Successful people also have problems

Wherever you are, whatever the problem, know that you are not alone. Life indeed is full of problems.


"People who succeed do not have fewer problems than people who fail. The only people without problems are those in cemeteries. It's not what happens to us that separates failures from successes. It is how we perceive it and what we do about what 'happens' that makes the difference." - Anthony Robbins


“The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem”

"How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself - so always think positively." - Norman Vincent Peale

"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer." - Denis Waitley

"When a problem comes along, study it until you are completely knowledgeable. Then find that weak spot, break the problem apart, and the rest will be easy." - Norman Vincent Peale

From Problem to Profit
About 100 years ago there was a candlestick maker who often stopped at a market and bought a fish for his evening meal. It was wrapped in ordinary paper which became soggy, and the passengers on the street car always complained about the odor. One morning he dipped the paper in molten wax. That day he wrapped his fish in the treated paper. It did not become soggy, and there was no odor. That is how waxed paper was born.

Got a problem? Do not curse it. Look for a cure.

Learn to look at problem differently. Find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. There may be ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success just like the above story.

Related posts:

• Dealing with problems
• The Value of Difficulties
• Overcoming difficulties
• The Value of Struggle
• Life's Obstacles
• Be careful how you react!
• Persist and Persevere
• Concern but Don't Worry

Stop the Abuse

"The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse." - Edmund Burke

Burglaries, rapes, homicides, etc. are becoming very rampant in Malaysia lately.

Child Abuse
Nurin Jazlin, an eight year old girl went missing on Aug 20, 2007 after she went to a night market by herself near her house. On Sept 17, 2007, her body was found stuffed in a sports bag at a three-storey shop lot. A post mortem showed that she had been sexually assaulted.

Nurin is among the 17 children under the age of nine that are still on the police's list of missing persons.

It is everyone's duty to stop all this abuse. To fight crime, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were installed and more will be installed in crime-prone areas to improve security and safety according to our city council.

The requirement for video security has indeed become very important; to identify the attackers and/or victims should they be caught on tape. The presence of a surveillance camera might even prevent crimes from happening.

Video surveillance is indeed useful when utilized in public locations such as shopping malls, corners and parking lots.

Abuse of Technology
However, we need to be wary when video surveillance devices are easily available.

With technological progress, hidden camera surveillance gear has become cheaper, smaller and easier to use. We have to stop the possibility of unscrupulous landlords or hotel owners from installing hidden camera which can now be even in the form of a Down View Smoke Detector.

The government authority needs to regulate the purchase of such devices. What Do You Think?

Let's do our part to stop all form of abuses.

Photo by ibcbulk taken from this source

Concern but Don't Worry

“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.” - Harold Stephens

"Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression." - Pythagoras

Worry is just about the worst form of mental activity there is - next to hate, which is deeply self destructive. Worry is pointless. It is wasted mental energy. It also creates bio-chemical reactions which harm the body, producing everything from indigestion to coronary arrest, and a multitude of things in between.

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work." - John Lubbock

Worry is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere. It is the darkroom in which negatives are developed and is the most unproductive of all human activities.

Worry a little every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

"Only one kind of worry is proper: to worry because you worry too much."

Health will improve almost at once when worrying ends. Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.

Do you have a lot of worries? How do you overcome it?

Photo by SamH one taken from this source

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• Don't Worry Be Happy
• Conquer Fear
• Learn to Rest and Relax - It is necessary!
• Understanding Stress
• Remember to Always Think Positive!

Life's Obstacles

We learn and grow most when we face the most extremes of weather, obstacles, political parties, and points of view. Obstacles are power generators. We should look upon problems and obstacles as test questions or challenges.

Obstacles are those pesky things that hinder us only when we lost sight of our goal. The only sure guard against troubles and obstacles is a long term goal.

"Sometimes things which at the moment may be perceived as obstacles -- and actually be obstacles, difficulties, or drawbacks -- can in the long run result in some good end which would not have occurred if it had not been for the obstacle." - Steve Allen

"Others can stop you temporarily - you are the only one who can do it permanently." - Zig Ziglar

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now.

With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” - Mark Victor Hansen

"It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance and sweeps away all obstacles." - Claude M. Bristol

Defeat may test you; it need not stop you. If at first you don't succeed, try another way. For every obstacle there is a solution. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. The greatest mistake is giving up.

Let's learn to consider obstacles as an opportunity to grow stronger and more competent. So keep going regardless of the obstacles.

I would appreciate it very much if you do share how you overcome obstacles.

Photo 1 by Harold Jarche taken from this source
Photo 2 by fazen taken from this source

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• Never Give Up!
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• Be Tough Enough To Follow Through
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The Value of Struggle

Most people think that by having an easy life without difficulties or problems is good. Indeed, who wants a tough life? But what struggle, be it physical or mental is necessary to make us grow stronger in body and mind.

“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” - Oprah Winfrey

I am who I am because of the struggle that I had experienced during my younger days. I came from a very poor family. Thus, my parent has to work day and night to meet our daily needs. Without much guidance in the area of education, I did very badly and hence I do not have a good foundation in my education. I only started to do well in my studies when I reach high school. Partly because of this, I always take self-improvement very seriously and know that I need to guide my children in their studies as well.

The bible tell us in Romans 5:3-4

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet

Let's take a look at this story:

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon.

On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck.

Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health.

(Source: Internet; Author Unknown)

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. So instead of cursing and swearing, understand that they are part of the making of a better you.

Photo 1 by 小猫王 taken from this source
Photo 2 by iwasteela taken from this source

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Dealing with problems

“The way we see the problem is the problem” - Stephen R. Covey

It isn't that we can't see the solution it's that we can't see the problem.

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Problems are only solutions in disguise.

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” - Duke Ellington

“Don't tell your problems to people: eighty percent don't care; and the other twenty percent are glad you have them” - Lou Holtz

“Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles, they toughen and make strong” - Norman Vincent Peale

Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems.

Photo by Marcelo Coelho taken from this source

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Don't be discouraged

Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them.

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"It doesn't matter how many say it cannot be done or how many people have tried it before; it's important to realize that whatever you're doing, it's your first attempt at it." - Wally Amos

We must have long range goals to keep us from being discouraged by short range setbacks.

Don't be discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

"You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins." - Jim Stovall

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." - Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

Photo by samgrover taken from this source

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Do you really know?

It ain't the things you don't know that gets you into trouble; it's the things you know for sure that ain't so.

It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem.

"Know where to find the information and how to use it - That's the Secret of Success" - Albert Einstein

Photo by WalkingGeek taken from this source

So much to learn

The more I think I had learnt the more I know I still have to learn. Everyday when we face problems, we are actually learning. How we tackle problems determine whether we are acquiring Wisdom or getting more stress that kills.