It seems like 2010 went by so quickly. What an amazing year
this was! I want to thank all of our great clients, and all our
new business and producing partners. Your trust, friendship, and
professionalism are greatly valued. It’s an incredible time
to be alive on this planet, thanks to the incredible people we
know, including you here, our readers. We at the Hollywood
Sentinel intend to make 2011 our best year ever. We don’t
consider this just a website--it’s a communication of
thoughts, feelings, and art. It’s a part of our life to
yours and we thank you for being here with us for another great
year. As always, you can e-mail us in the box at the bottom of
this page for any thoughts or suggestions.
“The person who acquires the ability to take full
possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else
to which they are justly entitled.” Those words were
wisely spoken by Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men that
ever lived, over a hundred years ago. If that is true, then why
do so many people believe in luck, and throw their chances of
success up to the wind?
Have you ever had someone tell you “good luck,” when
you know your success has nothing do with luck? Especially in the
entertainment industry, we hear those words way too often. The
fact is, the most successful in Hollywood, even the ones who
claim they were just lucky, were not lucky; they were calculated,
even if they did not give conscious attention to being
calculated. If they did succeed but do not know how they did it,
then they did the right things despite themselves. But these same
people might not be able to repeat their success, not because
they are unlucky, but because they are ignorant of how they
calculated their own right actions.
The words ‘good luck’ should be erased from your
vocabulary, because luck is defined as ‘unpredictable
forces which work for or against someone.’ Luck refers to
chance. Even those top professional gamblers, who supposedly have
‘luck’ with a good outcome, are not lucky. Most of
the pros have studied math, statistics, or at least thousands of
possible scenarios of probabilities based on calculated
evaluation. They also study human behavior, facial gestures,
mannerisms, and eye, hand and body movement to read if someone is
bluffing or not. And the non-pros who don’t win, are not
unlucky, they are ignorant of odds set up against them so the
house will usually win, which they should—after all, they
are a business, and business are in business to make money at a
profit, not a loss. So don’t adhere to mere luck. The more
you believe in luck, the more power you give to forces outside
your control.
Does luck, that is, chance, which is to say, an unknowable
outcome, even exist? To be sure, one cannot know every particle
of every universe, and so, chance by this observation may be said
to exist. But is good or bad luck the chaos of chance, or merely
lack of knowledge, omniscience, or skill? It is true at least
that luck does not exist to the extent that many people consider
it so, and does not exist to the degree that many people wish it
upon others. Luck is over estimated, because there are far fewer
instances of forces that occur to create a good or bad outcome
that is out of one's control than many people realize. We are
generally in control to the degree that we consider we are. And
we are usually lucky or unlucky, to the degree that we consider
luck to even exist and to the degree that we predict one outcome
of good luck or bad luck more than the other.
Even death, if you consider that a bad outcome, is often in your
control to avoid. We have all already avoided death millions of
times. Just by being careful in our car, or crossing the street,
we are taking control over a bad outcome. There are educated and
uneducated moves, and there are no moves. To move without
knowledge of one's environment is usually not chance, it is
merely lack of knowledge. To not move at all is to die. Educated
moves are in your control, which destroy the existence of luck--a
luck which results in an unknowable outcome. Educated moves help
destroy the chance of failure. And one of your goals should be to
eliminate failure.
Determine what you want to achieve. Cut out any actions that do
not lead to your intended outcome. Determine that you can and
will have what you intend. Get educated about success. Make a
plan and stick to it, breaking down the plan in to clearly
defined, manageable steps that you take actions on every day and
hour. Get an accountability partner to make sure you follow
through. Take action. Do not stop until you achieve what you
want.
Andrew Carnegie also stated that, “The average person puts
only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes
off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity,
and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who
devote 100%.” Do you want to be average? Or do you want to
be the exceptional few and far between? I think if you are
reading this, then we are alike, in that we want to be
exceptional and extraordinary. We are on this planet now, and so
we owe it to ourselves to make the most out of every second and
live up to our greatest potential.
Here are steps to motivate you to get thinking more about your
goals: to make them, organize them, and act on them. Now, you may
have read some of these similar things before, but if you are
like me, then you can’t get enough of self-improvement and
success training, and will appreciate another perspective and
approach at it. One cannot improve one's self too much! One
cannot be too successful!
1. Image one single greatest thing you can think of that you want
to accomplish in your life, one major mark you want to leave on
this planet, and imagine that you will not fail in doing it. What
is it?
2. Imagine that you somehow obtain one hundred billion dollars.
Money is no longer an obstacle for you. What are your top 10
things you will do?
3. Imagine you discover you have 100 days only left to live on
this planet, starting right now. What top 10 things MUST you do?
(Now after this list, imagine you will live past 100 days, and
that you will live for another 100 years or more on this planet,
or whatever you want, and project that to be a reality).
Now, look at these things from all the lists. Your goals need to
be in alignment. If they are not, then you need to re-evaluate
your goals and consider changing them, to the things which are
most important to you.
4. Consider what 5 or 6 things give you the greatest happiness,
that you can also make others happy by doing, and that you can
also make certain money at. What are they? These things should be
incorporated in to your work and career, and considered in your
lists 1 through 3 above.
5. What one story do you want to tell the world? This answer
should be incorporated in to your work and further list
above.
6. Eliminate the words ‘luck’ and ‘good
luck’ from your vocabulary, and refuse to let the notion of
unknowable lack of control be a part of your existence. Take
responsibility for your life and successes, don't leave them to
chance. Focus on knowledge, learning outcomes, and mastering the
results of your intentions.
7. Determine what you want, plan for it, do it, and get it. Do
not give credence to any action, idea, person, or object that
gets in your way of fulfilling your goal. Predict and manifest
your highest ideal for the greatest cause, without harming
others.
8. Become one of the small percentage of people on this planet
who devote 100 percent effort to your work and purpose. No one
will leave your mark for you as good as you can.
9. After you make it big, give back to a worthy cause, and also
teach success to others.
10. Write us and let us know how you are doing.
“A sunny disposition is worth more than fortune. People
should know that it can be cultivated; that the mind, like the
body, can be moved from the shade into sunshine.” -Andrew
Carnegie
-Bruce Edwin
The Hollywood Sentinel, © 2010.