Chris Cade, a frequent visitor to the Champion Success Blog reminded me of a fantastic book I read some time ago called “A Champion Lives Within“.

I rifled back through my library and found the copy that my uncle had given me years ago.  I re-read it and was reinvigorated and inspired to share it with you.

In it, author Boyd C Matheson shares the story of the five ‘principle’ stones that it took for David to slay Goliath.  After defeating Goliath, you may already know that David become a champion of everything he did amassing large sums of wealth and riches.  He was loved by everyone in the kingdom.

It is a wonderful reminder that we all can indeed live the limitless and successful life of a champion.

Matheson writes:

“…the Champion in David didn’t rest with just one victory.  He kept his stones close by and lived the principle that each one conveyed. David was not only a champion of the king’s army, but by using what he had learned, he became a champion teacher, a champion salesman, a champion builder, and more.  He was successful in each thing he did.”

Matheson reminds the young character in the story as I remind you:

“…you have been given all that you need to slay the Goliaths of this life and become a great champion.  Remember to review the message written in this booklet often, and always keep the five stones near you to remind you of the five key phrases that will assure success and happiness.”

The Five Key Phrases (stones) are:

“I Am Different From Everyone: 

I am unique.  No one in the world is like me.  I am proud of who I am and my unique qualities.  The world needs me to be me.  I don’t worry that I don’t have all the talents that others have.  I am different from every other of God’s creations and I am the only one who can perform the mission God sent me to do.  I am valuable because I am me.

I Am A Person Without Limitations:

I have the potential to accomplish anything I really put my mind to.  I am not afraid of failure.  I love a challenge.  I write down specific goals for myself.  I attach a goal line to each of my goals.  I visualize myself reaching each goal.

I Am Satisfied Only With My best Effort

I enjoy the feeling I get when I know I have given my all.  I understand that I do not have to be the victor in order to be a champion.  I always give my very best, that I may avoid the dark valleys of mediocrity and enjoy the bright sunshine on the peaks of success.

I Am Determined To Succeed

Never, never will I give up!  I continue to strive for success even when the road is hard.  I don’t let discouragement pull me off of my designed course.  I constantly hope, dream, struggle, and work with determination to become a champion.  I know that determination is worth far more than natural ability.

I Am A Champion

I believe in me.  I believe in who I am and in what I can become.  I don’t allow others to determine my view of myself.  I am a champion.  I think positvely and know that the champion that lives within me will emerge in greatness and glory.”

With these five stones of wisdom you can slay the giants (limiting beliefs) of mediocrity, discouragement, failure and all the other Goliaths that will attempt to destroy your destined success.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly Matheson reminds us:

“In order for you to succeed and be a champion of life, love must be at the center of all you do.  If you have not love for each of your fellow men, the five stones which you possess are worthless.  Love all and do nothing save it be with love.”

In a future post I will share 5 ways you can incorporate these powerful keys into your daily life.

Thank you for your visit today.

Sincerely and Gratefully,

Steve

www.championsuccess.com

PS - As always I look forward to your comments.

PPS - Visit Chris Cades web site: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/index.html.  He has volumes of terrific stuff there, all of which equip you to live a champion’s life.

If you have ever attended persional development seminars hosted by masters like Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, or Tony Robbins, there is no doubt you have heard the saying:

“You must work on yourself more than you do your business.”

I can almost hear you nodding your head in recognition.  Bet let me ask you; what does this really mean?

What you actually DO to accomplish this?

This is what I mean:

A knowledge worker is, in brief, someone who works with his mind.  His work environment is either an office or home office.  His work consists of the application of knowledge skills in the production of output that contributes to the growth of a business of some sort.

The average knowledge worker works between 8 and 10 hours a day.  He typically rises at 6, completes a morning routine of some sort, showering, shaving, grabbing a bowl of cereal and/or coffee and gets to work at about 8.  He works throughout the morning on various projects attending meetings and the like, takes a break in the morning, lunch mid day, a break in the afternoon, and quits for the day some time between 5 and 7 in the evening.  He commutes home, greats the wife and kids, has a little dinner, watches a few sitcom reruns and hits the sack between 10 and 12.

Generally speaking this works out ok for the knowledge worker.  He gets his work assignments from his manager, does what needs to be done to keep his job, gets his pay-check and lives happily ever after, or not.

Unlike the seasoned entrepreneurial success, upstart entrepreneurs often model their days from this circa 1960’s model of business.  They may make one exception.  They may work longer hours.  More like 12 to 16 a day instead of 8 to 10.  And they typically do it because they think they have to.

If you fall into either of these catagories and can even remotely identify with this description then let me ask you:

If you accept the adage above about working more on yourself than on your business, and if your schedule is similar to what I described, then where is the time required to work on yourself ?

I mean, how do you work more on yourself if you never take time to do it?

Often times, as I work with new coaching clients and begin to encourage the use of daily personal development disciplines like meditation, visualization, or journaling, I hear, “I don’t have time to do that.”

What would you say if I told you that you should invest a minimum of 4 hours a day developing yourself?

This is what I know to be true.  You do not have time NOT to develop yourself.

If you invest the majority of primary energy in developing yourself, you will automatically live a more abundant and successful life.

You will be healthier.

You will be happier.

You will be well rested and alert.

You will be stress-free.

You will be more productive.

You will be more accomplished

You will be more present.

You will be more accepting and loving of others.

You will live more abundantly.

You will be the person you dream of being.

You do the things that person dreams of doing.

You will have the things that person dreams of having.

It is not an exhageration to say that your success begins  and ends with YOU.

I wish you success beyond measure and peace beyond all understanding.

Steve

www.championsuccess.com

PS - In my next few posts I will expand on this idea of daily disciplines for success.  I would enjoy hearing yours.  Please share them by commenting on this post and then check back on Tuesday for my Monday post.

A relative shared this video with me today.  I had heard of it but really did not have the full appreciation of the significance of this presentation until I watched it. 

It is positively amazing.

In it Jill Taylor, a renowned neuroanatomist (a brain scientist) provides a detailed recollection of a deeply moving spiritual awakening she experienced during her own stroke.

She provides clear experiential evidence that everything in our experience is energy or spirit.  When allowed to experience an existance outside of the limitations of our human mind, it becomes clear that we are indeed all spiritual beings having a human experience.

This realization indicates that thoughts truly are things.  To the extent that we learn to develop our thoughts, it is clear that we can indeed manifest our human experience any way we want it to be.

How does it feel to know that you are truly the life force energy of the universe?

Consider the implications of this perspective as it relates to creating a life of success, abundance, and joy; entrepreneurial, retirement planning, or otherwise.

Please comment I would love to hear your thoughts.

With deep gratitude for your visit.

 Steve

www.championsuccess.com

I have been reminded several times this week of the importance of knowing and passionately pursuing purpose.

Here is an excerpt from a free report entitled “The Secret to Astonishing Entreprenuerial Success“.  You can download a copy from www.secretforentrepreneurs.com

Purpose is central to good human health.  We are all born with a purpose. 

“Purpose is a permanent, common thread woven throughout and in all parts of our lives….Purpose is energy.  It’s the single most motivating force there is.  Discover your purpose, be on purpose, and you will have a life filled with meaning and significance.” The On-Purpose Person, Kevin W. McCarthy.

Although deaf and blind, Helen Keller became a world renowned speaker and author.  She wrote that “happiness comes from fidelity to a worthy purpose“. 

A Russian immigrant who became a worldwide success as philosopher, novelist and play-write, Ayn Rand wrote that “purpose must be one of the three ruling values of human life.“ 

“The first principle of ethical power is Purpose…It is the picture you have of yourself - the kind of person you want to be or the kind of life you want to lead.” Kenneth Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Ethical Management.

…

You have a cause or a purpose which is bigger than yourself.  Break-through the belief that you are, or must be, a victim of economic, ethnic, or social circumstances beyond your control.  Accept a new view of the future which includes the manifestation of a life of choice, abundance and opportunity.  Take on the challenge of creating a new world for yourself; a world which includes the accomplishment of personal and professional success, financial freedom, happiness, joy, health, wellness, and longevity.

Fulfill your purpose and passionately contribute to a cause greater than yourself.  Whether your purpose is to be a factor in the elimination of poverty, starvation, crime, or war, you can create the future as you want it to be, regardless of any thoughts or beliefs you or others around you may have to the contrary.

Live your life passionately, joyfully, and on purpose right now.  If you do, you will create the successful, rich, secure, healthy and accomplished life you desire now and in the future.

Start here now.

To do this, you must identify, explore, and engage in the pursuit of your purpose.  Take the time to invest in creating the personal entrepreneurial success you desire, by engaging in the purposeful pursuit of your passions.

The simple inner exploration of what is truly important to you will save you years of wandering, searching, and wondering about the future.  Once you are onto your purpose, don’t fall prey to the notion you must defer your passion until after you make enough money.  Implement a set of daily practices that will support you and help you get and remain ‘on purpose’.

Follow your passion and the money will come.

The report goes on to provide a number of exercises you can do to find your purpose. 

Download a copy and do the exercises in it.  www.secretforentrepreneurs.com

You will be amazed by how much clarity you will derive from this exercise.

My friend Todd Goldfarb speaks to this in a recent post on his blog.  Click HERE to read his message about finding your purpose.

Once you have a vision of your purpose, you will know what you wre ‘up to’ in life and an important distinction will become clear:  Accomplishment vs Result.

It is the commitment to a purpose that brings accomplisment from result. 

My experience of this was in my career in technology.   I was very successful and had big results financially.  But, at the same time felt no sense of accomplishment. 

The results were distinct from accomplishment becuase they lacked the commitment of purpose.

Once there was a clear purpose to which I could commit and through which the results could contribute, accomplishment emerged.

You can imbu all that you do with a committed purpose and literally redfine your experience of life.

That job you hate, can be imbued with purpose and become a statisfying vehicle of accomplishment through which you create the life you love living.  The frustration, anxiety, anger, and fear you feel will be replaced with joy and satisfying accomplishment.

Your experience of life will shift.  You will no longer live circumstantially.  Instead your experience will be generative and creative, joy-filled, abundant, successful, and accomplished.

With sincere gratitude for your visit,

Steve

www.championsuccess.com / www.secretforentrepreneurs.com /www.thesecretforretirement.com

PS - “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.  Instead, ask yourself what what makes you come alive and do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

“We are at the beginning of a new era.  A lifestyle revolution is taking place and with it we, as social people, are transforming who we are and what we do.  We are changing the way we live.  The predictable linear, chronological life pathways of past generations - from school, to marriage, to work, to children, to retirement - made sense when the average human life span was shorter….

Longer, healthier lifetimes have changed the way people perceive life’s options.  People are no longer limited to a single career in a lifetime.  Highly educated men and women are pursuing adventure, challenge, and greater sense of purpose than ever before….

People now return to school at age thirty-five, have children at age forty-five, start new careers at fifty, and remarry at seventy.” Maddy Dychtwald - Cycles

The possibilities that exist for you in your retirement years are absolutely endless.  My intention with this report is to communicate as simply and concisely as I can, how you can leverage the almighty power of the universe and miraculously manifest anything you desire, now and in your retirement.

Let me encourage you to accept all that is truly possible for you in this new era. Use what you have learned in this free report to begin creating the long, satisfying, joy-filled abundant life you desire.

Now you know that the secret to an abundant, joy-filled retirement is in what you believe.

“Imagining creates reality.  Therefore the man who is aware of what he is imagining knows what he is creating; realizes more and more that the drama of life is imaginal - not physical.  All activity is at bottom imaginal.  An awakened imagination works with a purpose.  It creates and conserves the desirable, and transforms or destroys the undesirable.”  Neville - The Law and the Promise.

Do you know what the number one fear or concern is for the baby boomers retiring?

Let me tell you.  It’s health.

But not in the way you might think.

Yes there is a lot of work being done in the alternatives to medical care like energy healing, exercise and fitness programs, and relaxation therapies of all sorts.

But, within all of this, there is some really amazing work being done in the area of brain fitness and plasticity.  Scientist have branched out from the world of academinc research to the practical implementation of all the amazing things that are possible.

Online programs and mind development games that can be loaded into our kids pocket-sized Nintendo and GameBoy systems are popping up everywhere.

The science behind all of this is aaaamazing!

I found this fantastic website with loads of great informaton.  Check it out: http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/

Knowing that there are ways to preserve and maintain life capacity physically and mentally is reassuring isn’t it?

The only remaining question for you to consider is, what are you going to do for 40 + years once you retire?

Find your passion,

Steve

http://www.championsuccess.com/

PS - Visit Sharp Brains and tell me what you think