Determination is the key to success.

In life, there is no difficulty, which we cannot overcome when we are really determined. Yet many of us fail in big and small ways because our determination was never strong enough.
Determination is very important because it enables us to persist in the face of difficulties. It makes us to march fearlessly ahead with faith until we achieve our goal. Since life is never smooth, many of us fall off when we come across obstacles. But with determination, we can overcome any type of obstacle.
Determination therefore makes us creative and imaginative. However, in order for us to succeed in life, we must set definite goals for ourselves, work hard to put in the necessary effort.
We do not have to rush in life but go gradually and steadily, persist in the face of difficulties, be patient and wait for results and have faith and courage in our self. We should never be discouraged and never give up, do our best in all what we do, and seek the help of others when the need arises.

Success in life is a process of selection and elimination or choosing between the worthy and the worthless. Thus, unless we are inspired by determination and a great purpose to make our life count, we may not make much of an impression about us.
It is difficult to find any one in the world who has made a place for them self without constant struggle to reach their goal. Therefore, we do not have to rest for a moment in our thought of what we are.
We should say each day to our self that “my place is higher up” by having big dreams and vowing to get there. There is nothing so important in our life as our mental attitude towards our self and what we think of our self. For example, if we think of our self as not useful, this may affect our ability to succeed. Thus, we should never for a moment distort our determination by harboring doubts about our ability to reach our goal. Whenever we do this, we weaken the force which will propel us to reach our goal.
Ambition is the leader of all great achievements. It is the fore-runner which clears the way for us to reach our goal. However, there is no surer road to success than moving along the path of those who have succeeded.
“Man should be content with each step of progress merely as a station” and “without struggle there is no progress” (see self motivation by Orison Swett).

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Why Determination Matters More Than Smarts In Getting Ahead.

If you are constantly told you’re a genius, how would it affect your work ethic? Would it make you work harder because you know your ability, or make you lazier because you know you’re already ahead?

Carol S. Dweck, a leading expert in motivation and professor at Stanford University, studies the effects that praise has over mindset. What she’s found is simple alterations in wording greatly shape attitude toward work, and whether one will strive hard enough to reach their full potential.

In a series of studies, Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she and her team experimented on 400 fifth graders from different parts of the United States. The children were from varied ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

PUTTING SMARTS VS. GRIT TO THE TEST

First, participants were given a series of puzzles to test their IQ. After they finished their test, they were told their score and praised in different ways. One group was praised for their intelligence and was told: “You got x number correct. That’s a really good score. You must be very smart at this.” Another group was praised for their effort and was told: “You must have worked really hard.”

The students were then given a choice as to what kind of test they would take next. They could either take one that’s harder than the first, or one that’s just as easy. A majority of the children who were praised for their intelligence chose to take the easier test, whereas 90% of those praised for their effort chose to tackle the harder puzzles.

What do you think? 

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Why Having Determination Is Important In Life

Determination is the essence of increasing your chances of being successful in a particular thing or achieving a particular goal, and it can also help you to stay motivated and continue striving towards the one thing you want to achieve. For me, having determination keeps me in control and motivated to continue along the path of achieving my long term goal in life. Without that, I would not be able to push through and keep moving forward when times start to get tough and it’s important to know what gives you that determination to keep going and remember that answer when you are faced with adversity or a challenging situation. The reason why I continue pursuing my long term goal after many years and after countless amounts of setbacks and challenges that appeared in my way throughout my journey is remembering what make me determined to keep going. For me that is having the opportunity to change people’s lives for the better and seeing the transformation happen in front of my own eyes. That’s what keeps me determined in continuing to go after that long term goal that I want to achieve even though the future is uncertain and that anything can happen in my life.

The definition of determination is when you want to do something very much and not allowing anyone or any difficulties stop you from doing it. This definition could not be anymore accurate and that is what the beauty of determination is and why it’s so important for anyone to have. Without any determination, it can lead you to give up on the one thing that you wanted to do because of the difficulty that you are faced with or what someone else has said. No one should ever give up on something that they truly want to do because everyone can achieve something if they are willing to put in the work and have a strong mindset towards overcoming the particular challenge and overcoming people who disagree with you and don’t have your best interest at heart. That’s the power of determination and having that by your side can make a difference to your life.

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How to Increase Your Productivity

The trick to getting things done isn't to work more hours, it's to be more productive in the hours you already work. Use these strategies to boost your productivity so you can enjoy your time off.

Time management isn’t simply about managing your time during the work day. It’s about getting the most important work done within the amount of time you have allocated and enjoying your personal life when you’re not working. Hitting that sweet spot of productivity and leisure is what we really want when we seek out time management strategies.

Let’s take a look at the combination of strategies and techniques that can help us to have productive work days and carefree leisure time through successfully using our time well.

Focus List

In order to get the most important work done you have to know what the most important work is at any given point in time. One of the simplest and yet most effective tools is a Focus List. Not your Master List which includes all your projects, tasks and ideas, but a simple list of the top priority projects you are working on in a day. It can be as simple as a handwritten index card with one to three projects you have identified from your Master List as the most important for the day.https://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/get-things-done.htm

This is probably something you have heard before, but what I want you to consider for a moment is all of the tasks, projects and ideas that are not on the list. They are not on the list because you have deemed them as less important at this time than the top priority projects you are going to do. So, don’t interrupt yourself and jump back to any of these items during your focus list work. Commit to getting the three done and then if you have more time you can recheck your Master List for the next three items.

Time Blocking

Blocking off time to do specific tasks can be as complex as scheduling appointments on your calendar for specific tasks or as simple as having two hour blocks of time allocated toward working on your Focus List work. 

It is not possible to block off every hour of every work day for focus list work. Email does need to be checked, phone calls need to be made, meetings attended and colleagues communicated with. So don’t try to convince yourself that you have 8 hours a day to accomplish your priority items. Instead block one or two 2-hour time blocks for working on your Focus List. During this time  close your door and put a polite but firm Come Back Later note on it, do not check email, and do not take incoming phone calls or make outgoing ones (unless these calls are your Focus List item). Everything else can wait for two hours. After all, these are your self-selected most important projects. Give them your full attention.

Focus Work Time

The key word here is focus. Start with the first item on your list and work on it. Work on only this project during your Focused Work time. You may be surprised at how often you interrupt yourself with non-priority things. You might say to yourself “I really do need to send a quick email to Susan about that meeting next week.” That email might take just 3 minutes to write and send, but it cost you momentum on your primary task. And if you do this more than once your two hours will be eroded, leaving you feel unproductive and like time got away from you.

Instead of doing the things that pop into your mind, write yourself a quick reminder about them so you can do them when your two hour Focus Work Time is over. You may find that over time this list will get shorter as you are able to just stay focused. Once you begin to trust that the other items on your list will get their own focus time, you’ll be less tempted to do them when you’re supposed to be doing something else.

Stop Working

When your time blocks are over, stop and take a break. Do the other things that are calling out to you and need to be done. Then you can dive back into your projects again if you haven’t finished.  It is as important to stop focusing as it is to stay focused. Otherwise all the other things that you need to do will pile up and cause problems. It is OK to do them. Also, it is unrealistic to work in Focus Mode all the time. It is the contrast of the two work styles that makes Focus Mode so productive.

When the end of the work day comes, stop working. The reason that you want effective time management in the first place is so that you have been productive enough to feel good about walking away at the end of the day. So do it. Walk away from work and leave it there - mentally and physically. Not only will your life feel better and like you actually have time to enjoy it, but you will be refreshed and restored able to work fully the next day.

If ideas or things you need to do keep popping into your mind, that’s OK. It doesn’t mean you have to do them right now. Like your Focus Time at work, this is your Focus Time during your leisure time. So just write yourself a note and when you’re back at work you can do them.

Give Yourself Permission to Do Nothing

Lastly, in society today it is very easy to become over-scheduled. Something to do every night, every weekend filled with activities and sports and events. No time to just relax and do nothing. Nothing makes you feel like your time needs managing more than having all of it filled up. Leave some blank space on your calendar. Make a firm commitment that you will have at least one night each week and one weekend a month with nothing on the calendar. If this means saying no to doing things with friends or un-volunteering for a committee or telling your kids to pick a sport that doesn’t have three practices a week and games every weekend, do it. This is your life. Enjoy it. 

https://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/get-things-done.htm

How to Use Your Age to Your Advantage

Top 5 Most POWERFUL Speeches You Need To Hear Today | Goalcast

Keep Audience Attention Throughout Your Entire Speech

Want to keep your audience's attention beyond the first few minutes of your speech or presentation? These three suggestions can help you keep them engaged all the way to the end.

Business leaders often ask me this: “How can I sustain the audience’s attention throughout my speech?”

They go on to say: “Most audiences will be courteous enough to give the speaker a fair chance by listening closely for the first few minutes. Yet after that, I see their attention weakening. One person might be ignoring the host’s instructions about texting. Another is looking out the window. A third one is writing something, and I don’t think she is taking notes on my speech.”

With exasperation, they ask: “Do you have any strategies that will increase the attention span of my audiences?”

Fortunately, I do have recommendations that have worked for me and many presenters. Here are three of them.

FIRST: Move and keep on moving

Our eyes and our attention do not remain with still objects very long, yet we will stay focused on objects in motion. For example, suppose you and I are standing at the dock where cruise ships come in. We are watching a ship gliding across the horizon. Are we going to stop doing that, and begin looking at a docked ship? That’s not likely. Movement grabs us, not inactivity.

When you speak, get bold enough to walk away from the lectern, podium, table or wherever you have your notes and materials. Sure, this takes considerable courage at first. As happens with most changes, you will feel awkward initially. Before long though, going out into your audience will become easier.

Note how the eyes of your listeners follow you. Their minds will stay attuned as well.

TWO: Tell a compelling story

True, statistics can be impressive. When I read recently that 5.6 million Americans endure paralysis and that this number represents 1 out of every 50 citizens, that startled me.

Shortly afterward I read a heartwarming story about Devon Gales, a Southern University football player who was injured a season ago in a football game against the University of Georgia. Ever since that impact, he has been going through intense physical therapy, in hopes of regaining use of his limbs. Members of the Georgia football team have forgotten he was an opponent. They have visited him, comforted him, and encouraged fans to contribute toward purchasing a home for Devon.

Note how the statistic about paralysis could alert my audience for a couple of minutes, while the story about Devon will keep them enthralled and inspired for as long as I describe his quest for recovery.

Remember how children gave parents full attention when the parents said “Once upon a time”? That response does not disappear when we become adults.

THREE: Involve your audience

The era when audiences would sit passively for extended periods while a speaker remained the whole show has ended. As beloved comedian Jimmy Durante said frequently, “Everybody wants to get into the act.”

So find relevant, interesting, and tasteful activities that foster interaction. For example, if you are talking about customer service, give these instructions: “I’m sure that many of you have experienced great customer service. For the next five minutes, at each of your tables take turns identifying the companies that have given you the best customer service, and tell what made the service so impressive and memorable. So five minutes from now, we will have a leader you appoint at each table report the highlights of your discussion.”

During a half-hour presentation, design two or three interactive exercises, spacing them at intervals that provide a refreshing change.

SUMMARY

In order to maintain attention throughout your entire presentation stay in motion, tell compelling stories, and involve your audience in meaningful, relevant activities. Then you will hear this response from grateful participants: “I learned a lot, I enjoyed it, and the time flew by.”

https://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/audience-attention.htm