The A Side

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing
- - Proverbs 12: 18 (The New International Version of the Bible)

It was demonstrated by a little train engine in a children’s story written many years ago. “I think I can” is what the little train engine said aloud to itself as it handle a task that was handle only by the larger engines in the freight yard. As the little train engine pull the long train of freight cars slowly up the steep hill it continue saying aloud to itself, “I…think…I…can, I…think…I…can, I…think…I…can”, until it reach the top of the hill. Then, on its way down the other side of the step hill the little train engine praised itself in affirmation that it had done what it set out to do by saying, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

Your words, your conversation, or what you say are very essential to your life. What you say is important to your health, wealth and success in life. The words that you speak out of your mouth suggest a lot. “I’m tired of this job!”, “I’m tired my boss!” Eventually you do become tired, tired of getting up in the morning, tired of leaving the house, you really just become tired of doing anything.

If you find yourself making negative, pessimistic or unenthusiastic statements like; “I’ll never get this done.”, “This is going nowhere.”, “I can’t do this.”, change your conversation immediately. Start saying positive things like “I will have this done in no time.” “I can do this.” You conversation should always be positive. “I can” and “I will” are very powerful positive words you can use.

How do you look at your failures? Do you allow them to stop you from reaching your goals and accomplishing your dreams?

The answers to these questions really depend on what type of person you are. If you are a strong willed and self-motivate person. Then you should look at your failures as a positive thing. They should be a learning experience. You should use any failures you have to help make yourself better in that area in which you failed. Then you should not continue to fail in that area.

Many great inventors failed many times before they developed that one great invention. Many successful business owners failed lots of time before their business became a success. So, just as these groups of people have done, you should also use your failures to help you become as success.

Don't allow your failures to stop you from dreaming. Don't allow your failure to become victorious over you. Take your failures and use them to find the solution to the problems you are have. In this simple concept of using failures to create success is the very reason there are many great inventors and successful business people. Using this concept will help separate you from the less fortune and put you on the path to good fortune and success.

Do you need to change? Do you want to change? Should you change? Is now the time for you to change what you are doing or have done? A change can be good for you no matter where you are in life.
What are the seasons of life? I will share with you my perspective of what the seasons of life are.

1) Spring (Infancy to Adolescence, ages 0 - 19) - In the spring of our lives, we are young and in our formative years. We begin developing character traits and personal habits. This is the time in which we are in need of instruction and direction to help us preparing and understanding our life’s journey.

2) Summer (Early Adulthood, ages 20 - 39) - In the summer of our lives, we begin to make use of what we have learned in the spring of our lives. We being to separate from our family, start building a career, searching for a spouse, building a family, setting long term goals, and facing the realities of life in this time of our profound social development.

3) Autumn (Middle Adulthood, ages 40 - 59) In the autumn of our lives, we being to reap the benefits of all that we “plant” or “sow” throughout the summer of our lives. We focus on creating a legacy for the next generation. We analyze any changes we may need to make in our life’s direction, and personal goal we may not have achieved yet.

4) Winter (Late Adulthood, ages 60+) - In the winter of our lives is where we rest or hibernate and take time to reflect on the other seasons of our lives. This is also the time in life we give back to the younger generations and share what we have learned through our life’s journey.

Now that you see my perspective of the seasons of life, let’s find out what season you are in and if you need make some changes.

Are you a teenager in the prime of your life looking for direction, and trying to figure out what to do with your life? Are you trying to decide if you want to go to college, join the military or start your own business? If so, then you are in the spring of your life. You are in search of where to go from here. Now is the time for you to decide where you want to be in 5 to 10 years from now. If you plan to succeed early in life, setting goals and creating a road map, then you are determined not to fail later in life.

You may be a young adult in your twenties, and have not done anything with your life or you may be close to finishing college, looking forward to starting a career in your chosen field. You might be a young entrepreneur who has launched a new business and trying hard to succeed at this venture. You are in the summer of your life making use of what you learned and were taught in the spring of your life. You should be applying the things you have learned as a teenager, and continuing to move forward, making the right choice and changes needed to be successful in life.

Now, you could be facing a mid-life crisis, feeling like you have not gone anywhere in life. You might feel like you have just let life past you by and not taken advantage of all life has to offer. Then again, you may have accomplished all that you have planned thus far in life and looking to just give back something to the younger generation and inspiring them to continue on with their life’s dream. This is the autumn of your life, you are starting to take it easy and not work as hard as you did in spring and summer of your life. You should be reaping the rewards of the things you have accomplished thus far.

You may be a senior in life and have many years behind you. You may have failed and succeeded many times and learned something from every one of your life experiences. You have gain much wisdom and insight throughout your journey in life. You can now reflect back and determine if in your life you have done all you planned and wanted to do. Has your life been worth living? You are now in the winter of your life; you have much to give back to those younger generations. The knowledge you have gained throughout the spring, summer and autumn of your life is valuable to those now in the earlier seasons of life. This can help them make it to the winter of their life and to be able to rest in due season.

So, no matter where you are in life or what season you are in, there is always room for change. Making changes and improving upon anything is always worth the effort. Making changes will not only help you but also help those who will follow after you.