Last week was Obi’s birthday and today I am blessed to be writing this on another special day (Dec. 6). Today is Ethan’s 6 month old birthday!
Time flies by so fast… and many of you have watched Ethan “grow up” through the pictures that I have posted. One of the best advice I got was to take pictures of Ethan everyday… EVERYDAY… and that was the best advice. Since Ethan was born, we have been taking video and pictures everyday and it is a joy watching him grow up. When you go back and look at the pictures, you realize that everyday he is changing and growing!
OUR VOICE OF INSPIRATION
Watching Ethan grow up makes me think back to when I was a kid.
Had you ever noticed that when we were young, we thought we could do anything? We were inspired all the time and had all these inspirational thoughts running through our minds. When teachers asked us what we wanted to be when we grow up, we could feel confident to say whatever we wanted. We felt no shame and we BELIEVED that we could do it. This is our Voice of Inspiration. We felt we could be unstoppable and accomplish great things.
We still have our friend, Voice of Inspiration. Have you ever been inspired or came up with a great idea? Or perhaps, you read a motivational book or attended a seminar and felt that you could actually do it!
And the fact is… if you think you can do it… you can do it!
Then how come so many people end up living an unfulfilled and frustrating life? What happened to that great Voice of Inspiration?
OUR VOICE OF DOUBT
Alas, over the years… through negative programming and experiences, our Voice of Inspiration slowly gets pushed aside by our Voice of Doubt. Because of a few mistakes or failures, we start to lose confidence and we lose that belief that we can accomplish great things. To make it worse, we are surrounded by negativity. Everyone tells us that we can’t do this and we can’t do that… when we turn on the TV or the news, it is constant negative news that brings us down. (I mean, how can you be inspired if you turn on the TV and watch news about unemployment, crime, natural disasters, suicide bombings, etc?)
So our Voice of Inspiration is our friend … and our Voice of Doubt is our enemy. They are like the little angel and devil that constantly talk to us. Our inborn greatness and potential are determined by which Voice is stronger every day.
For example, if you listen to a great motivational audio in the morning, your Voice of Inspiration is strong and you are determined to make something happen. But then your boss tells you that you made a big mistake in your current project and the Voice of Doubt becomes stronger… etc, etc… there is a nonstop constant battle that happens throughout each day.
Our major goal is to have our Voice of Inspiration always stronger than our Voice of Doubt! It is a nonstop battle.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Our success depends on making our Voice of Inspiration stronger and our Voice of Doubt weaker everyday.
Here are some ways to increase your Voice of Inspiration:
– listen or read a motivational book everyday
– surround yourself with positive people
– take a few moments each day to reflect on your past successes
– do things that make you happy (for example, dancing, listening to music, exercising)
Another way to make your friend, the Voice of Inspiration stronger is to make the enemy, Voice of Doubt, weaker.
Here are some ways to decrease your Voice of Doubt:
– stay away from watching or listening to the news
(Did you know that CNN stands for “Constant Negative News”). If you think what I just said is heresy, just ask yourself… of all the news you have watched in the past week, how many affected your life? All I can say is that for someone that watches the news and for someone that does not (like me), neither our lives have been impacted. So that just shows you news is worthless… all it does is help TV stations get ratings!
Note: The only news I read is business news ( cause you need to know the trends in business and it also increases my Voice of Inspiration because just reading about business gives me ideas) and sports (because it makes me happy and feel good… which increases my Voice of Inspiration)
– stay away from negative people
– stay away from a negative environment
One of my friends used to teach elementary school in a lower income class neighborhood (the “ghetto”). She started off in kindergarten and then later taught 3rd grade. I always remembered what she told me that was so sad. When she taught the kids in kindergarten, every kid was inspired and wanted to be doctors, fireman, the president, etc… but in just 3 years later, these kids became different and lost all inspiration. Most of these kids had older siblings that either dropped out of high school or were in juvenile detention and by the time they reached 3rd grade, they had lost all hope and inspiration already. Unfortunately these kids could not control their environment and it had a huge negative affect on them. It is so sad… But unlike these kids, we have a choice everyday to choose our environment.
So ask yourself, who is dominant today? Your Voice of Inspiration or your Voice of Doubt? Which one are you feeding? What you do today to feed your Voice of Inspiration will determine tomorrow’s success.
Have an inspiring week!
Thanks for this motivating blog, Simon. Your son is just adorable. I am happy you are spending time with him and enjoying this precious moment. All the best to you and your family.
Thanks Mee! Hope you had a great weekend and a good start to another week!
I know your happy feeling Simon with regards to watching your son grow everyday… i have a grand daughter, her name is Lauren Tiffany, when she’s around i just love to take her pictures, she’s now 1 yr and 6 mos old and i’ve already taken a thousand picture of her… more power to you Simon…
Beck,
Thanks for your comment. It’s great you get to spend time with your grandkid. The kids grow up so fast!
Coach Simon Chan… Reading your Blogs is really a Good Way of Increasing our Voice of Inspiration… Im an avid Follower of your Blogs.. Thank You for the Wisdom!! More Power!!
Brian, Thanks for your comment and taking the time to read my blogs. This week’s blog will feature my first VIDEO BLOG! 🙂
why i read your blogs?because of the cute baby hahaha…but along the way my eyes did read and wanted to knows the stories at the ends of motivational sentences.Thanks you.
Dalilah, thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoy my blogs and I will keep including pictures of my beloved son, Ethan. 🙂
Good day Sir Simon,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful thougths. It really motivates anyone who read it and appreciate what you mean. You are blessed to be an instrument of the Almighty..More power.
Efren,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for the comment!
I just saw your post through FB and I am really glad to be able to read it. Very simple thoughts but so true! Life is a constant struggling but winning those struggles, no matter how simple or small, is what makes one’s life meaningful and memorable. Happy Holidays! =)
Carina, Have a great week and always be grateful but at the same time, not be satisfied! 🙂
thanks a lot Simon for sharing your inspirational thoughts to us.and congrats for having a very cute son Ethan.we are sure he will grow to be a very successful man coz his voice of inspiration is with him and taking his pictures everyday!i have to share what you wrote today to our women’s group in the church on saturday in our Christmas party,coz i will be giving a short message.thanks a lot and God bless you more!
Lucy, Thanks for your comment. I read Purpose Driven Life back in 2003 and realized my purpose in life was to play a positive role in as many people’s lives as possible. If I have helped you, that has made my day and I hope I continue to inspire others! Have a great week!
You sure Ethan is just the prince in the family, not KING in the family? LOL!
Reading your blog is one of the ways to increase my Voice of Inspiration. 🙂
Thanks for the comment Mei Mei! My FIRST video blog will come out this week!
Reading your blog is another way of increasing the Voice of Inspiration. Thank you for your kindness in sharing your thoughts with a lot of people. Keep them coming! More power in 2012.
Eva,
Thanks for the comment. Stay focused and more power to you in 2012! God Bless!
Reading your blog gives a big positive impact on me,thanks for sharing your wonderful inspirational thoughts.You have an adorable cute baby..More power and God bless us all…
Jhoan, thanks for the comment! I look forward to working with you. You have a great attitude.
Thanks for this wonderful message
VOICE OF INSPIRATION
feel great and inspired
Elden, Great to hear from you. Hope you are doing well. Stay focused and let me know how you are doing nowadays. Simon
Thank you Simon, through leading your blog on voice of inspiration, I’ve gain a lots of ideas how to make our self to be more happy & meaningful everyday. Happy family and take good care.
Thanks Sy. Apply what you learn and let’s make this a great week!
Thanks simon, i’m most fortunate to have you being able to give meaningful tips to me as I will try my best to learn it and transform myself.
I definitely agree with the notion of the constant battle of the VoI and VoD. But i think not many people realize that these are parts of ourselves that can control how we go about our lives, from simple things like making choices of what to eat, or big things like making decisions for our business. Whichever is the bigger voice, will determine if you will excel or not. Thank you for this reminder Coach Simon.
Simon, you are just a great motivator! Reading your blog stengthen my Voice of Inspiration. You help others sincerely, the Almighty will help you always. You have a beautiful boy. He is a gift from the Almighty to you and your wife. God Bless you and family always, Simon. Thank you for your inspirational talks.
Hello Simon thanks much for your inspiring tips. It completes your day if you start with something positive. Actually by just thanking God as we wake up and say to ourselves, I feel good … can already sustain our voice of inspiration.
Could share your tips to the Muslim orphaned children whose lives been shattered but have started to experiencing some Voice of inspiration inside the orphanage.
Congratulations for being a loving and caring Dad to Ethan.
i never had a dull moment reading all your blogs sir, i will dominate positivity as it will dominate my tomorrow’s success! 😀
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