NEVER GIVE UP!

Yesterday a very nice dialogue happened between me and my very talented ‘writer friend’ so we decided to try something different in this blog, to put down our discussion into words: And the theme is ‘Never Give Up’. Good advice and often hard for many people to follow because often failures make you want to do exactly that. So, how do you find the motivation to keep going, no matter what comes across your path. We are all walking a path, but all our paths are different. They lead in many directions. People have different dreams, desires and use their own special talents along the way. That is perfect and everything is always going according to plan for each and every one of us:

So, hope you will like this new format and new idea. His words are in italics as usual.

I think you will agree, a man who gives amazing inspiration to all of us. It gives me great pleasure to share my website platform with him. Thank you, my friend for your contribution, everyone is enjoying ‘our blogs’ together!

To continue on from the previous blog published on Sunday 18^th October 2020 …. (entitled What does it mean to set goals, Realize your Ambitions, Manifest your Dreams?)

 Just because something seems hard to obtain doesn’t mean you should give up. Instead you should make more effort and work hard to achieve it.

I agree entirely but often people don’t want to make the effort. It’s because some things have become too easy. To me hard work sounds something more understandable from generations back, when hard work meant hard labor. Literally.

 Don’t’ reduce your efforts just because you missed the target, nothing great comes simple Steady your aim and train harder.

There is nothing wrong with missing the target, succeeding first time is often just ‘beginners’ luck’, but it is those who are strong, physically, mentally and emotionally who will do as you say.

 Some people will always prefer to see you down and lower but use that to motivate yourself to working harder and growing better.

Unfortunately, it’s a fact of life and this is mostly to do with jealously that people will gloat when you fail and are unsuccessful. It sort of brings you down to their own level of failure. But it is definitely then the motivation to try again and persevere.

 If you feel like giving up, remember that you will accomplish nothing by doing so. Keep it moving and never give up.

This is so important I feel, because giving up is just an easy escape. You don’t feel good about yourself for actually giving up and the idea to keep moving whatever happens, is absolutely right.

 I have failed countless times and still kept going. It’s because I have learned that the more times I fall, the more I will learn.

Don’t you think that everyone will agree with you on this? We have all failed and from those mistakes made we have learned the most. Failing is just a single physical action but being brave to get up once more and try again, that is strength.

 Keep the faith. Keep working hard and great things will happen.

Agree, always having faith in your own dreams is very important. If you don’t have that, no one else will see your greatness. It is up to all of us to be true to ourselves and not just be sheep following the herd. And to keep your own mind about your goals without being influenced by others.

 Great victory can follow a shocking defeat if there is positive persistence in the    pursuance. Never say never. Keep the hope alive.

It is a very important thing in life to have hope. Never lose hope. It is the key to finding success. And that word ‘never’ is really a figment of imagination. Everything is possible if you set your mind right.

 If you fall, rise up and shake off the dust and try again.

I always find that if I fall and that often happens, literally physically, it is the universe telling me that something is not quite right, or I am being stopped to reflect.  Stopped in my tracks for a reason and it’s important to trust that the reason in the end is, for your better good.

 Never give up and never stop trying to achieve the goals and the dreams that you  know you deserve.

Giving up is the easy way out. Stopping to try to then follow your goals, also wrong. You know what you want and what you deserve for the effort you will take. It is your dream or dreams and you should be true to yourself and go for it one hundred percent. No one else will do it for you.

 If you are doing good work, don’t stop. Press on and keep working, no matter what others say or how much they discourage you.

It is very easy to be discouraged in these strange times as we all basically have a fear for rejection. People will always have something to say about everything other people do. It’s just human nature. It is up to you whether you take notice of it, or, make the choice to stay centered and true to yourself.

In life, you never know what kind of result you will get until you try your best and see to it until the end.

Absolutely and often the whole process is comparable to a journey. That is the best part, the destination is important too, but the learning comes during the journey. Trying your best is always the option you should choose, because no one ever got anywhere doing nothing.

No matter how hard I try, life just won’t let me get want without trying. But I won’t give up.

I think this is a very big part of your character and the reason why a lot of people look up to you, as you have proved so many times that you don’t give up. It’s a very admirable quality

 No matter how many times you fail, you are not a failure until you quit trying.

Just quitting is like running away. Away from the truth. Failing is not bad, failing is in fact good. It’s frustrating at the time, but true will power pushes you to go on. Its what people have been doing for centuries, try, try and try again. A worthy motto, but it takes guts to do that.

Winners lose much more often than losers. So, if you keep losing but you are still            trying so just keep it up! You are right on track.

It is very easy to become discouraged when you lose, but often a good idea to summarize what you have actually lost. Is it that important when you look back? You cannot change it, or the past, just merely look at the imprint you left behind, learn by it and move on in a forward’s direction. The path is clear, but there can be not only obstacles, but many saboteurs who try their utmost to distract you and lead you off course.

Limits are just a state of mind, you can always push yourself to do better, no matter what the cost might be. Keep going at it and you will succeed.

Yes, limits are something you set upon yourself. The removal of same, pushes you on in fact to do better, isn’t then the cost irrelevant? The fact that you try is so much more important. And if you keep going, you definitely succeed. Good advice.

You have a choice. You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.

Oh, how easy is it in fact to just chuck in the towel and many do that. You do have a choice, always and stick to it or them.

Never quit. If you stumble get back up. What happened yesterday no longer matters. Today is another day so get back on course and move closer to your dreams and  goals. You can do it!

I think it is hard for a lot of people to realize that what happened yesterday is the past. You cannot change it; you cannot literally walk back into yesterday and do it better. We live very much in the here and now, what tomorrow will bring we don’t know. So even when things go wrong, make a choice and do it differently. Dreams and goals are the most important things in life. You have to have them, if you don’t you just wander around in every increasing circles. Of course, you can do it if you have the right mind-set. Very important! After all it is your dream and your goal.

It’s not important to achieve everything at first or in one go. But it is extremely vital to make positive progress in reasonable time.

I think this is very true. People get easily disheartened when it does not al come together immediately. You can sort of compare it to a large puzzle. All the pieces are on the table. You pick up the first one and perhaps make the corners first. As you progress the picture becomes clearer until you create your own masterpiece.

Innovation is repeated failure until something works.

Absolutely and it will always be that way.

Don’t work until you get it right. Work until you get it wrong.

I think maybe some people will have difficulty relating to this, because their brain is telling them to get it right. The whole point here is that the continued work, even if you get it wrong, is the learning process.

Life is like a sport, facing obstacles and learning from them. Every time we fall, we get  back up and try again until we finish what has been started! We try and try never to quit, because what is life without trying?

Again, I agree, because life becomes more worthwhile because you try and are eventually rewarded for your efforts. In other words, you realize your own dream or goal.

Life may challenge you from the worst case ever. But don’t be afraid of fighting what’s for you and what’s for the better.

Life has always been and always will be a challenge. That is if you want to make something of your life, and motivated people do, then often you need to fight. Fight for the right things. The whole point is that you remain true to yourself. Dare to be different. Dare to do things others may scorn or think you are stupid for trying. Who says so?  It is usually a mirror of their own shortcomings or lack of willpower. Just because one fails, not everyone has to.

Sometimes I act like I have given up, but inside me, I am just warming up!

The people who know you personally will definitely agree with this. There is so much power in you it is almost (un)believable. You have such a strong willpower, it’s admirable. So just keep warming up, it’s a good example for many. Acting as you well know is merely playing a role on  the stage of a production, called: Life.

Never let any hurdles big or small in life, trip you up and stop you from achieving your goals in life.

When I think of hurdles I think back to my schooldays, running up and down gravel tracks and jumping across obstacles. Some fell, some remained standing. Was there any point in going back and picking up the ones that had fallen? Not really, the race was actually over anyway. But you can think about why they fell. Did you not jump high enough, were you actually satisfied and did not try harder? Looking back is fine, but don’t allow it to influence your future too much.

Keep trying your chances, you never know which will yield the best result.

I really love the word ‘change’ because it is so similar to the word ‘chance’. One letter in actual fact. Chances are gifts offered along your way, it’s your choice that makes the best or the worst result. Just make sure your choice is the right one, for you. It is all about you. Take a chance.

Too many people use being scared as an excuse for not trying. You may fail, try   anyway. That is how you grow. That is how you do incredible things.

Exactly and there are many examples of people who did do incredible things because they kept on trying. Like inventions and this is not about current days things, but inventions like the wheel for example. A person invented it and the reward was great for all of us. We cannot think of life now without a wheel. Actually, the symbolism of the wheel is like a circle, that keeps going around and around, as effort is made.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Yes, similar to what I said to your last comment. A great example of this and something that is very hard to even comprehend to this day is how ancient civilizations in Egypt actually managed without cranes or other mechanical devices to build the pyramids. A thing we have been asking ourselves for thousands of years and then to get them exactly in alignment with the star constellation of Orion. Maybe because they were less distracted by unimportant issues and lived their lives intuitively.

In the business world everyone is paid in two coins: Cash and experience. Take the  experience first, the cash will come later.

I have always thought and said to you several times that money is just energy. It is a way of exchange. Exchanging something for something else from another. It does not make you a better man for sure (and I am generalizing here, so don’t take is personally), how many millions you have on your bank account. Experience is worth so much more than cash. We all need cash to survive for sure, but how much do we really need to realize our dreams. People seemed to have lost all perspective on this score. It is no longer important how big your house is, how flash your car is, how good your job is, how many holidays you go on every year. That is just the outer impression, it’s what is on the inside that counts.

For me the most fun is change or growth. There are definitely elements of both that I Iike. Launching a business is kind of like a motorboat, you can go very quickly and turn fast.

Ah, men and the need for speed! Motivation to move. Motivation to do something that turns into a project and eventually a business. It was the pleasure doing it rather than the completion of the job.

Nothing works better than just improving your product.

Of course, always room for improvement in all walks of life.

 If you have knowledge let others light their candles in it.

I like this comment very much. One of the quotes I often think about is comparing ourselves to a lighthouse. We don’t have to go running around islands looking for boats; it is our job to stand still and provide the light for others. It is a slightly different way than you said it but comes down to the same. If I have knowledge isn’t it so much more rewarding to share. That is a problem in the world right now, people want to create their own little islands of importance. They have not yet realized that working together, often with completely opposites, brings something even better. But there are always ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’. It is the best if you can create a happy medium. Give and Receive. That is balance. The one who always gives will soon be left with nothing. The same applies to those who only receive, they become greedy, but do they actually need it?

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

I am sure many great leaders will agree with you totally on this one!

As you start your journey the first thing you should do is throw away the store-bought  map and begin to draw your own.

I love this comment because as I mentioned earlier there are many paths, which maybe lead in the same direction, but each and every one in life is personal. My path is my path. Your path is your path. They may cross and run parallel for a long time, which is good and rewarding, but in the end, it is absolutely about drawing your own map. Always!

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. It’s the business of little minds to shrink, but those whose heart is firm and who’s conscious approves their conduct, will pursue their principles until  death.

Very true. But it takes a broad-minded person to be able to actually smile. Many don’t they are afraid of what other will say about their so-called failure or distress, thinking that they are the lessor ones. I agree that listening to your own heart is the purest voice you will hear. If your conscious says ‘yes’ deep within (that gut feeling) you know you are doing the right things, making the right choices. Personally, I don’t see death in the way many others see it, and this is a long subject. I always believe and always have, that we merely leave our physical body behind and that our soul lives on endlessly. It is not an easy thing to believe, because people are afraid to die. But to me it is just the completion of a circle which we call life. One circle ends and another begins. Like in the seasons in nature. Like a new year following on another. It has always been this way. The Circle of Life.

The last 10 % it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90%.

Yes, agree but many people are so entirely focused on the end result that they fail to see all the things they learn (your words the 90%). It is the energy to get a project started. Getting your ideas and turning them into something constructively. That takes effort and also a lot of belief in yourself.

Being able to touch so many people through my businesses and make money while doing it, is a huge blessing.

Of course, inspiring others is important. The money less, I think. The blessing comes when you realize that you have achieved your dream or goal (or at least one of them). We all have more than one.

Always make a total effort even when all the odds are against you.

Yes, effort at the beginning so much more rewarding really than the end result. Even though the end result is satisfying and encourages you to go on and do more.

 The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.

The extraordinary is your belief that miracles can actually happen when you truly set your mind and your heart to achieve something great. The extra effort on the journey teaches you so much. Ordinary is easy, it’s like sitting back and doing nothing. Extraordinary is so much more exciting.

Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. Don’t let your    teammates down in any situation.

To me it’s giving everything you have got and much more too. The ‘winning’ moment is literally a moment and so easy to then sit back and be complacent. And I so agree about working in teams. Working in synergy with one another. Another friend of mine always talks about the great WE compared to the great I. Which one do you choose?

There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.

Not working hard is complacency. Letting others make the effort. Do you think the satisfaction is then great? No, it isn’t because it is not your effort. Patience is not an easy virtue as everyone is in such a hurry these days. By accepting that great things often take longer because you need to learn more is a much greater substitute. 

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking   your complex, overwhelming tasks into smaller manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.

Very similar I think to making your own map. I know this well, being a writer. When an idea about a book first comes into your mind (the inspiration) it is good to make a sort of backbone of a plan about what it will be about. In other words, set the stage, make the characters, give them all their identity and the weave the story. You cannot write a new chapter until you have read and finished the previous one. A full page has to become a blank one then so that inspiration flows. Sometimes it stops, a writer’s block occurs and I find that this is the time to actually take a short pause, get out into the fresh air. Allow your mind to clear. Often greatest inspiration comes when you least expect it. Never try to put pressure on yourself if you believe that you are only successful whilst you perform. You need to rest too. But I agree, one step at a time, takes you up the ladder. To the finished result.

You must not only aim right but draw the bow with all your might!

Absolutely Robin Hood! Look, aim, draw back the bow and hit the target and if you miss, try again.

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.

A very admirable quality for sure.  Because all the things you say especially the word ‘devotion’ allows you to have clarity (or clear vision about where you want to go)

It is not that things are difficult that we do not dare it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

Again, this is where I think we have a fear or being rejected by others if we do something a little bit different. It takes courage to stand out. But it’s always the right choice. It’s not important what another thinks when it is about your own personal dream or goal. It is your’s not their’s. To dare takes courage. Be yourself and take the steps you have to get the thing you want. Against all odds, they are merely saboteurs along the way.

There is nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team

True dare to jump into the deep even though you don’t know exactly where you will land. It the fact that you dare to jump that counts the most. Just like the journey, more important than the destination. Not easy though, you have to have faith.

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not.; nothing is  more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: the world is full of    educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The phrase     ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Absolutely and I think everyone who reads our words will agree, we are living in completely crazy times and it is then even more important to stay close to your own beliefs. Do not fall into the trap of being taken in by ‘fake news or information’. That is the result of our ever-increasing desire to not miss out on anything. Persistence and determination that is what counts I agree. Press on. Together we can solve anything if you set your mind to it. As a group more than an individual. ‘Many hands make light work’ as they say. Then everyone benefits from the glory of the achievement.

I think this discussion will continue, it’s part of a friendship that has flourished a lot.

One final thought is: great minds think alike. That is so true and what is more rewarding that working as one, in a group for everyone. Then and only then will there be harmony in the world once more.

And our world is merely a tiny little speck in a vast universe.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment in the box.

A special thank you to you, my friend for your continued support and the challenge you then give me to write with you. I so appreciate it.

Images: Google