Running & Reading

Actor Will Smith put it best in a powerful acceptance speech he once gave after winning a Kids’ Choice Award in 2005. He said the key to defeating self-negativity is running and reading. Running? Where does running fit into overcoming negativity?

When you are running, a negative voice tells you that you can’t do it, that you are not good enough, that you should stop before you really reach your goal, that you should not stretch yourself, and that you shouldn’t keep running because your lungs are about to pop. Once you learn to overcome that negative voice you’ll learn not to quit when life gets hard. Running will help you train your mind to ignore that voice. You not only practice a great discipline of self- growth, but you also get yourself into the best shape of your life, which will boost your self-confidence. I don’t know about you, but when I look good, I feel good too.

Why reading? There is no problem you can face that someone else hasn’t already faced, overcame, and wrote a book about. Your Starting Point for Student Success is just such a book.

The key is to constantly keep putting good stuff in your mind and programming yourself for success. Success is not a one-time event; it is a continual process that takes time and dedication. Many times if we just knew how to overcome our challenges, we would. Books are the keys to all the answers you seek. There is an unfortunate joke that says if you want to hide something valuable from young people, put it in a book. You constantly need to keep striving to read, learn, and apply what you’ve learned to your life. Lack of confidence usually stems from not knowing what will happen next. The more you read, the more you will know how to handle situations, which will make your confidence soar.

If you would like to see the full video of “Running and Reading”, just go to www.yourstartingpointonline.com.

Arel Moodie is widely known as America's Top Young Speaker. He has spoken to over 65,000 students in 39 states and 2 countries on the topics of student success, student leadership and student entrepreneurship. He is a leading authority on helping students of this generation succeed in school and in life. He is also the best selling author of the book Your Starting Point For Student Success. To find out more about Arel's book, go to www.startingpointbook.com. To find out more about Arel's speaking please go to www.arelmoodie.com.