Success Tip - Commitment Versus Compromise - Take a Pick

Nothing beats a man or woman who is CONVINCED, CONVICTED and COMMITTED to a CAUSE. We can tell how far you will go by what powers you. Your engine capacity (internal VALUE system) spells out your DESTINY coordinates. You have no one to blame but yourself if you end up at someone else's destination. Commit to your PURPOSE, your PATH and your PLAN rather than spend time observing other people's PROGRESS. Many times we attempt to do things but we do not have a deep seated commitment and conviction about what we do. We do things to merely spend time and see another day but not to intentional leave a mark or an impact. We act while harboring doubts about the outcomes hence we are not convinced enough. Alternatively we start working on a project but we lack commitment to making things happen. We do it when we "feel" like doing it hence the project suffers from lack of attention. Eventually it was another good, sensible idea, gone to waste. All the great people I have studied have shown an unwavering, unshakable and immovable desire to be committed to their dream, passions and ideas. Commitment separates great men from fly by night dreamers. If all the inventors and innovators had one day old commitment, we probably would not have the great, smooth lives we enjoy to this day. Someone had to be committed to what they saw in the dream, they let nothing or nobody influence them negatively. You have to realize that your invention may look too simple to some people but in no time, people cannot live without it. Check the history of the originally simple idea of online community called Facebook. To this day, people get to the point of addiction to this new idea and concept but did not even think beyond email and web browsing not so long ago. Even the coming of the internet was itself not much of an addiction to many than this new phenomenon.

Jeff Mullin, a senior writer of the News and Eagle started his article by asking a vital question "What couldn't we live without". In his article he mentions some of the greatest inventions of all time which look simple now but took a great deal of commitment to make. He highlights that "the flush toilet, invented in 1591 by Englishman Sir John Hampton, was on the list of the 325 "Greatest Inventions of All Time," recently released by the folks who publish Encyclopedia Britannica. The list ranges from the aerosol can, invented in 1926 by Erik Rotheim of Norway, to the zipper, developed in 1893 by American Whitcomb Judson. In between are such modern items like disposable diapers and Post-It Notes, as well as venerable favorites such as the automobile, the telephone, the steam engine and the airplane".

Commitment and conviction is what helped me during the most devastating time in economic history. It is interesting that I formed Infotech just a year after the economy of Zimbabwe had started the decay process. It was down-hill all the way such that when the Global economic crisis hit other nations towards 2009, we had been hit many years earlier so it was not new to us. We had the experience. There were justifications and good reasons for anyone who managed to close shop and sell businesses. Somehow my conviction kept me hoping that someday the whole meltdown and economic madness would end. Sure enough it had to take all the 9 years since I had been in business for some level of sanity to prevail. No one would have blamed me if I had quit on my vision. Many bigger corporates closed shop and left. I remained convinced that I would cross over to a new economic order which indeed happened. At the time of writing this book, we have started seeing the signs of economic recovery in our nation after the dollarization of the economy.

Ponder Points - Think about this - What cause are you committed to? Are you committed to your dream and ideas to the point of not letting go in the midst of adversity, criticism and discouragement? What ideas do you have which may seem small but no one has ever done it before?

Affirmation Points - Say this to yourself - I am committed to my dreams and vision. I have set my mind not to turn to the left or the right. I am focussed on the ultimate goal, to be the next success story that people will be talking about many years from this day. I am more than what people have told me. I walk with boldness and knowledge that my commitment today creates my world and a whole new perception in people's minds. I am confident though that people's perceptions of my progress do not affect my commitment to all I desire to do.

Preventive Maintenance For Your Plumbing

To avoid recurring costs and the hassle of hiring professional or registered plumbers, it would be wise to go ahead and do a few checks on your home plumbing system yourself. Preventive maintenance is all you need. Keep in mind that a plumbing system is composed of pipes and plumbing appliances. These appliances are your toilets, bathtubs, showers, sinks as well as the laundry facilities and maybe your lawn sprinkler system.

Water pressure is an essential factor in giving you a decent and adequate water supply to your home. One of the problems you might encounter is the loss of water pressure on a certain plumbing appliance. Loss of water pressure could mean one of 3 things. One, there's a leak somewhere along your water pipelines. Two, something's clogged up in your water line. Three, something is going on with the water company supplying you water.

Another important factor in your plumbing system aside from the pipes and fixtures are your drains. Observe how fast the water goes down the drain. Overtime, you may notice that it takes longer for the water to go down. This is an early sign telling you that a clog may happen. Chances are, something is already clogged in the drain line, but its not causing any major problems. It is best to address this early because as time goes by, that small clog will start to collect other materials like human hair, dust or whatever goes down the drain. Eventually, its going to cause a major clog and you'll have a headache on your hands. It might be a good idea to use those chemical solutions that you pour in the drain but nothing beats a snake or a rooter.

The toilet is probably one of the most significant pieces of plumbing appliances. Some even consider it the most important thing at home. More than often, clogs or backup up toilets are the number one problem for this plumbing appliance. Do not flush anything else other than your "human waste" down the toilet. Paper may seem harmless but it eventually builds up and may clog the drain. If you are going to use toilet paper and flush them down, look for those biodegradable ones that dissolve in water overtime. Another common problem of toilets are the inner workings of the toilet's tank. Sometimes the parts and valves in them malfunction. It would be wise to replace these parts if years have gone by because sooner or later they will fail and you don't want it to fail during the most crucial times.

As for your other plumbing appliances, check to make sure that you spot leaks on the sink, bathtub or shower. Finding them early will save you a boat load of headaches and money. These leaks are likely to be caused by cracked, hollow or loose tiles around the plumbing fixture. You might also want to check if the gaskets in your faucets are still fine because they'll wear out eventually since you do use them almost everyday.

One last plumbing appliance you may need to examine is the water heater. Check the heater's burner chamber. See if there is rust around it. It may need cleaning or even get replacement if necessary. Check the flame of the heater. The color of the flame should be blue. If you see hints of yellow then that means the burner needs to be cleaned. You should also consider cleaning the inside of the water heater. Overtime, sediments in the water may build up inside it.

So how often should you do these preventive measures? It's nothing more complicated than just once a year. If you've done your preventive maintenance then you will save a lot of time, money and headaches. You won't have to keep on calling that emergency plumber when your plumbing breaks down.