Edison was a man flowing down a river of interest. I don't think he had the word failure in his vocabulary.

Dream stealers are almost as common as cockroaches. If we listen to those who wish to defang our dreams and reign in our passion, then our lives will be similar to a dog on a short leash. The dog on a short leash becomes discouraged and choked up every time he leaps forward to sniff a patch of grass. Finally he just walks passively at the pace of his master, which suits his master fine. And if we were dogs, then the short leash would be fine for us as well.

The maestros are not on leashes (but some will put you on one in a New-York minute!). They know who they are and what they wish to accomplish. They are far from perfect but they are willing to fend for themselves regardless of whether others approve of what they do. They are not caught up in endless guilt. They are not trapped by the fear of failure. They thrive on chaos and see opportunity where others see trouble and insurmountable problems.

Who are you? What do you stand for? What do you value? What do you want? Where do you want to live and with whom? How do you define success? What do you deep down inside want to become?

Success does leave clues.

When you were a child, what was it that tickled your soul? What kind of people touched you deeply? What was your vision of how the world should be? What did you want to be when you grew up?

The maestros asked and answered those questions, and then proceeded with purpose and self-confidence to make their dreams a reality. They live on purpose and so should we.

So find your passion and then march with the self-assurance that life will bring you what you desire most. Be the best and do the most you can. The people you are about to touch are action people and they appreciate those who mirror that behavior.

Are you looking to find out what your life pursuit should be? Then CLICK HERE and take this detailed test at absolutely no obligation.

“I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than to adore me for telling you lies.” ~Pietro Aretino~

Unfortunately, Pietro is not well known and few marketers and self-help gurus would want to hear those words. Why? Because most people who are successful cannot honestly transmit their high self-esteem, high level of financial success, and pinpoint success systems to most of the people they wish to influence.

Life is a solo journey and each of us has a purpose to uncover during our sojourn. Other peoples’ methodology can never substitute for personal experience and, yes, failure. We must learn to trust our intuition rather than that of a man or woman who says that they have the key to the truth door.

With that in mind, I want to introduce you to an interview I did with Dan Hanneman, a life coach and hypnotist who also hosts a spiritual talk radio show. I hope I cut through some of the fluff…

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. ~Sun Tzu~

To put these two concepts in simple terms, strategy is the overall plan to reach a goal or a plateau and tactics are the day-to-day actions to get you there.

More accurately, most businesses are reactive and just trying to stay afloat. They are tactical, at best. Usually they are random and incongruous.

They may have a high-sounding strategy written down somewhere, but they readily abandon it when the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune arrive at their business doorstep.

They and their staff often become rats in a maze just fighting to survive rather thrive. They take their eye off the ball and haven’t a sliver of a chance for long-term success.

Nobody on this planet teaches the difference better than the god of finding the gold in each business, Jay Abraham

Please watch him in action...

That’s the thing! Most of us see pies in the sky and jump from one opportunity to the next. Each time we hope against hope that the tide will turn and the guru or software or the Heavenly Father in the flesh will save us from our struggling selves.

Everyone has an inkling that their must be a key to the abundant-time-and-money kingdom, yet we don’t seem to sense it can’t be found in NeverNeverLand.

There are so many smooth talkers, aka gurus, who will have you gawking and orgasming at their newest widget or training program, yet if you have been struggling for years to rub two nickels together then you should know instinctively that that bait is fool’ gold.

What’s missing is you. You put the money first, and the interest or passion on the back burner. Not too smart, Bunky.

In the video that follows, noted motivational speaker, businessman, philanthropist and life coach, Bob Proctor, says that when the bill collector called when he was poor and asked where the money was, his humorous response came down to this: “If I knew where the money was, you wouldn’t be calling me.”

The gut-feeling truth is that most people either have time or have money, but few have ample of both. Is this a sign of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I think not. A samurai warrior does not go to battle with a dull sword or inadequate training. You don’t fight battles you can’t win. Most people are fighting their challenges on an empty tank and that can only lead to disaster.

It all comes down to learning how to be fully present. It’s a process which may require retooling, rethinking and a break from chasing money just because it seems to be there. It’s always been there and people like Mr. Proctor put in his spiritual mileage to discover it.

Where that is for each one of us is only available when we are patient enough to prepare for battle. Preparing means knowing yourself rather than running away from yourself in an effort to make a killing or to please others.

This life game is all about you – and that ain’t all bad nor selfish.

Another inspiration in my life is Les Brown. In recent months he has made the transition from audio motivation to marketing his coaching on the Internet with another high-valued person, Paul Martinelli.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Les’ work.

Once again, I found a video recording of Les – who rose from ghetto poverty to optimum success – about sticking around when surrender would be easy. He also addressed the unequivocal advice to get rid of toxic people in your life.

Les – Like Tony Robbins -was also an avid fan of the late Jim Rohn (see previous entry). Les Brown has a photographic memory, capable of remembering thousands’ of quotes and stories in an instant. Moreover, his laugh and his humor are infectious. Enjoy…