Becoming a Meaningful Specific

            Risk believing in yourself. Risk acting on the assumption that you can succeed. Otherwise, the risk is that you will settle for only a fraction of what life has to give you.
                                                                                                       - Bob Proctor

Are you one to take risks? I don’t mean the foolhardy ones that could endanger your well-being. I mean the risks you take when you step out on faith and believe a reward awaits on the other side of fear.

Maybe you are already at a peak performance level in all aspects of your life. But if not, imagine for a moment if you threw off the bowlines, to paraphrase Mark Twain, and made a decision to kick aside the stumbling block in your way to a higher level of achievement?

Wallace D. Wattles, author of The Science of Getting Rich, said: “The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.” In that regard, I humbly offer up three ways we can make the most of ourselves. (If my suggestions are part of your current regimen on the path to self-improvement, just keep doing what you’re doing!)

First of all, we could make a decision to learn all that we can about our chosen career so that our value to our employer, or to our business, multiplies. The famous author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, once said: “You cannot make it as a wandering generality. You must become a meaningful specific.” If we spent even one hour a day reading books, magazines, or articles related to our work or business, just imagine the knowledge we could gain after a year or two. Doing such a thing would likely have two consequences: a higher level of confidence in our abilities; and more recognition by our peers, leading to possible career advancement.

Secondly, we could develop as many skills as we can in the area of human relationships. One of the best ways I know to do that is once again disciplining ourselves to read books in that field. Of course, there are many books published in the area of human relationships, but three of the best ones I would recommend are; The Bible, How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, and Skill With People, by Les Giblin.

My third suggestion for making the most of ourselves is to develop an attitude of gratitude? I think the constant practice of being grateful can be a game changer in our life. When life presses in on us a little, it is so easy to default to the negative and temporarily forget the blessings around us. Author Eckhart Tolle has this to say about gratitude: “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

As a corollary of the above quote from Mr. Wattles, I think one of the best things we can do for ourselves as we begin every day is to put into practice the words of author Thich Nhat Hanh.

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”