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August 15, 2007
Thinking Like a Farmer by Jim Rohn
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age is the fact we've lost our sense of seasons. Unlike the farmer whose priorities change with the seasons, we have become impervious to the natural rhythm of life. As a result, we have our priorities out of balance. Let me illustrate what I mean:
For a farmer, springtime is his most active time. It's then when he must work around the clock, up before the sun and still toiling at the stroke of midnight. He must keep his equipment running at full capacity because he has but a small window of time for the planting of his crop. Eventually winter comes when there is less for him to do to keep him busy.
There is a lesson here. Learn to use the seasons of life. Decide when to pour it on and when to ease back, when to take advantage and when to let things ride. It's easy to keep going from nine to five year in and year out and lose a natural sense of priorities and cycles. Don't let one year blend into another in a seemingly endless parade of tasks and responsibilities. Keep your eye on your own seasons, lest you lose sight of value and substance.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine
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August 14, 2007
Be a Person Who Practices Non-Situational Integrity by Dr. Denis Waitley
Integrity, a standard of personal morality and ethics, is not relative to the situation you happen to find yourself in and doesn't sell out to expediency. Its short supply is getting even shorter, but without it, leadership is a façade. Learning to see through exteriors is a critical development in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Sadly, most people continue to be taken in by big talk and media popularity, flashy or bizarre looks, and expensive possessions. They move through most of their years convinced that the externals are what count, and are thus doomed to live shallow lives. Men and women who rely on their looks or status to feel good about themselves inevitably do everything they can to enhance the impression they make and do correspondingly little to develop their inner value and personal growth. The paradox is that the people who try hardest to impress are often the least impressive. Puffing to appear powerful is an attempt to hide inse! curity.
In the Roman Empires' final corrupt years, status was conveyed by the number of carved statues of the gods displayed in people's courtyards. As in every business, the Roman statue industry had good and bad sculptors and merchants. As the empire became ever more greedy and narcissistic, the bad got away with as much as they could. Sculptors became adept at using wax to hide cracks and chips in marble and most people couldn't discern the difference in quality.
Statues began to weep or melt under the scrutiny of sunlight or heat in foyers. For statues of authentic fine quality, carved by reputable artists, people had to go to the artisan marketplace in the Roman Quad and look for booths with signs declaring sine cera, which translates in English to mean, without wax. We, too, look for the real thing in friends, products, and services. In people, we value sincerity, from the words, sine cera, more than almost any other virtue. We expect it from our leaders, which we are not getting in our political, media, business and sports' heroes for the most part. We must demand it of ourselves.
Integrity that strengthens an inner value system is the real human bottom line. Commitment to a life of integrity in every situation demonstrates that your word is more valuable than a surety bond. It means you don't base your decisions on being politically correct. You do what's right, not fashionable. You know that truth is absolute, not a device for manipulating others. And you win in the long run, when the stakes are highest. If I were writing a single commandment for leadership it would be, "You shall conduct yourself in such a manner as to set an example worthy of imitation by your children and subordinates." In simpler terms, if they shouldn't be doing it, neither should you. I told my kids, "clean up your room," and they inspected the condition of my garage. I told them that honesty was our family's greatest virtue, and they commented on the radar detector I had installed in my car. When I told them about the vices of drinking and wild parties, they watched from t! he upstairs balcony, the way our guests behaved at our adult functions.
It's too bad some of our political and business leaders don't understand that "What you are speaks so loudly that no one really pays attention to what you say." But it is even more true that if what you are matches what you say, your life will speak forcefully indeed.
It's hardly a secret that learning ethical standards begins at home. A child's first inklings of a sense of right and wrong come from almost imperceptible signals received long before he or she reaches the age of rational thought about morality. Maybe you´re asking yourself what kind of model you are for future generations, remembering that people are either honest or dishonest, that integrity is all or nothing, and that children can't be fooled in such basic matters. They learn by example.
To remind myself of my responsibility to live without wax, with sincerity and integrity, I took the liberty of re-writing Edgar A. Guest's poem, "Sermons We See" to apply to setting an example as a real winner for my children and grandchildren.
I'd rather watch a winner, than hear one any day. I'd rather have one walk with me, than merely show the way. The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear. And the best of all the coaches are the ones who live their deeds. For to see the truth in action is what everybody needs. I can soon learn how to do it, if you'll let me see it done. I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true. But, I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do. For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give. But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live. I'd rather watch a winner, than hear one any day.
Hey, politician, business leader, motion picture producer, television actor, rock star, sports star. Hey mom, hey dad. Don't tell me how to live. Show me by your actions. You're my role models.
Action Idea: When you talk to others, beginning right now, don't try to impress them by talking about your accomplishments. Let your actions speak for you. Ask more questions.
-- Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from The Denis Waitly Ezine
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August 13, 2007
You Are a Powerful Medium by Nido Qubein
You can't find a more powerful medium of communication than yourself -- your character, your personality and your principles. If you want to send a powerful, positive message to the people with whom you work, or to whom you sell, follow these principles:
(1) You manage the process, but you LEAD people.
An organization runs smoothly when its people function smoothly. Dealing with problems in engineering, production, marketing and sales without dealing with the human element is like dealing with a flat tire without dealing with air. The finest steel-belted radial is worthless without the air that holds it up. The finest engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales and servicing systems are worthless without the people who keep them functioning.
I once read an interview in the Harvard Business Review with Robert Haas, chairman of the board of Levi Strauss. He called production-management "the hard stuff" and people management "the soft stuff."
Under the old philosophy at Levi Strauss, he said, "The soft stuff was the company's commitment to our work force. And the hard stuff was what really mattered: getting pants out the door. What we've learned is that the soft stuff and the hard stuff are becoming increasingly intertwined."
So pay careful attention to the human side of your business.
(2) Inspire people, don't just drive them.
We can inspire people by showing them how to be their very best. Ed Temple, the Tennessee State track coach who worked with some of America's top women's track stars, liked to say, "A mule you drive, but with a race horse, you use finesse." Treat your people like Thoroughbreds instead of like mules. They'll get the message and respond.
(3) Be easy to respect and look up to.
You don't gain respect by sitting in an ivory tower and looking down on the work floor. Be accessible to employees and let them see your human side.
Employees are turned off by executives who pretend to be infallible. Observe high standards of personal conduct, but let your employees know that you're human. Talk to them about your bad decisions as well as your good ones. When you blow it, grin and admit it. Your employees will respect you for it.
(4) Be easy to like and get along with Employees like leaders who are human -- who make mistakes and acknowledge them.
It's all right to let them see your vulnerability. If you made a bad decision, talk about it with the people you lead. Let it be a lesson for them as well as for you.
Don't feel that you have to know everything. Acknowledge that the people you lead may know much more than you do about certain things.
(5) Help people to like themselves.
Robert W. Reasoner, a California school superintendent, who headed a statewide task force on self-esteem, identified five basic attitudes that foster self-esteem. They are:
A sense of security.
A sense of identity.
A sense of belonging.
A sense of purpose.
A sense of personal competence.
Secure people are comfortable with who they are and with what others think about them. They know their roles in the organization and are confident that they can fill them.
People with a sense of identity know how they fit into the work place and how the work place fits into their lives. To them, work takes its place among family, friends and community as an important and fulfilling component of their lives.
When employees have a sense of belonging, they identify with the company's vision and goals, because these things have personal meaning for them. They personally share in the success and the prestige of the company.
Employees obtain a sense of purpose from knowing the company's goals and knowing how their efforts contribute toward those goals. Management needs to take employees into its confidence and give them a role in planning and goal-setting. You can give employees a sense of personal competence by educating them for their jobs and giving them the freedom to succeed or fail on their own.
(6) Help people to believe that what they're doing is important.
My friend Stew Leonard, the grocery-store wizard from Connecticut, once told me that he refused to use job titles that he perceives as demeaning. Once he noticed a job listed as "popcorn maker." He immediately ordered a more dignified title.
"How would you feel if someone asked you what you did for a living and you had to answer, 'I'm a popcorn maker'?" he asked me.
Are there any demeaning titles in your organization?
Medtronic, Inc., has a heartwarming way of dramatizing the importance of what its employees do. Each year at Christmas time, the company holds a party for employees. Guests of honor are people whose lives have been prolonged by Medtronic cardio-pulmonary devices.
Can you think of ways of dramatizing to your employees the importance of what they do?
(7) Be responsive to people. Listen to people. Read people. Respond; don't react.
Leaders should be accessible to the people they lead. Let your staff and associates know they can come to you with problems, concerns, ideas, suggestions or complaints. If they bring you usable ideas, adopt the ideas and give the employees credit.
Welcome bad news as well as the good. What you don't know can hurt you. Don't ignore complaints. Listen to them. Find out what you can do to rectify matters, let the employees know what you plan to do -- and do it.
If you put these principles into practice, you will be constantly sending out a powerful and positive message: Yourself.
Humans have a variety of ways to send messages. We "speak" with our eyes, our facial expressions, our posture, our clothes, our grooming, our lifestyles, and many other aspects of our persons. But the most familiar and most explicit form of communication is with words.
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine
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August 12, 2007
A Leader Always Fails Upwards! by Tony Alessandra
Abraham Lincoln really was born in a log cabin. The fact that he went on to become President -- and to lead the country through the most difficult period of its history -- is truly remarkable. It is even more amazing when you consider what it took to be an important leader in the middle of the nineteenth century. Although we hear a lot about people like Lincoln or Andrew Jackson or Ulysses S. Grant -- people who came from nothing to wield great power -- these were most definitely the exceptions that proved the rule. Moreover, the rule was, most successful people started out with all the advantages. Financially, it was much harder to get rich a hundred and fifty years ago than it is today -- and if you failed, it was much harder to get back on your feet. There was no safety net from the government or from anywhere else to make sure that you did not go hungry. In those days, it was every man for himself.
With that in mind, let's look for a minute at some of the things that Lincoln faced and overcame. You have probably seen lists similar to this, describing Lincoln's failures, but I'd like to go through it again in order to make some important points, which we will take up immediately after the list. As you are reading this list, I'd like you also to think of setbacks you have faced in your own life, and how you responded to them.
In 1832, Lincoln was working in a general store in Illinois when he decided to run for the state legislature. However, the election was some months away, and before it took place, the general store went bankrupt and Lincoln was out of a job. So, he joined the army and served three months. When he got out, it was time for the election -- which he lost.
Then, with a partner, Lincoln opened a new general store. His partner embezzled from the business, and the store went broke. In addition, shortly thereafter, the partner died, leaving Lincoln with debts that took several years to pay off.
In 1834, Lincoln ran again for the state legislature, and this time he won. He was even elected to three more terms of two years each. During this period, however, Lincoln also suffered some severe emotional problems. Today he would have been categorized as clinically depressed.
By 1836, Lincoln had become a licensed attorney. At that time, a law degree was not required to pass the bar exam, and Lincoln had been studying on his own for years. He later became a circuit-riding lawyer, traveling from county to county in Illinois to plead cases in different jurisdictions. He was one of the most diligent of all the lawyers doing this kind of work, and between 1849 and 1860 he missed only two court sessions on the circuit.
In 1838, he was defeated in an attempt to become Speaker of the Illinois legislature, and in 1843, he was defeated in an attempt to win nomination for Congress. In 1846, he was elected to Congress, but in 1848, he had to leave because his party had a policy of limiting terms. In 1854, he was defeated in a run for the U.S. Senate. In 1856, he lost the nomination for Vice President, and in 1858, he was again defeated in a race for the Senate. Yet in spite of all these setbacks, in 1860 he was elected President of the United States.
What can we learn about leadership from looking at this chronology? To me, the most remarkable thing is how every time Lincoln failed at something, he was soon trying for something even bigger. After he lost his seat in the state legislature, he ran for the national congress. After he lost a bid for the Senate, he tried to become vice president -- and after he lost the Senate race again, he ended up President of the whole country.
Lincoln saw himself as a leader long before anyone else did -- and this is the first key to his leadership genius. He may have failed many times, but somehow he always failed upward. He was propelled by a sense of mission, and he was willing and able to do whatever it took to get that great mission accomplished.
Here's to more personal insight,
Tony Alessandra
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine
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August 11, 2007
Evan Till Eleven by Ron White
One of my good friends has a little boy named Evan. I call him 'Evan Till Eleven' because it rhymes and I am a clown.
When I met them, he was zero. But, shortly thereafter he just had a birthday so now he is one year old.
A few weeks ago, we were at a swimming pool party. Evan had no fear of the water. He kept jumping off the steps of the pool to catch the water shooting out of the fountain. Every time he would jump off the steps I would catch him because little did he know that the water was over his head.
Evan did not stand on the steps and ask himself Can I:
- reach the water fountain?
- stand in the water or is it over my head?
- SWIM!!!??
Instead, this one year old jumped and laughed every time I caught him. I then swam him over to fulfill his goal of touching the fountain. He laughed hysterically as he touched the fountain and then I would take him back to the steps and guess what happened? You bet... Evan again jumped into the water that was above his head and I caught him and swam him to the fountain. This routine continued for longer than you might think is possible.
When Evan is at the bottom of a staircase, he doesn't say to himself, 'WOW! That looks too high for me; I bet others have gotten hurt, or what if I get stuck?' Evan will look at the steps and start up taking one step at a time.
As adults it would be a good idea to think more like a one year old. We let fear stop us from really pursuing our dreams. We wonder what would happen if we failed, got stuck, ran out of money or looked like a fool. Often times, this worry is considering things that may not occur. Please do not misunderstand that analyzing a situation and assessing the risk is not wrong. It is right when it is tempered with some measure of risk and optimism.
In 13 years of running my own business I have asked myself what would happen if everything went wrong at the same time. However, I did not allow that answer to keep me from jumping off the steps. And you know what? 6 years ago, everything did go wrong and things went bust. But, it wasn't all that bad. I was actually happy to find that the fall wasn't bad as I thought and I swam back to the steps and jumped off again.
Today I am happily at the fountain I was reaching for. If you are on the steps and you are considering that risk of failure; if it is not a life or death risk... I encourage you to jump. I won't be there to catch you, but you might be surprised to find that you are caught by your own imagination, drive, work ethic or the hidden hand of your Creator.
Put fear in its place and risk... Evan would.
Ron White
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine
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August 10, 2007
The Secret Life by Stephen R. Covey
The secret life is the key to a quality life and that in turn is the key to a quality culture, products, and services. Once in New York City, I attended the Broadway play, The Secret Garden. The play was particularly poignant for me that evening because my mother had just died.
The Tony Award winning musical is the story of a young girl whose mother and father die of cholera in India as the play begins. She is sent to live with her uncle in a large British manor. The old house is filled with romantic spirits. As the restless girl explores the grounds of the estate, she discovers the entrance to the magical secret garden, a place where anything is possible.
When she first enters the garden, she finds that it appears to be dead, much like her cousin, a bedridden boy, and her uncle, still haunted by memories of his lovely wife who died giving birth to the boy. In harmony with natural laws and principles, the girl faithfully plants seeds and brings new life to the garden. As the roots are warmed and the garden cultivated, she brings about a dramatic transformation of her entire culture within one season.
In my many years of teaching and training, I have seen several such transformations brought about by proactive people who exercise principle-centered leadership and the Seven Habits in their secret, private, and public lives.
When I returned home to Salt Lake City the next day to speak at my mother's funeral, I referred to the Secret Garden, because for me and many others, my mother's home was a secret garden where we could escape and be nurtured by positive affirmation. In her eyes, all about us was good, and all that was good was possible.
Our Three Lives
We all live three lives: public, private and secret. In our public lives, we are seen and heard by colleagues, associates, and others within our circle of influence. In our private lives, we interact more intimately with spouses, family members, and close friends. The secret life is where your heart is, where your real motives are the ultimate desires of your life.
Many executives never visit the secret life. Their public and private lives are essentially scripted by who and what precedes and surrounds them or by the pressures of the environment. And so they never exercise that unique endowment of self-awareness the key to the secret life where you can stand apart from yourself and observe your own involvement.
Courage is required to explore our secret life because we must first withdraw from the social mirror, where we are fed positive and negative feedback continuously. As we get used to this social feedback, it becomes a comfort zone. And we may opt to avoid self-examination and idle away our time in a vacuum of reverie and rationalization. In that frame of mind, we have little sense of identity, safety, or security.
Examine Your Motives
The most critical junctures in my life take place when I visit my secret life and ask, "What do I think? What do I believe is right? What should my motives be?" These are times when I choose my motives. One such time occurred when I first heard Dag Hammarskjold say, "It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual, than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses." That statement had such a profound effect on me that I started to say to myself in regard to my relationships with other people, "Wait a minute it's my life. I can choose whether I want to make reconciliation with this person or not. I can choose my own motives."
One of the exciting fruits of the "secret garden" is an ability to consciously choose your own motives. Until you choose your own motives, you really can't choose to live your own life. Everything flows out of motive and motivation that is the root of our deepest desires.
Now, when I get into a frustrating or perplexing situation, I enter into my secret life. That's where I find not only motives but also correct principles; that's where the inner wisdom is. As I learn to be proactive in exploring the secret life, I tap into self-awareness, imagination, conscience, and into the exercise of free will to choose another motive.
People who regularly explore their secret life and examine their motives are better able to see into the hearts of others, practice real empathy, bestow real empowerment and affirm worth and identity.
A healthy secret life will benefit your private and public lives in many ways. For example, when I'm preparing to give a speech, I read aloud a favorite discourse on faith hope and charity because it helps me to purify my motive. I lose all desire to impress. My only desire is to bless. And when I go to a public setting with that motive, I have great confidence and inner peace. I feel more love for the people and feel much more authentic myself.
Executives who attend our leadership training in the mountain setting of Sundance often tell me, "This is the first time in many years that I've done any soul searching. I've seen myself as if for the first time, and I've resolved that my life is going to be different. I'm going to be true to what I really believe." Recently, many people have written me to say, "Your habits and principles have made the difference. I'd never really thought about some of them before, but I resonate with them." That's because these principles are found in people's secret life.
And yet most of us spend our busy days privately doing our thing, never pausing long enough to enter the secret life, the secret garden, where we can create masterpieces, discover great truths and enhance very aspect of our public and private lives.
Having a healthy secret life is the key to having a quality private and public life, as well as a quality culture, product or service.
Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine
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August 9, 2007
Procrastination Doesn't Make Perfect by Denis Waitley
Perfectionists are often great procrastinators. Having stalled until the last minutes, they tear into a project with dust flying and complaints about insufficient time. Perfectionist-procrastinators are masters of the excuse that short notice kept them from doing the quality job they could have done.
But that's hardly the only variety of procrastination - which is one of my own favorite hiding places when I try to blame external conditions instead of myself for some difficulty. Mine comes with a gnawing feeling of being fatigued, always behind. I try to tell myself that I'm taking it easy and gathering my energies for a big new push, but procrastination differs markedly from genuine relaxation - which is truly needed. And it saves me no time or energy. On the contrary, it drains both, leaving me with self-doubt on top of self-delusion.
We're all very busy. Every day we seem to have a giant to-do list of people to see, projects to complete, e-mails to read, e-mails to write. We have calls to answer and calls to make, then more calls to people with whom we keep playing voice-mail tag.
Henri Nouwen's classic book, Making All Things New, likens our lives to "overstuffed suitcases that are bursting at the seams."
Feeling there is forever far too much to do, we say we're really under the gun this week. But working hard or even heroically to solve a problem is little to our credit if we created the problem in the first place. When most people refer to themselves as being under the gun, they want to believe, or do believe, that the pressures and problems are not of their own making. In most cases, however, the gun appeared after failure to attend to business in good time. Instead of being proactive early, they procrastinated until the due date became a crisis deadline.
One of the best escapes from the prison of procrastination is to take even the smallest steps toward your goals. People usually procrastinate because of fear and lack of self-confidence and, ironically, become even more afraid when under the gun. There are many ways to experiment and test new ground without risking the whole ball game on one play.
Experience has shown that when people go after one big goal at once, they invariably fail. If you had to swallow a twelve-ounce steak all at once, you'd choke. You have to cut the steak into small pieces, eating one bite at a time. So it is with prioritizing. Proactive goal achievement means taking every project and cutting it up into bite-sized pieces. Each small task or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini-goal in itself. Using this method, the goal becomes manageable. When mini-mistakes are made, they are easy to correct. And with the achievement of each mini-goal, you receive reinforcement and motivation in the form of positive feedback. As basic as this sounds, much frustration and failure is caused when people try to "bite off more than they can chew" by taking on assignments with limited resources and impossible timeline expectations.
Two major fears that sire procrastination are fear of the unknown and fear of rejection or looking foolish. A third fear - of success - is often overlooked. Many people, even many executives, fear success because it carries added responsibility that can seem too heavy to bear, such as setting an example of excellence that calls for additional effort and willingness to take risks. Success, without adequate self-esteem or the belief that it is deserved, also can create feelings of guilt and the result is only temporary or fleeting high achievement. Playing it safe can seem more tempting than a need to step forward with determination to do it now and do it right.
Here are some ideas to help make you a victor over change rather than a victim of change:
1. Set your wake-up time a half hour earlier tomorrow and keep the clock at that setting. Use the extra time to think about the best way to spend your day.
2. Memorize and repeat this motto: "Action TNT: Today, not Tomorrow." Handle each piece of incoming mail only once. Answer your e-mail either early in the morning or after working hours. Block out specific times to initiate phone calls, personally take incoming calls, and to meet people in person.
3. When people tell you their problems, give solution-oriented feedback. Rather than taking on the problem as your own assignment, first, ask what's the next step they plan to take, or what they would like to see happen.
4. Finish what you start. Concentrate all your energy and intensity without distraction on successfully completing your current major project.
5. Be constructively helpful instead of unhelpfully critical. Single out someone or something to praise instead of participating in group griping, grudge collecting or pity parties.
6. Limit your television viewing or Internet surfing to mostly educational or otherwise enlightening programs. Watch no more than one hour of television per day or night, unless there is a special program you have been anticipating. The Internet has also become a great procrastinator's hideout for tension-relieving instead of goal-achieving activities.
7. Make a list of five necessary but unpleasant projects you've been putting off, with a completion date for each project. Immediate action on unpleasant projects reduces stress and tension. It is very difficult to be active and depressed at the same time.
8. Seek out and converse with a successful role model and mentor. Learning from others' successes and setbacks will inevitably improve production of any kind. Truly listen; really find out how your role models do it right.
9. Understand that fear, as an acronym, is False Evidence Appearing Real, and that luck could mean Laboring Under Correct Knowledge. The more information you have on any subject - especially case histories - the less likely you'll be to put off your decisions.
10. Accept problems as inevitable offshoots of change and progress. With the ever more rapid pace of change in society and business, you'll be overwhelmed unless you view change as normal and learn to look for its positive aspects - such as new opportunities and improvements - rather than bemoan the negative.
There is actually no such thing as a "future" decision; there are only present decisions that will affect the future. Procrastinators wait for just the right moment to decide.
If you wait for the prefect moment, you become a security-seeker who is running in place, unwittingly digging yourself deeper into your rut. If you wait for every objection to be overcome, you'll attempt nothing. Make your personal motto: "Stop stewing and start doing!"
This week, get out of your comfort zone and go from procrastinating to proactivating!
Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from Denis Waitleys Ezine
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August 8, 2007
Becoming a Proactive Leader by Dr. Denis Waitley
The knowledge era's new leaders, many of whom are immigrants and women, are managing change by conceiving innovative organizations and novel ways to attract and motivate employees. They are learning to be proactive instead of reactive, and to appreciate the full importance of relationships and alliances. They also have a healthy aptitude for risk and perseverance, and know how to gain strength from setbacks and failure.
Life's Batting Average
Baseball's greatest hitter grew up near my neighborhood in San Diego. When Ted Williams slugged for the Boston Red Sox, my father and I kept a record of his daily batting average. And when I played Little League ball, my dad told me not to worry about striking out. In Williams's finest year, dad reminded me, the champion failed at the plate about 60 percent of the time.
Football's greatest quarterbacks complete only six out of ten passes. The best basketball players make only half their shots. Even with satellite mapping and expert geologists, leading oil companies make strikes in only one out of ten wells. Actors and actresses auditioning for roles are turned down twenty-nine in thirty times. And stock market winners make money on only two out of five of their investments.
Since failure is a given in life, success takes more than leadership beliefs and solid behavioral patterns. It also takes an appropriate response to the inevitable, including an effective combination of risk-taking and perseverance. I meet many individuals who are seeking security at all costs, and avoiding risk whenever and wherever possible. Knowing that certain changes would make success much more likely for them, they nevertheless take the path of least resistance: no change. For the temporary, often illusory comfort of staying as they are, they pay the terrible price of a life not truly lived.
Parable of the Cautious Man
There was a very cautious man,
who never laughed or cried.
He never risked, he never lost,
he never won nor tried.
And when he one day passed away,
his insurance was denied,
For since he never really lived,
they claimed he never died.
In other words, missed opportunities are the curse of potential. Just after the Great Depression, Americans, perhaps understandably at the time, took many steps intended to minimize risk. The government guaranteed much of our savings. Citizens bought billions of dollars worth of insurance. We sought lifetime employment and our unions fought for guaranteed annual cost-of-living increases to protect us from inflation. This security-blanket mentality has continued in recent decades as executives awarded themselves giant golden parachutes in case a merger or takeover took their plum jobs.
These measures had many benefits, but the drawbacks have also been heavy, even if less obvious. In our eagerness to avoid risk, we forgot its positive aspects. Many of us continue to overlook the fact that progress comes only when chances are taken. And the security we sought and continue to seek often produces boredom, mediocrity, apathy and reduced opportunity.
We still hear much about security, especially from federal and state politicians. But total security is a myth except, perhaps, for those six feet underground in the cemetery. We may indeed ask our government for guaranteed benefits. But we must be aware that when a structure starts with a floor, walls and ceilings will follow. And herein lies a paradoxical proverb:
You must risk in order to gain security, but you must never seek security.
When security becomes a major goal in life when fulfillment and joy are reduced to merely holding on, sustaining the status quo the risk remains heavy. It is then a risk of losing the prospects of real advancement, of not being able to ride the wave of change today and tomorrow. Had the founders of Yahoo, Amazon.com and America Online been concerned with immediate profits and return on investment, we would not be enjoying those Internet services today, each of which has a greater market capitalization than IBM or General Motors.
Seek to risk a little more this week!
-- Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from Denis Waitleys Ezine
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August 7, 2007
Reaping a Multiple Reward by Jim Rohn
For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one of life's great arrangements. In fact, it's an extension of the Biblical law that says that if you sow well, you will reap well.
Here's a unique part of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Not only does it suggest that we'll all reap what we've sown, it also suggests that we'll reap much more. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but this may well be the major law we need to understand: for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.
What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you're fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: the key word here, as you might well imagine, is discipline.
Everything of value requires care, attention, and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.
Remember the law: "For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards." Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.
For each discipline, multiple rewards. For each book, new knowledge. For each success, new ambition. For each challenge, new understanding. For each failure, new determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life's disciplines: everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.
That's what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life's not a practice session.
If you're often inclined to toss your clothes onto the chair rather than hanging them in the closet, be careful. It could suggest a lack of discipline. And remember, a lack of discipline in the small areas of life can cost you heavily in the more important areas of life. You cannot clean up your company until you learn the discipline of cleaning your own garage. You cannot be impatient with your children and be patient with your distributors or your employees. You cannot inspire others to sell more when that goal is inconsistent with your own conduct. You cannot admonish others to read good books when you don't have a library card.
Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you've had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won't allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn't this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you're on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.
The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don't wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn't that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.
Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition... or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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August 6, 2007
The Criticality of Credibility by Tony Jeary
Dictionary.com defines Credibility as the quality of being believable or trustworthy, or the quality, capability, or power to elicit belief. In the presentation world, Credibility walks hand in hand with Rapport, but is a distinct quality. People will assign you their own rating relative to your power to elicit belief based on a wide range of inputs that include, but are not limited to, what you say at the front of the room on a given day. Some of the unspoken "test questions" include:
1. Does he know what he's talking about? (Understanding of the subject matter, accuracy of facts, understanding of the situation, etc.)
2. Can I take what she says at face value? (Truthfulness, candor, absence of hidden agendas, etc.)
3. Can I trust his recommendations? (Solid logic, consideration of all critical factors, feasibility and practicality, etc.)
We headlined this article "The Criticality of Credibility" simply because your presentation won't get anything done if you don't have Credibility. People may listen politely and even give you a warm (but disingenuous) "good job!" at the end of your pitch, but will NOT do what you've asked if you aren't believable. You will have wasted your time and theirs, and won't have a happy ending.
As with Rapport, work on building your Credibility starts with homework to understand your audience. With a good idea of the participants' backgrounds and issues about the topics you'll be covering, you can identify what needs to go in your "credentials" package for the event at hand.
Here are 8 specific suggestions on what information you may want to convey to build your credibility and how to go about it:
1. Set up your "Authority". Early on, explain why you have the right to talk to them on the topic by highlighting relevant elements of your background:
a. If it's a technical topic and you were trained as an engineer, say so.
b. If you've been working in the field for the last 2 years, say so.
c. If you've studied the subject in depth and interviewed experts, say so.
d. If you don't have direct but do have parallel experience, say something like: "when I was working in (this other field), I had considerable experience in (the topic) that I believe applies here...".
e. If you can arrange to use a Host Introduction to present your "credentials package", you get a bonus in the trust transference from the person handling the introduction.
2. Demonstrate Understanding. Prove that you know what you're talking about by:
a. Quickly recapping the preparation you've done for the session.
b. Using the audience's language. Learn and use the terms your audience knows to facilitate understanding and demonstrate that you took time to prepare. Be careful with acronyms and jargon - the terms can help move you along if all have a shared understanding of the meanings, but can cause you a credibility loss if you're perceived as "speaking in buzzwords".
c. Acknowledge that there may be people in the room that know more than you do about some aspects of the matter at hand, but that your study gives you a good grasp of what needs to be done.
3. Establish Facts Both Verbally and Visually: Identify the source of the information you are using (e.g. "the sales report for the month just ended shows..."; "the data from the field test conducted in Pittsburgh last month indicates..."; "the recent research survey of XXX customers in the Southwest concludes..." Your visual aids should clearly identify the origin of data used in charts and graphs.
4. Defuse Candor Issues: Clear statements of your objectives and desired outcomes can help a lot to avoid questions about hidden agendas. Even some humor (e.g. "of course, your view on this may depend on whether you're buying or selling...") can position you as being honest about your point of view, as can emphasis on finding "win/win" solutions that are compatible with the needs of all stakeholders.
5. Tell the truth. This one is pretty simple. Your audience will never really trust you if they catch you in a lie. Avoid the temptation to pretend to know the answer to a question and fake it. It's better say "I don't know" and find the answer from the group or commit to research the issue after the session.
6. Be yourself. Trying to be someone you're not is almost as bad as telling a lie. It's also a lot more work. You can, however, take up a temporary role to illustrate your understanding of the views of others by using introductory phrases such as:
a. "If I was the parent of a teenage girl, I might be thinking...."
b. "An engineer I spoke to the other day said that we ought to consider...."
c. If we were walking in the shoes of the customer, we might..."
7. Doing what you say you will do. If you say you're starting at 8:30 a.m., then start at 8:30 a.m. If you promise frequent breaks, allow for frequent breaks. If you say you're going to take all questions, do so. If you say you're going to get people out the door by 3:30PM, make it happen.
8. Speak with conviction and enthusiasm. Say it like you mean it, and your audience will believe in your words. If you sound tentative, people will book you as "squishy" and question your commitment on the matter. Eye contact is extremely important.
Establishing solid credibility improves your chances of success in several ways:
a. It works to solve two key tensions (Audience vs. Presenter and Audience vs. Material)
b. It allows the group to listen to what you have to say without having to spend time wondering who you are or where you got your information
c. It sets a "trust" level that will allow people to seriously consider and then act on your recommendations.
d. It builds your reputation for future presentations and everything!
Action Plan:
a. Do your homework before your next presentation - study the topic, get the facts, vet your logic with experts, etc.
b. Know your audience - define a "credentials package" that will set you up as an appropriate authority. If possible arrange for a strong Host Introduction.
c. Rehearse with real people, and ask them to give you candid feedback on things you do and say that impact your credibility.
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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August 5, 2007
You're Not On This Planet To Live Someone Else's Dream by Bob Proctor
What is it you love to do? Don't bother yourself with what anyone else says
that's why you're here. As I have already explained, when you're not on purpose, odds are that you're not going to build in the right direction. But equally as important is this: When you believe you've found your purpose, do not allow yourself to be dissuaded by others' opinions don't allow them to tell you in which direction to build.
After about five years of working at Nightingale Conant, I landed on an alarmingly great idea
I was going to do this on my own.
I wanted to do just what my close friend and mentor, Earl Nightingale, was doing, but I wanted to do it under my own name and with the education and knowledge I'd been personally acquiring over all the years. So, I got a tape recorder you know, one of those old fashioned kinds with the big buttons and the red "RECORD" button. You put the tape in and it click-click-clicks away while you talk into the microphone
that kind of thing. And I sat down and recorded my own thoughts on the subject of personal growth.
I needed someone to give me feedback, so I called up a good friend and told him I had a great idea I wanted to share with him. I took the tape and recorder up to his house, turned it all on and
well, Joel Goldsmith's phrase "Thunder of Silence" couldn't have fit the situation better. As the tape played on, the pressure in that room became enormous it was his embarrassment for me. I eventually turned the tape recorder off, and mumbled, "Well, it was just an idea."
As I was driving back to my house, it hit me: I was letting him steal my dream! This was my DREAM! I wasn't going to let him steal my dream! And that's when it clicked in my mind
I can DO this.
Had I listened to him, I would have fallen off my life's purpose. I would have kept obtaining goals and building long-term visions in my head, but I would have been going in the absolute wrong direction.
See, if you're not on purpose, EVERYTHING is off course.
When you have the right purpose, you'll easily develop the right vision.
When you have the right vision, you'll quickly recognize the right goal.
Bob Proctor
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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August 4, 2007
Succeeding in Tough Times by Kyle Wilson
I've been noticing (and I'm sure you have to), while many companies and individuals might be struggling right now, that there is also a group of companies and individuals flourishing. I've also noticed there are some common characteristics found in these companies and individuals who seem to be doing well during some of these uncertain times. Here are five characteristics that stand out:
1) These companies and individuals operate from a win/win philosophy and inherently value their business relationships (customers, employees and vendors). When you understand and appreciate this principle it allows you to create and receive value both on a short and long-term basis, as well as recognize and be in line for new opportunities that begin to present themselves.
2) These companies and individuals have an entrepreneurial mindset. Although, it's true that when a boom is going on the entrepreneur is often leading the way, I've also noticed that when the water is high (things are going good), everything tends to even out (everyone seems to be doing well). But when it all starts to go south, it is then that entrepreneurs can rise more quickly and distinguish themselves. Their ability to take risks, be decisive, recognize and seize opportunity and to basically "create", allows them to find a way to make things happen.
3) These companies and individuals have an excellent work ethic and focus. In sports, if you were to ask, who in their respective sport has been a dominant figure, three immediately come to my mind - Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretsky. Beyond their remarkable ability and talent, there is also something about these three that help propel them into greatness - their fierce competitiveness and their incredible work ethic. How do you beat the most talented person in the world when they will also out work you and have a "will to win" that is not to be exceeded? Well, the same is true in business. The top performers do not get complacent. They do not rest on their laurels. And they don't decide that because they are doing well or are on top that that is good enough. Their work ethic and drive to be their personal best has allowed previous victories and momentum to carry over into more success (even in difficult times).
4) These companies and individuals have made a commitment to succeed. Making a decision is the prerequisite to all successes. As Jim says, all good things are upstream, but the natural tendency is downstream. Commitment creates the mindset that allows us to face challenges, shut out negative circumstances and discomfort and then move upstream towards our goals.
5) These companies and individuals operate out of faith. Without faith it is impossible to take risk. Without faith it is impossible to make investments of time and effort in the present hoping for a future reward. And without faith it is impossible to make short-term sacrifices on a consistent basis. Faith allows you to be free to give and be your best, knowing that the reward will manifest itself sometime in the future. Faith also allows you to find the opportunity that often comes disguised in the form of a problem or challenge. While others are "missing it" or spending their time and energy complaining, the person/company of faith is identifying and seizing new opportunities.
Question - how do you rate yourself in these five areas above? I would estimate much of where you find yourself today could be directly related to how well you have fared the past few years in regards to the five points above. The good news is today is a new day, a new opportunity.
Life is full of opportunities. Go For It!
Carpe diem,
Kyle Wilson
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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August 3, 2007
Nitty-Gritty Reasons by Jim Rohn
Wouldn't it be wonderful to be motivated to achievement by such a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however, that in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my motivation was a lot more down-to-earth. My reason for succeeding was more basic. In fact, it fell into the category of what I like to call "nitty-gritty reasons." A nitty-gritty reason is the kind that any one of us can have -- at any time, on any day -- and it can cause our lives to change. Let me tell you what happened to me...
Shortly before I met Mr. Shoaff, I was lounging at home one day when I heard a knock at the door. It was a timid, hesitant knock. When I opened the door I looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes staring up at me. There stood a frail little girl of about ten. She told me, with all the courage and determination her little heart could muster, that she was selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a masterful presentation -- several flavors, a special deal, and only two dollars per box. How could anyone refuse? Finally, with a big smile and ever-so politely, she asked me to buy. And I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to!
Except for one thing. I didn't have two dollars! Boy, was I embarrassed! Here I was -- a father, had been to college, was gainfully employed -- and yet I didn't have two dollars to my name.
Naturally I couldn't tell this to the little girl with the big brown eyes. So I did the next best thing. I lied to her. I said, "Thanks, but I've already bought Girl Scout cookies this year. And I've still got plenty stacked in the house."
Now that simply wasn't true. But it was the only thing I could think of to get me off the hook. And it did. The little girl said, "That's okay, sir. Thank you very much." And with that she turned around and went on her way.
I stared after her for what seemed like a very long time. Finally, I closed the door behind me and, leaning my back to it, cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my pocket." That day I promised myself to earn enough to always have several hundred dollars in my pocket at all times.
This is what I mean by a nitty-gritty reason. It may not win me any prize for greatness, but it was enough to have a permanent effect on the rest of my life.
My Girl-Scout-cookie story does have a happy ending. Several years later, as I was walking out of my bank where I had just made a hefty deposit and was crossing the street to get into my car, I saw two little girls who were selling candy for some girls' organization. One of them approached me, saying, "Mister, would you like to buy some candy?"
"I probably would," I said playfully. "What kind of candy do you have?"
"It's almond roca."
"Almond roca. That's my favorite. How much is it?"
"It's only two dollars."
Two dollars. It couldn't be! I was excited. "How many boxes of candy have you got?"
"I've got five."
Looking at her friend, I said, "And how many boxes do you have left?"
"I've got four."
"That's nine. Okay, I'll take them all."
At this, both girls' mouths fell open as they exclaimed in unison, "Really?"
"Sure," I said. "I've got some friends that I'll pass some around to."
Excitedly, they scurried to stack all the boxes together. I reached into my pocket and gave them eighteen dollars. As I was about to leave, the boxes tucked under my arm, one of the girls looked up and said, "Mister, you're really something!" How about that! Can you imagine spending only eighteen dollars and having someone look you in the face and say, "You're really something!"
Now you know why I always carry a few hundred dollars on me. I'm not about to miss chances like that ever again.
And to think it all resulted from my own embarrassment, that when properly channeled, acted as a powerful motivator to help me achieve.
How about you? What nitty-gritty reasons do you have waiting to challenging and provoke you into change for the better? Look for them, they are there. Sometimes it can be as simple as a brown-eyed girl selling Girl Scout cookies.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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August 2, 2007
Accentuating the Positive by Dr. Tony Alessandra
It's been estimated that we each have upwards of 50,000 thoughts per day. How many of yours are negative? Sometimes you have to do a mental spring cleaning to get rid of those negative ones that have become ingrained attitudes. Stopping self-destructive thoughts is like stopping any other bad habit-it takes time and effort.
Among the most effective ways to do this are visualization and affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements about yourself that you repeat over and over in your head until they're programmed into your subconscious.
Visualization, or "imagineering" as Walt Disney called it, is mentally picturing yourself the way you want to be. You've heard the old saying "I'll believe it when I see it"? Well, the reverse is also true: "I'll see it when I believe it!" Affirmations and visualizations may not feel true at first. They may not even be true! But they can become so.
Consider what happens when you tell yourself over and over, "I'm lousy at remembering names." There will never be any improvement there. So if you catch yourself saying, "I'm terrible at remembering names," stop and immediately say to yourself, "I'm good at remembering names."
Or consider the effect of telling yourself, "I'm feeling pretty good today." Or "I can lose ten pounds." Or "I am good at getting people to see things my way." Anything you say to yourself over and over will actually influence your reality.
Writing down your affirmations in some handy place-above your desk, on your bathroom mirror, on the dashboard of your car-will help keep them in mind as well as in sight. Use affirmations and visualizations to project what success will feel like and look like. Imagine, in as much detail as you possibly can, how you feel as the boss singles you out for exceeding your quota, or how the audience hangs on your every word during your speech, or how your confident presence causes heads to turn everywhere you go.
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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August 1, 2007
Eliminate Worry by Bob Proctor
Everyone gets the same amount of time every day. We get all there is... 24 hours... fourteen hundred and forty minutes. So, with time being such a precious commodity, why is it that so many of us spend our days worrying? Worry has almost become a national pastime for most! I suppose if we had a contract to live for a lifetime, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but we don't. We just have now!
Some of you may be reading this and thinking, "Yeah, he probably doesn't have anything to worry about." But, that's not true. I have plenty to worry about, I just choose not to and I'd like to suggest that you follow suit and resolve right now, as you read this article, that you are not going to invest even one of those fourteen hundred and forty minutes worrying... about anything.
Clearly understand, there isn't any situation that isn't made worse by worry. Worry never solves anything. Worry never prevents anything. Worry never heals anything. Worry serves only one purpose... it makes matters worse. How? Well, quite simply, when you're focused on worrying about something, you'll never be able to focus on a solution. Be aware that your mind cannot focus on two things at the same time... it can either focus on the current situation and worry or a solution. The choice is always yours.
James Kurtz said, "If we worry, we don't trust; if we trust, we don't worry. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its grief, but it does empty today of its joy."
If you have been worrying about something or someone, you can eliminate that worry through displacement. Let its positive opposite crowd it out of your mind and then follow through with constructive action. Everything in the universe has an opposite, even your worries.
You could be worried about not having sufficient time to do some of the important things you have to do today. The truth is you do have enough time if you are willing to give up something else. The busiest person you know, yourself included, would have time to go downtown and pick up a check if you won a lottery. You might neglect doing something else to make the time, but trust me, you would get the check.
When a worry thought occupies your attention, choose the positive opposite to the worry thought and focus your attention on that. No one is without problems; they are a part of living. But let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here are some figures I picked up years ago and I would think they're just as valid today as they were when I first came upon them. Here is a reliable estimate of the things people worry about.
Things that never happen40%;
Things over and past that cant be changed by all the worry in the world30%;
Needless worries about our health12%;
Petty miscellaneous worries10%;
Real, legitimate worries8%.
In short, 92% of the average person's worries take up valuable time, cause painful stresseven mental anguish, and, for the most part, are unnecessary. Remember what Dr. Kurtz said, "Worry empties today of its joy." Don't worry, be happy!
Reprinted with permision by Your Achievement Ezine
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