Jin and Jorg

BOOK TRAILER FOR “MAJOR DREAM” BY JIN ROBERTSON

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Today, the third day of a three-day seminar entitled “The Language of Impact,” in Los Angeles, I saw two of the one hundred twenty attendees talking to each other during a break. I walked up to Jin Robertson and Jorg Winterlach and said, “Excuse me, I just want to say that you both are amazing. You inspire me.” As the three of us talked for the next few minutes, I was thinking how incredible it was that our lives—Jin lives in South Korea, Jorg lives in Germany, and I live in California—had intersected at that moment in time.

Dr. Jin Kyu Robertson

Jin had come to America at age twenty-two in response to a South Korean newspaper ad looking for a housemaid. She had a one-way ticket, a hundred dollars, and very little English. Six years later, to escape her husband’s abuse, she entered the U.S. Army, where she rose to a rank of Major. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in International Relations History from Harvard. Her daughter followed in her footsteps, earning a Harvard degree and then entering the U.S. Army; she is now a Major serving in Pakistan. Jin is now Korea’s most popular motivational speaker, and her book, Major Dream: From Immigrant Housemaid to Harvard Ph.D., has sold more than half a million copies and prevented numerous suicides in Korea.

Jorg Winterlach

Jorg grew up in East Berlin under communism, forced to

Night Brings Out the Bright Contrast of Day

Hope and faith will always triumph over adversity just as good will always triumph over evil, for implicit in the duality of material existence is the promise that this, too, shall pass.

Good and evil must ever be complements on this earth. Everything created must bear some guise of imperfection. How else could God, the Sole Perfection, fragment His one consciousness into forms of creation distinguishable from Himself? There can be no images of light without contrasting shadows. Unless evil had been created, man would not know the opposite, good. Night brings out the bright contrast of day; sorrow teaches us the desirability of joy.
Paramahansa Yogananda

Rise to the occasion and you will

Flowers Grow Out of Dark Moments

If you believe that you are one with God, that you co-create whatever comes into your life, and that everything happens for a reason, then it follows that hardships are nothing more than course corrections on your spiritual path.

There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.
Richard Bach

If you could but look through God’s eyes, you would see God’s

It Is Useless Knocking at the Door of Heaven

When you feel attuned to God and bathed in the healing, protective glow of God’s love, you recognize fear for the illusion that it is.

Clouds don’t worry about falling into the sea because they can’t (a) fall or (b) drown. But they are free to believe they can, and they may fear if they wish.
Richard Bach

You realize it is not the adversity that needs to be changed, it is

The Ghosts of Difficulties Past

Fear relaxes its hold on you when, in the midst of crisis, you can look beyond the pain of the moment and think, There is value in this.

Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Summon the courage to look squarely at the challenge in front of you, lest

Ice Flowers on the Window Panes

Adversity compels you to dig deep within until you tap into the bottomless well of courage and fortitude that is your Divine birthright.

You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.
Mary Tyler Moore

In the worst of times, you may

Let It Rain

The most capable and courageous among us have likely lived through punishing experiences, the simple telling of which would make the rest of us faint dead away.

That which does not kill me makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche

If you cannot change what you are faced with, then you must

It Is Necessary to Suffer Some Defeats

Our greatest lessons are often embedded in our greatest pain. We cry to the heavens, unaware that we are growing stronger and wiser even as we plead for mercy.

We rarely gain a high or larger view except as it is forced upon us through struggles which we would have avoided if we could.
Charles Horton Cooley

You would not be the person you are today if you had never been brought to your knees by the vicissitudes of life.

If life teaches us anything, it may be that it’s necessary to suffer some defeats. Look at

Greater and Greater Things

Do not fear adversity. Every squall you are forced to navigate better prepares you for the next storm brewing just over the horizon.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
African proverb

Indeed, it may be advantageous to find yourself adrift in

Two WIngs to Fly

Every tussle with adversity is designed to further buff the perfectly formed diamond of your soul.

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?
Rumi

An athlete elevates his game not by practice alone, but by competing against stronger opponents.

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
Edmund Burke

Embrace your inner David and

Summon the Hero Within

Celebrate the difficult moments, for they are where the missing pieces of your greatness can be found.

Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.
Charles (Tremendous) Jones

Greeting every challenge as a character-building exercise

Blame Yourself

Are you miserable and discouraged with life? Did it ever occur to you that the problem might not be with life but with you? Or that you might be able to turn things completely around just by reframing whatever it is you’re dealing with?

If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches.
Rainer Maria Rilke

For example, if people are treating you poorly, this could be your opportunity to experience the transcendent power of

Faith Alone Defends

When you are firmly anchored in God, you know that whatever you must face, you will not be facing it alone.

Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God, no matter what the danger.
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Ultimately, real security is trusting that you have the faith, strength, and courage to rise above any challenge.

Faith alone defends. Life is either a

Wrestle your Fear to the Ground!

Never turn away in fear from a challenge that must be faced. Fear can only be conquered if it is seized and wrestled to the ground. Shrink away from it and fear becomes your master.

Look into your fears, dare them to do their worst and cut them down when they try. If you don’t, they’ll clone themselves, mushroom till they surround you, choke the road to the life you want. Every turn you fear is empty air, dressed to look like jagged hell.
Richard Bach

Fear is the moat full of alligators between you and

Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff

Not long after I started my freelance writing career, I was asked to write a script for a non-linear video presentation, which essentially means that the viewer would be able to jump from segment to segment. Kind of like clicking on links on a website in 2008.

I listened carefully to the instructions but since this was brand-new territory for me, I was a bit confused. When I got home, I stared at the computer screen, not knowing how or where to begin. Panic began creeping in.

Did I mention this was a rush job? A draft had to be completed in just a couple of days. I took a deep breath and plunged in, not sure that what I was doing was what needed to be done. I called the client to get clarification but hung up the phone more confused than ever. Still, I managed to put together some semblance of a script and showed up at the appointed time, project in hand.

To my horror, the client’s face began souring as he read the draft I handed him. Finally, he looked up with an expression that I interpreted as, “I can’t believe I trusted this project to such a bozo.” Heart pounding and palms sweating, I tried to remain calm as he explained that what I had given him was off target. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself from bolting out the front door.