FSS Newsletter :: November 2003

Quote of the Month
Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.
— Woody Allen

Don't be a Complainer

by Jim Rohn

Complaining. There's room for legitimate complaining, but if you let this deadly disease of attitude - complaining – loose, it will conquer you. Complaining can take over your life. Destroy you and leave you without anything. Nobody wants to take along a complainer.

Nobody wants to promote a complainer. Nobody wants to live with one. Nobody wants to be a partner of one. Nobody wants to have one around. Complaining
leaves you out of more opportunities than you can possibly imagine if you let it take over and grab you by the throat. If you don't think complaining is bad ask the children of Israel of Old Testament fame. Now let me say something right here, they are typical of us all (if we had ourselves in a similar position); their story just happened to get in the Book.

The story says that the children of Israel are slaves in Egypt. God performed a series of dazzling miracles and gets them out. Now they have their freedom and are heading for the Promised Land. But... the tragedy of the story - they never got there. Reason - from day one they started to complain.

They griped about the food - they had just been delivered from slavery and they are complaining about the food?! They complained and cried and griped about the water. In the desert they HAD water to drink, but... it didn't taste that good?! They complained about the leadership... that had just delivered them from slavery?!

They complained that it was too hot, too cold, too far, too difficult, too rocky. They cried for years - forty to be exact. Finally, God said I've had it – trip cancelled! The story says that they died in the desert and never reached the Promised Land - after all that trouble! I believe this story teaches two things:

1) Indulge in complaining long enough and you will get your future cancelled - future promotions, future opportunities.

2) Even God himself can only take so much complaining. I think you get my point. Complaining is not for the winners in life. You must focus on what you can do, not what you cannot. And you must focus on the opportunities not the difficulties.

When you do this you will not only inspire yourself but you will be an example for others to follow as well.