Insight

"....are you dealing with the fruit of the problem, 

or the root of the problem?...." 

~ Vincent L. Rogers

Overcoming the "9 Deadly Challenges" that we all face in life

In 2013, I was writing a Personal Branding column for Examiner.com. In my role as the Atlanta Personal Brand Examiner, I provided readers with expert information about building strong professional identities. My writings empowered many people. Yet even the best advisers sometimes find themselves in need of wise counsel from others.

Therefore, I decided to seek relevant articles written by other expert Examiners about the issues that concerned me. I compiled them into an e-Book that I shared with the public for a limited time and free of charge. Over the years, I have determined that there are “9 Deadly Challenges” (Fear; Stress; Worry; Negativity; Procrastination; Impatience; Materialism; Debt and Negative Priorities) that prevent people from overcoming the obstacles that we all face in life. I included in this collection nine articles that discuss these topics, written by various Examiner.com contributors.

These "9 Deadly Challenges" are the greatest killers known to mankind. They murder ambitions, slay dreams, annihilate finances and slaughter the spirit. I would like to share with you a few thoughts of my own about these "demons". They are as follows:

Fear: Fear causes paralysis by making us believe that moving forward with something will result in undesirable consequences. The reality is that staying in the same place will most likely result in a negative outcome as well.

Stress: Failing to manage or alleviate negative Stress can result in spiritual, mental, physical and even sexual dysfunction - ah, got your attention now. Learning to identify the source of, understand your reaction to and manage the stressors of life is critical to personal and professional satisfaction.

Worry: In the Christian Bible, Matthew 6:27 says "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" There's really not much else that needs to be said on the subject of Worry - nothing good can come from it.

Negativity: Negativity or looking at things positively are both habits that have to be cultivated and practiced. There is almost always a bright side to everything; you just have to choose to see it.

Procrastination: Procrastination or even its cousin "Amateur-crastination" is brought about by the mother of all paralyzing behavior - "Perfectionist Panic". The cure to this deadly disease is to dedicate yourself to winning small victories each and every day - don't try to eat the entire elephant in one bite.

Impatience: Impatience stems from the deadliest of the 7 sins - Pride or a belief that nothing or nobody else matters except your own desires or ambitions. Yet it has been demonstrated many times that the most successful enterprises and relationships are those that include other people and considers their needs as well as your own.

Materialism: The love of things - Materialism, is the root of all kinds of evil, not the love of money. Determine what things are keeping you in a state of servitude and further away from living the life that you want to live - then try to get rid of them!

Debt: As W.E.B DuBois once said, "To whom you give your money, you give your power." Your Creditors are your Masters! - free yourself from Debt slavery as soon as possible.

Negative Priorities: Having Negative Priorities means putting things that may make life easier, ahead of things that make life more fulfilling. Having Positive Priorities means putting things that that make life more fulfilling, before things that just make life easier. We should manage our priorities in much the same way that we manage our money. Create a "Priorities Budget" to determine what is most important to you - then stick to it!

Hopefully, you can benefit from the articles in this collection as well as the personal insights that I have shared. I believe that by confronting these "demons" we can overcome the “9 Deadly Challenges” that we all face in life. Everybody faces these challenges to some degree. I am confident that with some effort and commitment to change we can gain freedom from these killers of achievement.

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Vince Rogers is an experienced resource manager, communications strategist, change agent and thought leader. He is academically trained in economics, marketing, project management and business communication. He possesses many years of successful professional experience in financial services and real estate management and marketing. Please follows his posts on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/today/author/1669339-Vince-Rogers

Also, please read the article "A Success Plan for Your Personal Relationship with Money" to learn more strategies to "....free you from the fear, stress, worry and negativity that are preventing you from pursuing your dreams." www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140328194853-1669339-a-success-plan-for-your-personal-relationship-with-money