What I learned from “Bruce Leroy”

There is a movie out there that is a cult favorite. It is "Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon." Filmed in 1985, the plot and message is basically that Bruce Leroy, a martial arts enthusiast, goes in search of "the master," who can teach him how to get to the highest level. Eventually, through many trails and tribulations, he realizes that he is that master; that the answers to all he was looking for was always right inside of him!

I am constantly giving advice to young people. And I always make sure to impress upon them this message: life is a series of ups and downs. All that you learn about positive thinking and success principles exist for you to use during the "downs."  You see, when things don't go right in life, we tend to get overwhelmed and  and seek answers elsewhere, when in fact we have the solutions right inside of us all the time. I guess I can add the Wizard of Oz as an example also 🙂

I recently went in search of a solution to a problem I was struggling with. I was looking for a person to show me the way. But then I remembered Bruce Leroy and  decided to look inside for the answer. I drew  on my experience and knowledge base and not only saw the answer I was looking for, but realized that  this was the solution to many issues I was dealing with.

Somewhere in all this rambling I am doing I hope you will get the message. Don't look to others to solve your problems. When you do that, you disconnect yourself from the great power you already possess. 

Hard Times Hit Us All

If there is one guarantee in life (besides death and taxes) it's that hard times will hit us all sooner or later, and most likely, more than a few times over the span of your lifetime. If we learn to view these difficult days for what they are-changes- than it is easier to make the right mental adjustments to not only cope, but to grow. These times are all part of this journey we call life and are golden opportunities for you to grow and become stronger.

So when you get blind-sided by life, take advantage of the difficult times to become stronger and better. You do that by seeking solutions in books, friends and family. You do that by understanding that you attract most situations by your thoughts and actions. Therefore, stay positive and focus on solutions.

Turn it Positive

The more you practice a positive mindset, the more you become in tune with positive results in your life. No question about it. If you ask yourself "how can I turn this situation into a positive" you are empowering yourself over your life and circumstances.

Remember, it takes practice, but after positive thinking becomes a habit, your whole life will transform like magic. And that is what life is meant to be, a magical experience and a spiritual journey.

Building Success Muscles

I have a friend who started a part-time business a couple of years ago.  We ran into each other recently.  He asked me how my business was going.  I told him how excited I was about a couple of projects I was working on.  I asked him how his was doing.  He wasn’t as excited.

Let’s call him Jim.  Jim was getting discouraged.  The enthusiasm he had when he started, turned to frustration and disappointment.  As he talked, I started laughing.  He stopped in mid-sentence and asked me what was so funny.

What was funny was that I have heard this story dozens of times.  A person decides to start their own business, is going to set the world on fire and eat with Donald Trump!  You see where I’m going with this?  All of that is certainly possible, but you have to grind it out!  Your owning a  business takes hard work and good sound planning.  But more importantly, it takes being prepared to handle setbacks; Being able to work when you feel all your ideas have stalled.

Too many people think that positive thinking alone will bring them success.  It can, but only if you do the careful planning and hard work that goes with it.  And crucial to that is understanding that you and your business will stall.  You must understand that.  Only then will you be able to laugh at a difficult and challenging situation (assuming you didn’t blow your capital).

Setbacks are a part of business and life.  The challenge is to work your way through them.  Build those success muscles!

…Open Your Eyes

It is really wonderful when you learn how to react to the hard times that life will certainly throw at you. In my last article I admitted that things where not exactly going my way at that time. Unfortunately, many authors get a little to positive and seem to teach you to be positive now, while you are reading. They tell you what you should do to be a success and give you all kinds of valuable mental technology. However, life doesn’t always cooperate!

When things are going your way, you have a little bit more “pep in your step.” You walk around with a positive glow and a smile on your face. The real test of success principles, however, is how you act when the dark thunder clouds move in and then burst. And let me tell ya, it is very true what they say:”when it rains, it pours!! Bad things seem to converge in time. You don’t get hit with one problem, you get hit with several.

When I speak to young people, I empress on them the importance of acting successful and positive during troubled times. And even though it’s not easy, it is crucial to your success in life. Get into the habit of stepping back and smiling at adversity, because you know it will pass because you will make it so. You will use the success principles you learned and have been practicing. That is what it is all about.