MAKE THE MOST OF THE PRESENT MOMENT

“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.”— Orison Swett Marden

Most of us are always waiting for the perfect time and the perfect opportunity to begin our great work. We want to dot all the ‘i’s and cross all the ‘t’s. We want everything to be just right, before we are ready to make a dive.

And of course; it almost never happens.

As quoted above, Dr. Orison Swett Marden, the American writer said that for us to be strong, we must not wait for special circumstances to act; we must use everyday ordinary situations to our advantage.  We must never let what we can’t do stop us from taking the steps that are within our power. 

That is, our best hope for the alluring promises of the future lies solely in what we do with the apparently trifling opportunities surrounding us now.

Whatever is in your capacity at this moment, that’s where you can make a difference. That is your own opportunity. And, don’t be fooled, you must do the best you possibly can today—with the little you have—to put yourself in a better position tomorrow.

As we have seen, big success often starts with small, seemingly insignificant steps. So don’t underestimate the power of ordinary starts; the power of small steps; the power of doing something with the available opportunities in the midst of your present constraints.

Actually, it is relatively easier to start anything small, whereas it is very difficult to accomplish great things, if conditions must be perfect before making a move.

Therefore, we can take cue from the naturalist and essayist, John Burroughs when he said, 

“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.”

Inarguably, the truth of all this is evident in the life of Oprah Winfrey, who achieved phenomenal success against overwhelming odds. She is definitely one of the creative few that the basketball coach, John Wooden was referring to in his words as:

“The people who turn out best are those people who make the best out of the way things turn out.”

  

So, I hope we can all strive to be one of those inspiring examples by making the most of our current situations—whatever they are—and continuously doing the same, every moment of our lives.

What Do You Really Want to Do?

                              

I once heard Brian Tracy said that the number one reason for the failure of most people is fuzzy goals. 

If you think about it, fuzzy aim is incoherent and as such will logically lead to an ineffectual end.

Because clarity is sine qua non to living an extra-ordinary life, I want to share with you an interesting poem by the prolific English poet, Edgar Albert Guest which he titled, “Equipment.”  This, I hope will help you—like many greats—make a better decision in an important area of your life.

Clarity is perhaps the most important tool for greatness in all walks of life.

Here it goes:

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You’ve all that the greatest of men have had,

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began,

Do start from the top and say, “I can.”

Look them over, the wise and the great,

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes,

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you’ve all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill.

You can be great if you only will.

You’re well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have arms and legs and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen great deeds to do,

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose his place,

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study, the truth to know,

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began.

Get hold of yourself, and say: “I can.”

DECIDE NOW

The parts I want to stress in that beautiful poem are: “You’re well equipped for what fight you choose.” But, “You are the one who must choose his place.” Still, “You must say where you want to go.” Now with absolute clarity, “Figure it out for yourself, my lad.”

And Benjamin Stein, the American lawyer and writer, agreed firmly when he said:

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." 

However, know thyself enough to allow yourself to want what you truly want; that is, what you are zealous about; and what taps your innate characteristics. 

This is the key indicator of the kind of fight you can win and sustain for life. Any other choice may lead to an enormous loss to you and the world, as American artist and poet, Kurt Cobain wisely asserted that: “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.” 

Imagine if Bill Gates had pursued lecturing instead of what he actually did with computer and if Steve Jobs had left Silicon Valley for something else; the loss would have been an immense waste of who they truly are.

Finally, in your decision process, please keep this powerful question, written by the notable British author and entrepreneur, Richard Koch , at front, center and the back of your mind until you are crystal clear of your great hunt. He says:

“What could you achieve that would make you proud, that no one else could do with the same ease?”

If you can keep that in mind, then you can win the first important battle that is lost by most; the primal battle of clear-cut and appropriate decision for your chief aim in life.

MILTON HERSHEY AND THE POWER OF TRYING UNTIL…

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”—Dale Carnegie

At one point or another everybody fails but the success stories are for those who refuse to give up; those who keep on trying until they win, no matter the number of failures they have to overcome.

Such is the story of Milton Hershey.

Milton began his own candy business at the age of nineteen, after a few years of learning the process as an apprentice in Philadelphia.

He worked hard. However, in spite of all his efforts; the business failed at first attempt.

Aiming high, he braced up.

Once more, he moved to Denver to try again with more determination this time around. He worked harder to succeed. Yet for a second time, the business failed. 

Growing up, he had learned early on the family farm the value of hard work and persistence; two essential habits that turned out to be the bedrock of his great success down the line.

Undeterred, he moved to Chicago but the business failed again. 

Yet he moved to New Orleans and still experienced another failure.

Unyielding, he moved to New York and worked harder than ever. Here at New City in 1883, it seemed his financial situation was about to change for good.

He was making some profits and experiencing some successes; the first year, then the second year; but sadly, in the third year, everything crashed and his business closed down in 1886.

He finally moved back to Pennsylvania; penniless and disheartened.

Doggedly, like all men of great resolve, he rallied himself for just one more round. He borrowed some money from a bank to try again; he opened a small candy business in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Using the accumulated skill he acquired throughout his past failures; he produced a tasty candy made with fresh milk.

When people realized the special taste from Milton’s candy, his business flourished afterwards; and that small candy shop now became Lancaster Caramel Company.

With his original recipes, he expanded his line of candies, built factories far and wide, and eventually Milton caramels were shipped around the world.

Milton later shifted his focus to chocolate making and by 1900; his factory made various kinds of fancy chocolates and soon after he mixed—by trial and error— chocolate with fresh milk to create a new milky chocolate candy blend; the first product of its kind to gain national popularity.

Milton chocolate factory ultimately became the largest in the world; he succeeded immensely at last simply because he refused to quit when all hope seemed lost.

For the last phase of his days, he used his wealth to establish an orphanage and school for the needy. Today, at the Hershey School, there is a bronze statue of Milton Hershey with an orphan boy wrapped in his arms embalmed with the following words: “His deeds are his monument. His life our inspiration.”

Though the keystone of Milton’s business arch is persistence but deeper examination of his life highlights two important lessons that we really need to advance further in today’s business world and they are: thinking differently and taking risk. So, I will discuss them first.

Now my friend, let’s talk about us; about what we can put to use in our own business…

THINK DIFFERENTLY

Milton used creative imagination as a tool to create the special products that enabled the popularity of his business: “Hershey Kiss,” among others.

He blended chocolate with fresh milk to make a unique candy bar; Hershey’s fine milky chocolate brand which instantly became the first product of its kind to be sold country wide.

The lesson here is to always find new and better use for things, people and processes—even after your business is already doing well; and it starts with thinking, creative thinking; thinking progress; or just thinking differently.

“Until you learn to think along different grooves, you will not be able to explore new possibilities to reach your full potential.”—Walter Staples

TAKE BIGGER RISK

Milton realized that, for his empire to grow bigger; he could sell his already profitable business to embark on a larger venture, and he did.  

It was not an easy decision but courageously, he took the risk and sold Lancaster Caramel Company for one million dollars to start what was to become the world’s largest chocolate manufacturing entity: The Hershey Chocolate Company.

The valuation of this company in today’s worth is about 10 billion dollars.

The lesson here is: If you desire to grow, follow the example of Milton and the advice of David Viscot when he said, “If your life is ever going to get better, you’ll have to take risks. There is simply no way you can grow without taking chances.”

Now to the mother of all lessons…

KEEP ON TRYING UNTIL...

The one habit that made other lessons work well for Milton was the habit of persistence. 

That was the most important quality that made success possible for Milton.

The lack of which deprived Dr. Samuel Langely—a professor of mathematics and astronomy, the success he earnestly pursued for a great while: flying a plane.

The brilliant scientist wrote and worked on the concept of flying a plane. His experiments were impressive enough to attract funding from the United States war department.

However after repeated failures, Langely gave up his life’s dream without seeing one of his planes successfully flying in the air.

Langely couldn’t get up one more time; he was crushed.

Nine days later, after Langely gave up, Orville and Wilbur Wright, the simple bicycle mechanics without government funding flew the first successful plane into the annals of history.

So I ask you, “Why does almost everyone know of the Wright Brothers?” 

While Langely, the brilliant professor, remains largely unknown.

The answer in a word is: persistence.

And that is also the fundamental reason for the great success of Milton Hershey. 

I hope you will agree that this same principle holds true for you and me, if we desire anything beyond the vicinity of mediocrity.

So we need to realize the meaning of what Edison said that “Many of life’s failures are just people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Bring that to mind every time you encounter disappointments and if you do—just like Milton—you will eventually have a breakthrough in your own primary endeavour.

Good luck!