Refine Your Character: Mind, Body, Spirit

As we enter the New Year, it is imperative that we look to the future to refine our character and enhance our lives. There are many who set their New Year’s resolutions—to lose weight, stop smoking, or to find a new job—without a true life plan. Without specific goals and objectives the resolutions will fall by the wayside within the first month. But, it takes more than just a list of goals and objectives; it takes an indomitable spirit dedicated to refining their character to bring about a better life: mind, body, and spirit.

A positive person with specific goals and objectives will have a better life, whether building relationships or building a business. Time-honored coaches told us that we should “be confident.” But where does the manner of assurance really come from? It comes f rom your veiled, subconscious mindset about how life should treat you.

Refine your focus: Clearly define who you are and where you are going.

Refine your purpose: What is your purpose in life and how will you reach your endgame.

Refine your meaning in life: What beyond the basic norms are you here for?

Refine your desire to succeed: What is success to you? Money, power, possessions, family...?

Refine your body, mind and spirit: How can I live a better life and be healthier in all arenas?

Liberate your self-imposed boundaries: Determine what things limit you and how to overcome them.

Revitalize your confidence: Learn how to cope with anything that impairs your ability to enjoy life.

Redesign your career: Create a mental picture that aligns with your life goals.

Discern your dynamic force: Determine how to manage your corporal, psychological, emotional, and spiritual energy in order to refine your life and create success.

The successful, high achievers you most admire have had to master their inner game. You must refine your life in order to reach your aspirations.

“Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.” Roy L. Smith

There are times in life, no matter how well we plan for our success, that life takes a turn for the worse. We think that we are on top of our game and that we deserve a break at all turns, but then it happens. Our lives fall into the abyss—a lost company, a failed relationship, an untimely death of a loved one, or a damaging event that drives us into a chasm that we can’t seem to get out of. We are being refined for a better purpose. The suffering that we are going through, no matter how bad it is and no matter how it seems as if it will never end, is temporary. The only way we can be equipped, is to allow the process of some suffering. God permits us to go through fires of affliction; to take the dross, the defilement, the impurity out of our character—to separate the worthless from the valuable. He is watching every trial that we are going through and He is using these things to prepare you—to refine you like silver.

“Behold, I have ref ined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10

When we go through this refining type of experience, it is difficult to understand why it’s happening to us. This has certainly been true for me during my most challenging times. Now years later, I look back and I see things that I went through and realize that there was a divine plan and purpose for my life. When you look back on your life you can see that there was a reason for the adversity; a reason that God had to get your attention and,attimes,humbleyouwithalife-changing experience. We had to go through the fire in order to experience hardship and refine our character and purify our motives. There is a purpose for every challenge—to prepare us for a greater calling in our lives.

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wisdom Brings Success

Tom Cronin Success Magazine LTD.


So where do we find wisdom?

Most people have no idea how to define success, let alone how to achieve it. Many of us believe the old saying, “The goal is to see who can die with the most toys.” Others come to believe that success is a reflection of how much power they have. But we know that most people in our society who are supposedly successful with money, power, and possessions are not happy; many die bankrupt after a volatile life. So where do we find wisdom? Albert Einstein, whom many consider one of the smartest people of the 20th century once said, “Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” Einstein seems to insinuate that wisdom is a never-ending search, that once you think you have it, you find you need to do more work to acquire it. While Einstein said that we find wisdom through a life-long search, others try to find it in much simpler places. Leo Buscaglia made a lot of sense when he said this about wisdom: “We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn’t. Success often lies just the other side of failure.” I think most of us know what he was talking about. I know that I have sometimes learned a lot more through my mistakes than my successes. Another person who could say the same thing was Solomon, who, through writing Ecclesiastes, looked back on his life and, through his wisdom, showed us the mistakes he made so we would not do the same. The wise man in Ecclesiastes 10:10 wrote: “If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.”

The person who does not use their intelligence must work harder than the person who prepares and works hard toward a goal.

“Successinbusinessrequires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.”—David Rockefeller

“The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand – without growing weary. Because such

96 SUCCESS GLOBALFOUNDRIES 2010

thinking is often difficult, there seems to be no limit to which some people will go to avoid the effort and labor that is associated with it”—Thomas Edison

You choose to succeed by applying the principles of success in your life or any area you desire victory. Success is not guaranteed to every human who walks the planet. However, the potential for success is bequeathed to each of us at birth. Success is not an accident or the result of believing that life owes it to you. Success is not: power, fame, wealth, prosperity, happiness, or independence. Once gained, there is no guarantee that the success you have achieved will be maintained indefinitely in any recognizable or anticipated form. If success is lost, it is not destined to elude us forever. Success is a choice. You need to know these principles. When you know these principles; what they are, what they mean to your life and how to put them into action, you will find that success and its by-products—good health, happiness, wealth, and satisfying relationships—will be yours.

“Many receive advice; only the wise profit from it.” Publilius Syrus

Prosperity can be achieved by the following keys to success:

Vision: We are inspired by those who dream and follow their heart’s desires.

Purpose: Have specific goals in your life. Write down your plans for success.

Preparation: Achieve your goals through education and acquiring knowledge.

Perseverance: Never quit. Always strive toward your goals.

Seek wisdom: Surround yourself with others who have taken the right paths in life.

Resourcefulness: When others quit, find a way to gain new energy and strength to finish the race.

Drive: Once you have achieved each step toward your goal, continue to strive to a greater achievement.

Breathe: Take a step back along the way and assess your situation to ensure that your energies and strength are directed toward your task.

Finish the race: Secure your future and complete the desires of your heart.

Give thanks: Once you have achieved your goals, take a moment to reflect and give thanks to God for his blessings and your good health.

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture...Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”— Norman Vincent Peale

“Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.”—Ted Turner

“I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.”—Proverbs 4:11-12

When you make your plans for your life and business, think big. Plan for success. You need to stir the blood and inspire others to dream dreams; if not, your own vision will not be realized. Design larger-than-life strategies with great vision for a purpose and know that righteous consistent plans, once confirmed, will never perish.

Your Roadmap to Marketing Success

Tom Cronin Success Magazine LTD.

It is the responsibility of Success Public Relations to predict,evaluate and understand public opinion, thoughts, and concerns that might influence the functions and tactics of your business. We analyze your organization at all levels with regard to guiding principle decisions, courses of action, and communication while taking into account public ramifications and the organization’s social or civic responsibilities. We explore, appraise, predict, and carry out on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to attain the up-to-date public perception necessary for you to achieve your business goals. These may include advertising, marketing, financial, events, and public or government dealings. Success PR will develop and execute the business’s hard work to influence or change public perception. We will plan objectives, forecast budgeting, assist in recruiting and training staff and developing services.

Your marketing plan is a tool to reach target audiences, establish awareness, create or enhance image, and elicit action. Through a customized, collaborative process, we will work with you to develop a marketing plan which more closely identifies your market, your position, your competitors, your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. This plan includes:

• Situation Analysis • Marketing Objectives • Marketing Strategy • Budget • Goals and Objectives • Timeline & Action Plan • Action and Response Strategies • Effective Communication • Strategic Planning • Evaluation

Strategic planning lies at the root of all public relations and marketing efforts. It helps you define whom you want to reach, what you want to say, what channels you should use to deliver your message, how you will measure your results, and more. Without strategic planning, your outreach efforts may consist of nothing more than throwing a dart at the wall and hoping to hit something, anything.

Strategic planning allows you to define your strategic goals, create communication objectives to support the goals, and develop strategies and tactics to deliver on the promise. It also defines who will implement the activities, when, and at what cost.

SPR can help you implement a strategic plan to build your PR/marketing plan, develop a website, communicate effectively, promote an event, or launch a new company. Our process begins and ends with research. We define the current state of affairs, plan and introduce your project, and measure the outcome.