Chris Widener's Ezine
November 16, 2005
Issue 27

Welcome!

Wow, our customers are THE GREATEST!! When I recommended Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and me as the next book you should read, you guys took that to heart! The response has been absolutely overwhelming -- we've been selling books by the caseload! So to those who've purchased the book, a HUGE THANK YOU, and to those of you still procrastinating... why not purchase it now at our special New Release pricing? The feedback we are hearing from so many of our customers is that this book takes the principles of success and makes them easy to understand. If there are people in your life you'd like to impact in a positive way and help start them on the road to personal development, Twelve Pillars is the way to do that!

You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

In This Issue.......

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article
2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary
3. The Last Word...
4. Twelve Pillars of Success...
5. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success Article

Embracing Adversity for Achievement by Chris Widener

"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity." -- Lou Holtz

Success in life depends upon being strong people with clear goals and indomitable spirits. Unfortunately most of us aren't born that way. We grow that way. And that growth can either come from us entering willfully into situations that will cause us to grow, like subscribing to this Ezine, or from the way we react when circumstances come upon us without our consent. The latter is what we call adversity.

Most of us spend our lives trying to avoid adversity, and I guess that is just as well. We shouldn't pursue adversity, but when she arrives, we should welcome her as a foe who, through our interaction with her, will make us into better people. Every contact we have with adversity gives us again the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and to forge our character into one that will achieve much later on.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts on adversity, and how it can help you to succeed in every area of your life and achieve your dreams.

Adversity brings out our resources. Horace said "Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it." When everything is going well, we coast. There isn't a lot of stress, and we don't have to draw too much on the resources that reside within us. But when adversity comes we begin to draw upon each and every resource that we have in order to conquer the circumstances at hand. Adversity then, keeps us sharp. It keeps us using our personal muscle, if you will. That is a good thing because we grow through the use of our resources.

Adversity brings us together with others. Sure a team can have their problems with each other, but when they step on the court, when they experience the adversity of facing another obstacle, they pull together. One for all and all for one, as they say. The next time you experience adversity of some kind, keep your eyes open for how it can bring you together with your family, your co-workers or your team. Then when you are through it, you will find a bond that was created that wasn't there before.

Adversity makes us better people with stronger characters. Never underestimate the power of adversity to shape us inwardly. How will courage, discipline and perseverance ever flourish if we are never tested? After adversity, we come out stronger people and able then to use our character and influence in an even greater way to lead those around us and to improve their lives as well as our own.

Adversity makes life interesting. John Amatt said, "Without adversity, without change, life is boring." How true. Have you noticed that while we are in the middle of adversity we only long to get out of it, but we then spend a lifetime recounting it to anyone who will listen? This is because it spices life up a little. Imagine how boring life would be if everything always went well, when there was never a mountain to be climbed.

Question - If you are in the middle of some adversity right now, what resources are you drawing on? Who are you drawing closer to and working with? What part of your character is being tested, and built up? What can you do to view this adversity as one who will be better for it on the other side?

Remember the words of Napoleon Hill - "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." Believe it, it is true!

Chris Widener


Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, author and radio host. If you are interested in booking him to speak at your next event, please go to http://www.chriswidener.com or send an email to speaker@chriswidener.com or call 877-929-0439 and ask for Hilary



2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"Life is formed from the inside out. What I am inside determines the issues in the battle of life." -- Dr. William Hornaday

Chris' Commentary:
Everything that happens in our outside world begins in our inside world. Our actions start as our thoughts, either conscious or subconscious. Our thoughts are determined largely by what we dwell on in our minds, what we set our minds to. What this tells me is that to a great degree, we can change our outside world, how we live it and how we experience and interpret it, by changing our thinking, by renewing our mind. Quite simply, there is a lot of junk out there that can warp our thinking if we let it get into us. Depression, anger, fear, worry and the like, certainly affect our ability to succeed, so we ought to do all we can to change on the inside!

Action Point: What kind of input are you giving yourself? Does it foster strong moral character? Does it develop a positive attitude and self-image? Take some time today to read a book or listen to some material that will change you on the inside. In doing so, you will also be changing what eventually goes on on the outside!



3. The Last Word...

Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist? I've been giving some thought lately to optimism and pessimism. Basically, these are attitudes. Attitudes that shape and formulate our entire existence. I mean, have you ever met a happy pessimist? Of course not.

In short, our optimism or pessimism is this:

The way we interpret the past
The way we experience and view the present
The way we imagine the future

Have you given much thought about how your attitude, whether you are an optimist or a pessimist, affects you business, organization or school? Have you thought about how it affects you personally? And what about the team you are a part of?

What is optimism? It is a belief that things in our past were good for us, even if that means they were hard and taught us lessons. It is also the belief that things will be better in the future.

Here are some contrasts between optimism and pessimism and how they affect us:

Optimism breathes life into you each day
Pessimism drains you

Optimism helps you to take needed risks
Pessimism plays it safe and never accomplishes much

Optimism improves those around you
Pessimism drags them down

Optimism inspires people to great heights
Pessimism deflates people to new lows

There is only one way that optimism and pessimism are the same, and that is they are both self-fulfilling. If you are an optimist, you will generally find that good things happen to you. And if you are a pessimist, you will find yourself in the not-so-good situations more often than not.

So can a person just become an optimist? Yes! We can choose to look at the world any way we want to. We can choose to look at the world and think the worst, or we can tell ourselves the good things about each situation. As you find yourself looking at your enterprise, begin to view it through the eyes of an optimist, and you will reap the rewards listed above, and so will the people around you.

There are tremendous benefits to being an optimist, as stated above. But there are some pessimists out there who will say, "But that isn't realistic." I say "Who cares?" If things go awry, at least I have spent my time beforehand enjoying life and not worrying about it. And, being an optimist, I would view the "negative" situation as an opportunity to grow and learn. So I can even look forward to my failures because they will be stepping stones, and learning tools to be applied to my future success.

Have you ever met a successful pessimist? Become an optimist and see your world change before your eyes! -- CW

 

4. NEW RELEASE! Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn & Chris Widener

5. More Information