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In the classic book Think and Grow Rich (1938)  by Napoleon Hill, he writes

“Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desire into its monetary equivalent.”

Does it really mean that the natural outcome of combining passion and persistence is profit?  How do we define passion or desire?  How do we define profit?  I think we all know what persistence means;  that often difficult,  constant, not giving up attitude that drives you to complete what you started.

It seems that very often a cyclist will stop pedaling just before the finish line.  A piano student will choose to only do 10 repetitions of a difficult passage instead of 15 and leave it up to fate that he or she will play it correctly when the performance comes.  An unemployed adult will turn into a discouraged worker,  giving up on finding meaningful,  rewarding work,  even a career.

So what defines desire or passion?  Are there only certain desires that can be included in this statement.  Are artists,  musicians, social workers, clergy, etc exempt from this procedure of transmutation.  What is the monetary equivalent?   Is it measured in buying power,  quality of life or overall well-being,  or even spiritual transcendence?

I realize that I am asking a lot of questions.  I don’t know the answers.  The thought I have is that the passion or desire comes from our ego or spiritual practice.  The monetary equivalent is going to come from the world.  God has no concept of money or its value.  Spirituality has no connection to cash.  Persistence is the key factor.   When we apply diligence, intent, and commitment  to a desire or passion that hits the correct target in every scenario we expect the world to reward us.  What happens when it doesn’t?  Is our personal satisfaction enough?

One of my favorite books is The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith.  I like to call these The Anyway Commandments (page 9)

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.  Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.  Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.  Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.  Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest ideas.  Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.  Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.  Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.  Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.  Give the world the best you have anyway.

My personal conclusion:

Pick your passion – apply persistence – believe in abundance, anyway.

What if you decided that today you would live by your strengths and stop putting your energy and thoughts into conquering your weaknesses?

How will you feel about yourself, your work and those around you?

What is your new energy level?

What will you accomplish and contribute  to the universe in a way that no one else in the world can do?

These are some of the questions that you can answer when you have successfully identified your strengths,  created action plans based on this discovery and begin honoring your individual combination of talents with all of you mind, body and soul.

In the bestselling book,  “Strengths Finder 2.0” , Tom Rath explains the concept of strength based psychology and provides an online assessment to help you uncover your 5 most prominent personal strengths.  He goes on to give a wonderful equation:

TALENT (a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving)   

X   

INVESTMENT (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building you knowledge base) 

=    STRENGTH (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)

WOW!  What a powerful way to live! 

I am developing presentations, workshops and individual coaching sessions around this research and would love to bring my own ideas about  Strengths Based Living to  groups, small businesses, families and individuals.  Please contact me to make an appointment and begin your path to powerful impact in your immediate environment.

I hope you are having strengths filled day!

I am a huge fan of Le Tour de France. Cycling is the best combination of travel, exercise and nature. Although watching Le Tour only provides the vision of travel along the route of the tour and not the close experience with nature or exercise, I have found myself drawn in by the drama. Yesterday, Mark Cavendish won another sprint. As I analyzed the method, the powerful lead-out train that has catapulted him to 19 stage victories I was struck by the whole slipstream concept. (A lead-out train is the line-up of all of the members of a team in front the strongest sprinter to protect his space and energy so that he has maximum energy and opportunity for victory at the most critical point in the race.)

Mark Cavendish lead out train

To ride on someone’s wheel, to take advantage of the slipstream, that sweet spot of aerodynamic power that conserves your strength while it leads you to victory. How can this apply to my life? my business? my relationships? Who is around me to serve as my lead-out train? How can I be the lead-out train for others?

First off, I need to remind myself that I don’t need to re-invent the wheel. I can ride on the coattails of great authors as long as I give theme credit for their words and ideas. I can join groups and organizations that are already established and attend events that are already planned. We can all join in the rising level of conscious energy on our immediate environment.

I have named my personal initiative “Project Slipstream” as a reminder to myself to continually find opportunities to engage with like energy so that I can be strong and successful as well as serve as the lead-out train for my clients, friends, children and partner!

For the last 5 years, since my divorce, I have been satisfied with survival. I have a home to live in, children to care for and the opportunity to engage in my lifelong passion for music at a professional level. But………I don’t want to just survive anymore. I want to thrive!!!!
The idea of assessing the areas of your life based on the triage model seems to be acceptable in today’s world. Triage ( /ˈtriːɑːʒ/) is the process of determining the priority of patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition. (Wikipedia)The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sort, sift or select. The categories established are:
 Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;
 Those who are likely to die, regardless of what care they receive;
 Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.[5
By contrast:
Transition is defined as a movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another. Its origin is from the Latin trānsitiōn- (stem of trānsitiō ) a going across (Dictionary.com)
I am ready to move forward and take hold of the purpose I have been uniquely created to fulfill. I have faith that the resources and opportunities necessary for me to “do my job” will be provided for me because the world will not survive THRIVE if I do not complete my mission!
Please ask yourself these questions and join me is a path with intention!
How can you move from survive to thrive today, tomorrow, next week, next year or 5 years from now?
Where is your life stuck or spinning out of control?
What is keeping you from realizing your gifts and dreams?
How could you provide immediate care for your personal or professional life and create a positive outcome for you and at least 12 people around you?
Who do you need in your life to partner with you and hold you accountable for transitioning from your present situation to a new opportunity?
We want to listen to your answers to these questions.
We want to connect you with your inner genius.
We want your life to spin in a way that takes you to a new level.
Please contact us @ TunedInCoaching.com.