A good way to really launch 2010 would be with a success story. So, that’s just what I have for you: a story about a person who attained a goal, a dream.

When Lena came to me last year as a Master Key Coaching client, she had one goal: to finish the work on her and her husband’s bed & breakfast.

After a year of hard work — both mental and physical — Lena is proud to open the doors to her newly remodeled and renovated bed & breakfast to the public.

Click here to visit the Nygard Manorhouse web site and see what Lena has accomplished and attained.

If you’re in Europe and you’re looking for a weekend getaway, then this is the place to go. Look at that web site! The work Lena has done is beautiful! From cozy rooms to homemade pastries to horseback riding and golfing, Lena has created for herself and her guests a literal paradise on Earth.

The Nygard Manorhouse in Sweden.

How did she do this?

How silly of you to ask! She did it just the way that Haanel describes in The Master Key System.

She visualized what she wanted. (She set her goal.)

When you set definite goals, it becomes easier to hit a "hole in one."

She made plans to make it happen. (She used inductive reasoning to create action steps for the attainment of her goal.)

When you think correctly, you create beautiful "rooms" in your mind, just like Lena created beautiful rooms in her bed & breakfast. "As within, so without."

She took action! (She worked hard because, as Haanel wrote, the law of success is service.)

You can take possession of that which you deem to be yours. You must take action to make it happen!

She solved problems. (When she hit a bump in the road, she didn’t panic; she allowed the Law of Attraction to guide her to a solution.)

Success comes to those who solve problems. After all, a goal is nothing more than a problem.

The results speak for themselves.

In 2010, make it your mission to select a goal — a big, lofty, worthy, and juicy goal! — and work toward its attainment.

It may not be easy, but the good things in life seldom are easy. You’ll work harder than you ever have before, but all that work is good for the soul. You may have to leave the old behind you, but what’s beyond the horizon may be better than you imagined.

It just may be your little piece of Heaven on Earth.

When you’re in Sweden, pay Lena a visit at Nygard Manorhouse. See what a dream, some right thinking, and some hard work can attain for you.

You’ll be glad that you did.

Click here to listen to the recording.

Business Builders Workshop was designed to teach people who desire to earn income online legitimate marketing techniques and income producing programs. Business Builders Workshop is comprised of individuals with over thirty years of Internet Marketing experience. Their goal is to teach people successful marketing tools and techniques and also expose you to online programs that actually work and earn you income.

How does Business Builders Workshop help you achieve your goals?

• They bring in guests every week to discuss Internet Marketing.
• They bring in guests to discuss legit money making opportunities.
• They bring in guests to discuss the psychological, spiritual, and time management successes and challenges you will see in your online journey.
• Through their partnership with Change the World U, they offer ongoing training on all the above and help with finding a Non-Profit in your niche you can help and network with.

Once a month they offer an open roundtable using Talkshoe. You can join in ask questions and directly network with them.

At Business Builders Workshop they realize the best way to help ourselves is to help others achieve their dreams. We are building a group of people who sincerely enjoy helping others if this sounds like you please join in.

Ken Kinstle is a good guy and I very much enjoyed speaking with him—as well as the other people on the call. If you do online marketing or are interested in how to do that, then tune in when they are “broadcasting” and join the conversation.

Have fun … Tony.

Can you believe that another year is almost past?

Can you believe that I still have to run to the store for a few last minute items?!?!

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Be well and get for yourself and the ones you love the best of everything.

One of Donald Trump’s rules from his book The Art of the Deal is to “Think big!”

My new friend “Fireball” Tim Lawrence on his blog has as his mantra to THINK BIG.

And so should you.

Should you ever forget to think big, should you ever feel that you are thinking too big, it will do you well to remember this poem from 1918 by Jessie B. Rittenhouse.

You will get that for which you ask. So why are you only asking for “a penny”?

“My Wage”

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.

—Jessie B. Rittenhouse (1918)

Always remember to get for yourself the best of everything!

Have fun … Tony.

PS – The best way to “ask for a raise”—to get the best of everything—is to tune in, unlock, and attain.

You can visit the Self Improvement Association at www.sia-hq.com.

I am very pleased and very honored to announce that an article that I wrote — and that you probably already read here — “The Master Key Is You,” has been published by the Self Improvement Association on their web site.

Please visit their site, read my article, and let me know what you think.

If you’ve already read that piece, then please read it again. I think that it bears repeating and re-reading.

As I speak with clients who are enrolled in the Master Key Coaching Program, as I email with people who have purchased the Complete Master Key Course, and even as I just speak with people in my day-to-day life, one thing that comes into the conversation all too often is the fear — or worry — they are feeling about the economic times in which we live.

Some people are fearful about losing their job. Some are facing having to deal with having their work hours cut. Many businesses are scrambling to find the credit they need in order to stay afloat.

You too have probably heard all of that — and more!

While what we are going through is bad enough —and perhaps even too much for some people — some people are even predicting that things will get worse.

So what’s one to do?

That’s the question I tackle in this article, “The Master Key Is You.” So please read it — again, if that is the case.

Other than that, while there is no one set answer to the question about what you can do since everyone’s situation is different in some respect, there are things you can do to prepare yourself.

One is that you can learn how to tune in, unlock, and attain by using what you learn in The Master Key System.

There’s a reason why Haanel’s book has been around for almost one hundred years. The reason is that when you put into practice the philosophy that Haanel espouses, you significantly improve your chances at succeeding massively!

You can also read the other books on my list of the only ten books you need to read to succeed. I limit my list to only ten because I want to see people take what they learn and spring into action rather than immerse themselves in countless books. Take the time to learn and once you have learned, then take the time to act!

It is only through your actions that you will yield results.

One other great way to prepare yourself is to work with a good coach or an able consigliere.

A good coaching relationship will not only help you stay positive or teach you about concepts, it will — it should! — be a relationship in which you are pushed, prodded, and expected to do better than you are. You will have a person who can look at your situation objectively and who will help you formulate the best “plan of attack” for overcoming any problems you are encountering.

In other words, your coach should help you to think differently so that you can attain what you want.

This can be a very powerful relationship, so I highly recommend that you explore the possibility of one.

Other than those things, I can only reiterate what I wrote in this article: don’t worry irrationally, be prepared, and do what you must do.

As Haanel wrote in The Master Key System,

Life is an unfoldment, not an accretion. What comes to us in the world without is what we already possess in the world within.

Be prepared. Be vigilant. Be ready to act. You will succeed.

In other words, tune in, unlock, and attain!

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Click here to learn more about Rudyard Kipling.

If you have trouble viewing the video, please click here: Mike Rowe Video.

Recently, a discussion developed regarding how things “manifest.” As you may or may not know, I am not a fan of the modern idea of manifestation, especially as presented by many of the “new wage” gurus and “husteldorks” out there. [For my view of manifesting, please see this article that I wrote: "How the Idea of “Manifesting” Is Ruining Your Chances of Success."]

The debate was raging when a member of the Group wrote what I am about to post here. What he wrote was so well-written and eloquent—and in my view spot on accurate—that I wanted to share it with you here. I even sent the fellow a book of his choice free of charge. (He chose The Master Key Workbook, just so you know.)

Please enjoy!

The way I see this, there are two opposing camps, two polar opposite schools of thought regarding how to accomplish things.

The purists of the materialist school would say that “manifesting” as spirit is a bunch of superstitious, new-age gobbledegook; it sees the idea of trying to visualize things into existence as naive in the extreme. There is no free lunch. Whatever you accomplish you achieve through your own efforts.

The purists of the mentalist school of thought would say that the “All is Mind“ and what we consider to be physical, objective reality is the mental activity of the All, of which we are a part, and of which Mind—our minds—are parts. Consequently by changing the inner we can change the outer; no specific activity is required on our part, whatever we desire to manifest will simply come to be through diligent visualization.

Notice I said above the purists of both schools think along those lines. And like most purists, I think they’re both extremely naive, simplistic, and completely wrong. In short, they’re full of it.

As with many, many, many things in life, the answer lies squarely in the middle. [Tony: I have often found this to be true as well, especially in philosophical debates.]

To the pure materialists, I say that you can work as diligently and as relentlessly and as hard as possible for decades and you will never reach your goal without a plan and the ability to evaluate and change that plan in favor of new approaches based on your result—both of these activities have absolutely nothing to do with work and everything to do with mental activity.

To the pure mentalists, I say that unless you are some kind of magician as powerful as King Solomon, you can’t just think things into existence. If that were possible then none of you would have any of the myriad problems you’re in this program to overcome. Remember that old Chinese proberb: “A man who waits for a roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very, very long time.” [Tony: This is why I am fond of saying that I'd rather hire or work with a person who is ready, willing, and able to take action rather than a "self-helper" who would sit around and "visualize" all day trying to "use" the Law of Attraction.]

My personal belief is that we should do the mental work as prescribed by Haanel: not just plan-laying, but visualization of the “emotionalized thought” variety, diligently. [Tony: In later articles that will appear on this blog, I will be detailing what you should be getting from reading and studying The Master Key System. Here's a hint: It's not learning about how to use the Law of Attraction.] And then we need to get out into the real world, start pushing buttons, meeting people, inquiring, making contacts, trying new approaches, etc., all with the end in mind of reaching that goal, bearing ever in mind that it may come to us through avenues completely unanticipated, seeming to have little or nothing to do with our efforts. We need to do the mental work and then put ourselves in the places we need to be in order for it to give us what we need to bring our intention about.

I’m reminded of another old quote I heard years ago. “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” (St. Augustine, I believe.) [Tony: Yes, it was St. Augustine who said that.]

So, form your plan, build your mental images, and then get out there and make it happen!

As always, I hope that you leave a comment. In my view, it’s discussion about these concepts and ideas that help each of us to grow and, hopefully, to excel.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney said this in 1966:

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.

In other words: Tune in. Unlock. Attain…

On this date forty years ago, the most significant triumph of mankind–a triumph of thought, will, determination, and execution–occurred. On this day forty years ago, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin alit on the Moon. That object that illuminated our nights and our myths for millennia was finally being touched and explored by man.

Just nine years prior to this most monumental event, President John F. Kennedy challenged America’s best and brightest to “go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

On July 16, 1969, Kennedy’s vision was about to become reality as the mighty Saturn V rocket thundered toward space carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Lt Col Michael Collins on their journey to the Moon.

We know the rest of the story. Neil Armstrong descended from the Eagle Lander and uttered the words that would be heard ’round the world: “That’s one small step for [a] man, and one giant leap for mankind.” (Please watch the YouTube video to see this.)

History was made. Man had accomplished the “impossible.”

Celebrate this day. Celebrate the achievement of thought, of rigor, of audacity. Celebrate so that you too can define your own goals and proudly march toward them–and bravely grasp them.

Like the men and women who made this climactic event happen–the astronauts, scientists, engineers, and many others–you too can “tune in, unlock, and attain.”

Do you know your one thing?

If not, then it’s imperative that you do. Use the Complete Master Key Course to help you find it. Enroll in a good coaching program. Take a few moments a day to enter the silence as Haanel wrote in The Master Key System.

Do whatever you have to do.

Just find your one thing.

I call them “quotables.”

When I find a new quotable, I will share them here with you.

They can come from anywhere: business people, actors, scientists, criminals, politicians, athletes … I don’t care. The only thing that counts is what they said and if it resonates and makes a point.

Here’s something T. Boone Pickens, the businessman and investor, said about pulling “the trigger.”

T. Boone Pickens, business man, investor, and author of The First Billion Is the Hardest.

“I’ve always said that the most important quality of a good leader is that you’ve got to be willing to make a decision. Too often, people fall victim to what I call the ‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim’ syndrome. Everything has got to be absolutely perfect. The truth is sometimes you’ve got to be willing to pull the trigger. Only afterward does it become apparent that the time was right.”

Is this something that you do? Do you think it is impeding your success and the attainment of your goals?

Are procrastination and being a perfectionist keeping you from becoming what you want to be?

If so, then read through the books of The Complete Master Key Course. Pay particular attention to The Master Key Workbook. I have found often that people fail to act (to “pull the trigger”) because they are unsure of what they want — or that what they want is not what they really want, which creates a disconnect. When you define your goal, the acting — the actions — flow naturally. You not only want to “pull the trigger,” but you need to pull the trigger. You are compelled to do so.

With this knowledge in mind, take the time to define your goal(s), plan your actions, and then act.

Pull the trigger!

[For more information about T. Boone Pickens, I highly recommend that you read his book The First Billion Is the Hardest.]

I understand that. It refers to the title of the book I just published — Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is by David Portney.

So, what is getting your money where your mouth is? Why should you do that in tough economic times? And who is this David Portney?

Let’s start with that last question first. David Portney has been doing trainings, keynote speeches, seminars, and every kind of public speaking you can imagine for over 20 years. David has conducted trainings and talks for major companies such as the National Notary Association, The Learning Annex, and The Los Angeles Times, among numerous others. He’s also the author of 129 Seminar Speaking Success Tips and 129 More Seminar Speaking Success Tips, as well as a few other books.

In other words, in the area of seminars and public speaking, David knows his stuff! I mean, he really knows his stuff.

How to Use Seminars and Public Speaking to Market and Promote Your Business, Profession, or Passion—Profitably!

Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is is David’s book about, as the cover states, “How to Use Seminars and Public Speaking to Market and Promote Your Business, Profession, or Passion — Profitably.”

Once again, in other words, if you’re looking to survive these tough economic times, if you’re looking for a way to cheaply and efficiently market your business, if you’re looking for a good way to make you indispensable in your job, if you’re looking for a way to advance your career, then you need to read David’s book and, more importantly, put what he teaches you into practice.

(Or, as Haanel wrote in The Master Key System, “In the first place, we must put our knowledge into practice. Nothing can be accomplished in any other way. The athlete may read books and lessons on physical training all his life, but unless he begins to give out strength by actual work he will never receive any strength; he will eventually get exactly what he gives; but he will have to give it first. It is exactly the same with us; we will get exactly what we give, but we shall have to give it first. It will then return to us many fold, and the giving is simply a mental process, because thoughts are causes and conditions are effects; therefore in giving thoughts of courage, inspiration, health, or help of any kind we are setting causes in motion which will bring about their effect.”)

That brings us to what getting your money where your mouth is is. For that, let’s have David explain it himself.

David R. Portney will teach you everything you need to know about seminars and public speaking.

This book is about one thing and one thing only: how you can use seminars and public speaking to  bring in a flood of new business, customers, or interest into your business, profession, or passion all so you can put a ton of money into your bank account and cash into your pocket.

Simple.

Now, if money and attention are not your things, then you might want to stop reading right now because I’m going to be telling you exactly how to bring in that flood of new business and money in the fastest and easiest and most fun way possible — and that is by doing seminars and public speaking.

I know you’ve already heard of seminars and public speaking. You’ve probably already been to some seminars. Maybe you’ve even done a few seminars or some public speaking yourself.

Unfortunately, most people are either not doing seminars and public speaking the right way — or they’re not doing it at all.

By the time you’re done with this book, you’re going to be very excited about doing your own seminars and public speaking, even if right now you think it has nothing to do with you. I’m going to show you seminars and public speaking in a whole different light and I’m going to show you what you’ve been passing up and what’s available for you right now.

I’m going to show you how to do seminars and public speaking that cost you zero money — and I mean that literally. Zero. Zip. Nada. No cost whatsoever.

I’m not exaggerating, either. I’m not saying zero and then saying that there might be some “incidental” costs involved.

Nope. I’m saying zero — not a dime, not a nickel, not a penny is going to come out of your pocket in order for you to get a huge flood of attention and income for your specific venture.

Sometimes when I talk to people about the power of seminars and public speaking they ask, “What’s the big deal about seminars and public speaking? Isn’t that just getting up and telling your story to some group?” Some people even add, “Oh, I’ve done lots of seminars and public speaking before. I’ve done a million seminars!”

That’s when I ask, “Oh, really? Would you mind telling me about your seminar results?”

And that’s when they say, “Well…umm…yeah…uhh…”

Of course, it turns out they actually have no real results.

And that’s what we’re going to talk about here — how you can get a room full of eager, hot prospects who are in your target market and as a result get massive amounts of new customers flooding into your business.

I’m also going to show you how you can turn on that flood of new business and income whenever you want and whenever you decide.

Not only that, I’m going to show you how you can improve almost any area of your personal life when you harness the power of seminars and public speaking.

I’m going to prove all that to you. I’m almost fanatical about giving you proof because I hate it when people start making all kinds of claims and promises that they either can’t or don’t prove. I’m going to give you so much proof you’re going to say “Enough already, I get it!” because you’ll be able to clearly see that what I’m telling you works.

I want to give you all this proof so that you don’t miss out on golden opportunities for your business, profession, or passion. In fact, it’s an opportunity to better your whole life. So I’m going to keep proving everything I say to you over and over again.

With all of that being said, I am going to do three things in this book:

1. I’m going to tell you about the power of seminars and public speaking.
2. I’m going to give you the clearest examples of what the power of seminars and public speaking can do for you.
3. I’m going to show you how you can harness the power of seminars and public speaking for your own business, profession, or passion.

By the end of this book, you will be ready to present your own seminar on whatever topic you choose and you will be set to reap the rewards: new business, increased attention, new customers, fame, and money.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Believe me. It is.

I am extremely excited about this book. In another article, I wrote about “hardcore” self-help books and their importance in your personal development. This is one of those books that you should own, study, and put into practice.

If you don’t believe me (after all, I published it!), then read what these experts have to say about Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Peter Fogel — Speaker, Humorist, Author, Creator of Peter Fogel’s Guide to Effective Public Speaking — says -

Peter "The Humorist" Fogel

“Well, if you are wise enough to absorb David’s knowledge and apply it to your own business, you will come off as an expert in your own field. And it’s a fact: Companies, clients, and customers will pay more for your services and products when you are an expert (and not a generalist) in your particular niche.”

Liz Lynch – Speaker, Coach, and Author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person & Online — wrote -

Liz Lynch

“I was well into my professional career before I even considered speaking in public voluntarily. Now I can’t think of anything more rewarding than sharing my knowledge with an audience and seeing how they can instantly apply it to their own situations. But there’s more to becoming a successful speaker than knowing what to say. If you actually want to make money, why take the long and windy road when David can show you all the shortcuts? Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is will cut miles off your journey.”

Tom Antion, the President and CEO of Antion & Associates said -

Tom Antion

“I’m a veteran of over 2,500 paid presentations worldwide and have presented to both small and large groups in over 87 industries, and I can tell you that David Portney’s book, Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, is a comprehensive guide to using speaking and seminars as the most effective way to generate leads and convert prospects in the smartest, most effective, and most fun way I know of. This book will get you going in the right direction when it comes to marketing your business quickly and cost-efficiently.”

Dr. Myra S, White – Ph.D., J.D., and author of Follow the Yellow Brick Road: A Harvard Psychologist’s Guide to Becoming a Superstar said -

Dr. Myra S. White

“David Portney’s book makes you want to immediately run out and start giving talks and seminars. He provides a practical easy-to-read guide which provides all the details on what you need to do to succeed in this arena. Even more importantly he helps you overcome those secret fears that keep you hiding in your office and shows you how to use seminars and public speaking to let the world know about the valuable talents you have to offer.”

From Australia, Dr. Jennifer Jianjun Wang – Ph.D., Wellness & Success Coach, speaker, and author — wrote -

Dr. Jennifer Jianjun Wang

“David Portney gives winning advice on how to do seminars and public speaking easily and correctly. Recommended reading for anyone wishing to take their business and/or passion to the next level.”

I urge you to get David’s new book. Even if you don’t plan on giving seminars or speaking in public, there is still a lot of information in there that is applicable to your everyday business and professional life.

Check out David. Get his books. If you want a speaking coach, hire him. (Tell him I sent you and he may give you a discount!) If you need someone to speak to your team or workgroup, then he’s the man. Need someone to deliver a keynote? You got him in David.

You may be saying to yourself, “You know, this all sounds well and good, but you’re only writing this about David because you’re his publisher.”

To that, I say to you that I am not writing this because I am his publisher; rather, I am David’s publisher because I am proud to write this about him.

If you have any questions or comments about David Portney, his book Get Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, his other books, public speaking, or anything else, then please leave a comment. I’m sure that David will take the time to respond.

As many people who have read Haanel’s The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi (which is a part of The Complete Master Key Course) know, Haanel talks about a substance that he writes can “perpetuate health and long life.”

That substance is ghee.

According to Wikipedia, ghee is “a class of clarified butter that originated in the Indian subcontinent.”

But Haanel wrote that it is much more than that. Here is what he wrote in The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi.

44. The Banyan tree is known to be the longest lived tree in the world. The age of the Banyan tree is estimated at 5,000 years or more. The sap or the milk of this tree is full of the life-invigorating tissue and brain-building substance phosphorous. The Sages have recommended the milk of this tree as a sure and simple remedy for all sexual weakness.

45. The leaves of this tree contain milk and it is said that a few leaves are sufficient as food for a Yogi each day. It is known that some of the Yogis entirely depend upon the leaves and fruits of this tree for their sustenance. Now you have another of the secrets, which keeps the Yogis ever young and strong and full of sex force, which they transmute for building better brain and for attaining various spiritual powers.

46. Though the Western student is not in a position to use the milk of the Banyan tree as is done by some of the Yogis, I can yet recommend a sim ple preparation that may be used as a substitute and by which you may perpetuate health and long life.

47. Both occidental and oriental students will find no difficulty in preparing and using this simple compound. The preparation is called Ghee.

48. The method of preparing Ghee is: Heat fresh butter until every trace of water evaporates from it. The residue is an oil that is called Ghee. Ghee can be preserved in a corked bottle for quite a time. Mix this Ghee with honey in the proportion of two parts of butter to one part of honey. Use a tablespoonful morning and evening each day. The use of this preparation not only confers health and long life upon the user, but also helps to develop spirituality. Not only the Hindus, but we learn that some of the Jewish Prophets were in the habit of using this preparation. John the Baptist, who had a gigantic physique, used honey as part of his food. In the Bible, we find the following words: “Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.” (Isaiah, Chap. 7-15)

I have used this method to make ghee and it’s good. Very good. I think that you might like it as well. Give it a try!

I have not taken the ghee once in the morning and at night as Haanel recommends. If you do that, please leave a comment and let us know how that is working for you.

It was an email about a dog. A two-legged dog. You see, this dog, Faith, was born with only two legs. What a way to start life! Nobody wanted him, not even his mother.

This is his story.

I am going to include the entire story here, pictures and all. Before I do that, though, I want to point out that this story is 100% true!

As with many emails that people forward, such as the sundry political diatribes that make the rounds and are purported to be written by someone famous or even the ‘Bill Gates read the Master Key System‘ rumor, they are often proven to be false, or at the very least mostly factually inaccurate.

A good place to check the veracity of stories that you hear online or via email is Snopes.com. And that’s what I did: I checked Snopes.

Yup! This story about Faith is true!

Thus, without further ado, here is a story that will make you smile a little, make you cry a lot, and give you inspiration by the ton. Enjoy!

This is ‘Faith’

This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. He was born with three  legs — two healthy hind legs and one abnormal front leg, which needed to be  amputated. He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him.

His first owner also did not think that he could survive. Therefore, he was thinking of “putting him to  sleep.”

By this time, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted  to take care of him.

She was determined to teach and train this dog to walk by himself.  Therefore she named him Faith.

In the beginning, she put Faith on a surf board to let him feel the movements. Later, she used peanut  butter on a spoon as a lure and reward for him to stand up and jump around. Even the other dog at home helped to encourage him to walk. Amazingly, after only six months, like a miracle, Faith learned to balance on his two hind legs and jump to move forward. After further training in the snow, he now can walk like a human being.

Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he just attracts all the people around him.

He is now becoming famous on the international scene. He has appeared in various newspapers and on TV shows.

There is even one book entitled With a Little Faith being published  about him. He was even considered to appear  in one of the Harry Potter movies.

His present owner Jude Stringfellew has  given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to teach that even without a perfect body, one can have a “perfect soul.”

In life there are always undesirable things. Perhaps one will feel better if one changes the point of view from another direction.

And that, my friends, is Faith. Faith the dog.

Take from that story what you will. Perhaps you’ll take from it the idea that you have to use mind over matter. Others will say that with adversity comes opportunity or the seeds of greatness.

What I saw was this: We are all dealt certain cards in life, both good and bad, and our aim should be to use what we got to get what we want.

If Faith did, don’t you think that you can, too?