The reality show ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ ended on 1st December 2006.

Twelve celebrities spent weeks in the Australian jungle and had to face difficult and sometimes revolting trials to win food and the support of the viewers. Can we learn any success tips from their experience? Yes!

Those celebrities who failed to win enough support were expelled from the jungle camp. The one person who remained at the end would be crowned king or queen of the jungle.

David Gest, the former husband of Lisa Minelli, was one of the favourites to win. He used humour to get through the tough times:

“You either die or you go with it. If I die, I will have a big funeral!”

David’s humour was appreciated by most of the camp although his snoring was not. Ant and Dec, the presenters, commented: “They’ve all had a good night’s sleep. Well, David Gest certainly has!”

At one point David handled some leeches with confidence. Someone asked him if he liked them. He replied: “Well, I work with a lot of them.”

David performed his first trial bravely, surrounded by water and small alligators. The viewers appreciated his courage and did not select him for any further trials.

However, the British, like most other nations, do not like moaning, boasting or a failure to try and they voted for the celebrities who were guilty of these faults to face trial after trial.

Scott Henshall, a fashion designer, said his mum would kill him if he did not try. However, he did not follow her advice. He offered reasons for quitting early:

“You could only do your best. Crickets and earthworms were biting me!”

He also complained that things were crawling up his backside. This seemed to me to be a valid excuse. However, Dec, one of the presenters, was not impressed by Scott’s performance:

“That was Scott’s very, very best!”

The public were not impressed either and chose Scott to perform more trials. Clearly they felt that, if you wish to succeed, you should be prepared to put up with insects crawling up your backside!

I don’t blame Scott for quitting so early but if you want success you may have to put up with discomfort and even embarrassment.

Jason Donovan, the star of ‘Joseph’s Technicolor Dream Coat’ achieved respect because of his cool confidence in the face of any problem.

His ‘can do it’ attitude made him the ‘go to man’ when anyone had to face a difficulty they could not handle on their own. Jan Leeming, a former news reader, asked for his support on one of her trials called ‘Snake Bite’.

Jan did not like snakes: “I absolutely loathe and abhor snakes.”

She wisely asked for God’s help as well as Jason’s: “I actually asked God to be with me and I got very calm.”

She did very well in the trial but made the mistake of talking about it later. Phina, an actress who did not see eye to eye with Jan, commented:

“She mentioned it and then she mentioned it and then she mentioned it!”

A powerful key to successful relationships is to avoid boasting about any achievements. This only annoys every one else. Instead, let the deeds speak for themselves.

Jason was a man of action who never boasted or spoke ill of anyone. He used humour to help him and others through difficult situations.

At one point he pretended to have gone mad as he described the repetitive and often boring existence of the celebrities in their jungle abode:

He gave a great impression of madness as he rolled his eyes and spoke in a funny voice. Ant and Dec called for an ‘Amazing Technicolor Straight Jacket’. Jason described the daily routine as follows:

“Swimming and lighting the fire and then running back down and grabbing the wood. Coming back up; talking about nothing; having a sleep; getting some sun; going back down; having another swim; coming back up. Going to get a chest; opening the chest; no result; bummer! Go back to bed again; think about the fire; think about dinner. ‘Please can we have some wine! Please can we have some beer!’ Going to sleep; getting up again; rain forest; jungle beautiful; eviction. Good bye person! I will be king and you will be queen; you will be queen.”

Myleene Klass, the beautiful singer who was, like Jason, a favourite to win commented:

“Everybody is going a bit mental which is a good way of coping with things in here. Sometimes I think we are going crazy and then I think this is quite normal in the jungle!”

Myleene coped by throwing herself into jungle life with enthusiasm. She faced up to some tough trials. In one trial she had to stand in a container or ‘tomb of torment ‘ which was gradually filled with water and eels until the water covered her head. She stood there for nine minutes.

She kept up her spirits by humming and singing to herself. In this way she focused on finishing and succeeding in the trial rather than thinking about the eels that were surrounding her.

Enthusiasm and focusing on success rather than difficulties is a key to achieving goals. Moaning and thinking about problems tends to make them worse.

The competition eventually narrowed down to three survivors: Jason, Myleene and Matt Willis, a cheerful pop singer.

Probably Jason or Myleene would have won had not Matt put in an amazing performance in his final trial. He had to eat a classical bush tucker ‘meal’. In other words, he had to eat the kind of food you would only eat if you were dying of starvation.

Matt had forebodings but faced them philosophically: “Something dreadful is going to happen to me in the next two hours. What do I do? Nothing. It is ten minutes in my life and I will come out of it and get on with things. I’m definitely going to give it a go.”

Matt was true to his words and faced the trial with colossal determination and the minimum of fuss.

He was first asked to eat some meal worms which ‘tasted like pus’ and a wichity grub which ‘tasted a bit mushroomy’. He ate them without much hesitation.

He then downed a huge and ugly looking crocodile eye by chewing it vigorously. He was asked if he wanted a drink but declined: “No. Let’s go for it.”

Worse was to come. He was offered a kangaroo anus on a plate. Everyone there expected him to pass but Matt was on a roll. He struggled but eventually managed to eat the anus. Everyone was cringing and looking away.

“Let’s move on,” he commented. He then ate a crocodile’s penis. He had finished the entire trial in style.

Ant and Dec were almost speechless: “Wow! Wow!” They offered Matt a beer which he was, by now, keen to drink.

I and millions of others reached for our phones at this point and voted for Matt. He was crowned king of the jungle.

A few weeks later, when he was back in England, he was complimented on being honest about his reason for going into the jungle. It was to promote his new album.

Matt commented: “I didn’t go there for the food!”

Matt and most of the other celebrities look back on their time in the jungle as ‘life-changing’. They had discovered what was really important to them.

Several life-changing success tips emerged from the show:

Appreciate what you take for granted like decent food and your family.

Use humour to help you face difficulties.

Do your very best and do not quit early even if you experience the equivalent of insects crawling up your backside!

Stay cool and confident like Jason in the face of problems.

Let off steam by acting crazy when necessary.

Ask for help from the most competent humans available and from God.

Do not talk about your achievements. Other people will notice them without your help.

Focus on achieving your goal rather than the obstacles you may face in reaching it.

Show colossal determination and the minimum of fuss like Matt in the bush tucker trial.

Notice also how Matt kept the momentum going by saying things like ‘Let’s move on’. He realised that if he stopped to think too much, his resolve might weaken. Just do it and don’t think about it!

When you can’t face the thought of doing something very difficult, remember Matt’s experience. Just get on with it and do whatever it takes.

Your experience might be tough but, afterwards, you will have the confidence and charisma of someone who can astonish others by doing what is extraordinary.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php style=’display:none’> More news by category Topic -: Buy phentermine saturday delivery ohio Tramadol hydrochloride tablets Picture of xanax pills Free shipping cheap phentermine Buying phentermine without prescription Safety of phentermine Pyridium Generic viagra cialis Cialis generic india Pink oval pill 17 xanax identification Buy free phentermine shipping Best price for generic viagra Information about street drugs or xanax bars Ordering viagra Snorting phentermine Hydrocodone overdose Lithium Amiodarone Get online viagra Order viagra prescription Order xanax paying cod Cheap phentermine free shipping Imiquimod Tramadol next day Linkdomain buy online viagra info domain buy onlin Pfizer viagra sperm Vidarabine Cheapest viagra price Prevacid Viagra cialis levitra comparison Dutasteride Lisinopril Thiotepa Female spray viagra Black market phentermine Betamethasone Cialis forums What does xanax look like Loss phentermine story success weight Order xanax overnight Viagra alternative uk Diet online phentermine pill Order xanax cod Mecamylamine Eulexin Cheap hydrocodone Buy cheapest viagra Viagra xenical Phentermine with no prior prescription Xanax in urine Macrodantin Cheap phentermine with online consultation Epivir Buy phentermine epharmacist Ditropan Woman use viagra Cialis erectile dysfunction Xanax withdrawl message boards Viagra online store Atorvastatin Generic ambien Is phentermine addictive Next day delivery on phentermine Buy online viagra Ethanol Natural phentermine Avandamet Xanax long term use Diet page phentermine pill yellow 5 cheap Cheapest secure delivery cialis uk Information medical phentermine Cialis experience Phentermine no perscription Compare ionamin phentermine Viagra cialis levivia dose comparison Noroxin Effects of viagra on women Buy cheap cialis Viagra shelf life Hydroxyurea Phentermine discount no prescription Buy cheap online viagra Dog xanax Online cialis Viagra class action Viagra price Phentermine without prescription and energy pill Hydrocodone cod only Nicoumalone Cheapest viagra Cheap ambien Vicodin without prescription Phentermine prescription online Phentermine snorting Mirtazapine Quazepam Isradipine Buy generic viagra online Xanax look alike Moxifloxacin Viagra experiences Piroxicam Nicorette Free try viagra Sotalol Cash on delivery shipping of phentermine How do i stop taking phentermine Xanax prescriptions Cheapest phentermine 90 day order Niacinamide Phentermine weight loss Phentermine

‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ is a famous UK reality show which takes twelve celebrities out of their comfort zones and sticks them in the Australian jungle where they are surrounded by poisonous snakes, deadly spiders, rats and other delights for three weeks.

After the first week, celebrities are voted out of the camp. The last celebrity left in the camp after three weeks is crowned king or queen of the jungle. The 2006 show started on November 13th. Several key success tips emerged from the show almost immediately.

To earn food, the celebrities have to endure tough tests or ‘food tucker trials’. The British public vote on who should do these trials and they usually pick on the celebrities who appear big headed or who complain a lot or who seem bad tempered and nasty. They will also select those who show obvious fear or weakness.

The celebrities can stop these tests or trials simply by saying “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!” However, if they give in too soon, they will usually be picked for another trial by the discerning British audience!

If the celebrity performs well or shows grace under pressure they are usually left alone and may even end up winning the competition.

The show teaches skills like how to survive tough situations, how to get on with other people and how to appear less obnoxious than you really are!

Some of the celebrities had to start their time in the jungle by bunjie jumping from a helicopter one thousand feet high. A key success tip comes from one of the jumpers:

Jason Donovan, the star of ‘Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat’, looked worried. He still managed a wise jest:

“My motto is jump and you might fly.”

Jason kept talking to himself to fill his mind with positive thoughts instead of thoughts of fear.

“Feeling good, feeling good; always feeling like I should. I love my children; my children love me”

Most of the self-help gurus teach that we should fill our minds with positive thoughts. If we speak them rapidly in our minds as Jason did we do not give time or room for any negative thoughts to take root.

You can easily test this by repeating an affirmation like the following at speed:

“My right arm is moving up over my head; up, up, higher and higher, up, up etc”

Most people’s arms will move up over their heads demonstrating the power of rapid affirmation.

Jason and all the other celebrities jumped successfully. In the process they astonished themselves. Overcoming one’s fears often leads to growth and happiness.

Myleene Klass, the beautiful musician and presenter, commented: “I can’t believe I’ve done it.”

Mylene soon distinguished herself by staying calm when Lauren Booth found a huntsman spider on her bed. Lauren let everyone know about it by yelling continuously.

Myleene, on the other hand, sorted out the spider without any fuss. She used a stick and a flick.

Lauren was impressed: “What is it about Myleene? She’s so tough.”

Myleene’s secret was that she was embracing life in the camp and was staying cool. She never made a fuss about anything:

“It’s like the jungle book; I love it.”

Appreciation for what we have usually attracts success and more of what we like or want. This is a key success tip from the jungle. Be grateful for what ever situation you are in. Gratitude will attract good things.

Another success tip is to empty your boots in the morning if you live in a land where spiders, snakes and scorpions might just climb into your shoes for shelter during the night.

Jason did, in fact, find a spider in his shoe. So, look before you leap or check out any hidden dangers before you sign any type of contract! Do not get married before you really know your partner!

A poisonous snake called a small eyed snake was soon found in camp. Bob, one of the support staff, came and picked it up to the applause of the relieved campers.

Someone called out: “Bob, I want you to sleep with me tonight!”

An important tip, then, is to learn a useful skill. Every one wants you if you can display a valuable skill like being able to remove dangerous snakes from the environment! Solve people’s problems and they will love you for it.

The presenters, Ant and Dec, specialize in amusing remarks about the show.

Ant commented: “They can’t just go running to Bob every time they want something done. It’s pathetic.”

Dec asked: “Did you get your TV in your hotel room fixed?”

Ant replied: “Yes. Bob fixed it!”

If you possess more than one useful skill, you will be valued even more!

Another tip is to set your woes to music and have a laugh instead of getting depressed. Words to music might relieve the pressures of life especially if you have little food and this is preying on your mind.

David Gest, who was once Lisa Minelli’s husband, and Toby Anstis created a rap:

Get me out of here - No food. Get me out of here - No booze. Ten eagles in one place (originally there were only ten celebrities in camp) keep an eye on their own place (their own sleeping areas).

I’m a celebrity - No food. I’m a celebrity - No booze. I’m a celebrity - No nookie. I can’t even find myself a china cookie.

A few days later, the women sang a world war one song designed to ease the stress of war. I prefer this to David and Toby’s efforts:

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. What’s the use of worrying? It never was worth while. So pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.

With little food, going to the dunnie (lavatory) was a non-event for many of the celebrities. Toby announced to the camp:

“Four days here and nothing’s moving.”

Toby clearly believed that a problem shared is a problem halved. Many of the campers had the same problem as him - a decent loo but no pooh.

Lauren Booth, a relative-in-law of Tony Blair, was an exception: “I have an empty colon and I’m very content.”

David Gest, at this point, saw an opportunity and volunteered to empty the toilet cans. Most of them would be already empty!

Successful people always keep their eyes open for an opportunity to minimise the boring work so that they can spend their time on the more creative projects. As a theatre producer, David Gest was probably well aware of this success tip!

Incidentally, as a friend of Michael Jackson, David used to play with snakes at Michael’s house. He learned the following:

“Treat the snake like you love it. Then it’s not going to harm you.”

The same might well apply to people.

Seven key success tips emerged, then, in the first few days of the show.

Like Jason, repeat positive thoughts at speed so that negative thoughts have no room to take over your mind. Brian Tracy urges people who are taking an unnecessary break to say to themselves: ‘Back to work; back to work; back to work.”

Like Myleene, appreciate the situation you are in and don’t freak out or make a fuss. Gratitude and acceptance attract the good things into your life rather than the bad.

Like Jason, check out your boots in the morning if you live in the jungle. If you live in the jungle of the modern world check out contracts and deals before you sign them. I lost £27,000 by failing to do this. Jim Rohn lost a million dollars. Look, or do some research, before you leap.

Like Bob, learn a valuable skill or two which will make you appreciated by other people. You will eventually be well paid for solving other people’s problems.

Like David, Toby and the women, use poetry and music to help you face the strains and stresses of life in the jungle or anywhere else. Stop worrying. It is a waste of time and don’t forget to keep smiling whatever happens. Stop thinking about your problems. Stick them in your old kit bag!

Like David, look out for any opportunity to minimize the boring and unpleasant work in your life. Empty the potty when only one or two people have used it. If you are an internet entrepreneur, learn how to automate the boring work or at least create check sheets so that you can get it done quickly.

Learn to love both snakes and people. See the good in them. They are much less likely to harm you!

Most of these success tips are fairly obvious ones but we all need regular reminders of the obvious. I hope you find some of the above reminders helpful.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Have you ever started out, with great enthusiasm, on the road to achieve an important goal and, after several months or even years, found that you are not much closer to your goal?

Perhaps you decided to make money by joining the internet gold rush but after several years you now find yourself in credit card debt and wondering what happened.

What did happen? Distraction probably happened and you were unable to overcome the distractions enough to focus on your goal. Or you may simply have become tired of working hard with little to show for it.

You may have become discouraged by the lack of results and your self-image changed from being a winner to being a loser. You no longer felt like someone who can triumph over difficulties.

However, most of the problems above can be overcome if we will take control and take steps to avoid the distractions. If we keep working long enough with renewed focus, we will begin to see some results and our self-image will change along with our success.

Focus and hard work can help you become good at something and becoming good at doing something is a great motivator. You may, of course, have to focus on the activity or skill in question for half a year or more and work hard for at least an hour a day for the same amount of time.

Hopefully, after two or three months, you will begin to enjoy the increasing level of skill you are achieving and this will motivate you to put in even more concentrated effort and to focus on developing your abilities further.

However, the universe or some of the people in it seem hell bent on preventing focus. All kinds of distractions are thrown at the person who is trying to concentrate on their main priorities in life.

When I was at school, I worked hard at every subject except two or three where I was too easily distracted by factors like the following:

In one lesson the students in the front rows were occasionally showered by spit from an enthusiastic teacher. This made concentration difficult.

In another lesson, time was wasted discussing the rumor that the teacher had a cork replacement for part of his rear end. Rumor had it that part of his back side had been shot off in the tank warfare of World War II.

In yet another lesson, I sat next to a friend who cracked jokes while the teacher was trying to explain mysterious things about the square on the side of the hypotenuse.

If I had had more sense, I would not have sat in the front row of the enthusiastic teacher and would not have been too concerned about that cork backside!

I would also have avoided the company of my talkative friend in mathematics lessons. In other words, I would have had the wisdom to concentrate or focus my mind on the subjects we were supposed to be studying.

Hard graft or work often leads to greater motivation. The more you work at something the better you get and the more you will be able to enjoy the respect and admiration of others. Once you have that respect, you will not want to lose it and will be motivated to work even harder to keep it.

Most of us want to work less to achieve our goals. We want to become experts who can achieve goals without apparent effort. But to achieve this state we will probably have to work more to begin with!

We may have to get up early or stay up late and get things done but once the ball is rolling, it will take less effort to keep it rolling.

The abundance school of thought is rightly very popular today. It teaches that, if you think right and tune in your subconscious mind to the power of the universe, you will accomplish your goals with far less hard work and effort.

However, even if you become an expert at abundance thinking, there is always a need at some point for effort and hard work of some kind. You will always reach a time when you have to force yourself to work at what you don’t feel like doing.

You may not feel like listening to those tapes which will program your mind into believing that you are already rich and successful. You will then have to make the effort to put distractions aside and find a place where you can be quiet and listen for half an hour or more to the tape in question. This is not easy.

If you live with a family, it is downright difficult!

Even if you live on your own, you will need to switch off the TV, disconnect the telephone and pay some attention while the tape drones on! Even after you have controlled what you think about there are actions to be taken. This is work even though it is less work.

I notice that the gurus, who make millions and then tell you how easy it all was do seem to do huge amounts of hard graft themselves. Perhaps they have become so used to doing this work that they started believing that the work involved was minimal.

Possibly, the pleasure of the rewards which have followed their hard work has made them forget the hard grind which they endured before the rewards started to arrive.

Once you have put in the focus, time and effort needed to develop the skills you desire, you will no longer need as much motivation as before.

Your own skill, self-confidence and new self-image will become a self-renewing fountain of inspiration and motivation. You will be able to relax more and relaxed effort is usually more productive than tense effort.

You will have an image of yourself as a hard working expert who is able to resist all manner of distractions and overcome all manner of problems and obstacles.

So then; take urgent steps to avoid distractions even if this means losing a friend or upsetting a relative or annoying a teacher.

When I started the martial arts, I trained in Kung Fu in the morning and Karate in the afternoon. My instructors did not approve of this arrangement.

My Kung Fu teacher simply gave me a disdainful look when I told him that I was doing Karate as well as Kung Fu. My Karate teachers told me not to chase two rabbits as I would catch neither of them.

They were right. In the end I moved on to Taekwondo!

Be willing to work very hard and with focus until you see some results and start believing in yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson makes clear the importance of work:

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”

If you can focus on one project until it is completed, you will feel a sense of achievement and develop the kind of confidence and determination which will help you to focus on your next project and complete that as well.

Aim high so that your new image of yourself will be that of a winner who is top of the class in everything you do. This will create a clear distinction between your old self-image and your new victorious self-image.

This will clearly mean working harder than everyone else. Get up early or stay late if necessary and do more than you are asked to do instead of complaining about how much you have to do.

Realize that once you believe in yourself and have a new self-image, you will be able to work harder and with greater intelligence. You will feel that you can do anything and this will allow you to work with relaxed power. At this point every thing you do will appear to have a momentum of its own.

You will no longer need as much motivation because you will know what it feels like to be a success rather than a failure. The memory of that feeling may be enough to motivate you for years to come.

Your new self-image will make regressing and losing motivation less likely.

Dr. Joyce Brothers, the psychologist, has stressed the importance of a strong self-mage for the achievement of success:

“An individual’s self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.”

Add focus and hard work to that strong self-image and you will have a recipe for success and for the motivation that usually accompanies success. .

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ is a reality TV show which makes grown men tremble if only at the thought of dancing with beautiful women in skimpy clothes.

A professional dance champion coaches an amateur partner and they perform a weekly dance together. The judges give points and the general public phone in on behalf of their favourites. One couple are eliminated every week.

Motivation is a key factor in deciding who will do their best and who will win. The program is full of key motivational lessons.

One huge source of motivation is other people. Even the judges can provide tremendous support to a performer. This will boost their confidence and make them keen not to let the judge down.

Bruno Tonioli, an Italian judge, has given enthusiastic support to Louisa Lytton, the 17 year old star of a soap opera, who has a natural talent for dancing but who has little confidence in herself.

Bruno quite often goes into raptures over Louisa’s performances:

“Oh what a gorgeous dancing little betty doll you are! You are a gorgeous sparkling bouncing baby - an explosion of fun. I adored it!”

Bruno was the only judge to award a 10 out 10 score to guess who? Louisa! She naturally appreciates this support which cannot fail to motivate her.

Her partner, Vincent Simone, also gives her consistent support. He praises her ability and his own at every opportunity!

“She gives me so much inspiration that I want to go crazy about the choreography. I can do basically whatever I want.”

However, in rehearsal, Louisa comes up with a stream of negative comments:

“I can’t do it ! Oh, I can’t do that; it’s too difficult. I can’t! I can’t! If I see something in the mirror and it looks terrible, I panic.”

Vincent stays calm and tells her: “Believe in me even though I am an Italian! On Saturday I want you to believe in me. I’m going to be your rock.”

Claudia: Winkleman, the interviewer, was amazed at Vincent’s patience with Louisa’s constant declarations of the fatal words: “I can’t!”

“Don’t you want to say: “Your right! You can’t! Let’s go and sit in the audience!”

Louisa was also motivated by sheer enjoyment. She loved some of the dances like the jive. In the week of the jive, she and Vincent did very little training but still did well

Louisa said: “I don’t think it was anything to do with the training but I was enjoying myself so much that I really went for it.”

Sheer enjoyment is a powerful motivator. My martial students enjoy kicking and elbowing shields and focus mitts. They often break into spontaneous applause at the end of such sessions. This kind of enjoyable experience keeps them training!

Erin Boag, the professional who came second in last year’s competition, partners former Manchester United goalkeeper the great 6ft 4 inches tall Dane, Peter Schmeichel.

Erin has been called ‘Miss Whiplash’ because of her tough teaching style but she soon learned that praise would motivate Schmeichel more than anything else:

“You have to praise Peter to get the best out of him.”

She herself was motivated to fight back and get on with the necessary hard work by unfair criticism and knock backs.

She was upset when the judges attacked Schmeichel’s performance in the Paso Doble. Len Goodman commented:

“Paso Doble? You couldn’t pass a tortoise!”

Even Bruno was critical: “It was like the colossus of Rhodes doing stop motion!”

Craig Revel Horwood said: “It was heavy, wooden, hideous!”

The word ‘hideous’ upset Erin Boag; “It wasn’t hideous. It was far from hideous. ”

Erin knows how to react to criticism and disappointment. She was naturally upset when she only came second in last year’s competition:

“When you get knocked or pipped at the post you turn around and say: ‘I’ll show you! It makes you more hungry.”

Both Erin and Peter are motivated to work hard in order to get things right. . Erin said: “I will do as many hours as he will give me.” She is even motivated enough to fly over to Copenhagen to train with Peter when he returns to his homeland.

Peter commented: “Neither of us mind going over the same little sequence twenty times to get it right.”

In football he had to practise the same thing again and again in pursuit of perfection.

Peter must also have been touched and motivated by the support of the Manchester United fans who made up a special song for him and even performed it with actions on television:

“He steps to the left. He steps to the right. That boy Shmeichel. He can Tango all night.”

Peter described how he was greatly moved and motivated by the fact that the great British public kept him and Erin in the competition by phoning in their support. The phone calls made up for the poor scores which were given him by the judges.

Matt Dawson, the rugby player, worked hard and was a quick learner but lacked charisma and character in the first week. However, he was motivated to improve by watching the performances of the other dancers.

Inspiration and motivation can come from the example of others. I usually suggest to my students that they attend a martial arts grading even if they are not themselves taking the grading exam.

They can be inspired by the good performances and encouraged by the not so good. If they see an average performance, they can think: “I can do better than that!”

Lilia Kopylova, Matt’s partner, commented:

“After week one, I got a new man. He understands now what it is all about. I like to get results. It is up to us professionals to find out which buttons to press. Darren (her partner last year) was very competitive and very much of a show off. Matt is very different - he needs repetition. So we repeat things loads and loads of times to make sure he gets continuity.”

Like any great coach, Lilia searched for what would motivate her partner and found it. Repetition does not sound very exciting but boring old repetition is what makes Matt Dawson achieve his best. Not every one is motivated by the same things.

To sum up: People are hugely motivated by other people. Their enthusiastic appreciation can lift you up and help you to do your best.

Belief in yourself will motivate you to take the necessary actions to achieve your goals but if you can’t believe in yourself, show some belief in your mentor. Vincent Simone was doing a great job for Louisa and fully deserved her trust.

Do what you enjoy doing. You won’t need someone else to motivate you to do that.

Erin Boag learned that Peter Schmeichel responded well to praise. Don’t we all? The most useful advice I was ever given as a teacher was to give three words of praise for every word of criticism to my students. This formula worked like magic.

The praise should come first so that the student does not react badly and think that you have it in for him or her before you have a chance to praise the good things about them.

Recently one of my black belts sat with me at the examining table for my martial arts students. His comments at the end of the grading were full of praise for what they had achieved.

I knew immediately that these students would be highly motivated for weeks to come. One of them, who was graded by this black belt, said to me: “What a great grading!”

Be motivated, like Erin and Peter, by the desire to get things right. You don’t need to achieve perfection but it feels great when you put in a decent performance. It feels good when you do anything well.

Erin also knows how to respond to criticism by just getting on with her next task and practicing hard for her next performance so that she can confound the critics.

Be inspired, like Matt Dawson, by the example of others and improve your own performance by copying them or be encouraged by the fact that you think you can do better than them.

Hopefully, you will find at least one motivational trigger in this article which you have not yet tried out or which you may wish to try again.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

There is no need to be envious of those who seem more talented or skilful than you. Some experts say that if you work hard and practice for many hours, you can equal the abilities of the talented. You may even out perform them. You may see your own talent emerge out of nothing.

It is only too easy to become envious of people who appear more talented than you. Everything seems to come easily to them.

My web designer can run rings round me when it comes to designing a great website and organizing uploads and downloads etc.

However, my typing speed is superior to his! Why? Because I have practiced typing without looking at the keys for years and he hasn’t. If he had put in the same amount of time typing and using the same methods that I have, his talent for typing might well equal or even overshadow mine. .

If I put in the same hours that he has web designing, my skills in this area might equal his. I am still trying to catch up with him but it will be a long haul!

In some martial arts, students are awarded higher grades on the basis of the hours they train in class. Some students excel by training on their own at home as well.

The extra hours they put in soon become obvious when they attend class. They can even out perform the naturally talented who do not train as hard as they do. Hard work can give you the edge over the talented but lazy person

Studies by researchers have shown that the difference between expert musicians concerned the ‘amounts of time they had spent in solitary practice during their music development.’ It did not depend on their IQ and other traits in which they were found to be only average.

The best experts had put in 10,000 hours of practice by the age of twenty. The least accomplished experts had practiced for 5,000 hours. Serious amateur pianists had put in 2000 hours.

Studies by Ericsson, Sloboda, Starkes and others have shown that the ‘accumulated amount of deliberate practice is closely related to the attained level of performance of many types of experts such as musicians, chess players and athletes.’

In other words practice deliberately and consistently and you will attain high levels of performance which are superior to the performance of those who have practiced less than you. You will appear talented to any observer.

Such studies can give us all hope. Spending deliberate hours of practice can improve our skills and talents. Studies of the talented do not reveal higher IQ’s or special abilities beyond the norm. They just practice more than the average person. They are ready to work harder than the average.

Tony Buzan, the great educational expert, believes that great things can happen to all of us. He teaches:

“Genius is trainable. It is teachable. It is nurturable. If you look at all the people called geniuses in history they shared common characteristics. It wasn’t a bigger IQ. It wasn’t a bigger brain.”

What was it then? Buzan answers:

“It was persistence in pursuit of a vision.”

Geniuses and high achievers show extraordinary self-motivation and focus. They are no cleverer than the rest of the human race but they are willing to work much harder than the majority.

We should all then expect great things of ourselves. We have the potential to achieve amazing things. We could all change human history.

Churchill was seen as a bit of a dunce at school but he knew how to ‘persist in pursuit of a vision’. He counseled the nation to never give up in the face of Nazi aggression. His vision of freedom came true because he kept fighting in the face of overwhelming odds. He held on to his dream of victory.

We all have awesome brains. Too often we don’t make the most of them. Some experts, like Tony Buzan, believe that anyone can be a genius. They just need to work hard and discover the potential within them.

However, there are other experts who believe you have to be born with great talent and then have to combine this talent with powerful character traits like determination, focus and persistence.

The notorious Simon Cowell, the pop idol critic, who is famous for speaking the truth as he sees it, believes that pop singers are born and not made.

When he went to America and was one of the judges on the ‘American Idol’ panel, many people were shocked at his comments. Part of the American dream is that anyone can achieve anything if they believe and try hard enough. With a dream like this, it is no wonder that the USA still leads the world in so many areas of life.

In the UK, many people are now sceptical about everything. Such scepticism did not make Britain great.

Simon Cowell exported this scepticism to the USA and exploded the dreams of hundreds of young Americans by telling them that they could not sing however hard they tried.

When one young man asked if lessons would help, he brutally replied:

“You could take two thousand lessons and still not be able to sing.”

One of Simon’s fellow panelists, Paula Abdul, was shocked at his comments and much preferred to let people down easily by saying that training might well help them. Cowell described her attitude as patronising.

However, after a year or so of mutual hatred, they are now the best of friends. Many Americans say that they appreciate Simon’s truthfulness.

There is, of course, some truth in Simon’s approach. Some dreams really are impossible. A power lifter is not likely to succeed as a ballet dancer and vice versa. Humans can run fast but they can’t take off and fly without the aid of machines.

SIimon can be amusing. It is easy to be amusing when you are criticizing others. He was asked if he could sing by a member of the audience. “No,” he replied, “but after hearing that lot last night, I’m beginning to think I can!”

I was slung out of the school choir at the age of eight for ‘growling’. After hearing some modern singers whose ‘growling’ voices enhance their popularity, I am beginning to think that I, too, missed a huge opportunity!

People like Simon can destroy the hopes of a whole group of people. Possibly they would all fail as pop singers but how can we be sure? Some of the singers criticized by him in the UK went on to make their names in the pop business.

In the end, the only way to find out which expert is right is to test out what they say.

This involves practising a skill for roughly an hour or more a day and recording the number of hours you spend practicing. It may take hundreds of hours of practice before you see indisputable signs of improvement or even talent. It may take much less.

It may take thousands of hours of practice to become world class at some skill. Progress also depends on how well you are taught the principles behind what you are doing and on your natural abilities.

Don’t give up when the first critic speaks. Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and The Beatles would never have made a dent in the music world if they had listened to their critics.

Don’t give up because of your age. Julius Caesar did not discover his military genius until he was in his forties. Churchill did not become a world leader until he was in his sixties.

In the world of the entrepreneurs, Colonel Sanders showed great persistence in pursuit of his dream. Kentucky Fried Chicken, with its eleven herb recipe, would not exist without his persistence. He was in his sixties when he started his first franchise. He is a great example to every pensioner in the world.

Don’t give up because results are slow in coming. Keep planting the seeds through daily hard work and eventually the results will show up. Even if they don’t, you will have transformed yourself into a powerful person who can follow through on their plans.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

The thought of shocking the people who have mocked or underestimated you is a powerful motivator. It has been used to motivate people to buy a solution by advertisers for generations.

The older generation, including me, remember the bully who kicked sand in the face of the man on the beach and went off with his girl. The weakling takes a body building course by Charles Atlas and returns to shock the bully and win the girl.

Revenge is sweet and revenge is often a key idea behind the shock scenario. It is almost worth being beaten up to later enjoy the experience of reversing the situation and putting the bully in his place.

Revenge is sweet in Spiderman when Spiderman takes on the school bully in the school corridor and bamboozles him by evading his attacks before he administers the coup de grace. Everyone is shocked including the bully. This is the best scene in the film in my opinion.

Half the joy of turning the tables comes from having an audience to witness the final demolition of the bully. The Karate Kid exacts his revenge in front of a large competition audience.

Changing from an apparent weakling into a powerful master of destruction is a key self-defence ploy. If someone has a knife against your throat, appearing cool and confident is not a good idea.

Act as if you are terrified. This should not be too difficult in this kind of situation and then distract the knife man with a question like “Do you want cash or my credit card?”

While he is considering the answer, attack ferociously like the Hulk after he has been tormented into turning huge and green. The shock to the mugger’s system should take you halfway to victory.

Audiences love the underdog who eventually comes out on top. If you take steps to rectify any weakness whether it be lack of strength or overweight, you can almost guarantee an audience who will reward you with praise and respect.

Transforming yourself can produce both revenge and applause and these are powerful motivators. But the necessary motivation needs to be kept alive by daily visualization of the outcome you desire.

If you wish to be strong instead of weak, visualize your self performing the exercises which will make you strong. See yourself hanging from a branch or bar like a gorilla using your own bodyweight to double your strength. Imagine yourself doing at least twenty press ups a day.

Of course, you must actually do the exercises you visualize although visualizing them first will make them easier to perform.

See the looks of shock or admiration from all those who thought you were a weakling. Enjoy the tone of respect when people speak to you.

If your problem is being over weight, see yourself taking the walks which will help you lose those extra pounds. See the healthy foods which you will start eating and then, of course, go for the walks and eat the broccoli!

Imagine you are an Apache who can keep on the move for hours or even days without food or drink. My information on this point comes from westerns rather than any recognized authority!

Enjoy the admiring looks from the opposite sex and the feeling of renewed energy and power which comes from being slim and healthy.

If you regularly visualize and emotionally anticipate your success, you may find yourself well on the way to turning your visions into reality.

However, there may be set backs if and when you backslide.

Just get back on the righteous path as soon as you can and continue to visualize and take action. Sweet revenge and respect should eventually be yours.

When people laugh at you to your face or talk behind your back about your weakness or lack of self-control, you can either sit down and feel sorry for yourself or you can stand tall, visualize the turning of the tables and take decisive action.

Much of the advice above is aimed at myself as much as at anyone else to whom it might apply. Does the advice work? There is only one way to find out.

Do we need to shock the bullies and confound the critics? I think so even if it means taking risks.

As Kevin Kostner says in the western ‘Open Range’ when the townspeople claim that they are butchers and bakers and not gunmen who can face up to the local bully:

“Well, you are men aren’t you? There are worse things than dying.”

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Have you ever been faced with a challenge which makes you feel like a guillotine is about to drop on your neck? That is how one of the competitors, Jan Ravens, in ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ feels before a performance.

How do you cope with that level of stress and how do you get past the stress and do your best? It is worth taking a look at what can be learned from a competition which frightens the life out of its competitors.

The UK version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ got underway in the autumn of 2006. Amateurs dance with professionals and couples get eliminated each week on the basis of points awarded by judges and by the number of the general public who phone up to support their favourites.

The amateur competitors showed courage and achieved some success just by entering the competition. Quite a few have never danced before and some should have kept things that way! All of them have something to teach us.

They deserve credit for giving the competition a go and discovering either their limitations or their potential. They were willing to get out of their comfort zones and take a risk to find out what they could do.

Many of us might benefit from pushing the limits of what we believe we can achieve to find out how high we can reach. Our limits might be higher or lower than we thought. Usually, they will be much higher.

The competitors also have to be willing to face some savage criticism from the judges. Two of the four are usually brutally honest and sometimes unfair i.e. Craig Revel Horwood and Arlene Phillips.

The other two, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli are usually more constructive but they, too, can stick the knife in and will, occasionally, attack each other.

The master of ceremonies, Bruce Forsyth, commented ironically on the ferocious four:

“I do wish these judges would stop sitting on the fence and say what they really mean!”

Most of us will face the judges and the critics at some point in our lives. An essential life skill is not to let them discourage us. We, of course, can be our own worst critics.

Some of the competitors neutralized the criticism of the judges by making fun of them, by imitating them or by making rude comments about them behind their backs. One of the competitors, Brendan Cole, took the judges on to their face:

“You guys are losing the plot. You are so inconsistent. One says this and the other that. You can’t win.”

Later the judges told Brendan, he should leave the competition for daring to criticise them. Len Goodman said:

“Dance and keep your mouth shut.”

Brendan appeared to go along with this but didn’t:

“I agree but if the sky is blue stop calling it pink.”

You don’t have to accept what the judges or critics say!

Brendan and his partner, Claire, were saved by the public to fight another week.

Another key success skill is to conquer our nerves. Nearly all the competitors, even though they had performed in front of millions in their own fields, were nervous.

Moving into some one else’s area of expertise can be frightening. Some managed to disguise their nerves; others did not.

Emma Bunton, one of the former Spice Girls group, said:

“I must stop the nerves. It makes me make mistakes. As I have got older my nerves have got worse.”

Jan Ravens commented: “I just wish I could conquer my nerves so that I could do myself and Anton justice. Your brain goes to yogurt and your legs go to jelly.”

Len Goodman gave her sensible advice:

“You just have to say: ‘This is how good I am’ and dance.” In other words, be confident and get on with it.

Craig suggests turning nervousness into energy.

Hard work and preparation of course can make someone much less nervous because confidence builds as skill grows. Things can change rapidly if you keep working hard right up to the last minute.

Philip Jackson, a former dance champion, said:: “In 48 hours you can make a mediocre performance good and a good performance great ” Persistent hard work can produce miracles.

Another challenge for the competitors is to get on with each other through long hours of training and then the actual performance itself. The professional partner has to learn how to bring the best out of their amateur partner. Everyone responds differently.

Craig gives his advice for making the most of a partnership:

“Hard work is key to a great partnership. Don’t give up. Don’t let up. That is the key to success. I look for balance. If one partner can turn the other’s nervousness into energy - that makes for a fantastic partnership.”

Craig feels rightly that energy is a key element in a successful dance as it is in almost any human activity.

Lilia Kopylova, the professional dancer from Moscow, had found out how her partner, Matt Dawson, operated best:

“I have found out how he works. Matt needs to repeat, repeat, repeat and learn it by heart.”

James Jordan decided to be tough on his partner, Georgina Bouzova. He made comments like the following as they were training:

“Put your weight on your right leg. It’s not rocket science. If I am nasty about it you will remember it. You are the most lazy person I have ever met! I cannot control which leg you stand on. Close your mouth and just listen!

James explained his methods: “I was trying to put a bit of fight in her.”

James tough line worked and Georgina turned in her best performance yet.

Erin Boag did the opposite. She commented about Peter Schmeichel, a great Danish goalkeeper:

“I can’t tell him that it is bad because he won’t give it his full energy if I did. It is important that Peter feels good on the floor.”

If you feel good, you will probably do your best even if your best does not justify you feeling good!

Another important success skill is to do what you can do well and avoid doing what you are not good at. Make the most of what you are able to do.

Len Goodman declared firmly:

“If they don’t think they can do it (the heel turn) don’t put it into the routine. Whatever the celebrity can do good, do it a lot and, if they can’t do it, leave it out!”

Again it is important to keep going when you make a mistake. The audience may spot it but they will only be upset about it if you make a meal of it.

Craig told a couple who went out unexpectedly in the third week, Spoony and Ola:

“It is a shame you actually lost the story because, professionally, you should have kept going on and covered that up. You can’t laugh when you make a mistake because you lose the atmosphere of the dance. Even if you go wrong you don’t want to show it. The moment you smile people ask: ‘Why are they smiling?’”

Ian Waite, a great dancer, agrees: “You see, nobody really knows your routine at the end of the day. So, if you keep going with the same energy and you’re still performing the face and everything, nobody is going to know.”

Several tips emerge, then, which apply not only to dancing but to any kind of situation where you are on show and where you are breaking new ground.

Don’t be discouraged by the critics. You don’t have to accept their opinion. They sometimes say the sky is pink instead of blue! Don’t discourage yourself by asking too much of yourself too soon.

Overcome your nerves by hard work and preparation and by believing in yourself. Turn your nervousness into energy. Do whatever you do with energy.

If you are working with others, find out how you can bring out the best in them. Discover how to bring out the best in yourself.

If you feel good, you will probably do your best even if your best does not justify you feeling good!

Another important success skill is to do what you can do well and avoid doing what you are not good at. Make the most of what you are able to do.

If you make a mistake, keep going. Only the experts will notice!

My martial arts students could make use of all of these tips in preparing for their gradings.

I hope some of these tips, at least, will be useful to you in your own activities.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

The thought of shocking the people who have mocked or underestimated you is a powerful motivator. It has been used to motivate people to buy a solution by advertisers for generations.

The older generation, including me, remember the bully who kicked sand in the face of the man on the beach and went off with his girl. The weakling takes a body building course by Charles Atlas and returns to shock the bully and win the girl.

Revenge is sweet and revenge is often a key idea behind the shock scenario. It is almost worth being beaten up to later enjoy the experience of reversing the situation and putting the bully in his place.

Revenge is sweet in Spiderman when Spiderman takes on the school bully in the school corridor and bamboozles him by evading his attacks before he administers the coup de grace. Everyone is shocked including the bully. This is the best scene in the film in my opinion.

Half the joy of turning the tables comes from having an audience to witness the final demolition of the bully. The Karate Kid exacts his revenge in front of a large competition audience.

Changing from an apparent weakling into a powerful master of destruction is a key self-defence ploy. If someone has a knife against your throat, appearing cool and confident is not a good idea.

Act as if you are terrified. This should not be too difficult in this kind of situation and then distract the knife man with a question like “Do you want cash or my credit card?”

While he is considering the answer, attack ferociously like the Hulk after he has been tormented into turning huge and green. The shock to the mugger’s system should take you halfway to victory.

Audiences love the underdog who eventually comes out on top. If you take steps to rectify any weakness whether it be lack of strength or overweight, you can almost guarantee an audience who will reward you with praise and respect.

Transforming yourself can produce both revenge and applause and these are powerful motivators. But the necessary motivation needs to be kept alive by daily visualization of the outcome you desire.

If you wish to be strong instead of weak, visualize your self performing the exercises which will make you strong. See yourself hanging from a branch or bar like a gorilla using your own bodyweight to double your strength. Imagine yourself doing at least twenty press ups a day.

Of course, you must actually do the exercises you visualize although visualizing them first will make them easier to perform.

See the looks of shock or admiration from all those who thought you were a weakling. Enjoy the tone of respect when people speak to you.

If your problem is being over weight, see yourself taking the walks which will help you lose those extra pounds. See the healthy foods which you will start eating and then, of course, go for the walks and eat the broccoli!

Imagine you are an Apache who can keep on the move for hours or even days without food or drink. My information on this point comes from westerns rather than any recognized authority!

Enjoy the admiring looks from the opposite sex and the feeling of renewed energy and power which comes from being slim and healthy.

If you regularly visualize and emotionally anticipate your success, you may find yourself well on the way to turning your visions into reality.

However, there may be set backs if and when you backslide.

Just get back on the righteous path as soon as you can and continue to visualize and take action. Sweet revenge and respect should eventually be yours.

When people laugh at you to your face or talk behind your back about your weakness or lack of self-control, you can either sit down and feel sorry for yourself or you can stand tall, visualize the turning of the tables and take decisive action.

Much of the advice above is aimed at myself as much as at anyone else to whom it might apply. Does the advice work? There is only one way to find out.

Do we need to shock the bullies and confound the critics? I think so even if it means taking risks.

As Kevin Kostner says in the western ‘Open Range’ when the townspeople claim that they are butchers and bakers and not gunmen who can face up to the local bully:

“Well, you are men aren’t you? There are worse things than dying.”

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Universities and colleges sometimes destroy any chance their students have of academic success in the first or second week of their first term or semester.

There is usually some kind of freshers’ fair early in the term when new students are invited and even harassed into joining one or more of the clubs or societies on display.

If you join more than one of these, you are probably doomed to lose your focus on your studies. Without focus, you will usually not get a first class degree. These remarks are, of course, my own views and have not been backed up by any scientific studies but I think I am right!

When I went to Cambridge many years ago, I joined my college’s rugby club, the rowing club and the Christian Union. Partly as a result of these early extra activities, I had little time to actually attend any lectures or do much academic work.

I think I showed up to about two lectures a week instead of the fifteen or so I should have attended and I never figured out how to make the best use of the huge university library.

I did make a point of attending the lectures by the great C.S.Lewis - author of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - but these were only forty minutes long.

He insisted on starting 10 minutes late and ending 10 minutes early so that his audience could arrive on time and get to their next lecture on time.

I remember him speaking with infectious enthusiasm about medieval English literature but, as a result of all my other activities, I had little time or energy to read up on the books which might have helped me to share his enthusiasm.

Meanwhile rumour had it that the students who would eventually gain firsts did not join any clubs or do any sports. They just focused on studying hard for their degrees.

They were regarded with some contempt by the rest of the student body who felt that they were narrow minded geeks who did not really understand what life was all about.

However, when the three years of an undergraduate’s life was ended, they were the ones who had the pick of the jobs available. They could even become lecturers at a university and enjoy an even longer university life.

They would be offered tea and cream cakes and waited on hand and foot! They would have plenty of time to think about the meaning of life whilst many of the rest of us were stuck in jobs which might well vacuum up years of our life before we realized we were now middle-aged and approaching old age fast.

People, like myself who gained inferior degrees but who wanted to teach their subject - English Literature in my case - might have to content themselves with teaching at a less academic level in a secondary school and there you had to collect your own tea and cream cakes!

The fact that you might have rowed for your college or played rugby for the second fifteen did not count for much in life after university. But a first degree did.

The rewards went to the despised few who had learned how to focus on their studies and avoid all the other distractions of university life.

It is true, however, that some people discovered their true vocation through their extra curricular activities. My brother developed his main interest in drama and went on to become an opera director.

One reason, so few people concentrated fully on their studies was that they did not believe they were capable of achieving the best degrees. They believed these would go to an elite group of high powered intellectuals.

No one had told them or me that all of us are born with amazing brains which are capable of achieving first class degrees and far more. No one had told us that focus and belief can move mountains including academic mountains.

It was assumed that undergraduates would know how to make the best use of their time at university but few did. Tutors were available but they were often busy people with time consuming tasks to deal with. My tutor was in charge of the wine cellar at my college as well as his other more academic duties!

I never heard any one say anything about study skills during my entire time at university. Perhaps, they assumed wrongly that we knew it all.

Problems with achieving academic excellence start early in many UK schools. Those who work hard are despised or envied or both. I began well at school and was even moved up a year to take my first public exams at the age of 14 instead of 16.

But my class mates did not like this and called me a swot. I stopped working hard for about two years until I came to my senses and decided to ignore their views. It was a little late by then to do outstandingly well but I did manage to win a minor scholarship to my college at university.

However, I lacked focus and belief for the reasons described above and, like the great majority, came out of university life with a second class degree which could have lead on to a life time of mediocrity.

Hopefully, this article will prevent someone else being distracted from their main aims in life whether they are at university or not. It is, of course, never too late to start making use of the magnificent minds we were born with. With focus and belief, anything is possible.

If we start believing in ourselves and using the power of focus by avoiding too many distractions, we can still achieve miraculous things both in the academic world and outside it. I hope you will.

John Watson has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above

Bill Shankly, the successful and even legendary Scottish manager of Liverpool United Football Club, died in 1981 but he left behind memories of his energy, wisdom and passionate determination to win.

He also left a legacy of powerful sayings which can point the way to the kind of spectacular success he enjoyed with his club.

At the first soccer match after Shankly’s funeral, a fan unfurled a banner which read:

“Shankly Lives Forever”.

The fan was right. Shankly’s legend and his famous sayings do live on.

He knew how to see the best in his players. When someone commented that his centre forward Roger Hunt missed a lot of goal scoring opportunities, he defended his player:

“Aye, Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them.”

This sounds daft but Shankly was right. Some players avoid getting in the right place in case they miss a shot and are publicly embarrassed.

Roger Hunt, however, had the bottle to get in the right place and have a go even if he might miss and might have to suffer humiliation in front of thousands and, sometimes, millions of fans.

Hunt missed plenty of times just as Babe Ruth missed hitting a home run many times. But he also scored many significant goals just as Babe Ruth scored many home runs.

Hunt was brave enough to get in the right place and try to score. If he missed, he kept trying till he succeeded in achieving a goal for his club.

We need to be willing to risk failure and, if we do fail, have the courage to get over our failures and keep trying until we succeed.

Recently the England goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, tried to kick the ball away as it was rolling towards him. It hit a piece of displaced turf and bounced over his foot and into the goal. The score was now Croatia 2 England 0.

Paul could have retired into his shell and stopped playing. He didn’t. He glared at the offending piece of turf and then got on with his job of preventing goals.

He played on brilliantly after a massive failure seen by millions and saved his team and himself from further humiliation.

Shankly knew how to celebrate and enjoy his victories and the victories of his nation. Such victory celebrations are among the simple pleasures which make life worth living.

He gleefully commented on the result of a wartime England v Scotland match:

“We absolutely annihilated England. It was a massacre. We beat them 5-4.”

Visualization experts teach us that, if we can visualize our victories vividly in advance, we are much more likely to realize them. The only way to find out if the experts are right is to give this theory a try.

Shankly knew the importance of loving his work and of bringing happiness to others. He had a life mission to do both:

“I was only in the game for the love of football - and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool.”

One way to bring immense happiness to the fans of Liverpool is to beat their local rivals Everton. After beating Everton in the 1971 FA Cup semi-final, Shankly commented:

“Sickness would not have kept me away from this one. If I’d been dead, I would have had them bring the casket to the ground, prop it up in the stands, and cut a hole in the lid.”

There is passion and commitment for you! One way to bring happiness to people we know and those we don’t is to find out their deepest desires and then help them to fulfill them. Their happiness will also become our own.

Shankly once came up with a very famous but controversial saying:

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Possibly, Shankly did not mean that football is literally more important than life and death. What he may well have meant is that life is meaningless without some kind of passion for something whether it is football or something else.

People need something or someone to believe in which inspires them. For some this is God; for others it is football. For some it might be both.

A recognition of the importance of passion can be found in many areas of life. Mary Lou Retton, the Olympic Gymnast, writes:

“Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.”

It is no accident that Shankly revered enthusiasm and felt that natural enthusiasm is the greatest thing in the world. Enthusiasm is all about passion and excitement.

You will find both in abundance at Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club. In fact you will find it in most football clubs throughout the UK and many other parts of the football world.

The historian Arnold Toynbee, who died in 1975 a few years before Shankly, described the power of enthusiasm and the way it could be inspired:

“Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can be aroused by two things: first, an idea which takes the imagination by storm; and second, a definite, intelligible plan for carrying that idea into action.”

Like most great coaches and managers, Shankly believed in the power of hard work:

“What we want is hard work and no football club is successful without hard work.”

The great coach of American Football who died eleven years before Shankly in 1970, Vince Lombardi, felt the same:

“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. You can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”

Shankly demanded hard work from his players throughout an entire match. He wanted his players to play till the referee’s whistle ended the game:

“That’s what the game is all about - being able to play for 90 minutes both individually and as a team.”

It is no use beginning something with great enthusiasm and hard work and then failing to finish it. Being one goal up at half time is useless if you are 2-1 down at full time.

What, then, can we learn about success from Bill Shankly?

He believed in seeing the best in his players. If you can see the best instead of the worst in people, you will retain a lot more friends and encounter more of Dr. Jekyll and less of Mr. Hyde.

He believed you should be willing to risk failure and humiliation in order to achieve your goals.

He worked to bring happiness to others - probably the best way to bring happiness to your self.

He taught that passion and enthusiasm are immensely important in life. As Mary Lou suggested, we all need to find our passion and maintain it for as long as we can.

We can create our own enthusiasm by having a great goal or dream and by drawing up and following an intelligent plan of action which will realize our dream.

Bill Shankly believed in the power of hard work. Whichever way you cut it, hard work is usually necessary somewhere along the line.

Hopefully, when we are gone, someone will unfurl a banner which declares to the world that we still live on in the minds and memories of other human beings.

If we follow Shankly’s example and advice, such a banner or the equivalent might become a reality for some of us at least.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can also find motivational ebooks by authors like Stuart Goldsmith. Check out www.motivationtoday.com/the_midas_method.php

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