We think short term, not long term. That is limited vision. We are living in an age of instant gratification. There is a pill for everything, from waking you up to putting you to sleep. People want to take a pill to get rid of their problems. When people want to be instant millionaires, they take shortcuts and compromise on their integrity.
The desire to make a million overnight has made the lottery a flourishing business.
Remember that instant gratification never thinks of consequences, only of momentary pleasures.
Today's generation defines the ideal diet as one that will take off five pounds for good intentions. These are people who don't want any more birthdays but want all the presents.
People make substitutes where they ought not to. For example, in relationships, they trade money and gifts for affection and time. Some people find it easier to buy things for their children and spouse to compensate for their absence.
When we don't have our priorities right, we waste time, not realizing that time wasted is life wasted. Prioritizing requires discipline to do what needs to be done rather than going by our moods and fancies. Too much emphasis is placed on success and failure rather than doing one's best.
How do you cope with defeat and problems?
Your response to this question says a lot about your character. One of the keys to solving this mystery to success is understanding. Some people have their mind set on money, power, fame or possessions. We have to understand our priorities.
Success does not come by reading or memorizing the principles that lead to success, but by understanding and applying them.
No Free Lunch
There is a story about a king who called his advisers and asked them to write down the wisdom of the ages so that he could pass it on to future generations. After a lot of work, the advisers came up with several volumes of wisdom and presented them to the king. The king called his advisers and said that it was too long, people would not read it. They had to condense it. The advisers went back to work and came back with one volume. The king said the same thing. They came back again with one chapter and then one page, and the king said the same thing still until they came up with one sentence that satisfied the king. He said that if there was one piece of wisdom that he wanted to pass on to future generations, it is this one sentence: "There is no free lunch."
In every organization or society, there are freeloaders. They are people who want to get a benefit without paying for it. They are looking for freebies. By and large, sometime or the other, most of us have been guilty of being a freeloader. This is typically seen in associations and organizations. Most members are inactive. They want and get the full benefit of the effort of the active ones.
The Easier Way May Actually Be the
Tougher Way
Once there was a lark singing in the forest. The lark stopped him and asked, "What do you have in the box and where are you going?" The farmer replied that he had worms and that he was going to the market to trade them for some feathers. The lark said, "I have many feathers. I will pluck one and give it to you and that will save me looking for worms." The farmer gave the worms to the lark and the lark plucked a feather and gave it in return. The next day the same thing happened and the day after and on and on until a day came that the lark had no more feathers. Now it couldn't fly and hunt for worms. It started looking ugly and stopped singing and very soon it died.
The moral is quite clear what the lark thought was an easy way to get food turned out to be the tougher way after all.
Isn't the same thing true in our lives? Many times we look for the easier way, which really ends up being the tougher way.
Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You
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