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July 14
Achieving Success by Expecting Success by Zig Ziglar
When you plan and prepare carefully, you can legitimately expect to have success in your efforts. When you recognize and develop the winning qualities that you were born with, the winner you were born to be emerges. When you plan and prepare to make a sale, for example, you can legitimately expect to make a sale. Although not all your expectations are going to come to pass, you give yourself an infinitely better chance of succeeding by taking the proper steps. Regardless of your goal--losing weight, making more sales, furthering your education, earning a promotion, saving money for a new home or an exotic vacation--you can expect to achieve your goal if you plan and prepare for it.
Also understand that the path from where you are to where you want to be is not always smooth and straight. The reason for the twists and bumps is simple, and it has nothing to do with you. It has more to do with the fact that not everyone is as interested in your success as you are. Some people may accidentally hinder your efforts; others who are in competition with you and have little or no integrity may try to sabotage your efforts.
Keep in mind, though, that when you hit those roadblocks your character, commitment, and attitude are the determining factors in your success... Carefully review your plan of action, seek wise counsel, and be particularly careful to feed your mind good information. An optimistic, positive mind is far more likely to come up with creative solutions than a mind that dwells on setbacks and difficulties.
Bottom line: expect success and you can achieve it!
See you at the top!
Zig Ziglar
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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July 13, 2007
Take a Turn at Tenacious! by Chris Widener
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." -- Calvin Coolidge
I have worked with many successful people; people who have achieved the kinds of lives they have dreamed about. I have also worked with many people who are not anywhere near where they want to be in life. Many times those who are not successful resent those who are and believe that somehow success was handed to those who have achieved much.
What I have found however is that actually the reverse is true. Those who have achieved much have worked much HARDER than those who are not successful. You wouldn't believe the stories of struggle that I hear from those who now appear to on "top of the heap." Yes, they are successful, but no, it wasn't handed to them! And I find that most of the unsuccessful people who come to me actually haven't been tenacious at all. I find that with many of the people I speak to who complain about their lack of success simply haven't persevered and been tenacious. When I ask them questions I usually get excuses. Yes, there are exceptions on both sides, but I find this to be almost universally true.
If you are one who finds yourself dreaming of a better life, or looking at someone who "has it made," I would ask you to take a long, deep look inward and at your life to find whether or not you have actually been tenacious in pursuit of your dreams. How long have you gone for it? Many people who achieve much go for YEARS before they achieve what their hearts long for? How hard have you gone for it? Most people who achieve much have given up much. They have sacrificed much. They strive valiantly for what it is that resides deep in their dreams. They just plain ol' work hard!
So what are the principles of tenacity? What do you need to know in order to take your turn at the tenacious? Here are some thoughts to start your fire and get you going!
1. Sometimes you just have to outlast the others.
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." -- William Feather
I have found that many people start on their dreams but most never finish. Then those who stop resent those who make it. The truth is that most people who become successful have simply mastered the art of keeping on keeping on! I myself can remember early on in my career when I would get discouraged and I literally said to myself, "One more week. Just give it one more week." Quite frankly, this is what got me through a couple of years of my work early on. I hung on as others let go.
It is easy to get disheartened. Ask those who have achieved success if they ever got disheartened and you will find some of the most amazing stories you have ever heard. Give it a try: Go to the most successful person you know and ask them if they ever thought about quitting. Ask them how they kept on going. You will be amazed at what you hear.
2. Sometimes you just have to hold on at the end.
"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -- Franklin Roosevelt
I wonder how many people have quit just as they would have begun their entrance into success? Sure there are many who quit at the first sign of hard work, but what about those who, after the tenth time of trial then give up, just as fate would have seen them go through one last hurdle and then into the promised land? How many people were on their last hurdle and decided not to jump? How many people had just one more mountain pass to go? Or just one more river to cross?
Of course we will never know, but certainly some of the people who quit are doing so on what would have been their last trial, right?
So what does this mean for you? For me it means I do not quit because I would hate to find out later that all I needed was just one last effort and I would have achieved my goal. What if it isn't my last trial? That's okay because as long as I keep going, eventually I will get to my last trial, I will overcome it, and I will enter the Winner's Circle.
3. Sometimes the most beautiful results come from dull things under pressure.
"Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs." -- Malcolm Forbes
If coal wasn't an inanimate object it would certainly scream, "Stop! I want out!" But that coal, when facing incredible pressure, is turned into one of earth's most precious possessions. Ugly, dirty old coal is transformed into beautiful diamonds.
Instead of looking at pressure and trials as the reason to quit, get tenacious and see them as the very thing that will make your life the beautiful thing that you desire it to be. See it as your opportunity to learn, to grow, and to be transformed. See these trials as the very things that will enable you to have the life that dream of!
Trials will surely come. Life will get hard. You will want to quit.
Then you will have a choice: Will you give up? Or will you take your turn at tenacious. The choice you make will determine much of the rest of your life.
My advice? Take your turn at tenacious. You will become stronger and you will end up living the life you dream of!
Chris Widener
Reprinted with permission from the Chris Widener Ezine
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July 12, 2007
From Motivation to Motive-Action by Denis Waitley
With the passing of every new year, each of us needs to understand the magnitude of social and economic change in the world. In the past, change in business and social life was incremental and a set of personal strategies for achieving excellence was not required. Today, in the knowledge-based world, where change is the rule, a set of personal strategies is essential for success, even survival. Never again will you be able to go to your place of business on autopilot, comfortable and secure that the organization, state or government will provide for and look after you. You must look in the mirror when you ask who is responsible for your success or failure. You must become a lifelong learner and leader, for to be a follower is to fall hopelessly behind the pace of progress. The power brokers in the new global arena will be the knowledge facilitators. Ignorance will be even more the tyrant and enslaver than in the past. As you look in the mirror to see the 21st Century you! , there will also be another image standing beside you. It is your competition. Your competition, from now on, will be a hungry immigrant with a wireless, hand-held, digital assistant. Hungry for food, hungry for a home, for a new car, for security, for a college education. Hungry for knowledge. Smart, quick thinking, skilled and willing to do anything necessary to be competitive in the world marketplace. Working long hours and Saturdays, staying open later, serving customers better and more cheerfully. To be a player in the 21st Century you have to be willing to give more in service than you receive in payment.
These are the new rules in the game of life. These are the actions you must take to be a leader and a winner in your personal and professional life. By mastering these profoundly simple action steps, you will be positioned to be a change master in the new century.
Action Step Number One - Consider Yourself Self-employed, But Be a Team Player. What this means is that you are your own Chief Executive Officer of your future. Start thinking of yourself as a service company with a single employee. You're a small company that puts your services to work for a larger company. Tomorrow you may sell those services to a different organization, but that doesn't mean you're any less loyal to your current employer. Taking responsibility for yourself in this way does mean that you never equate your personal long-term interests with your employer's.
The first idea is resolving not to suffer the fate of those who lost their jobs and found their skills were obsolete. The second is to begin immediately the process of protecting yourself against that possibility by becoming proactive instead of reactive.
Ask yourself these questions:
How vulnerable am I? What trends must I watch? What information must I gain? What knowledge do I lack?
Again, think of yourself as a company. Set up a training department in your mind and make certain your top employee is updating his or her skills. Make sure you have your own private pension plan, knowing that you are responsible for your own financial security.
Entrusting the government or an employer, other than yourself, with your retirement income is like hiring a compulsive gambler as your accountant.
You're the CEO of your daily life who must have the vision to set your goals and allocate your resources. The mindset of being responsible for your own future used to be crucial only to the self-employed, but it has become essential for us all. Today's typical employees are no longer one-career people. Most will have five separate careers in their lifetimes. Remember, your competition is a hungry immigrant with a laptop. Action Step Number One is to consider yourself to be self-employed, but be a team player.
Action Step Number Two - Be Flexible in the Face of Daily Surprises. We live in a time-starved, over stressed, violent society. Much of our overreaction to what happens to us every day is a result of our self-indulgent value system, where we blame others for our problems, look to organizations or the government for our solutions, thirst for immediate sensual gratification and believe we should have privileges without responsibilities. This condition is manifested in the high crime rate and in the increase in violence in the work place where employees blame their managers for threatening their security.
I have learned how to be flexible in the face of daily surprises, which is one of the most important action traits for a leader. I really haven't been angry for about 17 years. During that time, no one has tried to physically harm me or someone close to me. I've learned to adapt to stress in life and reserve my fear or anger for imminently physically dangerous situations. I rarely, if ever, get upset with what people say, do or don't do, even if it inconveniences me. I do react emotionally when I see someone physically or emotionally abusing or victimizing another. But I've learned not to sweat the small stuff.
The Serenity Prayer, "Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.", is a valuable measuring tool we can apply to our lives. Simple yet profound words to live by.
Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 11, 2007
Please Do These 3 Things by Ron White
I am extremely leery of any quick fix solution or overnight formula for success. In my opinion, they don't exist. With that said, the following formula is one that I have recently shared with 2 members of my family to encourage them to break through the rut they are in and experience success. Therefore, if I would share it with my family, I must believe in the principles. I suggested that they begin to regularly do these three things:
1. Surround themselves with positive people who believe that this life is not all that there is. Personally, I find this at my local church. This E-mail goes out to thousands of people all over the world. I know we don't share the same faith in all cases. This message is not about my faith. It is about you finding a group of people who regularly meet together and have a belief that there is more to life than what we see. This is the first step to a positive outlook on life.
2. You must exercise weekly in order to stimulate endorphins and maintain an energetic life. The exercise of walking to the kitchen or curling 12 ounces does not count as exercise. I run 1 mile twice a week and 2-3 days a week do strength training. This is nothing difficult but it makes a major difference on my attitude.
3. You MUST educate yourself through reading. The average CEO in America reads 4-5 books per month. The average America reads one book per year and 60% of us don't get past the first chapter! Make a promise to yourself to read at least one book per month. Read anything!
Regardless, of what you read....develop a passion for reading and learning and you will see your attitude and outlook on life begin to change. Any person who faithfully invested their time in these three areas may not break world records in levels of success. However, everything in me believes that they would see dramatic improvements. I believe in those three things so much, I encouraged my family to invest their time in these areas.
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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July 10, 2007
Action vs. Self-Delusion by Jim Rohn
Knowledge fueled by emotion equals action. Action is the ingredient that ensures results. Only action can cause reaction. Further, only positive action can cause positive reaction.
Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.
I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying that "Faith without action serves no useful purpose." How true!
I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.
But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see - affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well-being there is little worse than self-delusion.
The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of the false hope which affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency.
Remember this: TO MAKE PROGRESS YOU MUST ACTUALLY GET STARTED!
The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start TODAY. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk... today. Start setting your first goal... today. Start listening to motivational CDs... today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan... today. Start calling on one tough customer a day... today. Start putting money in your new "investment for fortune" account... today. Write a long-overdue letter... today. ANYONE CAN! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.
Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past -- that faith and action have now taken charge.
It's a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline you will be amazed at how much progress you'll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?
Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this -- the first day of your new beginning.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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July 9, 2007
Do What You Fear Most and You Will Control that Fear by Tom Hopkins
The best way to avoid failure is to never try. How many people in the profession of selling are hiding from the possibility of failure?
Let me give you a personal example of this. The first time I ever stood in front of an audience was in a second grade school play. I'd been asked to play Prince Charming. All my friends and relatives were there. I was very excited to be the star of the play. I was dressed in my purple pants, a purple cape, and I was ready to perform.
When my cue line came. I walked out on stage, and I froze. I could not move.
Finally, someone came out and led me off. From that moment on, I had a phobia about getting up in front of a group. I simply would not do it.
Many years later, I was invited to speak by a major firm. They had heard about my sales volume and wrote, "Will you come here and teach your selling methods to our sales staff?"
I shot a letter right back. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't talk to anyone." Then a great friend, Jay Douglas Edwards, said to me, "Tom, do what you fear most and you will control that fear."
Think about that. Think of something you should do professionally, something that you arent doing, because of fear. Fear is the only thing preventing you from doing what needs to be done. The important thing is to face that fear for the first time.
After I thought about controlling fear by doing what I fear most, I had to agree that I was allowing fear to control my life. So I called the company that had invited me to speak. I said I'd do it.
From the moment I had agreed to do the speech, there wasn't an hour that I didn't wish I hadn't. The closer the time came, the more panicky I became.
Every time I wrote down what I was going to say, I'd tear it up and start over. Someone told me to put it all on 3 x 5 cards, so I did.
The night before my speech, I didn't sleep at all. The next morning, I walked into an auditorium and waited in the wings to be introduced to three thousand people. And do you know what the only thing on my mind was? I was re-living the terror of my second grade experience.
I walked on to the stage, I looked down at my notes, and began my speech. I never once, looked up at the audience. I just kept talking. I was scheduled to speak for forty-five minutes. Within eight minutes, I had covered every point.
My first time speaking in public was awful. The second time was terrible. The third time was a disaster. The fourth time, they clapped a little. The fifth time, almost everybody stayed. Now, after years of speaking day after day to enthusiastic salespeople, I awake with anticipation. Excitement. And I owe it all to those words, "Do what you fear most and you will control that fear."
Make this phrase yours and nothing can stop your success!
Tom Hopkins
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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July 8, 2007
Turning Time into Results is a Three Step Process by Jeffrey Combs
Step One: Stating Your Mission
It is imperative that you create a mission and vision statement. If you dont know where you are going, how are you going to get there? This step tells you what is most important. The purpose of your mission statement is to remind you of the values your enterprise is built on. Since time is your most valuable commodity, your time must be spent in effort in line with your values. This will assist you in turning time into results, i.e. prospecting, recruiting, teaching, training, developing leaders, growth, change, and letting go simultaneously. Youll also begin to enjoy the process. This is why it is important that you have a well defined mission and vision for your enterprise. If you dont have a mission and vision statement yet, do it now. Once you have a clear picture of how you plan to create value for your customers and associates and you know where you desire your vehicle to take you, you will begin to turn time into results.
Step Two: A Game Plan for Results Your Daily Method of Operation
Develop a plan of action and stick to the plan hold yourself accountable. Set specific goals and priorities. Develop a daily method of operation and put it on paper. Know exactly what your plan is and follow through. Put your specific goals and actions on paper and go over it nightly to hold yourself accountable. This will assist you to stay on track. Chart your time. I ask my clients all of the time to tell me what they have done in the past few days, and very few can ever recall what they have done. When you put your game plan down on paper and follow through on your intentions, then your productivity and the way you manage your time will greatly improve. In the time you a lot to propel you to your goals, do what will bring you the greatest results long term. At least 80% of your time should be devoted to prospecting and recruiting new customers in the early going. Entrepreneurship requires momentum to create compounded results. Momentum is created through simple disciplines factored consistently over a long period of time. In the beginning, your weekly goal is usually to recruit one person per week to your products, services, and opportunity. This would be a total of 52 clients per year that you personally enrolled, not counting how your organization produced. Eventually, your weekly goal will increase to two new people per week, totaling 104 new people per year you personally recruited. This only happens with consistent effort seven days a week over a period of time. It doesnt happen over night. It is a process to collect the payoff. Dont seek perfection; seek efficiency at what you do.
Step Three: Develop New Thought Patterns and Creative Habits
The books you read, the tapes you listen to, and the people you spend time with are all components of your reality. As you go through the process of success, the people you meet and situations you create will change as you change and grow. It is important to begin spending time with people that empower you and to detach from those who are disempowering. It is difficult to soar with eagles when you rest on the ground with turkeys. Start studying successful people and watch what they do. Interview successful people whenever and wherever the opportunity present itself. I have spent the last fifteen years pouring through books and tapes on self-help, motivation, investing, money, spirituality, and have attended hundreds of seminars and workshops all for the purpose of becoming a better person. I have learned to let go of old self limiting thoughts and doubts, forgiven myself for past failures and challenges, and most importantly, forgiven others who may have harmed me. The thoughts you think today will be a large part of what dictates your future.
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 7 2007
A Little Equation that Creates Big Results by Chris Widener
"The purpose of man is in action not thought" - Thomas Carlyle
Often people will ask me how I get so much done in my life. They wonder at how I am able to accomplish so many things. The answer is found not in what a great person I am, but in an equation I came up with a few years ago and remind myself of on almost a daily basis. And when I live this equation out, it produces big results. What people don't seem to grasp is that this equation will work for anybody! Anyone can see results in their life if they will live it out!
This little equation, when it is understood, and acted upon, is perhaps the most powerful equation there is in regard to long-term achievement and accomplishment. Yet, this is not a complex equation. In fact, it is rather simple. So what is it?
Your short-term actions multiplied by time equals your long-term accomplishments.
If you want to see change in your life, see big results, the first thing you must do is change your current actions. Otherwise the old saying becomes a reality: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got!" But if we change our actions, we will see different results!
Most people want to accomplish a lot in their lives. Yet very few actually do. Why is this? It is because what they believe will equal their long-term accomplishments are wrong. Here are some of the things that people believe will create great accomplishments for them:
Beliefs
Vision
Big dreams
Ideas
Ideals
Values
Desire
The truth is that while these things are very important, they are not enough in and of themselves. We need to have the above underlying all that we do, but we need to actually do something! And this is where most people stop. We need to take action on our dreams and beliefs every day.
Here are some examples of how this works.
Who loses weight? The one who knows all about the benefits of exercise or the one who walks 3 miles a day?
Who retires early? The one who dreams of a house on the beach, or the one who invests $300 a month?
Who writes books? The one who desires to become a best-selling author, or the one who gets up early and writes for half an hour a day?
Who has the best marital relationship? The one who knows how much spending time with their spouse can improve their relationship, or the one who sits down and talks with their spouse every night?
Who makes the most sales? The one who believes they can become a great salesperson, or the one who makes 10 sales calls a day?
I think you get the point. When it all comes down to it, we must act upon our vision, beliefs, and ideals or we won't see them come to fruition. I see too many people who know what is right, but don't ever do anything about it. Imagine what a difference we could make in our own lives and the lives of others if we would simply begin to act upon on our beliefs!
When I get to the end of my life, I want to know that I have done all that I can to make this world a better place and to enhance the lives of those around me. I want to know that I gave it my best shot. And I am sure that you do to.
I remember reading an interview with an author who has written numerous books that have sold in the tens of millions. They asked him how he did it. His answer was that he got up every morning before anyone else in his family and wrote, long hand, with a pencil, for an hour. Then he quit and went about his day. But his short-term actions piled up. 7 hours a week. 30 hours a month. 365 hours a year. After a while, he had lots of books!
Some questions as we leave:
What long-term accomplishments do you want to see come to pass?
What short-term actions will you need to do over time to see them come to pass?
What will you do today to begin seeing your dreams come true?
What will you do this week to see them come true?
You can have an awesome future, filled with great achievements and results if you begin today to take action and make it a reality!
One more time, so you can plug it in, memorize it, and live it.
Your short-term actions multiplied by time equals your long-term accomplishments.
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 6, 2007
The Two Choices we Face by Jim Rohn
Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.
And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.
To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.
Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as long as we can?
Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.
Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the world around them as a result of who and what they have become.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 5, 2007
Three Inborn Fears by Lisa Jimenez, M.Ed.
All people are born with three inborn fears. These three fears are:
* Fear of falling
* Fear of loud noises
* Fear of abandonment
As a child, these inborn fears kept you safe. They helped you monitor your life and what's going on around you. They were needed. Think about it, it is fear that gives you the powerful adrenaline rush so that you will have the ability to flee from a situation that is truly unsafe or the same adrenaline rush needed to fight to win! So, it would be fair to say that some fear is healthy and needed.
The problem arises when you react to these inborn fears out of habit. It's just what you've always done. It's your pattern. These inborn fears play out in an adult life through real-life situations of sudden change, responsibility, commitment, and success. Each one of these circumstances is inevitable in building a business, raising a family, or creating and maintaining a happy marriage.
So, if you're caught in the trap of habits and patterns of behavior, oppose them by using your intellect to face the fear walk in it and walk through it! Stop responding to these fears by allowing them to affect your behavior or cloud your dream. Make the distinct difference between reacting to fear and acting in fear.
When you feel the fear begin to build in your gut, use your intellect to talk you through the childhood fear and into truth. Feeling fearful is normal! Reacting to it is not.
Stop reacting to fear out of habit and patterns of behavior!
Have a great day!
Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 4, 2007
A Sense of Urgency Is Tremendous by Charlie "T" Jones
Perhaps my findings are not the only solution, but with all my heart I believe the fires of greatness in our heart can be kept aglow only after we develop a sense of urgency and importance for what we are doing. I mean a sense of urgency to the extent that we feel it is a matter of life and death; and it is a matter of life and death, for in growing we are alive and in quitting we are dying in a sense. If you don't believe this, talk to anyone who has lost the sense of urgency of getting things done and has been drifting in complacency, mediocrity and failure. If you are without a sense of urgency in your work, you know what I mean.
A sense of urgency is that feeling that lets you know yesterday is gone forever, tomorrow never comes. TODAY is in your hands. It lets you know that shirking today's task will add to wasted yesterdays and postponing today's work will add to tomorrow's burden. The sense of urgency causes you to accomplish what today sets before you. Thank God for the sense of urgency that can change a dull, shabby existence into a sparkling life. Right now, ask God to give you a sense of urgency. Believe that He did, and then act accordingly.
Tremendously,
Charles "T" Jones
Reprinted with permission from the Your Achievement Ezine
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July 3, 2007
Balance Your Workload with a Generous Number of Mini-Vacations for Maximum Productivity by Denis Waitley
By re-energizing and renewing yourself frequently, you will avoid burnout and become much more motivated and productive. Don't keep your nose to the grindstone for years and wait for retirement to travel. Balance and consistency are the keys. Enjoy the process, not just the result. Don't fight the passing of time. Don't fear it, squander it, or try to hide from it under a superficial cosmetic veil of fads and indulgences. Life and time go together. Do enjoy each phase of life. Do make the most of each day, and draw maximum joy from each moment.
Many people today are concerned with quality time time generally defined in part as that spent on recreation, personal pursuits, time with children, spouses and friends. While I certainly believe quality time is important, I believe two other aspects of time are equally important.
First, one must also spend quantity time. The average father spends less than 30 minutes each week in direct one-on-one communication with each of his children. How can we possibly expect good family relationships with so little communication?
Second, one must spend regular time. Many supervisors and company presidents go for weeks, even months, without seeing many of their employees. There's no substitute for regular meetings and open forums in which managers and team members can share ideas.
Time has a dual structure. On one hand, we live our daily routines meeting present contingencies as they arise. On the other hand, our most ambitious goals and desires need time so that they can be assembled and cemented. A long-term goal connects pieces of time into one block. These blocks can be imagined and projected into the future as we do when we set goals for ourselves. Or, these blocks of time can be created in retrospect as we do when we look back at what we've accomplished.
It's not in the image of our big dreams that we run the risk of losing our focus and motivation. It's the drudgery and routine of our daily lives that present the greatest danger to our hopes for achievement. Good time management means that you maximize the daily return on the energy and mental effort you expend.
Ways to maximize your time productivity:
Write down in one place all the important contacts you have and all of your goals and priorities. Make a back up copy, preferably on CD, DVD or Zip disc. Write down every commitment you make at the time you make it.
Stop wasting the first hour of your workday. Having the chat and first cup of coffee, reading the paper, and socializing are the three costliest opening exercises that lower productivity.
Do one thing well at a time. It takes time to start and stop work on each activity. Stay with a task until it is completed.
Don't open unimportant mail. More than a fourth of the mail you receive can be tossed before you open or read it, and that includes e-mail.
Handle each piece of paper only once and never more than twice. Don't set aside anything without taking action. Carry work, reading material, audiotapes and your laptop computer with you everywhere you go. Convert down time into uplink time.
Spend twenty minutes at the beginning of each week and ten minutes at the beginning of each day planning your to do list.
Set aside personal relaxation time during the day. Don't work during lunch. It's neither noble nor nutritional to skip important energy input and stress-relieving time. Throughout the day, ask yourself, "What's the best use of my time right now?" As the day grows short, focus on projects you can least afford to leave undone.
And as we said at the beginning of this message, take vacations often, mini-vacations of two or three days, and leave your work at home. The harder you work, the more you need to balance your exercise and leisure time.
Action Idea: Plan a relaxing 3-day vacation within the next three months without taking any business work with you. Reserve it on your calendar this week.
-- Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine
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July 2, 2007
COURAGE THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE by Chris Widener
"The scars you acquire while exercising courage will never make you feel inferior." D.A. Battista
Courage. It is a word that conjures up images of great and dramatic actions. And yet I realize that we all have the opportunity to be courageous every day, in small and large ways. And it is when we choose to be courageous that we change our lives and the lives of those around us.
Can you name anything of any significance that did not emanate from some sort of courageous decision? I can't. Think of the changes that we have experienced in the last few decades and trace them back to their initial decision. Chances are, someone exhibited courage.
So what is courage? It is simply acting on what we want to do, regardless of any fear we may have. It is the choice to disregard worry. It is the choice to do right, to pursue our dreams, to be successful people, to lead the way for others.
Courage changes lives. Yes, it changes lives.
First, the day you begin to stare down your fears and worries, and instead act courageously, your life will change. You will be set free to fly like you never have before. You will accomplish things you once only dreamed of. You will experience things you thought were only for others - the courageous ones. You will realize that your fears were baseless and just paper tigers, a mirage. You will begin to live your dreams. You will become a person of character!
You will also change the lives of others. Simply put, courageous people pull others along with them. Everybody benefits from courageous people. I have a friend who I admire greatly. A little over a year ago he decided to leave a lucrative career and pursue a dream. All obstacles were thrown his way. The day he left his company, he found out that his wife had cancer. He went into a great deal of debt to finance his dream. He raised millions of dollars, putting his name and reputation on the line. He acted courageously. A year later, he has over fifty employees and growing monthly. Those employees are reaping the benefit of his courage! And his wife, who beat cancer, is acting courageously with him!
Here are some quick tips for acting courageously:
Know what you want. Courage is about choice. If you are to act courageously, you need to know what the right choice is. Be clear about your dream and vision.
Do not worry. I heard recently that worry is the wrong use of the imagination. That is perhaps the best definition I have ever heard. Worry is just thinking about all of the bad possibilities, isn't it? Well, courage is just thinking about all the great possibilities and then acting upon them!
Do your homework. It helps to get the facts. It helps because then you can make an informed decision that will put your heart and mind to rest. There will probably be a downside but we understand it, choose alternatives, and act decisively instead of those.
Act. There is no substitute for the first step. Do you know what you want? Have you thought of the possibilities? Have you done your homework? Then what are you waiting for? The next step is to take the first step, and ACT!
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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July 1, 2007
I Love Selling by Paul J. Meyer
I LOVE TO SELL . . .
..... like a poet loves to write.
.... like a singer loves to sing.
... like a runner loves to run.
.. like an artist loves to paint.
. like a dancer loves to dance!
I am PASSIONATE about selling!
There have been a lot of highs in my lifetime... euphoric, mountaintop experiences... and of all of them, selling would have to be right near the top!
I love to talk with people!
I love to interface with people!
I love to exchange with people!
I love making new friends! ...I just love people!! ...People are simply GREAT!
I love the transaction in a sale... the agitation becomes my motivation!
Some of the abrasiveness revitalizes me. "Knowing the truth" builds my adrenalin, stiffens my backbone, provides intestinal fortitude, because...
"A SALE IS TAKING PLACE!"
Forget the compensation!
Forget the accolades & awards!
The personal growth you achieve is worth more than all of it!
The one thing that builds real sales people... real professionals... is "selling experience."
Prospective customers aren't just sitting around waiting for us. Frankly, the customers can get along adequately without us. They have done just fine without us in the past. Our prospects are already busy. They have their day scheduled with 40 other attractions vying for the few hours available.
So we must know more than just the sales presentation.
We must know how to listen.
We must make our questions sound like statements that will get the prospect talking.
We need to get inside their guts and know their business, their attitudes, their way of thinking, so the benefits we present will fit their needs.
Real professional... real sales persons know how to close and how to be...
Different...
New...
Unusual...
Stimulating...
Exciting... and
Believable!
We need to enter each negotiation, each sales presentation, with a servant's heart, and a giving attitude, and from this will spawn on-the-spot inspiration with intensity and showmanship - without being an entertainer.
When you enter selling...
as an occupation,
as a profession,
as a life's vocation...
you are also able to do so without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat, but you can take rejection again and again and again. And because you are focused you maintain your courage and your enthusiasm!
A professional can not only take "no" one time, but ten times... and a thousand times... and never let it show! And more than that, he will never let it upset him or discourage him.
I have learned how to accept rebuffs, turn-downs... some polite and some impolite... not just the first month, or the first year, but all of my life as a professional sales person.
What is the end result?
Your results...
and your income...
will rise above the level of mediocrity and you will be around next year and the next year and the next... because you have that special:
"gutty stick-tu-it-ive-ness."
What the world needs now... in fact is clamoring for... are more real sales professionals who LOVE TO SELL!
Reprinted with permission from the Jim Rohn Ezine
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