The 10 Things You Need To Overcome To Be Successful

By Preston Waters

Everyone wants to be successful. Everyone dreams of it, and no one wants to get stuck in the average lifestyle that this country flaunts as the American dream. The truth about success is that it is something that only a small group of privileged people manages to experience. The 1% as this country calls it.

Being successful in life and living a life worthy of the name includes hardships and challenges that the average person can’t handle — which is why they end up average. The peasant mindset makes people believe that when you become successful and make lots of money that all your issues are solved and you are living an easy-breezy life. Unfortunately life isn’t a movie, and when success comes, things get hard.

But until then, to even attain any type of success in life, there is a journey that people must embark on. Some take that road and keep going, others get afraid and run back to the safety of lifestyle that keeps them feeling comfortable. There are hardships you need to overcome if you ever want to be successful and it is better to know about them beforehand so you know what to expect rather than to get blindsided by them on your journey.

Here are the 10 things you are going to have to overcome if you ever want to be successful. Best of luck to you, the odds are stacked against you, but the only one who can change that is you.

10. Procrastination

We live in a world where we love to procrastinate. It seems as if ADD has clawed its nimble fingers into all of us and we will do anything to delay something that we need to get done. Stop wasting your time with nonsense. We procrastinate because we are lazy or we fear a specific task because we are unsure of its outcome.

If you fear it, it is something that you need to get done for yourself and for your journey. It is essential for your growth to throw away the procrastination pigment, which is inside of you, and discipline yourself to get what you need done.

9. Limiting beliefs

When you venture out to do something or have any kind of dream, there will always be some internalized limitations. You are going to have some self doubt and feel like things are getting too hard or that they might not work, but if you succumb to these weak thoughts, they will actually become your reality.

Remember, if everyone listened to the negative advice of others, no one and nothing would really progress in this world. Block out all of the negativity that is around you and make the only limits there are in the world are the ones you set for yourself.

8. Bad environment

As the good old saying goes, you are who you surround yourself with. As Jim Rohn once said “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Don’t be hesitant to limit time to or to cut off those who continually drag you down. Surround yourself with people who will push you and help you rather than those who will hold you down.

7. Lack of Motivation

If money is your end game, and that is all you are basing your journey around, you will fail because it’s not good enough motivation for you to get through. There has to be more than that, there has to be a meaning, a purpose and a sort of passion that will keep you up at night thinking about work.

Motivation is everything, and pushing yourself to achieve what you once thought was impossible is what makes it all worth it. And no money can ever buy that feeling.

6. Part-time dedication

Many people mistakenly believe that you can be successful by just half-assing it or by working on something in your free time. Unfortunately it’s not that simple and it doesn’t work that way. To be successful you have to constantly be working toward your goals. And not when it’s convenient for you, but all the time, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.

5. Time is limited

You don’t have all the time in the world and opportunity rarely strikes twice. Every minute wasted is another missed chance to move closer to your dream. Time is not on your side and it is always working against you. Take advantage of every second you have because you will never get it back. Manage yourself and manage your time and you will be successful.

4. Lack of specific goals

The funny thing about life is that there really are no lazy people out there, there are just people who are lacking goals, and we decide to call them lazy. A goal, a dream, a future is what gives you a purpose to work toward something and get off your ass.

When you love what you do, and you progress with it, even through baby steps, that is when you begin exceling. Life is about fulfillment and progression, but with no goals you can’t have any of those. Have specific goals and know exactly what you want out of them. Have short-term goals and long-term ones too.

3. Settling for less

People love to be content, they love settling for what is in front of them and feeling somewhat accomplished. Why do you think you don’t deserve the best and the most out of life? You do. And to get it, you just need to want it.

How much is enough? It’s never enough. Never settle; there will always be a new bar to set, a higher bar and once you have gotten there — keep going. Life is too short to take a break or to think that you are accomplished; there is always something else to conquer.

2. Lack of persistence

The most successful people are the ones that never give up and persist in reaching their goals and dreams. It’s about knocking on 7 doors, getting rejected, but not giving up and succeeding at the 8th door. It’s about constantly trying and never stopping. Some of the most successful people in the world are the greatest failures, but what separated them is that they never stopped trying.

1. Failure

Last but not least, one of the biggest things you are going to have to overcome is failure and this is where most people let go of their dreams. Most people will fail once, get discouraged and walk away, whereas others will treat it as a stepping stone and view it as a lesson to keep building upon — and that is what separates those who make it from those who don’t.

If you ever thought being successful is something easy, then you have another thing coming to you. Treat all failures as lessons, they are just stepping stones you must pass on your journey toward success!

Preston Waters | Elite.

Al Gore: From Common Man To A $200 Million Net Worth

By Robert Gordon

From his time as Vice President, to his run against George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore has always been looked at as the underdog and a common man’s hero. So how the hell did he amass such a fortune?

When he was running for President, Gore wasn’t even a multi-millionaire. According to Bloomberg, he has since garnered a net worth that “may exceed $200 million.”

Gore is said to have netted about $70 million in Current TV’s sale to Al Jazeera in January, which is slightly less than the $100 million earning that was initially reported from the controversial deal.

Also in January, Gore exercised options on 59,000 shares of Apple Stock because of his service as a board member since 2003. Receiving them at $7.48 per share, he was able to make approximately $30 million on the deal.

Now, Gore’s wealth is comparable to that of Mitt Romney, whose net worth and snobbish attitude were a turnoff to many voters during the 2012 Presidential election.

So what separates former Vice President Gore from the other mega-millionaires in Washington?

For one, Gore’s track record as VP speaks for itself. Serving as a part of one of the most beloved Presidential terms of all-time, Gore and President Clinton united a normally divided country.

Beyond that, his work after losing the controversial 2000 Presidetnial election on raising global warming awareness earned Gore the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Gore’s success and accumulated wealth are results of his hard work, luck and timing; and not from anything malicious.

Despite this, Gore says democracy has been “hacked” by the influence of money in politics.

“That is what has been happening to American democracy,” Gore said. “They have not been able to regulate these phony baloney financial derivatives that caused the financial crisis. They voted to invade Iraq even though Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Unfortunately there are a lot of examples. They can’t pass a budget. I can’t keep the country from facing financial danger and the main reason is simple, the influence of the money is at un-healthy levels.”

Philippines Beats Indonesia in Gaining S&P Investment Grade

By Karl Yap

Philippine stocks rose to a record after it beat Indonesia to win an investment grade from Standard & Poor’s, as President Benigno Aquino outshines Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in improving government finances and spurring growth.

The rating on the Philippines’ long-term foreign-currency- denominated debt was raised one level to BBB- from BB+, with a stable outlook, S&P said in a statement yesterday. In contrast, the assessor revised its outlook on Indonesia’s BB+ rating to stable from positive.

May 3 (Bloomberg) — Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima talks about the nation’s investment grade rating by Standard & Poor’s, and the outlook for the domestic economy. The Philippines beat Indonesia to win an investment grade from S&P’s, as President Benigno Aquino outshines Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in improving government finances and spurring growth. Purisima speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up.” (Source: Bloomberg)

President Benigno Aquino has increased state spending and narrowed the budget deficit while stepping up its fight against corruption. Photographer: Julian Abram Wainwright/Bloomberg

“We’re continuing to address constraints to growth,” Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Susan Li today. “We’re fast tracking our infrastructure projects. We’re looking at areas we can open up to foreign investors.”

Aquino’s drive to transform the nation into one of the region’s fastest-growing economies is gaining strength, with the government forecasting record investment pledges this year as companies including Murata Manufacturing Co. expand. In Indonesia, President Yudhoyono has delayed cutting fuel subsidies that have drained government finances even as he tries to allocate more funds to infrastructure spending.

“For the Philippines, this is yet another confirmation that Aquino’s reforms have borne fruit, which would help in attracting not just short-term flows, but long-term direct investments,” said Santitarn Sathirathai, a Singapore-based economist at Credit Suisse Group AG. “The rating momentum for Indonesia is moving in the wrong direction.”

Capital Inflows

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PCOMP) rose as much as 1.9 percent today to a record. Indonesia’s benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) slid a second day.

The peso climbed to a four-week high, rising 0.3 percent to 40.93 per dollar, according to Tullett Prebon Plc. In the past 12 months, it is the biggest gainer after the Thai baht among 11 Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

“The upgrade on the Philippines reflects a strengthening external profile, moderating inflation, and the government’s declining reliance on foreign currency debt,” S&P said. “In our assessment, the stalling of the reform momentum in Indonesia and a weaker external profile have diminished the potential for an upgrade over the next 12 months,” it said separately.

Higher ratings may boost capital inflows into the Philippines and prompt the central bank to add to measures to curb asset-bubble risks. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas last month cut the rate it pays on special deposit accounts for a third time this year, while keeping the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits at a record-low 3.5 percent.

Continued Strength

“The Philippine central bank has done a good job in managing inflows,” S&P credit analyst Agost Benard said in a teleconference today. Still, the peso will likely have to appreciate as inflows continue to rise, he said.

Moody’s Investors Service, which rates the Philippines one step below investment grade, is keeping a close eye on developments on the ground, Singapore-based sovereign analyst Christian de Guzman said in an interview today.

“Much of the momentum has continued in terms of growth, as well as the health of external payments position, as evidenced by the continued strength of remittance inflows and stability of foreign exchange reserves,” he said. “However, revenue performance is starting to slow and begs the question if efforts to increase tax efficiency have already been maximized.”

Philippine revenue collection fell a second month in March, a report showed yesterday, even after the implementation of a “sin tax” on alcohol and tobacco products. Indonesia’s rating of Baa3 above the Philippines is still justified, de Guzman said, citing a longer track record of growth and fiscal management.

Infrastructure Investment

Aquino has increased state spending and narrowed the budget deficit while seeking more than $17 billion of infrastructure investments to spur growth to as much as 7 percent this year. The Philippine economy, which was more than twice the size of Malaysia and 10 times bigger than Singapore’s in 1960, expanded 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

The president has taken on the Catholic Church with a bill to provide free contraceptives to the poor, arrested his predecessor on graft charges, and ousted the country’s top judge for illegally concealing his wealth. Transparency International raised the country’s ranking on its annual corruption index last year to 105, versus Indonesia’s 118.

Fitch Ratings was the first to upgrade the Philippines to investment grade in March. Moody’s Investors Service rates the nation one step below.

Fuel Prices

Ratings changes aren’t always followed by investors. French bonds and U.S. Treasuries both made gains after the nations were stripped of their AAA credit ratings, in a sign that downgrades may have little bearing on borrowing costs. Almost half the time, government bond yields fall when an action suggests they should climb, or they increase even as a change signals a decline, according to 38 years of data compiled by Bloomberg.

Yudhoyono said this week he will only increase fuel prices after Parliament approves compensation programs for the poor, a move that could delay efforts to contain a budget deficit that may be more than twice as much as estimated without subsidy cuts.

Fuel Prices

Failure to reduce subsidies last year drained government finances and led to a record current-account shortfall, hurting the rupiah as foreign investors lost confidence. Indonesia’s economy probably expanded near the slowest pace in more than two years last quarter as a decline in commodity prices hurt exports.

Indonesia may implement incremental measures such as a moderate increase in fuel prices, S&P’s Benard said, while stopping short of bold measures given the stage of the electoral cycle the country is in, he said.

S&P said yesterday it may raise the country’s rating if the fuel reforms are finalized, the state budget is improved, or if structural reforms boost economic growth. The assessment may be lowered if renewed fiscal or external pressures are not met with “timely and adequate policy responses,” it said.

“Policy and exchange-rate management need to be more focused on sending the right signals to the market so as not to induce portfolio outflows,” Benard said.

An epidemic outbreak

By Francis Kong

There’s an epidemic breaking out in the country. No need to be alarmed – it’s not really a health threat. This outbreak deals with reality issues.

A few years ago, while waiting for my turn to speak in a college-sponsored career-orientation conference, the speaker before me told the wide-eyed graduating students these words: “Listen guys, I graduated from this school. Never accept a job offer lower than P75,000, because if you do, then you’re insulting those who have graduated from this school.”

The auditorium full of graduating students broke out with shouts and applause. The speaker was an instant hit. He became their hero.

I must’ve dampened their spirits when it was my turn to speak, because I told them, “That challenge is a fantasy that only someone from Neverland and who’s as immature as Peter Pan could promise. As a business owner, I would fire anyone in my company who would hire an inexperienced fresh grad and pay him or her that amount of money – even if the applicant graduated from Harvard or Stanford! You go to school and pay tuition to learn. Why not work for free, learn, get some experience, and then start charging high? Duh?!”

That was more than 10 years ago. Those graduates are now in the marketplace. I don’t know if they realize today that what they heard then was a fantasy, not reality.

We were having dinner at an awards ceremony recently. The CEO and the marketing manager of this huge and respected food company told me that they’ve actually heard a university dean tell his students that, if they graduated from his school, they should expect to become vice presidents in their places of employment within five years. What’s the matter with these bozos making stupid promises and encouraging unrealistic expectations among the young? They may think they’re motivating them, but what they’re doing is setting them up for future failure! Where are the classic, age-old lectures on hard work, persistence, patience and sacrifice that are the true ingredients of success?

We have an epidemic in our midst – the emergence of young workers in business organizations today who are impatient, jumping from one company to another, and who are outspoken and articulate but low on substance, mouthing clichés without understanding them and driving HR practitioners crazy.

I’ve had at least seven HR heads from our top business corporations telling me that attrition is high among the young entrants to the workplace. These young people’s work ethics suck, and their work values suck even more. Push them a little, and they whine and whimper. Stretch them a little, and they moan and groan. Correct and reprimand them a little, and they quit right there and then. Mentor them a little, and they think they know more than their mentors.

Fifteen years from now, these young people would probably cover a 10-mile wide industry range and possess a two-inch deep pool of useful expertise and skills. It’s scary to imagine what kind of life they’ll have then.

Is this the fruit of a generation of parents who have been told, cajoled and persuaded by Western literature not to discipline their kids, but to just “encourage” and “reason” with them so they won’t be traumatized?

Is this the product of half-witted speakers who set false expectations and promise the young that they can succeed within the shortest possible time with the least possible work and sacrifice, and who teach them that, when they don’t get promoted to become vice presidents within five years, they should blame the company and not themselves?

I have a couple of suggestions. Provide values training for the young people. Make them understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Make them realize that they need to read more intelligent books. (Books on vampire, love stories aren’t part of the recommended readings.) Train them in the area of developing personal excellence, and teach them the right values for living.

The youth is the hope of the future, but I wouldn’t trust my future to a bunch of young people who don’t even know how to live in the present. Let’s teach these kids discipline and work values, and let’s teach them now. Tomorrow may be too late. There’s an epidemic remember?

Source: philstar.com