Wednesday, December 30, 2009

This Week [53] Motivation

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NO GUARANTEES (by Azizi Ali) - Taken from http://www.MillionairesPlanet.com/
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I spoke at a company in Malacca recently. We all had a great time, laughed and yes, learnt how to manage our money better. At the end of the talk, a significant number of the participants rushed to get some of the products we had for sale at the back of the seminar room. Most of them were eager to pick more information so they will become even better in managing their finances.



From the corner of my eyes, I noticed a young man in the crowd looking at my two books. He would pick them up, put them down and repeat the process a couple of time. Finally, he turned to me and asked, "Mr. Azizi, can you guarantee that I will become a millionaire if I buy your books?"



I smiled at him. I wished that I could tell him yes but I knew that the answer was no. Not because the books were not good - they are excellent - but because of him. The reality is that there is only one person who can make him rich. And that one person is not me. It's not his manager, not the CEO of his company, not the finance minister and not even the prime minister. That person is him.



Folks, the only person in the world who can make you rich is you. The only person in the world who can make you smart, brilliant or successful is you. The only person in the world who can make you achieve all your goals and dreams is you. The rest of us - elders, parents, teachers, educators and leaders - can only share knowledge, ideas and wisdom. But if you do nothing with that knowledge, you will remain where you are, facing the same problems day in day out until the maker comes a-calling.



Coming back to our story and the young man; he just put the books down and faded into the darkness of the night. I will probably never see him again so I wished him well. But I know where he will end up - broke, angry and wishing for a second chance at life when he is 65.



Folks, the reality is this - there are no guarantees in life.



The moment we are born, there is no guarantee that we will live to a ripe old age. When we go to school, there is no guarantee that we will graduate. When we go to work, there is no guarantee that we will keep the job for life. When we get married, there is no guarantee that we will stay married for life. And when we invest, there is no guarantee that we will make more money.



So I'll say it again, folks, there are no guarantees in life. The faster you accept that, the better.



Because the ones who will create waves are the ones who are willing to put their necks on the block. The ones who achieve lofty heights are the ones who are willing to climb - even though they are scared of heights. Those who want to play it safe (read guarantees) will wind up working for those who are willing to live dangerously.



There's an old joke that I'm sure you've read and heard many times before. But because the point is still valid, I'll retell it one more time: there are three types of men. The first type makes things happen; the second type see things happen; and the last type stand there with his mouth wide open, "Huh! What happened?".



Incidentally, the first groups of men who make things happen never ask for guarantees. They just go ahead and do what is needed to be done.

So no, I cannot guarantee that you will become a millionaire by reading my books. Neither can Thomas J. Stanley, Robert G. Allen or Robert Kiyosaki for that matter. What we can do is increase your chances of achieving what it is that you want. We do this by educating, training, guiding, mentoring and coaching. That is why we publish books, conducts seminars, training and coaching sessions.



Now I'm not saying that one must read my books or come to my seminars. Read all the books and go to as many seminars as you can - you will learn from each one of them.



There are thousands of great books out there written by marvelous authors - Steven Covey, Anthony Robbins and Deepak Chopra to name but just three. Let's not forget Malaysia's own - Rajen Devadason, Billi Lim, Lilian Too and ehm, ehm, a certain Azizi Ali. There are also world class speakers and trainers in Malaysia - Dato Lawrence Chan leads the pack. So read, listen and learn. Get better. Grow.



Because once the knowledge is in your hands, you don't need any guarantees.

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