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mother sent her grocery shopping with a list, and at first
she was afraid, but her mother assured her that she was
smart and could do it and so she went, hanging on to
those words. She returned with all the items purchased,
and her mother said to her, I told you you could do it.
This caused her to believe in herself, and a belief in
herself led to her success in business. Now, perhaps you
were not so fortunate, and your parents or the adults
around you did not inspire self-confidence in you, but
you can become your self-nurturing parent and inspire
confidence in yourself by speaking words to yourself
that build you up and destroy fear and doubt.
Avoid pessimism. According to Anastasia, Pessimism
will kill any dream. Therefore you can’t afford to be
pessimistic, and more importantly, you can’t afford
to keep company with those who are negative. When
people have no confidence in your ability to bring your
dreams to fruition, and they always remind you of your
failures or their words do not give you any hope for a
better tomorrow, run for your dear life.
There is power in gratitude. In the book, Hero,
Anastasia advises the reader to wake up every
morning and count their blessings. This is vital to
success. Take a close look at successful people, and you
will discover that they are grateful people. You may
not have the kind of job you want or live in the type of
house that you wish to live in or drive the sort of car
you like, but if you are alive, it is a testament to the
fact that you can still have your dreams so be grateful.
Gratitude increases, gratitude promotes, and gratitude
opens doors. Be thankful as a lifestyle.
Determination is instrumental to success. Please
understand that life will test you before it allows you to
have your dreams. Your plans will not always work out
the way you thought they would, things will go wrong
that you did not anticipate, doors will shut in your
face, people will desert you, you will be disappointed,
but in all this, be resolute. Anastasia says that she was
determined that if a door closed, she would bang on it,
break it down or enter through a window. It is this kind
of determination that wins eventually and delivers to
you your dream.
You have to be a fighter. Still in the book, Hero,
Anastasia says that life is a challenge, and if you think
otherwise you are wrong or delusional. She insists
that if you want to move from ordinary life to a life of
significance, then you have to be a fighter. The reason
is apparent, life is going to resist you. Everyone has
dreams, but not everyone sees their dream fulfilled,
and what separates those who see their dreams
fulfilled from those who don’t is the spirit of a fighter.
Those who carry the spirit of a warrior and keep
fighting will eventually get that for which they have
fought. Those who quit or can’t be bothered to fight
must settle for mediocrity.
Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t have, recognise
what you do have and market your strengths. We are all
unique. We all have our place. If you want to be successful,
it is crucial that you know your uniqueness and celebrate
it. Don’t be afraid to be different. No two people are
precisely the same. Discover yourself, discover your
uniqueness and discover your worth. Anastasia admits
that she had to find herself and uncover her worth. She
admits it was daunting but worth it.
9. Opportunities abound, so seize them. In the book,
Hero, Anastasia says that there are opportunities
everywhere, but people don’t grab them because
people don’t see them. And I believe that people don’t
see them because they look like a lot of work.
10. Don’t be afraid to fail. Too many do not try anything
because they fear failure. As Anastasia says, in the
book, Hero, what do you have to lose? I believe that it is
better to try and fail than to lie on your deathbed with
the regret of what would have been if or what might
have been if only you had tried. And I will add here that
once this life is up, we don’t get another chance to try.
This is no dress rehearsal; this is the real deal.
11. Life returns us our investment. What are you investing
in life? If you invest a little, you will get a low return.
According to Anastasia, life is like a bank account, and
you can only withdraw what you have deposited. She
says, don’t put little and expect to get big. It is not going
to happen.
12. Stop making excuses and start making progress.
Excuses will destroy your dreams. Yes, there will be
challenges, yes, there will be obstacles, but you can
find a way around them. You can learn what you don’t
know. You can build from nothing. Anastasia started
from nothing; she had no money, she didn’t speak the
language, and she certainly didn’t understand how
things worked in her new country. She had to learn.
Some would have used it as an excuse, allowed it to
limit them, but she chose to learn those things which
were necessary to get her where she wanted to be.
13. No dream is an end in itself. Life is progressive. The
fulfillment of one dream usually creates a situation to
cause us to have another goal. Anastasia dreamt of going
to America, and eventually, that dream was fulfilled,
but once in America there were obstacles, challenges,
life was not how she expected it to be, and so she had
to dream another dream, a dream of owning her own
business, and work to bring it to fruition.
14. Where you are is usually a preparation for where
you are going. The harsh life Anastasia was faced
with in Romania prepared her to face a tough life in
America and overcome the hurdles, and rise above the
challenges, to see her dream fulfilled.
15. Great women are an inspiration to other women. Their
story sends across a simple but powerful message
to other women. One that says, if I can, so can you.
Anastasia Soare went from a penniless immigrant to a
billionaire businesswoman and, so can you.
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DOZ Magazine | December 2019