THE DOMINANT PURPOSE

During the Christmas period, amidst the opening of presents,
the singing of carols and the enjoyment of Christmas lights,
I found myself engrossed in a book written about the life
of one of the greatest men who lived last century, Winston
Churchill.

As my children played with their new found presents I was
traversing through the battlefields of the Boer War and the
1st and 2nd World Wars with the man who guided the FREE
world to victory in the 1940's with the power of his pen and
the majesty of his inspiring words. He was a motivator par
excellence.

He too lived in a time of incredible change and so spoke with
great authority when he said himself that: 'The only way a
man can remain consistent amid changing circumstances is
to change with them while preserving the same dominating
purpose.'

Winston knew that he had been born for such an hour and
when approached to lead his nation, at the time of crisis,
as Hitler and his hordes marched across Europe, he was
able to write....'I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and
that all my past life had been but a preparation for this
hour and for this trial.'

He knew that he'd been born to lead and went on to state
that...'Power, for the sake of lording it over fellow-creatures
or adding to personal pomp, is rightly judged base. But
power in a national crisis, when a man believes he knows
what orders should be given, is a blessing. In any sphere of
action there can be no comparison between the positions
of number one and numbers two, three, or four.'

And it is for that reason that in his address to the House
of Commons he spoke confidently, 'You ask, What is our
aim? I can answer in one word: Victory - victory at all
costs, victory in spite of terror; victory, however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory there is
no survival....At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid
of all, and I say, 'Come, then, let us go forward together
with our united strength.''

Here was a man with a Dominating Purpose in life.

'The only way a man can remain consistent amid changing
circumstances is to change with them while preserving the
same dominating purpose.'

Wise words from a wise man who backed up his words with
dynamic action.

And now that we find ourselves in the 3rd Millennium A.D. we
are bombarded with an ever increasing rate of change that
will swallow the masses, who refuse to move with it, and yet
will transport those who flow with it into a world of incredible
opportunity.

But first let's take a look at the word CONSISTENCY. This
word does not mean that one has to remain firmly entrenched
in the past. It speaks to me of the need to be alert and of
the importance of evaluating each and every event or every
circumstance that happens to pass our way.

Throughout Winston's political career, which spanned a
period of 60 years, he was known for changing political
parties and for even contradicting his views throughout
that career.

The reason? Because he held true to his convictions and
was willing to change his views when changing circumstances
called upon such change.

At times, I view things so much more differently with the
passing of years. Things that were of significant importance,
and for which I rallied hard and long for in my twenties, are
now but a distant fog that lack relevance and even the
importance to even consider.

Unfortunately, much wisdom often only comes through the
years of experience and the road far traveled.

However, immersed in the wisdom of the ages, through
reading and through the association with much wiser men
and women will certainly speed up the process.

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WALK WITH A WISE MAN AND BECOME WISE

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1. CHANGE WITH THE CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES

There is only one way to change and that is to change.

Jump in the deep end and start swimming.

And how do you do that?

First you have to fix the interior and then, and only then,
can you sort out the exterior.

Someone once told me that when people were set free
from slavery, 'that you can take the person out of slavery,
but you can't take the slavery out of the people overnight.'

The interior's architecture must be changed first and foremost
before the exterior's beauty can begin to shine.

That's why, if I dump a million dollars on your doorstep and
you have never handled a million dollars in your life before,
statistics tell us that the million dollars will slip through
your fingers in no time fast.

So what do you do?

Become, as Robert Kiyosaki so eloquently shares, 'financially
literate.'

To be successful you must first think successful thoughts.

To win you must first think winning thoughts.

The battleground is found within your mind and it is there
that the battle must be waged.

Positive thoughts injected into your life on a consistent
basis, backed by positive action, will lead to positive results.

That is one reason why I soak myself in the biographies
of great men and women who have lived and are still
living.

That is why I am always reading half a dozen books all
at once and a few extra on the side.

That is why I read with pencil in hand and notebook at
the ready waiting to capture that thought that will leap
from the page and be imbedded in my mind. This is so
that not only I am benefited but that those who read
my writings receive the 'best of the best'.

Read as a student, always at the ready to pluck a nugget
of gold from within the dusty pages of a volume you have
uncovered. Riches untold will not stay away from your door.

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WALK WITH A CHANGED MAN AND BECOME CHANGED

=============================================

2. PRESERVE THE SAME DOMINATING PURPOSE

What births passion?

What produces drive?

What steers creative workmanship?

What forces courage to rise from within?

Winston Churchill was a man driven by destiny. He had an
insatiable appetite for hard work and for learning. Whether
it was politics, painting, writing, journalism, bricklaying or
any other pursuit, he was gleaning from others, reading
and studying, and with that 'fill of information' he would
forge his way ahead into the unknown with the confidence
that nothing was impossible to him.

Did he always get it right? Was he infallible? No. His life
was filled with flaws and he committed reprehensible errors
that not only impacted his life but even destroyed the
lives of many others along the way.

And yet, he would rise up and above 'the black dog' that
often overwhelmed him, left the errors committed behind
him and pushed on ahead unrelentlessly.

And that is what it takes if you are going to preserve the
same dominating purpose throughout your lifetime.

Winston never forgot this, even when he was in the political
wilderness that lasted ten years before being called upon to
lead his nation against Hitler.

With this example as our guide, each of us need to ask
ourselves:

What is my dominating purpose?

That's right.

If I was to ask you to give me in one sentence what is your
dominating purpose is, could you answer me?

It is an important question, that any human being, who
wants to not only exist on planet earth, but rather to
contribute something of significance during their lifetime,
needs to ask themselves until they find a satisfactory answer?

Some other ways of asking yourself the same question are:

What is your passion?

What is your dream?

What is your burning desire?

What gets you more excited than anything else in this world?

Find the answer to these questions and you will be at
the starting gates for the fulfillment of your dominating
purpose.

Don't waste another minute on planet earth without having
this question settled in your mind once and for all.

You have been born for a purpose; a dominating purpose.

Motivational Memo for the Week: A dominating purpose
is the pulsating heart of a successful life.

You can do it!

Peter Sinclair
http://www.motivationalmemo.com
'...where Quality Motivational Content is Paramount!'

© Peter Sinclair, 2000-2003
All rights reserved.