James Smith’s Info Serv

Do you remember the story of The Wizard of Oz?  In this story we saw the characters of Dorothy, who had wanted to run away from home because she thought there was a better place somewhere.  We also met the scarecrow who believed he had no brain, the lion who thought he had no courage, and the kindly tin man who assumed he had no heart.

Together the four of them set off to the Emerald City to find the wizard in hopes that he could bestow upon them these virtues and find a way for Dorothy to go back home.

Even though Dorothy had thought she had wanted to be somewhere else, once she arrived in Munchkin Land she realized that hers dreams of being in a different place were not what she thought they would be.  Disappointed in the reality she desperately wanted to return to Kansas and be with her loving family.

How many of us can relate to their dilemma? For some reason we think there is greener pasture on the other side or that we do not possess the characteristics necessary to fulfill our dreams.

From a very young age, many of us are told that we can not do this or that because we do not have the talent or that we are not wise enough, or strong enough, or smart enough. What happens is that we end up living our lives in character with what others have told us about ourselves and in our personal belief system about ourselves.

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I’ve got some bad news for you; you won’t get the opportunity to read this incredible book entitled The Stevedore in the White Fedora. This novel, filled to the brim with stirring passages, was going to captivate your imagination and take you on a breathtaking adventure to some of the most infamous ports of the world. Replete with intrigue, passion, action, suspense, drama, and hot romance, this book was assuredly going to reach the top of the best-sellers list. And the ensuing movie based on that captivating story was going to rivet you to your seat to the point you would forget all about your popcorn and cola.

The only problem is … the book has not been written yet. And it never will be. That’s because Isaac Will, who had the whole splendid script in his head and who kept promising himself he was going to take time off to write it someday, died of a heart attack four days ago. Mr. I. Will’s funeral will take place at 3:30 today, in Somerset Cemetery.

Those who knew him well selected for his tombstone a fitting poem by James Albery:

He slept beneath the moon,
He basked beneath the sun,
Lived a life of going-to-to soon,
And died with nothing done.
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A definition of time management might be a process of gaining flexibility and cutting back time. The advantage to having a time management plan is that we are loosing something that brings us reward and gaining something that brings us bigger rewards. We end up with a “no loosing” situation if our time management plan is right.

To develop a successful time management plan we must first evaluate our time. We must sit down and ask ourselves how long does it take us to eat? How long does it take us to get dressed and groom for work? How long does it take us to prepare the meals we have to eat? Everything we do takes a certain amount of time. You might start out by writing down just how much time it takes to do each of your very have to tasks each day.
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It doesn’t matter what area you are in, it doesn’t matter what Your intentions are, you need these 4 magic words. Whether you realise it or not, you use these to achieve anything and everything, and any lack of success can be traced to a lack of one or more of them.

They all begin with the letter ‘A’, blimey, just imagine if I went through the whole alphabet!

Attitude.

This includes taking responsibility for your life, for your actions and the consequences. It includes having the faith to push yourself beyond your comfort zone time and time again.

You need to have the belief that you *expect* to succeed, and the belief that you are fully worthy of getting anything you want.

If your attitude is correct, then you will have no trouble with the second magic word:

Action.

Without action, all the dreams in your head, all your ambitions, will stay exactly where they are, in your head.

Without action, you will forever be saying ‘one day’, and ‘when the time is right’. Take the first step, whatever it may be, take it.

You will either find that it *was* the right step, in which case you will realise that your goal is that bit closer, or you will find that you have taken a wrong step, and hey, guess what?

This *also* makes your dream closer! It’s a win-win situation.

When you take action, you will be truly astounded by the opportunities that present themselves to you, which you never would have thought of before hand. This shows that although making plans is essential, taking action is even more essential, because you open yourself up to all the help that unexpectedly comes your way.

A great example of taking action is the third magic word:

Ask.

Just ask! Do not think that the world knows what you want without you asking, and do not prejudge, do not decide what the world’s answer will be.

Many people have a real problem with asking for things, it’s a failing in our education if you ask me, but it is stunning how often the answer is a simple ‘yes’, if you just have the courage to ask.

And the fourth magic word beginning with the letter ‘A’?

Abracadabra. Not a very good joke I agree, but it makes me laugh. Abracadabra, magic word… Geddit? Hhhm.

So there we are, get your ATTITUDE right, which will enable you to take ACTION, and often the simplest action you can take is just to ASK.

The path will just unfold before you, take it from me.

About the Author
Gordon Bryan
gordon [Email address: gordon #AT# gordonbryan.com - replace #AT# with @ ]
Gordon Bryan writes The Great Gordino Newsletter, focusing on self-improvement, goal achievement and wealth creation. Sign up at: http://www.gordonbryan.com

The road to Someday leads to a town called Nowhere. -Tony Robbins, Speaker … Author