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Women: Christian Louboutin - Larissa Plato Suede Sandals (black)

Men: Christian Louboutin Mickael Sneakers (Fall/Winter 2011)

Christian Louboutin Edition

Beer Budget Living; Champagne Lifestyle Dreaming

The Aquavista Dinosaur (Gold edition)
Price Tag: $4.8 million

Maserati Granturismo S Superior Black Edition (Matte Black)
Price Tag: Available on Request

Lamborghini Monster Headphones
Price Tag: $250

Tonino Lamborghini Spyder phone (supreme diamond)
Price Tag: $10k

Piaget Altiplano Skeleton
Price Tag: N/A
Up for Auction September 2011

The.Sum.Of.Small.Efforts

I came across this picture while randomly browsing the web. Although it is from a fitness blog I think it also applies to the attainment of success and the pursuit of happiness. The message behind it had quite a profound impact on me and inspired me to write this article. The most interesting part of this quote is the usage of the words ‘every morning’ (I’ll explain later). 

How does this apply to our lives as humans and what can we learn from this lesson of the lion and the gazelle? Allow me to digress for a minute.

When talking about success we often come across words like ‘big break’ or ‘waiting for a sign’ or other phrases that indicate one event that leads to success and ultimately to happiness. There is a huge misconception that success stems from one isolated incident or big break. 

When the story of the lion and gazelle is analysed we come to realize that these 2 animals on a daily basis do things to achieve happiness. Failure by one of the animals on any day either means no food or no tomorrow. The reason people give up sometimes is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go. When you’re driving at night your lights only shine to a certain distance. This doesn’t cause you to turn the car around because you can’t see the destination. You take it a few metres at a time until you reach your destination.

Whatever your future goals you need to understand that in order to achieve them you must, on a daily basis, do things which will bring you closer to that goal. Don’t lose hope because you can’t see results or you seem to be in the same place you were last year or 2 years prior. The truth is if you keep going you will see results.  The title of this article was derived from a quote by Robert Collier; ‘Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out...’

The small day to day efforts must become habitual to a point where they are second nature. The key words are: ‘every morning’, ‘day to day’ etc. I know someone is thinking what if it’s raining on this day, or it is not practicable or I feel a bit sick.  The decision is yours, you know how bad you want to achieve your goals. If you make half hearted attempts you will get half hearted results besides:

“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good”

Movie Quote of the week

When your mind becomes obsessed with anything, you will filter everything else out and find that thing everywhere.

Sol Robeson in 'Pi'

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Yves Saint Laurent  Edition - Fall/Winter 2010

Beer Budget Living; Champagne Lifestyle Dreaming

Bvlgari - Assioma Quartz watch  with 18k white gold case (for women)
Price Tag: $17 800

Cadillac Ciel Concept
Price Tag: N/A

Bvglari - Serpenti (for women)
Price Tag: $6250

Hawker 4000 - Jet (8 passengers, 2 crew)
Price Tag: $22.5 million

Activating your blinders

How many times do you start a task and struggle to finish it because of distractions? The routine is usually the same: You begin a task, a few minutes into this period you lose focus for a few seconds by looking at a photo on your desk. You start thinking about some good places to visit in future, then you start thinking about your future and what it may hold. Fifteen minutes later you snap out of this daydream; your task is still not complete and now your whole day’s plans are derailed because of a 15 minute daydream.

The ability to stay focused is perhaps the most important attribute to possess for ambitious individuals. You must learn to stay on task in order to accomplish your goals. However, it’s easier said than done. Staying focused is extremely challenging, but by adopting a few steps you can learn to focus on your tasks until completion.

Think about this image for a second:  A child aged 9 is playing with a magnifying glass in his backyard. He has seen his older brother burn paper and leaves with it by holding it under the sun. He decides to mimic his brother and after a few unsuccessful attempts he learns how to burn leaves and paper with the magnifying glass.

The child, although unknown to him, has discovered the power of focus on two levels. Firstly by concentrating all his efforts on burning the paper and leaves he has maintained his focus and completed his task. Secondly, the magnifying glass only burns paper when the light is focused. This indicates the power of focus, which is that if your efforts are concentrated the results will be desirable.

Below are 5 different tips to help you maintain focus when completing a task:

• Put your phone on silent – a slight beep could put you of your task and lead to back and forth texting or even an unnecessary phone call
• Work in an area where people cannot disturb you (or put a sign on your door)
• Use a timer to heighten focus  - allocating times to different tasks lets you know how long you have to complete the task
• Remove all distractions from your work space such as phones, computer games, iPods  – (work on a computer that doesn't have the internet, or to avoid using social networking sites deactivate them until you've completed your task)
• Break your task down into manageable portions – the reason for doing this is that if you’re completing a task and get sidetracked and lose focus, it’s easier to get back on track if you’re following a set of steps.

The most important thing is that you  activate your blinders when going after a goal. Make a conscious decision to stay focused. In horse races, the horse has a blinder placed on its head so that it can only see ahead in one direction. Activate your invisible blinders and stay focused and your mind will follow because as Mark Twain puts it:

 ‘You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus’

Movie Quote of the week

If you're good at something never do it for free

The Joker in 'The Dark Knight'

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Nike Air Force 1 High Supreme Nitro Microphone Underground

Beer Budget Living; Champagne Lifestyle Dreaming

Diamond Jubilee Blended Scotch Whisky
Price Tag: $162k

Rolex: Special Edition, Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Leopard
Price Tag: $45k

Picasso Painting: Nude, Green leaves and Bust
Price Tag: $106 million

Jaguar CX-75
Price Tag: $1.4 million

Avantgarde Trio Classico Speakers
Price Tag: $190k

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

By Robert Frost

Movie Quote of the week

[K]now thy self. I wanna tell you a little secret, being the one is just like being in love. No one needs to tell you you are in love, you just know it, through and through.

The Oracle in 'The Matrix'

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Supra - Skytop Goldie (Limited Edition) '08

Beer Budget Living; Champagne Lifestyle Dreaming

Bugatti Galibier

Bugatti Galibier
Price Tag: $1.4 million

Rolls Royce Phantom - (Gold plated, armoured)
Price Tag: $8million

Gucci Belt (Diamonds & Platinum)
Price Tag: $250k

Armand de Brignac (MIDAS - 30L - 100 pound weight)
Price Tag: $183k

Piaget Polo Tourbillon (New York inspiration)
Price Tag: N/A

I Will Persist

I will persist until I succeed.

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.

I will persist until I succeed.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.

Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.

I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.

I will persist until I succeed.

I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist.

I will win. 

I will persist until I succeed.

by: OG Mandino

Movie Quote of the week

Hey, Tony, remember when I told you when you first started working for me, the guys that last in this business, are the guys who fly straight. Low-key, quiet. But the guys who want it all, chicas, champagne, flash... they don't last.

-Frank Lopez in 'Scarface'

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Air Jordan I Banned