Thanks to all of you who submitted your short essays on the American Dream. We received some fantastic responses! I am happy to announce our winner, John Hayford, from Land O' Lakes, Florida. Congratulations John!

Here is his winning essay:

The American Dream, I believe for most, has been (and still is) to provide an adequate living for themselves and their family: that provides a home, a measure of financial security, to have the hope that their children's opportunities will be better than their own (parents), and to have the political and religious freedoms that lend dignity to all citizens to live their lives with minimal interference from the government in that pursuit.

Today, the Dream is still possible, but it may take several career changes during one's lifetime. It may mean moving to a different part of the country, or starting one's own business or home based business.

Planning, preparation, perspiration, persistence, and opportunity are still very much part of the formula for the American Dream. Sprinkle in some optimism, and that is what separates the American Dream from any other in the world.

John Hayford

Thanks, John and to all those who took the time to respond to my survey.

P.S. Today's issue is going out to 96,712 subscribers. If you've gained value from what you read in my Ezine, then I would like to thank you in advance for forwarding this issue to friends, family and associates!

In This Issue.......

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article
2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary
3. The Last Word...
4. Live the Life You've Always Dreamed Of!
5. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

Take Ownership of Your Life by Chris Widener

There are lots of things we desire to own in this life, aren't there? Many of them are fine and dandy, as the saying goes. But there is the most important thing we own that many people never think about owning, and that is their life! They spend a lot of time thinking about the next set of golf clubs, a vacation home, or a new piece of jewelry, but they never really understand that they own their life. Whenever it comes time to be responsible, they end up placing the blame somewhere else, rather than realizing that they are the owner and so they are responsible! With that in mind, here are some thoughts about the ownership your have of your life:

You only own one person – you. You don't own your spouse. You don't own your boss. You don't own your kids (with kids, you are in charge of them, given the tremendous responsibility of teaching them to own their own lives, but you don't own them). No, there is only one person you own, and that is you. That is great news! Now you don't have to worry about running anybody else's life! This is a temptation for us isn't it? We just know how everybody else should do it, and with many of them we try to take ownership and run their life! Well, hands off! Take control of your own life since it is the only one you own. You wouldn't try to drive somebody else's car from the grocery store parking lot, so don't try to drive their life either! You own you – so stick to you!

You get to choose what to do with only one person – you. Once you have come to realize that you only own you, you get to get to the fun part – running your life and making it what you want it to be. Instead of choosing what other people should do, you get to focus on choosing what you get to do. You get to begin to shape and mold your life. This is exciting! Aren't you glad you don´t have to run everybody else's lives anymore? I am!

Your ownership means that you can do what you want with yourself. Your life is a blank sheet of paper. You can choose whatever you want to do. You can have whatever profession you want. You can earn as much money as you desire. You can marry whoever suits your fancy (as long as you suit their fancy too, by the way). Stop wishing and start choosing. I like to use the example of a person who is thirty years old and doesn't like their income. I tell them that if they so chose, they could go back to school, get a degree, go to medical school and by age forty be in a high-income profession. Then they would have 25 years of high wages to support the lifestyle they desire. You can choose whatever you want and take whatever actions you choose to rectify any situation you are in!

Your ultimate destination in life is set by you, not somebody else. Where will you end up? Wherever you choose to end up. You will do well to get it in your mind that some day you will be seventy years old and you will be at a certain place, and the only thing that got you there was the choices you made all along the way. Imagine that. If you are thirty, you have forty years – FORTY YEARS – of choices that can put you right where you want to be at the end of your life! So you're fifty-five? Who cares? You probably have at least twenty years left! You still have TWENTY YEARS to get yourself to whatever destination you choose. Do you know what a person can do in twenty years? ALMOST ANYTHING THEY SET THEIR HEART ON!

The responsibility for your life, and what you accomplish, is found in one person – you. You will accomplish what you choose to accomplish. You will make and save as much money as you choose to. You will write as many books as you choose to. You will take as many vacations as you choose to. You will have the kind of relationships you choose to. What you accomplish is up to you! Take that seriously!

Focus on your values and live them out, regardless of what other people do. This is key. We do not live our lives in a vacuum. We need to be very thoughtful about what we believe, about what our values are, and what our morality is. These things will all shape how we go about exerting ownership of our lives. But once we have come to understand these things for ourselves, the power to live our lives increases tremendously. Now it doesn't matter what anybody else does. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. We live out of our morality, values and beliefs. These are the principles that transcend everything else and enable us to set our course!

I know this seems like a lot of responsibility, but I consider it a freedom and a privilege! We get one life to live and we get to shape it however we want. That is one job I want to take seriously and not mess up! With diligence, hard work, and a lot of right decisions, I'll get to the end of my life deeply fulfilled. I hope you will to!

Chris Widener

This article is by Chris Widener and excerpted from Chris' recently re-released book, Live the Life You've Always Dreamed Of! This book is written solely to help you learn what the successful already know – how to turn your dreams into realities! To learn more go to http://livelife.yoursuccessstore.com

2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"There are only two options regarding commitment; you're either in or you're out. There's no such thing as life in-between." -- Pat Riley

Chris' Commentary:
I have found an interesting bent in people. They want to believe that they are fully in, and they believe that one must be fully in and committed, but they live most of their lives out and not fully committed. This is fine, I guess, if a person wants to do that, but where problems are presented is the emotional distress that comes from wanting to be fully committed but living in a way that isn't congruent with that desire! That makes us frustrated! We can do ourselves a great favor, simply by getting fully in or fully out!

Action Point: Pick a few areas of your life where you want to achieve in and do great things. Are you fully committed? Does your life and actions reflect your desire to be fully committed? If not, take action today to show that you are fully committed to your cause. Get fully in!

3. The Last Word...

Don't you just hate it when people make excuses for their failures? So do I.

But do you know what I hate even more? Finding myself making excuses for my failures! I have a policy that I try to live by: No excuses.

Here are some thoughts on a "No Excuses" policy.

People will respect you.
When you say that there are no excuses, that you blew it, and that you take full responsibility to make the situation right, people will be astounded (since very few people make no excuses) and they will come to a greater respect of you.

You will find yourself taking greater responsibility.
When you know that your policy is to have no excuses, there will be less room for error because you will be doing everything that you can to make sure the job gets done!

You will become the "go to" person.
When someone wants something done, they will turn to you because they know that they can count on you to perform. And they know they won't get any excuses! This will improve your level of success, and that is exactly what you are aiming for, right?

Practice up: "You're right. There is no excuse for that. I will fix it immediately." Refreshing! -- CW

4. Live the Life You've Always Dreamed Of!

Live the Life You Have Always Dreamed Of! 10 Rock-Solid Principles That Will Absolutely, Positively Turn Your Dreams Into Realities!

The secrets of the most successful people in the world are about to be revealed to you!

As the author of Live the Life You Have Always Dreamed Of! I wrote this book solely to help you learn what the successful already know – how to turn your dreams into realities!

Give me the next 5 minutes and your life will change FOREVER. I promise that if you read the following information and act on it, your life will never be the same!

So read on at http://livelife.yoursuccessstore.com and learn more about this amazing offer from Chris!

5. More Information

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