Tag: motivating

Cocky Sonofa…

Overconfidence?

Is there such a thing? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds”
– Albert Einstein.

This quote has played a very big role in my own self esteem and can really be very positive, while being very egotistical and counter-productive at the same time.

I often reflect back to Bill Gates when he decided to drop out of Harvard in order to pursue his dreams. Imagine what his guidance councilor’s reaction to this was? I have so many different scenarios playing in my head, most of which involves the councilor calling Bill F-ing crazy, insane and absolutely idiotic, not necessarily in that order. Bill Gates, and anyone who walks the halls of Harvard, is pretty much guaranteed a six figure income right off the bat. Yet, Bill decided to take the chance, follow his own heart and do his own thing. Today, he is the most financially secure person in the world, to say the least.

But of course, we have to be realistic. We always hear about the amazing success stories but there are probably 10 (or more) failures for every victory. So how can one balance out between having our heads in the clouds but our feet on the ground?

Personally, I’ve always leaned toward taking the chance. Every mistake you make is one that you will learn from. Every mistake you make is one less mistake you will repeat.

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one”
–Elbert Hubbard.

Yes this may sound too aggressive and outlandish, and yes it is so much easier said than done, especially when you consider having to invest your life savings into your new widget. But I’m not talking about gambling when the odds are stacked in the favor of the casino, no, not gambling, but taking calculated risks in life. There are ways to plan things out, to stack the odds in your favor.

The best way to point yourself in the right direction is to do EVERYTHING you can to ensure success. There are so many other factors that are out of your hands, and those are meant to be left alone. However, aspects that you can control should be researched, planned, understood, structured, studied, debated, marinated, contemplated, practiced, innovated, re-contemplated and any other buzzword you could think of! Oh, and do come up with a plans A, B, C and D.

So far, you need to have confidence and believe in yourself then do everything you can to head towards the right direction. What’s next? *Now what?* (*refer back to previous blog post.)

“Now”, you have to listen.

Listening is a virtue. It’s so easily said, so frequently misused and too often forgotten.

Overconfidence only happens, when one forgets to listen. When one tunes out everyone else and only hears what you want to hear. You don’t have to agree or disagree with anyone, but you have to listen.

How do you listen? Well you need to be patient with the people who give you advice, but be careful whose advice you take.

There’s one more really, really important thing I need to tell you, which would pretty much make everything I said make so much more sense… it is the key to balancing your confidence….. it is something that one of my greatest mentors had taught me…. Umm it goes something like….. ummmm….. I can’t really remember it….. ahhhhh I wasn’t really listening….


“The Power of One” Quotes

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” -Helen Keller

“I choose to rise up out of that storm and see that in moments of desperation, fear, and helplessness, each of us can be a rainbow of hope, doing what we can to extend ourselves in kindness and grace to one another. And I know for sure that there is no them – there’s only us.” -Oprah Winfrey

“Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging.” -Deepak Chopra

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” -Mother Teresa

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.” -Albert Schweitzer

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.” -Buddhist saying

“It is difficult to give away kindness. It keeps coming back to you.” -Cort Flint

“True beauty emanates from a selfless heart.” -Cristina Munoz

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” -The Dalai Lama

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” -The Dalai Lama

“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” -Hadia Bejar

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.” -Helen Keller

“Goodness is the only investment which never fails.” -Henry David Thoreau

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A person’s true wealth is the good he or she does in the world.” -Mohammed

“There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness, and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.” -Mother Teresa

“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” -Whoopi Goldberg

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Mohandas Gandhi

“Don’t just think, do.” -Horace

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -Dr. Seuss, from The Lorax

“For it is in giving that we receive.” -St. Francis of Assisi

“Deeds of giving are the very foundations of the world.” -The Torah

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