Empowered People International Group

You've probably heard Henry Ford's famous observation about belief: Ford said, and I quote, "If you think you CAN... or if you think you CAN'T... you're right!"

I love that quote because it sums up the essence of belief. If you think you can do something, well... you're right. YOU CAN! But if you think you CAN'T DO THAT VERY SAME THING, guess what? You can't!

Amazing, isn't it, that more often than not, people will succeed not on the basis of their merits, but on the basis of their belief?

I've always been fascinated by people with an unshakable belief in what they're doing. Time and time again throughout history, people with a strong belief in themselves and their mission have accomplished amazing feats, despite what the masses of people – and often even the experts – said to the contrary!

Fire-walking is achieved in this manner. It is considered an art and is practiced as such in Africa, India and the West Indies, among other places. The fire-walkers walk barefoot through a trench of burning logs and charcoal or stone. They do not need to talk themselves into this action. They know, or BELIEVE, they will not get hurt. That is enough to gain the desired results.

Here are two legendary figures who illustrate just what I mean.

At Fred Astaire's first screen test, the testing director at MGM Studios wrote a short memo to the studio head indicating that Astaire didn't have what it takes to succeed in motion pictures. Here's what the memo said: "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little."

Astaire went on to star in scores of classic song-and-dance movies, and American audiences are forever indebted to Fred Astaire for believing in himself and pursuing his dream.

Albert Einstein was such a late bloomer that his teachers thought he was mentally retarded! Einstein didn't speak until he was four years old, and couldn't read until he was seven. One teacher described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams." He was such a lackluster student that he was expelled from one college and refused admission to another!

Fortunately, Einstein believed more strongly in his own abilities than in all the negative assessments from some of his teachers. Einstein, of course, developed into one of the great thinkers of the 20th century and his Theory of Relativity is so intellectually challenging that only a handful of people living today can fully comprehend it!

When I hear stories like these where people triumphed because they believed in themselves, I always think of Eleanor Roosevelt's observation that "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Certainly, the people in these examples didn't cave in at the first negative comments from short-sighted critics. If they had, the world would be a much poorer place. They "kept on keeping on" because they believed in themselves.

The great thing about belief is that you don't have to have the smarts of Einstein or the talent of Fred Astaire to enjoy the tremendous benefits! Where is it written that only legends have a lock on the power of belief? Folks, I'm here to tell you that the simple principle of belief can work wonders for YOU, INC., too! All you have to do is believe!

There are many factors to be considered when you contemplate what the different beliefs are. In the end, however, what it all comes back to is that if the belief is strong, you can accomplish anything. There aren't any limits. What the mind can conceive can come to pass.

Whatever your needs are, you can manifest them. For example: If you would like to own a car, but you feel there isn't any way at this particular time in your life, then you simply will not have one. However, if you KNOW you will have the car and you do not think of all the negative aspects, if you put your faith in Divine Power, and believe, then you will acquire the car. Even if you don't know ahead of time how to get to your goal, it does not really matter. The important part is to believe in the outcome and eventually it will come about because we act based on our beliefs.

Belief precedes knowledge. We learn about the world through a filter, shaping the facts to fit our pre-existing beliefs. For most of us, when new facts come to light that support our belief system, we assimilate them. When new facts call our beliefs into question, we ignore them.

So, what is it you believe? Are you listening to the "naysayers" or do you believe in yourself? I've noticed over the years that successful people and unsuccessful ones receive about the same amount of negative feedback. It's just that the successful people – the Henry Ford's of the world – don't buy into what the dreamstealers say, whereas unsuccessful people do.

I'd hate to think where I would be today if I had listened to everyone outside myself instead of listening to my own inner voice telling me to hold true to my beliefs. So take the time to listen to your self-talk. Change the negative to positive. KNOW that you can reach your goal.

Life is what we make of it – make it a great one starting today. Right now.

From Dreams alive, Paul Bauer.

"A young man was attending a university, studying to become a naturalist. One lovely spring day during his first year, when he was really feeling burned out by studying, he decided to take a break and go for a stroll in the nearby woods.

As he walked through the woods with warm sunlight streaming through the fresh green leaves, he saw a twig with a cocoon attached to it that was literally vibrating with life.

He observed the cocoon for a few minutes, pondering the life and struggle taking place inside of it.

Then, partly out of curiosity, partly out of misguided sympathy, the young man pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket. Then, he carefully – so as not to hurt the creature inside – slit the cocoon from one end to the other and stepped back to see what would happen.

In a few moments there emerged the crumpled wings of a beautiful monarch butterfly. The butterfly tried to fly, but it fluttered and fell to the ground.

The butterfly tried to fly once more and once more it fell to the ground. Then it became very still, and the young man saw that – much to his horror – the beautiful butterfly was dead.

Later, when it was too late, he learned that it is the struggle inside the cocoon that builds strength in the wings and body of the creature inside so that at the appropriate time it can emerge on its own and survive as an adult in the world.

~~~

From this story, we can see that the "struggle" is actually a needed exercise in finding our way – although if we try to avoid it, we may miss the very lessons we most need. As we re-read the words:

We begin to understand that in order to survive and grow – we sometimes "need" struggle – although many times we can get confused about the reason for the struggle.

If we just allow ourselves seek the wisdom from the struggle – instead of having to repeat it over and over – then we're growing... then we understand its positive intention for our well-being.

The cocoon is our natural life path – and we need it in order to find our way – without it, we'd fall prey to the many attacks of ego, heartache and suffering.

Too many people have tried to sidestep the needed steps to their own soul's evolution – and prevent themselves from realizing their Life's Dreams. What ends up happening is even more stress and more struggle. When we decide to breathe into this lesson, our lives blossom and we become the butterfly – with full healthy wings...

Remember William Blake's quote:

Attitude Quote: "It is the reflection of our true selves. It is our best friend – or our worst enemy. It is more honest and more consistent than our words. It draws people to us – or repels them. It is never content until it is expressed. It is the librarian of our past. It is the speaker of our present. It is the prophet of our future." – Maxwell

Note: John C Maxwell is one of THE most dynamic recognized experts in the area of True Leadership.

This is a movie like you have never seen before. It is spell-binding and could really be the missing link to your life.

The trailers as well as the full-length movie can be viewed on your computer. This is courtesy of VIVIDAS video technology which delivers the power of full screen, broadcast quality pictures and sound direct to your computer. For broadband users it will be just like switching on the TV - you just click and it plays - no downloading required. Once you watch the trailer, I know you'll want to see the movie. I will not spoil the surprise, make sure you watch the trailer. This movie could be the missing link in your journey..

BILLINGS, MT – Montana State University-Billings men's basketball coach Craig Carse feels like he's one of the lucky ones. On May 28, 2005 – still months shy of his fiftieth birthday – Carse suffered a serious stroke while in his office during the annual MSU-Billings summer high school basketball tournament.

Fourteen months later, Carse plans to put his body to the test to raise awareness about strokes. He will depart Billings on August 3, zigzagging through 14 states on a pair of 24-speed bikes from Jim Downs of The Spoke Shop in Billings. Downs has also been instrumental in assisting Carse with direction and instruction while he has trained. Carse plans to take between 10 and 13 days to complete the journey which will cover 1,000 miles of peddling. The major sponsors of the ride are the University of Washington Medicine Regional Heart Center and CardioSEAL®, made by NMT Medical.

"My hope is to aid in stroke awareness and encourage stroke victims," Carse says. "Personally, I just want to be a better person and needed a purpose to focus on something that assists my health and stimulates my competitive nature."

The plan is for Carse to ride 10 segments of 80-120 miles, concluding in his hometown of Sistersville, WV. Along the way Carse will put rubber to pavement in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. Periodic updates of his progress will be posted at www.msubillings.edu/athletics.

In addition to riding for stroke awareness, Carse is also riding to raise funds for the MSU-Billings Athletics Department. The main goal is to raise money for the athletic training needs of the school's 200-plus student-athletes, including equipment and services related to health and safety of the student-athletes. Anyone wishing to donate to the fund can contact the MSU-Billings Department of Athletics at (406) 657-2369.

In addition to extensive rehabilitation following his stroke, Carse received a CardioSEAL® implant in his heart. The procedure was done on July 19, 2005 by Dr. Steven Goldberg at University of Washington Medicine Regional Heart Center. After making trips to Seattle for checkups in the ensuing 13 months, Carse eventually received clearance to begin a rigorous exercise regimen. Since May 21 that regimen has revolved around the wheels of those two bicycles from The Spoke Shop and nutrition from Isagenix.

CardioSEAL® and STARFlex® are designed to close different types of holes in the heart without open heart surgery. NMT Medical, the maker of CardioSEAL®, recently embarked on a 1600 patient randomized, controlled clinical trial, called CLOSURE I, designed to evaluate the effectiveness of transcatheter PFO closure using the company's proprietary STARFlex cardiac septal repair implant compared to best medical therapy.

CardioSEAL and STARFlex have been issued the 'CE' Mark in Europe, and are commercially available in several countries. STARFlex® and CardioSEAL® are both commercially available in Europe. CardioSEAL is available under HDE (humanitarian device exemption) in the USA. STARFlex is an investigational device in the US and is only available to patients in the CLOSURE I PFO, stroke and TIA clinical trial.

Last season, Carse's eleventh at MSU-Billings, began just six months after his stroke. He guided the Yellowjackets to a 20-8 overall record and a share of the Heartland Conference regular season title. Since arriving in Billings in 1996, Carse has become the second-longest tenured coach in the school's history. With a 204-98 overall record at MSU-Billings, he also has the second-most wins in the program's 78 seasons of competition.

After a seven year run as an assistant at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in 1994 Carse went to work as Executive Vice-President of the United States Basketball Academy. During that year, Carse developed an innovative style and system of play that features the strengths of individual players. Incorporated in this were an up tempo attack, pressure defense, three pointers and substitutions galore. That system has now turned the Yellowjackets into one of the top offensive teams in college basketball.

In 1995, Carse reentered the world of collegiate coaching and took over a Yellowjacket program that had gone 5-21 the year before and had only one winning season in the previous four. On the court he implemented the system that he had worked feverishly on the year before. Off the court discipline was the new rule. His players have since subscribed to rigorous direction designed to maintain excellence and high academic standards. Carse's 11 MSU-Billings seasons have seen over a combined 3.00 team grade point average.

This new philosophy changed the Yellowjackets' fortunes almost immediately. In Carse's first season, MSU-Billings advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years and won 20 games for only the second time in the 1990s. Despite a limited roster, that first team in 1996 managed to lead the nation in three pointers and ranked third in scoring.

The next ten years produced more of the same: three more NCAA berths, three PacWest Conference Championships, a Heartland Conference title, a number of national, conference, and school records and Coach of the Year awards. During that time, the Yellowjackets led the nation in three pointers made per game in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006. They were also the nation's leading scoring team in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 with a second place ranking in 1999 and 2006.

Of Carse's many recruits over the years, several have advanced to professional careers. While at LSU, Carse was the primary recruiter of Chris Jackson, Stanley Roberts, Shaquille O'Neal, Gerrt Hammink and Ronnie Henderson. All were NBA draft picks with O'Neal being the #1 and Jackson a #3 selection. At small West Virginia State, Carse also produced NBA selections. Both Ron Moore and Ronnie Legette were drafted a few months after playing in the NAIA National Championship game. From MSU-Billings, the Yellowjackets' All-American Titus Warmsley has been invited to the camp of the Boston Celtics and other players have played overseas.

Carse took over the program at West Virginia State in 1984. In just his second season, Carse's team went 18-10 in 1985. In his final two seasons at the school, the Yellow Jackets went 57-8 with conference, tournament, and district championships. Carse guided West Virginia State to the NAIA national title game in 1987.

After playing LSU in a Hawaii tournament that year, longtime mentor Dale Brown offered Carse a position as an assistant on his staff. Carse was to become LSU's primary recruiter and Brown's top aide. During Carse's time as assistant coach, the Tigers were one of the most successful teams in the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA. The Tigers advanced to six-straight NCAA Tournaments and were ranked as high as #1 nationally.

Carse has coached and participated in National Championship Tournaments at every level. His first position as an assistant at Bethany College, West Virginia in 1977 saw a 3-18 team the year before win the Presidents Conference Championship and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1978. At Salem in West Virginia, from 1978 through 1983, he helped turn a losing program into a West Virginia Conference power with conference championships and a NAIA tournament berth. His West Virginia State, Louisiana State and Montana State teams all participated in national tournaments. The seasons before Carse's arrival at West Virginia State and Montana State both programs had suffered losing campaigns.

Carse is a noted speaker and clinician. He has lectured and taught the game of basketball nationally and internationally, including a trip to Australia with the Yellowjackets three years ago. Carse represented the United States in Europe at the Super Cup and in Asia during clinics with the Chinese National Team.

A native of Sistersville, West Virginia, Carse recently completed his 31st year in college basketball. He and his wife of 28 years have two children, David (25) and Lindsey (22). Carse earned his undergraduate degree from Bethany College in West Virginia. He and his wife, Leslie, both hold degrees from the West Virginia University.