The Desire to Succeed

The Two Glasses of Wine Story.

2009-06-06T16:12:00.006+01:00

When things in your life seem too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Glasses of Wine Story……

A professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked his students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor then picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them in to the jar..
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked his students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor then picked up a jar of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked his students once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘Yes’.

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life.’

‘The golf balls represent the important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions i.e. things that, if everything else was lost, and only they remained, mean your life would still be full.’

‘The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else that is left in your life’.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small things, you will never have room for the things that are most important to you.’

‘Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to diner. Play another round of golf. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house or weed the garden. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and enquired what the wine represented.

The professor smiled. ‘I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that, no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend.

2009-06-04T13:17:00.001+01:00

If you think champagne, you'll soon drink champagne.

2009-06-03T16:36:00.001+01:00

To get what you want in life you sometimes have to do what you have never done. Take that extra step

Building your own home --Advice on how to make it a pleasurable experience

2009-05-28T18:29:00.002+01:00

Building your own home --Advice on how to make it a pleasurable experieEvery time that I drive up the driveway of my home I still cannot believe that I actually live in such a beautiful house. The only reason that I am fortunate enough to live in this house is because I built it myself. Were all of the sacrifices that I made to achieve my dream home worth it? Yes definitely.

The most difficult process of building your own home is being able to visualise the end product. It is difficult to imagine how an ordinary field can suddenly transform into a lovely house with beautiful, spacious gardens. Fortunately I have good vision and I could easily imagine the finished product. Convincing my family was another matter. All that they could still see was a muddy field stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Fortunately my wife trusted me enough to commit to selling our previous home in order to purchase the field to to build our dream home. We were very lucky to sell our house in six days and within weeks we had packed up all our belongings and were on our way to a new adventure. We obviously had some reservations as we took one last look back at our house but our worries were soon replaced by excitement at the prospect of building our new home. It was even more poignant as my wife was seven months pregnant at the time.

We spent the next seven months living with parents whilst I dug out the necessary access route into the field in preparation for the next part of our adventure—living in a caravan!

Our daughter Danielle was six months old when we moved into the caravan. It was strange to begin with as it was very isolated and dark. However it was wonderful to be back on our own together as a family unit. Our families had been incredibly supportive and kind but there is nothing like your own space- however small that space may be.

It was wonderful for my wife Julie to be living on site as it meant that even though we were spending very long periods apart due to the lengthy hours that I was spending building the house at least she could look through the window and be able to watch me and the progress being made.

The situation became even more challenging when we found out that Julie was pregnant again and that there would only be a sixteen month age gap between the two children. However we managed and soon there were two babies crawling around the caravan. Our bedroom was the biggest challenge. You could never imagine that so many people could fit into so small an area. My wife and I slept in the bed, I made a custom built cot for Danielle and Jessica slept in a Moses basket on a stand.

Some of the weather conditions during the time that we were living in the caravan were atrocious. There were times when the caravan literally swayed from side to side during terrible storms. We then had to manoeuvre our way through thick squelchy mud to our temporary laundry room situated in a shed. I have to say that it sounds like a nightmare but it was actually quite fun because we had mentally prepared ourselves for the challenge. We also kept focusing on the full picture. This was becoming easier as the house build progressed and our dream home was beginning to to seem a reality.

The first exciting stage of the build was pouring the concrete for the foundations. This involved all hands on deck and was at times chaotic. Again I had to convince the family that the finished foundations would actually convert into a big house as at this stage it looked small.

Then the partitions were put in place and the necessary beams. Suddenly the house was taking shape and when the bricks were being laid it became easier to imagine the finished product. Eventually the roof went on, the walls were plastered and painted and all the services were installed. It was now time to pick the decor and appliances. This was the nice part but it’s surprising how lengthy this process can be – especially agreeing on what to buy. It was particularly important at this stage to try to stick to the agreed budget as this is the stage when many people who build their own homes become unstuck by overspending. It is surprising the little things you suddenly have to decide upon. For example whether to have gold or silver handles on the doors or whether to have a combination of both? Then should the doors be brown or white and should there be glass in the doors to maximise light? We eventually came to a compromise and the last part of the process was complete. The best part of all was watching our kitchen transforming from a bare, empty space into a large luxurious one as one by one the units were installed. This had been the main focus in the planning of our house as we had always wanted a large, open kitchen. In our experience we had always found that no matter how many living areas you have in a house it is always the kitchen that everyone congregates into. Therefore with this in mind we built a large kitchen which also comprised of an adjoining family and sun room. This has worked perfectly and we have had many enjoyable social gatherings within this area.

Eventually after living in the caravan for two years our project was complete and it was time to move into our new home. Our eldest daughter who had only ever known living in a caravan cried as she watched the caravan being towed off site.
It took a while to adjust to suddenly living in such a big house. Every sound seemed to echo and it took a while to remember our way around.

We have now been living in our home for five years and the novelty still hasn’t worn off. I still look in wonder at our lovely house and our beautiful landscaped gardens whose beauty changes with every season. Had I not built my own house I would never have been able to afford to buy the house that I live in. It was certainly worth the sacrifices that I made to achieve it. The important thing is to always stay focused on the project and to make it as fun as possible. The end result certainly makes all the hard work worth it.

Since then I have built homes for numerous clients and have helped them to achieve their dream homes. I have been able to successfully do this having had firsthand experience of building my own home.

All in all there is definitely nothing more rewarding than building your dream home I was fortunate that as I was self employed and was therefore able to dedicate the time needed to realise my dream. However the dream is still achievable to anyone provided they find a good plot of land and a good project manager to get the house built on their behalf.

Good luck to anyone who decides, like me, to build their own home.
The excitement of building your own home quickly made me realise the amount of fun and fulfilment such a project creates, not only for yourself but also your family and friends. Another such fulfilling opportunity that I have developed is working from home.
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Operating a home based business can be stressful. Try this tip on how to alleviate stress whilst pursuing a hobby.

2009-05-25T15:57:00.006+01:00

How do you cope with stress? Throughout my hectic busy working life I have tried several stress busting remedies. I have listened to music, read books, drank alcohol and even listened to “self help “tapes but all to no avail. These methods only made me more stressed. The beat of the music pounded in my head, my concentration was so poor reading that I had to keep reading the same page over and over. The alcohol proved to be a temporary release but resulted in a headache the next morning and the tapes didn’t help either as I would fall asleep before hearing the remedy as to how to combat stress.

My stressful state continued. My limbs remained stiff with tension, the headaches became more severe and the sleep deprived nights continued as did the consequent mood swings.

Then one day I decided to try an age old remedy--gardening. As soon as I got into the fresh air and began to garden I could feel the stress lifting. Worries began to fade as the sound of the birds singing filled the air and the humming sounds of nearby traffic and people’s chatter helped to soothe anxieties. Without realising it the focus of my thoughts drifted to trying to identify the singing birds. I also began to imagine that they were singing specific songs I began to play a game in my head of “I’ll name that tune in 3!

The pressures of the day began to lift with each weed that I pulled. It’s amazing the therapy that you get and the satisfaction that you feel with each weed that you manage to pull out especially when you succeed in pulling out the very challenging dandelion whose roots seem to go on forever!

The job satisfaction that I felt when the gardening task was accomplished was far more rewarding than when a major deal had been struck in my business. Admittedly there wasn’t the financial gain and my limbs were now stiff and aching but importantly my stress had lifted and I now felt an inner calm.

I have now been gardening in my spare time for many years and my gardening projects have become bigger and bigger. In fact this year I have even added a vegetable patch to my garden. As for my stress levels they can still be high as that is sadly a side effect of being in business but at least I know that as soon as I start to garden again my stress levels drift away and my spirits lift again.. HOME BASED SUCCESS!

To truly see how to start a successful home based business visit this link.

Change your career path it’s never too late to try something new

2009-05-25T15:52:00.002+01:00

Middle age does strange things to a man. It finally makes a person evaluate the priorities in life. This was certainly the case for me.

For many years I had been what could have been considered as a “busy fool”. I had always worked incredibly hard, often working many long hours to provide both for my family and for the families of my employees.

I began my working life as a gas engineer working lots of overtime and ensuring a secure income for my family. I then threw caution to the wind and decided to venture into the unknown territory of retail.

I began by opening a convenience store which involved working very long hours for little income at the beginning. It also sadly meant spending large periods of time away from my family particularly my young children. However by sheer hard work and dedication I began to succeed and eventually expanded to open two further stores and a manufacturing company.

As the business expanded so did the workforce. This resulted in more pressure to succeed not only to provide for my own family but for the families of all my employees. Competition from other retail outlets further increased the pressure on me and I continued to work harder and longer hours in order to succeed.

After twelve years I decided to make a career change. I sold my businesses and ventured this time into another relatively unknown domain- I became a property developer .

I had a little experience in this field as I had built my own home and began buying various parcels of land to sell. I also built more houses which I sold and I project managed house builds for various clients. This proved a welcome change and a great challenge but after seven years I was becoming submerged in mountains of paperwork and I was again beginning to spend less time with my family. It was time for a change. This time I was determined to make the right change – a change for the better.

I am now successfully running a businessworking from home and have stopped being what I regarded as a “busy fool”. I have now struck the right balance between work and family life. I have succeeded in creating good quality time with my family and am now finally beginning to really enjoy life to the full. Making changes in your life especially when you reach the insecure middle aged phase of your life can be daunting and hold much insecurity. However by finally taking the plunge and venturing into the unknown many wonderful opportunities can be created which will go on to create gains both financially and socially.

By my very nature I will always need a certain amount of challenge and set goals in my life but at least now I am productively busy and am actually reaping the rewards for myself. I believe that I am now fulfilled in my life. It is never too late to make alterations in our lives provided we take the time to ensure that we make the right changes to better our lives.

Crooked Politicians

2009-05-15T17:52:00.003+01:00

Isn't it nice to know that the professionals are looking after us........ The banks have brought down the economy and now we discover that the politicians are spending our (the tax payers) money on personal expenses........ Well at least we are having a spring clean..... banks closing, MD's losing their jobs and now the crooked politicians..... as they say what goes around comes around

Lost your job / Recently been made redundant

2009-05-12T12:05:00.001+01:00

Losing Your Job. What can I do? How will I cope? All is NOT lost.

Losing your job is news we all dread. But don’t despair. Think positive. All is not lost. In reality another opportunity may have opened its doors. Work from Home!

In today’s economy job losses are at an all time high. Losing your job is making people from all walks of life realise that there are other benefits such as, Working from home, changing careers or going back to college.

Being self employed most of my working life I know what the huge benefits are by working from home. I personally have never lost a job but I have set up and sold a number of businesses which has made me look for new opportunities time and time again. Working from home can create huge opportunities and change your day to day life style. It can also enable you to work around any personal family commitments that you may have. Be sure to do some research first and be confident that you have the motivation and responsibility to work from home.

There are people and business entrepreneurs like myself that have already done the research and as a result offer others sound advice and opportunities. We do exist, so don’t be afraid to ask questions rather than take someone’s word for it.

So frankly, my advice would be if you feel that working from home is for you then the benefits can certainly be more advantageous than anything else. I love being able to be at home, do what I want, when I want and work around things that matter to me from day to day.

Be aware! When working from home you must discipline your self to ensure that you are productive and don’t get distracted to much but and at the same time you are able to ‘switch off’ and close your office door until the next day. Some people fall into a trap whereby working from home takes over their home life. Not good news if you are in a relationship and have children. This has happened to me.

I am now privileged to be able to offer and share my experience and ‘home based’ opportunity with people who are looking to do the same. By doing so I can truly guarantee to show you how you can create more freedom and an income that you may not be accustomed too. Don’t be fooled though, like everything else, hard work and commitment is required.

Learn how by visiting me on line at:

http://www.wealthmastersincome.com.

Regards

ROY DERRICK

Top home based business Opportunity beats the recession blues !

2009-04-01T06:44:00.003+01:00

Top home based business Opportunity beats the recession blues !
Earlier today I received two calls from ordinary people looking for work. Each conversation started with the caller telling me that they had just lost their jobs and how gloomy everything appeared to be.
In response to their desperation I simply motivated them by stating that they now in fact had a fantastic opportunity to open new doors and challenges for themselves. How ? Well by simply coming to terms with the fact that
\” to get what they never had, they have to do things they have never done\”.
After a few seconds silence ( which no doubt seemed like hours to them) they got the message. Their spirit changed and in no time at all they were keen to learn about the \”best home base business opportunity\” available and earn a six figure income.
Check this out !

http://www.wealthmastersincome.com/

Regards

ROY