I enjoy the lessons which are found in movies. Often they are intentional, but sometimes it just has to do with our mindset.  Three lessons I learned from The Amazing Spider-Man are:

• He heard/felt a calling

                While standing on a roof top he is called to go one way and also hears sirens going        off in the distance and feels that he must use his spider abilities to assist.  He felt an inward calling to use what he has to help others.

• Not all walls are structural

                In a fight seen in a high school people are getting thrown around and someone goes through a trophy case and through the wall it is front off.  Behind those trophies was a wall which had not structural support to the building.  Many of the walls built in life (by us or others) can be broken down with only a little repair needed. Let us freely break down some walls in our life.

• Go out to help others

                Spider-Man helps someone and later is helped by a family member of that person, when the web slinger is hurt.  Spider-Man has been declared as a bad guy by the city officials, but this family member saw that this man was out to good.  He saw his conduct and helped him when he needed it.  There will be times when we need someone else to help us.  Let us go out of our way to help others.  Let us follow the golden rule. (The Master Key Is Golden)

K, bye

What is a lesson that you learned from this movie?

A good book which incorporates lessons from movies is John Eldredge’s “Wild at Heart.”

After hearing this interview with Chris Guillebeau I was reminded about many of the things which I read in his book “The $100 Startup.” Later that day I grabbed my copy to flip through it and read a few of the lines which I underlined.

The first four things I marked in the book where:

 

• “Freedom is what we’re looking for, and value is the way to achieve it.”
• “The new reality is that working at a job may be far riskier choice. Instead take the safe road and go out on your own.”
• “The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind. – Maya Angelou”
• “Freedom isn’t something to be envisioned in the vaguely distance future-the future is now.”

People should be valued and what we are providing should be a value.  By going out on our own we are not having one place which controls our job.  Whether we are self employed or employed in the traditional sense, we need to see ourselves as self employed. It is our character and conduct which keep us at a job and the amount of value we put into it and receive from it and allow us to move to a different position if desired.  

The full title of this book is “The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.” The problem is once the bulldozer goes through, that clearing stands out and that freedom is all you see.  Is that really a problem though?  It is when you attempt to settle back into what “worked” before. So the area is cleared and we can let it grow back as a before or we can keep is clear waiting for ______ or we can build something new.  Should we take the bulldozer out again and even out the surrounding area?

K, bye

What will we do once the bulldozer has gone through?

Greetings,

Today Zig Ziglar physically died. This morning I heard the news of his passing via the Ziglar Facebook page and have spent much time thinking about all the people he impacted.  These thoughts brought tears to the area around my eye sockets.  I have never talked to him or seen him live and have yet to read any of his books.  However, I have listened to some free audio recordings of him over and over and read some of his blog posts.  (To find that audio go the bottom of this blog The Master Key Is Golden)  When I heard of his passing I told my dad and he noted how he had seen Zig speak live years ago.  In some ways he impacted my dad who has in return impacted me for the better.

Zig influenced countless people.  His teachings reached many generations within his life time. He will be remembered for many things. He taught on marriage and parenting and work and goal setting and many other things.  He was able to weave them together and also separate them, along with creating short quotes that need to be used for generations to come. “Ziglar..inspiring true performance” is the overarching slogan on the Ziglar Inc. website.   He taught lessons that are “timeless.” He encouraged people to live a life of fullness that would also bless others with the overflow.

I searched for “Zig Ziglar” on Twitter and found many great quotes from and him.

Here are a few:

• “The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now.”
• “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”
• “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
• “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
• “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
• “What comes out of your mouth is determined by what goes into your mind.”
• “Be helpful. When you see a person without a smile, give them yours.”
• “Motivation is like showering. The effects are not long term – but that’s why it’s recommend that you do it daily.”
• “It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you.”
• “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.”
• “You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.”
• “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
• “Whatever you consistently attach to the words ‘I am,’ you will become.”
• “If you don’t see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner.”
• “The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job .”
• “Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.”

(Note: While copying and pasting these quotes, over one-hundred and fifty mentions of his name were added to Twitter)

One quote I specifically looked online for was, “Many people today say, ‘Well, everything is relative,’ which is also absurd. … It’s safe to say that virtually every husband and wife in America does not want their mate to be ‘relatively’ faithful.”

He was known for living what he taught. I have gained knowledge from him, but what he and the people at Ziglar Inc. want is for wisdom to take place.  This is done by acting on the knowledge.  …

You can learn more by checking out the links I mentioned prior and purchasing some of his material.

 

K, bye

By late December or early January I will be getting into the books I recently ordered from the Ziglar store. They are:

Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar

God’s Way Is Still the Best Way

See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition

Born to Win: Find Your Success Code

 

 What is a lesson you have you valued from Zig?