You Are A Magnet.

“Pessimism never won any battle.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Remember that old saying, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." (Mark Twain) That is what wins the battle. That is what makes the difference. The difference between winners and losers; masters and the ordinary. It is what is inside, that little extra that carries people over the huddle that separates the rich from the poor, those who are alive and the living dead.

Where do you fall in the divide? As Adolf Hitler so rightly said, "Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live." I can't believe it, but I do agree with Hitler in this wise. Life is a fight. You don't have to want to fight. You have no choice in the matter. You are either going to take the initiative, or the initiative will be taken on you. 

There is no sitting on the fence. The fence has long been brought down. You are either fighting to live and excel, or you are being beaten down to oblivion. We see an example of this every day in the wild - the fable of the lion and the gazelle is instructive.

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running." - Christopher McDougall.

Can you imagine a lion waking up and thinking how he'll not be able to outrun the gazelle? That is a recipe for extinction. The same is true for the gazelle. They both have to keep dreaming and imagining themselves outrunning the other That is what keeps them running and keep them alive. Pessimism, on the other hand, kills the spirit and steals the fight. 

Pessimism is not instinctive to animals. Optimism is. The sheer survival instinct keeps them believing, trying, and never giving up. Humans are plagued by their ability to reason and make decisions. That which gives them a leverage position can also be their undoing. It is up to each of us to agree with our instinctive drive for survival and excellence. That is the only way to mastery.
 

Marianne Williamson puts it so well. She says, "Nothing binds you except your thoughts; nothing limits you except your fear; nothing controls you except your beliefs." Do you believe it?

St. Akin de Great.

Links to Series:

Let Go of What Was.

Catch Your Wave and Surf.