Message #83 - The Power of Preparation...

There's no Substitute for Being Prepared...Just Ask the 155 Passengers and Crew aboard the commercial US Air flight 1549 that CRASH landed into the Hudson on Jan 19, 2009....

Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger was piloting the plane and is largely credited for safely "crash" landing the plane into the Hudson, with NO CASUALTIES! That's astonishing folks!


Can you imagine the gratitude each and every passenger and crew member felt when they were finally safe on the ground, or should I say in the water...ALIVE!!! CLICK HERE to read the story.

When you read the level of experience Captain "Sully" has you begin to understand how he pulled this impressive feat off.

This is what we all should be striving for...Perfection of Execution! More importantly; Perfect Execution in the face of "less that perfect conditions". Crappy conditions...Holy SH#T conditions...You get what I mean. His focus must have been incredible...no time to think about it...only action.

This is where all the training and experience PAYS OFF. This is where and when one can only act based on their prior training and preparation.

Captain "Sully" could not have performed at the level he did without the countless hours of preparation...not knowing that one day he would save the lives of 154 others, not to mention his own. Captain "Sully" can fly any plan that I'm on, any time!!!

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE CHALLENGE THAT WILL FACE YOU ONE DAY.

Message #82 - To be Great You Can Never Lose Your Passion...

We all Have Set Backs...Challenges...and yes sometimes Failures...






It is said this farmer boy could not read nor write, failed and went broke five times. His company has survived 8 Recessions, 1 Oil Crisis and 1 Great Depression. ( Ford Motor will make it through this) .







He was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, "he didn't have enough sense." (FW Woolworth was founded during the Long Depression that lasted 23 year with a loan of $300 and in 2001 changed its name to Footlocker).







Fired by his newspaper editor who said, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built the largest entertainment company in the world. (Walt Disney's creations have since survived 1 Great Depression and 7 Recessions.)

Click Here to read what one of the world's greatest leaders had to say about hardships and difficulties.

Lee Kemp's website www.leekemp.com

Message #74 - How do you make a CHANGE in your LIFE?

It All About Being Able to Change......

When you change your thinking, You change your beliefs;

When you change your beliefs, You change your expectations;

When you change your expectations, You change your attitude;

When you change your attitude, You change your behavior;

When you change your behavior, You change your performance;

When you change your performance, You change your life!

This quote is from Dr. Walter Doyle Staples http://www.doctorstaples.com/

Message #56 - NEVER GIVE UP!

A TRUE LEADER

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, British statesman, orator, and author who as prime minister (1940–45, 1951–55) led the British people during World War II against Adolf Hitler's challenge, and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory. His leadership not only saved his country from the oppression of Hitler, but his leadership saved the rest of the free world. Wrap your brain around that! CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND YOU WILL GET A GLIMPSE OF THIS GREAT MAN!

Message #29 - Doing The Impossible David Style

We're All Familiar with the "David and Goliath" Account in the Bible. Ever Wonder How David Got Up the Confidence to go Out and not only Challenge Goliath but Defeat Him? In Addition to Having God on His Side, David Actually Used A Success Principle. Read On.

Background 1Samuel 17:1-58
The Nation of Israel was preparing for war with the Philistines and as part of the preparation, each day both camps would face off and shout back and forth at each other trying to gain a psychological edge (just plain old trying to psych each other out). Well, the Philistines had this fellow named Goliath, who not only did his share of shouting but he completely psyched out the entire Israel army because of his shear size. "When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear." 1Samuel 17:24

Goliath was a champion that stood over 9 feet tall, he had a brass helmet and coat of armour that weighed over 125 pounds, and the spear head on his staff weighed over 15 pounds. Goliath would lead the Philistine camp each day and offer a challenge to the Israelite army.

Each day, for 40 days, Goliath shouted a challenge to the Israelite army to send someone from their ranks to fight him. Goliath was a "bad" man and he would taut the Israeli army: "Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me." 1Samuel 17:8. "Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”" 1Samuel 17:10

Goliath's challenge had these conditions; if he was defeated the entire Philistine nation would be the servants of the Israeli nation. But if he was victorious the entire Israeli nation would be the servants of the Philistines. No one from the Israel army wanted to fight Goliath, in fact the entire army was terrified of Goliath and saw him as unbeatable and viewed his challenge as an "Impossible task. No one from the Israelite army took the challenge...except "you know who"

The Opportunity

David, just a boy at the time, was assigned to attending his father's sheep, and one day his father sent him to the battle camp to deliver some food to his older brothers and to see how they were doing. While at the camp David heard Goliath offer his challenge to the Israeli army. "As he was talking with them [his brothers], Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it." 1Samuel 17:23.

David became curious and asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1Samuel 17:26. There was a great reward for the man that defeated the Philistine giant. David wanted in on it and began to confidently ask more questions and his confident curiosity was overheard by others at the camp and was reported to the King of Israel, Saul, and Saul sent for him (this is how desperate King Saul was that he would talk to a boy about such a serious matter). When David met with King Saul this is what he said to him: “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 1Samuel 17:32. WOW! Why not DREAM BIG!

The Doubters
When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 1Samuel 17:28.

King Saul couldn't possibly have though that David, a young boy, could solve this "Goliath" problem. Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” 1Samuel 17:33

The Success Principle - Past Successes of a Similar Nature Creates Confidence in Your Current Situation
"But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 1Samuel 17:34-37.

Did you see what King, Saul said to David “Go, and the Lord be with you.” Boy, King Saul must have been desperate!

You know the rest of the Biblical Account...David was successful in defeating Goliath! Three points to remember:

1. David wasn't afraid of challenges and challenged himself on a regular basis.


2. David had prior successes in situations similar to the one he was currently facing.


3. David took a step of faith and accepted a new challenge.

Learn to Accept New Challenges

Message #24 - What is Commitment?

Remember the Story about the Chicken and the Pig, and how they contribute to our Breakfast? What's a small sacrifice of the eggs for the Chicken, becomes a total commitment for the Pig when he provides the bacon.

Joking aside. There is Great Power in making a Commitment. People often think because they are making some sacrifices (large or small) towards a goal that they are committed to the goal; when in fact they are not really committed at all. Sacrifices and Commitments are different...very different!

Sacrifices may get you in the game but commitments get the job done! Making Sacrifices are a lot like making Promises in that when things get tough, promises are ofter broken and sacrifices are often stopped. What separates sacrifices and promises from commitments is that Commitments are Never Broken or Stopped. Sounds tough when you hear it like that.

“Unless a commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes and maybe a little sacrifice...., but no plan of definite action and uncompromising will to succeed"

The one common denominator for all personal achievement is a person's ability to make a Commitment (to themselves) to do what every it takes to achieve the Goal. It's the "Let's Get'er Done"..."Cowboy up"..."Burn Your Ship"..."Go Ahead Make My Day" or quite simply "I'm going to do this no matter what!!! attitude". Remember commitments are NEVER BROKEN.

"Chickens and Pigs look at life differently...Which are you?"

Message #18 - Dreaming Big Shackleton Style

Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance

In December 1914, Shackleton set sail, on "the Endurance" with his 27-man crew, to accomplish something that had never been done before...to be the first to completely cross the Antarctic continent on foot. This was an extremely dangerous mission.

To select many of the 27-man crew, it is said, they had responded to the following recruitment notice: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. —Ernest Shackleton."

Ice conditions were unusually harsh, and the wooden ship, which Shackleton had renamed Endurance after his family motto, Fortitudine Vincimus—"by endurance we conquer," became trapped in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea. For 10 months, the Endurance drifted, locked within the ice, until the pressure crushed the ship. With meager food, clothing and shelter, Shackleton and his men were stranded on the ice floes, where they camped for five months.

When they had drifted to the northern edge of the pack, encountering open leads of water, the men sailed the three small lifeboats they'd salvaged to a bleak crag called Elephant Island. They were on land for the first time in 497 days; however, it was uninhabited and, due to its distance from shipping lanes, provided no hope for rescue.

Recognizing the severity of the physical and mental strains on his men, Shackleton and five others immediately set out to take the crew's rescue into their own hands. In a 22-foot lifeboat named the James Caird, they accomplished the impossible, surviving a 17-day, 800-mile journey through the world's worst seas to South Georgia Island, where a whaling station was located.

The six men landed on an uninhabited part of the island, however, so their last hope was to cross 26 miles of mountains and glaciers, considered impassable, to reach the whaling station on the other side. Starved, frostbitten and wearing rags, Shackleton and two others made the trek, and on the afternoon of May 20, 1916, Shackleton, Worsley and Crean walked into South Georgia's Stromness station. They had marched non-stop for 36 hours. Dressed in rags and black with blubber smoke, they were unrecognizable. The station manager asked "Who the hell are you?" "My name is Shackleton," was the modest reply.

After arriving at the Stromness station, Shackleton made immediate plans to rescue the Elephant Island group. The Norwegians volunteered a ship; but 60 miles from Elephant Island, the ice prevented the unprotected vessel from continuing. As the months passed, Shackleton made increasingly frantic rescue attempts, each time thwarted by ice or weather. At last, on August 30, they succeeded in bringing through the Yelcho, a tug loaned by the Chilean government. It was their fourth attempt. Four months had passed since the Caird's departure, and Shackleton feared the worst.

On Elephant Island, the Yelcho was spotted. As the castaways ran onto the beach, Shackleton, straining through binoculars, counted anxiously. "They are all there!" Worsley reported him crying. It was August 1916, 21 months after the initial departure of the Endurance, Shackleton returned to rescue the men on Elephant Island. Although they'd withstood the most incredible hardship and privation, not one member of the 28-man crew was lost.

Shackleton was quoted as saying "If anything should happen to those fellows while waiting for me, I shall feel like a murderer."

Message #15 - “Burn the Ships”

Commitment is the foundation of all Success

This phrase “Burn The Ships” comes from a historic conquest of history when, in 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico on the shores of the Yucatan, with only one objective…seize the great treasures known to be there, hoarded by the Aztecs. Cortez was committed to his mission and his quest for riches is legendary. Cortez was an excellent motivator, he convinced more than 500 soldiers and 100 sailors to set sail from Spain to Mexico, commanding 11 ships, to take the world’s riches treasure. The historic question is “how a small band of Spanish soldiers arrived in a strange country and swiftly brought about the overthrow of a large and powerful empire that was in power for over six centuries?”

For Cortez, the answer was easy. It was all or nothing! A Complete and Total Commitment. Here’s how Cortez got the “buy in” from the rest of his men. He took away the option of failure. It was conquer and be hero’s and enjoy the spoils of victory…or DIE! When Cortez and his men arrived on the shores of the Yucatan he rallied the men for one final pep talk before leading his men into battle, and utters these three words that changed the course of history. “Burn the Ships”.

He met with resistance from his men. "Burn the ships," he repeated. He then uttered these words "if we are going home, we are going home in their ships". With that, Cortez and his men burned their own ships, and by burning their own ships, the commitment level of the men was raised to a whole new level. A level much higher than any of the men, including Cortez, could have ever imagined.

Amazingly, the men conquered the Aztecs and had succeeded in something where others had been unsuccessful for six centuries. With the victory Cortez and his men took the treasure. Why did they win? They had no escape. No fall back position. They had no choice! It was "succeed or die". Their ships were burned. They had no way to get back. Their backs were to the wall.

To “really succeed” you must have an attitude much like that of Cortez and his men. Cortez and his men did not have a “crutch” or “fall back position”. They frankly didn’t have any options. It was simply “succeed or DIE”. Pretty strong position, isn’t it? How would you like to be engaged in fighting someone with that level of motivation and commitment?

This is the level of motivation and commitment you must have. The “BURN YOUR SHIP” level of motivation and commitment. Take away your crutches and excuses and burn the ships that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Identity the ships in your life that are keeping you from accomplishing dreams. I have a saying and it’s “Dream Big”. I have a new saying and it’s “Burn your Ship”. You see, whatever prevents you from achieving your goals and dreams are ships that must be burned. Not dismantled, or run ashore…but burned and destroyed.

If we know that our ships are still out there, when things get tough we instinctively head for our ships so we can escape. It's just human nature. The path of least resistance. This level of thinking and commitment sees sacrifice as a positive thing, not something weird or impossible, but something to be cherished and fought for. Cortez didn’t allow himself or his men to have the option of going back to Spain. By removing this option, Cortez and his men were forced to focus on how they could make the mission successful. And so it is with you. How can you make the missions in your life successful?

This is really a story about commitment. Commitment is the foundation of success. Not a single accomplishment is ever achieved without it. By focusing on commitment, we seal our future.