and many people go through life never
getting in touch with their greatness
because of the lack of motivation to
push themselves or because they have not
found something that they believe to be
worthwhile to challenge them that many
are talented persons have gone unnoticed
and the world never had a chance to be
exposed to their talent because that
person did not take the time to begin to
express or to demonstrate or to motivate
themselves in the direction to bring
that which they came into the universe
to bring many people will leave the
universe without a trace no one will
know they were here and in fact under
their name we could put under they’re
not used up will anybody know that you
came this way what contribution are you
giving what will you leave what will be
different because you came this way
that life is our gift to us that God has
given us and how we live our lives is
our gift to God what kind of gift
are you formulating is this a gift that
you like to take back and do something
else before you turn it in think about
that what can we do what are some of the
keys that we can begin to use to
motivate ourselves when our batteries
run low because I don’t care who you are
I don’t care what you do at some time
you are going to get tired at some time
you’re going to get in a rut seem like
nothing you do works out right and
sometimes it just seems like you just
don’t have the wherewithal of a will to
do anything that sometimes you act like
you’re punch-drunk
you’re just leading through like just
during time day in and day out looking
at nondiscriminatory television anything
that’s all just looking and depressed
feeling powerless feeling useless and
bored
what do you do how did you get yourself
out of a rut how do you when you know
you can do more than what you’ve been
doing and you’re not doing it and you’re
discontinued where you are you get angry
at yourself how do you get out of that
rut how do you motivate yourself one of
the things that we must do is that we
must be involved in working on achieving
self mastery you must work on yourself
continuously never be satisfied with
yourself always know that as you invest
the effort and time on you that’s the
greatest ability that human beings have
above animals see a dog can’t be
anything but a dog tree can’t be
anything but a tree human being you’ve
got unlimited potential you can put
effort on you and by concentrating on
you and developing you you can transform
your life wherever you are right now so
you want to work on yourself you want to
read books that inspire you and motivate
you you want to listen to tapes over and
over and over again and I suggest that
you listen to tapes when you first get
up in the morning you want to control
the spirit of your day when you first
wake up in the morning your mind is
operating at 10.5 wave cycles per second
that’s when the subconscious mind is
most impressionable whatever you hear in
the first 20 minutes when you wake up
that will affect the spirit of your day
when you listen to tapes listen with
relaxed belief believing that this can
happen for you and by listening to them
listen to them over and over and over
again and you will get a breakthrough
you can listen to the same tape for
months and all of a sudden you hear
something you never heard before it have
a special meaning for you
I’ll read the same book over again and
you’ll find some special insight you
said I can’t believe I didn’t see that
the first time so you want to be
involved in developing yourself most
people won’t do that most people won’t
take that kind of effort and invest that
kind of energy in themselves because
they will fall prey to that conversation
within oh don’t do that you don’t have
time you’re too busy you’re too caught
up in the rat race most people won’t do
that well they won’t
time to go to lectures they won’t take
time to go to seminars they won’t take
time to go to classes to improve
themselves and as you continue to work
on yourself you will begin to expand
your vision of yourself you begin to
work toward self mastery and you will
begin to see it reflect itself in all
the dimensions of your life your mental
life your physical life your social life
in your relationships your monetary life
so concentrate on developing yourself
because if you don’t I guarantee you
that you will make a settlement and most
people have and most of us already have
what kind of settlement have you made
with your life but many of us are making
in life settlement we’re settling for
less than what we actually deserve we
don’t feel good about it but we make it
work at our minds we’ll come up with
some kind of excuse to make it all right
what kind of settlement have you made
with your life many of us settled for
less than what we want out of
relationships because we don’t have the
courage to change them the next thing is
in order to begin to find some keys to
self motivation to drive yourself in
addition to working on yourself and as
you work on yourself you feel good about
yourself and as you feel better about
yourself you treat yourself differently
develop a health plan so you can’t feel
well and do well if you don’t have good
health you can’t perform if you don’t
have your health
you’ll help this valuable develop a
health plan a plan that you will follow
because this is the only vehicle that
you have to carry you through this
experience called life and you want to
take good care of it because you love
you enough you care enough about you and
that’s not easy it is not easy having a
health plan and sticking to it but
you’re worth it doing it again and again
and again
next thing is as you take care of
yourself the next key is keys to
motivation to self motivation you want
to live life with energy and passion
you want to make a conscious effort to
be Lively see in life you either say
hello or goodbye you either on the way
or in the way you want to be happy you
got a lot to be thankful for but you
watch some of the faces around you every
day and I tell you some of these faces
they will put you in a depressed state
of mind so you want to avoid these kind
of faces when you see them come and turn
your head the things that you say to
yourself you want to watch them and in
watching them you want to take charge so
you’ve got to learn to stand up to
yourself inside yourself and
short-circuit override that conversation
that’s always going on 85% of what that
conversation will tell you is negative
it’s negative it will tell you you’re
tied when you really are not tired it
will tell you you can’t do it it will
fill you with fear so you’ve got to
watch that conversation and when you
find it going on you’ve got to stand up
to it and say I’m going to do this
anyhow I’m afraid but I’m afraid not to
do it and I’m not going to let you stop
me the biggest challenge that you will
have in life is you there’s an old
African proverb that says is there’s no
enemy within the enemy outside can do us
no harm the next thing that is a key to
self-motivation is that you’ve got to
ask yourself what do I want out of life
what do you want out of life what do you
want out of a job what do you want out
of career what do you want out of a
relationship what do you want what gives
you your life what how do you know when
you got it what will make you happy you
need to know you need to start asking
yourself some questions what do I really
really truly want you need to be exact
about that don’t be vague oh I just want
to be happy that’s too vague what will
make you happy how will you know when
you got it zero in on it be exact be
specific and as you do that that will
stimulate that super conscious mind or
the reticular activating system of your
mind then we’ll begin to find those
things to identify with it and once you
begin to determine that which you want
take the time to write it down don’t
just think about it write it down that
is the subjective process that engages
the subconscious mind write it down once
you write it down read it three times a
day morning noon and night why is that
important because what it will do it
will cause you to focus it will cause
you to concentrate when that other
conversation is going on telling you
what you cannot do telling you all of
the impossibilities and all of the
obstacles you’re concentrating will
begin to create a larger vision within
yourself and you start looking for and
seeing some new opportunities you start
creating some openings for yourself as
you begin to read that every day every
day day in and day out that will make
you focus that will discipline your
thinking and you’ll get all kind of
creative ideas as I talk to you right
now being involved in this immersion
process you’re going to create some
openings for yourself
you’re gonna get some ideas you’re gonna
feel your adrenaline flowing and you’re
gonna think about something some idea
you had you said I want to go back and
I’m gonna look at that again from a
different vantage point not from the
level of the problem of the obstacles
that I encountered but from a higher
vantage point because what you will
begin to see him to know as I have
talked to the higher consciousness
within you that you are powerful that
you are a miracle worker and that inner
conversation has conditioned you to
believe that you’re not and as you begin
to discover the truth of who you are
whatever challenge that you’re facing in
life and if you’re living you’re facing
some challenge you’ll begin to know that
you are powerful and that you America
maker
let’s look at how we can begin to keep
our commitments remembering what dr.
Robert Anthony said about results when
you keep your commitments you’re able to
produce some different kinds of results
in your life so how can we keep our
commitments and do we keep all
commitments no we don’t you will not be
at 100% however you will have a greater
percentage rate of maintaining your
commitments to yourself whatever those
things might be if it’s going into
business if it’s if it’s changing a
habit that you know that works against
you if it’s overcoming self-destructive
behavior if it’s retraining your
thinking if it’s reinventing yourself if
it’s trying to begin to design your
relationship differently all of us have
a possibility by focusing and really
harnessing our attention and
concentrating on it
we really have available to us the power
to honor our commitments in those
particular areas so number one make it
priority see no one would go get on an
airplane if you thought your chances of
getting there to your destination we’re
as good as your luggage am I correct
see and I say the reason that you will
reach your destination more times in
your luggage will is because the airline
and I’m glad that they do has made it a
priority to move the human beings from
one point to the other safely and not
send you off to Boston or someplace with
your luggage so I’m not really upset
when my luggage doesn’t show up I’m glad
they delivered me
because they’ve made me a priority see
they have made delivering you to your
destination important so if you want to
honor your commitment whatever you
decide that you’re going to do make sure
you make it important make sure it is
priority keep it before you the other
thing is whatever that you want to do
whatever you want to begin to create and
beginning to manifest your greatness and
and strengthening your level of
commitment and it’s it’s really
exercising your will find something that
you want to do on your goal one action
step but make sure it stretches you that
it challenges you but it’s durable that
you can do it this year I decided that I
was going to exercise so I started out
doing just ten setups and ten push-ups I
know I can do that and not get upset
about it I can do that without thinking
so I started out small now I’m up to
fifty but if I try to do fifty starting
out I wouldn’t still be doing it so I
started doing it in in manageable
segments do that and that that
strengthens your will so my commitment
now is stripping and fortified by the
activity of actually doing it so now I
can expand and build from there when I
decided to begin to manage my money
differently and I started saving 5% of
my money
then I increased it to 10% then to 15%
so now I have disciplined myself to live
off seventy-five percent of my income
that took discipline to do that but I
started watching how I was spending my
money I start keeping a log and
following myself so you want to begin to
find something that is manageable that
you know that you can do the next thing
and beginning to to keep your
commitments to yourself have some
friends that will hold you accountable
that won’t let you off the hook that
won’t tolerate anything less than the
best from you people that will support
you in this new way of being in this new
state of consciousness the other thing
is that important is have a contingency
plan
see many times when you make a
commitment to do something there are
some other variables that will happen
that you can’t control or you perhaps
did not think about so you want to have
some other plans going on you want to
become creative see most people don’t
keep their commitments because when
something goes wrong they just stop they
don’t have a contingency plan so they
don’t know what to do next stop being
creative if you challenge yourself many
times to say I don’t know what to do and
I always ask myself but if you did know
what to do less what will it be that
activates another part of my mind I’ll
stop thinking about the possibilities
and just experimenting but many many
months just stop dead in our tracks I
don’t know what to do you don’t know
what to do you got genius in you
challenges have pushed yourself make
yourself come up with something use your
imagination and what you will find is
that you know more than you realize that
you know that you’re more creative and
more resourceful than you realize that
you are and as you do that the more you
do it the easier it will become it first
is going to be a struggle and after you
get into a certain level of
consciousness you will ask yourself how
is it that I didn’t see this before at
the level that I’m managing my business
now they say consciousness is what we
are I literally look at myself and say
how is it that I didn’t do this before
why is it that I couldn’t see this
before and the reason that I didn’t see
it before because I didn’t challenge
myself I didn’t put myself out here see
the reason that most of us go through
life never discovering our true
greatness literally walking breathing
corpses the uncommitted life isn’t worth
living why because it doesn’t produce
anything so you only make things happen
your life only counts you only make a
difference when you are committed when
you make a commitment with your life
that’s the people that make a commitment
with their lives the people that make a
commitment to their customers the people
that make a commitment to their families
to their relationships are the people
that make the greatest impact in life
what is commitment commitment as the
salesmen who says look here I’m going to
make a thousand dollars today and I’m
not going home you can turn the lights
out the janitors could be running the
vacuum cleaner I’m not leaving here till
I do it I used to be a door-to-door
salesman I had
X number of TV’s I had a minimum amount
that I knew I had to sell every day in
order to provide for my mother who was
ill at the time who’d lost her job at
the M&M cafeteria because of arthritis
and I said I’m going to go door to door
and sometimes I would not come home
until one o’clock at night knocking on
people door people closing what do you
want would you like to buy a nice
working month’s television set no money
down no what about an emerson TV No
thank you very much do you know anybody
else that would be interested no thank
you very kindly knock on another hello
would you like to buy a nice working
television set no money down no get away
from our door thank you very kindly do
you know anybody else would be yeah my
cousin he lives two doors down thank you
very kindly I tell him you simply went
ahead your cousin told me that you want
to buy television said told me to come
in and talk to you got a special
discount for you yes come in I’m
interested I would just keep right on I
would not go home until I did it it’s an
interesting thing ladies and gentlemen
that when we put ourselves in a
situation where we say we’re going to do
it it puts you in another zone where the
universe responds to you when you have
that kind of consciousness see the
universe responds to the man or woman
that refuses to be denied because that
is your commitment that business that
you want that book you want to write
that dream that you have of controlling
your destiny that is yours that power to
create that and to manifest that that is
yours
that’s available to you but you’ve got
to be willing to stand there and face
disappointment not have support feel
lonely doubt yourself sometimes be
rejected again and again and again
become bankrupt if necessary again and
again and again and refuse to turn
around until life gives it up nothing
can resist a person that has that kind
of commitment the people that have made
a difference on the planet when a John F
Kennedy said we will go to the moon and
the next decade
he spoke it that was a commitment and
people shared that vision people bought
into that we’ve had all kind of examples
in history where people have made
declarations who have committed their
lives to bring about a difference there
people are taking a stand today against
hunger I guarantee you it will be a part
of our past at some point in time
someone took a stand against polio it no
longer plagues us as it once did
because someone said it is my commitment
to eradicate it from the face of the
earth someone made the commitment the
reason that we here and enjoying the
democracy that we have someone made a
commitment that whatever is required if
it means that I die I’ve remembered Paul
Robeson here I stand for I can do no
other and that’s how you must be
commitment means standing up for your
life it means honoring yourself it means
it means beginning to say and to see and
recognize your alignment and oneness
with the universe and that you are a
channel for life to express through and
we short-circuited with anger we
short-circuited with fear we
short-circuit it with with envy we
short-circuited by being lazy or
apathetic or giving up easily why why
why what’s always too hard is too hard
we don’t challenge our spirit ladies and
gentlemen there’s nothing as powerful as
the human spirit you can’t destroy you
can pervert it but you can’t destroy I
was reading man’s search for meaning
perfect of wrinkle what a powerful book
I’m reading it now for the seventh time
and he gives so many graphic examples of
of the power of the human spirit and so
what are some of the things that can can
fortify us and and give us the kind of
inner strength that will allow us to
forward ourselves into the future by
manifesting our commitments number one
commitment means in some cases going
back to school getting some training
sitting up in classes with people
younger than you putting yourself in a
position where you don’t know
that is awkward and uncomfortable but
because of your commitment to develop
yourself or to go back to school to get
a high school diploma to get a college
degree that it doesn’t matter feeling
dumb and saying what am I doing here
sitting up in some boring class
commitment could mean a lot of things it
could mean that you begin to go back you
got to back up sometimes means to back
up and not give up to regroup back up
and regroup and come back again because
life is waylaid you because you got
knocked down I know when when I was
working on my dream there were times I
lost my house at one point I lost my car
I was broke my credit was bad I was
sleeping at different friends houses on
their couch or on the floor
there were times months that I slept on
the floor of my office
and got up early and dressed before my
staff got there to give them the
impression that I got there early before
they did and we all pretend not to know
what we knew that the boss was staying
in office so we never talked about it
but I refuse I refuse to give up on my
dream and what happened they say you
know in the prosperous years you put it
in your pocket in the lean years you put
it in your heart it makes me appreciate
it even more even more I wouldn’t trade
it I wouldn’t trade it for anything the
disappointment the pain that I’ve gone
through by keeping the commitment
keeping the commitments that you have
might be taking a stand that’s that’s
unpopular something was said one time
when you take a position says cowardice
ask the question is it safe politics
asks the question is it popular but
conscience or commitment ask the
question is it right and see most people
rather operate from the first – is it
safe for me to take this position I
remember I was a state legislator
I saw guys and women who believed in
legislation very strongly but because
the Speaker of the House said we won’t
go with that they back down and they
felt bad about it they wouldn’t take the
position because they didn’t want to
speak of a house to be angry at them
they wanted to be all right we’ll all of
the rest of our colleagues see it takes
a great deal of strong courage and
commitment on your part to step out a
line to you know Henry David Thoreau
says a man doesn’t keep pace with his
companions perhaps he’s listening to the
beat of a different drummer let him
dance to the music that he hears however
measured or far apart when you are
committed you’re dancing to the beat of
a different drummer don’t expect people
to understand you don’t expect it to
make sense to anybody why you’ve got to
do this why you have got to go why you
leave this is a good job I’m going they
pay you well I’m going you just a few
years from retirement I’m going why I
don’t understand you don’t have to work
here’s what I suggest number one that
does happen so take total responsibility
for it just own it don’t make any
excuses on why you gave in or why you
didn’t come through just own it and face
the flak whatever it is stand up inside
yourself
next thing is assess the situation how
did you get here what happened that you
broke down that you had a breakdown and
you surrendered what happened what was
going on see when I used to go on a diet
and I no longer do that I’ve made a
commitment to a healthy lifestyle I used
to eat up until 12:00 midnight on Sunday
and on Monday I would I would get up and
and and eat a fruit get a light fruit
breakfast and for lunch time I would fix
some broiled chicken and meticulously
peel the skin off and eat the chicken
and then eat the skin do five setups
look in the mirror and become
discouraged because my stomach doesn’t
look like a washboard or what are they
having hailey dances and I say what the
use and then I go to refrigerator and
eat food Cole’s standing right then a
refrigerator so when I evaluate it where
I broke down I realized I can’t have
so I changed my route I stopped taking
people to lunch or to dinner because I
couldn’t sit there and watch them eat
when I had to go someplace in speaking
they were eating I said call me
downstairs when it’s time for me to
speak because if I said at the table
looking at them
the food’s going to call my name and I
know this so I had to begin to make sure
that I wasn’t putting myself in a
position where I would give up on my
commitment am I making sense to you so I
began to strategize around avoiding
situations where I knew that I was going
to become weak another thing I do when I
don’t keep my commitment
I either deny myself something or I do a
trade-off if a glazed doughnut takes
advantage of me then I require myself to
do an extra 25 setups or I walk for an
extra 15 or 20 minutes because I got a
hammerlock on my head and say come on
over here so you might have to deny
yourself something or do a trade-off do
something that will offset it the other
thing is start again so what you fell
flat on your face so what start again
learn from the experience and start
again don’t count yourself out don’t
send them just up to a lifetime of being
miserable a lifetime of being broke a
lifetime of being unhealthy a lifetime
of being in a relationship that is no
longer fulfilling to you a lifetime of
living at working on a job that that
does not bring you satisfaction that’s
not giving you the creative urge that
you need and that got to have in your
life that stimulates you don’t send us
yourself like that you are human being
don’t volunteer your life that way your
life has too much value to the universe
you’ve got something to contribute
you’ve got something to give and so what
if you make a commitment and you’re not
able to do it like a probe that you’re
not good as everybody else live in the
moment I like what this says look to
this day for it is life the very life of
life in its brief course lie all the
realities and verities of existence the
Bliss of growth the splendor of action
the glory
power for yesterday’s but a dream and
tomorrow is only a vision but today
today well-lived makes every yesterday a
dream of happiness and every tomorrow a
vision of home look well therefore to
this day see if we just start enjoying
where we are and we make that kind of
commitment to ensure where we are to
experience the experience of life where
we are to do all we can right now where
we are forget about the mistakes
yesterday we’re forget about all your
failures yesterday
forget forget about what you don’t have
that’s not important the only thing that
we have is right now right now right now
and I say that life is calling on you to
call forth on that the optimist which I
think one of the most positive groups in
in the world they have something called
the optimist Creed and not like they
says promise yourself I changed it to
commit yourself because I think that
commitment has more power than promise
it says commit yourself to be so strong
that nothing can disturb your peace of
mind to talk health happiness and
prosperity to every person you meet to
make all your friends feel that there is
something in them to look at the sunny
side of everything and make your
optimism come true to think only of the
best to work only for the best and
expect only the best to be just as
enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own to forget the
mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future to
where cheerful continents at all times
and give every living creature you meet
a smile to give so much time to the
improvement of yourself that you have no
time to criticize others to be too large
for worry too noble for anger too strong
for fear and too happy to permit the
presence of trouble commit yourself to
these things is that powerful what a
commitment to make with your life
commit yourself to stretch
to get outside of your comfort zone and
not be concerned about what people think
about you because they’re thinking it
don’t worry about what they will say
they already sang it so what do you care
decide that that your life has so much
meaning to the planet decide that you
have something to give that’s why you’re
here so you two just show up you brought
something here you’re a journey you have
a destination mission to achieve to do
to implement to perform to experience
decide to commit yourself to be an
adventure in life look out on life
around you look within yourself and say
where is it in my life that I need to
make a commitment right now where is it
that it might be for your health it
might be to be a happier person it might
be to make a difference in your
community it might be that where is it I
say that commitment shows up and the man
or woman who has some idea some some
dream that they’ve been nurturing within
themselves and no one believed it no one
saw it for them that they weren’t
masters at it they weren’t experts at it
no one would build a statue and ever
call their name and recognize and they
never made it to the front page of the
newspaper but they had something that
was there something that that was their
baby something that they loved and they
believed in and they just did what they
could with what God gave them with their
dream commitment shows up and people
that are willing to give themselves a
chance who look at their lives look
within themselves and say I know I know
that that this just cannot be it for my
life I know that there’s that something
I’m supposed to do I don’t know right
now oh maybe you do know maybe you do
know and you talk yourself out of it and
I understand that because I I’m late
I’ve no no no everything happens as it
should I I got the courage to step out –
to become committed I was I was
seriously not serious before
and I decided it took me some time to
build up the courage to become the
minute because it frightened me so I
understand wrestling with I wish I can
tell you I’ve been doing this for 20
years I haven’t I haven’t I haven’t I’m
just glad that that I decided to become
committed before I left here and
wherever you are decide that you’re
going to commit your life now and let it
show up in your contribution let it show
up and what you have to share and
whatever commitment that you make honor
your commitment as yourself honor your
word as yourself whatever you put out
there do it what you’ve got I want to
thank you very much for your
consciousness this is mrs. Mamie Brown’s
baby boy Leslie Calvin Brown saying has
been a plum pleasing pleasure as well as
a privilege thank you all [Applause]
getting in touch with their greatness
because of the lack of motivation to
push themselves or because they have not
found something that they believe to be
worthwhile to challenge them that many
are talented persons have gone unnoticed
and the world never had a chance to be
exposed to their talent because that
person did not take the time to begin to
express or to demonstrate or to motivate
themselves in the direction to bring
that which they came into the universe
to bring many people will leave the
universe without a trace no one will
know they were here and in fact under
their name we could put under they’re
not used up will anybody know that you
came this way what contribution are you
giving what will you leave what will be
different because you came this way
that life is our gift to us that God has
given us and how we live our lives is
our gift to God what kind of gift
are you formulating is this a gift that
you like to take back and do something
else before you turn it in think about
that what can we do what are some of the
keys that we can begin to use to
motivate ourselves when our batteries
run low because I don’t care who you are
I don’t care what you do at some time
you are going to get tired at some time
you’re going to get in a rut seem like
nothing you do works out right and
sometimes it just seems like you just
don’t have the wherewithal of a will to
do anything that sometimes you act like
you’re punch-drunk
you’re just leading through like just
during time day in and day out looking
at nondiscriminatory television anything
that’s all just looking and depressed
feeling powerless feeling useless and
bored
what do you do how did you get yourself
out of a rut how do you when you know
you can do more than what you’ve been
doing and you’re not doing it and you’re
discontinued where you are you get angry
at yourself how do you get out of that
rut how do you motivate yourself one of
the things that we must do is that we
must be involved in working on achieving
self mastery you must work on yourself
continuously never be satisfied with
yourself always know that as you invest
the effort and time on you that’s the
greatest ability that human beings have
above animals see a dog can’t be
anything but a dog tree can’t be
anything but a tree human being you’ve
got unlimited potential you can put
effort on you and by concentrating on
you and developing you you can transform
your life wherever you are right now so
you want to work on yourself you want to
read books that inspire you and motivate
you you want to listen to tapes over and
over and over again and I suggest that
you listen to tapes when you first get
up in the morning you want to control
the spirit of your day when you first
wake up in the morning your mind is
operating at 10.5 wave cycles per second
that’s when the subconscious mind is
most impressionable whatever you hear in
the first 20 minutes when you wake up
that will affect the spirit of your day
when you listen to tapes listen with
relaxed belief believing that this can
happen for you and by listening to them
listen to them over and over and over
again and you will get a breakthrough
you can listen to the same tape for
months and all of a sudden you hear
something you never heard before it have
a special meaning for you
I’ll read the same book over again and
you’ll find some special insight you
said I can’t believe I didn’t see that
the first time so you want to be
involved in developing yourself most
people won’t do that most people won’t
take that kind of effort and invest that
kind of energy in themselves because
they will fall prey to that conversation
within oh don’t do that you don’t have
time you’re too busy you’re too caught
up in the rat race most people won’t do
that well they won’t
time to go to lectures they won’t take
time to go to seminars they won’t take
time to go to classes to improve
themselves and as you continue to work
on yourself you will begin to expand
your vision of yourself you begin to
work toward self mastery and you will
begin to see it reflect itself in all
the dimensions of your life your mental
life your physical life your social life
in your relationships your monetary life
so concentrate on developing yourself
because if you don’t I guarantee you
that you will make a settlement and most
people have and most of us already have
what kind of settlement have you made
with your life but many of us are making
in life settlement we’re settling for
less than what we actually deserve we
don’t feel good about it but we make it
work at our minds we’ll come up with
some kind of excuse to make it all right
what kind of settlement have you made
with your life many of us settled for
less than what we want out of
relationships because we don’t have the
courage to change them the next thing is
in order to begin to find some keys to
self motivation to drive yourself in
addition to working on yourself and as
you work on yourself you feel good about
yourself and as you feel better about
yourself you treat yourself differently
develop a health plan so you can’t feel
well and do well if you don’t have good
health you can’t perform if you don’t
have your health
you’ll help this valuable develop a
health plan a plan that you will follow
because this is the only vehicle that
you have to carry you through this
experience called life and you want to
take good care of it because you love
you enough you care enough about you and
that’s not easy it is not easy having a
health plan and sticking to it but
you’re worth it doing it again and again
and again
next thing is as you take care of
yourself the next key is keys to
motivation to self motivation you want
to live life with energy and passion
you want to make a conscious effort to
be Lively see in life you either say
hello or goodbye you either on the way
or in the way you want to be happy you
got a lot to be thankful for but you
watch some of the faces around you every
day and I tell you some of these faces
they will put you in a depressed state
of mind so you want to avoid these kind
of faces when you see them come and turn
your head the things that you say to
yourself you want to watch them and in
watching them you want to take charge so
you’ve got to learn to stand up to
yourself inside yourself and
short-circuit override that conversation
that’s always going on 85% of what that
conversation will tell you is negative
it’s negative it will tell you you’re
tied when you really are not tired it
will tell you you can’t do it it will
fill you with fear so you’ve got to
watch that conversation and when you
find it going on you’ve got to stand up
to it and say I’m going to do this
anyhow I’m afraid but I’m afraid not to
do it and I’m not going to let you stop
me the biggest challenge that you will
have in life is you there’s an old
African proverb that says is there’s no
enemy within the enemy outside can do us
no harm the next thing that is a key to
self-motivation is that you’ve got to
ask yourself what do I want out of life
what do you want out of life what do you
want out of a job what do you want out
of career what do you want out of a
relationship what do you want what gives
you your life what how do you know when
you got it what will make you happy you
need to know you need to start asking
yourself some questions what do I really
really truly want you need to be exact
about that don’t be vague oh I just want
to be happy that’s too vague what will
make you happy how will you know when
you got it zero in on it be exact be
specific and as you do that that will
stimulate that super conscious mind or
the reticular activating system of your
mind then we’ll begin to find those
things to identify with it and once you
begin to determine that which you want
take the time to write it down don’t
just think about it write it down that
is the subjective process that engages
the subconscious mind write it down once
you write it down read it three times a
day morning noon and night why is that
important because what it will do it
will cause you to focus it will cause
you to concentrate when that other
conversation is going on telling you
what you cannot do telling you all of
the impossibilities and all of the
obstacles you’re concentrating will
begin to create a larger vision within
yourself and you start looking for and
seeing some new opportunities you start
creating some openings for yourself as
you begin to read that every day every
day day in and day out that will make
you focus that will discipline your
thinking and you’ll get all kind of
creative ideas as I talk to you right
now being involved in this immersion
process you’re going to create some
openings for yourself
you’re gonna get some ideas you’re gonna
feel your adrenaline flowing and you’re
gonna think about something some idea
you had you said I want to go back and
I’m gonna look at that again from a
different vantage point not from the
level of the problem of the obstacles
that I encountered but from a higher
vantage point because what you will
begin to see him to know as I have
talked to the higher consciousness
within you that you are powerful that
you are a miracle worker and that inner
conversation has conditioned you to
believe that you’re not and as you begin
to discover the truth of who you are
whatever challenge that you’re facing in
life and if you’re living you’re facing
some challenge you’ll begin to know that
you are powerful and that you America
maker
let’s look at how we can begin to keep
our commitments remembering what dr.
Robert Anthony said about results when
you keep your commitments you’re able to
produce some different kinds of results
in your life so how can we keep our
commitments and do we keep all
commitments no we don’t you will not be
at 100% however you will have a greater
percentage rate of maintaining your
commitments to yourself whatever those
things might be if it’s going into
business if it’s if it’s changing a
habit that you know that works against
you if it’s overcoming self-destructive
behavior if it’s retraining your
thinking if it’s reinventing yourself if
it’s trying to begin to design your
relationship differently all of us have
a possibility by focusing and really
harnessing our attention and
concentrating on it
we really have available to us the power
to honor our commitments in those
particular areas so number one make it
priority see no one would go get on an
airplane if you thought your chances of
getting there to your destination we’re
as good as your luggage am I correct
see and I say the reason that you will
reach your destination more times in
your luggage will is because the airline
and I’m glad that they do has made it a
priority to move the human beings from
one point to the other safely and not
send you off to Boston or someplace with
your luggage so I’m not really upset
when my luggage doesn’t show up I’m glad
they delivered me
because they’ve made me a priority see
they have made delivering you to your
destination important so if you want to
honor your commitment whatever you
decide that you’re going to do make sure
you make it important make sure it is
priority keep it before you the other
thing is whatever that you want to do
whatever you want to begin to create and
beginning to manifest your greatness and
and strengthening your level of
commitment and it’s it’s really
exercising your will find something that
you want to do on your goal one action
step but make sure it stretches you that
it challenges you but it’s durable that
you can do it this year I decided that I
was going to exercise so I started out
doing just ten setups and ten push-ups I
know I can do that and not get upset
about it I can do that without thinking
so I started out small now I’m up to
fifty but if I try to do fifty starting
out I wouldn’t still be doing it so I
started doing it in in manageable
segments do that and that that
strengthens your will so my commitment
now is stripping and fortified by the
activity of actually doing it so now I
can expand and build from there when I
decided to begin to manage my money
differently and I started saving 5% of
my money
then I increased it to 10% then to 15%
so now I have disciplined myself to live
off seventy-five percent of my income
that took discipline to do that but I
started watching how I was spending my
money I start keeping a log and
following myself so you want to begin to
find something that is manageable that
you know that you can do the next thing
and beginning to to keep your
commitments to yourself have some
friends that will hold you accountable
that won’t let you off the hook that
won’t tolerate anything less than the
best from you people that will support
you in this new way of being in this new
state of consciousness the other thing
is that important is have a contingency
plan
see many times when you make a
commitment to do something there are
some other variables that will happen
that you can’t control or you perhaps
did not think about so you want to have
some other plans going on you want to
become creative see most people don’t
keep their commitments because when
something goes wrong they just stop they
don’t have a contingency plan so they
don’t know what to do next stop being
creative if you challenge yourself many
times to say I don’t know what to do and
I always ask myself but if you did know
what to do less what will it be that
activates another part of my mind I’ll
stop thinking about the possibilities
and just experimenting but many many
months just stop dead in our tracks I
don’t know what to do you don’t know
what to do you got genius in you
challenges have pushed yourself make
yourself come up with something use your
imagination and what you will find is
that you know more than you realize that
you know that you’re more creative and
more resourceful than you realize that
you are and as you do that the more you
do it the easier it will become it first
is going to be a struggle and after you
get into a certain level of
consciousness you will ask yourself how
is it that I didn’t see this before at
the level that I’m managing my business
now they say consciousness is what we
are I literally look at myself and say
how is it that I didn’t do this before
why is it that I couldn’t see this
before and the reason that I didn’t see
it before because I didn’t challenge
myself I didn’t put myself out here see
the reason that most of us go through
life never discovering our true
greatness literally walking breathing
corpses the uncommitted life isn’t worth
living why because it doesn’t produce
anything so you only make things happen
your life only counts you only make a
difference when you are committed when
you make a commitment with your life
that’s the people that make a commitment
with their lives the people that make a
commitment to their customers the people
that make a commitment to their families
to their relationships are the people
that make the greatest impact in life
what is commitment commitment as the
salesmen who says look here I’m going to
make a thousand dollars today and I’m
not going home you can turn the lights
out the janitors could be running the
vacuum cleaner I’m not leaving here till
I do it I used to be a door-to-door
salesman I had
X number of TV’s I had a minimum amount
that I knew I had to sell every day in
order to provide for my mother who was
ill at the time who’d lost her job at
the M&M cafeteria because of arthritis
and I said I’m going to go door to door
and sometimes I would not come home
until one o’clock at night knocking on
people door people closing what do you
want would you like to buy a nice
working month’s television set no money
down no what about an emerson TV No
thank you very much do you know anybody
else that would be interested no thank
you very kindly knock on another hello
would you like to buy a nice working
television set no money down no get away
from our door thank you very kindly do
you know anybody else would be yeah my
cousin he lives two doors down thank you
very kindly I tell him you simply went
ahead your cousin told me that you want
to buy television said told me to come
in and talk to you got a special
discount for you yes come in I’m
interested I would just keep right on I
would not go home until I did it it’s an
interesting thing ladies and gentlemen
that when we put ourselves in a
situation where we say we’re going to do
it it puts you in another zone where the
universe responds to you when you have
that kind of consciousness see the
universe responds to the man or woman
that refuses to be denied because that
is your commitment that business that
you want that book you want to write
that dream that you have of controlling
your destiny that is yours that power to
create that and to manifest that that is
yours
that’s available to you but you’ve got
to be willing to stand there and face
disappointment not have support feel
lonely doubt yourself sometimes be
rejected again and again and again
become bankrupt if necessary again and
again and again and refuse to turn
around until life gives it up nothing
can resist a person that has that kind
of commitment the people that have made
a difference on the planet when a John F
Kennedy said we will go to the moon and
the next decade
he spoke it that was a commitment and
people shared that vision people bought
into that we’ve had all kind of examples
in history where people have made
declarations who have committed their
lives to bring about a difference there
people are taking a stand today against
hunger I guarantee you it will be a part
of our past at some point in time
someone took a stand against polio it no
longer plagues us as it once did
because someone said it is my commitment
to eradicate it from the face of the
earth someone made the commitment the
reason that we here and enjoying the
democracy that we have someone made a
commitment that whatever is required if
it means that I die I’ve remembered Paul
Robeson here I stand for I can do no
other and that’s how you must be
commitment means standing up for your
life it means honoring yourself it means
it means beginning to say and to see and
recognize your alignment and oneness
with the universe and that you are a
channel for life to express through and
we short-circuited with anger we
short-circuited with fear we
short-circuit it with with envy we
short-circuited by being lazy or
apathetic or giving up easily why why
why what’s always too hard is too hard
we don’t challenge our spirit ladies and
gentlemen there’s nothing as powerful as
the human spirit you can’t destroy you
can pervert it but you can’t destroy I
was reading man’s search for meaning
perfect of wrinkle what a powerful book
I’m reading it now for the seventh time
and he gives so many graphic examples of
of the power of the human spirit and so
what are some of the things that can can
fortify us and and give us the kind of
inner strength that will allow us to
forward ourselves into the future by
manifesting our commitments number one
commitment means in some cases going
back to school getting some training
sitting up in classes with people
younger than you putting yourself in a
position where you don’t know
that is awkward and uncomfortable but
because of your commitment to develop
yourself or to go back to school to get
a high school diploma to get a college
degree that it doesn’t matter feeling
dumb and saying what am I doing here
sitting up in some boring class
commitment could mean a lot of things it
could mean that you begin to go back you
got to back up sometimes means to back
up and not give up to regroup back up
and regroup and come back again because
life is waylaid you because you got
knocked down I know when when I was
working on my dream there were times I
lost my house at one point I lost my car
I was broke my credit was bad I was
sleeping at different friends houses on
their couch or on the floor
there were times months that I slept on
the floor of my office
and got up early and dressed before my
staff got there to give them the
impression that I got there early before
they did and we all pretend not to know
what we knew that the boss was staying
in office so we never talked about it
but I refuse I refuse to give up on my
dream and what happened they say you
know in the prosperous years you put it
in your pocket in the lean years you put
it in your heart it makes me appreciate
it even more even more I wouldn’t trade
it I wouldn’t trade it for anything the
disappointment the pain that I’ve gone
through by keeping the commitment
keeping the commitments that you have
might be taking a stand that’s that’s
unpopular something was said one time
when you take a position says cowardice
ask the question is it safe politics
asks the question is it popular but
conscience or commitment ask the
question is it right and see most people
rather operate from the first – is it
safe for me to take this position I
remember I was a state legislator
I saw guys and women who believed in
legislation very strongly but because
the Speaker of the House said we won’t
go with that they back down and they
felt bad about it they wouldn’t take the
position because they didn’t want to
speak of a house to be angry at them
they wanted to be all right we’ll all of
the rest of our colleagues see it takes
a great deal of strong courage and
commitment on your part to step out a
line to you know Henry David Thoreau
says a man doesn’t keep pace with his
companions perhaps he’s listening to the
beat of a different drummer let him
dance to the music that he hears however
measured or far apart when you are
committed you’re dancing to the beat of
a different drummer don’t expect people
to understand you don’t expect it to
make sense to anybody why you’ve got to
do this why you have got to go why you
leave this is a good job I’m going they
pay you well I’m going you just a few
years from retirement I’m going why I
don’t understand you don’t have to work
here’s what I suggest number one that
does happen so take total responsibility
for it just own it don’t make any
excuses on why you gave in or why you
didn’t come through just own it and face
the flak whatever it is stand up inside
yourself
next thing is assess the situation how
did you get here what happened that you
broke down that you had a breakdown and
you surrendered what happened what was
going on see when I used to go on a diet
and I no longer do that I’ve made a
commitment to a healthy lifestyle I used
to eat up until 12:00 midnight on Sunday
and on Monday I would I would get up and
and and eat a fruit get a light fruit
breakfast and for lunch time I would fix
some broiled chicken and meticulously
peel the skin off and eat the chicken
and then eat the skin do five setups
look in the mirror and become
discouraged because my stomach doesn’t
look like a washboard or what are they
having hailey dances and I say what the
use and then I go to refrigerator and
eat food Cole’s standing right then a
refrigerator so when I evaluate it where
I broke down I realized I can’t have
so I changed my route I stopped taking
people to lunch or to dinner because I
couldn’t sit there and watch them eat
when I had to go someplace in speaking
they were eating I said call me
downstairs when it’s time for me to
speak because if I said at the table
looking at them
the food’s going to call my name and I
know this so I had to begin to make sure
that I wasn’t putting myself in a
position where I would give up on my
commitment am I making sense to you so I
began to strategize around avoiding
situations where I knew that I was going
to become weak another thing I do when I
don’t keep my commitment
I either deny myself something or I do a
trade-off if a glazed doughnut takes
advantage of me then I require myself to
do an extra 25 setups or I walk for an
extra 15 or 20 minutes because I got a
hammerlock on my head and say come on
over here so you might have to deny
yourself something or do a trade-off do
something that will offset it the other
thing is start again so what you fell
flat on your face so what start again
learn from the experience and start
again don’t count yourself out don’t
send them just up to a lifetime of being
miserable a lifetime of being broke a
lifetime of being unhealthy a lifetime
of being in a relationship that is no
longer fulfilling to you a lifetime of
living at working on a job that that
does not bring you satisfaction that’s
not giving you the creative urge that
you need and that got to have in your
life that stimulates you don’t send us
yourself like that you are human being
don’t volunteer your life that way your
life has too much value to the universe
you’ve got something to contribute
you’ve got something to give and so what
if you make a commitment and you’re not
able to do it like a probe that you’re
not good as everybody else live in the
moment I like what this says look to
this day for it is life the very life of
life in its brief course lie all the
realities and verities of existence the
Bliss of growth the splendor of action
the glory
power for yesterday’s but a dream and
tomorrow is only a vision but today
today well-lived makes every yesterday a
dream of happiness and every tomorrow a
vision of home look well therefore to
this day see if we just start enjoying
where we are and we make that kind of
commitment to ensure where we are to
experience the experience of life where
we are to do all we can right now where
we are forget about the mistakes
yesterday we’re forget about all your
failures yesterday
forget forget about what you don’t have
that’s not important the only thing that
we have is right now right now right now
and I say that life is calling on you to
call forth on that the optimist which I
think one of the most positive groups in
in the world they have something called
the optimist Creed and not like they
says promise yourself I changed it to
commit yourself because I think that
commitment has more power than promise
it says commit yourself to be so strong
that nothing can disturb your peace of
mind to talk health happiness and
prosperity to every person you meet to
make all your friends feel that there is
something in them to look at the sunny
side of everything and make your
optimism come true to think only of the
best to work only for the best and
expect only the best to be just as
enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own to forget the
mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future to
where cheerful continents at all times
and give every living creature you meet
a smile to give so much time to the
improvement of yourself that you have no
time to criticize others to be too large
for worry too noble for anger too strong
for fear and too happy to permit the
presence of trouble commit yourself to
these things is that powerful what a
commitment to make with your life
commit yourself to stretch
to get outside of your comfort zone and
not be concerned about what people think
about you because they’re thinking it
don’t worry about what they will say
they already sang it so what do you care
decide that that your life has so much
meaning to the planet decide that you
have something to give that’s why you’re
here so you two just show up you brought
something here you’re a journey you have
a destination mission to achieve to do
to implement to perform to experience
decide to commit yourself to be an
adventure in life look out on life
around you look within yourself and say
where is it in my life that I need to
make a commitment right now where is it
that it might be for your health it
might be to be a happier person it might
be to make a difference in your
community it might be that where is it I
say that commitment shows up and the man
or woman who has some idea some some
dream that they’ve been nurturing within
themselves and no one believed it no one
saw it for them that they weren’t
masters at it they weren’t experts at it
no one would build a statue and ever
call their name and recognize and they
never made it to the front page of the
newspaper but they had something that
was there something that that was their
baby something that they loved and they
believed in and they just did what they
could with what God gave them with their
dream commitment shows up and people
that are willing to give themselves a
chance who look at their lives look
within themselves and say I know I know
that that this just cannot be it for my
life I know that there’s that something
I’m supposed to do I don’t know right
now oh maybe you do know maybe you do
know and you talk yourself out of it and
I understand that because I I’m late
I’ve no no no everything happens as it
should I I got the courage to step out –
to become committed I was I was
seriously not serious before
and I decided it took me some time to
build up the courage to become the
minute because it frightened me so I
understand wrestling with I wish I can
tell you I’ve been doing this for 20
years I haven’t I haven’t I haven’t I’m
just glad that that I decided to become
committed before I left here and
wherever you are decide that you’re
going to commit your life now and let it
show up in your contribution let it show
up and what you have to share and
whatever commitment that you make honor
your commitment as yourself honor your
word as yourself whatever you put out
there do it what you’ve got I want to
thank you very much for your
consciousness this is mrs. Mamie Brown’s
baby boy Leslie Calvin Brown saying has
been a plum pleasing pleasure as well as
a privilege thank you all [Applause]
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