November 30, 2007
How To Be The Top Sales Person For Twenty Years by Ron White

It all started when I was 14 years old, my sales career that is. I took a job as a newspaper delivery boy. It was an exciting for a 14 year old to have money in his pocket and understand the value of a dollar. I was no longer reliant on my parents when I wanted to go to a movie or purchase a Slurpee, and I took every advantage of my new freedom and cash flow.

Being a paperboy not only required that I deliver a daily newspaper it also introduced me to door-to-door selling. On Saturdays the paper route manager would load her van up with 10 teenage boys who delivered papers and we would drive to a new neighborhood and do what we called 'crew working'. This simply meant door-to-door sales. I wasn't an instant success, however, very quickly I did develop a sales presentation, and as a result that first year I sold more newspaper subscriptions than anyone in the history of the newspaper, and I was 14 YEARS OLD! I sold nearly 96 subscriptions that year and the average was 25.

In my time with the newspaper I was the number one salesman the entire time. Since then I have had other sales jobs and every time I have always been the number one salesperson. To this day, almost twenty years after my paperboy experience I make it a goal to outsell those in my circle. I don't do it to prove I am better. I do it as an internal competition for myself and as a motivator to keep me from getting stagnate.

So how do you maintain a level of number one sales person for a period of twenty years at every sales organization that you go to? There are a lot of factors. However, two of the most important are:

1. NEVER wing it!
2. Understand that buying is an emotional decision

First of all, the sales person who does not know EXACTLY what he is going to say, exactly what questions he is going to ask and exactly how long his presentation will be, is setting himself up for failure. I can't believe my ears whenever I hear speakers say, "I was preparing what I was going to talk about right before I spoke." or "I didn't know what I was going to talk about until I got here." When they say that there is almost arrogance in their voice that says, "You know I am so good and so knowledgeable that I can just decide what I want to talk about at the last minute and wing it." The sales professional with this attitude is no professional. He is more impressed with his ability and knowledge than the size of his commission checks. On the other hand, the top sales professional is concerned with how much product he moves.

If your goal is to be a top producer, then understand that you must be prepared. Decide what questions are thought provoking questions, memorize those questions and ask them to your prospect. When they are engaged and thinking then you win. When you are winging and just spouting information, the odds of them being engaged decreases significantly.

Next, understand that buying is an emotional decision. Brian Tracy tells the story of a couple who are looking to buy a home. As the couple walks up to the home the woman exclaims, 'Wow! There is a cherry tree in the back! I have always wanted a cherry tree!' The salesman makes a note of this and walks them into the home. The husband says, "The kitchen is too small" and the salesman replies, "Yes, but look through the window and you have a perfect view of the cherry tree." The husband walks into the backyard and says, "We don't want to have to take care of a swimming pool." The salesman says, "Yes, but you can put a chair right here and sit under the cherry tree anytime you like." The husband was using logic and the salesman emotion. The couple bought the house because of that.

One tragic mistake many salespeople make when selling is that they talk constantly about themselves and how the product has helped them. While this is good to a limited extent, notice the difference between:

"I took this seminar on memory training 15 years ago. I tell you what; I use this all the time. I used it to give my speeches without notes, memorize people's names and much more. I have appeared on television and radio because of this training. It has made me a low end celebrity!'

Or

'I want you to imagine this. You go to this seminar and when you leave your children are able to memorize their school work in minutes. I know their smart and so do you. They are taught what to learn…and not how to learn. Let's teach them together how to learn and watch their confidence and self-esteem shoot through the roof! Next, how many times have you been at a baseball game and you see someone that you have sold a home to and you can't remember their name? You are embarrassed, and they don't feel special. Now, flip that around you sell a home and 6 months later recall their name. You have made them feel important, significant and special. At this point, you earn their referral business and are well on your way to earning a fortune!'

Notice the difference between the two statements. The first statement is a salesperson stating what this seminar has done for them! The next statement is the same information worded another way. In the second statement, you are getting the prospect to visualize themselves and their family experiencing the value of the product. When you do this you have their emotions. When you talk about yourself you do not have their emotions. Yes, you may be your favorite subject; however, you are not your prospect's favorite subject, and the earlier you begin talking in terms of them the earlier you will get their emotions.

So in review: prepare and get their emotions and you will be the top sales person in your organization for the next twenty years!!

Ron White

Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine

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November 29, 2007
Life Rewards Action by Chris Widener

Thinking is good, yes it is. I strongly encourage thinking. In fact, thinking plays a terrific role in success. It helps you strategize. It helps you get motivated. It tunes you into success. I am all for thinking and I do it regularly!

That being said, just thinking, no matter how good of a thinker you are, will never catapult you to success. The difference between the thinker who succeeds and the thinker who doesn't is that the thinker who succeeds also ACTS!

Life does not reward thinking. Life rewards action. Let me clarify: Life rewards thoughtful action.

Think first, by all means... But then ACT!
Do you want to gain wealth? Then save your money - ACT!
Do you want to lose weight? Then hit the treadmill - ACT!
Do you want a new job? Then find a new one so you can quit your current one - ACT!
Do you want to write a book? Then begin to write - ACT!
Do you want a new friend? Then introduce yourself - ACT!

Anything you want to accomplish will only be done by bold and decisive action.

Wishing won't bring it about. Neither will dreaming. Nor will hoping. Nope, you must ACT.

What is it you want from life? Tell me. Be specific. Be clear. Think about it. Strategize. Roll it around inside that noggin of yours. Got it? Good. Now what? What will you DO to turn that non-physical electrical impulse we call a thought into a physical reality?
There is only one thing: ACTION.

Will you succeed? Will you achieve your dreams? Will you live the life that you want? Only you can make that decision because only you can decide whether or not you will act.

My friends, life rewards action. Your actions do not need to be perfect. They just need to be. And then they get rewarded with success. With achievement. Accomplishment. You have the power within you to lead YOUR life as you see it. There is only one question you must answer for yourself:

Will I act?

Because Life Rewards Action.

Chris Widener

Reprinted with permission from The Chris Widener Ezine

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November 28, 2007
How Does Thinking Make a Difference? by Ed Foreman

Every one of us, at one time or another, has experienced difficulty. If you haven't, you're likely to… such as the loss of a job, a business failure, an unexpected drop in stock market prices devaluing your retirement portfolio, fire, flood, divorce, the loss of a loved one, etc. How we deal with that difficult experience determines its impact upon our lives. Long term, it is not what happens to us that's so important. It is how we respond to what happens to us that makes the difference! Does that mean we can actually alter "reality" by the way we "think" about it? YES, we can.

The next likely question; then is, "I suppose you'd be happy, confident, cheerful, positive and enthusiastic if your spouse had just walked out on you or if you'd just lost your job?" Only if you desire reconciliation with your spouse, or if you want to remarry. Only if you desire to get another job equal to or better than the one you had! If you go around complaining, whining and criticizing your former spouse, telling everyone how unfair, inconsiderate, no-good, and difficult that person was, do you think they would want to marry you? If you criticize and complain loud and long enough, they'll soon understand why your spouse left you!

Do you think a prospective new employer would want to hire you if you are critical, condemning and remorseful about your previous employer? Or about how thoughtless, unappreciative and unfair they had been to you? They probably already have their quota of sourpusses!

All of us regret the loss of a loved one, young or old, and there will always be a reasonable period of mourning. However, to hang on to, and dwell upon that hollow, hurtful feeling and painful memory for an extended length of time will begin to take its toll upon you. Physically, mentally and emotionally and upon your love, appreciation and feeling for those whom you still have in your life. Reflect lovingly upon the positive impact that person had upon your life, review the good times you shared together and celebrate their life, instead of dwelling upon their departure! Life is uncertain, no one is here eternally. Enjoy and savor the time we have (or that we've had) together, here, now, and today.

Our life, our health, our being, becomes what we THINK. YES, our cells are always eavesdropping on our thoughts. Thoughts are real things that cause actions that develop into habits that make us happy or sad, relaxed or tense, healthy or sick, rich or poor. Life is for living not just for enduring, not for just tolerating, but to be lived, savored and enjoyed.

Make today a good day and you'll have enjoyed a GOOOD LIFE, today. Repeat the process, DAILY. It becomes a Habit!

Ed Foreman

Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine

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November 27, 2007
Labor That Works Miracles by Jim Rohn

Two thousand years ago on April 15th one of Jesus' disciples came to him and said it was time to pay taxes (that's how I know it was around April 15th), but they had no money. In response to his disciple's statement Jesus said "no problem". Now why could he say "no problem"? Well, word had it that Jesus was a miracle worker. If you hand a problem to a miracle worker what they are inclined to say is "no problem". You've got to hang out with people like that.

I belong to a small group and we do business around the world. These guys are all miracle workers. What an incredible group. If you hand any of them a problem guess what they say, "no problem". How many books will they read to solve a problem? As many as it takes. If they need to consult - how much consulting will they do? As much as it takes. How early will they get up? As early as it takes. "No problem"... you got to hang out with people like that. You cannot believe the thrill of being associated with miracle workers, people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done and perform miracles.

When asked about paying the taxes Jesus said it was "no problem". In fact, he said it was going to be easy - he told the disciple to just go fishing. Now it couldn't have been any easier than that, especially for this disciple whose name was Peter, because Peter was a fisherman. Now if you can fish and you should fish and you don't fish - then that is why you do not get a miracle. But Jesus told his disciple to go fishing and the first fish that he caught to look in its mouth. Peter, who was used to strange things happening, agreed. Well, the first fish Peter catches, he looks in its mouth and finds coins. Peter then adds up the coins and they are exactly enough to pay his and Jesus' taxes.

"Wow!", you might say, "That is a miracle!" Here is why we call it a miracle - simply because we don't quite understand how it works. That's all. Doesn't mean it doesn't work, it just means we don't quite understand how it works. Which is true of all miracles. In fact, for most of us – our whole life is a miracle.

How about this miracle... God says if you plant the seed I will make the tree. Wow, you can't have a better arrangement than that. First, it gives God the tough end of the deal. What if you had to make a tree? That would keep you up late at night trying to figure out how to make a tree. God says, "No, leave the miracle part to me. I've got the seed, the soil, the sunshine, the rain and the seasons. I'm God and all this miracles stuff is easy for me. I have reserved something very special for you and that is to plant the seed."

I have found in life that if you want a miracle you first need to do whatever it is you can do - if that's to plant, then plant; if it is to read, then read; if it is to change, then change; if it is to study, then study; if it is to work, then work; whatever you have to do. And then you will be well on your way of doing the labor that works miracles.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine

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November 26, 2007
Time For You by Ron White

He was completely infatuated with her. It was all that he could think and talk about. Yet, every time that he asked her on a date it was the same reply. She told him that she would love to go out with him, however, her schedule of work, school and other commitments was just too hectic and it wasn't possible.

In his frustration, he came to me and asked me for advice. He wanted to know how he could creatively help her with some of her responsibilities and free up some commitments so that they could spend time together. When he made this suggestion to me, I sighed deeply and bit my lip. I was searching for a tactful way to break the news to him, yet, I have never reached tremendous success in my efforts to be tactful so I just let him have it.

'Man, when she tells you that she doesn't have time. She has time – what she means is that she doesn't have time for YOU. I suggest that you dress in black for a week and pretend like she is dead, because it isn't going to happen.'

My words seemed to have been a kick to his gut that sucked all the life out of his lungs. After a few seconds of silence, he raised his head as he came up for air.' Thanks, buddy – I needed to hear that' was his beaten reply to me. After our conversation, he left and I do believe that although he didn't dress in black for a week – he did take my advice and move on. I am sure that both he and the female are grateful for that.

You see, I have never seen a woman (or a man) who is head over heels in interest for someone yet, just can't find time to be with that person. If the interest is there – the time will be there.

In life, you often hear the excuse. 'I wish I could – spend more time with my family, start my own business, chase a goal, travel, or volunteer…but, I just don't have the time.' You have the time…you are simply spending it somewhere else. You are a human and will make time for what you see as a priority. The question is – are you prioritizing the correct things.

You have the exact same amount of time in a day that Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Copernicus and da Vinci had. You have the exact same amount of time in a day that Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey have. The question is not – Do you have the time? The question is – How are you spending the time that you do have?

Begin to keep a journal and log the time you spend everyday. Do this for at least two weeks. Track the time you spend getting ready for work, in your automobile, at the office, eating out, reading, in entertainment, watching television, surfing the internet or simply doing nothing. You may be surprised at the amount of time that you spend on unproductive matters. It is very often shocking at the time each day that we squander and will never get back.

Zig Ziglar penned a term called automobile university and it is the answer to everyone who says that they don't have time to learn a new skill, a foreign language or gain an education on the mysteries of the day. Ziglar suggest that if you simply listen to audio programs as you drive everyday you can successful use the time to gain a new skill or education. This is effective time management.

Life can often become so overwhelming that as we get caught up in the rat race – we are not aware of how we are spending our time. It may be time for a time inventory of your life. First begin by journaling what is most important to you in your life. Then track how your time for two weeks. It could be very eye opening.

Remember you have the same amount of time in a day that Einstein, Henry Ford and da Vinci had. The question is – are you using your time as effectively as they did. Therefore, you have no cause to complain for your lack of time, only your management of that time. Time plays no favorites – it will either be its slave or it will be yours. You make time every day for what you value.

What do you value?

Ron White

Reprinted with permission from The Ron White Ezine

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November 25, 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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November 24, 2007
6 Steps to a Stronger Mind by Mark Victor Hansen

Our minds are all we've got. They are the source of who we, both personally and professionally, are. They determine our success or failure. They are our strength and our weakness.

With the quality of our entire lives resting on our minds, it's unbelievable that we choose to fill them with so much garbage. The amount of negativity from television, newspapers, tabloids and other media that bombards us on a daily basis is amazing. We would never think to fill our bodies with only junk food, right? Heck no. We know that if we ate nothing but French fries and ice cream we would experience negative consequences like skin blemishes, weight gain and rotting teeth.

But with mental junk food we don´t see the physical consequences right away. When our minds are constantly filled with negativity and bad news, our minds begin to decay. That´s why we need to develop a strong, Herculean-esque mind.

Developing your mental muscles will give you the power to accomplish anything you want in life. Sure, it takes some discipline on your part, but look at the world's greatest bodybuilders. They don't show up at the gym every once in a while. They create a workout schedule and they are at the gym every day, no matter what.

Hire yourself as your "mental manager". Figure out how much you're going to pay yourself and make up a job list. Here are six jobs to assign to yourself to create a stronger mind.

1. Read Right
How much good news do you see in the newspapers? Editors usually say, "If it bleeds, it leads." Not much chance of positivity there. So, read something else. Read books – good books. Books that motivate you. Books that inspire you. Look up some of the great inspirational authors online or in your local bookstore. Read them every morning and/or every night, before you go to sleep.

2. Share Your Mind
Find someone, or a group of someone's, who have the same desire to share positivity. This is called masterminding. Great successes are created when great minds come together and think about the same things.

3. Find A Mentor
My mentor was Buckminster Fuller and I learned more from that man about life than I ever hoped to. Who are the people you admire most, whether you know them or not? Figure out whom you'd like to emulate and study them. If they offer seminars, attend them. If they've written books, read them. Just a few I´d recommend are: Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Zig Ziglar.

4. Listen to Motivational/Inspirational CDs and DVDs
This is one of the most important habits you can create for yourself. Find inspirational audio messages and listen to them over and over. Earl Nightingale, one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time, had this to say on the subject: "Tape listening is the most important advance in technology since the invention of the printing press." With CDs speakers can reach 10 times as many people as the printed word ever could.

5. Sign Up and Attend Seminars
The motivational messages you hear at seminars, and the inspirational people you meet, reinforce your self-esteem and positive thinking. You can search out seminars via the internet, newspapers or local colleges and universities.

6. Turn Off the Television
On average, the television set in an American home is on over 7 hours a day. Just like any bad habit, it needs to be broken. I'm not saying that all television is bad. Heck no. I'm simply recommending that you cut back on your television viewing. Decide how long you're going to watch television and then turn it off when you're time is up. Try cutting back your television viewing one hour every day at first. You can use that time to read a book, listen to a motivational tape, walk your dog or spend time with your family.

After reading these six steps maybe you're saying, "But Mark, I can´t do it. I just don´t know if I can be this dedicated to bettering myself?" Who else are you going to be dedicated to if not yourself? Because when it comes right down to it, folks, you are all that you've got. Jobs and relationships come and go. Children grow up, leave the nest and get lives of their own. Then there you are, alone with yourself. Why not create a "you" you can be proud of.

'Amaze yourself; manifest your full potential.'

Mark Victor Hansen

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 23, 2007
Accept No Limits by Vic Johnson

"A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses." - James Allen, As A Man Thinketh

You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts.

We each earn the income we do today because that is the amount we have limited ourselves to earn. We could easily earn 5, 10, 20 times more if we did not limit ourselves through the thoughts we maintain.

Don't believe that's true? Surely you know people who earn much more than you who don't have your education, your skills, or your intelligence. So why do they earn more than you?

I love the story of George Dantzig that Cynthia Kersey wrote about in Unstoppable. As a college student, George studied very hard and always late into the night. So late that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for class. He quickly copied the two math problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on the professor's desk the next day.

Later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m. by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind teasers that even Einstein hadn't been able to answer. But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't.

Bob Proctor tells us to "keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how."

And that's worth thinking about.

Vic Johnson

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 22, 2007
Are You Unstoppable? by Cynthia Kersey

How did a woman with no money, industry experience, or college degree create a $5 billion product line the industry giants missed?

How could a graduate student in a single week solve two mathematical problems that had puzzled leading mathematicians for decades?

How did a mediocre baseball player who couldn't hit worth a darn transform himself into a major league star?

What allowed a young man labeled "unemployable" by government agencies to become a top-producing salesperson and receive his employer's highest honor?

What drove a teenage boy to leave his African homeland and complete a perilous 3,000-mile, two-year journey on foot with absolutely no money or resources?

You will find the answers to these questions in the stories found in the best- selling book, Unstoppable and through the popular audio program, Unstoppable Challenge.

They are stories of the human spirit, of people who have overcome fear, doubt, and great adversity to achieve what the rest of the world saw only as "impossible."

Such "impossible" stories have been repeated throughout history. Where some of us have seen only limitations of the world or ourselves, others have gone on, with courage and imagination, exploring new worlds, achieving great dreams, ignoring warnings that "it" can't be done. The evidence of the unstoppable human spirit is everywhere. We have dammed rivers, dug canals, cured diseases, invented thousands of labor-saving machines, and forged roads across towering mountains. We have created global networks of communication and travel. We have touched the moon.

No obstacle has been too great for people who possess an unstoppable spirit.

Progress is not the only benefit of the unstoppable spirit. People's dreams have come true, communities have united, and individuals have been inspired to try one more time.

From the greatest global achievement to the most personal accomplishment in our daily lives, the unstoppable spirit is the driving force for positive change and growth. This spirit is the force that breaks through countless personal barriers--barriers of self-doubt, negativity, and our own perceived limitations. It compels us to persist in striving toward our goals.

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 21, 2007
Zig Ziglar On Simple Communications

When I entered the sales world, one of the first things my manager taught me was to keep my presentation so clear and uncluttered that a child could understand what I was saying. This advice has had a lasting impact on my life. I frequently remind my audiences that I speak and write at the 7th grade, 9th month level. I do this because I've discovered that at that level virtually everyone can clearly understand the message--even college professors! I include college professors because they're real people, and they, too, deserve to understand.

As my friend, Dr. Steve Franklin, a college professor from Emory University who taught me this, said, "The great truths in life are the simple ones. You do not need three moving parts and four syllables for it to be significant." He then pointed out that "there are only three pure colors--but look what Michelangelo did with them. There are only seven notes, but look at what Chopin, Beethoven and Vivaldi did with them. For that matter, look at what Elvis did with two!"

Most of us prefer things we can understand. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is short and clear with nearly 80 percent of the words only one syllable. "God is love"--three words, all of them one syllable.

Seriously, now, when you ask someone what they had for breakfast, would you really appreciate it if they responded that they had the "upper part of a hog's hind leg, with two oval bodies encased in a shell laid by a female bird?" Or would you prefer to have the person answer, "We had ham and eggs for breakfast"?

And remember, language changes. At one time we referred to a person who spread rumors around the office as a "gossip." Now that person is called an "information specialist."

Personally, I prefer simple, clear, direct communications. I'm convinced that most people do. Keep your communications "simple," and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Zig Ziglar

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 20, 2007
A Thankful Thanksgiving by Jim Rohn

You may be wondering why I would call this article a Thankful Thanksgiving. Aren't all Thanksgivings Thankful? Unfortunately, no. As a person who has experienced over 70 Thanksgivings, I recognize that being thankful is something that we have to work at, even on Thanksgiving.

If your home is like most, your Thanksgiving day will be very busy, with either traveling to where you want to go or preparing your home to have others over for the day. Either way, that can be very hectic and emotionally trying, which doesn't lend itself to preparing your heart to be reflective and thankful. In fact, Thanksgiving weekend is the most traveled weekend in America. Airports are full, and not always providing much room for contemplation of your good fortune.

This means all the more that if we want to be the kind of people who are characterized by thankfulness, then we must make sure that we focus on it, and not just on Thanksgiving Day, but at all times during the year.

Here are a few key words as well as some thoughts that are simple and practical to apply; something you can use right away in your quest for becoming more thankful:

Time. Set aside time regularly to be quiet, to reflect. We live in the fastest paced time ever. From the moment we awake to the moment we collapse into bed, we have the opportunity to go at full speed and never slow down. If we schedule time every day in which we can be quiet and reflect, we will free our hearts and minds up from the tyranny of the urgent and rushed.

Thought. Give thought to the many blessings that you have. Living in a consumer culture, most of us are fully aware of what we do not have and how we absolutely must have "it". But how often do we reflect upon that which we already have? Take some time each day and think of one or two things that you have that you may typically take for granted and then take a moment and give thanks for those. In fact, I make it a part of my reflection time to review a list of things that I'm thankful for.

Generosity. Be generous toward those with less and not envious of those with more. We tend to look at others who may be wealthier than ourselves and think, "I sure wish I had what he does." That kind of thinking breeds envy and jealousy rather than contentment. What can we do to break that cycle? I would suggest being generous to those who are less fortunate than yourself. Go to work at a food bank. And not just during the holidays - everybody works there then - but on a regular basis during the year. That will remind you of how good you really have it.

Ask. Ask a friend what they are thankful for. The next time you are at lunch with a friend, ask him or her what they are most thankful for. You will be amazed at the answers you receive and you will create a meaningful bond with your friends as you focus on this powerful question.

Acknowledge. Lastly, tell those you love how thankful you are for having them in your life. So many times we neglect to take the time to craft the words to express to those closest to us what their presence in our lives means to us. Take the opportunity of Thanksgiving Day to write them a note or sometime during the day put your hand on their shoulder, look them in the eyes and tell them. Let them know what they mean to you, and in return you'll begin to create the possibility of deeper, richer, more fulfilling relationships with those you love.

Of course we should do what we can to make the most of the day we call Thanksgiving, but wouldn't it be a shame if the only time we reflected on our blessings was that one Thursday in November? And the answer is, of course! So let's do our best to be aware of the many great gifts that we have each and every day of the year. As we do so we will see our hearts soar and our minds will experience more and more at peace as we regularly remember and remain aware of our good fortune.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Jim Rohn

Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine

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November 19, 2007
The Legacy We Leave in Our Relationships by Chris Widener

Hi there, Chris Widener here. This week I want to talk with you about the legacy we leave in our relationships. Relationships are at the very core of our existence here and something we deal with every day of our lives and on every level of our lives. We have very superficial relationships with many people such as merchants we may meet as we go about our lives, and relationships that we consider intimate, such as the ones we experience with our immediate family and our mates.

Relationships provide us with both the most positive as well as the most negative experiences we have in our lives. There are those who, though they may never achieve fame or fortune in this world will be remembered very highly by all who came in contact with them. Their funerals will overflow with people they have touched.

The pain and joy that can come as children remember their deceased parents is determined by the lives those parents lived and how well they maintained the relationships with their children.

And what it all comes down to is the ability to maintain healthy relationships.

I want to share with you the key components of establishing relationships that will allow you to leave a fantastic relational legacy.

Be Purposeful. People are busy and time flies. Put these two together and you have a recipe for disaster in the relationship department. Pretty soon you and your best friends have had months go by between times spent together. In order to have quality relationships we have to be purposeful.

This is especially true with couples and even more so for couples with small children. They need to be very purposeful in making sure they spend quality time together communicating and enjoying one another.

Be Proactive. This is the opposite of reactive. Reactive is when your spouse says, "We never spend any time together," and you respond by saying, "Okay, we will this week." It would be to sit down at the beginning of each month or week and schedule the time, or better yet have a weekly "date night." The key is to take control and schedule your relationships. Otherwise, they are going to get away from you.

Be Disciplined. Yes, it takes discipline to maintain healthy relationships. The discipline is to make investments regularly. This means the monthly lunch with a friend. It means the yearly hunting trip with friends from high school. It means cutting out of work early to go to your child's game. It means disciplining yourself to work harder during the day in order to leave at a set time so you can eat dinner with your family. All of these are acts of discipline. Just as we have to discipline ourselves in other areas of our lives - like exercising for health or investing for wealth - we have to discipline ourselves into actions that will produce strong and healthy relationships.

Value People Above Possessions, Schedules and Achievements. The sooner we realize that we leave behind all of our stuff when we die, the sooner we will be able to focus on that which matters most--relationships. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we shouldn't do our best to become successful financially or that we shouldn't enjoy material possessions. What I am saying is that should be secondary to healthy relationships. I can't imagine someone on their deathbed who says, "I wish I would have left an estate of ten million dollars instead of five million." No, people get to the ends of their lives and wish they would have invested more in their relationships.

Be Loving. I don't mean to be guided by emotional feelings of "love." Feelings come and go. This is what I mean when I say loving: to always act in such a way as to do what is best for the other person. Love is not feelings, but actions. When we say that we love someone, we mean that we are committed to their best interests. If we are lucky, those commitments are coupled with strong emotional bonds as well.

Be Forgiving. The fact is this: Where there are people, mistakes will be made. I don't care if you are the nicest guy on earth (or married to him), you will have some breakdowns in your relationship on occasion. That is the nature of being human. Other people will fail you and you will fail people.

And when this happens we must face a decision: Will we let the relationship remain broken or will we learn to forgive? An analogy might be in order. A relationship is like building a house. It has to have a strong foundation. That is where you start. Then it must be built step by step until it is finished. During the building process there may be times when a beam falls or the two-by-fours break. The builder has a decision to make. Will he repair the building or let it go? If he chooses to let it go, the house will be weak and eventually fall into disrepair. Unfortunately, too many people let their relationships break and do not repair them by practicing forgiveness. People who leave successful relationships behind them practice the art of forgiveness.

Follow the Golden Rule. The golden rule of life is, "Do to others what you would want them to do to you." What is most interesting about this is that Christ was the first religious leader to say this in a positive way. Other leaders had said before to "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." Relationships are about being proactive and doing for others.

When we wake up each day with the goal to follow the golden rule and do good in people's lives, we set ourselves on a course that will allow us to build a strong relational legacy.

Think of how you want to be remembered, and then live in such a way that you will be. If you want to be remembered as kind, then be kind. If you want to be remembered as strong, then be strong. If you want to be remembered as friendly, then be friendly. If you want to be remembered as forgiving and patient, then be forgiving and patient. What you do and how you act will add up to how you will be remembered.

It is possible to leave a wonderful relational legacy. If you follow the principles above, you will surely do so.

Have a great week!

Chris

Reprinted with permission from The Jim Rohn Ezine

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November 18, 2007
Keys to Finding Your Genius by Jim Rohn

Change Your Beliefs. It is up to you to do the work of changing your beliefs. And when you do you will be opening up new worlds - literally! This month Chris is going to talk about winning the thought battle, which will help you keep negative beliefs out and positive beliefs and thoughts in. Feed your mind with information that will change your belief. By taking part in this One-Year Plan, you are doing just that. But also ask yourself if you are doing that with belief. The truth is that you have an amazing mind with a capacity for learning that is beyond your comprehension. You must believe this. And when you do, you will be unlocking the potential of your mind!

Get the Right Knowledge. Words--if they are not true--are meaningless. I hear children say, "I read it in a book." But is it true? Just because someone says it or writes it, doesn't mean it is true. As learners, we want to get the right knowledge, not just information or opinions. It is our job to seek out information and knowledge and then test it and run it through our minds to see if it is true, and if it can be rightfully applied to our lives in order to make them better and help us succeed. We need to weigh and measure what we learn in order to gain the right knowledge. And when we do, we will be unlocking the potential of our mind!

Become Passionate about Learning. This will take some work, but the only way to do it is to begin learning about things that have an immediate impact in your life. When you learn about a new financial concept that helps you earn money or get out of debt, that will get you fired up. When you learn about a way to communicate that helps you sell more product, that will energize you. When you learn about how to interact with your family in a healthy way and your relationships get better, that will inspire you! Become passionate about learning. And when you do, you will be unlocking the potential of your mind!

Discipline Yourself Through the Hard Work of Study. Learning will take work. Until someone comes up with modules that can plug into your mind and give you instant access to knowledge, you are on your own, and that takes work. The process of learning is a long one. Yes, we can speed it up, but it is still a process of reading, listening, reviewing, repetition, applying the knowledge, experiencing the outcomes, readjusting, etc. Simply put, that takes time. Slowly but surely, when you discipline yourself, you gain knowledge and learn. And when you do, you will be unlocking the potential of your mind!

Learning is possible, no matter what your age. You are never too young or too old. Your mind was created to learn and has a huge capacity to do so. This week, make a commitment to unlock the potential of your mind!

Until next week, let's do something remarkable!
Jim Rohn

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 17, 2007
The Sales Calendar -- Building Monthly Success -- Day-by-Day by Jeffrey Gitomer

Looking to make your month the greatest ever? Who isn't? Ask any successful salesperson the secret for having great months and they will all say -- positive attitude, creative preparation, and consistent performance.

To succeed month to month, you must execute day to day. Here are 31 creative ideas mixed with fundamental sales concepts. Put them into your work life on a one-a-day basis, and sales are sure to follow.

You can't add more days to the calendar, but you can make every one more productive. I challenge you to add these to your day -- each day.

Day 1. Establish your pipeline goals. How many calls, leads, appointments, mailouts, follow-ups it takes to exceed your sales dreams. Make a top ten list of people you want to sell. By doing this on the first of the month, you will have clear vision to the task ahead.

Day 2. Figure out your daily dose. After you establish the goals, figure out what you must do every day to make them a reality.

Day 3. Examine your tools. Take a hard look at the sales tools in your kit. Are they the best in the business? State of the art? If not, make a plan and a deadline to change them.

Day 4. Evaluate your image. Look in the mirror. Like who you see? Get someone impartial to give you an image once-over. Act on their recommendations as fast as you can.

Day 5. List your customers main reasons they buy from you. Don't be a fool and make the list without asking 10 customers. Use the list to re-adjust your presentation and your approach.

Day 6. Go network someplace where your customers and prospects go. Ask your best customer to attend their monthly association meeting.

Day 7. Breakfast a customer. Using meals for business is an excellent time management tool (and wallet builder).

Day 8. Lunch a prospect. You can get to real issues over lunch. A relaxed, neutral court.

Day 9. Dinner a small group. Combine a meal with a mini seminar. Bring interested people together to make a group sale.

Day 10. Get peer evaluation. Ask your co-workers to rate your performance once a month. Get honest feedback. Use it.

Day 11. Join Toastmasters. You only have to do this once, but the impact will last for a lifetime. An hour and a half each week of speaking skills and peer evaluation. Just do it.

Day 12. Buy a book about sales. Reading one book a month will make you a world class expert in 5 years.

Day 13. Record your presentation. Play it in the car. If you say, "Oh man, that's terrible," imagine what your customers and prospects are saying.

Day 14. Play golf with a customer and someone he or she can do business with. Bringing your customer potential business is the most powerful business building (and keeping) tool there is. Combining it with golf makes it memorable.

Day 15. Brainstorm objections with co-workers. There are less than ten real objections to purchasing your product or service. Get with co-workers and figure out the best responses.

Day 16. Take your boss (or salesperson) on a sales call. If you're chicken, you've got the wrong boss (salesperson) or you're unprepared. If you do, you'll make a sale.

Day 17. Make it a point to deliver your best customer one hot sales lead. Want to keep your best customer forever? Just keep bringing them business.

Day 18. Product Knowledge Day. Take the time to read the flyers and product updates you've been shoving in drawers all month.

Day 19. Read Your Trade Magazine Day. One of the best sources for "the latest" sales ideas. A bible to the most successful.

Day 20. Create five new questions. Asking questions is the heart of selling. To keep the blood pumping, you must continually have new questions. Formulate questions that make your prospect evaluate new information. Power questions.

Day 21. Detail you car. If your customer gets into a perfect car, she thinks "perfect salesperson, perfect product, perfect company. If she gets into a crummy car...

Day 22. Contact one person on your chicken list. (the people you're scared to call) If you don't have your "chicken list" on paper, do it now.

Day 23. Brainstorm creative follow-ups. 97% of all sales take more than one call to complete. Gather a group and generate 10 new ways to call a prospect back -- that combines creativity with purpose (and get the sale).

Day 24. Thank your customer day. Pick 25 and send them cards, a bag of candy, and write -- "how sweet it is to have you for a customer -- Thanks.

Day 25. Take a customer to a ball game. Add some fun to one of your relationships. Get to know someone personally.

Day 26. Mentor Day. Ask the salesperson you respect the most if you cam make sales calls with him or her and watch them work.

Day 27. Work on your biggest goal for 4 hours. It will never get done if you don't work on it month by month.

Day 28. Do community volunteer work. You meet the best people and you feel great.

Day 29. Make a speech at a local civic group. Get visible, get credible. Lousy at or afraid of public speaking? Revisit "Day 11" for the sure cure.

Day 30. Make your biggest sale. End your month with a big sale to create the momentum for next month.

Day 31. Celebrate your success. Reward yourself for a job well done. Go get some new clothes or take a day at the beach. Relax and get set for next month's success. You're the greatest. Way to go.

If you're serious about figuring out a way to incorporate new success strategies into your daily sales routine, here are 5 every-day rules to make the month flow.

1. Read for 20 minutes.
2. Listen to a sales audio in the car every day.
3. Practice the new technique you learned as soon as you learn it.
4. Keep a journal. Log your progress, observations, important notes, and new things learned.
5. Visualize your success every day.

You say "Jeffrey, I'm too busy to incorporate all this into my schedule." Oh, I guess you're also making all the money in the world as well. Just in case you're not, consider this: Every other successful salesperson in the universe incorporates these strategies and tactics into their every day success. If they have the time, perhaps you should buy back some of yours. It's a great investment. Time is money. Your money.

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 16, 2007
Your Dream Begins Today by Les Brown

What will your life be like when you've achieved your most deeply held dreams? Let's take a look at how you can start living your dreams this very day.

Do you have a dream, a vision of the life you wish to live?
How specific is that dream?
How clear is that vision?
How do you intend to reach it?
What obstacles stand in your way?
Are your fears holding you back or are you using them to move you forward?

Your fears can actually lead you to success. Fear is an intense emotion. But that doesn't mean it has to control you, or even stop you. Fear can prepare you and push you forward just as strongly as it can hold you back. Fear heightens your awareness and increases your physical strength. Fear brings your mind to sharp focus. With all that going for you, does it make sense to just run and hide? Of course not. Fear gets you in shape to take action!

Are you waiting for things to get better before moving ahead? If you're serious about success; you need to start taking action today. If you're waiting for things to be perfect, you'll wait forever and nothing will ever get done. The way to achieve is to bloom where you're planted, to do what you can, where you are, with what you have. It's easy to think up excuses for not taking action. "If only I had more hours in the day. If only I had a better job. If only I could meet the right person." But excuses won't bring you anything of value. You've got to change your "if only" into an "I will." "I will make better use of my time. I will work on improving my career. I will create and nurture my relationships." Take a chance. Have faith in yourself. Your circumstances will improve when you make the effort to improve them. Start where you are right now. You have everything it takes to reach for whatever you desire. Stop wishing. Use your time, your energy, your thoughts and efforts to make it happen! You'll be glad you did!

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 15, 2007
Expand Your Imagination About What's Possible by Mark Victor Hansen

When we were children we believed anything was possible. We created worlds where we were the main characters and everything revolved around our wants. Our friends came over and became part of these worlds and we had the time of our lives – laughing, playing – being who we wanted to be. It was magical!

As time passed and we grew older, people saw what we were doing and they weren't sure they liked it anymore. They saw us being young, excited and joyful – what they used to be, but no longer were. And, by golly, they didn’t allow us to be these things either. They said things like, "Grow up!" "Act your age." "Stop dreaming!" "Be realistic."

Whether it was teachers, parents, and counselors – there’s a good chance that at least one person in our pasts didn’t know any better at the time. We didn’t know that daydreaming and knowing exactly what we want would be vital to our future happiness and success. We didn’t know that these people were not mad at us – they were perhaps, instead, disappointed with themselves for allowing their dreams to die.

What they don’t know, and maybe even you don’t realize, is that dreams can never be destroyed. They can be battered and bruised, but they can never die. They just sink into a deep sleep in the back of your mind. They lie there, like Sleeping Beauty, waiting for the day when they will be realized.

Well, I’m here to help you wake them up!

It’s time to remember the magic of our youth. It’s time to remember the days when there were no impossibilities. It’s time to awaken your dreams and start living the life you’ve always wanted to live.

Each and every one of us was born rich. We each have, at our beck and call, 18 billion brain cells, waiting for us to give them some direction. The only limitations that exist are those we impose on ourselves. Otherwise, our brains do not know any limitations. Our minds will believe whatever we convince them to believe. So, why aren’t we living out our dreams? What’s stopping us?

Most people are not living the lives they truly want to live because they are not thinking big enough, nor are they focused on exactly what they want to do.

The key to having everything we want lies in expanding our definition of what’s possible and focusing on what we want. That’s it! Once we believe in the possibility of anything and focus in on exactly what we want to have, exactly what we want to do, then our minds can take us there.

'Predetermine the objectives you want to accomplish. Think big, act big and set out to accomplish big results.'

Mark Victor Hansen

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 14, 2007
Problem Solving by Zig Ziglar

Fortunately, problems are an everyday part of our life. Consider this: If there were no problems, most of us would be unemployed. Realistically, the more problems we have and the larger they are, the greater our value to our employer.

Of course, some problems are small, like opening a ketchup bottle. Others are monumental like a seriously ill or injured child or mate, which present ongoing, daily complications. Successful living comes when we learn to handle those business and personal problems with as little fanfare as possible.

The successful business executive can handle challenges and solve problems at a remarkable clip. He/she makes quick and final decisions as a result of years of experience. The homemaker with small children at home handles many "catastrophes" each hour with the same dispatch.

Many people use counter-productive methods to deal with problems: They refuse to recognize them, deny responsibility for them, pretend they will go away if they ignore them, or are just flat insensitive to them.

The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist. Next, we determine whether the problem is our responsibility. If the answer is yes, we must determine how serious and/or urgent it is. When that last determination is made, we either take immediate action if the problem is simple and quickly solvable or develop a plan of action and prioritize it if the solution is more difficult and time-consuming.

Problem solving becomes a very important part of our makeup as we grow into maturity or move up the corporate ladder. I encourage you to take the time to define the problem correctly, learn the skill of quick analysis and remember, if it weren't for problems in your life, your position might not be necessary in the first place. Ironing out the wrinkles and solving the problems is what most jobs are about. Think about it, and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine

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November 13, 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 don’t 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. You’ll 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 don’t 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 doesn’t happen over night. It is a process to collect the payoff. Don’t 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 Your Achievement Ezine

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November 12, 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 cau