A SMALL SEED

The greatest creations of this world come from the smallest beginnings! The tiny acorn yields the giant oak tree. The small idea in the dark of night creates an empire. When we reflect upon our own lives, we often cannot see the greatness that lies within each of us! We see the giant corporations or the great leaders but cannot see ourselves starting an enterprise or rising to greatness. Everything starts small, but it is the human capability of dreaming that leads to taking action. Taking action leads to greatness! The stories are endless of how the smallest of beginnings ended in the grandest of dreams!
Tom Watson was fired from National Cash Register and with nothing but a dream, he created IBM. He could have been depressed with no job, but instead, he chose to dream and take action!
Thomas Fulton was called a laughing stock and his creation was labeled "Fulton's Folly." He ignored the critics and created the first steam-powered boat!
The true wonder of it all is this: every great creation started in the mind of one human being. That person has such a passion and belief in his or her dream that quitting was never an option. If we had to apply a formula that creates greatness, it would consist of something like this:
1. Find a need that is not being fulfilled. Bett Nesbitt was a divorced mother who was forced to go back to work to support her family in 1951. That year the electric typewriter was invented. Bett had trouble adapting to the new machine and made numerous mistakes. Fearful of being fired, she mixed up a concoction at her kitchen table to cover her typing mistakes. Others liked it and "Whiteout" was born. Bett filled a niche and eventually sold her product and her company for millions of dollars! She filled a need!
2. Be so passionate about filling this need that it is all you can think about! Walt Disney suffered numerous financial setbacks but he never gave up on his idea of the animated cartoon. He knew in his heart that he had to continue to create!
3. Convert your passion into actions! Dreams fade the longer we wait to fulfill them. Take action now toward your dream. Set a well-defined plan, break it into workable steps, and take action every day! There is something about taking action that inspires us to even more action!
4. Never look at obstacles as failures, rather look at obstacles as merely temporary setbacks. Thomas Edison tried thousands of filaments for the light bulb before he found the right one. When asked about his thousands of failures he replied, "None of them were failures. I simply found what would not work."
5. Persistence! Day in and day out, week after week, month after month press on! You will never know if you were only moments away from greatness because you gave up too soon! Herbert Kaufman said, "Failure is only postponed success as long as courage coaches ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory."
6. Make every day count as if it were your last. The power, the passion, and the persistence we put into any endeavor will create greatness. It can be no other way!
Dream great dreams, take great actions, and never quit. Success is always one effort away and we will never know which effort will lead us on to victory! Live to win!

Source: Ken Taylor. Ken is one of the nation's top speakers and trainers in the mortgage industry. His seminars are powerful and his ability to help loan officers and executives reach a higher level of sales, professionalism, and balance in life is reflected in his recognition as "America's Corporate and Personal Coach."