Today’s message is presented to you, the readers and listeners of this website, as a fore-taste (an example) of the expanded messages contained within twelve other individual articles each month (in addition to my four blogs) that you will receive as a Premier Member to www.davesevern.com. Today’s message was originally written as a Leadership Section Message. I just want you see what you would be getting as a Premier Member.
Every human being who is alive regardless who they are, what they do for a living, where they live or what they are attempting to do with their own lives has within themselves a great reservoir of internal power. It was freely given to them at the instant of their conception by their Creator, God Almighty. Having such a great reservoir, and using it for its originally designed purposes are two separate and distinct matters. The key to using such a reservoir of resources to assist an individual in the achievement of their hopes, dreams, and desires is learning how to first fill this reservoir and then learning how to draw its contents from it as they are needed. Obviously one must first fill the reservoir so as to have something (some resources) to use. Once the resources are in storage, then all that an individual needs to begin doing is using such stored knowledge and abilities as they are needed while completing their journey to success.
All reservoirs are designed to operate using the same principles of physics. Under the commands, direction, and rules of Creator God, the water (resources) freely flow into the reservoir and fill it up from the natural sources and cyclical seasons in place, above (upstream) from the reservoir.
Removal (withdrawal) of the water resources, however, is not left up to the commands and operations of a heavenly power. No,…man can and does exercise great influence as to how, and how much resources can and will be withdrawn from the reservoir. Flood gates at the downstream base of dam which holds back the entire amount of water within the reservoir have to be opened and controlled by man. At man’s decision and direction this large supply of resources can be used to help and assist man in completing his chosen efforts to achieve what it is that he is attempting to accomplish.
Man possesses the ability to open the flood gates of this great internal reservoir and withdraw therefrom any and all of the resources he will ever need to be able to shape and sculpt the very ways he personally views and envisions the entire world and himself. The internal power I mention is based upon and built up within each and every person on earth. The only way such an internal reservoir can be established is by using one’s own imagination, personal education, knowledge, and then working with their own minds to further develop their own positive mental attitude. Developing and possessing a good, healthy and active positive mental attitude is one of the single most important things a human being can possess. Having a Positive Mental Attitude is the primary tool of great achievement. It is the requirement needed by all who strive to become highly successful. It is the one thing that helps a person stay on course,…on track,…on task,…until they overcome the obstacles and events needed to be overcome thus allowing them to actually reach their desires, dreams, and goals. A Positive Mental Attitude is what the dedicated man or woman must have and continue to use if they are to avoid giving up on themselves, their own dreams and goals, and their own family.
Negative influences delivered to a person trudging forward on the uphill road to success will either demotivate them and convince them to give up, quit, or reduce their committed consistent work ethic, or it will MOTIVATE them to expend even greater effort, energy, and determination to reach their dreams and goals, and accomplish their previously decided individual level of success. In other words, negative motivation will either make or break you. It will either destroy or energize you and your resolute work efforts. It all depends upon just how much you have in your personal stored reservoir of knowledge, talents, and abilities, and…how much of it you are willing to expend.
There are two things I need to tell you regarding this topic of negative motivation. The vast majority of people cannot handle negative motivation. It almost always causes people to give up and quit, simply because most people are weak-willed, unconditioned, and unprepared to pay the full price required to achieve their chosen level of success. Never forget, it is always easier to quit and fail, than it is to persevere and succeed. You now know why there are so many more failures than successes. The other thing I want to tell you is that you have to have and be willing to frequently exercise a positive mental attitude if you ever expect to survive negative influences that will attack your own life. You have to be positive if you ever expect to work through the negative influences that will always be attacking you. If you foolishly let the negative over-power you, you will not survive on your own road to success.
Now you may at this point, ask the vital question…How in the world do I combat this negative that appears to be flooding over me? The answer is plain and simple….Open the flood gates of your always available internal reservoir! Overcome the negative with a greater amount of positive. Go to the great internal source and withdraw more resources that can be used to overcome the negative! This ain’t rocket science.
You see, dear ones, as a successful business person and a leader, you have to have the ability to develop, expand, and implement your own methods of coping with the inevitable ups and downs of life. It is your personal responsibility to do that. Don’t ever expect someone else to do it for you.
No matter the content or the extent of the negative attack, you are nowhere near as powerless as you may ever think you are. I guarantee you that there are always more resources in your internal reservoir than there are problems or obstacles blocking or hindering your path. In other words, you already have all of the tools you will ever need—but you alone must decide where and when to use them.
Here is where a good quality personal mentor can come most beneficially into play for you. There are, as you must be aware, two separate and distinct ways that you can learn and acquire personal knowledge: 1) by your own broken nose, or 2) by someone else’s broken nose. Permit me to ask you an easy question….which way is the least painful for you to learn?
A good mentor has mostly learned from his own life experiences, and from the experiences of other people, what should be done and what is required to correct conditions and situations that arise. He knows the power of the right choices that are to be used to correct the problems or dilemmas that confront you….that are holding you back from achieving that which you personally desire. Why not use the wisdom he possesses based upon his knowledge and experience? If you refuse to humble yourself and ask for his help or assistance, then my only recommendation to you is to prepare yourself for some pain and suffering that will inevitably come very quickly into your life….in the form of a broken nose….i.e. your own!
We all have a great many choices to make in almost every area of life. The most important choice is that of the attitudes we choose to adopt in the here and now…the present,…and that we plan to take with us into our future.
Choosing this route of travel, we are freed up to concentrate on the good things: What has been good in the past, What is good now, and What potential good we can create in the coming months and years as we age with dignity. A real leader of men and women learns to make good choices that will always emphasize the positive aspects of all human being’s lives.
May I urge you to cultivate every bit of good, joy, love, and fun that you can create or find. Our God gave us specific instructions to live by if our choice is to lead others and be successful. Those instructions were recorded in The Holy Bible in The Book of Philippians, Chapter 4, verses 8-9 NKJV:
Meditate on These Things
(8) “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things
are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are
pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy–meditate on these things.
(9) The things which you learned and received and heard and
saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Now listen,…When you choose to concentrate on your own gratitude for all of the good things in life that you possess and be thankful for all of the good relationships you have that have assisted you in your life’s journey thus far, your entire manner and way of viewing the rest of the world will always change for the better.
Leaders, and those of you who are aspiring to become leaders, would do well to remember,…no one wants to be around a person who continually bemoans past injustices, always playing the eternal victim. Such an atrociously bad and negative attitude is very unhealthy for all parties concerned including the complainer.
Look, lots of bad things happen everyday to all kinds of people. Life is definitely not fair, however, God Almighty is always just. What you do with the events and circumstances that come against you is what makes all of the difference in your own life and the attitude you adopt for living it. The late journalist and commentator, Andy Rooney, got it right when he said, “I have learned that when you harbor bitterness, happiness in your life will dock elsewhere.”
Life’s real treasures are people, not things, so as long as you still have friends you will continue to be blessed. Meeting and developing good friends begins with you. You must take the first step.
No matter what you have experienced, how much hurt you have suffered, whatever the perceived damage and heartache has been,…choose to get back up on your feet, dust yourself off, climb back up on to your road to success, and continually emphasize the good that still remains for you to discover, to do, and to enjoy with your remaining years. God is not through with you yet! Remember, you will always attract that which you are, not that which you want.
When you develop and demonstrate a good, positive, loving, caring, and cheerful attitude as you live your life to the fullest, it will be very attractive to others. Most probably they will desire to gather around you and your inner fire that burns warmly and brightly so as to be able to warm their own hands and hearts. The end result will be that you now will no longer be alone. Rather you will be surrounded by other people who truly care about you and who will support you through your trials because you first offered them a safe haven of rest and comfort by becoming their friend.
There is an Old Irish Blessing that is filled with advice worth keeping:
Always remember to forget the things that
made you sad.
But never forget to remember the things that
made you glad.
Always remember to forget the friends that
proved untrue.
But never forget to remember those that
have stuck by you.
Always remember to forget the troubles that
passed away.
But never forget to remember the blessings
that come each day.
The late Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Senior Pastor of the Chrystal Cathedral, in Anaheim, California once gave me some very good personal advice that I continue to cherish and use. Perhaps you would do well to have it too. He said to me, there will always be lots of good and bad things happen in everyone’s life. There will great victories as well as some great defeats. It really makes no real difference who you are, as everyone else is experiencing the same things too. Here is what I want you to always remember: “Never worry about that which you have lost,…be thankful and grateful for that which you still have left.”
During some very dark and suffering days of World War II in the month of October 1944, Harold Arlen wrote the music for and Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics to a very great, powerful, and positive song as an attempt to uplift the sagging spirits of the American service men and women as well as the entire American population. They very successfully succeeded in accomplishing their mission. As you read the words to this song burn them into your memory. Sing the song often and especially whenever you are facing troubles and misery. This song and its message to the listeners will further increase the quantity of resources in your internal reservoir which will always be ready for any demands you may make on it,… in the days and years ahead.
The title of this special song was:
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
“Gather ‘round me. everybody
Gather ‘round me while I’m preachin’
Feel a sermon comin’ on me
The topic will be sin and that’s what I’m ag’in
If you wanna hear my story
Then settle back and just sit tight
While I start reviewin’
The attitude of doin’ right
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between
You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium’s
Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate my last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do just when everything looked so dark?
(Man, they said “We’d better accentuate the positive”)
(Eliminate the negative”)
(And latch on to the affirmative”)
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between (No!)
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
(Ya got to spread joy up to the maximum)
(Bring gloom down to the minimum)
(Have faith or pandemonium’s)
(Liable to walk upon the scene)
You got to ac (yes, yes) -cent-tchu-ate the positive
Eliminate (yes, yes) the negative
And latch (yes, yes) on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
No, don’t mess with Mister In-Between
Forever remember,….POSITIVE ATTRACTS,….NEGATIVE REPELS.
Peace And Love to All of You………………..Poppa Bear