PrintGet out the box of tissues and watch this young man on China’s Got Talent. He lost his arms at the age of ten after being accidentally electrocuted while playing with a friend. After overcoming his initial depression, he formulated a philosophy for his life that is sure to take him to unimaginable heights. We all have many challenges in our lives, and there is no person who has it easy, regardless of how things may appear on the outside. Thing is, there is no stopping a person with a goal, a drive, a positive outlook, and the willingness to put the work in, no matter what. In the case of this young man, the loss of his arms compelled him to learn to do everything with his feet – including playing the piano. Watch this true champion of life and get inspired. Often, what at first seems like an obstacle, if looked a properly, is really the beginning of an opportunity.
Posts Tagged opportunity
“It is our personal responsibility to make the most of the life we were given.”
Shihan Joel Levy, M.Ed.
Are you dissatisfied with your life?
Do you feel like there is something missing, but can’t put your finger on it?
My name is Joel A Levy. I help people figure out what they are supposed to be doing here in the world, and how to get it done. See, I believe that each of us is here on a unique mission, and that it is through fulfilling that mission that we repair the world around us, and ultimately, ourselves.
This is what we were put here to do. As such, each of us is wired with a unique combination of skills and interests in order to assist us in fulfilling our life’s mission.
I have three critically important questions to ask you:
- What are you doing to make the world a better place?
- Are you doing the work that you were put on this earth to do?
- What are you doing with the potential you were given?
Take your time in reading these questions, because unlocking the answers to them will reveal you to yourself, perhaps for the very first time.
My belief is that question number two is the real key. Until you are doing the work you were meant to do, you will not be making the contribution to the world that you are capable of. You may experience some success in other fields, but something will always be missing for you. But when you link into who you really are, and the work that supports that, your success will be infinite, and every day will be a blessing.
Similarly, until you are engaged in your life’s work, you will personally slide along laterally at best. Once you are doing the thing for which you were born, you will necessarily grow and develop to the fullest of your potential. That is because you will no longer need forced discipline to do it. This work is your passion, and you will not want to stop doing it. As such, you will improve yourself through it constantly as time goes on, and through your passion, you will use this work to make the world a better place.
I get a real charge out of helping someone discover who they really are, and being able to honestly answer the three questions I posed to you before.
If you want answers to those questions, and what to do about them when you find them, then we were destined to cross paths. I am very easy to get in touch with. I look forward to getting started with you.
“Have you noticed that employed people have an almost endless capacity to whine about problems at their companies? But they don’t really want solutions – they just want to vent and make excuses why it’s all someone else’s fault.”
Yet another gem from Steve Pavlina’s 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job!
Today I am fully self-employed, but it was not always that way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting at the beach all day listening to the waves. My work day basically starts when I wake up, and ends when I go to sleep. On the other hand, it is work that I choose, versus work that is chosen for me. Also, activities like going to the gym, or walking with my dog are among my present (self-imposed) job descriptions.
Going back to the opening quote, I started my working career as a teacher in the NJ public school system. Upon beginning my teaching career in the early 1990’s many veterans of the field warned me to avoid the faculty room like the plague. I couldn’t understand why somebody would say something like that, because it seemed like a great time to socialize with the rest of the faculty.
I quickly learned however that one had to tread very carefully in the faculty room, because, quite frankly, there was a lot of bitching going on. I found that teachers talked behind each other’s backs, and complained about everything from the kids to the custodians to the cafeteria, and everything, and I mean everything else.
One often felt completely drained going back to the classroom after leaving the faculty room.
After a while, I started taking my lunch in my classroom, and listening to educational tapes and reading business and financial magazines.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that if the teachers that did the most bitching would spend 10 percent of the time they bitched on actually working towards solutions, they could possibly stop bitching, at least for a little while. Once I naively asked, “Why don’t you do something to make it better?” On came the tirade about how helpless and powerless we all were and blah, blah, blah.
Sorry, I was never one to just lay down. I knew I couldn’t change a total commitment to negative thinking, so I didn’t. Instead, I worked toward building something positive for myself, and eventually I left the arena of public school education, and went into teaching and mentoring on my own terms.
People often ask if I miss teaching because I loved it so much. Well I don’t need to miss it, because I still teach. The difference is now I teach martial arts, self-defense, and life skills within my own company, and I don’t have to get ‘in trouble’ for having a water bottle on my desk during class time! As a side note, my staff knows I am always available to them if they really need to bitch about something, but the rule is, they have to also propose a solution.
Quote of the Week 7/26
Jul 26
“Luck, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca, Roman Philosopher
Quote of the Week 7/19
Jul 19
“The key to a great life is to choose to turn adversity into opportunity.”
Shihan Joel Levy, M.Ed.
Quote of the Week 7/12
Jul 12
“Never miss an opportunity to offer praise or encouragement where it is due.”
Shihan Joel Levy, M.Ed.
Quote of the Week 7/5
Jul 5
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
Charles R. Swindoll