Citizens Of The Land Of Opportunity (For July 4!)

by: Nandang S Nugraha | Total views: 65 | Word Count: 1130 | View PDF | Print View

 by: Rebecca Fine

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men
are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness."

--The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

In a crowded, airless room in the city of Philadelphia
227 years ago this week, a group of men solemnly stepped forward, one
by one, and affixed their names to a single sheet of paper -- each man
knowing that if they faltered in their collective vision, purpose,
commitment, or action, he had just signed his own death warrant. Yet
before they were done, a total of 56 men had signed.

They knew what they wanted: They had a dream, a vision, a goal.

They knew why they wanted it: They had a purpose.

They knew the price and were willing to pay it: They were committed.

They had a plan: They took action.

And they set in motion a never before imagined and still
imperfect and incomplete chain of events that continues to this day
toward the ever-expanding vision of freedom and justice for all.

They triumphed, and yet their ultimate success remains
to be realized. Its completion is a legacy handed down through the
generations, to us and through us, and on to those who follow.

This week as we celebrate their vision, purpose,
commitment, and action (and as we also honor the succeeding generations
who have kept the faith and improved on the dream), consider that it is
largely because of their vision, purpose, commitment, and action that
you are today a citizen of the Land of Opportunity.

You and I are the recipients of many precious gifts
bought by others. Whatever our situations and backgrounds, we enjoy a
freedom still only dreamed of in many parts of the world.

But in the midst of the familiar words of the
Declaration of Independence, there's another phrase that goes mostly
unnoticed. Thomas Jefferson wrote:

It's another way of saying that, sadly, most people simply
aren't motivated enough to do anything to change the status quo -- even
if it's awful, even if they despise it, even if it's slowly killing
them. It's another way of saying the "comfort zone" rules.

Because freedom and opportunity are our day-to-day
reality, we often take them for granted in a way that people in many
parts of the world find astounding, even unthinkable. We keep ourselves
ignorant of the true value and meaning of these gifts. And we too often
waste them by not clearly seeing how precious they are and ACTING upon
that -- by not reaching out and taking hold of the opportunity that
surrounds us and is part of the very air we breathe. The opportunity
for life itself -- more life, better life, life under no one's thumb.

As citizens of the Land of Opportunity, though, we have
a sacred responsibility NOT to waste what's been given to us, bought
with the blood and sweat of those who went before and longed for by
millions around the world. We have a responsibility to lay hold of that
limitless opportunity, burst out of our stifling "comfort zones," and
make the most of our freedom -- to be, do, and have all we need for all
the life we are capable of living.

We have an obligation to create our own success and the
opportunity to help others do the same and to weave ALL our individual
successes into the glorious, unfinished tapestry of this country's
past, present, and future.

As with the signers of the Declaration and all the
heroic men and women who have carried the torch, it all begins with a
dream. A vision. A goal.

Just yesterday a very wise person told me, "If you don't
have a dream and a goal that you're actively working toward, you are
trading your life for nothing."

Think of the signers or of any great achiever in any
field of endeavor in any country -- anyone you admire, anyone who is
successful. What do they all have in common besides dreams, vision,
goals, purpose? They all have something called discipline, a word that
immediately frightens or repels many (perhaps most) people because when
they see or hear it, they think "punishment," "deprivation."

They resist the notion of self-discipline because they
think it constricts them; they prefer no rules, no plans -- just
"freedom." Ironically, though, that kind of "freedom" is simply the
right to remain in the "comfort zone" where mediocrity is king. And
discipline is the key that unlocks those chains.

What discipline really means is simply this: The ability to give yourself a command and then do it -- "to see the job through."

First you need a plan (command), then action
(follow-through). To do that, you need something that's bigger than
yourself to motivate you -- your dream, vision, goal, and your purpose.
True COMMITMENT to those things, then, means taking ACTION
consistently, daily: Giving yourself a command and following through.
And to follow through is a definition of the word, "succeed."

Without this commitment born of your own innermost
desires, dreams and goals remain empty wishes. Vision becomes a
pathetic pipedream. And purpose? There is none.

You already have within you everything you need to
achieve everything you truly want. You are more powerful than you can
imagine. But only you can take the action to set that power -- and
yourself -- free.

What do YOU want for your life -- for yourself, your
loved ones, your community, country, world? What's your DREAM, VISION,
GOAL?

Why do you want those things? What's your PURPOSE?

What price are you willing to pay? Are you COMMITTED?

Do you have a plan? Are you taking ACTION -- DAILY action
in following through on your commitment to your own vision and purpose?

We're at the halfway point of the year. We're at the
time when we celebrate and commemorate one of the world's great acts of
vision, purpose and commitment.

We are at the moment of decision, and you are next in
line, facing YOUR choice: Submit to the chains of mediocrity and a
lifetime of settling for less than you are capable of being, doing, and
having -- or claim your power, break free of the insidious oppression
of the "comfort zone," and declare your own independence and right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as YOU define it.

The paper is before you. The pen is in your hand.

Will you sign?

About the Author

Rebecca Fine is the founder of The Science of Getting Rich NETwork where you can download your FREE copy of the amazing 1910 forgotten classic, The Science of Getting Rich.

http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net

©2001-2003 Certain Way Productions

rebeccafine@scienceofgettingrich.net

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