MY GOOD FRIEND

This week has been a week of struggles and personal battles. 
Today, while flying back home, I decided to reach out for guidance from an old friend, a friend that I have always relied on since I was a young adult; A friend that I can always count on!
Og Mandino, my friend, is an author who left this world 2 decades ago but before leaving he helped millions of people and continues to do so through his writings.
He was a man who struggled with alcoholism, depression, unable to keep a job, and contemplated suicide. A tragic man with no aspirations…
At the age of 40 he was fortunate to find guidance in books in the library and started to write, not knowing how many lives he was going to change.
This morning I went back to my favorite of all his books, “The Greatest Salesman in the World,” a book that I have carried with me since I was a young man.
During a summer vacation from college I worked as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. A tough job where one constantly needs motivation, motivation to knock on the next door expecting to make a sale, but knowing that a door could be slammed in your face. (About 50 times per day). Reading few pages from Og Mandino was my trick to maintain an enthusiastic attitude.  After a few slammed doors my friend would lift my spirits to have the resolution to knock on the next door.

- As always, this day my friend was there for me and after reading the first few paragraphs, I was already back on track."The Greatest Salesman in the World" provided me the guidance that I needed:

Today I will be master of my emotions.

And how will I master my emotions so that every day is a happy day, and a productive one? I will learn this secret of the ages:

Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.

Each day, when I awake, I will follow this plan of battle before I am captured by the forces of sadness, self-pity and failure –

• If I feel depressed, I will sing.
• If I feel sad, I will laugh.
• If I feel ill, I will double my labor.
• If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.
• If I feel inferior, I will wear new garments.
• If I feel uncertain, I will raise my voice.
• If I feel poverty, I will think of wealth to come.
• If I feel incompetent, I will remember past success. 
• If I feel insignificant, I will remember my goals.

Today I will be master of my emotions.

- We all, no exceptions, will find ourselves in the middle of a conflict, internal or external. Many times we struggle, during the day trying to find some type of inspiration. Most of the times trying to accomplish a goal in our lives or just for the day. feels impossible.

So here is my thought:

When I feel trapped, I begin to write…
If I am not inspired, I look for a friend for advice, a friend that knows me during good times and bad times. 
If I don’t have anyone that I can reach out to, I open a book that will encourage me.
If I don’t feel like opening a book, I go online where I always find plenty of inspiration: Ted Talks (Ted.com), Tiny Buddha (tinybuddha.com), Oprah (oprah.com) or my own, I Love Failure (iLoveFailure.com)… 

I am fortunate that during my trip back I was able to find an outlet to deflate my head and get myself back on track.  

We all need to have a channel or support mechanism... Remember you can always find a release valve; Keep looking for yours. Do not give up! 

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