Julius Caesar had long wished to capture the British. He sailed to the British Isles, quietly unloaded his troops and supplies, and gave the order to burn the ships. He then called all of his men together and said, “Now it is win or perish. We have no choice.”

With that single order, he guaranteed the success of his campaign. He knew that people who have no other alternative — or will accept no other — always win.

If you find yourself in a situation where victory seems impossible, you may benefit your cause by developing an alternate course of action. Einstein famous said, “It is impossible to solve a problem with the same thinking that created it”.

There are very few problems in life that are impossible to solve, and few obstacles that will not eventually give way to a determined, motivated person with a plan that is flexible enough to cope with changing condition.

So how do you start?  With positive thinking.  You must feel you can do it because if you think you cannot – you will definitely be right!

It is a physical impossibility for a negative mind to generate positive thoughts. When you allow yourself to dwell on the negative aspects of life, negative thinking expands to fill all of your thoughts until there is no room for positive thoughts to grow. It becomes an endless cycle.

The habit of negative thinking generates more and more negative thoughts, which the mind attempts to turn into physical reality. The result is a life of despair and hopelessness. Develop the habit of eliminating negative thoughts the moment they appear.

Start small at first. When you first hear that inner voice that says, “I can’t do this,” put the thought out of your mind immediately.

Instead, concentrate on the task itself. Break it down into manageable parts and complete them one at a time. When the job is finished, tell your doubting self, “You were wrong. I could do it, and I did!”

Decide where you are going and how to get there. Then make a start from where you now stand.

When you devote your time and efforts to doing your best at every job you do, instead of developing persuasive arguments why you should be paid more for what you do, the pay raises will take care of themselves. When you approach every job enthusiastically in a spirit of friendly cooperation, you distinguish yourself from the vast majority of people whose primary concerns include breaks, benefits, paychecks, and quitting time.

Don’t complain about your status or your pay to anyone, not even to your best friend. Word will eventually get back to the boss. Which type of worker would you rather have on your team: one who complains constantly or one who is always helpful, cheerful, and reliable?

Willing cooperation produces enduring power, while forced cooperation ends in failure.

No civilization based upon the unjust treatment of its people has ever endured. A tyrant may force the cooperation of others for a time, but that power is never sustained. Only when people are accorded the respect they deserve do they willingly create and maintain successful organizations and societies. When you build a company or an organization based on fairness and justice for every member, you have built a power that will long endure.

The best way to secure the commitment and unending cooperation of others is through the simple application of the Golden Rule. It is the most successful and long-lasting management theory ever developed. When you treat others as you would like to be treated were you in their situation, you will inspire loyalty and enthusiastic cooperation.

Set high standards for yourself and others, treat them well, let them do their jobs, and they will perform miracles for you.

The world is filled with unfortunate souls who didn’t hear opportunity’s knock at the door because they were down at the convenience store buying lottery tickets.

Opportunity wastes no effort looking for the person who is wasting time through idleness or destructive action.

You will be surprised how much your luck will improve when you make sure you are prepared to take advantage of opportunities.

* Open minded
* Optimistic Attitude
* Rested for Action
* Removed from fears of past challenges or failures

Opportunities somehow always seem to gravitate toward busy people who can hardly keep up with those they already have. Logically, it would seem that opportunities would make an effort to seek out individuals who have an abundance of time available, but instead opportunities appear for those who have goals and dreams and a plan for achieving them.

We often think of opportunity as a living, moving thing, something that actively seeks out a willing recipient.

In fact, the reverse is true. Opportunities are ideas or concepts that exist only in the minds of those who recognize them. When you have no goals or plans, opportunities mean nothing to you. They become opportunities only when you recognize them as ideas that you can implement to help you move toward your goal.

How many times have you had a great idea that you failed to act upon, only to discover later that someone used the same idea to start a business, get a promotion, or find a better job? Resolve now to get into action when you have a good idea.

Don’t wait for something to happen — make it happen!

Take a cue from Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1942–50, who famously observed, “Luck is the residue of design.”

Or Ralph Waldo Emerson’s most famous said “Every Wall is a Door”!

Someone once said that no one can really motivate anyone else; all we can do is motivate ourselves and hope it catches on.

You will probably never know how much you influence others with your behavior. When you always go the extra mile, you will influence those in your circle of friends and acquaintances, your family, your co-workers, and even your bosses to do more and better than they have done before.

Your value to yourself and others is greatly enhanced by your ability to influence others to be happier, more productive people. There are no salary caps or career limits for those who lead others to great heights of success. Such people are simply too valuable.

An essential quality of leadership is developing the ability to persuade others to align their goals with yours and those of the organization. Until you, yourself, are able to join forces with others in the pursuit of a common objective, you will never persuade them to join your cause.

Effective leaders recognize the value of working together, and they learn how to follow directions before being entrusted with the responsibility for the performance of others. Good leaders show by example how they expect others to behave. Even though the troops may be trained to follow orders unquestioningly, the officer always leads them into battle. You cannot push others to follow your example; you must pull them along with you. When you show by your every word and deed that you are a person of character, one who works for the greater good of the entire organization, your people will follow.

In recent years, great strides have been made in overcoming the traditional adversarial relationship between workers and bosses. At last we’re learning that when we focus on better serving our clients and customers, everybody wins. When you begin to focus on what’s good in your company instead of what you don’t like, you will be amazed how quickly you will have more responsibility, and soon you will be teaching your employees how to do your old job.

Compete with yourself to do the best job you can do instead of competing with others.

Some people expend far more energy getting out of work than they would spend doing the job well…..If this is you please ask WHY?

We may think we are fooling the boss, but we are only fooling themselves. An employer may not know all the details of every job or every task an individual performs, but a good manager knows the results of effort. You can be sure that when promotions or plum assignments become available, they won’t be offered to loafers. If you do your job cheerfully and well, not only are you more likely to be recognized and rewarded, but you also learn how to do your job better. As you become more proficient, you become more valuable to your employer. You also acquire the most valuable of all assets — the confidence that comes from knowing you possess skills that will increase your value to any organization.

Most people who fail after receiving a promotion do so because they fail to rise to the challenges the new position offers. It is perfectly normal to feel a twinge of insecurity when you assume a new position — after all, you’ve never had this job before — but seldom do promotions come before you are ready for them. Now, it is a fact that the day you are promoted, you are not yet competent in that position. You were promoted into the position because of your potential, not because you were expected to perform flawlessly from the outset. Work to prove that your boss’s faith in you was justified. Make becoming as proficient as possible in your new job — in the shortest possible time — your number one priority. 

A wise man watches his faults more closely than his virtues; reversing the order creates mostly problems.

We all have within us the potential for greatness or for failure. Both possibilities are an innate part of our character. Whether we reach for the stars or plunge to the depths of despair depends in large measure on how we manage our positive and negative potential. It is doubtful that, if left unchecked, your virtues will rage out of control. Unfortunately, the reverse is not true about your faults. Left unattended, faults have a way of multiplying until they eventually choke out your good qualities. The surest way to control your faults is to attack them the moment they appear.

The man who doesn’t reach decisions promptly when he has all necessary facts in hand cannot be depended on to carry out decisions after he makes them.

An essential quality of leadership is developing the ability to persuade others to align their goals with yours and those of the organization. Until you, yourself, are able to join forces with others in the pursuit of a common objective, you will never persuade them to join your cause. Effective leaders recognize the value of working together, and they learn how to follow directions before being entrusted with the responsibility for the performance of others. Good leaders show by example how they expect others to behave. 

We are all human, with frailties, foibles, and insecurities. We each need to be appreciated for the uniqueness that makes us individual, and we need to be told that we are appreciated. Maintaining friendships requires effort and persistent expression, both in word and deed. Tell your friends often how much you appreciate them. Remember occasions that are important to them. Congratulate them upon their achievements. Most important of all, let them know that you are there for them whenever they need you.

Friendship needs frequent expression to remain alive.