Keep On Keeping On

Have any of you ever heard, “You can’t do that!” ? Okay, I know, a stupid question. The word “can’t” is uttered to us many times growing up by our parents. I understand it when we are growing up. Our Mom or Dad said we “can’t” go out until we do our homework or until the chores are done. This is common. How about when we are adults? You “can’t” ask that girl or guy out. You “can’t” ask for a raise. You “can’t” change careers now. Too many times we give in to this word “can’t.” We succumb to it. We let others say it and we believe it. We need to develop something that Henry Ford had. Here is a story that truly takes the T out of CAN’T.

Henry Ford wanted to design a V-8 engine. He wanted this engine with all 8 cylinders cast in one block and he instructed his engineers to produce this design. The design was put to paper and ALL of Ford’s engineers agreed that it was IMPOSSIBLE to cast an 8 cylinder engine block in one piece. “It CAN’T be done.” They said. Ford told them, “Produce it anyway.” They insisted that it was IMPOSSIBLE and it CAN’T be done. “Go ahead and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required.” Ford commanded. So, the engineers went to work. If they wanted to continue working at the company, they knew that they had to find a way. 6 months passed. They were no closer.

Another 6 months passed and still nothing happened. The engineers felt that they had tried every concievable plan to carry out the orders. They continued to feel that this was IMPOSSBLE. Ford checked in once more with them and told them that he must have it. For whatever the reason, something clicked this time. The engineers went back to work and made it happen! Something that they had been working on for over a year finally came to fruition.

This story is one that truly shows………NEVER GIVE UP! That we only fail when we quit. It shows we must Keep On Keeping On.

Next time we are faced with someone telling us we “CAN’T” do something, think of good ol’ Henry Ford and apply that type of self-confidence and trust in you!

Keep On Keeping On,

Tim

A baby elephant is trained at birth to be confined to a very small space. How this happens, is that the trainer will tie its leg with a rope to a post rooted deep in the ground. This inhibits the elephant to the length of the rope. The baby elephant will try to break the rope. When the baby elephant is first born it is not that strong so the rope withstands this effort. The baby elephant learns that it can’t break the rope. It learns that it has to stay in the area defined by the length of the rope. 

 When the elephant grows into a 5-ton gigantic specimen that could easily break that same rope, it doesn’t even try because it learned as a baby that the rope was too strong. Do we sometimes act like an elephant?

We plug away for a little while and then we discard our efforts because we did not get the desired results within our desired timeframe. We “try” up until a point and then we stop “trying” and claim that, that doesn’t work.

 We can’t be like an elephant. While we are on the road of living the life of our dreams, we are going to encounter setbacks, drawbacks, and flat out failures. People will say we are crazy, some of those people may be close to you. What we can never do is stop trying to achieve that life. We all have been given an infinite amount of talents. Those talents were our gift from our creator. What we do with those talents is our gift back.

 What have you been putting off today? What action can you take? What has been holding you back? When we start to act, fear disappears. The more action we take the more momentum is built. The more momentum we have the harder it is to get sidetracked. Continue to take action and let your fears disappear!

Keep On Keeping On,

Tim

This was a commerical about 10 years ago. Do you

remember it?

• I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career
• I’ve lost almost 300 games
• 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed
• I’ve failed over and over again in my life.

And that is why I succeed.

The commerical was about Michael Jordan. Growing up in Chicago, I had the priviledge to see him on almost a daily basis. Jordan was the best example of talent and desire that has ever come along. No one had his passion for the game. No one worked harder. The end result? Michael Jordan is known as the best basketball player ever to play the game. His secret was he was not afraid to fail. We all need to adopt this type of vision to our goals, to our life ambition. It isn’t about how many times we “fail”. It is about how many times we get up and ask for more. Here is to always asking for more out of life. Don’t let anything stand in your way!

Keep On Keeping On,

Tim

I have always loved this display of history. Look at the story of

Abraham Lincoln

• Failed in Business - Bankruptcy, 1831
• Defeated For Legislature, 1832
• Sweetheart - Fiancee Dies, 1835
• Nervous Breakdown, 1836
• Defeated in Election, 1838
• Defeated For U.S. Congress, 1843
• Defeated again for U.S. Congress, 1846
• Defeated once again for U.S. Congress, 1848
• Defeated for U.S. Senate, 1855
• Defeated for U.S. Vice President, 1856
• Defeated again for U.S. Senate, 1858
• ELECTED PRESIDENT 1860

You can not fail…unless you quit!!!

Isn’t it amazing what type of success one can have when they

don’t give up? I have a philosophy that the universe is always

testing us to see what level of commitment we have. The

bigger the dream the harder the test is. What is the lesson?

UNLEASH YOUR DESIRE, DREAM BIG, AND NEVER

GIVE UP! As a friend of mine says, “Live your Dreams!”

Keep On Keeping On,

Tim

Sylvester Stallone has been one of the most successful actors in the last 30 years. He is best known for starring in the movie, “Rocky”. If you haven’t heard the story behind how “Rocky” was made, you are in for a real treat. Enjoy! 

Stallone’s career started out like many actors trying to make a living. Everyday he went out and tried to get acting jobs. No agent would sign him. In fact every agent he ever saw, said he should give up and quit the dream. “You look dopey and you talk out of the side of your mouth. You will never be taken serious and you will have NO FUTURE in acting.” Stallone heard this almost on a daily basis. But, he knew he wanted. He would not give up. He purposely did not go out and get a “real job” because he felt that it would kill his hunger. By burning all bridges he would always have that hunger inside to push him forward. This belief caused many arguments with his wife. They had little food on the table and no heat in their apartment. Stallone was going nowhere fast. He had a bad relationship with his wife and no career to speak of. The only thing he felt he had was a dream and his best friend, his dog, Butkus.

One day Stallone went to a library, not because he was looking to read anything in particular, but because it was cold outside and the library was warm. While he was there he had an idea. He would start writing screenplays. This may be another avenue to gain notoriety in the movie business. Stallone was able to sell one of his screenplays, “Paradise Alley”. He sold it for $100. This never led to anything and after paying his bills he was back to being broke again. He was at another low point. He decided to hock his wife’s jewelry to keep them afloat. Obviously, this did not make his wife happy. She hated Stallone and left him.

As time went on, Stallone was so broke that he couldn’t feed him or his dog, Butkus. Sly went to the local liquor store in hopes he would sell his dog, his best friend in the whole world, for $50. A man negotiated with Sly to buy his “best friend” for $25. This was the lowest point in Stallone’s life. He cried. He finally hit rock bottom. 

Stallone may have hit rock bottom but he did not quit. A few weeks past and Stallone was watching a fight in a bar. Chuck Wepner vs. Muhammad Ali. Wepner kept coming after the champ even though he was getting bludgeoned. Round after Round, punch after punch, Wepner kept coming towards Ali. Sly stood there and watched in awe. He had an idea for screenplay! 

He went home and starting writing. In fact he wrote for 20 hours straight until “Rocky” was complete. Stallone knew he had something special. He shook with anticipation of what he had accomplished. Sly went out and started to find buyers for his screenplay.

 Again, Stallone was faced with much resistance. Rejection after rejection. The story is too predictable. Too sappy. It just won’t work. Until he got a yes! Stallone was offered $125,000 for the screenplay. Sly could barely rub 2 quarters together and now he was being offered this type of money. Stallone asked for one stipulation. He had to play Rocky. Again resistance formed. No way they said. We need a star. We are not going to pay you, an unknown, to play this role. We want Ryan O’Neil. They said take their offer of $125,00 or leave it. Stallone knew what he wanted. He walked away. They came back and doubled their offer $250,000 for Stallone’s script and for him NOT to be in the movie. Stallone again said no. They came back one more time. $325,000 for him NOT to be in the movie. No way Stallone said. 

So what happened?  They came back one more time and offered him $35,000 for the script and to play Rocky. Stallone finally had done it! The first thing Sly did with that money? You guessed it he went to find the guy who bought his dog and made him an offer he could not refuse! Not only did Sly put his dog in the movie, part of the deal to get his dog back was to give the guy a part in the movie as well. Wow! What have we learned? When you know what you want in life and go after it with bulldog persistence, it can be yours as long as you are willing to pay the price. You may not get rewarded after the 1^st time or 37^th time. You need to Keep On Keeping On UNTIL you get it! Keep On Keeping On,

Tim  

Have you ever had a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken? I bet you have and if you haven’t you can definitely find one near you. Colonel Sanders was the founder of KFC and someone who has demonstrated the Keep On Keeping On attitude as well as anyone. I will show you exactly what the Keep On Keeping On attitude is, as we dive into some unknown facts about the Colonel.

Long ago, Colonel Sanders owned a little restaurant. This restaurant was going broke because the main highway was being routed elsewhere. He was losing most of his customers. In no time at all his business was failing. All he had was a monthly Social Security check and an idea. He did not have the backing of investors. He did not have youth on his side. He did not have a wealth of support. But he did have a chicken recipe and a never say die attitude or as I call it, a Keep On Keeping On attitude.

After receiving a couple of Social Security checks he knew that he had to do something. He would not be able to last very long on that income. His idea……He would go to restaurant owners and sell his recipe and in turn they would give him a % of the proceeds. This may not have been the most thought out plan, but it was one that the Colonel was ready to execute. So, the Colonel loaded up his car and off he went. This was hardly an overnight success. He drove around the country sleeping in his car, trying to find anyone who would buy his recipe. He kept on knocking on doors. He did not get a yes after the 1^st attempt, nor the 10^th. Not even the 100^th attempt or the 500^th attempt. What he did was, he kept on getting up after he was “knocked down”. He didn’t even get a yes after 1,000 attempts. Can you imagine being rejected 1,000 times? In all he was rejected 1,009 times before he got his “Yes”!

The Colonel knew that with each “No” he received he was that much closer to a “Yes”. He was not going to give up UNTIL he sold that recipe. If the 1,010^th person said “No” to the Colonel, what would he have done? Of course, he would have dusted himself off and went right out to 1,011. That is what I call a Keep On Keeping On attitude!

Now in every major city across the country you can eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Colonel Sanders made a fortune because he had the ability to Keep On Keeping On. He knew what he wanted and he didn’t give up. The Colonel has since passed on….but Kentucky Fried Chicken is a franchise that is still around today.

I wouldn’t recommend you change your diet and incorporate his chicken in it once a week, but I would HIGHLY recommend adopting his “Keep On Keeping On” attitude. If a going broke 65+year old can show that type of persistence, what can you do??? What dream is lying dormant that needs to be woken up? How can adopting this attitude help you in your everyday life??? We all have untapped potential just waiting to be released. It is just a matter of saying NOW IS THE TIME I won’t settle for anything less than living the life of my dreams! When you are armed with the Keep On Keeping On attitude anything is possible.

Keep On Keeping On,

Tim