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[Lei Lei]

Crab Level 1 - Location at the very bottom. They are not even seen. The crabs at level one don't want anything. They are just a comfortable where they are. They will make no attempt to get out of the situation that they are in. They can careless. They're good.

Crab Level 2 - Location. First layer of crab you see. They are at the bottom of the bucket but they will at least make an effort and look up at the crab at crab level 3 to decide whether or not they want to attempt to take the journed, start taking the journey, or attempt to pull down the crab at crab level 3.

Crab Level 3 - Location. Mid way up the bucket. Is on his/her way. They are on their way out, or on the way to grab the crab at crab 4 to make sure he don't get out.

Crab Level 4 - Location. At the top. The crab is sitting at the top. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Does he/she want to extend his leg an bring the crab at Crab Level 3 with him. Or does he want to just say the hell with them and get out.

When a crab is put into a bucket, usually they would or should try to escape as soon as another crab is placed into the bucket. Sometimes, they will even start fighting one another and get so caught up in it that they forget about escaping. Basically, to get caught in the 'crab bucket' is to be working hard on something, then one person gets distracted and nothing gets done.

Anyone familiar with the behaviour of a bunch of crabs trapped in the bucket will know what happens when one of them tries to climb to the top; instead of attempting the climb themselves, those left in the bucket will do all in their collective power to drag the climber back down.

Remember, anyone who is brazen enough to strive for success — or, god forbid, to achieve it — immediately becomes a target for the "crab bucket mentalities" who, rather than strive for success themselves, derive enormous pleasure from attempting to stop them.

There is a tremendous amount of negative peer pressure that is brought to bear on anyone who attempts to climb life's peaks by those who have defaulted on the climb.

In the face of pressure from your peers, do you act to pursue your chosen values? Or do you reject them & embrace the non- or anti-values that others have prescribed in their place? In other words, do you run your own life by selecting, then scaling, your own mountain peaks? Or, by letting others run your life for you, do you default on the climb?

Did Christopher Columbus listen when everyone told him he would sail over the edge of the earth? Did Henry Ford listen when everyone told him that attempting to replace the horse & cart with the automobile was a futility? Did the Wright Brothers listen when everyone told them that building a "flying machine" was impossible? No, they did not. They did not — because they refused to consider the opinions of others above the conclusions they had reached with their own minds — conclusions they were not prepared to sacrifice in order to satisfy the mediocrities who exhorted them to give up.

It is heroic role models like these who have demonstrated that no matter what obstacles are put in your path, whether those obstacles be the exertion of negative peer pressure designed to drag you down, or the masses telling you that attempting to build a "flying machine" is absurd, achieving your goals is possible.

And in a world where the predominant trend is toward anti-achievement & anti-success, motivational fuel is something that we all need from time to time, so that we can propel towards our goals.

"Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees & lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it ... Yet a few hold on & move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose & reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature & of life's potential. There are very few guideposts to find. The Fountainhead is one of them." - Ayn Rand

At time you will be looking to conquer a goal, an objective, a project, something, somewhere, and as you attempt excellence and achievement, there will be someone there to offer you discouragement instead of encouragement. There will someone there to tell you, your are wasting your time. But if you believe in the importance of achieving your values, and goals, the happiness will be in the end result, the end result being achievement. Happiness will then be your norm when independence, in thought and action is promoted, encouraged, and pursued.

THE STORY OF THE CRAB BUCKET

One time a man was walking along the beach and say another man fishing in the surf with a bait bucket beside him. As he drew closer, he saw that the bait bucket had no lid and had live crabs inside.

"Why don't you cover your bait bucket so the crabs won't escape?", he said.

"You don't understand.", the man replied, "If there is one crab in the bucket it would surely crawl out very quickly. However, when there are many crabs in the bucket, if one tries to crawl up the side, the others grab hold of it and pull it back down so that it will share the same fate as the rest of them."

So it is with people. If one tries to do something different, get better grades, improve herself, escape her environment, or dream big dreams, other people will try to drag her back down to share their fate. So one must have strong legs. When one grabs you to pull you down, shake them off. If one grabs you, because they want to climb, take them with you. Either way, you need strong legs.

Moral of the story: Ignore the crabs. Charge ahead and do what is right for you. It may not be easy and you may not succeed as much as you like, but you will NEVER share the same fate as those never try. (Crab Level 1)

We have been enriched by the talents of people who have had less than "perfect" bodies, whether by birth, accident or disease - Helen Keller, F.D. Roosevelt, Stephen Hawking, George Bush, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Reeve, to name just a few. They chose to "climb the crab bucket" instead of listening to others. By James A. Ziegler, CSP, HSG

Author of ‘The Prosperity Equation' Ziegler says… "Success is a thought process."

From the moment we're born negative forces in the world gang up and conspire against us. Your attitude is your most precious asset. Guard it and defend it. It is constantly under siege by negative influences.

If you put a live crab in a bucket, you must put a lid on the bucket because the crab can climb out, but, if you put two crabs in the bucket, there is no need to put a lid on it because neither crab will allow the other one to escape. They will latch onto each other and keep pulling each other back down into the bucket.

Life is exactly like that. There are so many of people out there who hate your success and they will do and say everything possible to pull you back down. They don't want to be successful themselves but they don't want you to break out or succeed either. If you're trying to become successful or if you have a positive attitude, they'll latch onto you and try to drag you back down to their level. They're the first to tell you why you are going to fail, why it won't work, and why you shouldn't do it. They're convinced the whole world is against them and all of their failures and disappointments are someone else's fault.

Non-successful craps always whispering negatives in your ear, spreading infectious defeatism, trying to pull you back down into the bucket. The Crabs of this world have a deeply ingrained welfare mentality; they're spiteful and envious…petty little people with petty little meaningless agendas. Crabs externalize their failures and blame the world for everything that's wrong with their lives. They believe the world owes them their existence regardless of the fact they contribute nothing. Crabs expect their government and their employer and their community to take care of them from cradle to grave. In their hearts they believe you owe them something too. They are always looking for some way to get the system or somebody else to pay for it. Don't be infected or sidetracked by other people's insecurity.

It always amazes me why so many people take financial advice from people who don't have any money. Even people who are related to you will innocently give you bad advice.

There are ‘dream killers' in your life who will constantly tell you that it can't be done…they have memorized all of the reasons you'll fail. All of these people are speaking to you from their own agenda and for their own reasons…not yours. Remember that.

If you really want to become wealthy…more than wealthy…if you want to become happy and prosperous and secure; make a positive move right now while you're thinking about it.

James A. Ziegler, CSP, HSG is a professional nationally recognized speaker and author as well one of the foremost experts in the world on becoming wealthy through starting or growing your own business…whatever business you might choose to start or grow. He is an internationally acclaimed marketing and selling genius with the credentials to back it up

If you want to be financially independent, you need to start spending the majority of your time with people who were already financial independent. Start to develop associations and friendships with people who had the means to live the kind of lifestyle that you want for yourself. And it is these associations along with a mentor that can make your goal of financial independence a reality.

Associating with the right people really does make a difference and not just to your net

worth. Have you ever noticed how people who are drowning in problems are surrounded by others in the same situation? People naturally become molded by the people they are around. It's just a natural human tendency to become a part of our environment. So the bottomline is that we need to choose our environment very carefully.

It's sometimes difficult to free yourself from a bad situation, it's always possible. You just need the desire mixed with some dogged determination. In fact, what can make it so hard to climb out of a bad situation is the people who unknowingly want to hold you back. Since they are fearful of anything different than what they know, they want to protect you by keeping you exactly where you are.

When you have a bucket full of crabs, all of the crabs are reasonably happy until one of them decides to try and climb out of the bucket. The other crabs become quite angry and do everything they can to pull that climbing crab right back to the bottom. So don't let other peoples' fears hold you back. Once you've decided on a goal, pursue it with everything you've got.