Your Value... a fixed rate!

Your Value... a fixed rate! A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. My Message Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. Sometimes we feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never ever lose your value. You are special - Just like your fingerprint is unique, you are a unique person with a special purpose. No one is born to do the things you were born to do and only you can achieve it. In order to reach your destination you may fall or lose hope along the journey, but never will you lose your value, you will always grow stronger and by remembering this you will rise to unimaginable heights. Sadly we often refer to the human race as a contest and focus on who is winning and who is falling behind. Who is rich and who is poor, who is strong and who is week, but perhaps the race also is not just about winning or being powerful, but rather who shows up to run it, the type of race they run and the amount of effort they put into it. Many times, the victor is the person who makes the race their own and that is the person who knows with clarity that no matter what challenges they go through, they will never lose their value. May you have a super awesome week. Darren Zwiers The Quote: “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” - M. Scott Peck

Give Your 100%

Give Your 100% (Author unknown) Two friends were playing together. Tim had a collection of marbles. Dave had some sweets with him. Tim told Dave that he will give him all his marbles in exchange for all the sweets. Dave agreed. Tim kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to Dave. Dave on the other hand gave Tim all his sweets as he had promised. That night, Dave slept peacefully. But Tim couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if Dave had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble. My Message If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent... This concept applies for all relationships like love, friendship, employer-employee relationship etc. Make sure to do your best and give your hundred percent to everything you do and then you will always be at peace with yourself and of course others. If you can keep this in mind all the time not only will your relationships strengthen but you will certainly grow to be respected by others. May you have a super awesome week. Darren Zwiers The Quote: “Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

The Wright Attitude

The Wright Attitude (Story told by Simon Sinek on TED) Do you know who Samuel Pierpont Langley is? In the early 1900's Langley was given $50K by the US War department to figure out the flying machine. He held seat at Harvard and worked at Smithsonian. He was extremely well connected. He had access to the largest funds and the greatest minds. He hired the brightest minds available, and the market conditions were fantastic. The NY Times followed him everywhere, everyone was rooting for him. But I'm sure you've never heard of Samuel Pierpont Langley. A few hundred miles away in Dayton Ohio, Orville and Wilber Wright, who had none of this “recipe for success”. They paid for it all from the proceeds of their humble bicycle shop. not a single person on the Wright Brothers team had a college education. Not even Orville or Wilber. And the NY Times ignored them. But they were driven by a cause, by a purpose, by a belief. They believed that if they could figure out this flying machine, it would change the course of the world. Samuel Peirpont Langley was different. He wanted to be rich and famous. He was in pursuit of the result, of the riches. In the end, the people who believed in the dream, worked with blood and sweat and tears, the others, just for the paycheck. Every time the Wright brothers would go out, they would have to take 5 sets of parts, because that’s how many times they would crash before they came home for supper. Eventually on Dec 17th of 1903, they took flight. And no one was there to even experience it. To prove that Langley wasn’t in it for the right thing, the day he found out that they had beat him to it, he quit. He could have said “that’s an amazing discovery, and I will improve upon it”. But he wasn’t first, he didn’t get rich, he didn’t get famous, and so he quit. My Message Are you working towards something you passionately believe in, Are you driven by a cause, by a purpose and by a belief. We all want to be successful in life, we all want to do the best and be the best at what we do, but are we in it for all the right reasons, or are we in it for the paycheck, the fame and recognition. Are we doing what we do because we know we can make a change in the lives of those around us. We all have our talents, some of us still trying to find them, but you'll never activate your true purpose if you are driven by the wrong reasons. It's time to evaluate where you are in life and to make sure that you are not just becoming a great person, but making a positive, meaningful impact in the world and just like the Wright brothers took flight and changed the course of history so could you. May you have an awesome week. Darren Zwiers The Quote: “It's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped - Anthony Robbins

Fresh Fish

Fresh Fish The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend? This was their solution: To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged. My Message Have you realised that some of us are also living in a tank and most of the time tired & dull, we have a hundred and one excuses to back our 'tired state'… Until now. We all need a Shark in our tank to keep us awake and moving all the time? Challenges are what make us achievers they keep us sharp and always looking for the next 'big thing'. Don't be afraid to take on something new, take it on with a positive attitude and open mind and guaranteed life will be that much more active and lively…. May you have an incredible and active week. Darren Zwiers The Quote: “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” General George S. Patton

This Is Your Year

This Is Your Year

Happy new year to all my awesome readers. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your positive feedback and insights in 2011. It was an excellent year with this email proudly marking the 62nd one to go out and I promise to be sharing even more positivity with you in 2012. Instead of opening with a story this week I thought I would give you all a positive boost for 2012…

As everything we do in life there are no second chances, either we lose or we win! Everything is mental; most of the time we bring to our lives what we think about. Our journey has two paths, one towards light and the other towards darkness. Yes, life is a choice! Everything and Everybody starts from scratch; it is your choice in what place you wish to finish. If you accept mental poverty, all kinds of poverty is what you will get. If you wish and aim for wealth and success that is what you will certainly gain.

Change your attitude to "I can win now!" Be cheerful and relaxed, regardless of any circumstance. Always keep your focus on solutions; don't let anybody rob you of your happiness, especially that it is uniquely designed for you only. Don't allow challenges or circumstances to defeat you, they are always disguised as opportunity and fulfillment

Make sure to do the right thing. Demand from yourself whatever it takes to win - clarity, focus, effort, persistence, sacrifice, discipline, passion, and love - not only to survive but also to win and win with honour.

Believe it or not, Life is a give and take. We stop receiving as soon as we stop giving and this is true in all areas of our lives; That's the ultimate balance of life!!! If opportunity doesn't come knocking, build a door. Remember with absolute faith that every tomorrow you WILL do even better. Never stop trying, accomplishment is always just one step away.

Make 2012 your year! keep believing in yourself! Every single day make sure to have a positive attitude and outlook on life, yes it will be difficult at times, but a consistent wining attitude is what separates the winners from the losers. Remember the only thing that is stopping you from being successful, righteous and happy is yourself. Go out there and make 2012 your best year ever!

I look forward to sharing an extremely positive and inspired 2012 with you.
Stay Awesome - Darren Zwiers

The Quote:

When odds are one in a million, be that one." - Anonymous