What Are You Afraid To Do?

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes,

one of his great surprises,

is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do."

Henry Ford

Have you realised that most of the barriers that are challenging us have been put there by us in the first place? Logic would tell us then if we put them there then we can take them down.

One of the great discoveries you and I can make is to find that we really can do something we were afraid we couldn't do.

The barrier is something we have put up inside ourselves and we really can take it down.

What barrier will you take down this week? Have a go, what have you got to lose? If you are successful, much is to be gained. If you aren’t successful, you haven’t gone backwards at all.

The Ant Philosophy

Have you ever taken the time to watch ants? I know it’s a strange question. My brother-in-law, as a child, had a fascination with ants. He refers to them as his ‘friends’ because they were always waiting for him every time he arrived home!

Jim Rohn teaches about “The Ant Philosophy”. Jim recommends that we should study ants. Jim has been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - The Ant Philosophy. Jim believes that ants have an amazing four-part philosophy.

Part 1 - Ants never quit.

That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, and they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. Perhaps a good philosophy to embrace; to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.

Part 2 - Ants think winter all summer.

That's an important perspective. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don't build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it’s important to think ahead. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.

Part 3 - Ants think summer all winter.

During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won't last long; we'll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.

Part 4 - How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter?

All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow! What a great philosophy to have - The Ant Philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Making Mistakes

I don’t know about you, but for a period of time, I just didn’t want to get anything wrong or make a mistake. Boy, how that one desire restricted my life. It restricted what I could achieve, how far I stretched and kept me in my safety and comfort zone.

Then one day I had a mind switch and realised the more mistakes I make, the more I learn, the bigger my comfort zone, the more I can achieve. I started to look at mistakes and failures as part of my expansion, as part of being able to achieve everything that I wanted to achieve.

You may have heard the story of this famous figure before. However, I would love to share it again.

• Failed in business, 1831
• Defeated for legislature, 1832
• Second failure in business, 1833
• Defeated for speaker, 1838
• Defeated for elector, 1840
• Defeated for congress, 1843
• Defeated for congress again, 1848
• Defeated for senate, 1855
• Defeated for vice president, 1856
• Defeated for senate again, 1858
• Elected President of the United States of America, 1860

It is Abraham Lincoln. What if Abraham Lincoln just gave up at some point in his journey? This journey was nearly 30 years in the making. What kept him persisting, never giving up, and seeing every step as part of the journey?

Perhaps we should just keep trying more often. Never underestimate your power to achieve what you desire. Take a chance; life is there for you to design. What is it you want to achieve? Embrace and be very proud of all your mistakes, it is from here you learn your greatest lessons and grow.