Step Into Tomorrow (day 27/365)

As I finish reading “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!”by Robert H. Schuller I pick up on some of his finishing thoughts.

Have the courage to step into tomorrow. Whether we are 10 years old or 79 years old, planning for tomorrow is just as important. Hope is all important and the driving force that keeps us going.

When we have an idea for something great that will benefit many we simply cannot waste it. It is important that we are bold and do something with the idea. Beginning is half the job done. The first step is often the hardest.

Wise people don’t let grass grow under their feet while they procrastinate. They don’t waste a good idea, a good moment or a good opportunity. They get in and do it now!

Don’t handle your dreams alone. We all need someone to support us.

Finally, never quit!

To finish off the book Schuller gives us some homework. Are you up to the challenge? Write an alphabet on the left side of a page. For every letter then think of an action word (verb) starting with each letter and write it beside the letters.

This will be your “Alphabet for Action”. Use positive, uplifting words to describe the things you will do to get through the tough times, to focus on the future and be a success, to live in love, peace, joy and abundance.

Phases Of Faith (day26/365)

Like a plant faith grows. Robert H. Schuller in “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do”, gives us 5 phases of how our faith grows.

Nesting Phase
Firstly, we need to believe that all people have creative potential.
When our pride and self-respect are intact we can free our mind to explore ideas. So the first thing we need to do is believe in the ideas that God sends us. Respect for these positive ideas that flow into our imagination is the beginning of greatness.

Testing Phase
Next, we need to ask ourselves, “Will this idea cause my life and my activity to be an inspiration to somebody else to become a better person or to achieve more in their life?” When we can think about and attract unselfish ideas, we are on the right track.

Investing Phase
This is a point of no return. Here we make the commitment to invest our time, energy, money, pride, prestige, emotions. Making the commitment public gives us overwhelming odds to succeed.

Arresting Phase
Another testing time. Problems loom. What do we do? We have the choice to hang on or give up; keep believing or quit. Besides our own fulfillment being on the line, we need to ask ourselves, “Which response will inspire the most people?”

Cresting Phase
When we’ve kept on keeping on, we make it! We are successful, we have achieved, we have overcome! How good does it feel? We are then also an inspiration to others to keep bravely fighting their battles too.

Schuller devotes a whole chapter to the power of prayer. Don’t underestimate the power that prayer to our divine master has to bring our dreams to fruition. God made us, he cares for us and wants the absolute best for us. Why not give it a go?

Count To Ten (day25/365)

When it comes to possibility thinking this message for today is simple. Robert H Schuller in “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do” gives examples of solving several problems with the following technique.

When faced with an impossible situation, simply make a list, 1 to 10, of possibility options. Play the possibility thinking game. If you treat it as a game, your mind lets you be creative.

Take a risk with your ideas. Break some records in your brain. Let your mind be free. Simply make a list of ten different ways your “impossible” issue could be solved. Half the problem solved! Now get to and make one or more of the solutions work.

That’s it. Simple but effective! Nothing needs to be “impossible” anymore.

Possibility Thinking (day 24/365)

Today we continue to learn from Robert H. Schuller. In this chapter of his book “Tough Times Never Last, but Tough People Do!”, he gives 10 Commandments of possibility thinking.

1/ Never reject a possibility because you see something wrong with it. Isolate the negative, exploit the possibility.
2/ Never reject a possibility because you won’t get the credit. Success is more important than ego.
3/ Never reject an idea because it’s impossible. Would it be sensational for hurting people, our country, the world? Find a way to make it possible.
4/ Never reject a possibility because your mind is already made up. Unless you are perfect or stubborn, be prepared to change plans.
5/ Never reject an idea because it’s illegal. ie. land/property laws. Do what is needed to have laws changed.
6/ Never reject an idea because you don’t have the money, manpower, muscle or months to achieve it. Find the right people to help.
7/ Never reject an idea because it will create conflict. Anything new will create a new set of tensions.
8/ Never reject an idea because it is not your way of doing things. Compromise, adjustment – it’s an opportunity to grow.
9/ Never reject an idea because it might fail. Isolate the risk, insulate it, and eventually eliminate it.
10/ Never reject an idea because it’s sure to succeed. You can’t share unless you have something to give. Pursue the something!

Dr Schuller’s experience and writing is very rich. I’ve slowed to only one chapter a day to digest it. Hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am.

Take Charge and Take Control (day 23/365)

From this chapter of “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do”, Robert H. Schuller gives another 18 fabulous tips to succeed at solving problems. Here they are:-

1/ Don’t surrender leadership to outside forces. Make the shoe big enough to fit your foot(idea). Don’t restrict your foot to the size of one shoe.
2/ Don’t surrender leadership to faces. Don’t be intimidated by others’ criticism.
3/ Don’t surrender leadership to farces (lies, masks). eg. racism.
4/ Don’t surrender leadership to fences. Self image perceptions. eg. I don’t have enough money, don’t know enough people, don’t have an education.
5/ Don’t surrender leadership to frustrations. Never, never, never quit!
6/ Don’t surrender leadership to your (negative)fantasies. eg. People might laugh at me, my idea might be rejected.
7/ Don’t surrender leadership to fears. “God has not given us a spirit of fear. but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. 2Tim1:7
8/ Don’t surrender leadership to fatigue. Schedule some renewal time into your diary.
9/ Don’t surrender leadership to faults. Don’t let problems become an excuse. Rise above them.
10/ Don’t surrender leadership to facts. Attitude is more important than facts.
11/ Don’t surrender leadership to frenzies. When threatened, give yourself some space. Don’t do anything, just think.
12/ Don’t surrender leadership to the fates. Negative self-fulfilling prophesies (ie. fortunetellers).
13/ Don’t surrender leadership to forecasts. Don’t listen to negative, cynical people/reports.
14/ Don’t surrender leadership to your foes.They aren’t interested in solving your problems.
15/ Don’t surrender leadership to your friends. Friends can give advise, share their opinions, but should never have the final word on your project.
16/ Don’t surrender to the fracturing experiences of life. Never believe in or surrender to hurts. Choose to believe in dreams.
17/ Don’t surrender to the flattening out experiences of life. Get inspired by the gonna do’s. Move forward and find some things you are gonna do.
18/ Do surrender leadership to one thing – FAITH. “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?” “Where am I headed?”

See Problems in Proper Perspective (day 22/365)

As we progress through “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do”, by Robert H Schuller, we are given some tips on getting problems into perspective.

1/ Every living human being has problems. No matter how “successful”, we all have problems of some sort.
2/ Every problem has a limited life span. Springtime follows the winter.
3/ Every problem holds positive possibilities. We need to be willing to look for them.
4/ Every problem will change us. For the better if we let it.
5/ We can choose what the problem will do to us. If we can’t solve the problem, then we can choose to manage it. Stay positive.

How to manage problems positively:-

1/ Don’t underestimate. See problems as serious and act accordingly.
2/ Don’t exaggerate. There’s always someone with a worse problem. Don’t make it worse than what it is.
3/ Don’t wait. Problems don’t solve themselves. Be responsible. Don’ t expect someone else to solve your problem.
4/ Don’t aggravate. Don’t fix the blame (on someone else), fix the problem.
5/ Illuminate. Ask yourself questions. The main problem of problems is the lack of ideas.
6/ Motivate. Look at the opportunities arising from every problem.
7/ Bait. Do your research. Get the right bait and catch the thing you’re after. eg. job
8/ Date. Chase what you want like you would a date. Don’t quit.
9/ Sublimate.Turn the stumbling block into a stepping stone.
10/ Dedicate. Get enthusiastic. Dedicate yourself to enthusiastic living.
11/ Communicate. Need help? Ask for it.
12/ Insulate. Steer clear of negative influences. Be determined to live a “Sensational” life.

I hope you find these tips helpful.

Faith Leads to Possibilities (day 21/365)

We are in for a treat as we now progress through “Tough times Never Last, But Tough People Do!” by Robert H. Schuller. One of the foremost speakers and authors in America, Schuller writes easy to understand and easy to implement messages.

Today I am picking some statements from the first two chapters to share. These are a warm up for some real nitty gritty stuff tomorrow.

The biggest problem we have is our attitude.
People who never take a chance, never get ahead.
Nobody is a total failure if he dares to try to do something worthwhile.
Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of determination.
When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.
There’s one ingredient that mountain-moving faith, miracle-generating faith, earth-shaking faith, problem-solving faith and situation-changing faith must have, and that ingredient is holding power. Do not quit.
The possibility thinking path leads on to happiness, health and prosperity.
Tough people rise to the top in rough times.
The secret of success is to find a need and fill it.
Open your mind to God. Ideas will flow in. One of these will be the idea that God means for you to grab hold of.
The biggest problem any of us ever face is our own negative thinking.
All we have to fear is fear itself.
Believe it and you can achieve it.
It’s not how you walk that counts, it’s who walks with you and who you walk with.
With God all things are possible.