The Classic Pamela Positive: “Make of Your Life an Affirmation” -Alexander Haig

 

“Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.”

－Alexander Haig

 

 

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Alexander Haig was a four-star general in the United States Army, as well as Chief of Staff under President Nixon and President Ford, and Secretary of State under President Reagan. He grew up as the middle child in a Catholic family in Pennsylvania. Haig would attend the University of Notre Dame for a couple years before finishing at West Point Academy. He would later also receive an MBA from Columbia Business School and a MA in International Relations from Georgetown University. A veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, Haig received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart. He was married to Patricia Fox and they had three children together.

Bio Source: Wikipedia

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Fig¹.  Photo from Wikimedia Commons

The Classic Pamela Positive: How Close You Are To Success? -Thomas A. Edison

 

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

－Thomas A. Edison

 

That’s a shocking statement. How close you are to success….

You can do it…

You could do it…

You are ascending the mountain…

 

 

and you stop.

How close are you? Connect with your true, heart-deep motivation. Instead of focusing on blocks, frustration or being tired, you can focus on why you are doing what you do.

They Gave Up. They Didn’t Realize. They Were So Close! Success was just there….. all what Edison tells us.

So what will you do today? Give up or cross over? Give up or stand up? Give up or ascend? Continue on your pathway, and firmly but gently, success will lead you.

Thank you dear Thomas Edison, as we know you failed thousands of times. Yet your success still shines in our lives today.

 

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Edison was born in 1847 in the canal town of Milan, Ohio. In 1859 Edison began working on a local branch of the Grand Trunk Railroad, selling newspapers, magazines, and candy. At one point he also conducted chemical experiments in a baggage-car laboratory.

In 1868 Edison became an independent inventor in Boston. Edison soon acquired a reputation as a first-rank inventor. In 1871, Edison married 16-year-old Mary Stilwell, whom he had met two months earlier. She was an employee at one of his shops. They had three children.  While working on the telephone in the summer of 1877, Edison discovered a method of recording sound, and in the late fall he unveiled the phonograph. Finally, beginning in the fall of 1878, Edison devoted thirty months to developing a complete system of incandescent electric lighting.

In 1886, at the age of thirty-nine, Edison married the 20-year-old Mina Miller. They also had three children together. By the time of his death on October 18, 1931, Edison had received 1,093 U.S. patents, a total still untouched by any other inventor. Even more important, he created a model for modern industrial research.

Bio Source: Wikipedia

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Fig¹.  Photo by Mathias Jensen on Unsplash

The Classic Pamela Positive: The Right Timing in Your Life: What We Can Learn from Japan’s Edo Era

 

During the Edo era in Japan (1603-1868), the only wood they’d use from the forest was if a branch had fallen from a tree. In the same way, we don’t pick fruit before it’s ripe.

We don’t wrench the immature tomato from the vine. When it is the right time, you’ll find it almost drops off naturally in your hand.

 

 

Perhaps then, the message for us in present-day is, don’t cut down the wood until the tree is ready to release its branch. Perhaps all the wood we need will fall naturally and offer itself to you. This will be right timing for the tree as well as your needs.

Is there an area you are pushing for, that is perhaps unripe? Perhaps it’s time to gently let it go. We can let right timing lead, delivering the gift to you and everyone, at its specially appointed time.

Let’s enjoy the gifts, events, and happenstances which are given naturally to us.

 

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Fig¹.  Photo by Davor Denkovski on Unsplash

The Classic Pamela Positive: “Thinking of the Things in My Life That Bring Me Pleasure Is a Peaceful and Positive Way to Start the Day.” -Warren Bennis

 

“Thinking of the things in my life that bring me pleasure is a peaceful and positive way to start the day — and a much better way to deal with a perceived failure than to ruminate on it. 

When you’re down, think of the things you have to look forward to. When you are no longer in the grip of the mishap, then you are ready to reflect on it…. 

After reflection, the learning of the past is known, and the solution of the experience — the course of action we must take as a result — becomes clear. ”

－ Warren Bennis

 

 

I was honored to work in Leadership under Warren Bennis, a wonderful Business Leader. Ever calm and so very experienced, he taught us to look at life from an evaluative outlook.

What can I learn from this today?

How can I become better?

How will my life be better once I implement what I have learned?

 

 

Take each step of life with great step of gratitude, goodness, and desire to grow. And upwards you go! With grace and peace. Thank you, dear Warren Bennis.

 

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Warren Bennis was a pioneer in Leadership studies, writing numerous influential books on the subject, including Leaders and Leading For a Lifetime. He was raised in New Jersey and he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943. During his time in the U.S. Army, he received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After his time in the military, he went on to attend Antioch College, receiving his B.A. in 1951. He continued his education at the London School of Economics before receiving his Ph.D. from MIT in 1955. His focus was on Economics. He was a business professor at the University of Southern California. In 2007, BusinessWeek named him one of the top ten thought leaders in business. He has been married twice and has 4 children.

Bio Source: Wikipedia  Fig¹.  Photo by Lucas on Pexels  Fig².  Photo by bruce mars on Pexels

The Classic Pamela Positive: “I Would Make Something Happen” – Louis L’Amour

 

One of our prolific American writers from the Midwest, Louis L’Amour wrote about the rugged wilderness of the west in the 1900s. He spoke of our pioneering spirit, the need to create our future, and the adventure of it all. And so he has good advice for any entrepreneur:

 

“I would not sit waiting for some vague tomorrow, nor for something to happen. One could wait a lifetime, and find nothing at the end of the waiting. I would begin here, I would make something happen.”

－Louis L’Amour

 

 

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Louis L’Amour was an American author. He is best known for his Western fiction novels, though he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short-story collections.  He was born Louis Dearborn LaMoore on March 22, 1908, the last of seven children.  He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota, a medium-sized farming community.  As he grew older, he traveled throughout the United States and abroad, in various positions including as a mine assessment worker, a professional boxer and a merchant seaman.

In the 1930s, Louis and his family settled in Oklahoma, and Louis turned his focus to writing.  He began to have success with short stories in the late ‘30s and ‘40s, beginning to sell novels in the 1950s.  Louis also served in the United States Army during World War II. Louis ultimately wrote 89 novels and more than 250 short stories.

Bio Source: Wikipedia

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Fig¹.  Photo by Jeffrey Czum on Unsplash