Are you a goal-oriented person? Do you have desires and dreams that you would like to attempt? Any experience of reaching for something, whether it’s a goal or dreams, will also, no doubt, acquaint you with setbacks. I would imagine that, if you’re like me, you’re tempted to look at those who have “made it” (whatever “made it” means to you) and you’re tempted to think that success must have come to them easily or at least with minimal struggle. After all, most of the time all we see is the end result. We don’t see the process that produced the result.

But count on it. EVERYONE faces setbacks and obstacles. Let me define “everyone;” I mean everyone, every person, every individual, every winner, every success, every victor. You can bet the house on it.

Dennis Waitley recently told the story of a laundry worker who earned $60 a week. He didn’t want to be a laundry worker; he wanted to be a writer. His wife worked nights and while she was at work, he typed manuscripts and sent them off to possible publishers and agents. Each of them came back with the same standard form letter: “Sorry, but no thanks.” He possessed a growing suspicion that his hard work hadn’t even been read before the standard rejection letter had been mailed.

One day the standard form letter had a different slant. “Sir,” it said, while your current work does not warrant publishing, we believe you have promise and want to encourage you to keep trying.” Keep trying, he did, sending off two more manuscripts over the next year-and-a-half. But he stuck out with each one. In fact, as Waitley tells the story, their finances grew so desperate the young couple disconnected their phone in order to pay for the necessary medication for their young child.

Feeling discouraged and hopeless beyond comprehension, he tossed his latest work in the garbage. Thankfully, however, his wife believed in his talent and his dream. She picked the manuscript out of the trash and sent it to a publisher (it was the publisher who had sent the kind rejection). Doubleday liked it and the book, Carrie, was published, selling over five million copies. It got picked up as a movie and became a top grossing film in 1976.

Dennis Waitley’s lesson is worth remembering:

The main message: believe in your ability to turn obstacles into opportunities. Too often people try to storm their obstacles as if they’re forts that need to be taken. It’s better to step back and ask yourself, ‘Did I cause this obstacle by my own actions or lack of them? Did someone else cause this obstacle? Is this obstacle one that grew out of the natural progression of circumstances?’”

So let me ask the questions again: Are you a goal-oriented person? Do you have desires and dreams that you would like to attempt? Let’s decide together to not let setbacks to set us back, but to spur us on.

Oh, by the way, the laundry worker’s name was Stephen King

All of these quotes on “Discipline” come from the genius of Jim Rohn…

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

All disciplines affect each other. Mistakenly the man says, “This is the only area where I let down.” Not true. Every letdown affects the rest. Not to think so is naive.

Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.

Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.

The best time to set up a new discipline is when the idea is strong.

One discipline always leads to another discipline.

Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.

You don’t have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years.

The least lack of discipline starts to erode our self-esteem.

Do you struggle with balance like I do? Here are some inspirational quotes on balance to help you along the way this week.

“Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes? Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys.” —Jim Rohn

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” —Anne Bradstreet

“You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.” —Lou Holtz

“Be prepared to ride the cycles and trends of life; success is never permanent and failure is never final.” —Brian Tracy

“The seasons do not push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky. All things happen in their own good time.” —Dan Millman

“Through the years I have found it wonderful to acquire, but it is also wonderful to divest. It’s rather like exhaling.” —Helen Hayes

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically—to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’ “ —Stephen Covey

“Many people like to think that they’ll find balance AFTER they find success. But in reality, achieving balance IS success.” —Brian Koslow

Perseverance is about as important to achievement as gasoline is to driving a car…Without it, you won’t even be able to start your engine. The opposite of perseverance is procrastination. Perseverance means you never quit. Procrastination usually means you never get started, although the inability to finish something is also a form of procrastination.

I’m a procrastinator. There, I said it. Although I’ve been meaning to write that phrase for several weeks now, I must admit, it feels good to get it out there. Somewhere I read that admitting your problem is the first step towards solving it. I don’t know if that’s true, but let’s think about it for a moment.

Why do you procrastinate? I know why I do – I’m a perfectionist. I used to like to say that “I’m a recovering perfectionist.” I said that because, like alcoholism, I don’t think you’re ever free of it. You have to keep working at it to stay sober, or in this case, on task. But the more I think about it I think I termed it that way because a “recovering perfectionist” didn’t sound quite as bad as a full-blown, hopelessly mired, and terminal perfectionist.

Anyway – that’s why I procrastinate. You probably know the symptoms: everything has to be just right, the music can’t be too loud, the temperature can’t be too cold…or too hot, the kids have to be quiet, there can’t be any interruptions, enough time must be blocked out…enter your own requirement here. And if you start the task? It probably won’t be good enough, and because of that, the motivation to finish the project is often lacking.

Your reasons may be different; your symptoms may reveal themselves differently, but the end result is the same. The project never gets finished, the article never gets written, the phone call never gets made, the gift is never purchased, and the bill is only paid after the due date.

The renowned Jim Rohn had two very simple rules for overcoming procrastination.

Rule #1: Break it down.

In other words, no matter what you’re trying to accomplish, break down the project and even individual tasks into manageable pieces. Personally, I don’t do this well. But I understand that the key to achievement is to accomplish what’s immediately in front of you. Forget about yesterday and ignore what’s in the future; focus on what’s in front of you at this moment.

Rohn uses the following example to make his point:

Suppose I were to ask you if you could write a 400-page novel. If you’re like most people, that would sound like an impossible task. But suppose I ask you a different question. Suppose I ask if you can write a page and a quarter a day for one year. Do you think you could do it? Now the task is starting to seem more manageable. We’re breaking down the 400-page book into bite-size pieces. Even so, I suspect many people would still find the prospect intimidating. Do you know why? Writing a page and a quarter may not seem so bad, but you’re being asked to look ahead one whole year. When people start to look that far ahead, many of them automatically go into a negative mode. So let me formulate the idea of writing a book in yet another way. Let me break it down even more.

Suppose I were to ask you: Can you fill up a page and a quarter with words, not for a year, not for a month, not even for a week, but just today? Don’t look any further ahead than that. I believe most people would confidently declare that they could accomplish that. Of course, these would be the same people who feel totally incapable of writing a whole book.

If I said the same thing to those people tomorrow—if I told them, “I don’t want you to look back, and I don’t want you to look ahead, I just want you to fill up a page and a quarter this very day”—do you think they could do it?

One day at a time. We’ve all heard that phrase. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re breaking down the time required for a major task into one-day segments, and we’re breaking down the work involved in writing a 400-page book into page-and-a-quarter increments.

Keep this up for one year, and you’ll write the book.

Rule #2: Write it down.

In other words, keep a written record of the things you do and the places you go. Note: not what you want to do or where you want to go, but the things you actually do and the places you actually go. You’re basically keeping a diary of your activities.

The beauty of this technique is that it will cause you to see the distractions and detours that lead you to wasting time and getting nothing accomplished. Rohn says that “the great thing about keeping a time diary is that it brings all this out in the open. It forces you to see what you’re actually doing—and what you’re not doing.”

He goes on:

The time diary doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Just buy a little spiral notebook that you can easily carry in your pocket. When you go to lunch, when you drive across town, when you go to the dry cleaners, when you spend some time shooting the breeze at the copying machine, make a quick note of the time you began the activity and the time it ends. Try to make this notation as soon as possible. If it’s inconvenient to do it immediately, you can do it later. But you should make an entry in your time diary at least once every 30 minutes, and you should keep this up for at least a week.

There you have it – two simple rules: Break it down, and Write it down. Simple – yet powerful techniques to break the grip of procrastination in your life.

Why not try it? But don’t wait until next week; start now. Happy accomplishing!

I have a dear friend who is a counselor Michigan. While he counsels in many areas and for many conditions, his specialty is “grief counseling.” What makes this man so special and effective is that he knows and understands first-hand what it means to suffer loss.

On Mach 10, 1989, his life was forever changed when a drunk driver hit and killed his wife and three children. My friend, Jerry Walden, is a special man. God has helped him to take this incredible tragedy and use it to help hundreds and thousands who are going through grief and loss. Did God cause this? No! But God never wastes anything. And he has helped Jerry help others experience the same healing and grace that he himself has enjoyed.

Recently, the Flint News did an expose on Jerry, his life, and what he is doing to impact others. Check it out. It’s a good read!

One of Winston Churchill’s most famous speeches talked about never, never, never giving up. We are often inspired by the thought but how often do we practice it? O.K., maybe you’re better than me but I’m tempted often to give up these days.

That’s why I read the following story often. Again, it’s from Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Les Hewitt’s The Power of Focus: What the World’s Greatest Achievers Know About the Secret to Financial Freedom & Success. Again, I share the story in its entirety.

Peter Daniels is an unusual man whose life reads like a Horatio Alger story. Born in Australia, his parents were third-generation welfare recipients used to being poor. Peter attended elementary school in Adelaide. Because of a learning disability, he found it difficult to understand and assemble words. Consequently he was labeled stupid by teachers who were either too busy or didn’t care enough to find out why he struggled. One teacher in particular, Miss Phillips, would make Peter stand in front of the class where she would berate him with, ‘Peter Daniels, you’re a bad boy and you’ll never amount to anything.’

Of course this did nothing for his self-esteem. As a result, he failed every grade in school. One of his earliest career choices was to become a bricklayer. A few years later, married with a young family, he decided to go into business for himself. The first venture failed miserably and he was broke within a year. Undaunted, he saw another opportunity and channeled his energy into making it a success. A similar fate awaited him; he was broke within eighteen months. With steely determination to overcome these setbacks, Peter again launched himself into the competitive world of business, only to end up broke for a third time. He now had the unbelievable track record of going broke three times within five years.

Most people would give up at this point. Not Peter Daniels. His attitude was, ‘I’m learning and I haven’t made the same mistake twice. This is excellent experience.’ Asking his wife Robena to support him one more time, he decided to sell residential and commercial real estate. One skill Peter had honed over the years was his ability to persuade. He was a naturally good promoter. Much of this came from the necessity to deal with a constant stream of creditors who wanted payment. During the next ten years the name peter Daniels became synonymous with residential and commercial real estate. Through careful selection and astute negotiation he accumulated a portfolio worth several million dollars.

Today Peter Daniels is an internationally acclaimed businessman who has created successful ventures in many countries around the world. His friends include royalty, heads of state, and the leading movers and shakers of the commercial world. He is also a philanthropist who is passionate about helping others, and whose generosity has funded many Christian endeavors.

When asked what turned his life from triple indebtedness to unprecedented success, he replied, ‘I scheduled time to think. In fact, I reserve one day a week on my calendar just to think. All of my greatest ideas, opportunities and money-making ventures started with the days I took off to think. I used to lock myself away in my den with strict instructions to my family that under no circumstances was I to be disturbed.’ The same strategy worked for Einstein who actually did his pondering in a special thinking chair.

And it transformed the life of Peter Daniels from school failure to multimillionaire. By the way, Peter has now written several bestselling books, one of which was titled Miss Phillips, You Were Wrong!, a reminder to his old teacher not to give up too quickly on her students.

Let me ask you to think about a couple of questions: Do you know a Peter Daniels? Are you him? Did you have a Miss Phillips in your life? Have you ever started anything that failed? Are you trying to do that now? What have you been thinking about starting but haven’t because you were fearful of failure? Have you given up? If so, read the above story again – S-L-O-W-L-Y.

Now, join me in accepting Winston Churchill’s challenge: Never, never, never, never, give up!

I’ve been struggling a little lately with “focus.” Thinking it might help, I pulled a book off my shelf that I had purchased last year. It’s by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, & Less Hewitt – The Power of Focus: What the World’s Greatest Achievers Know About The Secret to Financial Freedom & Success.

Not far into the book I came across a truly inspiring story. I share it here in its entirety in case you may need a little inspiration too.

Brent Vouri knew he was going to die. The severe asthmatic attack had deteriorated into adult respiratory distress syndrome. To put it simply, his lungs had completely seized, just like a car engine when it finally runs out of oil.

The last thing he remembered that night was the hospital floor rushing up to meet him, then, total blackness. The coma lasted for fifteen days, during which time his weight dropped by forty pounds. When he finally awoke, he was unable to speak for another two weeks. That was good, because for the first time in years it gave him time to think. Why, at only twenty years of age, had his life almost evaporated? The doctors had done a miraculous job keeping him alive, when others thought he had no chance for survival.

Brent reflected deeply. The asthma had been a part of his life since birth. He was well known at the hospital after numerous visits to stabilize his condition. Despite having lots of energy as a child, he was never able to participate in any physical activities like other kids, such as skating or hockey. At age ten, his parents divorced and all of his pent-up frustrations finally boiled over. The next few years were a continuous downward spiral leading to drugs, alcohol abuse and a smoking habit that consumed thirty cigarettes per day.

He didn’t finish school and aimlessly drifted from one part-time job to the next. Even though his health was steadily getting worse, he chose to ignore it – until that fateful night when his body said, ‘no more.’ With time to reflect, he came to this all-important conclusion: ‘I brought this on myself through years of making bad choices.’ His new resolve was, ‘Never again; I want a life.’

Brent gradually became stronger and was eventually released from the hospital. Soon after he mapped out a positive game plan to improve his life. First he enrolled in a fitness program. One of his initial goals was to win a T-shirt for completing twelve sessions. He did it. Three years later he was teaching aerobics. The momentum was building. Five years after that he competed in the National Aerobics Championships. Along the way he decided to further his education – first, completing his high school diploma and then successfully working his way through university.

Next, he and a friend started their own manufacturing business, Typhoon Sportswear Ltd. (www.typhoonsportswear.com), specializing in producing apparel for retail chains. Starting with only four employees, the company recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary.

Today it’s a multimillion-dollar enterprise with sixty-six people and an international distribution network supplying high-profile clients such as Nike. By deciding to make better choices and create better habits, Brent Vouri turned his life around – from yesterday’s zero to today’s hero!

No doubt, like me, you will find many, many lessons in this story. Come back to it again and again and put some of those lessons to work. For now, however, let the story simply inspire you, as it did me.

You may have read on the About Dave page a reference to fulfilling “his God-given vision for the second half of his life.” One of the pieces of that vision is to bring “order and simplicity to every phase and part of my personal and business life.”

I was walking through a Barnes & Noble bookstore recently and noticed what has turned out to be a very useful tool in that endeavor.

Leo Babauta is a husband and father of six kids. He is a writer, a runner, and also the owner of one of the current Top 100 Blogs on the Internet, Zen Habits (by the way he’s #64). He’s also the author of a new best-selling book: The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials…in Work and in Life.

Now, I’m admittedly a self-professed “bookaholic.” If I can walk out of a bookstore without buying a book, I consider it a spiritual victory. So, though I purchased the book a week or so later, I was still victorious on that particular day (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).

But I digress.

Though I didn’t buy the book that day, I took a few moments to quickly glance through it. It looked promising and I made a mental note to myself, “Purchase this book.” Which I did some time later.

I will finish the book today but I’ve made enough progress to discover that this will be a great tool in my personal vision endeavors. I wouldn’t consider it a great book but it is exceptionally simple, good, and very practical. I’m already beginning to put some of Babauta’s suggestions and ideas into practice.

Do you find yourself with too many commitments? Are there not enough hours in your day? Is your desk covered with piles of paper? Is your house or living space full of clutter? Do you feel like your life is orbiting out of control? Then this book might be a very useful tool for you as well.

Read it, enjoy it, and find a little peace.

One of the things my son, Adam, and I worked on while he was here was to further develop DaveWeitz.com. You’ll be seeing some small changes and additions in the days to come, so stay tuned.

One of the slight changes is in the direction and perhaps the tone of the site. Over the last several weeks, as I’ve attempted to “write some of the rust off,” I’ve published several posts in the area of politics. Adam remarked to me, “You have a much darker tone than you used to have.” An astute observation, I thought.

No doubt it is due in part to my own personal experiences over the last couple of years as well as the general political tone of our present culture. He also reminded me that “political blogs” are everywhere which makes me wonder if another one is needed.

So we’ve decided to shift direction a little bit and will steer away from the political arena and leave that to the professionals. I’m sure I will not be able to stay away from it completely (I find the arena very interesting and alarming), but it will probably be more beneficial simply to point you toward some of the better commentary. (Of course, “better” is probably very subjective, depending on your place in the political landscape.)

I will focus more on general topics: business, leadership, the Christian life, and whatever else pops up along the way. Adam and I haven’t finished the site re-development yet so if you’re reading this, chances are you stumbled over us by accident or curiosity. I will continue to try and get rid of some of the rust in the days to come and in due time, we will go public and promote the site officially.

So…thanks for reading. And note, you can respond with comments below. God bless!!

Looking at my record of posts over the last couple of weeks, one is forced to ask the question, “What happened?” Or at least, “Where did the time go?”

Well…when you’re having fun, time flies. My son, Adam, (the New Harbor Design guy) arrived about 12 days ago. He drove up from southern California with a friend of his. His main purpose for coming was to attend a conference with me (and to see his mom). We attended the 3-day conference together, all of them long days (but good), and then spent some time hanging out, visiting our favorite restaurants, and talking about the future.

He decided to cancel his flight back to Orange County and stayed with us an extra five days. His parents (especially his mother) were quite happy to have their son around for such an extended period of time. Not since his sophomore year of college had he been home for that long. It hit me last night that this is the last time he will stay at our house as a single man (he’s marrying his college sweetheart, Kristen, in September).

The extra time gave us a chance to play golf together, an incredible treat, visit more restaurants (is it any wonder we are the size we are?), and begin a new business venture. That perhaps is the biggest news. While he was here, we formed a new business partnership, New Harbor Enterprises. It is what we hope to be the parent company of several new and upcoming business endeavors. It’s not put together yet but in the future you can track our progress at www.NewHarborInc.com.

We’re both very excited and are anxious to progress. Because we’re very similar in some respects (yet different in others), I’m quite sure the progression will not be fast enough but we’re going to work hard. I thought earlier this week about how cool it is that I get to spend the rest of my life in partnership with my son. That is truly a gift.

He left this morning which means that our house gets back to normal and I get to catch up a bit including doing some writing. So tune in from time to time because, “when you’re having fun, time flies.”