When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yea, doubting Thomas may have had a point in his day, and life may not be what you want it to be, but if you constantly doubt yourself, how can you accomplish anything?

Where is your confidence? What possible good can come from taking the negative aspect of any situation and growing it into acceptance?

Purpose of achievement is to attain a goal. So, if you set your goals and strive to get there, it should be assumed that you are moving toward your goal (at least so far as intent) no matter what you are doing, right?

I vaguely remember an instructor from college saying once, If there are two ways to take something, always input the benefit of doubt and assume the better more optimistic choice is the right way to take it.

When watching a football game, one of those great high school starter games, set to determine who starts when the real games begin, I noticed the coach called defense only when the team was protecting their goal. As long as the team was fighting for more ground they played offense. Along the same lines, Ive heard the phrase, a strong defense requires a good offense. Simply put, if you concentrate more on gaining ground than on protecting your goals, your accomplishments will be greater. Time spent protecting your goals is wasted time, when you could be working toward attaining your goals rather than preventing others from reaching their goal.

In business, if you waste your time focusing on what your competition is doing rather than working toward meeting your goals, you dont get very far.

Focus your attention on where youre going. Dont waste time worrying about where your competition is. You will gain ground while they are watching you. Smile as you reach your destination.

Copyright 2005 Jan Verhoeff

Jan Verhoeff

Somewhere between college and life, Jan began to focus on other people. Her intense need to feel accomplishment in her life drove her to finding a deeper contentment than just existing in the hoot 'n holler of southeastern Colorado. While the beauty of the prairie never escaped her eye for color and beauty, the intensity of her desire kept her moving ever onward.

Summers in Michigan and Tennessee brought her closer to something, but it wasn't until much later, as an adult, mother of four that she began to understand that her need for accomplishment included sharing what she had learned along the way. It also meant that her talent for painting the dream and writing her thoughts had a lot to do with her accomplishments.

She began to focus on actually writing down her thoughts and ideas in journals, revealing her prayer thoughts and life events. Bits of paper became treasures of memory, and a notebook became an outlet of hope and a step of faith. Jan put her thoughts on paper, and began to publish them, where she found opportunity, including various magazines, trade journals, and local publications. Her interests in business and new enterprise became a resounding outlet for her talent, and wisdom for those who sought it. Jan's interest in business development became her trademark, resulting in her first book publication in !992, "Building a Business: From Scratch". This 22 page booklet was published by a local printer in a vertical brochure format, selling more than a thousand copies nation wide. It has resurfaced in college classes as the basis for college term papers, graduate thesis, and research documents for small business courses over the past 13 years.

Seeking more diverse outlets for her talents, Jan most recently has written several short stories published in various books, including: "Stories for the Trail" with the Lamar Writer's Group, "Prickly Points of Life" a combination poetry/short story collection of Jan's work, and "Coffee Clatter" a bound collection of written works originally published in a newsletter published by her daughter, Brenna, as a Sophomore Year Project when she was homeschooling at Buchanan Academy.

More recently her work is available in a newsletter she publishes weekly via email, and various blogs listed on the right side of this page.

You may contact Jan at: janverhoeff@yahoo.com