Dedication

Wikipedia: Dedication is to immerse oneself with sincerity into a certain subject.

Merriam-Webster: Dedication is self-sacrificing devotion

One of my most profound mentors use to emphatically declare each and every day the following: Will power, Build power. By chanting this mantra, he introduced me to the metaphysics of success; and he modelled the mindset of a positive and confident striver. He taught me that success begins as dream that is refined to a concept/strategy.

The lesson did not stop there. He both proclaimed and demonstrated that a dream/concept could be actualized through focus, determination and dedication.

This brings me to the operative word of success, dedication. Most people want to achieve success, may it be money, fame, acclaim, or happiness. Most people have dreams of achieving great things. But, few people develop their plans into successful action.

Whether it is fear, lack of grit or indiscipline behavior, many of us spend our lifetimes being content and just day dreaming of our great splash. In saying this, I recall a recent interview of Will Smith, in which he confessed that he did not think he was that much more talented than the average Joe. No, Will professed that his success was due to out working the average Joe.

Once again the familiar ring - dedication. In the business world I inhabit, the margin of success and failure can be measured in terms of determination/dedication.

To be successful, I need to use restraint in order to resist the gratifications of whims and desires.

I need to centered; avoiding the high highs and low lows of the daily business grind. But most of all, I must be cognizant that like a jilted lover, if I cheat on my business, it will cheat on me. All of the above require dedication. Is it in you?

Campaign Notes

Hillary Clinton: After a magnanimous and enthusiastic speech/appearance with Barack Obama, her stock is back on track. I thought Clinton struck all the right notes and proved she is a team player. This election is too important to not have party unity.

Bill Clinton: He and Barack shared a twenty minute phone conversation yesterday. Hopefully, Bill and Barack can patch up the bruised feelings and egos. The Democratic party is large enough to support three stars - Obama and the Clintons. In particular, as a true fan of the 1990's Clintons, I extend the benefit of the doubt to hear Bill's explanation for the tone of some of his campaign statements.

George Bush: Is it me, or is W trying to sabotage McCain's campaign? Just watch the body language between the two - there definitely is no love lost. In particular, just as McCain tries to distance himself away from W's shadow, W makes a statement that makes them seem joined at the hip. He did this regarding McCain's new pro-offshore drilling stance (W publically took the same position); and, W seem to echo McCain's position about speaking or negotiating with our enemies.

Karl Rove: He wins this week's, he said what award. After umpteen years of working with W - who brags that he was an average C student; who exclaims he doesn't like to read books, magazines and newspapers; who likes his presentations to come with bold bullet points; who admits that he is not intellectually curious; who did want to disrupt his vacation during our country's largest naturally disaster (I could go on) - Mr. Rove called Obama lazy! You gotta be kidding Karl and shame on you for trying to send coded false messages to those of you elk.