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MICHELLE DUNCAN 2005 |
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SUCCESSFUL MINDS AWARD WINNERS AWARD WINNERS FROM 2009-PRESENT ARE FEATURED ON THE REAL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DEDICATION PAGE |
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Michelle Duncan knows what Successful Minds know. She owns a persistent work ethic and a positive attitude. These are two of the most critical personal attributes that are required to achieve great things. As an elementary school graduate this year, Michelle has set the pace for a bright and exciting future as she enters high school. Her relentless effort and passion have left their mark on all that she has been a part of academically and socially at J. P. Robarts school and in her London community. Michelle is a real-life example of the success that can occur when one chooses to never give up and to maintain a positive attitude. In all the things Michelle has contributed to in her school/community [conscientious student, member of her school volleyball and cross country teams, yearbook committee member, talent show contestant, a school Reading Buddy, a committed helper at school and at home], her legacy will live on at J. P. Robarts and in her community at large. Michelle is a role model and a leader in her own right. This legacy will follow her as she continues her journey towards a successful and happy life. Her unwavering spirit to push forward and never lose sight of her goals has become the catalyst in her own success in becoming the best person she can. Her accomplishments have been recognized and have met with the admiration of school faculty, peers and community members. Keep this awesome effort going Michelle... Good luck in your continued efforts to reach higher and achieve great things! Congratulations!! |
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ROBYN MALIN 2006 |
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"The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit." –– Mark Twain; Famous Author & Poet
“Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.” –– Hellen Keller
––Samuel Johnson; Poet & Author
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It is well known by all success experts, that there are a few key essential success strategies that must be owned and applied for any one individual to succeed. KNOWLEDGE is one of the basic ingredients in the formula for being victorious in reaching any goal, dream or aspiration in this life. Even if the goal is as simple as learning to ride a bike. It is impossible to ride a bike without first knowing that you must push the pedals to make the bike move and apply the brakes to make the bike stop. At the same time, no amount of knowledge alone will guarantee success without personal action and/or application of the knowledge learned. For example: When you first get on a bike, you begin to put your knowledge into action by physically pushing the pedals, pressing the brakes, losing your balance and possibly even falling off the bike once, twice or more. PRACTICE through trial and error is necessary to succeed at most new skills, yet so many people give up after only one try feeling defeated and incompetent. In reality though, trying several times is often necessary to master a skill or reach a goal. Often, having the courage and persistence to try and try again, is the only difference between success and failure. This reality brings us to another essential success strategy known as “PERSEVERANCE”. Any individual who is willing to maintain consistent action despite the challenges or barriers they may encounter, is said to own perseverance, or to be persistent . KOWLEDGE, PRACTICE, and PERSEVERANCE need to exist for success to exist. Robyn Malin has been recognized this year as an individual that has risen above life challenges to succeed through acquiring knowledge, putting it into practice, and persevering against all odds. Robyn exemplifies the meaning of SUCCESS through her courageous effort to persevere and not give up, so that she can reach her personal goals. Successful people are not afraid to self-reflect and change their approach to their goals, if necessary, until they meet with success. Robyn owns this. Successful people know that the road to success will undoubtedly present challenges and difficulties, so they expect them, problem solve their way around them, and reach success. Robyn has lived this. Successful people know that “ Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals”. [Jim Rohn, Author, Motivational Speaker, Philosopher, Business Executive]. Robyn made the choice to apply basic fundamentals [knowledge, practice and perseverance] to achieve success academically, socially and within her community. She is a role model for others who want to achieve success. Hopefully her story will motivate and inspire others to follow her lead! Congratulations Robyn for applying the basic fundamentals needed to meet with success. Best of luck in your future, and thank you for showing us HOW success is accomplished!! |
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BRITTANY BUCKNELL 2007 |
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“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” Madame Curie; Educator, Nobel prize Winner |
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Madame “Marie” Curie’s life story reveals the strength and courage she owned. Her sense of determination and commitment in her life erased her difficult past and created her passionate and noble future. Born in Poland in 1867, her family lived in exile for their patriotic quest to fight and preserve Warsaw and Poland’s culture under Russian Czar Rule. She fought for her country and her culture in secret and became educated in a similar way...women were not allowed to be educated at Warsaw University during this repressive time in Poland’s history. Madame Curie became educated in a “floating university” in which the students met a night and at various locations to avoid detection by the Czar police. Later in life she won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and was known to help educate many young women as she studied in secret. She was born to a family with parents that believed “education was the key to lifting them and others from the chains of an oppressed nation; it was the way to a liberated and hopeful future”. All of our own life stories are similar to Madame Curie’s, in that, we all face our own individual struggles. As Madame Curie states in the quote above: “Life is not easy for any of us”. Everything in life comes down to a choice to either rise above the challenges we face and get committed to a better future, or sit idle and allow the difficulties of our lives to navigate us towards a disempowered future. Brittany Bucknell has a Madame Curie inside of her. With strength and determination she chose to remain committed to the focus and efforts necessary that led to her success this year. She lives with a new confidence that she can do anything she puts her mind to. Through her repetitive efforts to maintain a positive attitude and a consistent work ethic, Brittany also demonstrated that she chooses, and actually changes her mind to do what is necessary to encourage success in her life. At the same time, her respect, confidence and hard work inspires others to do the same. She also may not realize that her repetitive and consistent effort , attitudes and actions create the success she is achieving by literally changing the way her brain is wired. Research reveals that repetitive practice of these life skills mentioned above, over time, change the patterns of neural networks in the brain to help sustain the positive thoughts, behaviors, emotions and actions that have led to Brittany’s success. This means, the things we repeatedly do and think become hardwired in our brain to become our new normal. This is similar to what happened when we learned how to skip rope when we were young...repeated commitment and determination are required to program our brains to be able to master this skill. Once the skill is learned, it becomes easy to maintain because the template is written in our minds. Congratulations Brittany from Successful Minds, your community, your family & friends, and all of the staff at J.P. Robarts! We wish you continued success in the future. |
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ASHLEY MAIDENS 2008
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“There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.” –Orison Swett Marden
“Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true valaue of all people and all of their work.” —Orison Swett Marden
“We lift ourselves up by our thoughts; we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life; you must first enlarge your vision of it and yourself. Hold the ideals of yourself as you long to be, always and everywhere— Your ideals of what you want to attain—Your ideal of Health, Efficiency, Success.” —Orison Swett Marden
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Orison Swett Marden, Doctor of Medicine, Lawyer, successful businessman, author, & founder of “Success” magazine was born in New Hampshire in 1850 . When Orison was two years old his mother died, and then tragically when he turned seven, his father died. Orison and his two sisters where shuffled from one care giver to another while Orison worked as a hired hand to help support his family. Fraught with poverty and grief at such a young age, Orison was inspired by a book titled “Self Help” by Samuel Smiles. Orison made the decision to create a better future for himself and others, just as Samuel had done for him. Marden knew and believed that positive thoughts, behaviour and optimism were critical personal characteristics that were necessary to create SUCCESS and attain the DREAMS & ASPIRATIONS one might have in life. If there is some truth to Marden’s philosophical ideas, his own success and happiness in life beyond the tragedies that he faced would be living proof of his theory that “success comes to those who think, believe and live in positive ways”. His philosophy brings a glimmer of HOPE to those who may feel beaten down by the overwhelming challenges they have faced. Ashley Maidens is another living example of how a positive and optimistic mindset can bring about success. She has unwittingly uncovered the secrets to success written & applied years ago by Orison Marden. She somehow writes her own book for others to read when they experience her DETERMINATION & OPTIMISTIC APPROACH to life. Her EMPATHETIC GIFT to understand and comfort others when they are struggling only highlights her KIND and GENEROUS SPIRIT. Ashley is almost ahead of her own time in her application of these LAWS OF DAILY LIFE, as Marden named them: [kindness, cheerfulness, optimism, perseverance, discipline, & focus]. Dr. Marden reveals these laws throughout the many books he has written and ultimately through this quote, “We make the world we live in and shape our own environment." Congratulations Ashley Maidens, from Successful Minds, the staff & teachers at J. P. Robarts School, your peers and community at large. Thank you for inspiring others to achieve GREAT THINGS. We all wish you continued success in the promising future you are creating for yourself!
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I am REAL Beautiful! |
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There is a voice inside which speaks and says: 'This is the real me!’ William James |
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“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” –– William James; Father of Psychology “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened; vision cleared; ambition inspired, and success achieved.” –– Helen Keller |