Between Hope & Desperation

Baby crying (By: Cecile Lavabre)

"While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done."

-Helen Keller

“Impossible…”, “I can’t do it…”, “How come; famous…”, “Are you kidding, I am not good enough to be…”, “There is no hope…”

Negative thoughts are the main reason for desperation then failure or at least not achieving a great thing in your life.

In my opinion, if anyone of the famous characters that we know let himself a prey for those feelings, we wouldn’t hear about him.

Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) (By: Getty Images)

 Walt Disney was fired from his work because lack of creativity & imagination. Now he is the founder of Walt Disney Productions, with current annual revenues of approximately $35 billion.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

-Walt Diseny

Portrait of Helen Keller (1880-1968) (By: Library of Congress / digital version by Science Faction)

 Helen Keller was blind and deaf but with a great courage she created success, and she became a famous deaf-blind author.

"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world."

-Helen Keller

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Michael Jordan and others have a chance to let themselves to frustration and desperation. They were rejected, failed, lost but they have never defeated. What they have in common is HOPE & PERSISTENCE. They extracted success from failure, hope from desperation and strength from distress.

Your failure can be a starting point to a great journey in life. Focus on your goals and dreams. Avoid negative thinking.
 

Turn your failure to success…

Never give up… Live Better Life…

Enthusiasm & Persistence, Keep them UP

Up (From: imdb.com)

“Knowledge is power and enthusiasm pulls the switch.”

-Steve Droke

Carl & Ellie... Enthusiasm & Persistence... Dreams & True Love...

A young Carl Fredrickson meets a young adventure spirited girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a Lost Land in South America. And for that they set their own adventure book in order to fill it with their adventure when they achieve their dream together. Days pass and they have never lost their persistence to achieve their dream. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Carl remembers the promise he made to her. By tying thousands of balloons to his home, Carl sets out to fulfill his (and Ellie’s) lifelong dream.

I really love this film as it is not just a film it is a life lesson in perseverance & enthusiasm even if after 70 years.

Feeling unenthusiastic, bored and apathetic isn’t pleasurable or fun. It makes life dreary, slow and painful. Enthusiasm on the other hand is like an inner sun that makes life easier, shinier and more enjoyable. Enthusiasm is probably one of the most attractive qualities a person can have. With enthusiasm things get done and they often get done better and more easily than if you were to muster up the will to do them in an unenthusiastic way.

“Every Unstoppable personality you’ve read about offers an important key to success. But the ultimate key—the one that most dramatically separates the achiever from the nonachiever—is perseverance.”

-Cynthia Kersey

I think that, among the stories of success in the world, the story of Tom Monaghan is the ideal model in perseverance.

Tom Monaghan, Domino's Pizza Founder (By: Joe Raedle)

He has had at least a hundred “excuses” for failing in business—from growing up in orphanages and detention homes, to starting a business with no business sense, expanding too soon, going broke, losing everything, building it back up, and almost losing it again.

But what’s incredible about Tom Monaghan is that he’s never used any excuse. The way he sees it is that you haven’t failed until you’ve flat out given up.

Without the perseverance of Tom Monaghan, Domino’s Pizza wouldn’t grow.

And without the enthusiasm of Carl, Ellie's dream wouldn't achieved.

Keep your Enthusiasm & Persistence up...
Achieve your Dreams... Live Better Life...

Beyond EXAMS, Knowing How to Learn

Childhood Learning (By: Andrew Bret Wallis)

“No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world.” 

-Frances Willard

Exams period, it can be a hard time for some students or it can be a time of entertainment for others.

Do you want to know how to keep yourself on track in this period? How to keep your enthusiasm up? How to study hard?

In a nutshell you want to know how to learn with the spirit of a kid full of joy & excitement? The answer is simple, use the Metacognition.

According to Julie Halter Metacognition is:

“Knowing how to learn, and knowing which strategies work best, are valuable skills that differentiate expert learners from novice learners. Metacognition, or awareness of the process of learning, is a critical ingredient to successful learning.”

I know this feeling when you have an exam, worrying with some fear of failure. Even the word can put you in unpleasant mode.

But it is time to change all that.

It does not matter how many days remain for the exam. We can use a genius plan & schedule for every state even if one day remains.

And the condition is: do not be afraid just trust Allah then believe that you will save the day with a reconcile from Allah.

Let us take an example: you have an exam so your way of thinking must be as follows:

Using metacognitive strategies to study for an essay exam.

  Here are metacognitive strategies for successful learning:

• Awareness:

-          Consciously identify what you already know

-          Define the learning goal

-          Consider your personal resources (e.g. textbooks, access to the library, access to a computer work station or a quiet study area)

-          Consider the task requirements (essay test, multiple choice, etc.)

-          Determine how your performance will be evaluated

-          Consider your motivation level

-          Determine your level of anxiety

• Planning:

-           Estimate the time required to complete the task (5,3,2 or even 1 day)

-           Plan study time into your schedule and set priorities

-           Make a checklist of what needs to happen & when (including seeing previous final exams, revisions)

-           Organize materials

-           Take the necessary steps to learn by using strategies like outlining, mnemonics, diagramming, etc.

•  Monitoring and Reflection:

-           Reflect on the learning process, keeping track of what works and what doesn't work for you

-           Monitor your own learning by questioning and self-testing

-           Provide your own feedback

-           Keep concentration and motivation high 

 Trust me your worrying and anxiety won’t let you make benefit of what you learn. Don’t be afraid as time pass; if you don’t have time, make time.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”

-Charles Buxton

It is time to enjoy while learning. It is time to learn the true science. If you know the concept of what you are learning you will never forget in the exam & you will pass with excellent. In addition you will increase your knowledge. Finally do your best and let the leaves fall where they may.

Taste the joy of learning…

Enjoy your EXAMS period… Live Better Life…

Ready For The Sunrise

Farmhouse and vineyards in misty landscape(By:Gary Yeowell)

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

-Albert Einstein

New Year equals new journey in our life. Journey means adventure and adventure means dreams, joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, ambition, and passion…Endless experience with the acceptable range of fear and worry about the future.

For me, the New Year is a sunrise on new goals and a hope to achieve the best ever. Today’s article will be a journey to see how we could touch success in this New Year.

All of us yearn to success and for that we set resolutions and decisions. And every New Year we make the same mistake put purposes, promise ourselves with new resolutions and the result is that the year ends and nothing accomplished. Now it is time to change all that but not a change like every year, instead it will be a lasting change.

If you don’t set any goals yet so the first step is to set a goal which ignite your soul because if you don’t set any goals you are not going to achieve a meaningful thing during the year.

Remember that:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

- Harriet Tubman

So begin to write down your goals, purposes or even dreams on a piece of paper. Don’t forget to use either SMART or SAFE criteria while setting your goals. Then make a vision board about them; see them, feel them & touch them.

Don’t be afraid to put a difficult goal trust Allah; He will give you the power to achieve the impossible as long as you are mindful of Him, then trust yourself you can if you want; use your unstoppable power of success.

Let us make a small scenario. 

Ask yourself: what do you want to be in the future? What is your ultimate goal?

Then to begin achieving this dream, take a step every year towards your dream.

So the next question is: what do you want to achieve this year?

Doing better in my career, be a good programmer or a good communication engineer, be highly educated, if you still a student: earn high grades, improve your conversation & communication skills, learn a second language and be fluent at it, join an international university for post graduates studies…etc.

Write all the possibilities, all what you want even if it is small.

The next step is how could you achieve these goals?

Take courses in the programming language that you want to be proficient at, train at a successful company to improve your career, read books and come up with the news to be highly educated, join a conversation group like toastmaster, enroll yourself in a foreign language class, contact the university, know the requirements and begin to fulfill them… For every goal write down how to achieve it.

Then, ACHIEVE nothing remains. Put a schedule and achieve all your resolutions. No need for procrastination: ready steady go.

But wait; don’t let your contagious enthusiasm be a chance for splitting your focus. Organize your goals and your way of achievement them and make a time span for every goal and a progress sheet to observe your progress.

Don’t forget the 8 keys of success. Finally connect your goal setting with your goal getting by using the Elusive Connection:

You are a challenger don’t let this chance. You can get the maximum of this year. 

Begin an unstoppable year full of success…

It is time to unleash your goals…Release your ultimate power… 
Live Better Life…