Wow! All I can say is this is a terrific forum. I have been reading and reading and reading :-) The value here is magnificant, and I now have everything bookmarked since I have only finished through page 2. I commend you all, and thank you for the invite. I would not want to miss any of this! I will be back and back :-) Success, Jill

Welcome, Jill! We do have a great conversation going, don't we? Thanks to our regulars who have contributed in the past few days. You're what makes it great! Jill, chime in with your viewpoint anytime. Cheri

Hi everyone.... Hope this finds everyone doing well and ready for a relaxing weekend. The following article I believe is within the context of what is being discussed and may provide some extra fuel to the conversation. You've been searching for more success in some area of your life. Perhaps for abundance, personal growth, or some other important goal. But if you're running into problems, it may come from something you were taught as a child! Do you remember being told: "Just try harder -- you'll get it!" Well that advice is actually the worst possible advice to drill into a child's head. Are you surprised to hear that from a success coach? Then allow me to share a true personal story. I'm sitting in a screened porch in a peaceful little cabin by the shore of Lake Tahoe reading a book. It's a warm late August afternoon. It's very quiet, except for an irritating "buzz-thump." I look up and see a large fly desperately throwing itself at the window at the far end of the porch. The fly has staked its life on a doomed success strategy: Just try harder -- try harder -- try harder! Obviously, the fly's goal seeking behavior is not working! Its efforts hold no hope for success. No matter how hard it throws itself at the glass, it can't escape. I watch and wonder at the irony of its situation. The little creature has literally staked its life on reaching its goal through determined raw effort! But its very struggle is a trap! I look over at the open door just a few feet away. A short flight and it could be free. The possibility of a breakthrough was there. It would be so easy. But the fly had made its commitment! Why doesn't the creature explore its options, I wonder? Why doesn't it try something different? How did it get locked into one doomed course of action? Into just trying the same thing harder and harder. Into just hoping for some miraculous success...in spite of the evidence to the contrary! The next morning I found the fly dead on the dusty windowsill. I was reminded of an earlier period in my own life. I had wanted to create a breakthrough in my own life. Like that fly, I too had tried harder and harder and harder, until I finally gave up in exhaustion. Here's what I learned (the hard way): Attempting to achieve a goal by trying the same thing harder and harder is a dead end approach! First: The very word "try" indicates you actually expect failure (you're going to "try"). If you already know an approach is failing, trying it harder won't get you anywhere! You'll just fail harder! Second: Failing again and again does NOT take you any closer to success. All it does is dampen your spirit and damage your self-confidence and self-esteem. And who needs that! "So," you ask, "How else can I achieve my goals?" The answer lies in a pulling back and trying a completely different approach! Think of that fly on the dusty windowsill the next time you find yourself "efforting" to achieve a goal. Let go...relax...then try another approach! Sometimes just letting go will clear your mind to see a better way of getting what you want. "Just try harder" will seldom get you to your goal. It's just a big, fat lie that needs to be replaced with some different goal-directed behaviors! Think about it for a moment! If you want "something new," You're going to have to "try something new." ~ Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler

Hi Clay; Ah, the joys of the spoken word. It is the primary way that we humans communicate, and yet, it is to easy to get confused by words. In the article you post, it says; Second: Failing again and again does NOT take you any closer to success. All it does is dampen your spirit and damage your self-confidence and self-esteem. And who needs that! I always tell people that failure is the path to success -- and yet we are saying the same thing. lol. I mean it in the manner that each failed attempt eliminates one more route that does not work, thus bringing us closer to the one that will. For example, Thomas Edison tried 10,000 ways to invent the light bulb before it worked. He once said that he never felt like he failed. Instead, he felt he found and eliminated 10,000 ways that do not work to generate light. lol. I think people get confused between what "try something new" means. For example, imagine that Thomas Edison tried to invent the light bulb... but his first three attempts did not work. So then he decided to invent something else. After a few tries that did not work, he decided to try invent yet something else. That is what most people do. Insted of switching methodologies, they change their goals. Maybe some of them do this because they aren't really sure what their goal is. I'm guessing, of course. I look at things a bit like a maze. First I need to figure out where I want to "get to" - and then I can explore different paths to see if they will get me there. Change the path when necessary, but not the destination. But, if one is not certain of a destination, one ends up wandering around a maze (figuratively) not sure why they are not getting anywhere. What a great conversation. : ) Linda

It's great to see that more people have participated in this discussion. I noticed from the thread that more similarities in opinion exist towards spirituality and somewhat less similarities exist towards success. I believe I clearly stated my opinion on the connection between spirituality and success but I'm not sure that everyone has done the same. I sense that I have a different view than most on the connection. I usually don't like to say too much on my opinion relating to God(s) because I always fear that one may take offense when no offense is intended. Let's just say I think some people are Of-God while others are In-God. Because I believe this I also think there is a fundamental difference in how one interprets information. To me all information that enters my brain must be of value and has a purpose. This is a fact. It is a fact because it exist. At the moment that one starts to interpret, analyze, or do whatever they wish to do with incoming information they create a risk by distorting the original content. Guess what happens. The information gets passed on and more distortion of the original is created. I love exchanging information, I live for it. Reading is only 1 way to exchange information and to my knowledge it is unique to humans. So the fact that one has read x amount of books or any particular books means ...well think about it. :-)