In the 1996 movie Phenomenon, John Travolta plays George Malley, a simple, good-hearted car mechanic living in a small town in northern California. After attending his birthday celebration at a local tavern, George walks outside, looks up at the stars, and is hit with a blinding flash of light. Shortly afterward, George discovers he has […]
Archive | Encouragement
Some Kidding Aside – Take Occupational Action
By Charles Marshall on April 29, 2016 in Change, Choice, Encouragement, Inspiration, job change, Motivation, Personal Development, Success
It’s time to take some occupational action! I walked into a little shop in an airport and asked the guy behind the counter how he was doing. He mumbled something about being as well as he could be, being stuck there. When I asked him where else he would like to be, he thought for […]
Some Kidding Aside – Jerry Seinfeld Motivational Story
By Charles Marshall on March 3, 2016 in Encouragement, Jerry Seinfeld, Motivation, Personal Development, Success
When my wife and I found out that Jerry Seinfeld was going to be performing about 45 minutes away from us in Athens, Georgia, my first thought was, “Why Athens, Georgia?” and my second thought was, “Great! Let’s go!” So, my wife got online and bought a couple of tickets. Shock Alert: They weren’t cheap. […]
Some Kidding Aside – Blinded by Ignorance
By Charles Marshall on January 29, 2016 in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation, Uncategorized, Vision
Blinded by a Ignorance Not long ago, a second-year college student named Cathy told me that she wants to go to law school when she graduates. I asked her what type of law she wants to practice, and she replied that she wants to prosecute animal cruelty cases. I asked her if there is a […]
Some Kidding Aside – Tuning Your Vision
By Charles Marshall on July 6, 2015 in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized, Vision
Have you ever heard the expression “Out of sight, out of mind”? It means if something leaves your visual range, you’re probably not going to think about it anymore. It’s human nature. We are instinctually and habitually visual creatures. When you think or hear the words “red wagon,” you don’t visualize the letters r-e-d-w-a-g-o-n in […]
Some Kidding Aside – Blinded by the Immediate
Trying to live a successful life in this world can be like trying to compose a symphony in a battlefield. Imagine that all your life you’ve been crawling through a minefield of missed opportunities, bad decisions, and failed attempts. You are now lying wounded in the muddy foxhole of your present circumstances with the bombs […]
Some Kidding Aside – Why should I choose?
Toward the beginning of my speaking career, my main marketing method was telemarketing. Back in those days, I sat at my desk for hours each day making call after call in an attempt to drum up business. If you wanted to get someone’s attention in the days before the Internet, you had to pick up […]
Some Kidding Aside – You Owe It to Me
A number of years ago I sat in a Shoney’s restaurant with Joey and Herb discussing the challenges of running a non-profit organization. Both Joey and I had started charitable organizations but neither of us was very successful at getting contributors. The mood at the table was sour at best. I sensed that Joey was […]
Some Kidding Aside – What success is
I believe success can best be defined as the process of fulfilling one’s potential. It’s really the only definition for success that makes any sense. Since all of us come into the world with different external and internal gifts, the only fair way to evaluate one’s success is to measure one’s growth. By “external” gifts, […]
Some Kidding Aside – Choose your attitude
Choose your attitude The very first thing you have to choose in life is your attitude, your disposition, the way you view the world. Most people allow their circumstances to dictate their attitude, never realizing they have any say in the matter. If the sun is shining, then they feel great. If it’s raining, then […]