These are the rules he lives by... and I personally found them deeply inspiring.
So here they are, sniped straight from Bob's blog:
* * *
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.
3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."
6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
15. Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."
* * *
We're not here for a long time... We're here for a good time.
In today's post, I invite you to contemplate possibly the only widely-spread quote attributed to his name:
"'Tis always morning somewhere in the world."
I love that one.
And so let me ask... if you look a little deeper... if you consider it and visualize how the whole world works behind the scenes... and how humanity continues, no matter what... then...
(And no, I never remember what each of those things stands for either.)
One of my favourite twists and turn of our great tongue is the palindrome.
A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forwards as it does backwards.
For example:
Tango, O Gnat!
Okay, so Shakespeare it ain't.
But you can start reading the sentence from either end and you'll still end up encountering the exact same letters in identical sequence.
That's a palindrome.
My favourite such novelty however was supposedly created in honour of former US President Theodore Roosevelt.
It's relatively popular -- but if you don't know it (and I'm kind of hoping you don't), then you'll be impressed. Often incorrectly labelled as the world's longest palindrome, here it is...
A man, a plan, a canal - Panama.
This refers to Roosevelt's idea to take over the building of the Panama Canal, perhaps his most famous legacy. This initiative significantly shortened trading journeys between San Francisco, California and New York.
And reading that sentence either backwards or forwards, you'll still get the picture.
Before that date, they called it The President's Palace, The President's Building -- and even The Executive Mansion. It was Roosevelt that christened it with that now famous name.
Send this blog post onto your friends. It's food for the brain!
One very good friend of mine is Hollywood screenwriter, Gloria Stern.
She's very well known in the business - and we mail each other almost every day.
Today, she sent me a little inspirational gem I must share with you.
After discussing an awesome spiritual screenplay that I have yet to write, she gave me a "koan" for 2007.
Now, a koan is a question or story in Zen Buddhism designed to help you let go of the logical part of your mind, and begin relying on intuition.
For example...
"Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?"
In her e-mail today, Gloria wrote and said...
>> This is your koan for 2007: How long since you have done something new?
And then I realized that even though I find life incredibly exciting, I'm still heavily tied down by routine and ritual. Which is fine and great, because there's a place for that...
But when - really - was the last time I tried something NEW?
When did I go all out... and push my comfort barrier beyond its current borders?
It really made me think.
And I hope it makes you think too.
So let me ask...
How long since you tried something new?
And perhaps you could think about changing that... even if just for today.
The questions come from everyone, from Stephen Hawking to Donald Trump - and each question comes with its own "best answer", so you get a little insight into what the experts think, too.
"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"
Today, many hundreds of thousands of individuals across our great blue planet are celebrating. It's a great feeling.
No matter where you live in the world, and no matter how you celebrate this time of the year, I'd like to offer you my very deepest, warmest wishes for the season.
And I'd like to brighten your day with a few interesting facts about this time of year...
For a start, did you know that Christmas was once ILLEGAL?
No kidding. In 1647, Oliver Cromwell and the British parliament passed a law making all Christmas celebrations illegal. It was considered that feasting on a holy day was immoral. The ban was lifted thirteen years later, in 1660.
But Christmas wasn't even celebrated until the year 440 AD. And it took a long time before it became the holiday period was love and celebrate today.
Take Christmas lights, for example.
For me, lights on a tree are synonymous with Christmas. But who actually came up with the idea?
Well, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb back in 1879. It was just three short years later that Edward Johnson, Edison's assistant, decided to put lights onto a tree for public demonstration. The display was a massive hit... and within a few short years, DIY kits were made available to the public.
But of course, those bulbs were all pretty big.
The whole idea behind a string of small electric bulbs that you wrap around the tree -- similar to the ones we use today -- came back in 1895, from a man named Ralph Morris.
Morris was an American telephone engineer, who had originally invented the lights for use in telephone switchboards. He suddenly had the idea of wrapping them around his tree. The concept took off - and within a couple of years, they were everywhere!
Interesting, eh?
But what would Christmas really be... without a little SNOW?
Strange as it may seem, my home country of England has only ever seen seven white Christmases (despite tales by my late grandpa to the contrary!).
... At this time of year, the future always seems fresh.
It's the end of one long, hard year. It's a time when we put up our feet and relax. A time when we create exciting new plans for how glorious 2007 will be.
Maybe you know what I mean.
Well, let's fast forward six months.
Will you still be feeling quite as excited?
Will you still be feeling as content... as wonderful... as eager of the things to come?
If you're like most people - including me - then I doubt it.
But the real question is: Why not?
What if you made a CONSCIOUS DECISION RIGHT NOW to make every day of next year feel as wonderful as this period?
Even though life may be busy. And sometimes tough. Maybe you could still inject a little extra happiness, relaxation, ambition and hope into every day of 2007.
And just maybe your eyes could sparkle with a little added excitement each and every day.
Just to help you along... in the New Year, for one whole year, I'll be posting a little 7-day challenge for you each week. It's up to you whether you accept each challenge. But every suggestion WILL change your life... if only you allow it to.
And you know something?
I'll follow each and every challenge along with you too. I'll let you know how I get along, if you promise to do the same.
Remember: Keep that sparkle bright.
And smile! :) It's going to be wonderful.
Now, before I go... a couple of snapshots from the evening!
Because everyone needs to be constantly reminded just how magical everything can be.
Not least of all, me.
So thank YOU for giving me the opportunity to keep myself motivated.
And thanks for stopping by and reading today!
Be happy! :)
(Also, a big thanks today to Bradley Thompson and Rebecca Marina, both of whom promoted my blog on Monday to well over 100,000 individuals on their combined mailing lists. Wow!)
And although I regrettably never met Mr Ustinov, we do have something in common.
You see, Peter relentlessly looked on the bright side.
He once said: "I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool an optimist must know how sad a place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day."
I often use that quote in daily conversation.
Are YOU an optimist... or a pessimist?
Frederick Langbridge rhymed: "Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars."
Is it half empty, or half full for you?
Honestly?
Remember, optimism is just a choice. It's a decision to uncover the positive in all circumstances, no matter how unusual the coating.
It's not covering up reality. It's seeing beauty in everything.
In a speech in 1954, another hero of mine -- Winston Churchill -- finished his speech at the Lord Mayer's banquet with:
"For myself, I am an optimist -- it does not seem to be much use being anything else."
Fantastically put.
What IS the point in being pessimistic?
And maybe -- just for today -- you could let go of it.
You see... If I'm totally honest, I wasn't overly impressed by "What the Bleep!?" as this year's supposed "mind-boggling" movie. It all seemed a bit predictable to me, and not overly inspiring.
The Secret however is different.
It's a movie I'd urge you to watch - especially if you'd like 2007 to be different.
And best of all?
It has JUST been released on Google Video FREE of charge... apparently as part of a promotion by producers Drew Pictures.
I'm sure that at some young age I actually wanted to be an elf.
But not today, in late 2006.
Still - if you've ever wanted to see me dressed in silky green stockings, doing a festive jig against a seasonal backdrop, then you've come to the right place.
It was apparently Anthony Robbins that came out with this little gem...
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten"
And isn't that the truth?
If you continue to do the exact same things you've done over the past year, you can't expect anything to change in 2007.
And are you looking for change, or improvement?
Maybe you are. And very possibly, you're not.
But if you ARE, then maybe it's about time to sit back and seriously think about what you'd like to change in the coming year -- and plot out the next 12 months worth of steps that will take you there.
Anthony Robbins also said...
"You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully."
It's a shocking 8.6 gigapixels -- and you can zoom around it online!
It's a massive picture of the partition in Santa Maria Delle Grazie's church in Varallo Sesia, Italy. The wall imagery includes many smaller scenes, including the nativity -- especially relevant during this season of the soul.
In the tech industry, Moore's Law is a well known concept.
It has, I'm afraid to say, nothing to do with me.
Its creator was 77-year old Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who predicted that the number of transistors on a circuit board, at minimum cost, can double every 24 months.
His predictions have stood the test of time -- and this exponential growth in tech-capability is one of the reasons the world today is moving at a pace never seen before.
And doesn't that just remind you that these days.... life is all about speed.
Drive-thru, Microwave, Buy It Now, Miles Per Hour, Instant Access...
Let me ask you...
When was the last time you actually sat back and took a little of what I call "Me Time?"
When did you last invest a few minutes... in yourself?
What is so important... that it can't wait for five minutes... while you sit back and enjoy watching God in motion?
Mahatma Gandhi said: "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Do you believe that?
And, more importantly - Do you live it?
Think about it. Then grab yourself a cup of tea - and get ready to enjoy the day!
If you're anything like me, your diary will be filled with scribbles and yellow stickies. And every few seconds, I'm writing yet another "TODO" list.
I must get through two a day, minimum.
Well, there's a hot little piece of software that you can download which does the job for you.
It's called "Stickies", and it's basically a digital version of the Post-It note.
You can create as many stickies as you wish -- and set advanced options, such as colour, transparency, even set an alarm with a particular sticky. You can print stickies and include Web addresses and images.
About how many chickens are sold and eaten every single day. In all of the restaurants, in all of the KFC outlets, in all of the supermarkets, in all of the world. Every single day.
We're talking millions here.
And then I remembered a film I'd seen not so long ago.
It was a PETA expose about cruelty to chickens, and the terrible conditions within "battery hen" farms. And I use the term "farm" in the loosest of manners. Most hens never get to see the fresh light of day.
Now... this blog is all about positivity.
When Mother Teresa was asked if she'd protest against war, she declined.
Instead, she insisted on promoting peace.
Think hard about that one.
There's a difference!
In today's blog post, I'd like to share with you two videos that you may find disturbing. They're truthful and honest, but still rather shocking. Conditions in some of these chicken farms are terrible.
But I DON'T want you to as an excuse to sit back and cry about the "pain of it all!"
That's giving energy to the negative.
Instead, take Mother Teresa's approach and simply switch to the positive.
Concern yourself with animal welfare. Take positive actions to help create a more enlightened world. Discover PETA in the US or UK. Make a donation. Sign a petition. Take ACTION.
You can watch the two "battery hen" farm cruelty videos I saw today by clicking here, and here.
And remember... Every journey begins with a single step.
Which step in a POSITIVE DIRECTION are you going to take today?
As I sit here listening to Maria Carey's "All I Want for Christmas", I feel a wave of festive happiness flowing through my body again.
It's the feeling I have whenever I reach the end of the A Christmas Carol (in Muppet, Bill Murray, Alistair Sim, or vanilla flavour). Or when I see my family again after a long journey. Or I view the cathedral in my home town... or new lovers smiling and holding hands...
What do these images invoke in your mind?
And what if you could hold those feelings all year round?
In my blog post today, I'd really like to wish YOU a happy Christmas.
And that comes from a deep place of intense love, with a burst of pleasure and a sparkle of fun. I mean it... I really do.
"Merry, merry Christmas!"
I also have a special Christmas card online right now to wish you my best this season...
Click on the link to view the card. You'll enjoy it ;)
And this Christmas, I'd like to ask you just ONE favour...
If you've enjoyed reading my random thoughts over the past few months, please, please -- read or watch "A Christmas Carol" this year. You can buy the book version for just a few pennies these days, or read it online for free.
It's my favourite Christmas story, without question.
If your heart is closed, or you feel unloved, or you don't even feel that Christmas is really "here" yet, then this book will open you up. I guarantee it.
It'll expand your mind -- and you'll feel the love.
Let this blog be your inspiration.
Again... Merry Christmas. Pass it on x
* * *
There's magic in the air this evening, magic in the air The world is at her best, you know, when people love and care The promise of excitement is on the night will keep After all, there's only one more sleep till Christmas!
The world has got a smile today, the world has got a glow There's no such thing as strangers when a stranger says hello And everyone is family -- we're having so much fun After all, there's only one more sleep till Christmas!
But it isn't always the most personal method of getting in touch...
And that's why today, I'm recommending you try out the wonders of voicemail.
Occasionally, when I wish to send out a message with a slightly more personal touch -- or when my fingers are aching -- then I'll send a voice message by e-mail.
Despite what many people may think, a good quality voice message doesn't need to clog up your outbox either. You're talking about 1kb for every second of audio. That means 15 minutes of audio will weigh in at less than a megabyte.
It's tiny!
So how can you record your own voice messages and send them by e-mail?
The results are fascinating. Here's a recent snapshot, plotted onto a world map:
Click on the image to view the full version.
The larger red dots indicate 100-999 visitors, whereas the tiny dots represent 1-99.
As you can see, most of my visitors come from the United Kingdom and the big USA cities. There's also a scattering of individuals throughout Europe, Australia and Africa... even the East.
Plus a couple of islands someone in the ocean I really didn't even knew existed!
Fascinating.
And they're all friends I haven't met yet.
So think about it...
Which strangers might you bump into today?
And could they be friends you just haven't met yet?
Maybe they're the one missing link you really need right now?
Consider it. Smile. And open yourself up to new experiences.
If you're a writer, check out www.writersgiveaway.com. By subscribing to Trent's newsletter, you'll receive over $3000 in writing goodies. There's no obligation -- and you can unsubscribe right away if you wish.
Or if you're into personal development, click to www.selfgrowthgiveaway.com. This newsletter comes from Bradley Thompson, the bonuses are worth a whopping $4000 -- and as ever, you don't need to buy anything.
It makes a great little festive treat -- so if you're interested, get surfing!
And its success proved one thing: We all want to be liked.
Being liked makes it easier to live. People want to help you. You feel more open and joyous.
And as this is the season of the soul, today I'm sharing a gift one good friend of mine sent to me this morning.
Rebecca Marina is an extremely well-known self-development guru, and the lady behind the Celebration Healing Method. This morning, she sent me a little gift and allowed me to share this with my readers.
It's called "How to Get People to Like You in 30 Seconds or Less" -- and what a mind-opening download it is. It's a more heart-based version of the Carnegie work... and it's principles could literally change your life, and rocket your social circle.
Interested?
Download your copy by clicking HERE - and just see how it changes your day!
I'd also highly recommend you stop by http://www.celebrationhealing.com/ and subscribe to Rebecca's inspiring newsletter. We spoke on the telephone for a couple of hours late last week -- and she's about the most genuine person you can find.
Are you only experiencing what you know, and not allowing yourself to open up to the wonders of life?
A friend of mine routinely says: "The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it's open."
How open is your mind?
What risks have you taken today? How far could you step outside of your comfort zone? And for how long?
Mark Twain said:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
What could you do today... that you will be thankful for tomorrow?
In today's modern world, everyone is trying to look the best.
If they don't look like somebody out of OK! or Heat or whatever the devil you call those ghastly magazines, they go wild... and simply must have a facial or lunch-break-tummy-tuck in order to recover.
But, really - isn't beauty just a little deeper?
My friend Richard Asquith and myself were chatting on the topic just a few nights ago.
Looking beautiful is temporary. True beauty is much deeper.
And although you might spend thousands on your APPEARANCE, how much did you last spend on your PERSONALITY? When did you last take time out to improve your social skills... or simply to smile at a stranger?
Is physical beauty really that important?
Just smile. Be happy. Laugh. Be approachable. Say "Yes" more.
What else do you need?
And to demonstrate just how "fake" the beauty world can be...
And, at least for today, remember those words of wisdom from Annie...
The most users online was 44 on March 14th 2006. The user that has spent the longest time online is writing is hard, with over 25 days SOLID using the forum. PaulW is our top poster, having posted over 1800 messages - while Lin Treadgold is our big topic starter, having initiated over 210 conversations online!
The Coffee Shop is the busiest forum of them all, and September was the busiest month -- which over 7600 new posts made on the site.
If you're interested in self-development, you might also be interested in stopping by the Self-Development Forum, another site I setup back in December '05. While not quite as bustling as My Writers Circle, it does have over 530 members -- and it's a great place to connect with others on their own self-help journey.
What a fantastic year it's been for these communities...
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