7 Secrets you can use now that will assist you to OVERCOME your OVERWHELM and get you focused on your success IMMEDIATELY.
By: Dawn Johnson - The Self-Esteem Queen™
1. Refuse to secretly hold yourself responsible for things you refer to as "failures".
Being someone who has always paid my bills on time, I can remember the very first time I was unable to do so and I recall vividly the feeling I felt when I saw bills coming in but had no money in my account to even buy myself a nice meal. Every time my phone rang, I cautiously looked at the caller ID to avoid the creditors that I could not pay. I was at a point of desperation and depression and couldn't go down any further. Then, in an act of faith, I chose to use my mind to overcome the obstacles of life and navigate around all the distractions that life brought to me.
This is what I know for sure:
- All the "Great Books" in history tell us that there will be trails and tribulations during our lifetime.
- Every great leader endured some sort of trial before they were considered "great".
- I am a leader, and therefore must endure trials.
- I control how I let my circumstances make me feel.
- I control how I allow other people to revolve in my space.
- I am responsible for my own happiness, and my happiness is my top priority.
- Tribulation comes with being the best.
2. Learn to understand, accept, and embrace challenge.
This is what separates one type of person from another. When I hear those around me going through trials and then allowing these trials to consume them, I think back to when I lived in my Honda Civic for 88 days. Scared, depressed, and alone, I thought this was the only way that I was going to be able to survive. It wasn't until I understood why I was homeless, accepted my dreaded thought process that said my car was the only shelter I had, and then challenged myself to go out and find a place to live.
3. Focus on the end result you want ONLY.
My college degree didn't prevent me from sleeping in the hatchback of my car, but my faith got me from my trunk to a studio apartment. I could have let my circumstances as I saw them consume me, but instead I took the lemons thrown at me and made lemonade, pie, and anything else I could think to make with them. My time was not spent focused on the fact that I had to sleep in my car but rather on the fact that I had a business to start and nothing was going to stop me. I truly believed this with all my heart.
4. Refuse to cave in and second guess your decisions.
Someone I look up to more than she could even ever know is a lady by the name of
Alexandria Brown. Alexandria Brown, also known as the E-Zine Queen, is a person who went from overwhelm to success in less than 5 years by focusing on what she wanted rather than on what she didn't want. I admire and love this woman for her tenacity and genuine yet powerful presence and spirit. In Ali's compilation book entitled "Power and Soul", she speaks about her journey from a small apartment with a Murphy Bed on the East Coast to being a Million Dollar Marketing Coach here in Los Angeles for some as far away as the United Kingdom! At the time when Ali had less than $20.00 in her bank account, she could have given up and went back to the lifestyle she knew. But instead, she went forcefully into her purpose and now assists entrepreneurs like myself to "life our good fortune™".
Dawn with Million Dollar Marketing Coach Alexandria Brown
5. Don't (and I mean DO NOT) dwell on the past.
Looking back at my life, I would not change a single thing I have been through. At 29, there are circumstances and situations that I could potentially look back upon and, with a little help from my enemies (fear, self-doubt, and worry), dissect and pick apart all the things I could have, should have, and would have done to make me the circumstances different. I REFUSE to do this though because it doesn't benefit me in any way and it doesn't allow me to focus on how great I am; so I find it pointless to dwell.
6. Know in your heart that it doesn't matter what culture or background you come from; the human ability to transcend life’s adversity is an essential feature of becoming a great leader.
It doesn't matter what your background is; the one thing that ties Oprah, Bill Gates, and so many other successful business persons together is their willingness to believe in themselves and their goals so much that they transcended through the adversity they faced. Oprah; born in rural Mississippi to a poor unwed teenage mother and raised in a ghetto, had all the chips stacked against her, and the potential to accept what those around her had accepted as reality was great. Bill Gates got into the personal computer business when those around him had no idea what a computer could even do for them or their business. Overcoming adversity has been one of the greatest challenges that, once I conquered, showed me my race or culture is no indication to how far I can go with my success. I could have looked at my circumstances as a young adult and allowed them to dictate who I am today, but I refused to do such a thing (and you should refuse too!)
7. OVERCOME the INSECURITY associated with failure and ACCEPT that FAILURE is NOT a bad thing but rather a way by which you are EDUCATED by the Universe.
We are often told that the Universe likes speed, and I know this to be true. If this were not true, then ask yourself why it takes so little time to get angry, and when we are doing something that we really enjoy, we say to ourselves, "Where did all the time go?"When one of my business ventures was not making the money I wanted it to make, I analyzed what I did wrong, and from that I was able to rebuild a new business with less stress and more time on my hands than I had prior to the failure. What did I learn? I learned that my attempt to immerse myself in the reasons for my demise were not only unhealthy, but were actually causing me dis-ease in my life.
One last note: Keep in mind that if your main purpose in life is to dwell on your past then I'm not here to stop you, but if you want to overcome that feeling of helplessness you will WANT to print this out and refer to it when the trials come :)
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I love you, and there's absolutely, positively, nothin you can do about it!!!
Dawn Johnson - The Self-Esteem Queen™
© 2007 Dawn R. Johnson – “The Self-Esteem Queen”™
ABOUT THE AUTHOR - A celebrated servant-leader, internationally recognized motivational speaker, author, business coach & small business consultant, serial entrepreneur and spoken word artist, Dawn Johnson, the acclaimed “Self Esteem Queen”™, is one of today’s leading experts on transformational leadership, entrepreneur personal development, and self-esteem enhancement.
To learn more about Dawn’s products and sign up to receive FREE tips on business, personal enhancement, visit her site at http://www.selfesteemqueen.com.
NOTE: You’re certainly welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as its contents remain unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to dawn@selfesteemqueen.com.
