Even though these great teachers (listed below) have passed on into who knows where or what, their words still ring and thrive and inspire and are seemingly alive, organic and contemporary and in these words, their essence and wisdom.
I’ve made a list of seven of what I believe are some of the greatest teachings by the world’s greatest minds.
1. Realising Your Dreams
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else ~ Lawrence J. Peter
In order for us to achieve our dreams, to reach our goals or even to know what it is we want, we must have a vision, a concept of our goals. Writing down our dreams and creating a list of actions helps us to stick to our plan. It is said and accepted ~ “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. So, when we turn our goals into measurable actions, we gain clarity and are able to see the necessary steps that we must take in order to achieve them.
This action is sometimes known as ‘Goal Mapping’.
Action: Visualise a life of your wildest dreams. What did you dream of doing when you were a child? What would you do if you had a million dollars? Create a vision for your goals and start breaking them down into small manageable actions that you can take on, on a day by day basis.
2. Overcoming Fear
“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The best way to learn something is to immerse yourself, dive right in to it. When we overcome our fear of failure, we learn that only those who are asleep make no mistakes. Fear is the only thing keeping us from experiencing a life of love and fulfillment. If we make a commitment to an uncompromising quest for truth, we will realise that as we grow more into the truth, our fears start to disappear.
Action: You must define your fears in order to conquer them. Create a list of everything you are afraid of and start facing them one at a time.
Make a commitment to yourself now to not let ‘fear’ rule your life.
3. Intention and Desire
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” ~ Siddartha Guatama Buddha
Our thoughts and imagination determine our reality. When we stop thinking about what we don’t want and begin thinking about what we do want, our lives begin to transform. Instead of working against our desires and intentions, we move into alignment with them.
This is also known as “The Power or Laws of Attraction”.
Our sub-conscious is vigilant in listening to our thoughts and strives to bring to us what it perceives as our desire. When we think negatively our subconscious will hear it and as it is thought about more and more it becomes powerfully superimposed and therefore our subconscious works harder and harder to bring to us our thoughts. To take advantage of this we need to change our thoughts and thought processes. We must dismiss the negatives and focus on the positives thereby benefitting for acts and actions that our subconscious deems beneficial.
Action: Create a list of your positive aspects, your intentions and your desires. Wherever you go, take this list with you. Read it when you wake up and before you go to sleep.
4. Happiness
“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of the mind than on outward circumstances.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Happiness comes from an inner peace, understanding and acceptance of life; a perspective of truth that opens the eyes to the beauty of life all around. Happiness cannot be achieved by external, material aspects, it must be an internal state from which we can realise when we see our innate perfection.
Action: We all have choices in life. Realise that happiness is a choice. In every decision you make ask yourself “how can I respond to make myself happier and more fulfilled?”
5. Self Acceptance
“If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” ~ Jesus
When we stop trying to be what we are not, we may then come to realise our authenticity. Before we had knowledge and technology, we were completely authentic. We learned to use knowledge to measure, assess, act and judge, which is such a powerful tool as we have as human beings. However we create images of perfection in our mind of what we should be but are not, we confuse the knowledge of and for ‘our’ nature. We believe in the lie of our own imperfection. When we realise this we can reclaim the truth of our perfection and live in love, peace, harmony, tranquility and acceptance.
Action: Make a commitment to support your true self. Practice non-judgmentalism and realise that the same part of your mind that condemns you is the same voice that causes you to take the action in the first place. We don’t even have to believe what we say to ourselves.
6. Appreciation and Gratitude
“So much has been given to me, I have not time to ponder over that which has been denied.” ~ Helen Keller
How many times do we count our misfortunes rather than our blessings? When we take time to open our eyes to the miracle of life, we can see so many of the many gifts that have been given to us. Remembering all the beautiful aspects of life and all the reasons we are blessed can immediately shift our emotions and our mood. We can move from sorrow and despair to appreciation and hope.
Action: Each time you find yourself complaining about something, in your life, re-direct your energies and focus towards something you are grateful for. Make a habit of transforming your awareness of troubles into an awareness of your abundance.
7. The Art of Simplicity
“I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it short.”
~ Blaise Pascal
Perfection is not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing more to take away.
As Bruce Lee once said “the height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.” True mastery of our lives is realising the simple joys of life, removing distractions and clutter from our thoughts and imagination.
Action: The art of simplicity knows what to take away.
Practice recognising when you’re spending your time on unimportant tasks and re-focus on the important issues in your life.
This list is by no means exhaustive. There is so very many other many great teachings that we did not include here. Voices such as those of Einstein, Gandhi, Dr King, Kennedy. Twain, etc. But never forget, there are also great teachings and much experiential wisdom to be found from our grandparents, our parents or our ‘true’ friends. Just remember, Think, feel, have a sense of yourself and start to live ‘authentically”.
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot
“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” ~ Christopher Reeve
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” ~ Les Brown
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~André Gide
“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean.” ~Christopher Reeve
“I dwell in possibility.” ~ Emily Dickenson
“And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” ~ Erica Jong
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great.” ~ Mark Twain
“It never enters my mind that I can’t do something I set out to doing.” ~ Anne Stuart
“When asked, ‘how do you write?’ I invariably answer, ‘one word at a time.’” ~ Stephen King
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” ~ Agatha Christie
Roland Gilbert
With over 20 successful years in corporate America, Roland Gilbert is now living his passion through helping others find and live theirs! Roland is a personal coach working with a wide range of clients’ issues through helping them change their thoughts and actions about their worlds – both personally and professionally.
Roland works one-on-one – via phone and face-to-face – and with MasterMind Groups. Through Couples Coaching Roland helps clients communicate better, find the love they want, and create relationships of significance.
Contact Roland at 800-974-3692 or rgilbert@perennialgrowth.com to determine if coaching is right for you. www.perennialgrowth.com
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