 March 22nd, 2010 I was out running on Saturday, feeling quite smug with myself at about the 6 mile point of a 9 mile route, when I spotted an old man up ahead. I’m assuming he was old – he appeared to be in his late 70s at a guess – and very frail as he was walking with one of those zimmer frames with wheels on, …read the rest… »
October 20th, 2009
“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.”
[Various attributions]
(1208 words; approx 6-9 minutes to read)
Have you ever been so focused on and driven by something it bordered on, or perhaps tipped into, obsession?
I’d assumed I’d written all I could about desire and focus for the moment, but then I found myself listening to an interview with Ellen Macarthur (now a Dame) – famous for her solo sailing exploits and many sailing-related records, including breaking the women’s world record for circumnavigating the globe solo at the age of 24, and both the men’s and women’s record four years later.
During the interview she talked about how she had become obsessed with sailing after her first time in a boat at the age of four. When she, later on but still a child, decided she wanted her own boat, she even saved the change from her school dinner money in order to buy one, making choices as to what she’d have for lunch based on maximising the change she’d get. …read the rest… »
September 1st, 2009
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
[Anthony Robbins, US self-help expert, author and adviser to leaders]
(1066 words, approx 6-8 mins to read)
In our last ‘slice’ we talked about AWAY-FROM and TOWARDS types of motivation, and I made the assertion that the only way to achieve long-lasting, fulfilling and satisfying results was to make sure that your motivation was mostly, if not fully, of the TOWARDS variety.
If you still haven’t quite got why, even after a quick reminder by re-reading the last slice if you need to, imagine trying to drive using only your rear-view mirrors, or trying to run somewhere with your head turned to look behind you all the time. …read the rest… »
August 6th, 2009
“Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don’t want.”
[Hannah Whitall Smith, 19th/20th century Quaker author and activist in the Women's Suffrage movement]
[I wrote about this general concept a good few years back now and touch on it every so often, but after the last two 'slices' on Desire here and here, it fits really nicely and will serve as a timely reminder.
What follows is, I realise, an over-simplification, but I’ll go ahead with it anyway because it’s often only through considering things simply that we uncover the most useful truths within…]
(1278 words – approx 6-8 mins to read)
What pops into your mind as you roll those two phrases around in your head:
“Away-From”..?
June 29th, 2009
“Apetitus rationi pareat” – “Let desire be ruled by reason.”
[Cicero, Roman author & politician, 1st-century BC]
(1093 words – approx 5-7 mins to read)
Last time we discussed how powerful an emotion Desire can be, how it’s useful when focused appropriately and how, when we allow it to lead us or even consume us, it can transform into something dangerous and debilitating.
I left you with a question, after the “What do you want?” and “What are you prepared to do to get it?” ones, which was:
WHY DO YOU WANT IT?
…read the rest… »
May 26th, 2009
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
[Mario Andretti, Italian-born racing driver.]
“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
[Napoleon Hill, 19th/20th century US author and presidential adviser]
“I stood, nose pressed up against the toy shop window, gazing through at it, my eyes tracing over each feature, every detail of it, until I could almost feel the surface under my itching fingers. Somewhere deep inside I felt a cavernous space open up, a void that happened to be exactly the same shape and size as the very thing I was fixated on. Right then and there I knew that, however long it took me, I would be saving whatever money I could – pocket money, birthday gifts, odd-job payments – until I had the amount that the neatly written numbers on the precisely folded card in front said would be required in exchange for this marvellous item.”
Have you ever wanted something so much you actually felt the want – that yearning, a hollow space that you knew could only, can only, be filled by possessing whatever, or whoever, was the object of your desire? …read the rest… »
May 25th, 2009 To make the most of ourselves we need to invest in ALL of ourselves.
“Break up your unploughed ground, and do not sow among thorns.”
[Book of Jeremiah, Hebrew Scriptures / Christian Old Testament]
“Every loaf of bread begins with a seed sown and watered.”
[Unknown]
[1313 words, estimated reading time 6-10 mins]
I’m going to tell you a story, so if you want, I’ll give you minute or two to get a cuppa or whatever else you might need to help you get comfortable first. …read the rest… »
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Steve Wooding | 
focus, motivation, obsession, passion, success, taking action | 
A Slice of Lemon | 
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