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For Whom The Bell Tolls
By Robert Smith
©2004 All Rights Reserved
Sorry, I'm no Ernest Hemingway; however, today I want to share a story with you. It's a true story about something I experienced while mountain climbing on Mt. Hood in Oregon a few years ago.
This is a story about a messenger and about a message. The message propelled me to do what I do now. In addition, it's about the duty to help others.
The Story
Mt Hood is a 12,900-foot Mountain East of Portland Oregon. Experienced climbers begin the 8 to 12 hour climb at about 2 am in order to summit before the sun hits the summit melting the last 1,000 feet making it too slippery to climb.
Not knowing the mountain's rules, my best friend and began the climb up Mt Hood about 10 in the morning. By four in the afternoon about 50 climbers had come down from the mountain telling us how slick and dangerous the last section of the climb was on that day. Most had turned back without summating.
My friend and I were sitting on a ledge admiring the view and considering our options in light of the fact we had no climbing gear. We watched as roped up climbing teams were sliding all over the top chute of the mountain. The summit appeared to be an accident waiting to happen.
At that, time a big burly man in shorts and logging boots walked up carrying a book in his right hand. He stopped and we talked for a minute. We told the man about the same fears every other climber had explained to us and to him, as he passed them climbing up the mountain.
"There must be some way up there," he said, as he walked on past us over a weakened ice bridge past "the devil's kitchen" (an active volcano vent), and up the finial rock chute to the summit.
The Messenger
We watched as he walked past the roped teams with their ice crampons struggled while our messenger easily worked his way to the top. He never looked down. His focus was the summit he never doubted and he never looked down.
Later we talked about the meaning of what we had seen. We decided weather he knew it or not he was sent to us as a messenger from God to demonstrate the power of positive thinking.
In life, we get opportunities to fail every day. It is easy to rationalize failure. Often success is not so rational.
There are good reasons only five percent of all Internet marketers find success while the other ninety-five percent fall short. Failure is for doubters while success is reserved for the successful. The person that won't be beat can't be beat.
To be successful you don't need any special tools; just don't allow doubt to rule your experience. Don't focus on the skills and resources you DON'T have.
You don't get to the top being foolhardy either. Once you allow doubt and fear to creep in that battle is lost, the battle - not the war. We didn't summit on that day.
Success in a home-based business is no different. A few need only drive and ambition to find the summit. Most of us need specific marketing training in order to drive out the doubt. Perhaps the easiest path is learning from the success and failures of others. No man is an island.
One Last Thing
I'll bet you are wondering what book the messenger was taking to the top of the mountain. The book was "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway.
I found the deeper message for myself in the dedication in the book. I could tell you what it said, but I won't. Perhaps that message was intended for me. If it is for you, you'll need to find a copy of the book. One short paragraph gave my life direction and purpose. It is the reason I am sharing this with you now.
ROBERT SMITH
helps thousands successfully market their
Internet based home business. You'll find tons of free marketing tools & resources on his Internet Marketing web
site at: http://www.smithfam.com/
Download "Be Your Own Boss"
http://www.1st-be-your-own-boss.com/byob.exe
You can reach him by phone at: (541) 689-1847 PST, and by
email at.mailto:bob@smithfam.com
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