Little Engine

The Last Post

2008-08-10T14:47:00.004-05:00

Because of changes in my life and in plans, I am no longer posting to this site. This is not to say that I don't believe in what Napoleon Hill says in his great book, Think and Grow Rich, in fact, I believe it is because of Think and Grow Rich that the recent changes have occurred.

Please join me at my new blog to find out what changes have occurred.

Thank you.

Thoughts Are Things - From Chapter 1 of "Think and Grow Rich"

2008-03-05T21:08:00.001-05:00

"Thoughts are things." This statement is the Law of Attraction in a nut shell, and Napoleon Hill starts off the most widely sold self help book in history with it. He also told us the story of Edwin C. Barns, "The man who 'thought' his way into a partnership with Thomas A. Edison.

This is a fascinating story that can teach us several lessons. Of course Napoleon Hill's point was, well ... thoughts are things.

Edwin Barns was just an every day guy who, one day, decided to go into business with some famous guy, whom he never met. Barns didn't have the money it took to get to Orange, New Jersey, where Edison's offices where located. But, he went anyway.

Right in the beginning of the story, we, not only see that Barns had already made a business deal with Edison in his own mind, we also see that Barns had some huge kahonas. How many people reading this blog have the guts to go to Michael Dell and tell him that you're his new business partner?

Although Napoleon Hill doesn't say it here, he shows us that courage and daring are huge parts of success.

When Edwin Barns got to Thomas Edison's office, Edison, in his words, thought Barns looked like a "tramp". But, he also said that he saw "something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after."

So, Edison gave Barns a job in his offices, probably an office messenger of sorts, for very meager pay. Barns accepted joyfully and was determined to be Thomas Edison's partner, even if he had to wait the rest of his life. In the following months, he worked humbly, while enforcing his belief in the partnership.

Here is another subliminal lesson, and I think a pretty big one. This story and the next one shows us the power of patience. Patients is incredibly powerful. And we don't need to go far to see it's power.

Consider for a moment the present war on terror. How is it that a nation with nearly unlimited resources can be stifled by a rag tag crew of barley trained solders? The answer is patience. The fact is, from here on out, the winning side of any conflict will not be the nation with the most bombs but the nation with the most patience.

Barns used patience to his advantage. Considering how long some people have had to wait for their chance to succeed, Barns didn't have to wait long. As Napoleon Hill says, he only had to wait a few months. It was then, opportunity showed up discussed as the Edison Dictating Machine.

Apparently the only two who saw the potential was Barns and Edison. Edwin Barns immediately volunteered to sell it and did such a great job that Edison gave him a contract to sell his new invention all over the nation.

Yes, Edwin Barns did think himself into a partnership with Thomas Edison, but he also showed courage and daring as well as using the most powerful weapon at the human race's disposal; patience.

"A Word from the Author"

2008-03-04T21:15:00.000-05:00

In the "A Word from the Author" section of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill told the story of meeting Andrew Carnegie as a child. Mr. Carnegie began teaching him about the Law of Attraction immediately. Although Napoleon Hill never directly mentions the Law of Attraction in the entire book, with close careful study, we know that that is what he is teaching in Think and Grow Rich.

Napoleon Hill tells us about Mr. Carnegie's opinion about this law, which in our day and age makes perfect sense. He told us that Mr. Carnegie believed the Law of Attraction or "The Secret" should be taught in all public schools. I believe this makes perfect sense because I see a nation which is slowly drifting toward an entrepreneurial society. Without the proper business training, many of the businesses will fail. The ship will eventually right itself, as it always does, but there could be a steep price to pay for the entrepreneurial illiteracy which is coming our way.

Another thing that stuck out at me was Napoleon Hill's alluding to the use of patience when preparing. He wrote, "When he saw that I had grasped the idea, he asked if I would be willing to spend twenty years or more preparing myself to take it to the world." Imagine, in this day and age anyone planning to prepare for anything for twenty years. I don't know if the use of patience was more prevalent in his day and age, but that is a lesson we need to relearn.

"There is no such thing as something for nothing!" This statement is one that we must remember in light of the book and the movie, "The Secret." From what I understand, The Secret has been leading people to believe that with the Law of Attraction, all you need to do is think about what you want and you will have it. This sentence is a statement that is very important to remember. If we don't apply massive action behind the Law of Attraction, we will end up disappointed and losing faith. And as you will see, if you follow this blog, faith is one of the most important ingredients to the Law of Attraction.

With all of this said, I think the best way to start a study of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich is by reading his last paragraph in his "A Word From The Author" section.

"As a final word of preparation, before you begin the first chapter, may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the Carnegie secret may be recognized? It is this - All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in and idea! If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it; therefore, you will readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches your mind."

Ah-ha!

2008-03-03T21:02:00.002-05:00

I was going to start my review of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich today, but I had such an experience that I though I should share it with everyone.

This was an Ah-ha experience.

After joining Fortune Hi-Tech, I was a little worried that I would not have the proper training to do the Network Marketing in the way I wanted to do it. I don't want to bug my family and friends into a business they really don't want to be in and then subjugate them to people who demand that you get more and more people under you so you can meet your quotas, so you can get your bonus.

I understand where the sales techniques come from and I understand that the up lines want you to make money like they did, but I was a little uncomfortable with that type of sales technique. I'm uncomfortable with it, because it's not me. One point made in their training video, and it's a good point, is that if you are not excited about your product, the perspective recruit can tell.

Well, the reason I'm not comfortable with selling to people I know is, everyone I know, knows I'm not a sales man and any sales presentation I give to friends and family would seem disingenuous and I am not a disingenuous guy. Or I try not to be.

The mantra of the training I saw was close the sale and get people under you. But, all I knew was I wanted another way. I was feeling a little depressed, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

Then I thought of Talk Shoe, that internet radio sight with many talk shows. The Focus Society can be heard there as well as many other great informative shows. I did a search on Network Marketing and came across "The Network Marketing Nooner." It's a collection of 15 shows all about Network marketing. Kim "Mr. Kim B." Bolte interviews giants in the Network Marketing Industry and picks their brains to find out the best secrets.

He interviewed Suzanne "the MLM Mom" Fulford on one of the shows, and that is where I had my ah-ha. She told the story of how she got into the industry in the first place and how she was trying to sell the way the companies wanted her to sell. She talked about how she never had any success in it. She felt the way I was beginning to feel, because it seemed I was heading down this road.

Then she began selling her way. She began stressing Relationship Marketing and helping others get what they want. She didn't need to say any more. There it was. The Long-Talked-About-But-Rarely-Ever-Seen-Coveted-Golden-Ah-ha! That very moment, I knew, that is what I wanted! I want to help people! I want to make others lives better! That's it!

I have a dream of becoming a professional speaker, and with this way of thinking about the network marketing industry would not only make it more rewarding and easier for me, it would lead me into public speaking as well.

I, then, went through the rest of my day with a little bounce in my step and feeling a heck of a lot more positive. I still don't know where Fortune Hi-Tech is going to take me, but things are definitely looking up.

I'm excited about my future in the company, but I still have a lot to learn. Things such as marketing my web site, www.fhtmus.com/michaeld. Sorry, I just had to do it. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I'm all ears!

Oh, the Changes!

2008-02-29T18:06:00.001-05:00

I mentioned yesterday that there where some interesting developments in the lives of my family and myself. I figure I should explain. I talked about what had happened in the past few months in an earlier blog, but I’ll talk about it again.

Back at the end of September, I was laid off from my job in Lancaster PA. I used the philosophies I learned from Napoleon Hill and Charles Haanel and applied massive action to my problem. I decided that I would start work on the following Monday. My wife thought I was nuts, but I went head long into making that come true.

Ultimately, I did miss my goal; however, I did accept a job the following Thursday and started work that Monday. This being laid off has turned out to be a great blessing. I now have a job that pays more and that I really enjoy doing. In the past, whenever I started a new job, the honeymoon was over after about two weeks but here it is, nearing six months at this job in Lititz Pennsylvania, and I still am exited about going to work.

Some other things that have developed are, I realized I have some experience that may be useful to other people. Besides the last two jobs, I also held positions at three other companies. I have a bit more experience at job searching then the average person, so I began putting together a presentation on the subject. I have a rough draft together now and am doing a little more research before going forward with it.

Then, of course, there is the reason for this blog. LeCount Holmes came to me with the idea of Fortune Hi-Tech back in the beginning of the summer. Although, I was not interested at the time, I have since decided that I should get another stream of income.

In this case, I decided on Fortune Hi-Tech because, I’m comfortable with the product and I have three successful mentors to refer to right off the bat. The fact that one of those mentors is in Reading Pennsylvania area is not too shabby either.

Here’s my point today. I know the power of what Napoleon Hill wrote about in Think and Grow Rich. I have felt it and seen it in my own life throughout the past few months. It is amazing how anyone can change their lives just by following the thirteen steps that Napoleon Hill outlined in his book.

Thinking about this gets me more excited about writing about his book. I’d like to start right away, but I believe I need to wait until my view numbers are a little hire so I can help more people experience what I have.

I’m taking off for the weekend. I’m spending a little time with my wife and four boys. Have fun with your own family and see you Monday!

Fortune Hi-Tech Decision

2008-02-28T21:11:00.001-05:00

I want to tell you a little about my decision to join Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing. I had never heard of it until my friend, LeCount, told me about it. At that time, I could not really see myself doing any kind of marketing business, but I guess it was the combination of listening to Chuck Bartok, Sam Cam' and friends talking about it as well as some very interesting developments in my family and my life that got me thinking about it.

Weather I am successful at it or not is entirely dependent upon who I surrounded myself with. I thought seriously about joining with Chuck, Sam and the others until I realized a part of - a big part of - Lecount's team was right here in Reading, Pennsylvania. Matt Barrat is a very big guy in Fortune Hi-Tech and very successful.

Well, when it came down to it, I had a choice to make. Do I join with a team of very highly successful people in the Network Marketing industry who are on the left coast, or do I join with a very successful team whom I can meet with, face to face.

The decision was pretty much made up for me. Unfortunately, I won't be joining forces with Chuck and Sam at the moment, but that does not mean that some kind of alliance won't be possible in the future.

At this point, I don't know a lot about the network marketing industry, so the future is not clear. However; I'm optimistic. I am working on surrounding myself with some brilliant and successful people. People who know how to make one of these businesses work. My only problem may by that I've always had a little trouble taking advice.

That's my Southern side coming out. My dad used to call me "Rebel", partly because I was born in South Carolina, while the rest of my family was born in Shamokin PA. But, the biggest reason he called me that was because I always wanted to do things my way, weather it was right or not.

This is one of the things I'm going to have to work on. And like everything else in this opportunity, I have to learn to do it in a hurry.

Getting Back to It

2008-02-27T20:24:00.004-05:00

It's good to get back to talking about Napoleon Hill's great book Think and Grow Rich. I've always enjoyed writing and what better subject to write about then Think and Grow Rich. It's a way to help people to better themselves, while bettering myself. Especially at this time. I have a lot of learning to do in a very short time; and I think this would be a great way to do exactly that.

So, you may be wondering, exactly what is it I plan to do with the blog. Since there has been a long hiatus, I don't think I'd be doing anyone any favors by picking up where I left off. So, what I plan to do is to start over, more or less. I'll bring back the writings I've already done but add things that make it more pertinent in my life, now.

I've undergone a lot of changes in the past few months. Changes that may have not been possible without the writings of Napoleon Hill and an appreciation for the law of attraction.

Another issue I have is having to keep the blog moving a little faster. So, what I may do is, break up those articles into smaller ones so, I can post more often; therefor get more attention from the search engines. After all, as you may have noticed, I now have two advertisements. One for the Fortune Hi-Tech shopping site and one for my business opportunity. That's right, I'm blogging for dollars now!

When I plan to start is a bit of a mystery to me. I was thinking of starting tomorrow, but then I thought, (yes, my brain still works despite the many years of drinking and banging my head against walls!) If I just blog some of my thoughts on Napoleon Hill and Fortune Hi-Tech first, that may get some of the attention of people who had been visiting before. I believe this will lead to some very good discussions.

So, My tentative day for starting is on this Monday. It could change, depending on the increase of traffic, or the lack there of.

See you tomorrow from your Wednesday Night Wiener, Michael Donlan

I'm ... Back?

2008-02-26T19:43:00.003-05:00

Well, this is my first post since I promised ... over a month ago ... that I was back.

Well, those of you who are familiar with this blog may have noticed a significant change. Yes, I have joined a network marketing company. It was only a matter of time, really. reading and studying Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" is bound to make a guy reach for the stars. Will this opportunity actually take me to the stars? Well, that isn't the reason I joined. I told one of the guys I joined up with that I was looking for some "beer money". You know, that extra cash, I can spend on silly nonsense, such as paying down debt, keeping a roof over my wife and four boys' heads, and keeping everyone warm and fed.

I started looking around and investigating several options, but a friend of mine showed me Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, and I was intrigued. With FHTM I have the opportunity to sell products that most people are already familiar with. Products from companies such as GE, Cingular, BP and on and on.

I was worried I'd end up selling Bubu's Energy elixir or something. No offence to Bubu. I'm sure his elixir is great stuff, but no one has ever heard of it.

So I'm happy to be a part of this company, especially since I have direct access to three gentlemen who have been with FHTM for an average of two years. I have a lot of experience to tap into, plus I trust the guy who brought me in to this.

The only problem I have at the moment is, now I have to prove to my wife that I didn't wast 300 dollars in joining FHTM.

Next time I'll let you know about my plans for this blog and the study of Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich"

I'm Baaaaaaack!

2008-01-17T23:21:00.000-05:00

As some of you have noticed, I had to take an emergency hiatus. Back on September 24th, I was called into the conference room at my work and was given the old lead handshake. Yes, I lost my job.

But, all did turn out well. I used Napoleon Hill's philosophy of concentrating on your goal and adding massive effort and I ended up turning a bad situation into a very good one. Exactly two weeks to the day I walked out the door of my former employer, I walked into the door of my new employer; and that's not all. This new job pays more and I actually enjoy this job more then I ever enjoyed any job I ever had.

"Well, if it only took two weeks for you to find a job, where the hell have you been?!"

Good question.

In my house, the time between the beginning of October and January 1st of every year is usually a time of getting up in the morning, running around like a chicken with it's head cut off for around 12 to 18 hours and then going to bed. This year, we had to add in my loss of job, starting and getting acclimated to a new job, my father-in-law having, not one, but two heart attacks and my mother-in-law having dementia, my sister-in-law getting cleaned out in a robbery ... Look, your just going to have to take my word for it, I was way too busy to write.

During this same period of time, I have been going through a wonderful journey, where I learned so much. The experiences that I had in the past three and a half months have been incredible and they will more then likely take years to sort them all out.

I also have changed my perspective of things a little bit. I have decided to undertake some endeavors.

One thing I was able to do with my time off is put together a rough draft of a presentation on a quick way to find a job. It uses the theories of Napoleon Hill and shows one practical example of how to put the Law of Attraction into action. Once I get it cleaned up and have a couple of friends in Toastmasters and a couple of friends who are public speakers review it, I hope to be able to market the presentation to some of the local schools and employment organizations.

I have also begun to look into MLM programs as a second stream of income. My friends at the focus society want to be helpful; however, I haven't been able to spend any time with them either. I hope you can forgive me Chuck and Sam!

My Journey has taught me much. More then I can understand at the moment. I hope that continuing this blog will help me pull together the peaces. Although I have a feeling that after I get all of these pieces together, I'll just have more questions then I ever had.

Chapter V - Specialized Knowledge

2007-09-13T21:10:00.001-05:00

Chapter 5 has reminded me of a fact that has been becoming clear in recent months. The fact is if you study the life story of some of the most successful people in the world, most of them had a few things in common. These commonalities are, to name a few, they where underachievers. i.e. they where counted out early in their lives and had to fight for every little bit they got. They had a parent or mentor push them to learn. Most of these successful people hated school, but the authority figure in their lives forced them to learn. One very important thing many successful people had in common was they loved to read, research and experiment on their own, on the road to self-enlightenment. Indeed, when their schooling was done, they didn't stop their education.

This is precisely the point of the chapter on specialized knowledge.

Napoleon Hill wrote "Back of all ideas is specialized knowledge". His point was, when you gain sufficient knowledge and mix it with imagination, which we will study in the following chapter, you will begin to develop the ideas needed to create your road to success.

Dr. Hill also gave us a warning. He wrote, "Unfortunately for those who do not find riches in abundants, specialized knowledge is more abundant and more easily acquired than ideas." For those people, he said, there is an ever increasing demand for people who can use ideas to help sell their services. This may be the first referance to the mastermind, which is another important chapter.

So, how can you acquire the knowledge necessary to be a success in your endeavor?

If you listen to the common knowledge of society, you may be lead to believe that you need to enter into a course of study at some college or university, where you will be asked to invest a large amount of time and money.

There was a line in a movie from a few years ago that puts everything in perspective. The movie was "Good Will Hunting" and the line was something like, "You spent 150 thousand dollars on an education that you could have had for a dollar fifty in late fees at the local library."

Dr. Hill referred to the library in 1937 and even today the library is a powerful tool of education. The membership is free and if a particular library doesn't have the book you need, they can get it for you.

You may be thinking of many different reasons to not go to the library, but remember; the books are free, they won't clutter up your house (because you bring them back), you can find any book you want (if they don't have it, they'll find it) and if your late bringing back the books, the fine is cheep (unlike your local Blockbuster).

The fact is the local library provides the cheapest education in the world.

There are areas of expertise where it is best to have an instructor to get your education. But before you plunk down your $150 thousand consider a few other options.

Do you want to be a writer? Writers Digest offers full writing courses, taught by real and sometimes famous writers. These courses coast anywhere from $130 to about $450.

Another source of knowledge is professional clubs and organizations. Many organizations offer free and cheep courses of study. For example, the local National Speakers Association offers an eight week course on how to start a speaking business for less than $100.00. The local Chamber of Commerce offers an 8 week course on how to start a business for $100.00

Let's not forget about Dr. Hill's suggestion of correspondent's courses. Yes, they're still around and they're cheep. Correspondence Courses teach many different subjects which are very useful. This is one thing you and I need to check out. And then there is the modern version of the correspondence course which is the on-line or the distance learning course which most colleges and universities participate in.

For the areas of study which can not be covered in any of the above courses, they can usually be found at your local Community College. Community Colleges get a bad rap, but it is not where you get your education that matters. What really matters is how well you learn it and what you do with it. The fact is college students tend to learn more in the years following college than while their in classes. In other words, no matter where you go to college, you still will learn on the job.

Regardless of where you acquire your specialized knowledge, Dr. Hill's main points in this chapter are:
First: learning and self development doesn't stop when schooling does. School only gets you ready for learning. The rest is up to you.

Second: Contrary to popular belief, knowledge is not power. Knowledge - in action - is power.

Chapter 4 - Autosuggestion

2007-08-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

This chapter is one of the shortest in Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. But, that does not mean it is less important. On the contrary, I believe it could be one of the most important, if not the most important chapter in the book.

In this chapter, we see the corner stone of the theories in Think and Grow Rich. This is where Napoleon Hill tells us how to get started on our road to success.

As you read through this chapter, it seems too easy. You may say, "Is that it". The answer is yes. I have experienced some of what Mr. Hill talks about already. When we go back to Chapter 2 and do what the Six Steps to Turn Desire into Gold tell us to do, we will not only work ourselves into a white hot desire for success, we will open a door in our mind. This door leads to the room where our plans for success are.

This is the point where I have been for the past few weeks. I have a though that comes to me in the form of a soft warm feeling of confidence, and I act on it. I don't stop to reason the plan out. Mr. Hill said, "Do not trust your 'reason' when creating your plan for accumulating money through the transmutation of desire. Your reasoning faculty may be lazy, and, if you depend entirely upon it to serve you, it may disappoint you."

This is certainly the case for me. I have used reason to keep out of trouble and to keep anything from happening to me. But, to paraphrase a line in Disney's Finding Nemo, "If you never let anything happen to you, nothing will ever happen to you."

I believe my desire is beginning to transmute itself although my plan is still not yet clear. This goes along with something else Mr. Hill Wrote.

"Do not wait for a definite plan, through which you intend to exchange services or merchandise in return for the money you are visualizing, but begin at once to see yourself in possession of the money, demanding and expecting meanwhile, that your subconscious mind will hand over the plan, or plans you need. Be on the alert for these plans, and when they appear, put them into action immediately. When the plans appear, they will probably 'flash' into your mind through the sixth sense, in the form of an 'inspiration.' Treat it with respect, and act upon it as soon as you receive it."

I am acting on plans as they come to me. At the moment they seem very disorganized and abstract, but as more pieces appear, the more sense it makes.

What is happening is, I am getting more and more in touch with my subconscious mind. In my subconscious is the plan which was made up of little bitts of information which I was a witness to or things I have done throughout my entire life. My subconscious mind is slowly putting those things together and feeding the pieces to me as they become available.

This chapter is closely related to the second chapter,(Chapter 2 Part 1 and Part 2) because Autosuggestion is the tool which is used to turn desire into success. If a desire is strong enough, you may not need to use autosuggestion ... at first. But, if you're anything like me, the longer you don't use autosuggestion to reinforce your desire, the longer your reasoning faculties have to blow holes in your theories and make up stories, giving you reasons to rethink your dreams.

This chapter is also very closely related to the chapter on Faith (Part 1 and Part 2). Without faith, true passionate and emotional faith, autosuggestion is worthless. Mr. Hill suggests to begin using autosuggestion weather you have faith in it or not. He tells us not to worry if we don't feel a strong passion toward what we want at first. He clamed that will come with time.

I am starting to use this autosuggestion with strong faith in it already. The fact that I already had a strong desire is also a big help. The reason I have a strong faith in it, is because, as I mentioned before, I used it already. In the beginning of the year, I used it to help me with my new year's resolution to get in shape by the end of 2007. I'm at about the halfway point and still going strong. Besides that, I am expecting a big few months and to reach my desired goals on time.

Chapter III - Faith - Part 2

2007-08-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

Those of you who have not read Part 1 may want to do that before reading this post.

"When [Jesus] was going back to the city in the morning, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, 'May no fruit ever come from you again.' An immediately the fig tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and said, "How was it that the fig tree withered immediately?' Jesus said to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and don't waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done.' Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive."

Matthew 21: 18-22

"Faith is the 'eternal elixir' which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought!" "Faith is the only known antidote for failure!"

Napoleon Hill ~ Think and Grow Rich

Jesus was very serious about Faith. Now, did he want us to use faith to slake our greedy hearts? No, he wants us to use our faith to help others. That is why there is a law of nature in place to help us carry out what the desires placed in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit (Or the universe, or what ever you want to call it), leads us to do. If we follow those desires, we will be truly happy with the wealth that follows.

Immediately after the "Self-Confidence Formula" Mr. Hill makes this statement. "Back of this formula is a law of nature which no man has yet been able to explain. The name by which one calls this law is of little importance. The important fact about it is- it WORKS for the glory and success of mankind, IF it is used constructively. On the other hand, if used destructively, it will destroy just as readily." Now those of you who read the first post in this analysis of "Think and Grow Rich" should here bells going off everywhere. Does anyone want to name the secret?

One note which must be mentioned about the Self-Confidence Formula as well as the six steps to develop desire is when repeated each day, you must say them to your self with passion and conviction, because faith is what happens when desire meets emotion.

Emotion is extremely important. Mr. Hill uses the example of Abraham Lincoln, who was a nobody until he met Ann Rutledge. Ann was his true love and love is the strongest emotion one can feel. When Lincoln mixed his strong emotion with his desires, he became unstoppable.

Mr. Hill then brought up a though which I have pondered many times. He stated it in a declarative statement, but I have declared it in a question. Can you name one man, outside of religion, who had wild success in his chosen field who did not have a significant other? I don't know of one; however I am willing to listen if anyone out there has any names.

Now with the power of faith and the power of the secret, which Mr. Hill comes closest to mentioning here in this chapter, there is a warning. It sounds like a line from a Spiderman Movie, but it's true. "With great power comes great responsibility".

By affirming positive thoughts and positive language you can literally turn your whole life around. However, if you use negative thoughts or negative language you can, not only destroy your own life, you can destroy the lives of others. Be careful of, not only of what you think, but of what you say.

Let's end this post with another poem Mr. Hill chose which does a wonderful job of explaining his points in this chapter.

"If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't

"If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will-
It's all in the sate of mind.

"If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
you can ever win a prize.

"Life's battles don't always go
to the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!"

http://littleengineblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/think-grow-rich-before-we-begin.html

http://littleengineblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/chapter-iii-faith.html

Chapter III - Faith

2007-08-12T17:32:00.000-05:00

"Faith is the Chief Chemist of the mind"

Faith is so very important, not just in the world's religions, but in every day life. Think about it for a moment. If you woke up one morning and had no faith you would make it to work, would you go!

There are so many people in the world today who say, "One day, I'll start a business". But, they never do. The reason they don't is because they have no faith. Their desire is there, but they need to have the faith.

How do we develop the faith necessary to bring our dreams to fruition?

Mr. Hill tells us, "Repetition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith". So, if we where to take the lesson Mr. Hill taught us in chapter two, we see where he tells us to read our desires and the plan to attain them every day. This exercise was obviously not just to build desire, it was to build faith as well.

Now, as an aside, I do believe Mr. Hill is correct in saying repetition develops faith. However, I believe there is a second way to build faith. In many cases, faith is only a mixture of a strong desire and planning.

Let's go back to the example of a person with the desire to start a business. This person may not have the faith to start it because he lacks a plan. As a result, he may think it is too hard to start the business. If he where to sit down and do some research, he will find there are a lot of people who are willing to teach him and give him advice for very little or no money. People like the local Chamber of Commerce, the local Rotary Club, the Small Business Association, and the list goes on.

After finding all of this information this same person may well find himself filled to the brim with faith. As a result, six months after finding the information, he will be running a successful business!

The use of repetition in order to develop faith is nothing more than deceiving your subconscious mind into allowing you to do anything you desire. This action is called autosuggestion. Although, the next chapter is all about autosuggestion, this chapter deals with it as well. Faith and autosuggestion are tightly intertwined.

Since the subconscious mind can be fooled into believing an alternate faith, special care must be taken because it "[M]akes no distinction between constructive and destructive though impulses". In other words, if you're constantly putting yourself down, that will work in the same way as repeating your desires day after day.

For example: If you constantly tell yourself you're stupid, you will manifest that part of you and you will be stupid. However, if you tell yourself, you're extremely bright and creative, you and everyone around you will see an incredible increase in your intellect and creativity.

In order to help build your intellectual and creative side, Mr. Hill suggests a self-confidence formula. Read this formula carefully and do exactly as it says. write it out in a contract form adapting it to your own situation and sign it. Then be sure to read it every day.

FIRST: I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose in life; therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.

SECOND: I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality; therefore, I will concentrate my thoughts for thirty minutes daily, upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture.

THIRD: I know through the principle of autosuggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression though some practical means of attaining the object back of it; therefore, I will devote tem minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of self-confidence.

FOURTH: I have clearly written down a description of my definite chief aim in life, and I will never stop trying, until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

FIFTH: I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and justice; therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me, because of my willingness to serve others. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness and cynicism, by developing live for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success, I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself. I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud once a day, with full faith that it will gradually influence my thoughts and actions so that I will become a self-reliant, and successful person.

As we get deeper into this book the more, it seems, needs to be said. So instead of continuing on, I will break this post off hear and continue with a second post later.

See you then!

Chapter II - Desire - Part 2

2007-08-06T19:18:00.000-05:00

Although desire is the first step toward success, it can also be the ruin of a person. When mixed with greed, or fear, desire can turn into lust. In Galatians 5:16, 17 and 24 and Ephesians 2:3 St. Paul called this the rebellion of the flesh against the spirit. This rebellion will cause one to make choices which may not be the correct choices for your life.

There are other extremely important pearls of wisdom from the bible which will help us control the incredible power of desire. Two appear in Exodus 20. Thou Shall not covet your neighbors goods and thou shall not covet your neighbors wife.

These commandments ask us not to use our lust for money to attempt piling up an infinite amount of treasures and to respect others property and the members of their families. This doesn't mean we shouldn't collect money and become rich. It simply means that we shouldn't forget to share our gifts.

The third piece of advice comes in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the poor in heart, for they shall see God. This means to go about our lives without a lust for money. It is not the money that will make us happy. It is what the spirit leads us to do, doing what we love, which will make us happy. And ultimately, if we are doing what we love, we will be successful beyond our wildest dreams

The point is, if we use desire while controlling our greed and fear, we will be able to use our natural gift of discernment much easier. Our minds are not clouded if we follow this advice.

I believe when most of us made a choice as to the path we would follow, the amount of money we could earn may have been the biggest, if not the only factor in our decisions. I believe it was a huge factor in my choice for a life path.

I chose engineering, because I liked technology and I liked using numbers, but the biggest reason was, I thought it was the best chance I had to living a comfortable lifestyle.

Desire is a little like dynamite. It can be used to blast holes in the side of a mountain or to remove bedrock from where a building is supposed to go. But if used incorrectly, it can kill you.

However, in the physical world you would only get one chance to do it right with dynamite. In life, there is always another gift which you can use if you misuse desire. This gift is also very powerful but, I don't know how it can be misused.

The gift is called redemption.

It is okay if you make the wrong choice, because greed or fear got mixed in with desire. As a wise old man I overheard once said, "I don't care what you did, I just want to know what you're doing about it".

Chapter II - Desire

2007-08-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

Chapter II - Desire

It's funny how you will read something on a particular subject and that subject comes up right afterward, or vice versa. Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine, LeCount Holms. He is a professional speaker, and I called him for some advice. During the conversation, I told him I have had the desire to write and to speak since I was a child, but I never followed that desire because it made no sense to me.

The reason it made no sense is because I was a very poor reader, terrible at writing, and even worse at spelling. I hated every minute of Language Arts class and the thought of spending my college years learning how to be a writer or journalist was too much to handle. So instead, I followed my second interest, mathematics.

Now, here I am in a career which I like, but never felt fulfilled in. I have decided to follow my passion, even though it really still doesn't make sense. I enjoy writing and I love speaking to people on subjects I feel strongly about, but I have no real writing education, and I am still a terrible speller and a slow reader.

This is where my wife, Jeannine, comes in. It is because of her alone that I was able to make any advancement in my writing and spelling skills. She's the one, who early on would look at my writings and help me with punctuation and grammar, and she is the one who kept on me about going through and correcting my spelling. As a result, I am a much better writer and speller then I used to be. Without realizing it, she is the one who put me in the position I am now, and I will always be eternally grateful, as well as truly deeply in love with her.

From my own experiences, I learned you have to follow your desires in life, no matter how little sense it makes.

Napoleon Hill told us that desire is the first step toward riches. I have already found how true this is. The simple fact is, if you don't follow your desire, you will not be successful in what you do. Not that I am not a successful Engineering Designer, I do O.K. But, the statement, "Well, I haven't gotten fired yet!" does not denote success.

In Chapter two of "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill comes to his first of many very important points. He outlines a six step strategy to build the desire required to do the things you want to do. He showed the strategy to the great Thomas Edison, who joyfully gave it his personal stamp of approval.

The strategy is as follows:

"First: fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient to merely say 'I want plenty of Money'. Be definite as to the amount. (There is a psychological reason for definiteness which will be described in a subsequent chapter.)

"Second: Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. (There is no such reality as 'something for nothing'.)

"Third: Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.

"Fourth: Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

"Fifth: Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

"Sixth: Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night and once after arising in the morning. As you read - see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money."

The fourth step hit a nerve with me. When the desire to become a public speaker became white hot for me, I began working write away toward the goal. I have been working so hard toward the goal and things have been moving so fast, that I have not written out a clear set of plans yet. I do have a very vague plan written out now and maybe that will work for now, however I will need to write out these plans to the minutest detail or I will be facing a crisis later on.

I know this strategy works, because I used exactly this in the beginning of the year with my New Year's resolution. I resolved to get back to running and get in good shape. Because I was so out of shape in the beginning of the year, I still have a ways to go, but I am still running and I feel much more athletic, agile and energetic then I have in years.

People like Edison, Marconi and Helen Keller and even Blair Hill, Napoleon's son, all used this strategy and even though everyone thought they where nuts (Marconi was even committed for believing he could send radio waves from one receiver to another) they all succeeded at their impossible dreams.

Mr. Hill ended this chapter with a very powerful personal story about his son Blair

Blair Hill was born def and mute but his father refused to believe he could not hear and talk. At a very young age, Napoleon Hill whispered into his son's ear that he was normal and he can hear and speak. Later on in life, Blair started Blair Hearing aids, an international company.

As a final note of my own, Mr. Hill added a poem which, I believe says everything you need to know about this chapter in a little nut shell:

"I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.

"For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have wet the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

"I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Live would have willingly paid"

Chapter I - Thoughts are Things

2007-08-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

"Truly, 'Thoughts are things,' and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other material objects."

That is how Mr. Hill decided to start his book. It's a powerful statement that gets your attention, then he spends the rest the chapter proving it.

He starts proving it with a story of a man who started out with a thought and nothing more. Edwin C. Barnes had no money, but he decided that he wanted to go to Orange, New Jersey to become a business associate of Thomas A. Edison. Besides being destitute, there was one other problem Mr. Barnes had. He didn't know Edison and Edison didn't know him, but there he was standing in front of Mr. Edison telling him that he will be an associate of his. Not an employee, an associate.

Thomas Edison gave him a menial job at menial pay until one day Edison's salesmen refused to sell an item they thought would be a flop. The product was the Edison Dictating Machine. Edwin Barnes saw his opportunity and grabbed it. He offered to go out and sell Edison's new invention and wound up getting a contract to sell them nation wide.

The next story Mr. Hill tells, demonstrates the rewards of persistence and the damage done when persistence is not practiced. I wrote a blog about this story of R. U. Darby called "Lessons in Character". In it, I not only told this story, but another story where a lack of persistence lead to a greater tragedy then R. U. Darby's.

R. U. Darby was digging for gold, with his uncle in Colorado. When the vein ran out of gold they sold all of their equipment and their property to a junk dealer. It was not to long after when they found that the junk dealer found the largest vein of gold just three feet below where they stopped digging.

Mr. Darby used this as a learning lesson which he reminded himself of with a statement he memorized. "I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say 'no'"

Maybe we can say, "When you can't find the gold, dig three more feet".

There is another story about R. U. Darby and his uncle. Mr. Darby told Napoleon Hill about a time when his uncle got his clock cleaned by a little black girl. The black girl came to collect fifty cents that was owed to her mother. When R. U. Darby's uncle threatened her with a stave from a barrel, in stead of running, she stepped forward and demanded the fifty cents. His uncle relented and gave her the money.

Mr. Hill said, even though she probably didn't it, she used the unnamed secret he talked about in his forward.

As Napoleon Hill got back to the subject of Thoughts, he reminds us, "One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man's familiarity with the word 'impossible'. He knows all the rules which will not work. He knows all the things which cannot be done." Napoleon Hills facetiousness' reminds us of how easy it is to find someone to shoot down your ideas as they lift off the ground and how difficult it is to find people who are willing to believe in your ideas.

Many of these "duck hunters" mean well, but they don't understand that some of the things which are common place today got people thrown into mental institutions because they dared to dream they were possible.

Henry Ford walked into the engineers' offices one day and told them he wanted an eight cylinder engine cast in one block. The engineers told him right off that it was impossible. He said, "Produce it anyway". After a year of development, the engineers still had nothing, but Ford told them to proceed. Finally, after two years, the engineers succeeded and today we have the modern V 8 engine.

The V 8 is a product of an impossible dream mixed with patience and persistence. If you encounter a "duck hunter", remind him of the radio, plains, nuclear power, computers, that little moon landing in 1969 and if you do a little research and use your imagination, you can think of hundreds more.

Any of your dreams are possible as long as you have an idea that you are truly passionate about. It is not enough to have a dream. You must be truly passionate. You must have, as Mr. Hill calls, a burning desire. And that burning desire is the first step on the road to success.

Mr. Hill wrote, "But what of the man who has neither the time, nor the inclination to study failure in search or knowledge that may lead to success? Where and how is he to learn the art of converting defeat into stepping stones to opportunity?

"In answer to these questions, this book was written

"The answer called for a description of thirteen principles, but remember, as you read, the answer you may be seeking to the questions which have caused you to ponder over the strangeness of life may be found in your own mind, through some idea, plan, or purpose which may spring into your mind as you read."

The rest of this book is dedicated to going over all thirteen principles and I am excited to be going through it.

I'll post the commentary for Chapter II - Desire on Friday August 3rd.

Think & Grow Rich: Before We Begin...

2007-07-30T19:59:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in the last post, Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" is the second largest selling self-help book of all time. Number one is the Bible. The reason for this is the ideas and concepts within this book have been tested through trial and error for the past seventy years and it has withstood all of that testing.

Time and time again, people who have gone to this book for the knowledge of how to succeed with their dreams and as long as they put that knowledge into action, they succeeded.

In my copy of Napoleon Hill's "Succeed and Grow Rich through Persuasion there is a lengthy but inspiring introduction by W. Clement Stone. In it, he told a story of a phone call his secretary received while he was out of town. The caller was an irate customer. She wanted her money back because the books she bought and read, "Did not work". She angrily complained that her husband was still out of work and she was still working in a restaurant for ten hours a day.

Mr. Stone's secretary stopped the caller in her tracks when she asked, "What actions did you take?" The caller paused and then said, "We waited".

The secretary suggested that she and her husband read the books again but this time together and this time think of the actions they will take to better themselves. A few months later the woman called her back to tell her that they followed her advice and things are working out. The woman began night school and had three job offers with twice as much pay, even before she was finished.

The point here is there is no magic in the book "Think and Grow Rich". Napoleon Hill was not a magician. Mr. Hill wrote in "Succeed and Grow Rich through Persuasion" what I think is a very powerful statement. He wrote that the old saying "Knowledge is power" is a bunch of malarkey. "Knowledge in action is power."

All Napoleon Hill has given us is knowledge, not magic. It is up to us to supply the action.

Another reason this book is so powerful is it is strongly based in the Bible and religion. The Bible is a book which has also been tested through trial and error throughout the years. Theologians believe the oldest stories of the bible may have been around since about 3000 B.C. This means the stories and the concepts and ideas in the bible have been scrutinized for about five thousand years and have passed every test.

Napoleon Hill did not come up with the ideas in this book by accident. From the time he was a boy, he was a friend of "The canny, lovable old Scotsman", Andrew Carnegie. Mr. Carnegie saw something in young Napoleon and decided to commission him for a research project. The mission was to find out how success is begotten. At Mr. Carnegie's behest, Mr. Hill spent the next twenty years researching people like Henry Ford, John Wanamaker, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas A. Edison and five hundred others to find out what their secrets of success was. He found it.

He never mentions the secret directly, in fact he clams the secret is more powerful when a person finds it on his own. So, Mr. Hill never mentions the secret by name on purpose.

Because of this, I think I will also not mention the secret by name either; however if anyone knows the secrete, I will not be angry or disappointed if you mention it in your comments. This might be fun!

So as I end the first post in our study of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill let me share with you Mr. Hill's own words of encouragement from his own forward.

"As a final word of preparation, before you begin the first chapter, may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the Carnegie secret may be recognized? It is this - all achievement, all eared riches, have their beginning in an idea! If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it; therefore, you will readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches your mind."

I will post my commentary for chapter 1 - Thoughts Are Things on Wednesday night.

Think & Grow Rich: Before We Begin...

2007-07-30T19:59:00.000-05:00

The Re-launch of the Little Engine Blog

2007-07-28T15:02:00.000-05:00

I've been away for a little while. The last entry I made was on April 21st, about three months ago. In that time, I had some serious thinking time, as well as plenty of time with my beautiful wife and four wonderful boys.

I made a decision that has been a very long time in the making. I believe it may have been longer in the coming then even I can determine. The whole story of how I came to this decision is one that I may tell in a later post.

The decision I made, is to set a goal to begin a career as a motivational speaker. It's a lofty goal, but one I think is going to be fun to chase.

I have a problem right from the start and it occurred right here on this blog. I started it and then got board and stopped. I got board because I lacked focus. The blog was disjointed and I didn't really know what I was going to write from entry to entry. This is not the way to run a Motivational speaking business.

However, I have another problem as well. I am lacking in the basic knowledge it takes to run a motivational speaking business. But, what to learn? Napoleon Hill taught us that we don't need to know all the books in the library, we just need to know where the library is. This concept makes me feel better about the magnitude of material I need to go through. But still what do I need to read in order to have the knowledge and wisdom it takes to be a great motivational speaker?

I was disappointed to find that I misplaced a book by James C. Humes called "The Witt and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln". In that book was a wonderful quote. Someone asked Lincoln what the source of all his wisdom was. His paraphrased reply was, he mastered (Not read or studied, but mastered) three works. First was the bible, "which holds all the secrets of the universe"; the second was the complete works of William Shakespeare, "who had an uncanny understanding of the human psyche" and the last was the complete collection of William Blackstone's commentaries, which Lincoln said, at his time, "no young lawyer should be without".

The point is, in order to succeed, all that is required is to master a small part of what you want to do and then turn to the library, or your mastermind for the rest of your required knowledge. (I will get into what a mastermind is in a future post. Hint: Chapter X).

So, what should I master. Abraham Lincoln did most of the work for me. I need to master the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. I am not a lawyer, so I don't need to master Blackstone. But what should I have in place of Blackstone.

When you stop and think about it, the answer is very simple. The largest selling self help book in history is the Bible, but the second largest is "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. This is the second larges selling because Hill's ideas work. These are the works I have to master. But, it doesn't stop there. In order to completely understand the thought processes of Napoleon Hill it would be a good Idea to study the works of two other people (Yes, I said study). Those people are Charles F. Haanel who Hill attributed a large amount of his success, and W. Clement Stone who was an associate of Hill's.

Even though Abraham Lincoln believed he needed to master three works, I have a very hard time justifying not adding a fourth work to be mastered. That is Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". This is a work which is in the library of many high powered corporate executives. My opinion is, if Bill Gates has it in his library why shouldn't Joe Bagadonuts, owner of Bagadonuts Tavern in Center Silly Philly.

Now let's go back to the focus problem I had. I need to master these works and I have to be focused with the blog. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I got an idea from a friendly group who meet on a website called www.talkshoe.com. They call themselves the Focus Society of Overachievers. When they started late last year, they reviewed chapter by chapter, "Think and Grow Rich". At present, they are reviewing Haanel's seven book series "The Master Key".

My idea is to do the same thing right here on this blog. I'll start with "Think and Grow Rich" and review a chapter at a time. My vision is many people will read the posts and tell me if I'm spot on or if I need to adjust my thinking. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing lots of opinions and maybe even some debate.

Now, am I saying that my learning will stop with these books? Far from it. I have a lot to learn about business and in particular about the speaking business. I am in the middle of developing a mastermind of people who can point me in the right direction. Because of the mastermind and because I know where the library is, I don't need to master these things.

Where this road is going to take me, I haven't got a clue. And yes, I am a little frightened, but I am more excited about the rewards of finally doing something I've been thinking about for years.

2007-04-21T13:46:00.000-05:00

A Bitter-sweet End

2007-04-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

Today was the day for the Division International Speech Contest. I gave a good speech. I was proud of it. I really felt I did everything right. I sat down and felt satisfied, except for one thing...

As I watched the rest of the three contestants give their speeches, one by one, I couldn't help but compare them with my own perceived performance. These guys where all polished Toastmasters veterans, so I really had my work cut out for me. I thought I really hung tough with those guys and was proud of myself, except for one thing...

As we went to the break, people - almost everyone in the auditorium - stopped me to tell me how impressed they where with my speech and how powerful it was. Like anyone would, I drank it all in. I was absolutely beaming with pride. "Nothing can keep me from winning this whole thing, except for one thing..."

We finished our intermission and the meeting resumed with the evaluation contest. The model speaker was excellent. He was a "Big Brother" with Big Brothers and Big Sisters for eight years and was telling us about his special relationship with his "Little Brother".

The four evaluators came in one by one and gave great evaluations of the speech. Evaluations where never my strong suit, so I paid particularly close attention to this portion and got a few good ideas.

Then it was time to reveal the winners. The evaluation contest was announced first, and my friend, Lilly, won second place. Then it was my turn to find out how I did. I stood a pretty good chance, except for one thing...

The announcements where made and I was not the second place winner. The first place winner was announced and that was not me either. The reason as it turned out was not one thing. It was two things!

Toward the end of the speech, I noticed that the green light turned to yellow at a point where I was supposed to be farther into the speech then I was. I tried to pick up the tempo a little to remedy the situation. Then the light turned to Red and I still wasn't finished.

30 seconds left. I finished the speech as quickly as I could, but there was a lot to say for 30 seconds.

Two seconds. Two seconds separated me from a possible trophy today. I was Two seconds over the seven and one half minutes allowed to us.

Would I have won first place? I don't know. And quite frankly, I'm not really sure I want to know.

Now it's time to share with you the best part of the day. During the break something happened that I didn't tell you about. I was asked by a fellow Toastmaster to deliver a speech in front of his company.

Yes, it's true, I didn't win today, but I did walk out with something else that could be more valuable then a trophy. I walked out with an opportunity. How big is this opportunity? I don't know. I guess that is up to me to decide.

Thoughts on the Don Imus Fiasco

2007-04-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, on "The View", Rosie O'Donnell said Christianity is just as dangerous as Radical Islam. I am a devout Catholic and as a Christian I was taken aback by this comment. But, first, like I said in the previous blog, I considered the source. Rosie O'Donnell is an extremely angry and sad woman. But, second and most important, I acknowledged her right to say what is on her mind, even if it is lunacy.

Do I disagree with what O'Donnell said? Like I said, I am a devout Catholic, you figure it out. Do I think she should lose her job? No!

The fact is, if she where to undergo the attacks Don Imus has this past week, I would feel the need to stick up for her right to be so totally and absolutely wrong.

Why? Because if she loses her right to speak, then it will not be long before I lose my right to speak. I'm afraid if we begin firing people and "blacklisting" them for the things they say, we will be well on our way to losing our freedom. (By the way, it was not an accident that I used the word "Blacklisting")

Well, as of this evening, my nightmare may be beginning.

Was what Don Imus said insulting and idiotic? That would be understating things. Did he deserve to be fired? Not in the United States I am familiar with.

The United States I am familiar with is a place where speech is not stifled. Un-stifled speech allows us to talk things out before they reach a damaging impasse. The United States I am familiar with is one where I am able to express my opinions, no matter how crazy they may seem. The United States I am familiar with is a place where I can be whatever I want to be. The United States I am familiar with has a First Amendment which allows me to be offensive with my opinions.

(Please don't give me the line about how words can hurt. I've been hurt enough by words to know, the only way they can hurt is if you give them the power to do so.)

This is a real life example of where and how we can all develop character. What Imus said was hurtful, rude, sexist and racist, but we have to remember that pain ultimately makes us stronger.

At the same time, if we fall into the temptation to whine and cry about the pain, that does the opposite. It allows us to believe life isn't about adapting and overcoming. It allows us to believe we don't need the spiritual calisthenics a situation like this provides. As a result, we become weaker.

We need to learn not to whine every time we're hurt and we need to be willing to stand up for people we don't necessarily agree with. That is an extremely difficult situation to be in. But, if we don't stand up against injustices perpetrated against our enemies, there will be no one to defend us when it is our turn.

The Lessons of Rutgers Women’s Basketball

2007-04-11T11:05:00.000-05:00

The Don Imus comments on his show where … unfortunate to say the least. The statement was one of hate from a very hateful man. I believe Glenn Beck put it best when he said, “Don Imus hates everybody, but he hates himself the most”. But the statement was not what concerned me the most. In fact it was really nothing about Imus that concerned me most. What bothered me about this whole situation was the way the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team reacted to it.

I’ve faced a lot of hostel verbal bashing in my life and the one thing that I’ve learned is that the only way that someone can really offend you is if you give them the power to do so. And that is exactly what the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team has done.

They have allowed someone who has already been established to be a very hateful man, with many serious issued, to offend them. Rutgers Forward, Heather Zurich said during yesterday’s press conference, “Our moment here was taken away, our moment to celebrate our success”. The fact is this moment of success was not taken away by Don Imus, it was allowed to slip away by Heather Zurich, Coach C. Vivian Stringer and the rest of the Rutgers Basketball team. They’ve allowed themselves to be offended and they are the ones who are allowing the anger to burn inside their hearts.

Coach Stringer said, “Who amongst you could have heard these comments and not be upset?” Well, since she asked, I may as well answer. I wouldn’t have been upset. Why? Well, first of all I’ve been called a lot worse then a “nappy-headed ho”. Second, consider the source. The fact is the Rutgers Basketball team shouldn’t be offended; they should be looking upon Don Imus with pity.

He is just a sad man, who is not happy with the way his life has turned out and his comment is only a symptom of that.

The Rutgers Women worked hard to get to where they are and they have every right to pat them selves on the back. It just bothers me that they would leave one stupid comment destroy all of their hard work and accomplishments.

I would hope that we could all learn a lesson from this situation. The lesson is when someone offends us, we need to first consider the source. If the source is anybody like Don Imus, we need not give that person the power to destroy our lives. If we do, we are not only dragging ourselves down, we are also giving the offender validation.

Unfortunately, I believe that most people who have become familiar with this story over the past few days will not learn this lesson, because most of the media is busy talking about how bad a person Don Imus is. Ultimately this is going to give Imus all the free publicity he has ever wanted and, at least for a short time, he will be more popular then he has been in years. And as long as the Rutgers team chooses to let their anger simmer, they will not have a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

2007-04-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

Exercise

2007-03-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

I am 5 feet 11 inches tall and weigh 218 pounds. Ya, I'm just a bit over weight. About 40 pounds over weight to be exact. I've been pondering loosing the extra flab for a few years, but I am finally doing something about it this year.

Over the years I've been collecting a lot of useless facts about dieting and loosing weight and storing them away in the file cabinet in my head.

Facts such as:
1. If you are hungry while you are dieting, that is really bad. It's best to eat every two hours so your body gets used to the idea that there is plenty of food, so your metabolism will rise and your body will burn more fat. But if you allow yourself to go hungry, your body begins to believe there is a shortage of food and your metabolism will slow to save your fat stores for when there is nothing left to eat.

2. A diet is absolutely useless unless you exercise. It doesn't really matter what kind of exercise you do, just as long as you will either raise your heart rate above 120 beats per minute for a half hour a day or build muscle, or both if you wish. But the most important part of the exercise you chose is that you enjoy it.

3. Three pounds of new muscle burns as many calories as running 1 mile
per day.

4. Water is an extremely important part of any diet. It helps to clean out all the waist and toxins.

5. Although walking helps, it should never be used as your only form of exercise unless you're race walking.

I called these useless facts because what ever knowledge you have in your head is totally useless unless you put them into action. And I haven't been putting this knowledge into action until January 2nd of this year. Why? Because I discovered that in order to tackle the really big fat challenges in life, you have to contend with your subconscious mind first.

You need to be able to get your subconscious ready for the fight, but that is not all that is required. You also need to reaffirm the subconscious every day preferably twice a day. Once in the morning as soon as you get out of bed and once before you go to sleep.

The way I do it is by using a technique which is fully described in a book called "Think and Grow Rich" by a gentleman named Napoleon Hill. This book is the original self help book and despite its cheesy title, the ideas in it are not just for getting rich. They're about being successful, no matter what your definition of success is.

Anyway, I wrote out 5 statements.

1. I stated my goal. I chose a specific weight goal which I came to through a little research
2. I wrote out a statement on how I will use my success to help others. This is important because, according to the theory, you need to pay back what you "demand" from life and how you do that is by helping others along the way.
3. I then wrote a statement of the specific date when I plan to reach my goal.
4. Then I formulated a plan of exactly how I plan to go about doing what I need to do in order to reach my goal.
5. Finally, I wrote out one single statement summarizing everything I had written in steps 1 through 4.

I make a point to read these statements twice a day. Trust me, I'm no angel. I have already had failures, but a part of the struggle for success is recognizing that there will be failures and know that you just have to get back on your horse and keep trying.

So far the system is working. I started on January 2nd and am still following my workout schedule faithfully and eating as healthy as the plan I made says although I tend to struggle with my caloric intake on the weekends. Even then I have already lost 15 pounds and am doing nearly twice as many push-ups and sit-ups as was my maximum when I first started out.

It is said that when you first start a workout that you need to get in shape before you get in shape. Sound funny? It really isn't if you think about it. If you're that out of shape, which I was, you need to get your body to a point where it can carry your great big fat frame easily enough to take the grueling exercise of actually getting in good shape.

After three months of light exercise I'm finally at that point where I can begin to push myself every day.

I'll be checking in every now and again to let everyone know how things are going and maybe I'll have a new exciting goal in the future.

Lessons in Character

2007-03-10T13:51:00.000-05:00

On June 20, 1933, Ernest took another look at his father as he left the house. Ernest's heart broke at the sight of his father standing on the porch with his shoulders slumped and his posture broken. His father promised his mother the world, but as a poor farmer, he was unable to deliver.

No matter how hard he worked, Ernest's father was never able to get his family out of squalor. His life, he felt, was a total failure.

In the past, Ernest tried to talk his father into a new business idea, but his father dismissed the idea as ridiculous, because that type of business was illegal the United States.

After Ernest left, the old farmer went into the house and picked up his pistol and walked out to the field where his wife was working and shot her in the back of the head. He then went back into the house and took his own life.

If only Ernest's father had learned the lesson that a man named R. U. Darby had learned years before, maybe he would have looked at the situation a little differently.

R. U. Darby was employed by his uncle to go to Colorado to help dig up a gold vein he had found. They got loans from family and friends to buy the equipment they needed to bring up the gold and when they got to Colorado, they got straight to work. They brought up enough gold to pay off all of their loans, but shortly after, the vein disappeared. They dug around, but where unable to find any more gold.

Discouraged, they sold all of their equipment and the land to a junk man for a few hundred dollars. The junk man hired an engineer to look at the mine and he discovered that, because of a fault line, the gold vein was broken in half and the rest of the gold would be found just three feet below where R. U. Darby and his uncle stopped digging and the junk man went on to become a millionaire many times over.

Mr. Darby now had a choice to make. He could have wallowed in his failure and suffered on his cross of discouragement, or he could have learned from his choice to give up.

How many times are we faced with this choice? Sometimes we find ourselves in a period of despair and discouragement. Maybe we have just experienced a catastrophic failure in our lives. The failure may seem to be so great that it may take the rest of our lives just to recover.

How easy is it to throw our hands up and say, "I quit"? How easy would it be to just go home and sit in front of the T.V. and make no attempt to redeem ourselves, after a hug failure?

How hard is it to pick ourselves up after a humiliating defeat? How hard is it to face the same struggles that have embarrassed and humiliated us in the past?

We all know that the former is much easier to do, but it is the latter that makes us what we are as human beings. If we decide, against the odds, that we are going to go back for more abuse and pain and humiliation, all in the name of some kind of success, it is then that we are making the greatest investment in ourselves.

Education is great. You can do a lot, if you are educated. Work experience is also wonderful. But, the best investment we can make in ourselves is an investment in character.

Character is the basic building block of success. And the only way you can develop character is through the use of courage and persistence. If you have the courage to get up off the ground, and try again, and you have the persistence to get up off the ground no matter how many times you fall, you will develop very strong character and you will ultimately succeed. And more then likely, your success will be far greater then you ever expected.

In many stories, surveys, interviews and studies of the most successful people in the world, we find that many of them have faced the most difficult and catastrophic failures just before they realized there greatest successes.

It is these failures and disappointments that develop our character and ultimately make us successful in all of our endeavors. The motivational speaker and author Napoleon Hill said it best when he wrote "Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit"

R. U. Darby learned this very well. He decided to take the road of character development. He created a slogan for himself which he repeated as often as he could. He said "I stopped three feet from gold, but I never stop because men say no". When ever things looked bleakest to him, he decided to "dig three more feet". As a result he became one of the leading insurance sails men in the country, making annual profits of well over a million dollars.

If Ernest's father had only learned this lesson and just waited five more months before falling victim to despair, he would have been able to be a part of the venture that Ernest and his brother started. They where raisin farmers, like their father. And when prohibition was repealed, only five months after their parents' death, they went to the local library and found a recipe for wine. They stopped growing grapes for raisins and began making wine. Despite having to compete with over 800 other wineries in California alone, Ernest and Julio Gallo where able to build one of the largest wine producers in the world.

Narcissism Study and the Self Esteem Teachers

2007-02-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

In an AP article entitled “Study: College Students More Narcissistic”, it was revealed that a group of five psychologists headed by Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University have been conducting a study on Narcissism in our colleges since 1982.

In this study they asked college students to fill out a Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). For the past 25 years. What thy found was the number of students that can be considered narcissistic has risen by 30 percent in the time of the study and two thirds of students now have above average scores.

The group traced the cause of the rise back to the self-esteem movement. This of coarse is where a teacher stands in front of the room and tells the kids they are special and the teacher proves it by giving the students grades they didn’t earn. More recently schools are now abandoning red pens in favor of purple pens to save the children from the horrible fate of seeing an “F” written in the tyrannical color. But that’s a different post.

This exercise was meant to build self-esteem and character in a nice harmless atmosphere, instead it has caused the subjects of this little experiment to become narcissistic.

Co-Author Dr. W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia stated that narcissism can help with confidence however, he also pointed out that narcissism can also create a whole host of other problems. Both Dr. Campbell and Professor Twenge pointed out that Narcissism can cause:

Breakdowns in close relationships
High risk of infidelity
Lack of emotional warmth
Dishonesty
Over-control and violent behavior
Lack of Empathy
Aggressive reaction to criticism
Favoritism of self-promotion over helping others

Professor Campbell did offer a solution to the problem which some may consider to be politically incorrect (which is just fine with me). The solution is more authoritative parenting and less indulgence.

This solution makes perfect sense. The only thing that bothers me is that a college professor is saying it as if we wouldn’t know this. May be what is more disturbing is that most of us don’t know. Thus the reason for this blog … which nobody reads … yet … because, I’m special …

This goes to show you that if you try to make nature work in a way it was not intended, you will usually get results that you never expected. For example, you saw in this news story of how the “teaching” of self esteem and character did not lead to self esteem or character. It led to their alter-ego, Narcissism.

Self esteem can not be taught, it can only be earned. And Character can’t be taught either, it can only be developed through the successful acquisition of self esteem.

Letter from an American Hero

2007-02-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

“It is not in the still calm of life or the repose of a pacific station that grate characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant wake into life and form the character of the hero and statesman.”

This statement was written by a little known American hero. Her name was Abigail Adams. If the name sounds familiar, it should. She was the wife of John Adams, our second president and the mother of John Quincy Adams, our sixth president. She wrote this statement in a letter to her son.

John Adams had to go to France during the Revolutionary War to work out a treaty with the French. He was to go with another great American hero, Benjamin Franklin. Because Mr. Franklin was going, Abigail and her husband realized that this was an extraordinary opportunity for their son.

John Adams and Abigail Adams both grew up in very poor farming families and nether had much of an education. When John Quincy arrived on the scene, they decided that he would be highly educated. So, they took every opportunity they could to educate their young son. And an opportunity had just arisen in the form of Benjamin Franklin.

On the voyage over to France and on the way back there would be lots of down time and while in France there would be educational opportunities as well. Abigail and John knew that if their son could spend time with Benjamin Franklin while he did his experiments during the down times as well as witness treaty negotiations, that would be a much better education then he could get in any school. So, they decided that it was important for John Quincy to go with his father.

The trip over would be very dangerous. The voyage would take place in the winter time when the seas where at there worst. On top of that, they would have to run an English blockade. Even if they where able to run the blockade, surely the English would be looking for them and trying to stop them before they got to France. John Quincy knew all of this and was not very happy about it.

John Quincy did not want to go, but they knew that this experience of dealing with these difficulties would help him to grow in ways that he could not even fathom.

So as a part of convincing John Quincy to go along with the plan his mother wrote the letter with the above statement in it.

This statement is a very powerful one, especially in this day and age. I believe it is so powerful because we lost the knowledge that true intelligence comes from solving problems and "contending with difficulties". And self-esteem can not be taught, it is earned.

Political Correctness is one of my biggest pet peeves. I believe that Political Correctness is robbing us of our freedom as well as a good education. We spend so much time worrying about our children's feelings that we are forgetting to teach them. And we are spending so much time trying to make our children's lives antiseptic of pain and disappointment that we don't realize we're also taking away a chance for them to develop real character.

Character is so very important for our children to have and if we raze an entire generation without character it makes me worry about the future of, not just our nation, but our society.

I hope we can take a lesson form the Adams' and remember where real intelligence comes from.

In future blogs I will be writing more about the poison known as Political Correctness because one can not begin to be motivated or inspired without first developing character. And one can not develop character without overcoming the pain of disappointment and failure.

Welcome to my "Little Engine Blog".

2007-02-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome!

I named this blog after my favorite childhood story, "The Little Engine That Could", because I think my life has been a lot like that little engine's struggle. I've been struggling up hill most of my life.

First of all I was born into a poor family. I can't say that we where in poverty but we where pretty close. My parents never owned a car and they never owned their own home. I also had a learning problem that was never officially diagnosed; however, I always suspected it was a form of dyslexia.

The latter caused me most of my problems in school. I failed and repeated first and Third grades and came very close to repeating sixth grade as well. In Tenth grade, seriously considered dropping out of school. Considering most of my problems throughout school, most people probably wouldn't have blamed me for giving up, but I was not in a family like most. My family had a lot of faith in me, far more faith then I had in myself. As a result, I stayed in school and kept saying "I think I can, I think I can".

It's a good thing too, because as it turned out eleventh and twelfth grades turned out to be the easiest years in school. I was able to pick up momentum and speed before I hit the brick wall called U.S. Navy "A" School.

I graduated second ... from last in my class and went on to the fleet where I landed on a ship with a lousy workshop supervisor. I learned next to nothing under him, but I did have some time to work on my work ethic and character with different kinds of physically challenging ship board work.

When I got out of the Navy, I went back to school. I struggled my way through school. As in high school, I began to think seriously about quitting but my girlfriend, my future wife, wouldn't let me give up on myself either. Like my family, she too had far more faith in me then I had in myself. Looking back, especially to that point in my life, I realize that I owe my wife my life, because it was her belief in me that gave me one.

After I got out of school, I went to work with an engineering firm, who quickly showed me how much I have to learn about engineering. At one point I was told I had three months to catch up on what I needed to learn or I would be canned. This was easily one of the most depressing points in my life. I was being rejected from the career I had been preparing for since high school.

I really felt like all my dreams where about to end. I had already been working hard to learn the job and here I was at the edge of a cataclysmic disaster.

I spent the next three months doubling my efforts and looking for another job. But two things happened. My wife got pregnant and my boss called me into the conference room again, this time to tell me that he was pleased with my progress.

That is where I am today. I'm not working with the same firm, but I am with a firm that I like very much and earning the money I believe I deserve.

I'm here because of my wife, my family and a children's story that was read to me over and over again many years ago.

I believe I am going to have fun writing these blogs and I hope someone will read them and be inspired to keep on saying to themselves "I know I can, I know I can".