What's the Difference Between Little Minds and Great Minds?

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them." Washington Irving

At first, it may appear that this is saying misfortune is a blessing in disguise. If you look closer, it seems this is saying that whatever occurs is in the eye of the beholder. What we call rising above may have everything to do with an individual's perspective.

In everyone's life, something occurs every second of the day. What you see as misfortune and what you see as a great opportunity may have more to do with how you view the world.

If you can understand that everything is an occurrence or something happening, you begin to get that what shows up is nothing, not misfortune or great. Therefore, it is what you say it is. Once you add your meaning to the occurring, the occurring is tainted by what you predetermine to be good or bad.

If, as a rule, you look for things to be wrong, eventually you will be tamed by your perspective alone. Why? You will always find misfortune, even when things are going well.

If you think I am exaggerating, look at your relationship with your significant other or with big opportunities. If you are unable to visualize either over a one-year period without predetermining something going wrong, you are the creator of your own misfortune.

At the same time, breakdowns or problems occur in life. Do you view them as opportunities to uncover what is missing? Or do you allow your mind to be subdued into giving up and saying 'it just wasn't meant to be'?

What some call misfortune opens the door for the possibility to uncover what's missing and allows one to be extraordinary. It is the opportunity to show your prowess, for the world to see what you are made of.

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Willingness to Do the Hard Thing - Part 1

A willingness to do the hard thing will set you apart from the average person. As well it will result in you accomplishing things that others tend to avoid. A strong focused mental attitude will go a long way to facilitate your capacity to do the hard thing.

Sharing sensitive information with a superior can be difficult if it is known that it will not be well received. However these are the moments, although fraught with risk, which can represent great opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to whatever organization you belong to. As well often times the person who initially gets upset at receiving unwelcome news may end up respecting the person who shared it. This is because they recognize it was done from a place of integrity and duty.

Winston Churchill seemed to savor the opportunity of looking for difficult assignments. During the Boer War in South Africa he signed on as a journalist to cover the conflict. He ended up being captured after leading the defense of a train being attacked and captured by the Boers. Subsequently he escaped and was wanted dead or alive by the Boers. Then he returned to South Africa to eventually become an officer in a South African cavalry unit and displayed further heroics. Before the Boer War when Churchill had run for political office he had lost. Now as a returning hero he was given the winning election that was previously denied to him. All those hard things he had endured now seemed of no consequence. They launched him to the stratosphere of political office.

A major benefit of doing the hard thing is it builds inner strength. Consequently when we meet difficult challenges in the future we have a new reserve of courage and confidence in handling it. This creates greater ease and higher levels of excellence due to a superior state of mind as we stay calm in the midst of doing what needs to be done. It also develops the discipline for making right choices based on what will produce the best possible outcome, not on simply doing what is easy and expedient. Dennis Waitley in his CD series "Psychology of Winning" quoted the following: "Winners make decisions based on goal achieving rather than tension relieving."

May you have the willingness to do the hard thing that will advance your life for the long-term, not simply make you feel good in the short-term.

This excerpt is from "Unlimited - Anything is Possible." You can have a life that is remarkable and memorable. If you are in leadership then this is a book that will give you a framework to make decisions important to your success as a leader. This book is designed to create awareness and actions regarding key areas affecting our ability to make good decisions, so we can look back at our life with a sense of satisfaction and joy.

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