Law #98 - Position Yourself To Be Who You Are
by Stanley Bronstein on July 15, 2008
Law #98
Position Yourself To Be Who You Are
Quote #1 - Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You. (Dr. Seuss)
Quote #2 - I y’am who I y’am and that’s who I y’am. (Popeye)
Today Is Cartoon Character Day
Did you notice how both quotes I chose about being yourself came from writers of fiction?
I wonder why the best quotes on reality (being who you are), came from fiction.
Oh well, just an interesting observation before we get started.
Quote #1 - Definitions
Today - The present day. This present time or age.
You - One; anyone; people in general. Not me, but you.
True - Being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false. Real; genuine; authentic. Sincere; not deceitful. See Law #93 - Position Yourself To Be Truthful.
No One - Not anyone.
Alive - Living. Having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless. Full of energy and spirit; lively. Having the quality of life; vivid; vibrant. See Law #1 - Position Yourself To Be Alive.
Source: Dictionary.com
Quote #1 - What Does It Mean?
Right now, living in this very moment you are unique. There is no one else like you. We talked about this just the other day in Law #94 - Position Yourself To Be Unique.
If you want to be true to yourself; if you want to be true to others; if you want to be true to the universe, you have to be yourself.
So many people are afraid to be themselves. They feel as if they have to be like everyone else. Our society in fact, encourages people to be like everyone else.
Unfortunately, I think we lose something when we stop being ourselves.
You are unique; I am unique. That is what makes it possible for us to accomplish more TOGETHER than either one of us could have accomplished individually.
If we are just like each other, we’re only going to produce the same results.
Quote #2 - Definitions
Not a lot of words to define here - that’s what makes this quote so powerful.
I - Used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. Also sometimes used to refer metaphysically to “the ego”.
Am - To exist or live. To take place; happen; occur. To occupy a place or position.
Who - What or which person or persons. The person or persons that.
Source: Dictionary.com
Quote #2 - What Does It Mean?
The entire quote talks about self-confidence. The character Popeye was NOT written to be insecure.
Instead, he was the height of self-confidence (See Law #13 - Position Yourself To Be Confident) and security (See Law #86 - Position Yourself To Be Secure).
In short, Popeye knew who he was and he wasn’t the least bit ashamed of himself.
And that is what made him powerful (See Law #77 - Position Yourself To Be Powerful).
So, Who Are You?
That’s a question that requires more introspection than we’re going to cover in this posting. Suffice it to say, I have devoted several chapters in my first book, all specifically designed to help you ask yourself the tough questions and come up with the tough answers you need. That book is:
Achievement IQ: Find Purpose In Your Life & Achieve MASSIVE Success
All I can tell you is this. Don’t let someone else tell you who you are. Figure it out for yourself - you’ll be a lot happier that way.
What Are We Teaching Ourselves And Our Children?
Whenever I speak publicly, I am often asked if I had one piece of advice that I would like to share with others and with young people in particular.
I always say:
Believe in yourself; your abilities; your talents and your ideas.
That’s what Popeye did. That’s what Dr. Seuss was trying to teach generations of young readers.
Be who you are, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Until next time, take care, my dear friends.Mr. Achievement
Stanley F. Bronstein
Attorney & CPA
July 15th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Stanley, Congrats on your new book! I wish you a world of achievement with it.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Stanley - this is great. If we could only remember those lessons from Dr. Suess from our childhood. It’s also interesting to note that a lot of the early cartoons we watched as kids DID have important moral lessons. Be yourself was definitely one of them. I have to be myself, everyone else is taken! ;-D
Beth
July 15th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Barbara:
Thank you very much for your kind words.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
July 15th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Beth:
My wife and I laughed for 20 minutes at 4:00 AM this morning when I told her I was writing an article that quoted from Dr. Seuss and Popeye . . .
Personally, I think the world would be better if we quoted from both of them more often.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
July 15th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
From Emerson to Popeye! Now that’s balance! Thanks for sharing Stanley.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Mimi:
I may be 49 years old, but part of me will ALWAYS be 8.
That’s how one stays young.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
July 15th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
To thine own self be true. I have always live that motto. One thing I can’t stand is a phony and I seem to be able to spot them a mile away. I am pretty much an open book myself. What you see is what you get. I like people who tell it like it is. No everyone feels that way though.
Thanks for the insight.
Susan
July 16th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Susan:
One needs to ALWAYS be on the lookout for a money.
We ALL have a habit of attracting them, so we have to stay vigilant.
Take care.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement