Dare To Be Great; Overcoming Life's Challenges On Your Way To The Top! presents a brilliant road map for you to skillfully navigate your way to a very fulfilling and successful life. Spence Finlayson, a highly skilled practitioner of universally proven success principles crystallizes everything that you will need to know to overcome life's challenges and enjoy a successful life at the top. Finlayson draws from his own life and the lives of others who have aspired for greatness and the tools utilize to make his a reality. A veteran of the personal and professional development industry, Spence Finlayson, through this book, raises the ceiling on the possibilities of a generation of people.

DARE TO BE GREAT: OVERCOMING LIFE'S CHALLENGES ON YOUR WAY TO THE TOP!

By SPENCE FINLAYSON

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Spence Finlayson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-7266-4

Contents

Dedication..................................................................................vAcknowledgements............................................................................viChapter 1 All THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!..........................................................1Chapter 2 AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE..........................................................5Chapter 3 ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE..................................................9Chapter 4 CELEBRATING OUR CARIBBEAN OLYMPIANS...............................................13Chapter 5 CHANGE IN THE WORKPLACE...........................................................17Chapter 6 GO FOR IT!........................................................................21Chapter 7 HONOR YOUR TALENTS AND GIFTS......................................................25Chapter 8 I DARE YOU TO SUCCEED.............................................................29Chapter 9 IF GREATNESS IS POSSIBLE THEN WHY SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY?..........................33Chapter 10 KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE......................................................37Chapter 11 LET GO OF THE PAST, THE PAST IS THE PAST.........................................41Chapter 12 LIVING UP TO YOUR BILLING........................................................45Chapter 13 MAMA SAID THERE WOULD BE DAYS LIKE THIS!.........................................49Chapter 14 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING!............................................................53Chapter 15 PATIENCE, A SUCCESS SECRET.......................................................55Chapter 16 SURVIVING THE HURRICANES OF LIFE.................................................59Chapter 17 THANK GOD IT'S MONDAY!...........................................................63Chapter 18 THE POSSIBLE DREAM...............................................................67Chapter 19 CARPE DIEM! SEIZE THE DAY!.......................................................69Chapter 20 IN PRAISE OF SIR LYNDEN PINDLING.................................................73Chapter 21 PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS................................................77Chapter 22 WHY FOCUS IS SO IMPORTANT IN LIFE AND SPORTS?....................................81Chapter 23 AGAINST THE ODDS.................................................................85Chapter 24 BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER................................................89Chapter 25 AGE IS NOTHING BUT A NUMBER; YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO SUCCEED.....................93Chapter 26 FACING LIFE SUCCESSFULLY.........................................................97Chapter 27 TIPS TO GETTING UNSTUCK IN YOUR BUSINESS.........................................101Chapter 28 TRANSCENDING LIFE'S PROBLEMS.....................................................105Chapter 29 WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES....................................................107Chapter 30 EXCUSES, EXCUSES.................................................................111Chapter 31 EXPECT THE BEST..................................................................115Chapter 32 USING YOUR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM.............................................117Chapter 33 WHEN LIFE CATCHES YOU ON THE BLINDSIDE!..........................................121Chapter 34 WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU GIVE UP?.......................................125Chapter 35 GETTING FIRED MAY NOT BE SO BAD!.................................................129Chapter 36 WHAT KIND OF BOSS ARE YOU?.......................................................133Chapter 37 TOMORROW ROBINS WILL SING!.......................................................139Chapter 38 WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LATE? OVERCOMING CARIBBEAN TIME...............................143

Chapter One

All THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

He said to them. "Because of your little faith." For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 17:20

Tom Cruise, the great American actor, produced and starred in three "Mission: Impossible" movies and in spite of the title, the assigned mission was always accomplished. Are you presently experiencing some apparent impossible mission?

Remember all things are possible.

At some point in our lives, we have had dreams of becoming someone who achieved fantastic things and became internationally famous with an impressive financial portfolio.

Sadly only a few persons have achieved their desired dreams. For the majority of the population, discouragement sets in and persons decide that dreams are for kids and they resign themselves to a life of boredom, mere existence and basic survival. But life can be so much more richer and fulfilling if we only go the extra mile with a don't quit attitude and commitment to succeed.

Commitment for me means "achieving the desired results not matter what." I'd like to share Johann Wolfgan von Goethe's famous quote on commitment with you:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary Truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now"

As Gladys Knight hit song said "I've got to use my imagination", yes if we are to achieve our dreams we need to effectively use our imaginations. Imagination is the process of imaging, of creating a clear picture in mind of what you desire. Form a picture in mind of your desired resolutions and watch this picture constantly. Remember as Mahatma Gandhi said, "every worthwhile accomplishment big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory." All things are possible!

Walt Disney was a great dreamer who definitely believed that all things were possible.

Disney broke free of a childhood of intense discipline and much deprivation to become the visionary, whose desire for escape honed an innate sense of what people wanted to see on the screen through his reinvention of animation. He reshaped the entertainment industry by building a synergistic empire that combined film, television, theme parks, music, book publishing and merchandise in a way that was unprecedented and was later widely imitated. All things are possible!

The Wright brothers dreamed of flying machines. Other men laughed but Orville and Wilbur kept their vision, worked and believed it was possible until it became a reality at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Sir Roger Bannister proved that all things are possible when he ran a sub 4 minute mile that everybody thought was just not possible for a man to run so fast. Just recently, nobody thought that Senator Borack Obama, a black man, would ever be nominated to run for the presidency of the United States of America by a major political party. He proved everybody wrong and is on track to become the first black president of America. All things are possible!

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