Have you wondered why some people seem to have all the luck and get all the breaks, while the rest of the population seems to be going in circles, like a hamster on its wheel? What do the successful do that the others seem to miss? Rest assured, luck has nothing to do with it. It’s time to keep it real and lose the excuses so you can access the greatness that’s within you!

Encouraging, enlightening, and spiritually uplifting, Keeping It R.E.A.L. will give you the tools you need to live out your dream and accomplish your goals.

This succinct and powerful book will inspire you to take action and activate your faith in the face of your fears. Discover the secret to true and lasting success. Keep it REAL and move decisively toward your destiny!

Keeping It R.E.A.L.

LOSE YOUR EXCUSES FIND YOUR GREATNESSBy ARCHIE F. MANNING

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2012 Archie F. Manning
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-6513-2

Contents

Part I Let's Get R.E.A.L.......................................................11. Cultivate Your Greatness.....................................................72. Protect Your Dream...........................................................93. Don't Let It Fool You – Let It Fuel You.................................114. Don't Compete. Create!.......................................................155. A.S.K........................................................................196. The Full Canteen.............................................................23Part II Read, Endure, Attitude, and Love.......................................251. Read - Gain the Knowledge Use the Power......................................292. Endure – It's Not Over Until You Win!...................................393. Attitude – Change Your Attitude Change Your Life........................514. Love – The Greatest Inspiration The Best Motivation.....................635. Conclusion...................................................................73Part III Inspirational Quotations..............................................81

Chapter One

Let's Get R.E.A.L

The expression, "keeping it real," originated in the brash and bold culture of Hip Hop. Simply stated, it means to be true to oneself. It also carries, at times, the connotation of being straightforward and upfront concerning one's actions, thoughts, and feelings, regardless of how others are affected by them. When it comes to achieving your life's goals and dreams, keeping it real takes confidence, initiative, persistence, and a positive attitude that is inclusive and considerate of others. If you want to access your greatness then you must 'keep it real' and eliminate all of the excuses that have been holding you back. Excuses such as, I'm not smart enough, I'm not pretty enough, and I'm not strong enough, are lies that people use to mask their fear.

You are keeping it real when you are willing to do whatever it takes to change your current situation for the better. You are keeping it real when you choose to skip the party of the year in order to stay home and study for that final exam. Keeping it real is making the tough decision to no longer spend your time with people who are making poor decisions, and headed down a clear path to destruction, (and want to take you along for the ride).

One might ask, "What's wrong with hanging out? What's wrong with drinking, smoking, and getting high?" The REAL question is, "What's right with it?" If those activities aren't bringing you closer to realizing your goals and your dreams then you must ask yourself, what's right with it? If negative behaviors are distracting you from fulfilling your vision, then you must let them go and replace those destructive behaviors with positive ones.

Unfortunately, most people who say that they are keeping it real are perpetrating a fraud. They are using the phrase to justify their laziness. They are not trying to bolster their confidence and represent their best and most authentic selves. Keeping it real now means keepin' it ignorant, keepin' it frivolous, and keepin' it idle and foolish.

As a dean in a high school in Harlem, I have heard the phrase used in the following ways, "Yeah, I wore my sagging jeans and baseball cap to my interview. So what? I'm just keepin' it real." "Why study for the test. I'm keepin' it real, (n-word), I don't know that stuff anyway." Comments like those not only lack common sense, they prove that common sense is not as common as it used to be.

The American Comedian, Chris Rock, performed a routine about keeping it real. In his 1996 stand-up act, Bring the Pain, he talked about how "people of ignorance", (Rock used the "n" word), want credit for things that they are supposed to do. With his raspy voice and perfect comedic timing, Chris Rock expertly detailed how a person of ignorance will boast about doing things that the average citizen will do simply because they are supposed to.

For example, a person of ignorance will boast and brag about the fact that they take care of their children or that they have never been to jail. "What do they want, a cookie?" asks Rock. These are things that human beings are supposed to do without expecting any special reward, recognition, or compensation. Yes, it's great that you haven't been to jail or have not abandoned your children but c'mon, let's keep it real! You were not born to be incarcerated and neglectful. You were born to contribute to society and fulfill your life's purpose. You are not on this earth by chance. You are here for a reason. It was the great "Father of American Education", Horace Mann, who once said that we should, "Be ashamed to die unless we have won some great victory for humanity." We all can, in our own way, win that great victory.

Chris Rock goes on to say how people of ignorance love to not know the answers to questions. It seems like nothing on earth makes them happier than not knowing the answer to your question. "What is the capital of Zaire?" The person of ignorance laughs and responds happily, "Man, I don't know that sh*t. I'm keeping it real!" Rock says, "They just love to keep it real ... real dumb." When you begin to truly keep it real you start to expect more from yourself. You will know your worth and will refuse to accept anything less than your very best. You will put your all into developing yourself, your relationships, and your career. Keeping it real means knowing, and honoring your true worth.

Keep it real, believe in yourself, and make manifest the life of that positive, successful person living inside of you longing to come out. Here are four attributes that are common to all who are living full, happy, successful lives. I have formed the acronym, R. E. A. L., in an attempt to synthesize the communal characteristics of highly successful people.

Read - gain new knowledge and expand your mind to greater possibilities.

Endure - pursue your vision until it has been accomplished.

Attitude - know that with a positive mental attitude you can do ANYTHING, so think and dream BIG!

Love - love yourself, love others, love what you do and find the greater purpose behind it all.

Cultivate Your Greatness

One thing I know for sure is that you are here for a reason. You are not a part of some cosmic accident, nor are you simply a result of evolutionary happenstance. You were created for a purpose. You have a burning desire to discover and fulfill that purpose. You are interested in making the most of your life. You are interested in being successful and you long to know how you can live out your dream and accomplish your goals. You yearn for success and are willing to make the necessary changes that will allow you to experience the best that life has to offer.

You maybe unhappy with your current situation but you feel, deep in your heart, that you can fulfill your destiny and live the life you've imagined. I know that you can live out what you have envisioned if you are willing to do away with all excuses and put in the time and effort to make it happen. I believe this to be true because you would not have chosen to read a book like this if it were not so.

You have greatness within you! You are made of the same stuff as champions and heroes. The truth is, we all are. You simply have to access your greatness, nurture it, cultivate it, and watch it bloom into it's full potential. Living the life that you have always imagined is possible. God would not have planted the seed for greatness in your heart if you were not capable of reaping the harvest. You can make a significant contribution to society and leave your mark in this world.

If anyone can do it, you can, but you must begin to challenge yourself. Raise the bar for yourself. Push yourself to the edge of your capacity and watch your capabilities grow by leaps and bounds. With guidance, determination and the Keeping It R.E.A.L principles outlined in this book, there will be nothing that you can't accomplish. You must believe it. The power to improve your life lives within you. Keep It R.E.A.L and unlock your potential for greatness.

Protect Your Dream

A wise woman once gave me some great advice. She said, "Baby, you've got to protect your dream. You can't just let everybody know what you are trying to do because some people are like crabs-in-a-barrel."

Have you heard of the crabs-in-a-barrel syndrome? When a harvested crab tries to escape and climb out of the barrel the other crabs, (also trying to escape), reach up and pull it back in. The same phenomenon is true among certain groups of people. When you make a conscious decision to better your situation, and access your greatness, is the moment when you should prepare for the crabs to appear and start pulling you down with their condescending words and actions. Again, let's keep it real. Sometimes the biggest haters are the ones closest to us. Protect your vision, protect your dream, and protect your heart from the dream killers.

Dream killers can also exist among your friends and family. They can, unwittingly, discourage you from making something of yourself if you allow yourself to listen to their snide remarks and rude comments. The bible says in Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from It." -NIV. Guard your heart. Guard your dreams. Keep your own council. Either intentionally, or unintentionally, those snide remarks and rude comments can quench the burning desire you have for achievement. You must not allow anyone to keep you from becoming your very best self. Protect your dreams like the precious jewels they are and, one day, they will provide you with treasures untold.

Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. Yes, their opinions may be based on your past circumstances but you must look at yourself as what you are becoming and not what you were. Even if your past was filled with success, you must look ahead to the future. You must continue to grow or you die. What is green will grow what is ripe will rot. Continue to see yourself as growing, becoming, and expanding. Do not allow your past to dictate your future. Protect your dreams from all negative influences especially your own deleterious thoughts.

Don't Let It Fool You – Let It Fuel You

Let your haters fuel your passion. Don't let them fool you into believing that you can't succeed. Let their doubts drive you toward the success that you deserve. Let's keep it real; if you don't have haters then you're not working hard enough. I have heard it said that when you are making your mark on this world you should always expect a few erasers. Your biggest haters can sometimes be the people closest to you. This is because they knew you before you decided to take action and make the changes that would improve your life. Unfortunately, they see you as you once were and not how you will be.

If you need to rely on what someone else thinks of you, rely on what God thinks of you. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." – Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV. When others see you and say that you are a hopelessly lost cause with no future, you can now ignore them because you know how God feels about you and your future. You can now have peace, hope, and the belief that your future is bright. In fact, your future is so bright that you will need to wear shades!

I encourage you to stay focused in spite of your beloved naysayers. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13 and 14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus." He was telling his brothers in Philippi to keep it real. To paraphrase, "Brothers, I'm not saying that I'm perfect or that I know it all. I'm just keeping it real with you. I am forgetting the past and moving on. I am pressing, striving, and pushing myself toward the high calling that God has for me in Jesus!" Now, if the great Apostle Paul needed to continuously push himself to realize his calling, so do we. We should never rest on our proverbial laurels.

Understand, if you want to achieve success, if you want to reach your goal, then you must always press energetically toward the mark. You cannot afford to let an apathetic spirit dwell within you if you are to win. An apathetic spirit is one that is indifferent, uninterested. I see it often in people who are too "cool" to make a commitment to anything. Don't let the "cool" act fool you. They are just acting cool because they are afraid. They are afraid to fail. They are afraid of what others might say. They are afraid of what people may think. An apathetic spirit cannot live in the heart of a champion. In order to have a happy marriage, or a successful career, or healthy relationships or finances, you must keep it real. Go "all in" and work for it with enthusiasm and diligence.

Many Hollywood movies would have you to believe that dreams magically come true. They do, only if you define magic as hard work and persistence. You can realize your dreams through faith, preparation, and the willingness to step into opportunities. It may seem like magic to the onlooker, but every highly successful person, in any field, will tell you that it takes time, effort, and some sort of sacrifice.

Keeping It R.E.A.L will challenge you to live intentionally and to develop laser like focus. It will stimulate, motivate and inspire you to achieve success in every aspect of your life. You will experience the true meaning of success and discover a shift in your situation when you improve your outlook and attitude. The renowned philosopher, Dr. Wayne Dyer, often quotes the expression, "When you change the way you look at things the things you look at change." Improve your attitude and improve your life.

Don't make the mistake of becoming discouraged when you face opposition and challenges. It may seem counterintuitive, but be encouraged by them instead. The fact that you have them is proof that you are growing and moving forward toward your goal.

Don't Compete. Create!

Earl Nightingale defined success as the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. That is to say that every little step you take toward your goal is a successful one. As long as you are progressing in the direction of your chief aim in life, you are a success. Remember, life is not a competitive race. Life is about creativity not competition. No matter what others might say or believe, know that you are not in competition with anyone. As long as you are progressing, you are winning. When you continue to make progress you continue to succeed.

You don't have to beat out or out shine anyone to gain anything. What is meant for you is waiting for you. You may have to put in some time and effort to realize its' achievement, but the time and effort you put in will feel joyous and happy. It will feel like play if you are following your heart's desire. Concentrate on your positive and creative energy. Press toward the mark, and through faith, there is nothing that you cannot accomplish. " May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." Psalm 20:4

Every high-tech convenience that we enjoy today was, at one time, just a crazy idea. It's amazing to think that, in our relatively brief history, we have progressed from Morse code to Skype and from telegrams to Twitter. So, be creative and open your heart and mind to new ideas. Be receptive to change. Give yourself permission to learn, grow and succeed. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop living.

Above all, become aware of the gifts that God has instilled within you. Nurture your talent, cultivate your skills, and they will make room for you in this world. They will allow you to reach your potential and become the success you were meant to be.

When you make the decision to change the direction in which your life is going, you should expect many ups and downs. You will have both immensely rewarding and extremely challenging experiences. You must, however, keep the faith that you can bring about whatever it is that you have set out to accomplish. I believe that you would never have decided to seek success if it were not meant for you to attain it.

In order to achieve the success you've imagined, you must get real and ask yourself these very important questions:

1. What do I really want to achieve in life?

2. What is it that I want my life to stand for?

As soon as you discover the answers to these questions then you must immediately begin to take action. Just because you ask for it does not make it magically appear. Be clear about your goals and begin immediately to take action toward their achievement. Clarity is the key. You cannot expect to attain your goal while at the same time chase after 100 other contrary things. Get focused and take action.

If your goal is to loose weight or become more physically fit then you must not focus on how much weight you need to loose. Instead focus on your ideal weight and your ideal level of fitness and do the things that a person at your ideal weight and fitness level does. I imagine that a person at my ideal weight and physical conditioning does not spend most of their days and nights plopped down in front of the television. Therefor, I will not have a sedentary lifestyle. I will remain active, energized, and focused on my ideal weight.

A.S.K.

Jesus gave a promise to us in his impassioned Sermon on the Mount. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh recieveth; and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Here, Jesus gave a simple, seemingly too good to be true, 3 step program that works! You must Ask, Seek and Knock, (A.S.K.).

Step 1. Ask

Asking is the first step, but before you ask, you must first know exactly what it is that you want. This requires some serious thought. Contemplate your life and decide what it is that you truly desire. Be careful to not let the thought process turn into an exercise in procrastination. You must be decisive. Once you have determined what that thing is that will add to the quality of your life, then ask for it. Ask for that thing that you want without simultaneously focusing on a dozen other things. Be very clear about it! The Bible suggests that you write the vision and make it plain.

Step 2. Seek

You must get off the couch and seek for that thing that you desire. Jesus said that if you seek you would find, but you must seek. It is your responsibility to seek. It will not just show up on its own. You must do your part and you will find it.

When you know exactly what it is that you are seeking after, you must be open to how, where, and when you will find it. It may not find it nicely packaged with a bow on top, so to speak. Your opportunity may very well be disguised as hard work! So, be on the lookout!

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Keeping It R.E.A.L.by ARCHIE F. MANNING Copyright © 2012 by Archie F. Manning. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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