Confucius

How do you get to achieve your goals?

Well first of all you have to have some. You need to know where you are going so that you can head in the right direction. Give some real thought as to what you want, focus on it and determine what you need to do to achieve it.  The things that you do every day should always be taking you closer to your destination of attaining your goal. Provided you have that end goal in site, and continually work towards it, it doesn’t matter how slowly you progress – you will eventually get there.

Many people however get lost along the way.

Some are too impatient to reach their goal. They work hard at the start, but get discouraged when the progress is slow. They feel that they are getting nowhere – and give up.

Others get started with enthusiasm, but when they don’t achieve quick results, become disillusioned. Because they are keen to succeed they look around for the “right” opportunity which is going to be THE one that is going to turn their lives around. Often they soon get disillusioned with this one too and shift their attention to the latest new, promising system that they hear about. As much time passes, they have worked very hard on their individual projects, but none are ever completed.

Yet others are extremely focused. They have a clear goal, they hatch a plan to get there and head off steadfastly in that direction, determined to keep going until they get there. Sometimes they are so focused on the plan that they don’t consider evaluating there progress and modifying there plan to suit the ever changing environment around them. They may get stopped by a brick wall, but because their plan said that the goal was just the other side of the wall, they keep pushing on that wall to try to get through. If they looked up and around they may see that there is actually a hole in the wall nearby or even a separate track around it. If they modified their plan to reach their original goal they could possibly reach it quickly and easily. Instead they are stopped at the wall – still pushing on it but getting nowhere.

As Confucius wisely said, “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” Provided you know where you are going, keep moving in the right direction no matter how slowly and evaluate your progress and adjust accordingly so you don’t get stopped by impassable barriers, you must get there in the end.

John Cusworth

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Most people wish to achieve things in their life. However unless you take action (in other words you actually do something), there is no way that anything – no matter how small or insignificant – can be achieved. The size of the task you set out to achieve may be large or small – but unless you dream big, it is unlikely to be a significant or challenging goal. The dreaming allows you to imagine places you have never been, things you have never done and outcomes you would never rationally think possible.

If you have dreamed and set a goal to attain that dream, it is unlikely that you will ever achieve it unless you plan out a series of small, do-able steps to make progress towards your goal. Otherwise you will be frittering away your time going around in circles, only making progress by chance.

Finally, in order to follow the plan towards your goal persistently and enthusiastically, you must believe that you are capable of eventually progressing through the steps and accomplishing your goal. Without belief you will be easily discouraged by the first signs of difficulty or failure and quite likely give up.

Therefore “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France

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Albert Einstein

Imagination is a marvellous thing. We can picture in our minds things from our past, things from other people’s past, things happening elsewhere in the world – and even more imprtantly things that have never happened.

Without the ability to imagine, there would be no new inventions, medical discoveries, great novels, artistic masterpieces or . . .

If we had no imagination we would be tied to the things that we could experience first hand. We could be taught how to do something that someone else could already do. But we would not be able to come up with NEW IDEAS – always being stuck in the past.

Imagination is what drives the human race to keep “evolving” technologically, socially and medically.  It also may result in problems for the world such as global warming, extinction of species etc – but solutions to these problems also lie with imagination.

If you want a better future – imagine what it could be – set your sites on it and work towards it.

If you can imagine it – you can achieve it.

Indeed – “Imagination is the most powerful force in the universe.”

John Cusworth

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Pablo Picasso

Often goals appear unachievable and individual tasks look daunting. So much so that we can be so scared of failing that we don’t even make a start on the project.

However one thing is guaranteed. If we DON’T make a start and try to succeed – then we have a 100% chance of failure!

On the other hand we can make an attempt at the thing that we haven’t done in the past. For sure, we may fail. But there is a chance (even if slim) that we may succeed.

Even if we fail, we can evaluate what we have tried, see what we have done wrong, modify our method of attack – and try again. Yes, we may still fail. But each time we show persistence and go through this cycle we will be closer and closer to actually pulling it off.

Provided we learn from our mistakes (and preferably from the mistakes of other  inspirational people who have tried before us) then the chance of success gets greater and greater.

If we didn’t try the chance of success would be 0%. By having a go at the problem (and not giving up) you will eventually succeed.

Practise this in your life and you will be able to say like Picasso: “I am always doing things I can’t do, that’s how I get to do them.”

John Cusworth

If you are always dwelling on what has happened in the past – regretting mistakes that you have made, or rueing the missed opportunities that have passed you by – then you are not in the right state of mind to notice any new opportunities which may appear. New opportunities are always coming up but you need to firstly become aware of them and secondly be receptive to them and ready to grasp them.

Just like driving a car looking in the rear view mirror, you may see where you have been – but you will miss seeing openings in the traffic as well as any obstacles which may suddenly show up in front of you.

Instead, have a clear goal in mind of where you are headed. Always keep your eyes trained in that direction so that you will see both the openings and obstacles as they crop up ahead of you. You will then be able to navigate your way through and have the best chance of reaching your destination in the shortest time with the minimum disruption.

John Cusworth

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Many people live their lives in fear of failure – scared of taking  risks. In reality not taking risks actually condemns them to failure, since unless you start something, the chance of success is zero!

The other alternative is to ‘have a go’ at the new thing. Yes, there is a risk of failure. But this time there is also a chance of success which did not exist before. If you do fail, the important thing is to learn from your mistake, modify the procedure and try again. With persistence and by constantly adjusting, the chance of success becomes much greater, until eventually you are assured of success.

So it is much better to have tried and to regret the failures encountered along the way to success, than to regret never having tried and facing certain failure.

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Even though we may not always recognize them, opportunities are flying past our eyes every minute of the day. The only way to achieve success is to notice those potentially life-changing opportunities as they present themselves – and to ACT ON THEM!

There are three main reasons why people fail:

• they are too busy focusing on something else to recognize the opportunity
• they have their eyes and ears switched off to any possibilities around them
• they recognize the opportunity, and its potential for them, BUT they put it off to another day when they are ready to follow through with it!

“Procrastination is opportunities’ assassin”.

• Either by the time they get around to pursuing the opportunity, it is too late and the opportunity has passed.
• They never actually get around to it, because other things have come up (probably put on hold also.)
• The perfect preparation they are waiting for never eventuates. The opportunity stagnates and dies.

Don’t be a procrastinator!

Realize that conditions will never be perfect. Get started on the opportunity straight away – you can always modify things along the way.

Follow these steps:

• Be on the lookout for opportunities which may arise around you.
• Recognize an opportunity and check whether it fits in to your life goals.
• If it fits in, is it more important than what you are spending time on at the moment?
• If yes, put your full energy into following the new opportunity – straight away.
• If no, put it aside and continue pursuing the important tasks you are already engaged in.
• Don’t dwell on a “missed opportunity” – others will come up if you are in receptive mode.

Don’t procrastinate! Prioritize according to your goals and get stuck straight in!

John Cusworth

Most people wish for smooth sailing in their lives, hoping to have as few problems facing them as possible. On the surface this seems like a good thing. Who wants to be miserable or to have difficult situations to overcome?

However it is by facing these difficulties and being forced to deal with and overcome them, that we grow as individuals. We develop new skills, become more patient, more compassionate, more experienced and more resilient in order to cope with these extreme situations.

By facing your problems head-on and triumphing over them you become a much more complete person and a more skilfull sailor who is able to survive future storms and excel in times when the seas are smooth.

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This site of famous inspirational quotes is designed for those people who on occasions hit a bump in the road in their life and become discouraged or depressed. When everything around them seems dark and gloomy, something may be needed to give them a spark and put them back on a positive track again. Does this ever happen to you?

I personally find Inspirational Quotes do that for me. They provide a fresh perspective for looking at problems or difficult situations. In just a few short words a great quote can cut through my thought patterns and have a drastic effect on my Mindset and Psyche and make me look at problems in a completely different way. When stripped bare and viewed in a positive light, many problems rapidly diminish in size and cease being insurmountable. This is not because the situation itself has changed, but simply because my perspective and mindset have altered and solutions and alternatives present themselves much more readily to my consciousness.

I strongly recommend a daily exposure to famous inspirational quotes for keeping you grounded, focused and with a positive mindset.

The inspiring and motivating quotes presented on this site come from a wide range of sources – secular, religious, spiritual, romantic, business, humorous etc. From Spiritual Leaders like Jesus, Buddha and the Dalai Lama, to Scientists like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, Political Leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Mahatma Gandhi, Business Entrepreneurs like Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone, from Ancient Philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates and Confucius to modern ones like Wayne Dyer and Anthony Robbins.

Although the inspirational quotes chosen generally extol universally accepted values and principles, you may not agree with the sentiment of every author represented. In such cases please take the message in the spirit in which it was given. Often thinking reflectively on different views to your own is a worthwhile one, leading to a clearer appreciation of your own position relative to others.

I hope that you will find these quotes both inspiring and motivating – and that they will play some small role in pointing you in the right direction and empowering you to get the absolute best possible out of yourself on your life’s journey.

Remember that:

“You don’t have to be great to get started . . . but you do have to get started to become great.” Les Brown

Wishing you a happy, productive, fulfilling life,

John Cusworth

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