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Browse published articles attributed to Matthew Toone, with full-archive search.
Each of us is exposed to and bombarded by – on a daily basis – an evil that is extremely enticing and appealing, so selfishly gratifying (temporarily), so unavoidably addictive, and so incredibly damaging to our thoughts, lives, families, and society.
“If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” ~ Thomas A. Edison “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
As important as it is for children and teenagers to understand these 8 essential principles below – it is far more important that their parents actually know, understand, live and exemplify them before trying to teach them to their kids. 1)What Do Kids Want … That Money Can’t Buy: Our me-oriented culture has engrained into our minds that to show love or appreciation for another person, we must buy them something. As a result, our children’s closets are full, toys are everywhere, and candy is always accessible. And yet, so many children are still not satisfied and happy. Why?
Worrying feeds fears and doubts. Worrying wastes time and consumes energy. Worrying weakens ambition and breeds inaction. Worrying will cripple our confidence, faith, and ability to reason. Worrying kills the ability to think big and reveals an inability to control one’s thoughts. Worrying is the first step towards failure and limits our potential. And yet, ironically, worrying is at times necessary, can be a protection, and is found within everybody. Unfortunately, the ability to discipline and train the mind how to stop worrying is found in so few, and yet, it is so important.
There is a sad, unfortunate, and all-too-common scenario that happens on the street corners of the majority of large cities across the world. The situation is familiar to us all because we each have faced it several times. And while the locations and people may be different, the circumstances are often similar. Usually the setting includes a man or woman who is extremely unkept, smells and looks as though they have not showered for weeks, is often sitting next to the entirety of what they own, and their eyes and hands are outstretched pleading for assistance.
What does L.F.G. stand for, and what is the story behind this acronym? Would you believe me if I told you that understanding and applying the principles of this acronym would ensure your success in anything in life? In early 2008, I started a real estate investing business. In the process of setting up the legal entity, I wanted to choose a company name that reflected what type of business it was, and yet also be something that was personally meaningful and applicable to me.
The greatest challenge we will face in life – in fact, the very purpose of our existence – is to learn how to develop self-control and discipline ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, morally, financially, intellectually, and spiritually. The difficulty of this necessary task should suggest the importance of the effort – for all things worthwhile require great work, discipline, and persistence.
Your success in life is not determined by the education obtained, institutions attended, career accomplishments, awards won, or the wealth you acquire. Real success in life is solely determined on who you become, the character and attributes you develop, the people you help, and whether or not at the end of the day you were true to the most important priorities in life – namely: God & Family. And yet our culture and society certainly do not proclaim that same message.
The greatest challenge and obstacle on the pathway to success is learning how to completely control our thoughts. Do you realize that you can literally think your way into success! The thoughts we allow and entertain in our own minds – whether they are positive or negative, believing or fearful, pure or immoral, dreaming or doubting – they will literally become our very actions. Over time, as we all know, our actions become habits – and it is our daily habits that determine and create our potential, character, and eventual destiny.
What are your dreams? We each have them, and they literally shape our thoughts and hopes. But, do you actually believe your dreams are possible? The unfortunate reality for most of us is that our dreams remain only as thoughts and wishes and never convert into actions. Ask yourself this important question – are you planning on making your dreams a reality someday … or are you actually doing something now to accomplish them? The great Og Mandino said it so well when he wrote: “My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.
People everywhere have incredible ideas, reachable goals, and untapped potential – but they are far more scared of actually accomplishing their dreams than they are of failing to achieve them. The reason is because being average or just good is certainly easier than the work required to become great or successful in anything. And yet, usually it is not the work and effort that most frightens us, it is the lack of belief in ourselves and that our dreams are possible that dictates our decisions of not taking action, never taking risks, and becoming content with mediocrity.
The other day I ran into a woman who asked me the typical question that seems to be a common start to many conversations. She asked: “So what do you do?” First of all, being an entrepreneur who has his feet in many waters, I never quite know how to answer that question.
Success has never been achieved based solely upon talent, circumstance, brains, or even courage. It is obtained when specific goals are combined with an organized plan, commitment to that plan is combined with a belief that it is possible, and daily action is combined with continual persistence despite the inevitable failures that will occur along the journey.
In March 2008, I had an experience that I am positive many of us have had – perhaps several times. It all started with an IDEA in my mind! I had been talking with a friend on the phone and he mentioned something to me that sparked a business idea that I knew would work, and that I was extremely passionate about.
Resumes are essential documents that communicate our past experience, outline our previous accomplishments, and even reveal a portion of our current character. They are so essential that employers, educational institutions, and companies everywhere must require them in order to assess our abilities, compare us against other applicants, and determine which person applying will be the most successful. In fact, resumes are perhaps the greatest indicator of future performance, based upon our past experience.
There is a path, called ‘the path to success,’ which everyone is traveling on. Scattered randomly throughout the journey are occasional forks in the road that require us to make difficult decisions. Both paths of these diverging forks bring with them certain appeal, rewards, risks, drawbacks, as well as consequences. The fork on the left, for example, is often much more appealing because the path is usually paved, it is always full of fellow travelers, and looks a whole lot easier than the fork on the right.
Before applying the secrets of success, one must understand what they are. This article is not focused on actually outlining and explaining in detail what the secrets of success are – its purpose is to demonstrate how they are applicable to any of our goals, pursuits, and dreams in life.
You can become and accomplish anything in life! Your successes, greatness, and potential are determined by you alone; and all of the characteristics necessary to achieve your goals and dreams already lie within you. Our success and potential is not determined by talent or ability, knowledge or money, race or gender, or even circumstance or setting – it is created, developed, and determined from within ourselves. Our dreams and goals will be achieved only when we understand and implement the fundamental laws and secrets for success.
Never forget that entrepreneurs are not born – they are created! Within you already lie the essential elements to be successful as an entrepreneur – and in anything in life – because you literally are capable of becoming and accomplishing anything. Remember though that an understanding of the principles below will certainly contribute to the accomplishment of your dreams and goals, but only if they are applied and acted upon continually. Perhaps most importantly, the attribute, characteristic, and action that will contribute most to your success is determining now to never quit.
We all have heard and know that the majority of wealth in this nation was acquired through … Real Estate. The secret of the wealthy is actually no secret at all – they understand that purchasing properties is the key to achieving financial independence, freedom, and wealth. Because people realize this, there is an entire market of real estate investing products ranging from books to seminars to coaching programs that promise this same success and wealth.
Fear is unnecessary worry. Fear is a lack of self-confidence. Fear is evidence of an inability to control one’s thoughts. Fear is often the underlying reason for failure. Fear limits one’s potential because the thought of fear results in inaction. Fear, ironically, is both necessary and a protection; but unfortunately, people use fear’s protection as a sad justification and excuse for an inability to take a risk. Fear is in everyone. And thankfully, fear is controllable and can be overcome.
People everywhere have incredible ideas, hidden talents, unlimited potential, and reachable dreams, but they spend too much time listening to the voices of fear and doubt in their own minds that they thus never take a risk and put forth the necessary action required to realize those goals, dreams, and potential. They fail because they don’t attempt. Fears are thoughts of unnecessary worry and often demonstrate an inability to control one’s thoughts. Doubts are voices in one’s mind, or thoughts created by the irrelevant comments of others. Failures are events, not people.
The majority of personal successes in life are usually accomplished after the individual determines to not give up when they experience a failure. This reality should suggest that dreams and goals are absolutely possible, but most often aren’t achieved because we quit during the ascent up the hill, not realizing the prize is just a few more steps away. Likewise, this truth should also suggest that any dream or goal, in order to be accomplished, most certainly will be accompanied by temporary failures and requires consistent effort.
Usually, the difference between success and failure is attempt! Courage is more important than ability, faith is more powerful than experience, and action produces far more than knowledge. Ironically, the majority of our daily actions require taking a risk; in fact, progress and risk are synonymous. Thus, we must not only develop the ability to take calculated risks, decide confidently, and act quickly, but to also realize that avoiding failures, listening to fears and doubts, practicing idleness, and being content with mediocrity is just as risky.
Achievement of any goal or dream in life is the result of many contributing thoughts, attributes, and actions that cumulatively define the ‘law of success.’ Are any of these actions or attributes more important than the other? I don’t think so necessarily; however, without one essential attribute, perhaps none of the other actions would ever take place. This essential attribute is: self-esteem! To be successful in anything in life, you must first be willing to take risks. However, in order to take a risk, you absolutely must overcome the voices of fear and failure.