SHOULD LIFE DOMINATE KNOWLEDGE or should knowledge dominate LIFE? To ask this question is to raise the matter concerning which of these is the higher and more decisive power. There is no doubt, that LIFE is the higher and dominating power, but raw impulses are finally LIFE-defeating. Logic may prove well in lecture rooms, yet not prove at all under the spacious clouds, and along the landscapes and flowing currents. Arguments are dictated by our needs and temperaments; and our needs cannot be dictated by arguments.

SEVEN therapeautic tonics to loftily LOCATE your LIFE’s BASIC BEARING:

1. BANKING on an organic way of thinking, now more than ever people focus on their specific problems — their depression, their lack of motivation, their social inadequacies, their boredom.
2. ESSENTIALLY, what governs all of these seemingly separate problems is our personal attitude, how we view the world on a hourly, daily basis. It is how we see and interpret events.
3. ASPIRE to improve the overall attitude and everything else will elevate as well — creative powers, the ability to handle stress, confidence levels, as well as relationships with people.
4. REALLY, a negative, constricting attitude is designed to narrow down the richness of LIFE, at the cost of our creative powers, our sense of fulfillment, our social pleasures, and our vital energies.
5. INDEED, without wasting another day under such conditions, break out, expand what you see and what you experience. You want to open the aperture of the lens as wide as you can.
6. NURTURE to see yourself as an adventurous explorer. With the gift of consciousness, you stand before a vast and unknown universe that we humans have just begun to investigate.
7. GET away from those who prefer to cling to certain ideas many of them adopted early on in LIFE. Secretly afraid of what is unfamiliar and uncertain, they replace curiosity with conviction.

BEYONDISM FURTHER PREVAILS UPON YOU:

1. Kirk Dwayne Franklin, fondly known as Kirk Franklin, is a rare gem. An American gospel musician, choir director and author, Kirk has had massive success in contemporary gospel music. Abandoned as a baby by his mother, he was raised through a lot of challenges by his aunty and grandmother and had a fair share of YOUTH curiosity and misdemeanor. Amidst the tough life, Kirk studied music at a tender age and when he turned four, he was the pianist for his church choir; probably the smartest move that he ever made. Today, he is known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God’s Property and One Nation Crew, and has won multiple awards, including seven Grammy Awards.
   
   
2. Our interest in Kirk’s story however has nothing to do with his super achievements or multiple accolades. It has to do with an attribute that puzzles many people to date. It is almost laughable, for Kirk is a tremendous success in music but cannot actually sing. In all his productions, he is seen and heard as a choirmaster, keyboard player, guitarist and many other things, but not a singer. He conducts and leads others as they sing. This speaks volumes about the self-confidence of this musician who had a lousy upbringing and no chance at life. Without actually singing, his songs have gone gold and platinum even three times platinum in US charts, remained at number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for over 40 weeks and raked in millions through millions of copy sales. This only proves that nothing is impossible!
   
   
3. The 1709 born author Samuel Johnson, once said, “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” Self-confidence is the trait in a person that refuses to be denied even in the place of obvious disadvantage, logical and justifiable reasons to quit. There are many people who are not even great at what they do, but achieve more results than those who are professionals at it. There are people who may not be very skilled, off-key and with an almost non-existent charisma in their fields, but still manage to be successful because of self-confidence dose that precedes.
   
   
4. Self-belief is different from self-worship. In self-worship, people arrogantly overate themselves and proudly overshoot their abilities with superiority complex. In self-confidence however, they believe they can be, do and have whatever it takes to win. They are fully aware of their shortcomings, weaknesses and disadvantages. Self-confidence is proof that you fully believe in whom God made you and are not in denial of the fact that you are not perfect, yet believe more than you doubt. Self-confident people stand on top of their weaknesses to dare confront challenges with audacious faith.
   
   
5. In our humble submission, you should rather try and make mistakes along the way, than cow down or choose to remain the delusional perfectionist, who actually is a loser in disguise. Refusing to try because your fear says you stand no chance, is ignoring the shout of confidence that believes that you have every chance.
   
   
6. ‘Ordinary’ is the cousin to ‘stagnation.’ The safety of ‘normal’ is the enemy of ‘greatness’; for every ship is safe in the harbour, but that is not what ships were made for. Jump into the ring. Punch your way into the championship of LIFE instead of wallowing in the stands with your emotions governed and run by the outcomes of the games that others are playing.
   
   
7. Self-confidence is not always in born, sometimes it has to be grown and developed. When you display confidence, people who are used to seeing you as sissy may get a bit jittery and edgy at first. However, you should not live your LIFE to perform and measure up to other people’s expectations. Confidence is contagious and so is the lack of it. Do not doubt yourself just because you have run into a failure, opposition or tough criteria. Believe that you can, and you shall. Those who say they can and those who confess they cannot are both right. Believe in yourself and like Kirk Franklin, dare to move. Feed your faith and soon your doubts will starve to death.

Here is BEYONDISM FORMIDABLE FORMULA for SELF-ACTUALIZATION
(The ‘head’ and ‘tail’ of Activating your SELFHOOD) in regard to:
Acquiring speed and keep on accelerating to be at pace with unfolding ideas.

1. FALLING and failing in any issue should never baffle you; wipe the tears in your eyes and start laughing.
   Core Choice #18: Keep your nerves at strain, continue persisting and never ever surrender to failure.
   Sure Score #18: As drops of water eventually hollow out a stone, by constant effort you will make it.
2. ON your tomb wish not that this epitaph shall be inscribed: “Here lies one who tried a little, failed much.”
   Solid Stance #18: You must persist for a certain number of years like a stammer.
   Catalysing Consideration #18: For you are a stammer, if you like, of Space-Time.
3. REMEMBER, as you continue in your academic affairs: “This is a world where nothing is had for nothing.”
   Mighty Mission #18: Any particular task worth doing is worth doing to excess.
   Vivid Vision #18: All known about the future is that, it is what you make of it.
4. MUCH in sorrow, often in woe, onward go, Blessed BEYONDIST: Keep Right on to the End of the Road.
   Gaining Ground #18: Strive, and hold cheap the strain; account not the pang; dare, never grudge the throe.
   Capturing Clouds #18: Welcome each rebuff, and every sting that turns earth’s smoothness rough, joyfully.
5. UNIQUE in present TIMES, we are not NOW that strength which in OLD days moved earth and heaven.
   Lofty Leap #18: We are one equal temper of heroic hearts, hardened by fate, and strong in will.
   Merry Momentum #18: To pursue, to seek, to find, and not to yield, is our historical compulsion.
6. LORD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; but I WILL transform what I CAN.
   Holy Hearken #18: The drop of rain makes a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.
   Divine Distinction #18: To keep a lamp burning you have to persistently keep putting oil in it.
7. AFFLUENCE is known by the name of perseverance in a good cause — and of obstinacy in a bad one.
   Prudent Planting #18: There must be a simple, fundamental beginning of any great matter, issue or idea.
   Hoped Harvest #18: But the continuing unto the end, until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.

#18. To the extent I desire to augment my deepest CONVICTIONS,
Which kind of ASSERTIVENESS training must I indulge in?

Assertiveness skills teach one to express positive and negative feeling appropriately.
They are behaviours that serve the function of expressing wants, preferences or rights.
It is initiating and ending conversations at the correct times, and expressing opinions.
These skills are learned expressive behaviours that have overt and covert components.
Overt components include the verbal and nonverbal characteristics of an interaction.
The nonverbal characteristics include the facial expressions as well as body posture.
The covert components include beliefs, problem-solving and self-management skills.

#18. I, ___________________________, dedicating my energies towards practicing and using the rules for being ASSERTIVE, do DECISIVELY DECLARE that, when speaking I will always keep my voice calm. I will not yell, holler or scream. If I have something to say, I will speak up but never shout. I will listen to the pitch and tone of my voice. I will speak clearly, audibly, and calmly. I will make eye contact, good posture, and have a pleasant look on my face. I will wait for my turn to speak. I will not interrupt other people, it only makes them angry. If I have a hard time getting a word in, I will lift my finger to show that I want to say something. If I do not understand why someone said something, I will ask them why they said it. I will not allow myself to get really upset about something I do not completely understand, for I may be misinterpreting what the speaker means. I will be polite and respectful. I will listen to the other person’s views and never hurt the other person physically or emotionally. I will use ‘I’ statements: such as ‘I understand…,’ ‘I feel that …,’ ‘I want…,’ ‘I need…,’ or ‘I can…’

In this reference, as a BLESSED BEYONDIST, I hereby, make an ABSOLUTE AFFIRMATION that, I will constantly evaluate the risks and benefits of acting in an assertive manner. It is important for me to understand that being assertive is not always the best course of action and that, sometimes, due to the reaction of others around me, it is better to choose a nonassertive style of communicating. Some things to consider before deciding on being aggressive are: Is what I am being assertive about, what I really want? Am I willing to compromise for what I want or am I not willing to alter what I consider an acceptable outcome? Is what I am asking for really in my best interests? Sometimes it is important to pick my battles and decide when I will be assertive.