000,000
2. Get 2 people to give $500,000
3. Get 4 people to give $250,000
4. Get 10 people to give $100,000
5. Get 20 people to give $50,000
6. Get 40 people to give $25,000
7. Get 50 people to give $20,000
8. Get 100 people to give $10,000
9. Get 200 people to give $5,000
10. Get 1000 people to give $1,000

Robert Schuller got his money... and he learnt that... 'Anyone can count to ten - and anyone can be a success! It's true. Count to ten and win. This simple possibility thinking game can help anyone with any problem. Don't play it alone. Play it with problem-solving people. Play it with possibility-thinking people. Play it with people who have a record of achievement and success.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

This section is perhaps the most illuminating in this book, in that it opens one's mind to the awesome power of managing ideas effectively.

Says Schuller: 'Impossibility thinkers are people who instinctively react negatively to a possibility-laden idea. They impulsively look for reasons why it can't be done. They quickly abort an idea and forget about it.'

'The possibility thinker looks at every idea to see if it has possibilities. If it does, he takes an option out on the idea. He does not let it slip by.'

Through his own personal experiences, he learnt to' Never underestimate the value of an idea. Every positive idea has within it the potential for success if it is managed properly...' and came up with the Ten Commandments of Possibility Thinking, as summarised below:-

1. Never reject a possibility because you see something wrong with it!

Says Schuller: 'There is something wrong with every good idea. Don't throw away a suggestion when you see a problem. Instead, isolate the negative from the possibility. Neutralise the negative. Exploit the possibility, and sublimate the negative. Don't ever let negatives kill the positive potential that is within an opportunity.'

2. Never reject a possibility because you won't get the credit!

'God can do tremendous things through the person who doesn't care who gets the credit. Decisions must never be based on ego needs. They must be based on human needs and market pressures that transcend your own desires. Decide today: Would you rather satisfy your ego - or enjoy the fruits of success?'

3. Never reject a possibility because it's impossible!

'Almost every idea is impossible when it is first born. Possibility thinkers take great ideas and turn the impossibilities into possibilities. That's progress!'

4. Never reject a possibility because your mind is already made up!

'People who never change their minds are either perfect or stubborn. I'm not perfect and neither are you. I'd rather change plans while still in port, than to set sail and sink at sea.'

5. Never reject an idea because it's illegal!

'You might be able to get the law changed. A lot of laws on the books today need to be changed.'

6. Never reject an idea because you don't have the money, manpower, muscle, or months to achieve it!

'Make the commitment to do what's great, then solve the problems. A successful person has very few resources, except the capacity to take an idea and marshal stronger and smarter people around him to pull it off.'

7. Never reject an idea because it will create conflict!

'You can never develop a possibility without creating problems. Every idea worth anything is bound to be rejected by people who don't go along with it.'

8. Never reject an idea because it's not your way of doing things!

'Learn to accommodate. Prepare to compromise. Maintain a balance between the tension of an opportunity that demands exploitation and the limitations of the resources available at the moment.'

9. Never reject an idea because it might fail!

'Every idea worth anything has failure potential within it. There is risk in everything. You never reject an idea because there's some risk involved. You isolate the risk, insulate it, and eventually eliminate it.'

10. Never reject an idea because it's sure to succeed!

Schuller levels some strong words at fellow Christians who overplay the humility card: 'To choose poverty instead of prosperity, failure instead of success, low achievement instead of top-of-the-ladder achievement, simply for the sake of being humble, is not super-Christian. It's dumb. Only successful people can help people who are failing. Only winners will survive to give food to the hungry.'

He quotes Rich de Vos - president of the Amway Corporation: "The poor cannot help the poor."

So where did Robert Schuller get The Ten Commandments for Possibility Thinkers?

'All ten came from the Bible. All ten come from Jesus Christ - The World's Greatest Possibility Thinker. He said: "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matt. 17:20)'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

He outlines 18 Leadership Principles For Maintaining Control. These principles, as summarised in the extracts below, have made an enormous impact on this writer's life and should be studied in full by reading the book to really gain maximum value.

1. Don't surrender leadership to outside forces... take charge of your destiny.

2. Don't surrender leadership to faces... more particularly the looks on their faces or their body language... stick to your guns!

3. Don't surrender leadership to farces... or myths, lies generalisations and deliberate untruths.

4. Don't surrender leadership to fences... or 'little boxes' or paradigms that tend to want to shape our decisions. Think about what new results might happen if you deliberately set out to break the conventional wisdom or generally accepted rules.

5. Don't surrender leadership to frustrations... every one who wants to achieve will face enormous frustrations from uncooperative people, bureaucratic 'red tape' and lack of finances... don't give in on your dreams and goals.

6. Don't surrender leadership to your fantasies... 'Don't allow yourself to indulge in negative fantasies that limit the size of your goals and stifle your creativity.'

7. Don't surrender leadership to fears... 'The Bible says, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). That means that when you surrender to fears, you can be sure that the fears did not come from God. God does not give us the spirit of fear. If you have many fears, all you have to do is cure yourself of one fear, and that's the fear of failure. This will help: "I'd rather attempt something great and fail than attempt nothing and succeed."'

8. Don't surrender leadership to fatigue... recognise that there are times when you are too tired to see people or to make decisions... take time to rest and recharge your batteries.

9. Don't surrender leadership to faults... 'A lot of people do that. They find fault with a good idea and annihilate it. They surrender leadership to the faults instead of to the potential. There are problems with every idea. But problems call for polishing, not for demolition. It's amazing how faults can control our lives if we let them.'

10. Don't surrender leadership to facts... past facts and statistics can be influenced and changed by the actions you take.

11. Don't surrender leadership to frenzies... most times people react to a problem with frenzied action... sometimes it is better just to sit back, relax and think.

12. Don't surrender leadership to the fates... 'Fortune-tellers, chart readers, and any others who program people subconsciously or consciously with negative self-fulfilling prophecies are dangerous people. Never allow these people to move into the control position of your life.'

13. Don't surrender leadership to forecasts... 'There will always be negative, cynical people who only believe that life will go downhill as time goes on.' Ignore them and live your life as you want to!

14. Don't surrender leadership to your foes... 'Not a single foe, not a single critic offered any better solution to my problem. I soon realised that my foes really weren't interested in solving my problems.'

15. Don't surrender leadership to your friends... 'Friends can give you advice. They can share with you their opinions. But they should never have the final word. The only one who can make the decision and live with the results is you. Do what you believe you must do. Be true to yourself, to your ideals, and to your dreams.'

16. Don't surrender leadership to the fracturing experiences of life... never let past hurts govern your life, you have got to discover the awesome power of having faith in the future!

17. Don't surrender leadership to the flattening-out experiences of life... life is tough, life is not fair, but how you face it and deal with it determine how much you will enjoy the experience.

18. Do surrender leadership to one thing - FAITH... 'Let faith be in control of every decision you make and every action you take. You do that when you let the positive possibilities set your goals. Surrender leadership to faith. Surrender leadership to God. Let Him be in control of your life.' This writer did and it opened my future up to the incredible power of Possibility Thinking described by Robert Schuller.

More tomorrow.

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

And... what if you can't solve the problem? Well, the good news is... you can manage it! Schuller gives us '...twelve principles for managing problems creatively and constructively!'

Twelve Principles for Managing Problems Positively

1. Don't underestimate.

'Never underestimate a problem or your power to cope with it. Realise that the problem you are facing has been faced by millions of human beings. You have untapped potential for dealing with a problem if you will take the problem and your own undeveloped, unchanneled powers seriously. Your reaction to the problem, as much as the problem itself, will determine the outcome.'

2. Don't exaggerate.

Schuller points out that most people he has counselled tend to exaggerate their problem by playing it up too much to themselves. To put personal problems into perspective, he writes: 'In my experience as a pastor, I have never met anyone who wanted to exchange his problem for someone else's.'

'If you will play it down and pray it up, God will give you the ability to cope with the worst that will happen.'

3. Don't wait.

'To wait is to waste time and opportunity. Right now understand that you alone are responsible for managing your problem. Don't expect anyone else to do it for you. Look to God and to your own capabilities. If you expect others to rescue you, you will only be disappointed. Worse than that, you may also become cynical and bitter.'

4. Don't aggravate.

'We have the power to make any problem better or worse. We do this when we react positively or negatively. If you've got a problem, don't add to it. Don't make your problem worse by aggravating it with self-pity, jealousy, cynicism, hatred, anger, or lack of positive faith in the future.'

5. Illuminate.

Schuller suggests that we use the IPDE formula to illuminate the problem. 'IDENTIFY the problem. PREDICT what this problem will do to you if you don't do anything about it. DECIDE on your response from all the alternatives. Then EXECUTE on the most positive action that you can imagine.'

6. Motivate.

The real trick is to '...consider all of the positive reactions...' that you can take, and '...you will be motivated to take positive action.'

7. Bait.

Most people try and solve their problem by being miles away from the potential solution. Meaning that if you want to catch a giant marlin you can't throw your bait out into your garden... you have to get into a boat and travel to where the marlin are... and then throw in your bait.

'Need a job? Go to where the jobs are. And then throw out the bait. Put in your application. Put ads in the paper. Let people know you are available.'

8. Date.

This principle reminds us to solve our problems the way we go about finding a spouse... knock on doors... play the field... keep trying... romance the opportunities... set up as many dates with destiny as you can.

9. Sublimate.

'Every problem, even yours, is loaded with possibilities. You can turn your mountain into a gold mine. Believe that every time that every adversity holds within it the seeds of an undeveloped possibility. When you can't eliminate the problem, sublimate it. Turn the stumbling block into a stepping stone.'

10. Now dedicate.

'Most people fail, not because they lack intelligence, ability, opportunity, or talent, but because they haven't given their problem all they've got!'

'Anyone can succeed if he can get enthusiastic about life even when life seems empty. Doors will open to the enthusiastic person first!'

Schuller promises, 'Remember this : Unexpected sources of help come from unpredictable quarters to the person who remains positive and enthusiastic and cheerful! That's my promise.'

11. Communicate.

'Do you need help? Then ask for it. Don't be too proud to tell people you need help. Do you need hope? Are you discouraged? Depressed? Has enthusiasm waned? Do you want to quit, pack up, and run away from life? Then ask for help. Seek it out. There is hope waiting for you. Whatever else you do, COMMUNICATE. You will be surprised at how help will come to you and your problem will be managed.'

12. Insulate.

'Insulate yourself from negative forces and negative personalities. Negative thinking can easily produce exaggerated conclusions that are most irresponsible.'

Continues Schuller: 'Be positive. You can solve your problems. When a problem seems to defy solution, you can manage it. Take charge, take control, and never surrender leadership.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Says Schuller: 'People who win over tough times are people who never stop believing. They have faith in themselves and their Lord and in the ideas that God gives them. These winners, survivors, pray for God's guidance and when they know what it is they have to do, they take action. They do something about it.'

'I say to you: you can do anything you want to do. You can be anything you want to be. You can go anywhere from where you are - if you are willing to dream big and work hard.'

Put Your Problems Into Perspective

Robert Schuller discusses SIX principles pertaining to all problems.

1. Every living human being has problems.

'Nobody is free from problems. A problem-free life is an illusion - a mirage in the desert. It is a dangerously deceptive perception, which can mislead, blind and distract.'

'To pursue a problem-free life is to run after an elusive fantasy; it is a waste of mental and physical energies. Every living human person has problems. Accept that fact and move on to the second principle.'

2. Every problem has a limited life span.

I love this principle because it takes heed of natural historical evidence.

Writes Schuller: 'Every mountain has a peak. Every valley has a low point. Life has its ups and downs, its peaks and valleys.'

'History teaches us that every problem has a life span. No problem is permanent. Do you have a problem? They will pass; they will not last. Your problem will not last forever, but you will! Storms always give way to the sun. Winter always thaws into springtime. Your storm will pass. Your winter will thaw. Your problem will be resolved.'

3. Every problem holds possibilities.

Schuller points out the exciting paradox posed by problems. Pointing out that... 'There are two sides to every coin,' he says, '...every human problem holds possibilities for someone willing to look for them.'

4. Every problem will change you.

'Problems never leave us the way the found us.' We either learn from the experience we gain or we suffer the consequences of not taking positive action to move through the problem.

5. You can choose what your problem will do to you.

We may not be able to control the things that happen to us, or the problems that we encounter in life, but '...we can control our reaction...' to these problems. It can make you tender or tough; it can make you better or bitter. It all depends on you.'

6. There is a negative and a positive reaction to every problem.

Schuller uses the example of a financial setback to explain the choices we can make. The negative solution would be to go out and steal money to solve your problem. The positive solution would be the most courageous solution... to face your creditors honestly and arrange new terms.

In using these six principles to putting your problems into perspective, as Schuller says, it is all about... 'Possibility Thinking - I do not claim it can solve every problem. But I have no doubt that the vast majority of problems can be solved if we only believe. "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26)'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Schuller goes on to share the story of some tough people who chose to rise to the top in tough times.

Mary Martin... a sixty-nine year old member of his congregation... nine-times Life magazine cover-girl... who lost her dearest companion in a horrendous car crash that almost crippled her.

Schuller asks: 'What gives some persons the power to fight on after the loss of a precious loved one after experiencing torturing physical pain day after day? There is no substitute for deep abiding faith. If we hold on, we will win out! Unquestionably the profound faith and the beautiful providence of God produce a strong and unquenchable optimistic mental attitude.'

Benno Fischer... a survivor from the Jewish concentration camps for the entire duration of the Second World War from 1939 to 1945... separated from his sweetheart that he was due to marry in 1939 and reunited again in 1945 in Stuttgart. 'They embraced; they cried; they laughed; they loved; they survived. And they came to America! Tough times never last, but tough people do!'

Judy Hall... divorced, mother of two young teenage-daughters, without steady-income... who started a dressmaking business with one hundred dollars and an idea. Now her enterprise turns out 123 quality dresses a month. 'If a single, divorced mother of two children, with no money and no special training, is able to invade a surplus market with a new product and a new concept and develop a super successful enterprise, then it's probably possible for you to create employment opportunities for yourself.'

In discussing Judy Hall's story, Schuller shares a simple four-question test to see whether an idea will be successful or not:

Question 1. Is it practical and will it fill a vital human need?

Question 2. Can it be done beautifully?

Question 3. Can it be done differently enough so that it will stand out in front of all others?

Question 4. Can it receive the stamp of excellence and be a little better than anything else that is being offered?

John Prunty... a long-distance runner who plunged from a scaffold and broke his neck. 'In that moment of truth this young husband and father knew he was a quadriplegic, a victim of a broken neck, paralysed from the neck down for life!'

Said John, "I decided to be a survivor. In fact, three D's became my guiding theme... desire, dedication and determination. I knew I needed to generate and sustain the desire to live, to heal, and to recognise my full potential. Then I had to dedicate myself to that concept. Determination alone would give me the victory, I resolved never to surrender.'

Today, John Prunty manages his own business from his wheelchair... 'John Prunty's a winner, he's a survivor, because he knows that... Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!'

There are many great testimonials in this book, which demonstrate that... 'Everybody has problems. No life is problem-free.'

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

As he relays the thought process that went through his mind, we learn that Robert Schuller has himself experienced TOUGH TIMES.

From being the son of a '30’s Depression era farmer whose farm was flattened by a tornado... escaping with their lives from this very tornado... struggling to get through college... losing all his possessions in a fire... struggling to start a church with just five hundred dollars in a strange State with no friends, contacts or family... having a wife who has struggled with cancer... the near-loss of his daughter in a serious motorbike accident... the amputation of her leg... to building a twenty-million dollar, internationally-acclaimed Crystal Cathedral with not a cent in his pocket to begin with!

In his speech, Schuller recalled how his father had shown extraordinary determination in slowly bouncing back from the disaster that befell his family. His father had spent his last remaining savings to purchase seed corn to begin planting crops again. This despite the best advice of his bankers to sell to avoid bankruptcy.

He taught the young Robert that : 'People who never take a chance, never get ahead.'

Unfortunately the first crop was almost totally wiped out by a drought... but his father recovered enough seeds to begin planting again..! At this time the young Robert noticed a sign in a bank that read - Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of determination!

'That slogan was an explanation of my father's success and inspiration to me to attempt the impossible too!'

As Schuller came to the end of his story to his audience, telling of how his father died a successful man despite all his tribulations, he asked.

'So you're having tough times. Are they tougher times than my father experienced? Are you burning corncobs for fuel? Have you lost everything in a tornado? Is the mortgage due and the cash not there? Are you tempted to walk away and put the place up for sale? Then let me tell you something about tough times. I believe I have walked the path and earned the right to comment on tough times. Let me tell you something about tough times!'

Now, here's where I really get to enjoy Robert Schuller's work, he admits : 'I hadn't got the foggiest idea what I was going to tell them about tough times! I had painted myself into a corner. I prayed silently. I prolonged the dramatic pause as I paced like a tiger in the cage back and forth across the empty stage, returning the stares of a very attentive audience.'

'I was stunned to hear this sentence come out of my mouth. I was shocked. I was inspired! I am convinced it came directly from God. It was a sentence that would not only inspire me and my audience but many others. It would even give birth to a book. Like a thunderclap, this sentence filled every corner of the huge ballroom: Tough Times Never Last... But Tough People Do!'

And so begins a great book!

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

The book begins in the summer of 1982 with Schuller facing a very negative audience of 3500 depressed agricultural-industry delegates, who were experiencing the disastrous effects of one of the severest recessions in U.S. history. Says Schuller, 'In recessive times the tendency is to react negatively.'

He knew that his audience was facing TOUGH TIMES..! The speech that he had prepared seemed to be so out of place that he instinctively dumped it as he walked out onto the stage. Anyone who knows the pressure of public speaking can recognise the anxiety that he must have felt at that moment.

'I found myself walking across the stage without the faintest idea of what I would tell these troubled people. I paced quietly from one end of the platform to the other, trying to collect my thoughts, I searched the eyes of the audience. I decided to recover my position by asking a question.'

"They tell me that you are having tough times. Is that right?"

'The question gave me the time to embrace a dramatic pause. Such a pause can be a lifesaver to a public speaker. I continued to pace back and forth, pretending to exude the confidence of a well-prepared lecturer.'

'I could tell that my opening question had grabbed their attention... from that point I delivered a spontaneous lecture that at times erupted with new insights.'

For this writer something about reading Schuller's message, many years ago, changed my personal speech-making delivery style to one of just talking straight from the heart... on things that you know about and have personally experienced... and it works!

I have faithfully kept away from speech-coaches who want to clone every speechmaker into the SAME style... and allowed myself the privilege of breaking all the rules and just being myself on that stage!

Says Schuller : '...the most effective speech is not a sermon but a witness. Essentially the principle is this: if you don't have any advice to give, you can always share your own story. If there has been any excitement, challenge, crisis, and resolution in your life, then share it! Everybody likes a good story.'

That simple piece of advice makes every one of us mere mortals a potential quality story-teller because we have all experienced major challenges in our lives. It is the attitude that we displayed in dealing with these challenges... and succeeding... that determines whether we WANT to share our experiences with others.

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!

Author - Robert H. Schuller

Book Review - How To Turn Problems Into Exciting Possibilities

Review by Trevor Nel – March 2001

---------------------------------------------------

'Lord, give me the guidance to know when to hold on and when to let go... and the grace to make the right decision with dignity.'

To me, this is the opening prayer of a man who has REALLY lived life to the full in our tough, cynical, negative world.

This is the prayer of a man who has the wisdom and insight of years of experience in counselling thousands, if not millions, of people to dust themselves off from their failures in life... and to take those bold, daring decisions to take decisive action to change their lives for the better.

This man is Robert H. Schuller - founder and senior pastor of the impressive Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California - and author of more than twenty books. His classic - Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do - is one of the most dog-eared, highlighted and underlined of books on this writer's shelves. It is so laden with simple, powerful truths that it can be read hundreds of times over... and still, one will never tire of it!

In this book the reader will discover how to apply Robert Schuller's key ingredients in the recipe of success, being to:

1.) Put your problems in proper perspective
2.) Apply the 12 principles of managing problems effectively
3.) Take charge and control of your situation
4.) Tackle impossibilities with the Ten Commandments for Possibility Thinking
5.) Count to 10 and Win
6.) Apply the Faith that will move your mountain
7.) Apply the One Power that pulls everything together successfully

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Now, how long do you think it would take you to double your R20? One day? Two days? Three? Four? Five?

What if I gave you a week, do you think you could do it?

Most people, I think, should be able to find a way to double R20 in a day, or at least two days!

Well, let’s do some theoretical thinking. Let’s divide Month 1 into four working weeks:

Week 1:

a) R20

b) R20

c) R20

d) R20

R 80 X 2 = R160

In this first week each adult (a,b,c,d) takes their R20 and finds a way to double it by trading or offering a service (e.g. buying soap, a cloth, and a bucket, and washing 8 cars at R5 a car).

At the end of the week all four get together and discuss how they doubled their money. Analyse each idea for a potential new business idea.

The leader of the group (Charles) then re-issues the full kitty to each member again (i.e. R40 each) to see if they can double this amount by doubling their effort of the previous week.

Week 2:

a) R40

b) R40

c) R40

d) R40

R160 X 2 = R320

At the end of Week 2, all get together again and re-analyse and re-issue the kitty to re-double your previous weeks effort.

Week 3:

a) R80

b) R80

c) R80

d) R80

R320 X 2 = R640

Again, re-analyse, re-issue the kitty, and re-double your previous weeks efforts.

Week 4:

a) R160

b) R160

c) R160

d) R160

R640 X 2 = R1280

This is the fun week. For this meeting the leader can take R80 and buy snacks and drinks to have a little celebration party.

R400 can be put into a special business development bank account, and R800 (R200 each) can be used to kick-start the trading activity for Month 2.

The strategy for this second month is more conservative. This time we are going to give each adult two weeks to double their funds.

Month 2; Weeks 1 & 2:

a) R200

b) R200

c) R200

d) R200

R800 X 2 = R1600

Another get-together, re-analyse, re-issue the kitty to redouble your previous periods activity.

Month 2; Weeks 3 & 4:

a) R400

b) R400

c) R400

d) R400

R1600 X 2 = R3200

And now, it’s party time!

This time take R200 and treat yourself to a celebratory bottle of champagne or two, with your snacks and drinks.

Take R1000 and add it to the R400 in your business development fund account.

And, re-issue the remaining R2000 to begin the next months trading. Now you’re beginning to develop a serious strategy.

Month 3; Weeks 1 & 2:

a) R500

b) R500

c) R500

d) R500

R2000 X 2 = R4000

Re-analyse, re-issue, and redouble your previous periods activity.

Month 3; Weeks 3 & 4:

a) R1000

b) R1000

c) R1000

d) R1000

R4000 X 2 = R8000

It’s serious party time!

Take R500 and have a ball. You deserve it.

Take R1500 and add it to the R1400 in your business development account (Total: R2900).

Re-issue R6000 (R1500 each) to begin trading again.

Also, let’s become more conservative and give everyone four weeks to double their money.

Do you realise that after the end of this third month three previously unemployed adults are trading with more money than Charles originally had to feed them with at the end of each month!

Month 4; Weeks 1, 2, 3, & 4:

a) R1500

b) R1500

c) R1500

d) R1500

R 6000 X 2 = R12000

Let’s party again: R500.

Let’s pay each adult R1000 each (R4000).

Bank R1500 (New total R4800).

And, re-issue R6000 (R1500 each).

Now, if we continue the Month 4 strategy for the next eight months, our struggling family will have built up a business development bank account at the bank totalling R12800.

They would have earned R9000 each (Total: R36000) to spend on themselves and help with the support of the family unit.

They would have had some great parties, and Charles would have his own earnings of R1400 all to himself and the love of his life.

Life is so simple if you just set yourself simple plans and action them.

But, perhaps there are some readers of this article who are in a more fortunate position than Charles and who are looking to generate more income.

Well, it’s simple, just add a 0 to the original R20 discussed (ie. to start with R200) or 00 (ie. to start with R2000) to each of the numbers and follow the same strategy.

And, perhaps you can add more effort in turning over your money twice each month in the remaining eight months.

Remember, the trick is to buy wholesale and sell retail!

Interestingly, one of our past members - Udi Yair - has developed and tested precisely this concept in the townships.

He personally loaded up his bakkie with goods bought at wholesale prices and sold them at retail prices in squatter camps - perhaps the most difficult of markets.

He now supplies his goods to micro-entrepreneurs on a piece-meal basis. He has the proven experience to show micro-entrepreneurs how to turn R50 into R2000 and enjoy an income of nearly R3000 while doing it. He has identified one simple secret to success as a micro-entrepreneur - “Do Not Eat Up Your Profit”.

Udi teaches his distributors how to avoid the temptation of spending or eating their short-term profits, and to re-invest it into more product to generate a healthy turnover “in a business that will maintain a healthy balance between family and business needs”.


Points to Ponder

1) How would you go about doubling R20 in one week?

2) How would you go about doubling R2000 in one month?

Write in and share your answer with our members.

Your idea may just help to change someone’s life and support their entire family!


Ends.

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

I was really struck by Charles’ personal story of trying to make good off a monthly income of about R1400 after tax.

From what I can recall, Charles supports eight family members out of this income. Three of whom are school-going kids with on-going expenses for books and school-fees.

Three others are unemployed, but employable, adults whom he helps to feed. One adult is too old to work, and the eighth is a young kiddie.

Plus, Charles is pretty serious about the girl of his dreams and would like to provide her with the things that all girls love.

So you can understand what went through my mind when Charles asked me what he could do to earn extra income and turn his life around. What a challenge?

But if you think about it, this is the challenge faced by most of our people in South Africa, and some have it even harder.

Even worse, Charles wasn’t going to give me time to think about my answer. With expectant eyes awaiting the solution from the “expert”, I had to do some quick thinking of what I would do in the same situation.

And, this is how my thinking went.

I immediately thought of my first teaching I share with all entrepreneurs - “We have to think small to grow big”. And that served as the foundation of my thinking: Think Small.

Let’s see, my challenge is that ‘I’ have R1400 after tax that does not meet my personal and family requirements. We just manage to eke out an existence on this. I feed three adults that could be income-earners, but they can’t get a job.

With these resources, let’s try and create a plan of action. What I know about life is that if you want to grow big you have got to start small.

So let’s begin with calling an indaba meeting with the four potential income earners - myself and the three others.

On the table I will place just four R20 notes and ask each individual if they can think of a way to double their R20. It must be a legal way, and nothing to do with gambling, games of chance, or push-push.

How would you go about doubling R20...?

The answer to this question could kick-start our economy!

Let’s see, perhaps I’ll buy some Kool-Aid... add water and ice... and sell it to sweating passers-by on a hot day.

Perhaps, I’ll buy two loaves of piping hot bread, butter and eggs, and make some egg sandwiches for sale at lunch-time.

What about ingredients for a fresh chocolate cake with twelve slices sold at R3.50 a slice. That’s R42!

The trick is to buy wholesale and sell retail.

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

How To Turn The Struggle Into Success

The answer to this question will kick-start our economy

Review update by Trevor Nel – October 2002

A few years back, at a Sunday lunchtime presentation for one of our dynamic leadership groups, I was humbled by a discussion with one of our members - Charles.

He shared with me his real excitement for the It’s So Simple! concept ...and then told of how his past was making it extremely difficult for people to trust him with this business.

Charles was a victim of the struggle for political liberation... when people were siding with political groupings who were looking to establish ascendancy in the townships.

These were the bad old days when rival gangs of youth, and others, were firing shots at random at each other in a show of bravado and daring.

Certainly nothing to be proud of... but all of them thought that they were fighting for a cause that would offer them a better future.

Yes, Charles was one of the unfortunate victims... and perpetrators... of all this action in the name of “the struggle”.

And now, Charles is recognised by many in his community as one of those trouble-stirrers of the past. Now, no one wants to deal with him. Why would they believe that Charles is changing his life and his attitude towards others through It’s So Simple!?

What Charles is rapidly learning is that as much as he wants to forget the past and turn his life around, the reality is that others have extreme difficulty in forgetting the past as it affected them.

Charles faces the most difficult challenge he will face in life, and that is to become a living role model of his changed life without reverting back to the expectations that other people have of him.

This is not going to happen overnight. It may even take as long as ten years to lay a new foundation for his life.

My heart bleeds as I understand his dilemma in his own community. Perhaps, even this comment offers a clue to a potential solution for Charles.

It is likely that he needs to spend time enrolling and training five leaders in communities far away from his own. Where people don’t know his history.

More tomorrow:

posted by Trevor Nel: Developer - INNER Circle Business Forum

Article Review by Trevor Nel – February 2004

I woke up in pain this morning, with my thigh muscles as stiff as a post, a fairly hectic weekend of moving heavy furniture and tons of books around from room to room. All in the quest for conserving space… as my years of collecting information threaten to see me drown under tons of books, magazines and papers.

Not what you would call ‘earth-shattering news’ but it did cause me to forgo my early morning visit to the gym and think of taking a walk around our village in the evening. As I limped through the day I began to question whether my body is just protesting about undergoing hard labour in its 50th year. To add insult to injury, my wife has nothing wrong with her muscles despite being on the other end of all the cupboards we carried around our home..!

Maybe I am being forewarned to take WALKING seriously… so I did a bit of research which proved enlightening. Here’s what I learnt:

According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, one in every three Americans, ages 35 through 45, was obese, as of 1991. This figure is 36 percent higher than it was in 1962.

"This obesity seems to be related to physical inactivity," said Mark Fenton, editor of Boston-based Walking Magazine. http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/articles/inactive.htm

According to Fenton, it is not just American children and adolescents who are inactive. Fenton says that adults in the United States are more sedentary than ever as well.

"Americans are less active than they ever have been," he said.

"Twenty-five percent of our population is essentially sedentary 55 percent are only sporadically active and only about 10 percent of the population exercises regularly."

This lack of exercise is killing us, say researchers at the CDC and the American College of Sports Medicine. According to a joint statement they issued this year, approximately 250,000 deaths a year in the United States can be attributed to physical inactivity.

The good news from these organizations is that 30 minutes daily of moderate exercise can promote long-term health.

"Walking is a good way to get that exercise," Fenton said.

"There are dozens of ways that a 30-minute walk can be fit into your day. It doesn't have to be putting on Lycra tights and going out and doing power walking."

"We encourage people to make a walk part of their daily life -- to intentionally keep a post office box and walk down there to get the mail, or walk to the video store or to the place where you get your milk or newspaper," he said.

And kids? How do we get them to walk more?

"Role modelling is a very important thing," Fenton said. "If you're the kind of parent who actually suggests to their kid that you need not drive the car everywhere and that maybe they could walk back from band rehearsal with a couple of friends instead of you going to get them, that can help set the tone a lot."

Fenton adds that the psychological benefits of regular physical activity for older adults are immense.

"We see again and again that regular exercise gives an improved sense of self-worth and an improved sense of purpose," he said. "It's also clear that regular activity may reduce the likelihood of clinical depression -- a problem among the elderly who may begin to feel they are a burden to their family. With regular exercise, they can continue to be contributing members of society and if they want, they can get involved in volunteer work or part-time work."

Other health benefits from regular physical activity such as walking include:

- Reduced risk of dying prematurely

- Decreased risk of dying from heart disease

- Decreased risk of developing colon cancer

- Reduced risk of developing high blood pressure

- Help in reducing blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure

- Decreased risk of developing diabetes

- Lower risk of developing hypertension

- Increased muscle strength, flexibility and sense of balance, all of which reduce the risk of falls

- Help in controlling weight

"What's really notable is just how much benefit there is for older adults to be physically active."

"We used to think that once you got to a certain age, it really didn't make any difference anymore, but what we're finding out is that even men and women into their nineties can see major increases in cardiovascular fitness and strength with regular physical activity."

Research sourced with permission: Partnership for a Walkable America by Emily Smith of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

Ends.

Pilzer believes the First Law of Business is no longer... ‘Find a need and fill it’, but rather “IMAGINE A NEED AND CREATE IT.” True to form, his own company in Dallas is busy applying C.D.ROM technology to what he believes will be the biggest industry of the next century: Education and Retraining.

Right now, in the field of Retailing, he see’s the system of Multi-Level Marketing as offering ‘The Greatest Opportunity In The 1990’s’. “It’s not the pyramid and the little lines. It’s that they’re educating people about new products and services that will improve their lives, and getting the product or service to the people.”

Today, the traditional maxim of a successful business - ‘Location, Location, and Location’ - has given way to three far more important criteria - ‘INFORMATION, INFORMATION, INFORMATION!’ The key to achieving wealth lies in distribution... of information, goods, and services... rather than in the accumulation of goods and resources.

“Technology today is what makes one individual’s earnings power a thousand times that of another; it is what makes companies that work with information far more valuable than those that work with physical resources; and it is what gives a country like Japan, with few physical resources, one of the world’s highest per capita GNP’s.”

“Today the determinant of success for both the individual and the organisation is the speed with which they can accept, learn and work with technological change. Prosperity belongs to the people who learn things the fastest.”

“Wealth is the product of our attitude and our creativity; In the alchemic world, where we have the power to create unlimited wealth, what we can accomplish is limited only by our dreams!”

Bibliography:

Pilzer, Paul Zane. “Unlimited Wealth - The Theory and Practice of Ecoomic Alchemy”. Crown Publishers, 1990 .

Pilzer, P. “Should You Quit Before You’re Fired?”

Ends.

Given the current concern over oil supplies, I went back to this review of a 1990 book:-

Show me an economist who is prepared to debunk the entire basis of economics as it is taught at college, and he’ll get my precious reading time.

Show me one who says “...the entire field of economics - based on the concept of scarcity - contradicted my entire belief in a true and just God, for such a God would not have created a world of limited resources in which one person’s gain would have to be another person’s loss”... and I’ll research his every word.

Paul Zane Pilzer, 39, author of Unlimited Wealth: The Theory Of Economic Alchemy, is fast gaining fame on the U.S. circuit as a visionary entrepreneur-economist-professor teaching others how to create potentially unlimited wealth out of worthless matter, by using their minds.

But whatever happened to the old economic maxim - “...one man’s gain is another man’s loss?" Well, that’s no longer true, says Pilzer, pointing out that the $150 Billion computer industry evolved from the freest and basest matter there is - SAND - which we now convert into micro-chips, the basis of our current technology revolution.

And... what about that nasty smelling crude-oil stuff that once polluted our drinking water? It was absolutely worthless until someone figured out how to refine it into a useful fuel!

The lesson he gives us is that wealth doesn’t come from gold... or oil... or land... but rather it comes from the technology developed by people who find a use for these things. Therefore wealth is unlimited because it comes from our minds.

“Technology not only determines the value of physical resources or stores of value, technology itself is perhaps the only store of value. The value of an individual, a company, and even a country, is its level of technology. The best way for an individual to store wealth is to improve his or her basic skills; the way for a society to store wealth today is to improve the basic skills levels of it’s citizens.”

Which explains why “...the nations of the Third world are falling off the economic edge.” They just do not have the infrastructure necessary to use the First world’s abundance of technological innovations. And... with technological breakthroughs happening every day, the developed nations are needing less and less of the Third world’s raw materials. “The value of these raw materials fell nearly 75 percent during the first half of the last decade.”

“We have more reserves of oil than we did 20 years ago, because we’ve gotten better at finding and extracting it. We’re also using it more efficiently: Computerised fuel injectors have cut gas consumption by cars in half. Copper and timber are being replaced by fibre-optic glass and various plastics. We really create our supply of raw materials by our ingenuity.”

“Ironically, the only hope for the Third world is for more of exactly what caused their current predicament: Technology.”

More tomorrow:

by Nancy Simms

Winners take chances.

Like everyone else, they fear failing, but they refuse to let fear control them.

Winners don't give up.

When life gets rough, they hang in until the going gets better.

Winners are flexible.

They realize there is more than one way and are willing to try others.

Winners know they are not perfect.

They respect their weaknesses while making the most of their strengths.

Winners fall, but they don't stay down.

They stubbornly refuse to let a fall keep them from climbing...

Winners don't blame fate for their failures nor luck for their successes.

Winners accept responsibility for their lives.

Winners are positive thinkers who see good in all things.

From the ordinary, they make the extraordinary.

Winners believe in the path they have chosen even when it's hard, even when others can't see where they are going,

Winners are patient.

They know a goal is only as worthy as the effort that's required to achieve it.

Winners are people like you.

They make this world a better place to be.

Ends.

Far too often we get well-meaning social engineers and lesser-intentioned rentboycotters and strikers who tend to convey the message that profit is something akin to an evil in society.

How often have we seen these foolish antagonists tearing down the buildings, ideas, and concepts that have been developed by others in protest against the gains they are making.

But, quite plainly it is the inventiveness of honest entrepreneurs who are motivated by profit that leads to an improvement in living standards for all members of society.

Please note that I make no case for the immoral extortionist who seeks to con an unsuspecting public with fancy ideas and zero foundation.

Every new idea or concept can be intelligently analysed for it’s merits by studying the underlying value system of it’s developer and the primary intention of bringing the concept to the market.

If the primary intention can be analysed to have a potential positive benefit for all in the community being served, then profit should be accepted as the rightful secondary reward to the developer.

If making money without providing a benefit to someone is the developers primary intention, the concept is likely to have little society-building merit.

To check for this purely commercial intention, just look into the projects completed by the developer in the last 10 years and analyse who has benefited and if there were consistent losers.

It should be of concern to every intelligent member of society when we witness the first signs of envy and jealousy over the developments of a creative person in society.

Alarm bells should ring in our minds when we begin to see new laws designed to hinder the incentive of profit for honest entrepreneurs, because with these overly protective laws our society begins it’s backward slide into primitive times.

Points To Ponder

1. Entrepreneurs profit by helping others to profit.

2. Profit can be measured in more free time or benefits.

3. The more time to think the more society can profit.

4. Do I ever begrudge another’s honest profit?

5.Do I contribute to my society going forward or backward?

6.One small profit for man, one giant profit for Mankind.

Ends.

But, let’s consider what might have happened had the creative thinker been turned down when he first approached the other 99 villagers.

Let’s retrace our thoughts back to the moment after he had completed his mountain-side canal and offered to share it with them for 10 minutes of their time.

Imagine if they had said, “There’s only one of you and 99 of us. We’ll take whatever water we want from your dam. We’re not going to pay you anything, after all, water is free and you can’t stop us anyway.”

Isn’t that just what so many people say today about the many things they want in life:

“Why should we pay for our water? Why should we pay our rent? Why not go on strike for more pay for less work?”

What would have happened then?

Well, quite simply, the creative thinker would not have had the incentive to continue building upon the vast reservoir of potential time-saving thoughts in his mind.

Nor would he have had the time to solve the problems experienced by each member in his village, because his time would have been taken up by having to work all day to continue providing for his own bare necessities.

The villagers would have continued in their old primitive habits, forced to eke out their day to day living needs. All because they did not understand the importance of allowing man to profit from his inventiveness.

As simple as this great story is, it is a parody of what so often happens in our modern society.

More tomorrow

With his ever increasing time available to ponder ways of saving time and energy, he develops new concepts which saves the other 99 villagers enormous amounts of time. In return he asks for just 10% of their time saved. So everybody wins!

One day he notices that one of the villagers is an outstanding shoe-maker. He arranges to share some of his new found profit to feed and clothe the aspirant cobbler so that he can produce quality shoes for the rest of the villagers.

Again, the remaining 98 are charged 10% of the time they save not having to produce new shoes.

The creative thinker shares some of this new time he has earned with the cobbler, allowing him too to become more productive in shorter working hours, and also making a small profit.

Next, the creative thinker finds someone who produces the best clothes in the village, and offers him the same opportunity as the cobbler to help the remaining villagers save more time by not having to produce their own clothes.

And so it goes on, the creative thinker keeps finding ways to save more and more time for each of the villagers.

And he is also providing opportunities for those with special skills to profit by doing the things they are best suited to doing.

For the first time, each villager is becoming aware of the benefits of organised intelligence in their community and how it can better their own personal position in life.

As each person gains more time for themselves they begin to THINK!

Some of them begin to spend their time working on drawings, some produce intricate designs in beadwork, others begin to develop their musical skills.

And so the first signs of a cultured civilisation begins to emerge with it’s own Art, Design and Music which is passed on to others for a portion of their productive time.

Hence, honest PROFIT, very definitely, translates into PROGRESS.

More tomorrow:

Realising the wealth of time he now had available to himself, he offered to share this new found freedom with the 99 others.

He offered to let them draw water from his dam, instead of spending one hour drawing from the spring, if they would each give him just ten minutes of their daily production time. He worked out that by giving each person in the village an extra 50 minutes each of additional time for themselves, he would receive in return an extra 990 minutes of their time each day.

This translates into some 16 hours each day that he would have someone else working for him. A magnificent profit!

But his creative entrepreneurial flair has also given everybody else in his village a profit of 50 extra minutes each day for themselves.

As time marches on, the creative thinker finds himself using his spare 16 hours to ponder new thoughts.

He notices that the water coming down the mountain-side has sufficient power to push stones and pieces of wood out of the way.

So he spends many months of his spare time in designing a very simple water-wheel, which he discovers can turn his stone mill to grind his corn.

Even more exciting, he recognises that his water-wheel has sufficient capacity to grind corn for everybody in the village.

So, once again he approaches the other 99 and offers to share his spare capacity on the water-wheel to grind their corn in exchange for 10% of the time they each save on this daily chore.

They all happily agree, leaving the creative thinker with MORE PROFIT! And the villagers with more time to do the things they want to do!

And so the creative thinker continues.

More tomorrow: