I chanced upon these favorite quotes by Og Mandino which are truly inspiring gems. Og (December 12, 1923 - September 3, 1996) was the author of the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World which had received critical acclaim by readers all over the world.

As I just read through the list of Og Mandino’s quotes below, I already feel a lot more positive as I focus on the present moment. I’m going to choose my TOP 3 Favorite Quotes by Og. Please feel free to join me by clicking ‘Comments’ and tell us your top 3 too…

1. Act now. For now is all you have.
2. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.
3. Action will destroy your procrastination.
4. All men must stumble often to reach the truth.
5. All nature is a circle of moods and you are a part of nature and so, like the tides, your moods will rise; your moods will fall.
6. All your problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise.
7. Always let your reach exceed your grasp.
8. Always raise your goals as soon as they are attained.
9. Always strive to make the next hour better than this one.
10. Always take another step. If that is to no avail take another, and yet another. One step at a time is not too difficult. Read more »

I just heard Albert Mensah on Success University’s CD in the April 2008 Edition of Success Express. The topic he’s speaking on was ‘The Secrets to Effective Goal Setting’. It was a captivating as well as inspiring hour listening to him…

First a little background on Albert Mensah:

Albert Mensah was born and lived the first nineteen years of his life in Ghana (Africa). Born in a mud hut and living far from any urban center, Albert’s life was hard.

He was eight he saw his first movie - an American movie - and he saw lots of things for the first time, things that we all took for granted… people wearing shoes, tall buildings, etc.

That’s when Albert conceived the first dream of his life: Going to America to live! And held on to that dream for dear life as he spent the next eleven years putting himself in position to turn his dream into reality.

Albert’s advice is: Once you have a dream, you must create a series of goals with deadline to help you move forward in your journey. He recommends to put a deadline on even the smallest goals - something that will certainly be useful to myself.

He said that most people spend more time spending their 2-week vacation rather than on their own dreams.

And finally, I like his unique ALBERT Formula that make his dream come true:

A - Aim High: set a BIG goal. For example, when you are in high school, you tell yourself to get an ‘A’ not a ‘C’

L - Learn from others: there are many people who can help us. Start a journal and keep your activities and you can look back and see where you can improve

B - Be yourself. Accept who you are. Everyone has limitations. Do the best you can with what you have.

E - Expect to win: the key is preparation and setting realistic goals, time-based,

R - Risk it all: without risks, absolutely nothing will change in your life. For example, instead of watching TV for 4 hours, watch only 2 hours so that you can spend 2 hours in activities like reading books or doing homework. That’s taking risk… sacrificing

T - Trust yourself to make your dreams come true.

All people have dreams but most never take action to make their dreams come true. For more inspiring stories, be part of Success University.

I was reminded of Jim Collins’ Good To Great when I was in Orlando to attend an Internet Marketing recently in February 2008…

Mike Filsaime was speaking at his last appearance (for more details, visit www.RogerLoh.com)  and Mike’s 1st sentence when he was up on stage was:

“How many of you read GOOD TO GREAT?”

“And how many of you remember the 1st sentence in that book?”

And he said…

“GOOD is the ENEMY of the GREAT!”

I fully agreed with that…

And that reminds me of a similar quote from T. Harv Eker:

“If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you’ll never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you’ll end up mighty comfortable”

You see, how many of us become comfortable in life, especially after finishing school, polytechnic or university… and then found a good job that pays us well?

I was once a victim as I told my ex-colleagues that I’ll work till I retire. That well-paying job as an engineer was certainly GOOD - I could afford the creature comfort of life - nice apartment and condo, brand new cars, a holiday a year…

But it was certainly *NOT* GREAT. I lost my freedom. My life just consist of a boring 9 to 5 where I had to get up, get out whether I like it or not.

And now, life is so C-0-0-L for me - as I type this, I am lazing around at home during mid-morning, expressing myself here and moving from GOOD to GREAT!

As part of his commitment to Asia for one year, T. Harv Eker conducted the Life Directions Intensive over the last weekend in Singapore …

Attended by close to a thousand participants, the 3-day seminar was indeed intensive as it stretched to near midnight on the first two evenings. It was an extremely fun-filled event as we went through lots of experiential training cum paper exercises in the process of self discovery.

We learn to discover our personal mission on earth as well as create our visions as vehicles to achieve our mission.

I highly recommend you to attend this event if you missed out this one … provided T. Harv Eker and his company, Peak Potentials ever conduct again in Asia unless of course you’re in North America or willing to travel there.

Anyway, here are three nuggets that I picked up that I would like to share with you:

*** Nugget #1 ***

“Your talents are GOD-given gifts. Using them is your gift to GOD!”

*** Nugget #2 ***

“Real Success is to do more for the world than the world can do for you!”

*** Nugget #3 ***

“Ready! Fire! Aim! Get in the game!”

Notice that it’s not the usual ‘Ready, Aim, Fire’ because it will take time to aim - and some people take years to aim and still not firing. To get things done, it’s better to fire first, and then adjust your aim along the way based on how far or how near you hit your target.

————————————-

Overall, T. Harv Eker’s Life Directions Intensive seminar is a value-for-money seminar that I wish everyone could attend as early as possible in life so that they can focus on their mission to lead a fulfilling life.

I had to pause the DVD player after watching Chris Widener for just 15 minutes!

Chris Widener was absolutely inspiring, to say the least and I wanted to get this out in writing to share with you before it fades away from my memory…

… And now, I know why Chris is so successful - he had such a powerful concept of every human being which I’ll talk about in a minute.

That was the first time I saw Chris Widener - interviewed by Jerry Clark - which I received on a DVD from my Success University package last month. I heard a lot about Chris but finally get to see him LIVE and learn so much from him!! And I do not even have to fork out another dime apart from my precious Success University membership (Shh! For such a small amount to invest in my own success is really a bargain!)

Chris talked about how Michaelangelo chiseled away at a piece of marble to create King David’s statue. In the Old Testament, the Lord commissioned a prophet to anoint David at the household of Jesse, the father of David who was a little shepherd boy at that time. All of the household was present except David who was out taking care of the flock.

The prophet inspected all the sons of Jesse but the Lord did not speak, so he inquired of Jesse, “Is that all your sons?” to which Jesse replied that David was out taking care of the sheep. The prophet asked for David to return and then annointed him as he heard from God that David is the king God had chosen.

Chris’ point is that there are two sides in each of us: every human being is both powerful and beautiful just like King David who was a warrior as well as a poet. However, like that piece of marble that Michaelangelo saw but others did not, David was always inside.

This powerful analogy, according to Chris Widener, shows that we are all beautifully created beings with a ‘powerful’ purpose except that as we grew up, we adorn layer upon layer that hide the angel inside.

Glad I got this out as I can’t wait to continue to watch the interview of Chris Widener (hosted by Jerry Clark, in conjunction with JimRohn.com) to see what he is going to share for the next 45 minutes …

(To order a priceless monthly Success University subscription, visit http://autoprofit.successuniversity.com and click ‘Enroll Now’)

If you want to know the rest of the story, drop me a email at support (at) autoprofit-team (dot) com and I’ll gladly share with you.

What a timely gift - I received Success University’s monthly newsletter, CD & DVD on the 2nd day of the year! The DVD features an interview with Donna Krech and Chris Widener (which I’ll post after I view it). It was conducted by Jerry Clark (who needs no introduction) in his ‘Standing on Giants’ series in collaboration with Jim Rohn.com

Donna Krech was rather candid as she recalled her past, pushing a stroller with her 10-month baby down a gravel street in Texas wondering how she’s going to buy the next milk bottle. I was amused - and so was Jerry who laughed uncontrollably - as Donna mentioned that she was one of those who graduated from college in her first year without a degree, which others called ‘quitting’.

I learned a gem of things from this interview with Donna who gone from earning $6 an hour as a grocery store clerk to a 7-figure earner!

She defines ‘hope’ as living in a state of constant victory where you choose to be hopeful instead of hopeless, have energy instead of feeling tired, have faith instead of being afraid and fearful … how you can achieve that.

In fact, she described her strategy of how we can break free from our self-limiting beliefs and ideas. She used the picture of a man in an armor suit and explain how six of the pieces can work together to build victories for ourselves:

1. Helmet
2. Breast plate
3. Sword
4. Shield
5. Apron
6. Boots

It was a fascinating interview and it’s well worth the time of less than an hour to invest in my own personal development and success. To subscribe to your own membership, visit the link below and click ‘Enroll Now’:

http://autoprofit.successuniversity.com

As I re-read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad for the third time, I began to realize a ton of GEMS in there!

Before I continue …

… Today is the first day of 2008. I want to thank you for visiting my blog and I wish you and your family a BLESSED and ABUNDANT New Year ahead!

Back to Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a book released about a decade ago that needs no introduction and had been on the New York Times Bestseller List for many years.

Then, why talk about this book after so long?

Here are some of my reasons:

• I believe that this book had changed more lives than most other books -

  I’ve personally heard testimonials that someone become a successful businessman just by reading this book; someone’s life changed from an employee to become an investor; and countless many others.

• As of now, Robert is my personal FAVORITE No. 1 author -

  Robert has the passion for helping others to become financially free as well as the courage to write books on the importance of financial literacy that many of us are lacking. I am a living example who had made countless mistakes and just hope that many young people, especially those in their 20’s or 30’s will not - simply by picking up a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and reading it…. seriously!

• This morning, as I re-read Rich Dad, Poor Dad for the third time, these are the first words that I read in 2008:

  “PAY YOURSELF FIRST: The power of self-discipline. If you cannot get control of yourself, do not try to get rich.”

  I love those hard-hitting words! Never did I realize to this extent that SUCCESS is just a matter of “Simple Acts of  DAILY DISCIPLINE … in doing the RIGHT things!”

If you have any views, I greatly appreciate it if you can leave your comments here.

I first heard about Byrd Bagget from my Success University membership. 

Through a quick online search, I realized that Byrd Bagget is the author of 13 best-selling books on the topic of sales, leadership, customer service and motivation. His books have sold in excess of one million copies! He had also trained many leaders in many Fortune 500 companies.

When I heard his audio CD that was shipped as part of my Success University membership, I was amazed at the number of nuggets that he shared. One of them he repeated several times was this quote:

“Simple acts of daily discipline compounded over time can change your life!”

Byrd Bagget gave a couple of interesting examples like how he walked everyday and lost more than 80 kg!  I can relate to that totally as I recalled the days when I trained for my first marathon…

Being a non-runner, I drew out a 6-month plan. This comprise of running on at least 4 to 5 days a week culminating in a long 20-km run on every Saturday morning. It was not even a daily affair but by simply following a disciplined approach to training, I completed my first marathon in less than 5 hours at the age of 35.

Another example that came to mind that one of my early mentors shared with me is: If you smoke a cigarette for just one day, would it affect your health? Of course not. But what if you simply smoked a cigarette a day for a year? This example is of course somewhat a negative application of the above quote by Byrd Baggett.

Last but not least, Byrd shared the amazing example of the Chinese bamboo tree. When you water that tree, nothing seems to happen for five years. But on the 6th year, it starts to grow almost two-and-a-half feet per day! In just 6 weeks, it grows to 90 feet!!!

To receive these invaluable personal development tips and resources, visit the link below for a $2 Trial:

http://autoprofit.successuniversity.com/specialoffer

If you need personal finance advice, I highly recommend you read and of David Bach’s books like Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age (Finish Rich Book Series) that I almost finished reading last week.

Among some amazing advice, David Bach gave some stunning revelation to the uninitiated about personal finance such as putting aside just a small amount of money every day like $10 or $15 - which he affectionately called the Latte Factor. If you faithfully put away and invest $10 per day for 20 years, it will compound to over $200,000!!

In fact, that’s what I heard from an audio by Byrd Baggett, a personal development guru, as I was driving along the Malaysian Federal Highway on the way to Klang and I can’t wait to get that book the very next day from Borders, Times Square in KL.

Armed with such a revelation, anyone in their 40’s or 50’s can safely retire with hundreds of thousands of dollars when they reach their 60’s or 70’s. (I hear some skeptics say that it’s not enough! Well, then - apply David Bach’s Double Latte Factor - see his book for more details - and invest up to $30 a day to bring your retirement nest egg up to beyond a million dollars if you wish!)

Apart from the above nuggets, David Bach also gave wonderful advice and tips of how to recover from credit card debt. To me, that advice alone is worth much more than the price of the book.

When I watched the DVD that comes with Success University’s Success Express Edition #7 featuring Johnny Wimbrey, I was literally blown away…

Recorded during Success University’s 2nd anniversary, Johnny Wimbrey - the Training Director and top-earner Ambassador - shared some amazing truths in “7 Critical Character Distinctions Between A Producer And A Procrastinator”.

I was totally absorbed for the entire duration of the video that lasted a couple of hours and here are a sampling of the points he shared:

1. A PRODUCER is a winner while a PROCRASTINATOR is a whiner.

   The winner has a winning mindset and sees possibilities, and he has mentors. A winner establishes accountability in order to succeed. For instance, you simply tell someone what you want to achieve and that itself holds the winner accountable.

   On the other hand, the whiner focuses on external or personal limitations and has no accountability at all.

2. A PRODUCER is responsive while a PROCRASTINATOR is reactive.

   When someone said something you don’t like, what do you do?

   A producer responds by thinking before he acts while a procrastinator reacts emotionally by taking actions without thought.

3. A PRODUCER is optimistic while a PROCRASTINATOR is pessimistic.

   A producer entertains success and stands strong under pressure while the procrastinator entertains failure and cracks at the side of pressure.

4. A PRODUCER takes risk while the PROCRASTINATOR makes a wish

   It reminds me of the New Year resolution - which is coming soon for 2008 anyway or those birthday wishes we make - where a procrastinator simply hopes for the best.

   The producer, on the other hand, invests in what he says is his passion. For instance, Johnny made a 5-figure investment to learn public speaking.

5. A PRODUCER has vision while a PROCRASTINATOR has only illusion

   The producer has insights while the procrastinator acts on eyesight. Thus, the former makes a plan as he sees past what’s obvious while the latter wait for moments based on sight.

6. A PRODUCER believes in preparation while the PROCRASTINATOR lives by improvisation

   A producer makes efforts, then inspects what he expects while the procrastinator expects without effort.

7. A PRODUCER executes while the PROCRASTINATOR makes excuses

   The producer implements, participates and has a sense of urgency in taking their projects from start to finish while the procrastinator keeps postponing because of a dead end mind and thus finishes before he starts.

To become a producer and transform your life by receiving these invaluable tips and advice, visit the link below:

http://autoprofit.successuniversity.com/new