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Kerry
Daigle |
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KEEP PUNCHING
Okay....now we have people listening to the Keeppunching Radio Show and and reading these articles in THE ACADIAN
ST. LANDRY and LAFAYETTE. More people are wanting to grow their businesses or have more success in their professional
lives. I am receiving many emails and phone calls with tremendously positive comments. I want to thank you for your
calls, emails, and letters. We know you are now thinking more positive and writing down your goals. Just this past
week someone approached me stating they quit reading and listening to personal development material because a
friend tells them they don't need it. They are then told all they have to do is WORK HARD!! I believe some
of that is true, however, I believe in time leverage and working SMART vs HARD with your ears and eyes wide open.
Success, whether it is personal or financial, has everything to do with your 'attitude' and 'you' personally
creating your own opportunities. Think about it. Your mind will create all the influence in your life so...
naturally.. you would want your mind thinking 'positive thoughts' which actually create opportunities. Your
friends that say just working hard is the answer are WRONG. I hate to say it but it's a fact. Working smart
creates windows of opportunites. Always does and always will. And again I'm not talking about LUCK...I am
talking about WORK......but SMART WORK.with Kerry Daigle ACRES OF DIAMONDS My grandfather used to always say... "It's not how hard you work, it's how smart. It isn't how fast you do a job but how good." I've followed that philosophy all of my adult years. Earl Nightingale wrote, "Security isn't what the wise person looks for; its opportunity. Quoting B. C. Forbes next, he says, "Opportunity can be spelled with four letters. But these letters are not L-U-C-K. They are W-O-R-K. Smart work!" Many of you remember the trials and tribulations of our great President, Abraham Lincoln as he was challenged for two decades in losing battles in politics to later become President of the United States. His comments were: 'I will study and prepare myself and someday my chance will come'. The world gives each of us all the opportunity for fame, fortune, wealth, happiness, success, and security that we want. Every day, each of us walks by more opportunity than we could ever develop in a lifetime. What we fail to understand is that as abundant as opportunity is, it is also the master of the art of disguise. It is usually hitting us right between the eyes in familiar surroundings and offered to us unsuspectedly. Opportunity doesn't have a huge blinking red light attached it saying, "OPPORTUNITY HERE...WATCH CAREFULLY". It is usually well hidden. It is whether you can sense it. Most people find misfortune before finding opportunity. I know I did. I failed at several things for many years before finding opportunity but I was always 'keeping an eye open' and learning from my misfortunes. I remember early in my career when I was challenged with a 'bankruptcy' and 'labeled' by many, as a 'failure'. My reading on this misfortune was different. "This is happening for a reason....it is a learning experience..what can I learn from this?"....I looked at it as climbing a mountain..I was halfway up the mountain when I fell..I overlooked a few things..possibly a loose rope and poor footing....and then I fell...I was scarred pretty bad and crippled for a period of time but continually attempted to climb the mountain again but this time with more caution and learning from my mistakes. I knew I would reach the top...I just didn't know when..I just knew I wouldn't quit until I did. Those who ridiculed me or said I couldn't climb that mountain didn't see the fire in my eyes or feel the 'intestinal fortitude'... I carried in my heart. Let me tell the story of Fred Astaire's first screen test. A MGM director wrote on a memo in 1933 the following words, "CAN'T ACT! SLIGHTLY BALD! CAN DANCE A 'LITTLE'. Fred Astaire kept that memo over his fireplace in his Beverly Hills home for years in a 'frame'. That director couldn't feel Astaire's heart and couldn't read his desire in his eyes for success. Astaire knew it was there and he wouldn't let anyone steal his dreams. Or how about the story of the young man who was an unsuccessful marketer of restaurant equipment. This is the same man who sold his first hamburger at the age of 52 and had a dream of selling 'billions' of his hamburger when most people were considering 'slowing down' and retiring. Today RAY KROC owns the world's largest food chain, MC DONALD'S. Mr. Kroc didn't look anywhere else for an answer when he sold his first hamburger and didn't make the financial gains he expected early on. He just kept on with his dream and his belief system that he could sell more hamburgers than anyone else in the world could. His friends and associates in the early years actually laughed at his desires and dreams. The secret was Mr. Kroc didn't laugh. He knew what he could do and he challenged himself. The rest is history. Emotions sometimes lead you into different directions. When Dick Clark's older brother was killed in World War II, he withdrew into a 'shell'. Then he began listening to the radio to ease his pain and hurt from his brother's death. He started 'dreaming' about hosting his own radio show. That 'dream' led DICK CLARK to start AMERICAN BANDSTAND. Dreaming is so strong if you follow it with a realistic belief system and follow through. Another interesting fact is about the gentleman who was 'fired' by his newspaper boss for 'lacking desire and ideas'. This gentleman went on to bankruptcy several times before he built DISNEYLAND....His name..WALT DISNEY. Discouragement, ridicule, and negative feedback to Walt Disney daily didn't phase him. We have to be alert enough and keep a positive mindset to examine why these things are happening to us and ask ourselves regularly as we are challenged with obstacles...WHAT IS THIS SITUATION TEACHING ME?..WHAT WILL BE THE POSITIVE FROM THIS?..WHAT OPPORTUNITY EXISTS BEHIND THIS DARK CLOUD?" Sims and his late father, Billy Sandoz, attorneys from Opelousas, Louisiana, had this incredible faith in me and continued to relay the story about accepting failure as a lesson before true success would enter my life and that patience would always win out. Their faith in me taught me each and every day to always, always, keep punching. I will always be in total gratitude to them emotionally and loyal to the end and available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the gifts they've given me. It was simple...I just needed to keep my eyes and ears open as an 'opportunity' would come knocking....I just needed to ALWAYS be prepared. The founder of Temple University, Russell Herman Conwell, traveled across the United States telling the classic story of 'ACRES OF DIAMONDS'. The story goes like this: An African farmer heard about people who had made huge fortunes by discovering diamond mines. The farmer wanted to be rich, so he sold his farm and began a search across Africa for diamonds. He spent the rest of his life in a continued pursuit of the diamonds that would bring him wealth. Eventually broke, discouraged, and suicidal he threw himself into a river and drowned. Meanwhile, one day, the gentleman who purchased the farm from the African farmer, found a large stone in the stream that crossed his property. The stone turned out to be an enormously valuable diamond. He soon discovered that his farm was covered with diamonds. The farm became one of the world's richest diamond mines. The first farmer had owned literally 'acres of diamonds' but had sold them for practically nothing in order to look for them elsewhere. The lesson to learn from this story is very important. Many people who look for excuses for their 'non-success' feel that opportunities are always greater somewhere else.in another company, in another town, in another line of work. And that could be true but before leaving your present grazing ground, examine it carefully and learn all you can. Each of us today listening to this story is standing,.. right now,.... in the middle of our own 'acres of diamonds'. As my grandparents who you have heard me mention before...Maw Maw and Paw Paw Daigle would say ..."We need the wisdom and patience to look intelligently at our present situations. We will find we can learn from where we are if we open our minds and hearts and find that many times they contain the riches we seek or the guidance to reach out and step further up the ladder. Before we seek 'greener pastures' let's be certain that our "property or pasture" is not just as green.... with the knowledge we need to better ourselves. Have we really looked for the diamonds or become discouraged and wanted to move forward before searching for the riches in what we have right in front of us now? Spend the necessary time and effort to become the best you can be at what you are doing before graduating to another level. There are no shortcuts in life or shortcuts to success. Every job or profession can lead you to greatness if you perform at your best. If you cannot become outstanding at what you are doing 'right now',,,,,,how are you going to be outstanding at another profession until you achieve some level of success to help you climb that mountain? It doesn't matter if you are an attorney, a salesman, or a ditch-digger. Be the best attorney, salesman, or ditch-digger you can be!! Excel at whatever your profession is. Somewhere in what you are doing today...no matter what it is that you do....there is an opportunity which can bring you everything you can possibly want to bring you to the next level in your life. You may be standing in your own 'Acres of Diamonds' and you could be blind like the first farmer mentioned earlier in the story. There is an old Scottish Proverb, which says, "Believe that every time one door closes, two open". When that door closed for you...did you look for the others that are opened? Please feel free to write to me about any challenges you may be having in your career and I will be happy to address that possibly in my next article. I appreciate all of you and your time in reading this. Share THE ACADIAN with a friend so they can read about all the good things happening in your parish. Keep Punching!  |
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Kerry has been involved in his own homebased business since the age of 13 and now
years later still operates a multi-million dollar sales and distribution center
directly out of his home involving Juice Plus, a whole food product,
www.kerrydaigle.com.
During his teen years and all of his adult life, Kerry has worked in the promotional
arena in professional and amateur boxing and major concerts worldwide. Some of the
shows he has been involved in were televised on the major networks, ESPN, USA Network,
and other cable affiliates. He has also promoted legal seminars for attorneys. Kerry is also an author and writer. He does the Keeppunching Radio Show which is promoted internationally through audiotapes and the web on www.keeppunching.com and www.kslokogm-fm.com He also does speaking engagements on personal development and sales across the world. Kerry also assists other speakers and authors to promote their profession and/or books through his contacts across the globe. Kerry can be reached at 337.288.8510 or email him at keeppunching@cox.net. Feel free to write to Kerry about his articles and any questions you may have. And as Kerry says...KEEP PUNCHING! |
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