Thomas Alva Edison, also called the “Wizard of Menlo Park” by a newspaper reporter, is one of the most often cited personalities in history when it comes to dealing with failure and focusing on goals.  It is unclear how many times Thomas Edison failed in his tests before he invented the first practical, long lasting light bulb but it is widely accepted that he tried thousands of times before he discovered the best filament to use.

There are other inventors at the time who were also developing light bulbs but it was Thomas Edison who got it to the finish line.  His name is forever etched in history not because he was the first but simply because he was the most persistent, the most flexible, and possibly the most cunning as well.  As with many successful inventors, he too knows how to handle failure successfully.  Qualities like these define a true winner.

He too was a visionary, a trait displayed when Edison made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, in Menlo Park. It was during this time that he said: “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.” – these words I often remember when I see expensive candle light dinners in first class restaurants.  LOL.

Finally, I think it’s worth saying that he did not invent the light bulb.  What Thomas Edison did was simply innovate, improving what others before him have already achieved.  Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia that best shows Edison’s innovativeness:

In addressing the question “Who invented the incandescent lamp?” historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Wilson Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison’s version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high resistance lamp that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable.

In summary, Thomas Alva Edison is a man with focus, persistence and determination.  He too knows how to handle failure, a visionary and an innovator.  Lastly, I think it is rightful to say that there’s a Thomas Edison in all of us.  We all have our light bulbs to create and we all have the obligation of lighting up the world one way or another.

Life is like a race.  There’s a start and there’s an end.  The same can be said for every little aspect of life.  There will always be a starting a line and a goal.  It is upto one’s desire whether he wishes ti finish the race or not.

I am writing this short article for a single purpose – to encourage you and the rest to just keep on going and going.  Go on until you can no longer go, reach for the goal until you’ve exhausted all your energy.  That’s what defines a winner.  To me, it’s not about getting their first nor is it being the fastest or the strongest.  To me this concept of “winning” is nothing compared to what I believe winning is all about.

Winning is about persistence.  It’s about how far you can go and it’s about whether or not you will do whatever it takes just to achieve your goal. In a race, some will be ahead, some will be left behind, some will be fast and some will be slow but all will be winners so long as they reach the finish line. That’s what I believe in.

It may take you days, months or years before you can reach your goal. People may start discouraging you but winning is about getting focused and not getting distracted by what others are saying. So what if it takes you your entire life to achieve your goal? Winners have one thing in their mind and that’s nothing else but their goal.

In short, winning is simply NOT TO QUIT!

Failure is oftentimes an event in our life that we do not want to experience again mainly because it hurts and it’s embarassing.  Even more, the very experience of failing leads us to fear failure even more.  It’s a traumatic thing and nobody wants it but it cannot be avoided.  It’s part of life and we just have to learn how to handle it.

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Credibility is important for any entity – be it an individual or corporation. It’s not easy to build it but it’s way too easy to tarnish or even destroy it, especially online. So how does one build credibility and keep it good online? Here are a few tips that may just help.

1. Build a website – you can never build online credibility without it.  A blog is more than sufficient for this purpose and you can build your blog for free at www.blogspot.com
2. Be kind – be as kind as you can to everybody.  You can do this by writing comments on their blogs, praising their articles, or simply writing on their facebook wall.
3. Be honest – never exaggerate on things and never lie.
4. Be sociable – respond to people’s comments on your blog and social networks
5. Never spam – spamming can destroy your online credibility in seconds
6. Be yourself – don’t act as if you’re somebody else.  Just be yourself and you’ll have more friends online
7. Offer help – if you’re an expert in some field, offer your help for free to other people in forums, blogs and social networking websites
8. Post photos – upload wholesome photos of yourself and your family on your social networking websites.  You can also upload them on your blogs
9. Be consistent – be as consistent as you can in updating your online profiles, blogs, etc. This let’s people know that you’re alive and kicking
10. Be friendly – nothing can be better in building online credibility than being genuinely friendly to others

This list is not in any particular order.  I just wrote them as they popped into my head.  If you have more suggestions in building your online credibility, please feel free to post them as comments below.

Thanks!

There are times when I just don’t feel like doing anything for the day. Oftentimes I get surprised by how huge my todo list has become. Worst than that is I’d immediately feel tired just seeing the list and eventually end up not doing anything to get things done.

I think it’s called procrastination – the act of delaying an action to a later time. It all starts with putting off a single task either because you have something else to do, you think it’s too easy that you can finish it in no time or you simply don’t want to do it right now. Then another item gets added to the list and so on until the list gets so large, the mere sight of it tells your brain to procrastinate even more.

But, how do you deal with it? Here’s a short quote that basically sums up what I’m about to say.

“If you wait until all the lights are “green” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top.” – Zig Ziglar

Basically, what you need to do is to take on your list one “green-light intersection” at a time. As soon as you’re finished with item #1, then move on to item #2 and so on until you finish everything that you can finish for the day. Set a goal like “I’ll finish at least 5 items in my todo list today” and focus on it. Each item in your list is a “green light” telling you to move on.

The same quote applies when you feel overwhelmed by the huge number of items in your list. What I do here is organize the items into categories and start working on them – one step at a time. If there’s too much in my list to accomplish in one day, I tell myself that I don’t have to finish all of them today. This tells my brain to “relax” and makes everything look easier. I then set my goal to finish 5 to 10 items off the list.

So, the next time you feel procrastinating, just take it one step at a time and before you know it, your todo list is empty once again.

Ever wondered how you can become a true leader in your field? A leader that everyone looks up to, someone that brings success to others?

It’s pretty simple really but it’s not easy. The concept of leadership is often misinterpreted by many as being the “boss” wherein the truth is that leadership is actually the opposite of bossing around other people. A true leader sets high standards for himself so that other people may follow while the boss simply sets the standards for others and doesn’t do it himself.

Let me start it with a quote by one of the most successful people in the world. Someone, whom many agree, is a very good leader indeed.

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. – Ray Kroc

A true leader leads by example and not by rules. A true leader inspires others by what he does and yet he never boasts or brags about it. Also, a true leader stoops down to the level of his followers and “walks in their shoes” so that he understands their needs.

A true leader stands by his word and does whatever it takes not to break it. He is also willing to sacrifice so that others will be successful. He lets his people reap the benefits first, he gratifies himself last. He never rejoices in what is wrong but does his best to do what is right even if it means putting a lot of effort into it. He never steps on other people’s toes.

A true leader never quits even if no one wishes to follow him. He has a vision, a clear vision that drives him to do what he needs to do everyday. His goal is not just for himself but for everyone around him. He thinks of himself as the servant of all and yet his followers honor and respect him.

Seldom do I find people with the qualities of a true leader. I’m very lucky to have been mentored by a few because the words of a true leader are like gold, the lessons he teaches are like never ending streams of water that refreshes you day by day.

Goal setting is the foundation wherein successful people build their dreams upon. It is the process of clearly defining what you really want to achieve in a certain amount of time and what you need to do to get there. While setting a goal is not an easy task (there are secrets to doing this as well which I’m going to share with you in the future), achieving your goal is an ever greater achievement. In fact, less than 10% of people achieve their goals.

So, to help you become an achiever, I’ll tell you exactly what I do to get there.

I’m going to share with you the 5 steps that I take when I set my goal and what I do to achieve them.

1. Write down on a piece of clean paper what you really, really, really want to achieve. Many people fail to do this thinking that simply thinking about your goal will be enough. Research shows that writing down your goal increases the probability of you achieving it to as high as 90%. Make it clear. Don’t write “a new house”, instead write down “a 2000 square-meter two-story Victorian house with 8 bedrooms, 5 baths on 1 hectare of land beside the lake. If you can add a picture of your goal, the better.
2. Define what it takes for you to achieve your goal. If you’re planning to buy a car in 12 months, then you need to know how much the car costs and how much extra money you need to earn each month to attain it. You’ll also need to define how will you raise that extra money on a monthly basis.
3. Be willing to pay the price. Always remember that each goal has a price to pay for. It can be waking up earlier every morning, eating less food in the evening, investing a certain amount of money into a business and so on. Knowing your goal and knowing what it takes to get there is not enough. You really have to be willing to do what needs to be done to achieve it.
4. Start doing what needs to be done. You need to do this on a daily basis, with each day taking you closer to your goal. Tick off the things that you have already accomplished and carefully take note of what you need to do next. You might need to adjust from time to time but always stay on track.
5. Be Passionate, Consistent and Focused. Passion is the fuel that drives you to get there amidst all distractions in life. You need to keep that fire burning. The greater your passion is, the more consistent you will be in achieving your goal. Then of course, you’ll need to focus all your energy towards achieving your goal. Without focus, you’ll end up with your efforts being scattered all over the place and all your passion and consistency will be worth nothing.

There you go. Let these five steps guide you in achieving your goals.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “When is too much too much?” I did, I do and I think I still will. But when is too much too much?

I recently just watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was a nice movie and was fun to watch especially with the “ever popular” hormones going around. I say ever popular because hormones seems to be mentioned each time I read a review of the movie or the book. Oh well, the reason why I’m talking about Harry Potter is the phrase that Professor Dumbledore said.

“Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry.”

When was the last time that your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, your wife, your husband, your kids, your boss or whoever asked too much of you? The feeling of anguish of being asked too much by someone in our life is unbearable. I mean, if it really is too much. However, we often give in revealing somehow that even if it appears to be too much, it really isn’t because if it were we wouldn’t have given in.

Do you get my point?

So when is too much too much? If you really can’t do it anymore then it’s too much or is it? A few months back, I attended an intensive team-building training where the concept of “Do whatever it takes” was planted deeply in my mind. Considering this concept, there is no such thing as too much unless you have already attained your goal.

Think of it this way, if you were a runner and your goal was too reach the finish line but you were already tired, will it be too much if you gave that extra strength just to finish the goal? I don’t think so. No matter how tired I am, no matter if I win or not, my goal is to reach the finish line – no matter what. I’ll do whatever it takes just to reach the goal even if I have to crawl all the way to the finish line. It will only be too much if I kept on running after I’ve reached my goal.

Do whatever it takes and reach for that goal. It’s never too much until you’re there.