Imagine that you’ve built an amazing business that employed a good many people in your community. Now imagine seeing your lifework and the town with your namesake washed away in the blink of an eye by a calamitous flood. What would you do? Give it up? Get angry? Start rebuilding your life?
If you want to learn how one historical figure triumphed in the midst of that very situation, read Sarah Kilborne’s inspiring new book, American Phoenix. She writes about the remarkable life of her great-great-grandfather, William Skinner. Skinner was one of the pioneers in the American silk industry. From humble beginnings he built an empire, only to see his factory and considerable wealth decimated when a damn failed, allowing hundreds of millions of gallons of water to all but erase Skinnerville, Massachusetts from the map.
Now, Skinner could have seen himself as a victim and wailed “WOE is me.” Instead he picked up the pieces and started again, ultimately emerging even more successful than in his pre-flood days. “We all stand equal in the race for success,” Skinner said, and he proved it with his life journey. . . with ACTION!
It’s fair to say that Skinner became Wonderfully Obsessed with Winning (WOW!).
When YOU choose WOW as your primary attitude, you’ll feel new curiosity, new ambitions, new intelligence, and a new sense of being vital and alive. These qualities are always ready to serve you.
Skinner also understood the “Rule of Cause and Effect” – nobody, no outside force caused him his wins or losses; he, and only he determined his destiny. If he were alive today, I bet he’d heartily agree with the following success principle: if it is to be, it is up to me.
Here’s what you can learn from William Skinner’s fantastic comeback:
1. You can create your life as you really want it to be. The first action step is to shove aside the caution that comes with fear. There’s no substitute for decisive action!
2. Be a person of courage and let go of old echoes of past NO’s. This is essential if you are to revitalize your soaring spirit and take control of your destiny.
3. Decide whether you want to be a compulsive whiner or a compulsive winner. You know what the better choice is.
4. You never feel more alive than when you are willing to live dangerously, because you are Wonderfully Obsessed with Winning in life. This planet is not a “waiting room” – you’re not here to sit and wait for life to fulfill your dreams for you. If that is to be – it is up to thee!
What “floods” have you endured, and how did you emerge victorious? Please let us know.
Thank you and blessings
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Hi Rob. I listened into the radio show last night and read the blog today. I see some interesting connections already. Cleary this Skinner character was an exaggerator! Who else would have the audacity to name an entire city after himself!
But it worked for him didnt it. I go to thinking about my own life and my own accomplishments. I never would had the audacity to start my own businessess (and stick MY name in there if I werent exaggerating my capabilities.) It was the ultimate fake it untill you make it strategy… and it worked! Somethings come easy and we can do them without much effort or thinking. But when it comes to really getting out of our comfort zones, we all certainly have to exaggerate our courage. I call it “getting out on the skinny branches of life.”
Hi Carol Anne. Here is one for you. Make an experiment of exaggerating as you as you look at your five greatest strengths. Go ahead. Give it a shot. WOW! Can you feel that power surging from deep inside? Blessings
Oh My,, Face to face with another of my youthful truths. Exagerate? We weren’t even supposed to be proud of real accomplishments (Why was that?)Humble, modest, meak, self-depricating…sink into the crowd…
that made me a “nice little girl”. No, No.No…
Yes, Yes, Yes, Push the limits, get out of the box, exagerate..it’s all the same message. I haven’t the same set of assets to exagerate I did back then and I still have plenty .:-)
I thought I was courageous…and I have been at times. Today I am trusting my knowledge and experience, doing the work, and moving forward in spite of fear…or laziness.
The “flood” of my life has been in my acceptance of awhole set of rules and ideas that limited me. My “win” is that little by little, I have decided to just play as hard as I can and let the outcome be what it will. I have found new rules that come from experiences, (lessons learned) and allow me to move forward with confidence. Actually, I am learning to coach myself and that is a pretty big win for me. To assess and act, based only o my conversation with me and without confirmation from the world is big for me.
Todays challenge is to put my philosophical approach into practical application…If it ain’t practical it ain’t spiritual… and the universe is ultimately fair…
Hi sylvia. Welcome back. It’s nice to hear from you. I like how you have weaved my blog radio conversation with my blog on skinner; truth can and does see you as victorious these days, sylvia. Read that again, and absorb it a little deeper. Falsehood cannot see you as victorious – never trust them. : – ) Blessings
Years ago, my first wife told me she wanted a divorce. She didn’t want to file for divorce or even show up to any court hearings. She just wanted out. Later, I would find out she had cheated on me with my best friend.
I ended up moving back in with my parents while I finished college. This was my rock bottom. The last thought through my mind before I fell asleep at night was “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow” and the first thought through my mind when I woke up was regret that I had. I even remember unbuckling my seatbelt at about 90mph, preparing to put the car into a highway overpass to “finally do something right,” when a song came on the radio, snapping me out of it.
That song was “Don’t Dwell” by the band 311, particularly:
“Everything is a choice. Go ahead, raise your voice. Might as well forgive yourself. That means more than someone else. Set you free. Break the shell. To your demons farewell… I tell ya don’t dwell.”
And then opened a floodgate of optimism which serves as my foundation to this very day. My perspective became such that, the more messed up things got, the more I would have to laugh, because – wow – these are going to be some good stories to tell the friends I will have years from now when none of this even matters anymore.
Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. That’s the first thing they teach you. Namaste.
Namaste. Purna. Thanks for your post.
Hi Brian. This is an incredible comment. Seeing the necessity for self-insight, not assuming we already have it, is so important in painful moments like you’ve shared, Brian. What you have shared is a sign of real intelligence and a huge heart. You touched me deeply. Thank you
I start out very courageously and make plans and work so hard – I dive right in and get going. Everyone around me wants to gloam on and go for the ride. I work hard at getting others to join me in my inspiration and creativity, they back off until they see if I can succeed …My longest run was 2 years at something before I got burned out and stopped. I did stay in Seminary for nearly 5 years of abuse and then tried to work in the church for nearly 10 years.
I stuck to it for now 33 years of awesome parenting and with a special needs child…that was work that was exhausting at times but joy and love infused.
I am an ideas person….or a prophet…I interpret what you tell me and I make suggestions for you to find the answers or I give you the background material and teach you to find an answer….I am an ideas person. I do not do it for you.
I do not know whether to quit blogging or not…Melody at Deliberately Receiving says I have a lot of anger to purge…I am doing the work full time. I am making about $12 a month reviewing books because so many people are now doing it for free (I used to make about $500)Kind of feels like a flood.
The flood that is coming is this US election…We have a Presidential candidate who will undo ever project that I created and take away my medicare ( and I have no health ins. – pre-existing cond.) and a man running for Gov. who has had a $6 million dollar face and policy lift because he can make a few brothers a couple of billion dollars and because he is against Green anything/ climate problems…It is a flood once again to my partner’s architectural firm at 65 he is concerned and then there is the 100 million acres of trees these two want to sell and clear cut – the beauty of my state; we still owe $190,000.00 on our daughter’s surgeries… it feels more like a tsunami than a flood. IT has certainly put me into looking at the beauty of this moment The here and now with gratitude.
Hi Patricia.
Right now, you may not yet truly know the I AM that you came here to be. You may not yet have experienced the true role of your soul. Likewise, you nay not yet realize the incredible attribute you are to the divine plan.
In spite of all the many pains and struggles you have endured, and your fears of a gloomy future, underneath that, your soul still rejoices and will bless humanity for the message it brings.
All of this may be difficult for you now to accept, an yet you do, don’t you. Every instinct of your divine nature is rebelling against yielding. I can hear you very loudly. You won’t give up, and you are soon to be an uplifting and leavening influence in ways you’ve not imagined. The warmth and thrill of your tender love for all of life is emanating from you.
Relax a little. Trust. You have given yourself, and everything good in your life is being lifted up and all bad things conquered by your faith in all that is good and beautiful.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Good stuff! Taking chances and building courage is crucial. I have a problem seeing myself later in life and looking back wishing I would’ve taken more chances. It seems like a waste of a life to not live dangerously in most areas of my life. Really good read.
Hi Ralph. One of the most common and painful fears of so many people is to look back at their lives and regret not having taken more chances. You are blessed if you are not one of them – and it is YOU who blesses you by saying, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Thank you
Hi Rob. Thanks for the recommendation. I never figured you for the historical memoir type. I love the genre. I’m sure you are familiar with Dorris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough. Team of Rivals, John Adams and 1776 were all books I went through in a one night page turning bender! I really admire authors like Sarah Kilborne and my aforementioned favorites. They do the real scholorary work and research that makes the story and history stand up to the most rigorous and fastidious of fact-checking and ultimately the test-of-time. I always feel like I get an unbiased account of the truth. Wish we could say the same for Obama and Mitt-less.
Hi Salty. You understand that wrongness only associates with wrongness just as rightness only associates with rightness. And you make a conscious effort to stay on the side of rightness. I can feel so many things that are right with you. Thank you.
Hi Rob, I like your exaggeration message this week. At first I thought it really doesn’t work for me. I have myself cut out to be a blue collar hard working guy. I just want to be straight up and not promise what I can’t deliver. But, I would be lying if I said that every job I was contracted for I knew I would be able to do. The difference is that somehow I believed that the job would get done, and it would get done well. Many times I didn’t even care if I lost money on the project, so long as I proved to myself that I had the resources (within myself plus outside contractors) to make sure the customer is 110% satisfied. In fact my favorite projects have always been when I take a hit financially But I know, my men got paid (and paid on time) and the customer is happy and I built a beautiful bathroom, bay window, deck, and so on… ) I had to exaggerate my own capacites in order to deliver the goods. I’m not building a Skinnerville, but I am building a little Ye Olde Rogertowne that will stand up against any flood or blizzard!
Hi Roger. Answers from the conditioned mind are always wrong. You have learned to think anew. You are forever exploring with new ways of seeing things. Old answers seem right, thought they are wrong (because they are familiar) … and new answers are often right, although they feel wrong (because the are unfamiliar). it’s incredible how much we’ve got it all upside down, isn’t it Roger. You’re beginning to get some of it right. Keep going. Blessings
I really enjoyed this post, and whining vs. winning reminds me of a sign my Dad used to have on my door as a kid that said “no whining” – it still sticks with me today.
For me, the biggest “flood” in my life was being diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder earlier this year. It was a scary and confusing experience. But once you literally lose your mind, you’ve got nothing left to lose and so its helped me finally accept and be myself and follow my true passion of writing to its full potential.
Hi Chelle. Just as the mountain climber sees the world differently from the person tilling the soil, so it is with someone who looks at the world with a higher mind – this is what you are now beginning to do, aren’t you. Thank you.
HI Rob,
! ) But, to rise above all the quack-nuts out there, you have to find a niche… I think you are zeroing in.
I think this your greatest blog and blogtalk show combo yet. I love how they reinforce each other. Your real life story and the Skinner story combine to make that something that is very down to earth and very inspiring to actually DO GREAT THINGS. I like the direction you are honing in on. Not to bring up “he that shall not be named” (Tim Ferris
Hi pat. I like your support and pragmatic feedback. It is quite possible to learn something new when we stop loving the noise of our habitual mind, isn’t it, Pat. Thank you
Hi Rob. Sorry I’m late to this party.. My parents WIFI is NON-EXISTENT, so I have to go to the Starbucks just to catch up on everything. Wowee wow. I will pick up that book because I want to now what everyone is reading. I figure if smart people are reading this and that, then I would do well to read the same, right? If you have any other books on your nightstand let me know. I’ve been through the “shades of grey” stuff enough already! LOL!
Anywayyy… exaggeration is exactly what I need to be doing now. I fink myself o the opposite end. I’m battering my self into loserdom because I had to move home. I certainly have to exaggerate that one! I LOOOVE what you say. I could be spending all my time telling myself how I’ve messed up BUT BUT BUT… I have to tell myself that I am building my savings, and planning my next 5 years so I can ROARING out of the starting blocks like Lolo Jones! (only hotter LOL! 
I’m not discouraged tonight… I feel like I am sitting atop the captains chair carefully planing my life adventure. Thanks for the INSPO XOXOXOXO
Hi Kara. WOW, now that’s a lot of uplifting life-force energy that you put into this blog. If someone wants to fill their spiritual tank up with hi-test … I will suggest they get in contact with you. Thank you
Hi Rob,
Excellent post my friend. William Skinner understood the law “As within so without” and that he can overcome anything that he encounters in his life. He must have had a strong mind and strong concentration abilities to be able to focus on his goal when adversity hit.
One of the floods that I’m continuously working to overcome in my life is the “lack mentality” or “I have to work for long hours to make a lot of money.” Despite the fact that I have made a lot of advances and have overcome many of these erroneous concepts, I can’t help but “sometimes,” these ideas come back to me. I’m a big believer in the concept 80/20 concept, which means more than 80% of the work has to be done mentally and internally and the remainder 20% taking physical action. The good part about this if the internal part of me is “fixed” to support me to fulfill my dreams, then taking physical action would be easy and would come automatically. However, if the opposite is true, then it doesn’t matter how hard I work, it just won’t happen if my mentality and inner world are messed up. Thanks for sharing my friend
Hi Dia. ‘The work before the work’ is the inner work; the 80 / 20 isn’t it. A cosmic castle cannot be built with negative thoughts, can it. That would be like trying to build a safe and secure home with dark clouds. You are learning well; I learn from your learning. Thank you.
I do tend to be most gratified by the projects I do that bring up a lot of intense sensation — being in the recording studio recently and seeing people performing my songs certainly did that. My body gradually adjusts to accommodate the intensity and then the activity that I’m trying to do becomes easier and easier.
hi Chris. WOW, that is pretty philosophical. never fail to notice when you are really thinking (like this), for that leads to sky-high soaring. Thank you.