The Millionaire Marathon

You Ought to Be Committed!

2012-01-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

We are now in the second day of the New Year and how many of you have already broken your resolutions or completely given up on them. I hope none of you. But have you taken action on your new resolutions yet? If not, you may not be fully committed to your goals for the new year. You may have been interested in the resolution you made, the goal you set, but until you take consistent, forward-moving action you aren't really committed.

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
~ Unknown

Starting today and every day from here on out practice Zero Tolerance No Excuse Living! Whatever you have resolved to accomplish this year, do not lay your head down on your pillow at night without having taken some action, no matter how small it is, towards accomplishing your goal. So put on those running shoes, crack that book, pick up that musical instrument, balance that bank account, make that new contact, whatever you need to do to move yourself forward.

Do it now!

Right now!

Stop reading!

GO!!!

Own the Future

2012-01-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

I can't hardly believe that I haven't posted on this blog for 21 months now, but I've decided it is well past time to revive it and get back to sharing tips, quotes and stories that inspire and motivate us to become better today than we have ever been before! So I hope you will come back often and leave a comment to share any insights you may have gained in your visit here or just to let us know that you dropped in.

Today I would like to share a quote that was e-mailed to me this morning by Brian Tracy:

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Nothing of significance is ever accomplished without first believe in yourself and your ability to do it. Dare to believe as you set and pursue the New Year's Resolutions you have made for 2012.

(You did write out your resolutions, didn't you? If not, read through my Celebrate 2008 blog series where I help you to gain a better understanding of why resolutions are important, how to set effective and exciting resolutions and tips and techniques for making sure you keep them throughout the whole year ... and beyond.)

Commitment Issues

2010-04-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

My wife just experienced another milestone in her Mary Kay business. She just earned her 4th free car in the Mary Kay Career Car program, but this one is especially significant because it is her 1st Premier Club level car. As a result, she will be receiving a brand new, straight off the line, custom built Chevy Equinox!

I am very proud of her and all that she is accomplishing and grateful to her wonderful team of women she is working with who have made this possible. We never could have done it without them and I, personally, look forward to celebrating with many of them when they receive their first Career Car from Mary Kay!

When these women earn their first car, it really is a special day because it is a defining moment that allows them to say without equivocation, "Yes! I am a successful Mary Kay consultant!" The recognition is nice. And the commissions on their sales is great, but few people outside their family actually sees that. But when the company gives you a brand new car to drive around for free, that's a tangible, visible mark of success for them.

Unfortunately, not everyone earns their car in Mary Kay. Many of the women coming into the business say that they want the car, but so few ever actually earn it.

Why?

In a word...

COMMITMENT!

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!"

W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951

Every single woman on my wife's team, regardless of their current circumstances, could drive a brand new car in the next six months or less if they committed themselves to doing it. Do you want to know how I know? Because my wife has done it four times!!! As great as my wife is (and I do think she is pretty spectacular) she started at the same place as everyone else. But she committed herself to doing what her Director and National told her to do in order to get the results she wanted to get.

She still does that. Just three days ago, she was $3,000 in team wholesale orders away from earning her car. That equates to over $6,000 in retail product. And if that $3,000 in orders hadn't been put in by the end of the month, my wife would have had to start all over from the beginning to try and earn this car over the next six months. I'll be honest with you. She was a little frustrated to be so close and yet still be so far away.

We had several team members step up in big ways. One of them, on her first solo class, sold $1,043. (Well done, grasshopper! She has now made over $1,100 in PROFIT over her first two classes and she was one who joined the company just to have a little extra spending money. Not too shabby!) We had a couple $200 orders and a $500 order and even a $43 order, among others, helped get us a little closer. But all that would not have been enough if my wife hadn't committed herself to making it happen NO MATTER WHAT!!! She went to work and sold enough in the last two days to place a $600 of her own. Now that's commitment to a goal!

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”

There is always a reason why someone doesn't commit to their goal. I've heard people use pets, parents, illness, spouses, car trouble, kids, church assignments, friends and a plethora of other "reasons" why they can't keep their commitments. It makes me laugh to hear people tell my wife, "My family comes first!" as if to imply hers does not. And yet my wife spends loads of time with our kids, serves actively in our church, hangs out with friends, spends quality time with me and still runs a successful, profitable business with the car score being 4-0 in my wife's favor!

If your family really comes first, discipline yourself, establish better time management habits and commit yourself to succeeding for your family so that you aren't struggling so badly financially. Imagine for one moment how much less stressful your marriage would be with the extra income a successful business would provide. At least the kids won't be embarrassed by the car you drive when you drop them off at school.

I'm not saying that there aren't valid reasons out there for not keeping a commitment. We totally understand those situations and we feel bad when they happen. But here is a good test for whether you have a good reason or just a poor excuse:

Is it a reason you would give if you had to call your boss at the last second to tell them you weren't going to show up at work that day?
Would you still have a job the next day if you did give that reason?

In case you are wondering, reasons like "My dog is sick", "My best friend came into town" and "I just don't feel like it right now" will land you in the unemployment line.

It is sad how many women I have seen who have come into this business over the last few years who had such high hopes and grand dreams that have left it to get a job where the discipline of showing up is enforced, you have absolutely no control over how much you earn and, no matter how good you are at your job, they will never, ever give you a free car. Don't let that be you.

Whatever worthwhile goal you may have, remember the example set by Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez. When he landed in Mexico, he gave his men the orders to burn the ships. He cut off their escape route. There would be no retreat. They would succeed in their mission or they would die trying.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
~ Mario Andretti

Commit yourself to your goals and your dreams at every step of the process. Re-commit every morning when you wake up no matter how poor your results may have been from the day before. Throw out your excuses and press on through your trials.

Amazing things lie within your reach if you commit yourself to achieving them!

The Treasure

2010-03-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Treasure
by Alice Grey

The cheerful girl with bouncy curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

“Oh, please, mommy, can I have them? Can I have them? Please, Please, mommy?”

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.

“A dollar and ninety-five cents. That’s almost two dollars. If you really want them, in no time, you can save enough to buy them for yourself. Your birthday is only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”

As soon as Jenny got home, the little girl emptied her penny box and counted out seventeen pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and went to the neighbors and asked Mrs McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she was swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother had said that if they got wet, they might turn the back of her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she went to bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he had finished the story, he asked Jenny.

“Do you love me?”

“Oh, yes, Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls, but you can have Princess, the white horse, from my collection. The one with the pink tail, remember daddy? The one you gave me. She is my favorite.”

“That’s ok, honey.”

He brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story, Jenny’s daddy asked again.

“Do you love me?”

“Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Then give me the pearls.”

“Oh, daddy, not my pearls, but you can have my baby doll and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.”

“That’s ok, sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.”

And as always he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when Daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed in Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear ran down her cheek.

“What is it?”

Jenny did not say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy and when she opened it, there was her pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, “Here, Daddy, it’s for you.”

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace and with the other hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was waiting for her to give up the dime store stuff so he could give her a genuine treasure.

-------------------------------------

What are you holding on to that is preventing God from giving you the genuine treasure? What are you hanging on to? What beliefs are holding you back?

There is so much more in store for you in this life than you currently have, but you must make room for it. You must be willing to give up the good in order to receive the great.

Will you give up your pearls?

Choose Your Own Adventure

2010-03-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, I used to love reading the Choose Your Own Adventure books. You remember those, don't you? It was the books where you were the hero of the story and every few pages you were presented with a choice. If you chose to enter the mine shaft, you were directed to turn to page 66. If you chose not to enter the mine, but continued to climb up the side of the mountain, you were directed to turn to page 43. And you would have a different adventure based on the choice that you made.

I think what I liked most about those books is that, if I didn't like the ending I chose, I could back up and choose a different one.

Everybody, every day, is living the adventure they have chosen. Some have chosen to be broke while others have chosen to be rich. Some have chosen to be overweight while others have chosen to be thin. Some have chosen to be stressed while others have chosen to be relaxed. Some have chosen to fail while others have chosen to succeed.

The conditions that we are experiencing every single day are a direct result of the choices we have made!

We can blame Obama, blame the bank, blame our spouse, blame the economy, blame the car, blame the kids, blame the dog until we are blue in the face but nothing will change until we decide to change it.

So, if you don't like the results you are getting ... back up, look at the choices you have made that brought you to where you are, and make a better choice.

You can
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE!!!

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Featured on the Official Choose Your Own Adventure website under Notable Blog Posts.

How to Stop Stressing and Start Living

2010-03-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, blogs about an experience he had as he attended a social function where he had to listen to constant complaining about the economy, how bad Obama was doing, the heathcare plan and on and on and on. He finally got fed up with all the negativity and had a great response to this small group of whiners and complainers. Click here to read his response and to learn a simple exercise that can help you break free when you are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, stressed and defeated.

Are You Asking for It?

2010-03-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

"Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it."

~ Jules Renard

Do you know what you want in life?

Do you have a vision of the kind of lifestyle you want to enjoy?

It is out there waiting for you. And it wants you as much as you want it! All you have to do is ask for it.

But the only true way to ask is to act ... and not just act once ... but act in a repeated, consistent manner until life has no other option than to give you what you have asked for.

Children are great examples of this. When our boys want my attention it's "Dad! ... Dad! ... Dad! ... Dad! ... Dad! ... Dad! ... Dad!" until I'm thinking, "Boy, you're really asking for it!"

What just happened there?

They got my attention even when I didn't particularly want to give it to them in that moment. And it was all because they acted and persisted in their actions until they got what they were asking for.

So, let me ask you again...

Do you know what you want in life?

Are you asking for it?

Out with the Old, In with the New

2009-12-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

As 2009 is drawing to a close, it's time to look back on what we've accomplished this year and what we still wish to do. Personally, my dreams were far grander than what I actually was able to get done. However, some of that was a conscious choice to set aside my personal goals and dedicate my time, talents and energy to supporting my wife as she accomplished some incredible goals this year that have blessed our family in a huge way. I don't regret that one bit because she experienced some major breakthroughs this year in her business and her personal life and the person she desires to be is coming more and more into focus every day.

With 2010 just days away, I am gearing up to make some major changes to my life this year as well. I believe that this year will be the year where I will be able to accomplish some dreams that I have had sitting on the shelf waiting for some time for me to pick them up, dust them off and put them into play. I hope you, too, are ready to change your life in the coming year as well and are just as excited for your own future as I am for mine.

In an effort to assemble a community of dreamers that really want to accomplish something that will be significant to them in the new year, I have issued The 10 for 2010 Challenge. Click here to get more details on how I plan to accomplish 10 significant goals in the coming year that will change and improve my life. I hope that you, too, will take up the challenge and be a participant in our community of dream achievers where your successes will become a resource for people that want to get where you are going as well.

Visit the 10 for 2010 Challenge blog today!

Determining Your Destiny

2009-10-20T16:28:00.001-07:00

“It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.”
~ Anthony Robbins

Expanding the Boundaries of Your Life

2009-10-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

"The 'self-image' sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment. It defines what you can and cannot do. Expand the self-image and you expand the 'area of the possible'."
~Dr Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

You will never be more successful than how you see yourself being. If you see yourself as fat, you will struggle to lose weight. If you see yourself as shy, you will struggle in your interactions with others. If you see yourself as poor, you will struggle financially. If you see yourself as a harried individual living a highly stressful life, that will be your experience day in and day out.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the areas of your life where you struggle. How do you see yourself in those areas? Then compare that to the areas of your life where you are more successful and how you see yourself in those areas. Do you see a difference? I am willing to bet that you don't have a negative view of yourself in those areas that you consistently do well in.

Now, some of you may argue that you see yourself more positively in those areas because you have done well. I propose that you have done well because you saw yourself more positively in those areas. If you don't believe me, give it the following 90 day test:

Take an area of your life that you struggle and evaluate how you see yourself in this area.

Create a better image for yourself in that area. The best way of doing this is to look at someone who is already successful in that area and transfer their characteristics to your self-image. (After all, if they did it, so can you!)

Every morning when you get up and every night when you go to bed, visualize and see yourself as being successful in that area. Really experience the emotion and gratitude of being the success you've always dreamed of. Do this every morning and every night for 90 days!

Then throughout the day, walk the walk and talk the talk of the success you are becoming!

Compare your life at the end of the 90 days to how it was when it started. I guarantee it will be vastly better!

Suffer Now

2009-10-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”
~ Muhammad Ali

Unlocking the Secrets of Success

2009-10-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

"Nature understands no jesting; she is always true, always serios, always severe; she is always right, and the errors and faults are always those of man. The man incapable of appreciating her, she despises and only to the apt, the pure, and the true, does she resign herself and reveal her secrets."
~ Goethe

If you want success, you must do what other successful people have done. There are no favorites with nature. Whatever you put out, nature will give you back. It's that simple.

The Master Skill of Success

2009-10-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

"All successful people are intensely goal-oriented. They know what they want and they are focused single-mindedly on achieving it, every single day. Your ability to set goals is the master skill of success. Goals unlock your positive mind and release ideas and energy for goal attainment. Without goals, you simply drift and flow on the curents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target."
~ Brian Tracy

I have a goal of becoming a successful, published writer. The first step to accomplishing that is to get my first book written. To that end, I have elected to participate in a month of mania known as National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) where I have accepted the challenge to write a novel of 50,000+ words in 30 days. Please visit my NiceGuyBlogging blog and read the 10/2/2009 post to see how your taking a quick poll will help me get started.

Traitors to the Cause

2009-10-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might gain by fearing to attempt."

~ William Shakespeare

A Cheerful Thought...

2009-09-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles."
~ Helen Keller

An "Aha!" Moment...

2009-09-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

I love it when I have those little "Aha!" moments that give me a little clearer insight into a principle that is important to me, my family, or those people that I am serving. I had just such a moment when I was reading Chapter 6 of Wallace Wattle's The Science of Getting Rich.

One of the first principles that Wallace teaches in his book is that God does not want us to be poor, but actually wants us to be abundantly rich. This is evidenced by all his creations. A tiny seed is planted and grows to be a large tree, shedding hundreds of seeds to create hundreds of more trees that will do the same.

People struggle with the concept that all the wealth of the earth is theirs to enjoy. Some struggle because they feel poverty and self-sacrifice is more pleasing to God. These are those who believe that the scriptures teach that "money is the root of all evil." What they actually teach is that "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Tim. 6:10) and that "it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32) Others may struggle due to the belief that there is not enough to go around and so some people have to be poor. And so they sit at home at night in front of their T.V. lamenting their lack as they watch those who believe that there is plenty to be had as they accumulate far more than they need through their faith, efforts and persistence.

In the sixth chapter, titled How Riches Come To You, Wallace shares the story of a student that struggled to believe that all wealth was his. He was very poor, living in a rented house and struggling to survive on what he made day to day. He wanted to believe he was meant for more so he decided to follow Wattle's instructions to ask for more than he then had. He didn't feel it was unreasonable to ask for a new carpet for his best room and a small stove to heat the house during cold weather. Following Wallace's instructions, he had both within a few months. It then occurred to him that he had not asked enough. He proceeded to go through his home making a list of all the improvements he would like to make to the home and what furnishings he would like to fill it with. Holding that complete picture in mind, he started to live in the Certain Way and to move towards what he wanted. He ended up owning the home and rebuilt it after the form of his mental image.

The "Aha!" moment in all of this is encapsulated in Jesus Christ's statement to two blind men who sought him for the purpose of restoring their sight: "According to your faith be it unto you." (Matt. 9:29)

The man in Wallace's story had little faith that all wealth was his, but he had enough faith to try for the rug and the stove. When his faith was rewarded it grew to the point that he believed he could create the home that he wanted. And as that was accomplished his faith grew even more and he moved on to get greater things.

What things have you wanted in your life that you never received? Where is your faith in relation to those desires?

If you are not at the weight you desire or don't have the figure you want, where is your faith? Do you have faith that you can have that slim figure? Do you have faith that the exercise is going to pay huge dividends? Do you have faith that when you are slimmer you will be able to enjoy your favorite foods without feeling guilty and still keep your slimmed-down shape? Or do you have more faith that you will never reach that size because the exercise will never work, and why should you put yourself through that torture anyways only to never be able to eat a bar of chocolate again without adding back 20 pounds?

If you don't have the income you desire, where is your faith? Do you have faith that there is more money available to you? Do you have faith that you deserve it? Do you have faith that you can increase your income without becoming a greedy person or without sacrificing your marriage or your relationship with your kids? Or do you have more faith that God never meant for you to be rich, that you will never get paid more than you are right now, or that only workaholics that end up divorced can get the kind of income you want to earn?

If you don't have the relationship you desire, where is your faith? Do you have faith that you are worthy of love? Do you have faith that you will meet the person who is right for you? Do you have faith that the person you meet will find the love you have to offer to be fulfilling and never have any desire for anyone else? Or do you have more faith that nobody will love you completely, that your chances of finding Mr. or Mrs. Right are astronomically not in your favor and, even if you did meet just such a person, they would eventually end up leaving you or cheating on you?

Look to the desires of your heart that haven't been fulfilled and analyze what faith you have, if any, in your achieving that desire. If you have a deep and abiding faith that you will obtain the desires of your heart, I am willing to bet that you are happily working and waiting for your desires to be realized, enduring any challenges or trials that come your way. And those trials will come for all faith must be tried and tested to prove it is strong enough.

If you feel hopeless and despondent when you think of those desires, then consider where you have placed your faith that is not supporting you. Reject those weak beliefs that are holding you back and give yourself hope again! You are worthy, capable, ready and able to receive those desires of your heart! Have faith in that and act on the promptings and inspirations that will open you to receive it!

The order has been placed! Your desire is being shipped direct to you! Have faith that you will receive!

Today...

2009-09-16T13:00:00.001-07:00

"Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail."
~ Og mandino

The Formula for Failure and Success

2009-09-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher

Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.

Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.

On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.

If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!

Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.

Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.

But we must become better educated than that!

If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.

Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.

Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.

Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.

Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.

But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.

One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.

The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence — not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!

To subscribe to the Free Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine go to http://www.jimrohn.com/

How to Cash It In for Success

2009-08-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

I was reading the second chapter of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich when I came across a profound truth that reminded me of a financial lesson I learned years ago. Before I reveal the truth, let me share with you the lesson of Realized Gains and Losses:

If you were to take $3,000 and invest it in the stock market at a price of $10 per share, you would have 300 shares of stock. As it sometimes does, the stock price drops to $7 per share. Emotional investors start to panic at this point. After all, they bought the stock at $10 because it had already dropped to this low price and they expected it to shoot back up. But now it dropped even lower and they think they just lost $900 in the transaction.

But what have they really lost? They bought 300 shares and, even though the price dropped, they still have 300 shares. It isn't until they sell those shares that they REALIZE a gain or a loss. And those panicky people that are dumping their shares at $7 a share are kicking themselves at the end of the week when the price rockets back up to $15 a share.

What does all this have to do with Think and Grow Rich?

In the second chapter, Hill writes of the power of Desire. He lists a number of people who have passed through difficulties and disappointment before they achieved anything of consequence. At the end of the short paragraph on Helen Keller, Hill writes:

"...no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality."
Much like the investor in the example above, you have only lost when you accept that reality and decide to cash it in. Nobody ever becomes great or successful without having to experience setbacks, frustrations and adversity. Anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you. It is only those who continue to believe in their personal value and capability for success that refuse to accept that failure and push on until they reach their success.

What would have happened to Thomas Edison if he had believed the teacher that told him he was too stupid to learn anything and that he should seek a profession where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality?

What would have happened to Oprah Winfrey if she had accepted the judgment that she "had no business anchoring the news in a major market" when she was fired as a TV news anchor?

What would have happened to Walt Disney if he had accepted the assessment that he lacked imagination and had no original ideas" when he was fired by a newspaper editor?

What would have happened to Michael Jordan if he had hung up his basketball shoes when he was cut from his high school team?

What will happen to you if you accept defeat at any stage of your journey? Then nobody will know the real you and the greatness you have to share with the world. Don't let that happen! Do not cash it in until you stand in the winner's circle, triumphant!

Tips for Overcoming Temporary Defeat:

1. Keep your dream firmly fixed in your mind at all times. Create visual reminders like a dream board. Spend a few minutes every morning and every evening visualizing you accomplishing your dream and the benefits that will bring. Really live it!

2. Trust in the value of your dream. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected by 144 different publishers that didn't believe a book of short stories would sell when they tried to get Chicken Soup for the Soul published. But they persisted because they knew people wanted what was in that book. People were asking them all the time where they could read the stories they shared in their presentations. When someone rejects you and your dream, trust that there are people waiting for you to succeed; if for no other reason than to believe that it is possible for them, too.

3. Treat each setback as a learning opportunity. Napoleon Hill said that "every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." Find the lesson in each in every failure and learn from it. It is these lessons that teach you how to become successful.

4. Trust in the power of numbers. Athletes are great examples of the fact that those who are persistent enough to endure failure will succeed. The year that Babe Ruth set the major league record of 714 home runs, he also set another record by striking out 1,330 times. You have to be willing to fail and fail again in order to be successful. This is true in sports, business or any other area of life you are seeking success in. The only people who never fail are those who never try to begin with.

5. Believe and reaffirm your capability of success. I love the quote by Michael Jordan where he says: "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is precisely why I succeed." This quote may seem to be more in line with the last point, but I use it here because it illustrates the confidence he had in his ability to win. Our egos, our self-esteem can be so fragile at times and they can take a major hit with every setback or failure. When this happens, be like Mike and just keep shooting with full confidence that your shots are going in. Because when you start hitting your shots, you achieve a mind-body-spirit connection that makes you unstoppable!

Are You Being Robbed?

2009-07-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

"It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves that rob us of today. "
~Robert Hastings

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #11

2009-05-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Abundance is your natural state of being. Anything you wish for can flow effortlessly into your life if you understand, apply and “live into” the Law of Attraction.

We live in a world that seems to emphasize scarcity and lack, and yet the truth is, this is an abundant universe. There is no scarcity, there is no lack. There is more than enough food, money, joy, happiness, spiritual fulfillment, and love for everyone.

If you want to create an abundance of love in your life, then focus on love. Be the love you want to attract. Become more loving and generous with others and with yourself.

By creating the vibration of love, you will automatically draw more love into your life. Focus on whatever it is that you want to create more of in your life, and remember to be grateful for that which you already have.

Gratitude itself is a form of abundance, and the vibrational frequency of gratitude and appreciation will automatically attract even more to be grateful for.

If you want to create financial abundance in your life, then start by focusing on prosperity and money flowing into your life. Envision the checks coming in the mail. Write yourself a check for the sum of money you wish to manifest this year, and post it in a visible location.

Every time you see it, believe that it is possible. Make a donation to your favorite charity, and know that you can afford it. You must be willing to give in order to receive. Imagine just how amazing it will feel to have complete financial freedom.

Envision the various things you will do, the places you will go, and how it will change your life. Really let yourself feel it as though it were already so. Now, think of how you will use your financial prosperity to contribute and give back within your community.

Imagine how good it will feel to help others and to really make a difference in their lives. Remember to take a moment to be thankful for everything that you already have. By doing this, you are creating a vibrational match for the financial abundance that you want to attract into your future life.

The entire universe will support you abundantly in every way when you are moving with this kind of purpose and intention in the direction of your dreams. It will respond to the vibration of your passion and commitment.

So, start paying attention to the many synchronicities in your life and become aware of all the opportunities, ideas, people, and resources that you are attracting. Be open to them, and be willing to think outside the box. New opportunities will often present themselves in surprising ways. Do what you love to do, be passionate about it, and believe in yourself.

If you are willing to invest yourself wholeheartedly in your dreams, then all the necessary resources, including the money, will follow.

ACTION: Ask yourself how you can have more ABUNDANCE with your health. Can you take the stairs instead of an elevator when the opportunity presents itself? Can you drink a few more glasses of water, or perhaps take on a yoga practice?

BENEFIT: When you think and act more ABUNDANTLY about your physical health, you’ll find that other parts of your life automatically improve for the better. You’ll think more clearly, have more energy and do everything you normally do with a little more intensity.

About the Author:

This year, after two years of research and work, Jack Canfield released a phenomenal new product to the world – it’s called the Dream Big System. A longtime success and self-esteem coach for people around the world, Jack Canfield is also renowned for his role as Co-Founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul (the most successful publishing empire in history) and Master Teacher in the blockbuster movie, The Secret.http://www.thekeytobetterlife.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #11

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #10

2009-05-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Make a conscious decision right now to focus on the positive. The Law of Attraction doesn’t filter out the information we provide. It doesn’t decide what is better for us.

You have free will, and you decide where you want to focus our energy and our attention. The universe just reflects it back to us. If you focus your attention on something (either positively or negatively), it will simply respond with more of it. Doesn’t that make sense?

So, it’s really important to focus on what you do want, not on what you don’t want. State your desires in a positive way. Your mind works in pictures, so if you say “I don’t want to be mad,” you are creating the picture and the vibration of being “mad.”

The universe only receives the frequency of “mad” and responds to that. You must focus on the opposite of what you don’t want. In this case, it would be a better choice to say “I want to be more loving and accepting of the way things are.”

Stop sending mixed signals to the universe and those around you. They will hinder your ability to attract and manifest in a clear and powerful way.

When you claim to be “against” something, you are actually recreating it. You are creating more of the very thing that you want to eliminate! If you want to think “anti-war,” think again.

The operative word here is “war,” and that is exactly what you will get more of. A better choice is to be “pro-peace.” The universe will receive the vibration of “peace” and respond accordingly.

The war on terrorism has created more terrorism. Violence attracts violence, and love attracts more love. Make this simple change in your life.

Make a conscious effort to restructure the way you think and speak, and avoid giving any unnecessary energy to the things you don’t want in your life. Whenever possible, avoid subjecting yourself, your thoughts, and your emotions to the negative people and influences in your life.

ACTION: Think of one reoccurring NEGATIVE thought you have repeatedly each day. What is it? How did it come to be? Okay, when you have it in mind, think up what POSITIVE thought you could have to replace it.

Now I’m not asking you to actually replace that positive thought yet, just practice doing it in your mind as if you were going to do it for real. Just practice now and see how it works for you … how it feels. If it feels good enough, you might want to try a few times for real…

BENEFIT: There’s a profound benefit with the power of substitution, you can quickly and almost effortlessly replace your NEGATIVE thoughts with POSITIVE ones.

If you do this enough times, it may become a habit and maybe even a daily ritual so that pretty soon, you won’t have many NEGATIVE thoughts at all.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #10

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #9

2009-05-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: The act of forgiveness is a necessary and transformational process. But first, you must be willing to forgive any person or situation that has caused you pain, and release them.

By hanging on to old negative thoughts and emotions you are only harming yourself and attracting even more negative energy. It’s been said that when you are unwilling to forgive someone, it’s like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to get sick!

So, just bless the person or the situation and wish them well. Forgive them, let them go, and be willing to forgive yourself as well, if need be.

By acknowledging your positive past and releasing your negative past—you can make room for a beautiful future. True forgiveness is extremely cathartic—it will cleanse you and set you free.

It is an incredibly powerful process, one that will immediately shift you from a place of pain and anger to a higher vibrational frequency of love.

Nobody else can tell you how to feel. Only you can make that decision. If you find yourself feeling bad, then you need to look at what is creating the negative feelings—it’s not the external things, it’s you, and the judgments, beliefs, ideas, and thoughts you have about those external things.

So, the way you choose to perceive a situation will determine your emotional response, and you can deliberately choose to see anything and everything in a positive light.

You must make a conscious decision to choose happiness. Choose optimism. Choose to live in a place of constant gratitude and joy. Settle for nothing less than magnificence in your life. Your emotions fuel your energy, and your energy fuels your future.

ACTION: You’re going to love what I’m going to request of you right now because it’s about time you started to forgive yourself of something you feel guilty or ashamed of … something you’ve held on to for months or years.

You ready?

Okay, let me ask you candidly … if you can recall of anything from your recent past that you feel guilty or ashamed of doing, saying, or thinking, what would it be? I don’t want you to say it out loud, just think it, ok?

Now, this may sound amusingly simple but it can work if you give it a go so right now all I want you to do is just whisper to yourself 3 simple words, “I forgive myself.” Go ahead … whisper it out loud … “I forgive myself.”

Say it again and then again … and you may want to intensify your emotional level as you keep saying it by shutting your eyes and … smiling. Keep saying it, keep smiling and now aim your face up into the sky with your eyes still shut.

Now, if you’re like most people I know, it’ll be terribly difficult to still feel guilty or ashamed. Wouldn’t you agree? Imagine if you could forgive yourself this easily in the future. How much stress, worry or heartache would dissolve? If you’re like most people I know, the answer is “a lot.”

BENEFIT: The single most important benefit of self-forgiveness is it enhances your ability to forgive others who have angered or hurt you. By practicing self-forgiveness, you can start flexing your forgiveness muscle toward others.

With more ease and less effort, you’ll discover how simple it is to give up the criticisms, complaints and condemnations – toward others – these are the feelings and emotions that stunt mental, emotional and spiritual growth and prevent you from reaching the potential you’ve always deserved.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #9

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #8

2009-05-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE:Negative emotions such as hatred, anger, jealousy, and fear create the opposite effect. They lower your vibrational frequency and make you feel anxious, tense, and constricted and they can create physical ailments and even disease.

Negative emotions invariably create a sense of separation, a feeling of disconnection. They are like a stone wall—a barrier to the joy that is who you really are. These emotions will effectively block the flow of positive energy into your life and will only serve to attract more negative energy.

So, if you have been holding onto feelings of anger, fear, resentment, or betrayal, now is the time to let them go. Release those old thoughts and patterns of behavior, and start living in the present.

By focusing on your pain or anger, you are only drawing even more negative and unhealthy circumstances into your life. You need to make room for the positive feelings and experiences that you want to attract.

Author Cherie Carter-Scott says, “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”

Positive emotions, on the other hand, have a much different impact on your life. You may notice that when you are feeling grateful, happy, or joyful there is a sense of lightness and expansion.

You feel connected. You feel alive!

My friend, this is your natural state of being.

This is what your life was intended to be. Strive to live in a state of joy, wonder, and gratitude. These expansive positive emotions feel good and raise your vibrational frequency.

In this place of love and joy, you are one with God, and you are a magnet for the beauty, joy and abundance that the Universe has to offer.

ACTION:Think of a specific incident within the past week that inspired you to feel more Joy. Got it yet?

Okay, please replay the scene or incident again in your mind right now like a movie? Don’t just watch yourself, but actually step into the movie you’re in it and not on the sidelines watching it. Are you able to do this now?

Okay, let me ask you a very important question … do you feel a little more joyful or happy now than you did 30 seconds ago? If your answer is yes, then I want you to consider playing this same movie anytime you find your emotions heading toward anger or sadness or hurt.

In a moment’s notice, you can summon this mental movie playing in your mind’s eye and you can instantly shift to more empower mental state.

BENEFIT: Your success and happiness is often linked to your ability be emotionally resourceful during times of trouble. Anger and sadness can be paralyzing. Happiness and joy are empowering.

So the next time you have an opportunity to be angry, choose Joy instead and see how that serves you; all you have to do is summon that mental movie I just asked you to remember and you’ll boost your attitude and outlook on the situation by simply choosing a more supportive emotion.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #8

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #7

2009-05-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Your emotions are a critical component in the application of the Law of Attraction. They are your key that opens the door to the secret passageway to improving every aspect of your physical, mental and spiritual life.

Learn to listen to your emotions because they are an important internal feedback system that tells you of your body's visceral response to the vibrational state you are creating.

You are creating this vibrational frequency with whatever you are giving your attention to-the thoughts you are thinking, the beliefs you are contemplating, the television show you are watching, the music you are listening to, the book you are reading, with whatever activity you are engaged in.

Your feelings are part of your internal guidance system. When you are feeling joy and a sense of expansion, it simply means you are on course-the things you are focusing on, the thoughts you are thinking or creating, the ideas you are entertaining, and the activities you are engaged in are actively moving you in the direction of your purpose, dreams, and desires.

When you are feeling anger, sadness, depression, and hopelessness-any feelings that give you a sense of physical contraction-then you are thinking thoughts and attending to things that are not taking you toward your purpose, dreams, or desires.

This is feedback that is saying that you are off course. Your emotions are telling you that it's time to switch gears. They are telling you that it's time to think a more uplifting thought, change your focus, change the channel, change the topic of discussion, and go do something different that will shift your energy and bring you feelings of joy and expansion.

Since your vibrational state is what attracts the objects of your desire, it is imperative to keep your emotions as positive as possible. So it makes sense to strive to keep your emotions in the positive range-feelings like joy, love, happiness, exhilaration, satisfaction, relief, pride, appreciation, relaxation, and serenity.

Remember: "Like attracts like." So, by deliberately creating the positive emotional states that match the feelings we will have on the completion and fulfillment of our goals and desires, we are creating an energy field that will attract what we want.

The stronger and more intense your feelings are, the more accelerated the process of vibrational attraction becomes.

Researchers are discovering that what you are feeling is actually far more important than what you are thinking or saying. Your emotions never lie.

They are the true indicator of the thoughts you are having and whether or not you are acting in accordance with your personal truth, your heartfelt desires. Don't ignore them or try to reason your feelings away. First, just notice them.

If they are not in the positive range (hope, expectation, acceptance, appreciation, love, and joy), either release them or simply choose a better thought. This means choosing a thought that creates a better feeling, or simply changing what it is that you are doing, and doing something that you enjoy instead.

Go for a walk, put some music on, pet the cat, take charge and do something to shift you back into this positive range of emotions!

ACTION: Think of the last time you shed tears. Go ahead, think of it. Were they tears of joy or tears of sadness? What specific incident motivated and inspired those tears? Was it a person, place or thing? Was it a photograph or a song? Think of it and "live into" that situation now.

Now, if that experience elicited feelings of sadness, do you feel a hint of sadness now? Or if your experience was joyful, do you feel a hint of more joy or enthusiasm now?

BENEFIT: The key to changing any negative feeling is to simply remember specific experiences that have empowered you or made you feel joyful from the past. By doing so, you'll live into those positive feelings again … and this is especially useful when you have a bad day. The point is you're just one joyful memory away from transforming a good day into a GREAT day!

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #7

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #6

2009-05-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Most of us are fairly aware of our conscious thoughts, but it is important to become aware of our subconscious thoughts as well. Our subconscious mind is pretty much running the show, and since most of us have a constant negative tape playing in our heads, we are continually sending out negative messages.

Practically anyone can learn how to reprogram their subconscious mind and transform negative internal thoughts into healthy, positive ones. It can be quite easy actually, and it all starts by looking closely at your beliefs and self-image.

It’s true; you can work on eliminating any limiting or negative ideas. This negative self-talk is like a type of static, or interference on a phone call. It will interfere with, distort, and even block the frequencies of your positive intentions. If not removed, it will reduce your ability to create and manifest the future you desire.

Take a moment and think about trying to drive a car with the parking brake on. No matter how much you try to accelerate, the parking brake will keep slowing you down, but as soon as you release it—you will automatically and effortlessly go faster.

Your limiting thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are like a negative type of psychological parking brake. They will drag you down and slow you down unless you make a committed effort to let them go and replace them with more positive thoughts and beliefs.

You must be willing to release your negative mental programming and step out of your comfort zone in order to make room for a positive, healthy self-image and belief system.

This will shift your energy vibration and allow you to more easily and effectively attract the positive energy and experiences that you desire in your life.

Beliefs are just your habitual thoughts, and they can be changed through affirmations, positive self-talk, behavioral changes, and visualizations you make with the help of your Vision Book.

As Dr. Maxwell Maltz once said, “Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.”

Now let’s take a moment to compare and contrast your conscious and subconscious mind.

The conscious mind is the part of you that thinks and reasons—it’s the part of your mind that you use to make everyday decisions. Your free will is within your conscious mind so you can decide just what you want to create in your life. With this part of your mind you can accept or reject any idea.

Although your conscious mind is powerful, it is the more limited part of your mind. The scientifically validated data reveals that your conscious mind has limited processing capacity.

The conscious mind provides you with short term memory (just about 20 seconds). It gives you the ability to manage only 1 to 3 events at a time. Impulses travel at only 120 to 140 mph with an average processing speed of 2,000 bits of information per second.

Your subconscious mind is actually much more spectacular. It is frequently referred to as your spiritual or universal mind, and it knows no limits except for those that you consciously choose.

Your self-image and your habits live in your subconscious mind. It functions in every single cell of your body.

This is the part of your mind that is connected to your Higher Self at a much greater level than your conscious mind. It is your connection to God, your connection to Source and Universal Infinite Intelligence.

Your subconscious mind has a far greater processing capacity than your conscious mind. Long term memory of past experiences, your attitudes, you values, and beliefs all reside in your subconscious mind.

In fact, it has the awesome ability to manage thousands of events at a time with impulses that travel at over 100,000 mph and the ability to process an average of 4,000,000,000 bits of information per second!

Remarkable, isn't it?

That's why I encourage you to make it your goal to “live into” the vast power of our subconscious mind in order to use it to our advantage. We must create room in each day to “check in” with our subconscious spiritual mind. Daily time spent quietly without any external distractions will strengthen our connection to who we really are.

You can connect with our subconscious mind through the utilization of affirmations, prayer, contemplation and meditation, gratitude and visualization through the help of your Vision Book.

Your subconscious mind can take us where you want to go and help you reach more of your goals faster, better and with less conscious effort!

By at last connecting utilizing the amazing speed, power, and agility of your subconscious minds, you can begin to use the Law of Attraction in a more intentional way to more effectively attract and create the results you desire!

ACTION: Think of the last time you tied your shoe. Can you remember when it was? Did you tie your right shoe or left shoe first?

The reason I’m asking you this question is because if you’re like most people who were lace-up shoes, the process of tying shoes is handled by your subconscious mind … you unconsciously competent at it, right?

Now let’s think about what else are you unconsciously competent at? How about talking, reading, driving a stick shift or any other skill you’ve learned and eventually mastered over the years.

What’s interesting is that before you can become unconsciously competent at any new skill, you must first be consciously incompetent … as for tying shoes … that would have been around age 5 or 6.

As a young child, you were incompetent at a lot of things such as tying shoes, walking, reading even speaking … but you didn’t give up, did you?

Of course not!

You’re not still crawling because you gave up, right? I want you to treat any new skill as an adult in the same way. Rather than giving up, or worse, being fearful of ever trying … I want you to keep practicing until you get it right and it becomes unconsciously competent … just like tying your shoes.

BENEFIT: Practice doesn’t make perfect … practice makes permanent and if you choose progress over perfection, you’ll learn more skills, faster, better and with less stress and worry.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #6

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #5

2009-05-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: My simple, yet often misunderstood message to you in this lesson can be summed-up in these 3 words: "Thoughts are things."

Your thoughts are not just wispy little clouds drifting through your head. Your thoughts are things. They are actually measure-able units of energy.

Thoughts are biochemical electrical impulses. They are waves of energy that, as far as we can tell, penetrate all time and space.

Look, every single thought you have is a statement of your desires to the universe. Every single thought you have generates a physiological change in your body. You are a product of all of the thoughts you have thought, feelings you have felt, and actions you have taken up until now.

And . . . the thoughts you think today, feelings you feel today, and actions you take today will determine your experiences tomorrow. So it is imperative that you learn to think and behave in a positive way that is in alignment with what you ultimately want to be, do, and experience in life.

Thoughts affect your body. Albert Einstein noted that thoughts influence the body more than we may give them credit for.

And because our thoughts affect our body it is so important to think as positively as possible. Negative thoughts are toxic, and they affect your body in a negative way.

Negative thoughts actually weaken you … physically! Negative thoughts can make you perspire, create muscular tension, and even create a more acidic environment within your body.

They can increase the likelihood of cancer (cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment) and other disease. They also send out a negative energy vibration and attract more experiences of the same vibration.

Positive thoughts, on the other hand, will affect your body in a positive way. They will make you feel more relaxed, more centered and alert. They stimulate the release of endorphins in your brain, reducing pain and increasing pleasure.

In addition to this, positive, affirmative thoughts send out a positive energy vibration that will attract more positive experiences back into your life and to those you interact with.

Whenever you face the choice to have a positive or negative thought about a specific experience you've had in your past, consider the advice of my good friend Reverend Michael Beckwith who says, "One affirmative thought is hundreds of times more powerful than a negative thought."

ACTION: Okay, now I want you t0 think of one reoccurring NEGATIVE thought you have repeatedly each day. What is it? How did it come to be?

When you have it in mind, think up what POSITIVE thought you could have to replace it. I know it may not be so easy at first, but give it a try because I'm going to ask you to do this little experiment again in about 4 or 5 lessons from now ;-)

Now I'm not asking you to actually replace that positive thought yet, just practice doing it in your mind as if you were going to do it for real : Practice now and see how it works for you … how it feels. If it feels good enough, you might want to try a few times for real…

BENEFIT: There's a profound benefit with the power of substitution, you can quickly and almost effortlessly replace your NEGATIVE thoughts with POSITIVE ones.

If you do this enough times, it may become a habit and maybe even a daily ritual so that pretty soon, you won't have many NEGATIVE thoughts at all.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #5

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #4

2009-05-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Right now, I want you to think of yourself as a magnet. You are a living magnet. You literally attract the things, people, ideas, and circumstances to you that vibrate and resonate at the same energy frequency as yours.

And it gets better because your energy field changes constantly, based on your thoughts and feelings, and the universe acts like a mirror, sending back a reflection of the energy that you are projecting.

The stronger and more intense your thoughts and emotions are, the greater the magnetic pull becomes. Now, this is not a process that requires any real effort; a magnet doesn't "try" to attract anything-it simply does, and so do you! You are always in the process of attracting something into your life.

Do you realize that your life at this very moment is the result of everything that you have ever thought, done, believed, or felt up until now? You can start right now to consciously and deliberately attract whatever you desire in this lifetime.

Buddha once said, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." You are really that powerful!

My friend, you are far more powerful than you realize because whether you want to believe it or not, you really are creating everything in your life. And once you fully acknowledge this, and take responsibility for it, you can do anything that you set your mind to.

Above all, you are truly the author of your own life, and you can choose to take it in any direction you wish. You have the ability to change your life.
You have the ability to create your desired future. And most importantly, you have always had unlimited potential!

If you ever doubt that you hold this power in your mind and in your heart, just remember these words of Ralph Waldo Emerson … he said, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

ACTION: I want you to think of one situation at work, at home or with a friend when you felt unstoppably decisive. What was it about that decision that made you feel powerful? What would happen if you were that decisive in every part of your life?

BENEFIT: When you're decisive, you "cut-0ff" opportunities that don't support you. The word "decisive" literally means to "cut off." And it is my wish for you that you "cut-off" possibilities that don't support you. Your true power comes from your decision making ability, so the more decisive you become the more you'll attract what you want.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #4

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #3

2009-05-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: Listen to this: You are all made up of the same stuff as the sun, the moon, and the stars. You are a walking, talking bundle of intelligent energy in the form of a human body.

You are made up of cells, which are made up of atoms, which are made up of subatomic particles. What are subatomic particles? ENERGY!

Everything is energy. All matter is energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It is the cause and effect of itself. It is evenly present in all places, at all times. Energy is in constant motion and never rests. It is forever moving from one form to another.

As Deepak Chopra says, "There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle."

So you are connected. You are connected to everything and to the rest of us. You are a completely unique piece of a much greater whole, an integral part of the cosmos. You are a ball of energy in a much larger energy field.

Think of the Internet. You can't see it or touch it but you know that it is there. It is real. It is an invisible energy connection that links us all to each other. You are connected to everyone and everything in the same way.

Have you ever found that with people you are close to, you can sometimes finish a sentence for them, or that you both say the same thing at exactly the same time? This is not coincidence, it's a connection! This is a perfect example of how connected we really are to those around us.

We've all had the experience of starting to think about someone, perhaps someone we haven't even seen or spoken to in years, and then several minutes later the phone rings, and it is them on the other end of the line. "I was just thinking about you," we exclaim in wonder.

We were actually picking up on their intention to call us before they had even acted upon it. Our thoughts travel through time and space at an amazing speed.

Through your connection you were able to pick up on the energy of their thoughts and intentions before they even dialed the number, or perhaps it was your thinking about them that stimulated them to call you.

ACTION: Think of one person who makes you laugh the moment you spend time with him or her. Is it a friend, is it a colleague, is it a loved-one? There are some people in our lives that just make us smile … right now, think of who that person is, ok? What do you both have in common? What is it about him or her that makes you smile, or just feel good.

BENEFIT: When you know who your "feel good" people are, you are one phone call away from experiencing feelings of joy. Those whom we feel most connected to are often the ones who empower us to feel happier.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #3

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #2

2009-05-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

MESSAGE: If you are feeling excited, enthusiastic, passionate, happy, joyful, appreciative, or abundant, then you are sending out positive energy. On the other hand, if you are feeling bored, anxious, stressed out, angry, resentful, or sad, you are sending out negative energy.

The universe, through the Law of Attraction, will respond enthusiastically to both of these vibrations. It doesn’t decide which one is better for you, it just responds to whatever energy you are creating, and it gives you more of the same. You get back exactly what you put out there.

Whatever you are thinking and feeling at any given time is basically your request to the universe for more of the same. This is because your energy vibrations will attract energy back to you of the same frequencies, you need to make sure that you are continually sending out energy, thoughts, and feelings that resonate with what you want to become, do, and experience.

Your energy frequencies need to be in tune with what you want to attract in your life. If love and joy are what you want to attract, then the vibrational frequencies of love and joy are what you want to create.

You can learn to manage your thoughts and emotions and maintain a vibrational match for what you want to attract by learning to respond instead of just reacting to the situations in your life. Most of us go through life just reacting automatically and unconsciously to the things and events that take place around us.

Perhaps you’re having a rough day, you’ve gotten a flat tire, or maybe someone has treated you unfairly. Say that you react in a negative way to these situations with your thoughts and your emotions. And you become angry, frustrated, or upset.

In this case, you are unconsciously reacting to the situation instead of consciously responding to it, and your negatively charged thoughts and emotions are automatically placing an order with the universe for more of the same negative experiences. In order to create a more positive outcome, you must learn to consciously respond in a different, more positive way.

The good news is that once you understand the Law of Attraction, and how it works, you can begin to consciously and intentionally create a better life. You can choose to respond differently to the situations that arise during your day.

You can choose to think differently. You can choose to focus and think about the things you want more of in your life. You can choose to experience more of the things that make you feel good.

You can choose to deliberately participate in the creation of your future by managing your thoughts and feelings. And remember what Robert Kiyosaki says, “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”

ACTION: In the previous lesson, I requested that you think of one more “vision” word that best describes you and write it down on a piece scrap of paper, remember? Right now, I want you to think of another “vision” word. This time it’s a word you hear your closest friends, loved-one or family utilize when complimenting you. It could be: “Resourceful” or “Happy” or “Brilliant” or “Dazzling.”

Whatever it is, write it down and read it out loud each hour throughout the rest of the day. You embody this word, so make sure you read out loud at least 3 to 5 times today …

BENEFIT: As you read your “vision” word you out loud, you’ll begin to automatically “live into” it … and you’ll find yourself attracting more people, projects and possessions that support you faster, better and easier.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #2

Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #1

2009-05-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Author: Jack Canfield

Dr. Robert Schuller once said, “You are what you think about all day long,” which is one reason why understanding the law of attraction is the key to creating the life of your dreams.

MESSAGE: You probably understand that the Law of Attraction says that you will attract into your life whatever you focus on.

So, if you stay focused on the good and positive things in your life, you will automatically attract more good and positive things into your life. If you are focused upon lack and negativity, then that is what will be attracted into your life.

You are always in a state of creation. You always have been. You are creating your reality in every moment of every day. You are creating your future with every single thought: either consciously or subconsciously.

You can’t take a break from it and decide not to create because creation never stops. The Law of Attraction never stops working. This is why it is so important to listen to this whenever you can – even if you don’t think you are listening your subconscious is always listening!

So, understanding just how this law operates is a fundamental key to your success. If you want to change your life, and empower yourself to create an amazing future, then you need to understand your role in the Law of Attraction.

ACTION: “Think of one “vision” word that best describes you and write it down on a small piece of paper you keep in your pocket or purse all day long … it could be a word like: “Magnificent” or “Caring” or “Joyful”…

I want it to be a positive word that best describes you … whatever it is, write it down and read it each hour throughout the rest of the day.

BENEFIT: As you read your “vision” word you out loud, you’ll find yourself automatically “living into” it … and you’ll find yourself attracting more people, projects and even possessions that vibrate with your word.

Jack Canfield’s Dream Big System and get a free, 72-minute instant audio bonus: http://www.TheKeyToBetterLife.com

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Welcome to Living the Law of Attraction Lesson #1

The Success of Any Day Begins...

2009-05-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

In order to build a successful life, you must have a series of successful days. There is a secret to having a successful day that most people don't know. The secret is knowing when a successful day begins. It isn't at 6 a.m. Nor is it at 5 a.m. or even 4 a.m. The success of any given day begins the night before!

The truth of this statement is illustrated in the following true story:

Around 100 years ago, Charles Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel, wanted to increase his own efficiency, and of the management team at the steel company. Ivy Lee, a well-known efficiency expert of the time, approached Mr. Schwab, and made a proposition Charles Schwab could not refuse:

Ivy Lee: "I can increase your people's efficiency – and your sales – if you will allow me to spend fifteen minutes with each of your executives."

Charles Schwab: "How much will it cost me?"

Ivy Lee: "Nothing, unless it works. After three months, you can send me a check for whatever you feel it's worth to you."

Charles Schwab: "It's a deal."

The following day, Ivy Lee met with Charles Schwab's management executives, spending only ten minutes with each in order to tell them:

Ivy Lee: "I want you to promise me that for the next ninety days, before leaving your office at the end of the day, you will make a list of the six most important things you have to do the next day and number them in their order of importance."

Astonished Executives: "That it?"

Ivy Lee: "That's it. Scratch off each item after finishing it, and go on to the next one on your list. If something doesn't get done, put it on the following day's list."

Mary Kay Ash writes in her book (Mary Kay: You Can Have It All : Lifetime Wisdom from America's Foremost Woman Entrepreneur):

"Each Bethlehem executive consented to follow Lee's instructions. Three months later, Schwab studied the results and was so pleased that he sent Lee a check for US$35,000. At the time, the average worker in the US was being paid $2 per day.

If Schwab, one of the smartest businessmen of his day, was willing to pay so much money for this advice, I decided I would follow it, too.

Each night, I put together my list for the following day. If I don't get something on my list accomplished, it goes on the next day's list. I put the hardest or most unappealing task at the top of the list. This way, I tackle the most difficult item first, and once it's out of the way, I feel my day is off to a good start."

An Exciting Journey

2009-05-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

People who are rich in every sense of the word understand that life is a learning experience. It never stops. Learn to constantly refine your habits. There’s always another level to reach for, no matter how good you are right now. When you constantly strive to improve, you build character. You become more as a person, and you have more to offer. It’s an exciting journey that ultimately leads to fulfillment and prosperity.

Excerpt from The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt

If there is one thing that has really been brought to my attention, it is that the majority of the people I meet live in the land of Good Enough. The job they currently have is good enough to pay the bills. Their weight is good enough that they don't need to exercise regularly. Their level of commitment to living their spiritual beliefs is good enough for now.

The truth is, although they may not admit it, is that they secretly long for something better; something more fulfilling; something more rewarding and worthwhile. They look at the Michael Jordans and the Oprah Winfreys and the other superstars in life and they think "Wouldn't that be nice." No. It wouldn't be nice. It would be AWESOME!!!

You have to understand, though, that the people who live the life that you can only dream about right now are those who have evicted themselves from the land of Good Enough. You can't be the best until you do.

Good, Better, Best!

Never let it rest

Until your Good is Better

And your Better is Best!

You can have the life you dream about if you apply the simple principle of making your good better and your better your best. Someone very close to me just recently did that and is reaping huge rewards from it.

My wife just submitted for Director in Qualification (D.I.Q.) in Mary Kay last month along with 844 other women across the U.S. She has four months to officially qualify as a Director by having 30 active consultants on her team and $16,000 or more in production. In her first month of D.I.Q., she added 11 women to her team and had just over $13,000 in production. Because of this, she placed 7th in the nation out of the 845! The only women who placed higher than her were two who achieved Directorship in their first month and the rest edged her by $200 or less in production.

Do you think she is living in Good Enough any longer? Not a chance!

Way to go, babe!

The White Glove Test of Success

2009-05-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

I learned a little nugget of wisdom from one of the wise guys that direct the company I currently work for shortly after I was hired on that I have found has great application in every aspect of my life. We were discussing how we can improve our operations when he made the point that "we can only expect that which we inspect." He was basically saying that by implementing a system and method of monitoring and evaluating performance and giving feedback on what you observe, the performance of the job will improve.

This is the very same reason that athletes and coaches will review recordings of the games they have already played. They are looking at how they or their players acted and reacted in different situations. By identifying their strengths and their weaknesses, they can build on their strengths and improve the areas where they are weak until it, too, is strong.

I have used this same strategy to improve certain areas in my personal life. I created a Personal Accountability Spreadsheet where I have listed a number of daily, weekly and monthly actions that I would like to take on a regular basis. This spreadsheet tracks personal goals such as how often I exercise, pray, read inspirational and motivational materials, plan my days, etc. It also tracks family goals such as reading scriptures and praying together, keeping each other informed of our scheduled activities and spending time together. For my financial goals I track how well I maintain our newly established bill payment system and how often I balance our accounts. I am also tracking how often I engage in fulfilling hobbies such as practicing the piano, writing for recreation and my blogs or practicing my artistic skills.

By doing this I have been able to identify where I am doing well and where I am weak. This includes what times of the day I am most productive, what activities and situations distract me from making progress and what support systems I need to put into place.

All of this enables me to expect better performance on my personal goals because I am inspecting the performance of the daily tasks that will bring me the results I want.

What areas of your life would you like to expect better results in?

Would you like to lose more weight? Inspect the frequency and intensity of your exercise as well as your food choices you make. What situations drive you to make poor eating choices and to skip workouts? Put plans into place to improve these and inspect on a regular basis and you can expect to lose more weight.

Would you like to have more time to work on your goals or to spend in more enjoyable pursuits? Inspect where you are currently spending your time during the week. Identify the people and/or situations that are wasting your time and minimize or eliminate these. Set goals to steadily free up more and more of your time and inspect your progress on a regular basis and you can expect to have more time to do the things you want to do.

I could go on and on, but I am sure you have at least some idea of how important this concept is by now. Setting goals are essential to your success and taking action on them is crucial. But not checking your progress is like taking off in a plane headed from California to Hawaii and never checking to see if you are on course - you could very well run out of gas before you ever see land again!

So, whatever your expectations you have of life, you better start inspecting the daily steps that will bring them to you and make small corrections to make sure you are on target!

An Important Resolution Most People Don't Make

2009-03-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."
~ Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln knew what he was talking about on the topic of resolving to succeed. Just take a look at his résumé:
· Lost job, 1832
· Defeated for legislature, 1832
· Failed in business, 1833
· Elected to legislature, 1834
· Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835
· Had nervous breakdown, 1836
· Defeated for Speaker, 1838
· Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
· Elected to Congress, 1846
· Lost renomination, 1848
· Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
· Defeated for Senate, 1854
· Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
· Again defeated for Senate, 1858
· Elected President, 1860

He could have given up at any one of those failures. I am sure that most of us would have. But he resolved to succeed in his goals and he stuck with it until he did. That resolution carried him all the way to the White House and into the history books.

What will people write about you when you are gone from this earth?

Define your dreams, set your goals and resolve to succeed at them no matter what happens. Failures are not brick walls that stop you. They are merely tests of your resolution to succeed; tests of how badly you want it. And if your resolution is strong enough, those brick walls will be mere speed bumps that can never stop you.

Can You Afford to Quit?

2008-12-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone! I know it has been a while since I have posted and I would apologize for my absence ... but I am not really sorry because I have been very busy in the pursuit of a major goal.

Shortly after my last post, I started a telecommunications business with ACN and I have been working hard this past month and a half introducing the business and the services we offer to everybody I know. It is an amazing opportunity and I am having a blast as I change people's lives and create a bright future for me and my family.

About a week after I started my business, I went to a conference in Idaho where I heard an amazing truth that has really stuck with me and I have been dying to share with all of you.

Marlene Brehm was the guest speaker from California and shared a lot of awesome information on the importance of having a proper mindset, the power of belief and a lot of other topics to help us succeed in this business. She shared one story of when she introduced the business to a well-to-do gentleman that she had become acquainted with. The gentleman saw the potential of the business and asked how much it would cost him to get involved.

"499," Marlene replied.

To Marlene's surprise the gentleman hesitated and was thoughtful for a few moments after which he replied, "Well, it will probably take me a few months to get that kind of money together. Check back with me here in a couple of months and I think I will have it all by then and we can get going."

Marlene was completely confused. This man was very well off and yet he was saying that it would take a couple of months to get $499 together. Then it dawned on her. He thought she meant $499,000! And in spite of that misconception, he was still committed to joining the business!

The point that I want to make with this story is how much more committed do you think that gentleman was to succeeding in ACN when he was ready to sign up with a $499,000 investment than someone who is only investing $499? Even those of us who are living paycheck to paycheck can stand to lose $499. But what if it was, $4,990? Or $49,900? Or finally the $499,000? At what point would the pain of loss become great enough to raise your determination to succeed to the "Do or Die!" level?

This is true of any goal or resolution we set. People who set the goal of losing weight and treat it as being only 20 pounds fail. It is those who realize it is 20 more years of their life that they will have due to healthy eating habits and regular exercise that win. People who set the goal of getting out of debt and treat the $50 that they could add to their monthly payment as insignificant stay in debt much longer or get deeper in debt. Those who think of that $50 as the key to getting out of debt months earlier and saving them thousands of dollars in interest (which it does) succeed and are out of debt sooner.

You have to accept the fact that quitting on your goals has a much higher cost than you think. It is the Opportunity Cost! Everyone who has ever taken an economics course will recognize this term as the cost of an alternative that must be foregone in order to pursue a certain action. When you quit on your goals and dreams (you can never fail - you either succeed or you quit), you automatically incur the cost of whatever benefits you would have realized if you had stuck with it until you succeed.

My initial cost when I started a business with ACN was only $499, but it is not a $499 business to me. I could quit a $499 business and not feel too bad about it. It is a $499,000,000 business to me because that is the amount of money that I leave on the table over my lifetime if I quit. And that is only a fraction of the value of the time and the adventures that I will have with my wife and my kids, the value of the friends that I will make as I work with others, and the value of the joy that I will receive watching other people's lives change for the better because I had the courage and the tenacity to keep going on my goals and to never quit!

Many of us are beginning to consider what resolutions we are going to set for the coming year. If you are not a resolution maker, I hope you have some goals that you are working on that will change your life and the lives of others for the better. As you set your goals and your resolutions, write down the Opportunity Cost of everything you give up if you quit. Keep that and your "Why" in the forefront of your mind whenever the going gets tough to remind yourself that you cannot afford to quit!

If the cost isn't great enough to keep you from quitting, you either aren't thinking hard enough or perhaps you have set some goals that really don't mean that much to you at all. If it is the latter, it may be time to set more worthwhile goals.

So go for your goals and be determined to never incur the cost that comes with quitting. Because if you keep going long enough and are willing to overcome any obstacle that gets in your way, you will succeed!

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."
~ Napoleon Hill

Systematic Success

2008-11-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

A few years back I had the good fortune to listen to a teleseminar hosted by Robert G. Allen and Mark Victor Hansen. The two of them had co-written the book The One Minute Millionaire and were challenging their listeners to become Enlightened Millionaires. During the course of the teleseminar, they spoke of one of Allen's favorite topics: leverage.

The principle of leverage is that using a lever and a fulcrum with the fulcrum placed close to the object you wish to move, you can use a small amount of force to move a much larger one. The longer the length of the lever on your side of the fulcrum, the less force you will need to successfully move your object.

"Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I will move the entire earth."
~ Archimedes (C. 287-212 B.C.)

Leveraging for success is the idea that there are elements that will enable you to move the immovable and achieve the things you desire. The six that Allen and Hansen mentioned in their teleseminar for entrepreneurs are a mentor, a team, a network, the infinite network, tools and skills, and systems.

The concept of having success systems has been weighing on my mind lately because I failed to put some in place before tackling my goal of writing a novel in a month. I quickly realized that it would be impossible for me to achieve my goal because there were too many distractions and deterrents that were preventing me from writing efficiently and effectively.

You might be wondering what a success system is. A success system is an organized and streamlined process that is designed to...

SAVE YOUR SELF TIME, ENERGY and MONEY!

I wasn't totally without success systems going into the NaNoWriMo challenge, but some had been neglected for a time to the point where they were no longer effective. My system for handling the bills and paperwork was no longer in place. My filing system had become pretty much non-existent. I failed to establish a system for keeping up on washing the laundry which is a chore that I lead for our family. I didn't even have a good system in place to insure that my writing would flow smoothly from one section to another. Other systems that I failed to put into place would include regular time with my family, minimizing distractions, regular writing times, sufficient sleep and so on.

After the first week of November, I realized that there was no possible way that I could succeed without doing serious damage to myself, my family and/or my finances, and I was not willing to do that sort of damage in exchange for the sense of achieving my writing goal.

I haven't given up, though. I decided that the best thing for me is to release my expectations of reaching the 50,000 words before November 30 in order to minimize my stress level. I am still writing, but I have decided to be happy with whatever word total I reach because that will be far more than if I had never done it at all. And I will have built up good momentum that will carry me on to the finish of the novel.

The second step I am in the process of taking is to reestablish the systems I had been neglecting and get them to the point of running smoothly again so that they will take minimal time and effort to maintain. And I am establishing new systems for the areas where no systems existed before. My new goal is to complete these by the end of the week so that I can focus more fully on my writing and make massive progress without fear of distraction or damage. At that point, I believe that I can write twice as fast as I will be able to focus fully on the novel without worrying about what is happening to my world around me.

Do you have systems in place when you go for your goals?

What are some of the things that occupy your time and attention and distract you when you should be working on your goals?

Perhaps you have housework issues and you feel like you are living in a constant mess. Some people hire a housekeeper to come in and clean as they could make more money by paying someone else to do it and use that time to work on their business. If that is not a valid system for you, take a look at the areas that you are struggling with and what the causes are of the problems in those areas.

In my home, the causes are primarily three little boys who love pulling out all their toys. Growing up, my mom instituted the 5-minute pickup rule. We were taught to get everything picked up at an early age in five minutes or less. She did that regularly with us throughout the day and we eventually stopped pulling so much stuff out.

But my kids aren't the only problem. We tend to accumulate clutter because we have developed the bad habit of just setting things down wherever we happen to be at that moment. I am encouraging myself and my family to never just set something down unless you are putting it in its proper place. We have been developing short-term storage systems for things that do not have a home, such as a decorative filing box my wife bought that sits on our kitchen counter by the phone where we put the bills that I need to look at and papers that we need to read through or file away in permanent storage.

For the deep cleaning, I know my wife has spent up to an entire day giving the whole house a thorough cleaning. Who has time for that? With the encouragement of the putting things in their proper place, I recommended that she set a regular schedule where she spends 15-20 minutes in a single room and give it a quick, but thorough cleaning. She could do the living room one day, the dining room the next, the bathroom the day after that (although with three little boys who have terrible aims, this is one room that may need two days a week), then the bedroom, etc. That way everything gets a thorough cleaning on a regular basis and it doesn't take a whole day or more to catch up. It's a great system!

This is a technique anyone can use for many areas of their life like their bills, their yard work and gardening, cleaning and maintaining their car and anything else that is stressing them out because they haven't found time to get around to it because they know it is going to take a long time. If they would just figure out a system for how they would like to handle these areas and start working that system today, adding a little bit of extra time so that they could make headway on the existing mess until they are all caught up.

One major benefit that results from having success systems for dealing with your everyday cares and worries is that it frees up your mind so that you can focus on achieving your goals and dreams. You will no longer have to spend excess mental time and energy thinking about these dull and taxing tasks because they have a time and place where you can give them your full attention for a short amount of time and then you can forget it until its time comes up again in the rotation. How awesome is that!

So let's establish success systems for your life right now:

1. Write down three tasks or areas of your life that you don't particularly enjoy thinking about but you find that they are constantly weighing on your mind because you know you need to do something about them.

2. Identify and list strategies that you can put into place that will minimize your efforts in each area or keep them from recurring more often than is necessary.

3. Give them a regular time frame with a minimal amount of time for you to give these areas or tasks your full attention (preferably in the very near future if these areas are already stressing you out). This can be daily, weekly, or monthly depending on how often you think is necessary.

4. Explain your new systems to your family, coworkers, or whoever impacts these areas and ask for their help and support.

5. Go to work in these given time frames and then forget about them the rest of the time to allow yourself to focus on more enjoyable areas.

Leave me a comment to let me and other readers know what new systems you implement! Good luck!

A Small Favor...

2008-11-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, please read my post on my other blog titled A Tribute. I ask a very small and simple favor at the end of it that I hope you will indulge me by fulfilling it. Thank you in advance!

The Prosperity Game

2008-11-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

I want to share with you a tool that I stumbled across long ago that makes an incredible impact on me each and every day that I use it. It is called ...

The Prosperity Game!

A lot of people around the world are struggling right now financially. And even those who are not may be experiencing an unusual amount of stress and fear due to the unstable nature of our current economy. If you fall into either of those categories, The Prosperity Game is exactly what you need. And guess what - it is absolutely free to play!

What The Prosperity Game can do for you is help to shift your mental focus from lack to prosperity. Most of us struggle with the mental aspect of financial success. We fail to recognize that we will only be as wealthy and as prosperous as we think we can be. We have no problem digging right in physically and striving for a goal, but our minds may be more focused on the bills that are due or overdue, how prices are rising, how the economy is declining, and we get stressed out about our current financial situation and often times our future financial situation. We hate looking at the Sunday ads because they are just a reminder of all the things we can't afford right now. And we wonder why our situation is getting worse and worse and worse.

The Prosperity Game helps you overcome all that. Anyone who has been introduced to the Law of Attraction knows that "where attention goes, energy flows." We may say we want to be prosperous and well off or, for some of us, simply financially stable. But where is your attention as you work for that goal? Is it on the being financially stable or better? Or is it focused on your current lack of money and the difficulty you have paying your bills?

Think back to the last time you paid your bills and the level and quality of emotions you were experiencing. This is a good gauge of where you are putting your attention. If you were stressed out or angry, most likely you were not focusing on financial stability. You were focused on instability and wondering how you were going to make ends meet until your next paycheck arrives. You were "resistant" to prosperity and abundance and opening yourself up to the energy of lack, struggle and difficulty. The Prosperity Game has a simple system that enables you to flip that switch, closing yourself off to that negative energy and opening yourself up to prosperity.

The way that it works is every time you log in to the game (not just once a day, but every time you log in so you can use this more than once in a day if you feel the need to), you are given a virtual "check" starting at $100 and growing every single time you play. It isn't an amount you had to work for or struggle for. It is an amount that is given to you out of the abundance of the universe. You are encouraged to focus on the joy of receiving that check for a moment and just experience how good that feels to have prosperity flow to you effortlessly.

Then comes the best part - you spend the check! You outline what you would buy or how you would spend that check that would make you feel good. You are encourage not to just give it away, but I give the first 10% to my church as tithing out of gratitude to God for such great blessings because that makes me feel good. But you spend it how you want to spend it.

The next step is you measure on a scale of 1-10 your desire. What this does is it gets you to start paying attention to your levels of desire because that is a tremendous moving force for becoming prosperous and is a good measure of your energy level.

After measure your desire, you measure your resistance on a scale of 1-10. This is checking how you feel towards this message of prosperity. It may be a bit high for the first little while if you are new to this way of thinking. You may have some internal beliefs to overcome in the early stages of the game that can wreak havoc with your resistance levels at the start and cause it to jump around. That is okay. Just keep playing the game. The object is to ultimately lower your resistance level to a naturally low level on a consistent basis, thus opening you up to the thoughts and feelings of prosperity. It may take more time for some than for others but it will happen.

Then you have the opportunity to record your comments about the experience. How did it make you feel? What changes are you experiencing? It is a great way to record your development as you move from the feelings of lack to the feelings of prosperity.

Two other tools that are included in the game are your own personal Gratitude Journal and your personal list of 100 things you would like to be, do and have.

The Gratitude Journal is an awesome tool because it really helps you shift your focus to what is good in your life. I believe I have posted here before about how you can be grumpy and grumble about your electric bill as you pay it or you can write a simple "Thank You!" note thanking them for the service that lights and heats your home and their efficiency and accuracy in processing your payment and slipping that note in with your check. It is absolutely impossible to feel negative when giving a sincere expression of gratitude!

The list of 100 things you want to be, do and have are a reference point for the game as your "checks" come in. But it also serves to free you from the feelings of limitation. It enables you to think freely and openly about what you really and truly want rather than limiting yourself to thinking about what you can have.

The Prosperity Game really is a simple, yet amazing tool and I hope you choose to play. Let me remind you again that it is 100% free of charge and you can play it in less than five minutes, especially if you really know what you want. It will really change the way you feel each and every time you play and you will begin to feel more prosperous and abundant, which is the first step to fully experiencing that in your life.

If you do choose to play, leave a comment here saying simply "I'm in the game!". Then come back again and share your experiences that result from the game so that others can see how you have benefitted from this tool as well.

In closing, here is a quote about what playing The Prosperity Game can do for you:

By writing checks, using your imagination, writing the memos, focusing as you write, and feeling no resistance as you write the checks because there will be no fear of overspending, you will achieve what is necessary in the achievement of anything: You will have made a statement of desire while you are in the state of non-resistance, or better said, in the state of allowing.

So, not only will you have the benefit of an expanded imagination, but your point of attraction will shift, and your life experience will then shift as well. Not only will your financial situation improve, but all manner of things that you have focused upon with pleasure will begin to flow into your experience.

Joyously playing this Prosperity Game will not only improve your financial state of being, but every aspect of your life will improve as well. It will not only help you to activate more vibrations around things you want, but it will assist you in focusing, more of the time, in a way that allows the things that you want to flow into your experience.

Playing this game will cause you to offer a more expansive, expectant vibration. And it is our promise to you that manifestations will begin to arrive in response to your changed vibration.

-- Abraham-Hicks in Ask and It is Given pages 177 – 181

A Secret of Success

2008-11-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There is no such thing as an overnight success. Even the people who explode into seemingly instant popularity on the stage and screen put in their time and efforts hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year to hone their talents to the point that they were recognized as a success. Even the American Idol contestants sang their hearts out in front of their bathroom mirrors dreaming of one day being a star.

What dream do you have? Are you willing to work harder, longer and later than the next person to achieve it? If you are, your chances of success are awesome!

Inspiration Found in an Unusual Place

2008-10-31T16:55:00.001-07:00

On my NiceGuyBlogging blog, I like to post various movie quotes that I find entertaining or interesting. While looking for a good Halloween quote for today, I actually found a good inspirational quote from an unlikely movie. Here is the quote:

Madame Leota: What are you doing?

Jim: Hey, you leave me alone. Just get out of here and leave me alone.

Madame Leota: Oh, I see. You're just going to sit there, feeling sorry for yourself.

Jim: Tell me why not. This whole thing was my fault. We should've never been here in the first place. Supposed to be at the lake. We'd be sitting by a warm fire right now. And I made us come here. And now it's too late.

Madame Leota: No. It's never to late.

Jim: Hey, look, I tried to get in there, and I can't, all right? I tried! I failed!

Madame Leota: You try. You fail. You try. You fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying.

Jim: What do you want me to do? Huh?

Madame Leota: Try again.

The Haunted Mansion

It is easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for ourselves when things don't work out. We feel like a failure and so we sit down and wallow in our misery. But what many of us don't know is that we may be sitting right on the one yard line with victory just ahead of us.

I have been telling my wife and kids this for years and I am going to share it with you as well. Nothing can defeat you! Nothing can cause you to fail! You only fail if you choose to stop trying! The only thing that can stop you is you!!!

So, when you feel thwarted, discouraged or down, remember the words of Tim Allen's character in the movie Galaxy Quest:

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER SURRENDER!

Allow Your Life to Be Wonderful

2008-10-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for several days now as I have had a very full schedule of late and am at the same time preparing as best I can for the kick off of the 2008 National Novel Writing Month coming up this Saturday. In spite of my very full and very busy schedule, I do want to share with you something that my wife and I have been focusing on this past week that has had a major impact in our relationships, our businesses and our finances.

This concept is the culmination of a number of success training cds and books that I have been listening to and reading over the past several weeks. They all have a different focus on success, but the information I am about to share with you was present in all of them. And "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." (2 Cor. 13:1)

To start off, I want you to think of a goal you are currently pursuing or one that you are interested in pursuing. Fix that goal firmly in your mind and then answer the following question:

Why do you want to accomplish this goal?

As you answer this question, I want you to consider whether or not you have given the true answer to the question. In the company that I work for, we have found that the first answer we think of when we ask the question "Why did this happen?" is rarely the root cause of a problem. So we use what is called a "5 Why" process to get to the real answer. I recommend using the same process in identifying your core reason for wanting to accomplish a goal.

For example, let's say that you have a home-based business that is bringing in an extra $250 a month. You might have the goal of increasing the income from this business to $500 a month.

Why do you want to increase your income from your business to $500 a month?

To have more money in my pocket.

If you look at that answer, is the real reason you want to increase your income so that you can have more little pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them is it? Of course not. So keep asking "Why?" until you find your real reason.

Why do you want more money in your pocket?

So that I can pay my expenses as soon as I incur them.

Why do you want to pay your expenses as soon as you incur them?

So I never have to go into debt for anything.

Why do you never want to go into debt for anything?

So I don't have the stress of making a credit card payment every month.

Why don't you want the stress of making a credit card payment every month?

So I can feel good whenever I think about my finances.

Your answers may have been different than these here, but if you ask "Why?" often enough you will most likely get to the point of saying "...because it makes me feel good." That is really what we want, isn't it? It doesn't matter if your goal is losing weight, developing an artistic or musical talent, finding a spouse, starting a business or any other target. Isn't your real reason for wanting these things in your life because they would make you feel good?

But can't you feel good right now?

Some of you may have responded to that question with "No! Not with the amount of debt I have!" or something similar. And if that was your response I would like to ask: Have you had any moments today where you felt happy, even if it was just for a moment? This week? This month? I am willing to bet that you have. And why is it that you were able to feel happy? You were probably focused on something else in that moment other than what you usually focus on to feel unhappy.

The large majority of us set up rules like the one I mentioned above that determine when we can feel happy and, by default, when we can't. I will be happy when I get rid of all this debt. I will be happy when I lose 50 pounds. I will be happy when I am lying on the sandy beaches of Hawaii. But we have those small moments that are exceptions to these imperfect rules where we feel happy even though we haven't satisfied our preset guidelines for happiness.

We can in this very moment be happy, not just feel happy, actually be happy by choosing to be so. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, we set the rules for when we can be happy so by the same measure we choose to not play by those rules. We can be happy right now! It is simply a matter of controlling our emotions rather than letting them control us.

And we must control our emotions if we are to accomplish our goals. If we don't, we will not have the power behind us that will enable us to succeed.

"Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance."
~ Brian Tracy

My wife and I have found this to be so true over the past few weeks. We have been working on controlling our emotions in regards to our financial situation and to the building of her Mary Kay business. My wife has also been applying this toward her continual efforts to meet a major weight-loss goal. We have released our attachments to what our expected outcomes are and just chosen to feel good no matter what happens. And the results have been amazing! We have experienced financial miracles, my wife's business has just been booming and she is making progress as she works on losing those last stubborn pounds that she wants to lose. (She has lost 45 pounds already!) In addition to that, our relationship with each other and with our children is better than it has ever been. Everything is just "clicking" for us!

But even if none of this had happened, we would still be happy ... because we choose to be so!

But it hasn't all been smooth sailing. You probably know as well as I do that whenever you feel like you are on top of the world someone or something will come along and try to knock you off. What makes the difference is how you respond to that event. And the best way you can respond is with gratitude.

If you are trying to pay down your debts and an exceptionally high utility bill comes through, be grateful for the continuous service that you have been given that enables you to light, heat and cool your home.

If you have a medical emergency, don't worry about the impending bill. Be grateful that you are still alive and live in an area where skilled and trained physicians are available to care for your medical needs.

If you are trying to lose weight and you go up one week rather than down, be grateful that you live in an area of the world where food is abundant and that you don't go to bed at night in extreme hunger.

If your business is building slower than you hope, be grateful that you have not only the skills and abilities to do business but also an exceptional mind that is open to ideas and inspirations that can and will lead you to build it faster and/or better.

Whenever obstacles arise before you, be grateful for them and the opportunity to become better and stronger by overcoming them.

If you think long enough, you can always find something to be grateful for. And it is impossible to feel grateful and be unhappy at the same time.

Whatever it is that you desire to accomplish in your life, allow your life to be wonderful in the process and watch how easily people, resources and events line up and fall into place to bring you success beyond your wildest dreams.

Action Steps:
1. Identify an area in your life you would like to improve or develop.
2. Identify what negative feelings come to your mind when you think about accomplishing this goal.
3. Release the negative feelings and choose to be happy.
4. Overcome challenges to your happiness with an attitude of gratitude.

Success Statistics

2008-10-23T15:40:00.001-07:00

As some of you know, I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month for the first time this year. Of the 101,510 people who signed up to do it in 2007, only 15,333 actually reached the 50,000 word mark. That is only 15% of all those who set the goal actually completed it. That isn't a very encouraging statistic, especially for first-timers. So I started researching the NaNoWriMO forums to see what pitfalls people have fallen into the past the frustrated them and what tactics people have used to succeed. In my research, I came across a link to the following chart:

While this was done for the 2003 participants, I don't believe that the percentages have changed much based on the comparable completion statistics between the years.

What do you notice that is interesting about these percentages?

I found it interesting that of the 27,483 people who set the goal to write 50,000 words in 30 days that year, 58% never even got started!!! That is nearly 2/3 of the whole group.

I think this statistic holds true for many people who set goals - if the number isn't even larger.

How many times have you set a goal to do something new or different and then never started on it. I know I am guilty of that ... far too many times than I care to admit. But there is one statistic that I have learned that I guarantee holds true for each and every person regardless of what their goals is. That statistic is that 100% of the people that never start a goal will never accomplish it!

So, if you want something to change, if you want something better in your life, you have to take the first step. Just look at the graphic again. Those that got started on their goal in 2003 improved their chances of completing it by 31%.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."
~ Mark Twain

Notice that only 31% of those that get started actually reach their goal and how that number jumps significantly at each 10,000 word milestone. I guarantee that the reason why 69% of those that got started never achieved their goal is because at some point in the process (probably very early on in the process) they decided that if they didn't work on their goal one day it wouldn't hurt their chances of success. They were wrong.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
~ Jim Rohn

I know I have said it time and time again, but once you get going you have to keep going by working on your goal every single day. Establish early on the habit of doing something daily, anything at all, that is related to your goal. It harnesses the power of momentum, which will keep you rolling through the challenging times. And once you have done that for 17-30 days straight, it will suddenly become more uncomfortable to not take action than it is to take action!

Improve your chances of success by getting started and then establish good daily action habits early on so that you, too, can be an unstoppable force of achievement and success!

The Difference Between Winning and Losing

2008-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I have read many stories and articles about successful people and listened to many different stories of people who have failed. In each of those stories, those who succeeded are not that different from those who failed. They each had a dream. They each took steps to achieve their dream. They each had moments of doubt. They each faced obstacles. They each had critics in abundance. They each struggled, strived and suffered. So why was there a difference in their outcome?

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
~ Thomas Edison

When I played basketball in high school, we were given a basketball "handbook" that was filled with information on drills designed to improve areas of your game, team and school rules, and inspirational and motivational quotes and stories interspersed throughout the book. One quote that has stuck with me through the years was by Vince Lombardi who said: "Winners never quit and quitters never win." I've applied that quote in sports, in relationships, in every area of my life and have learned that it isn't always the strongest, smartest or even most talented that wins. It is the one that lasts the longest.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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."
~ Calvin Coolidge

When we start on a goal - be it building a business, getting out of debt, writing a novel, whatever it may be - we never anticipate that there will ever be a point where we will want to quit. We start off excited and focused on achieving our end result and we just go to work fully expecting that we will be victorious. But then we start to struggle. The results don't come fast enough or it is more difficult than we thought it would be (let me share with you a little secret about human nature - it is always more difficult than we think it will be because we never plan on it being that difficult) or some other excuse and we quit on our dream. We become so focused on the pain of that small moment of time that we completely forget or ignore how painful the rest of our life is going to be because we gave up and quit trying to achieve our goal.

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."
~ Lance Armstrong

Can you imagine what would happen if a mother quit right when giving childbirth got painful? Can you imagine the results if a weightlifter quit right when it started to burn? Can you imagine the life of the student that decides to quit the first time they did not get an "A" on a test? Where has quitting ever done anybody any good?

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
~ Thomas Edison

You never know when your big break is going to come in the process. You never know just at what point things are going to click into place and it is all going to start to flow. You just have to trust that, when you are pedaling up the side of a mountain, at some point you are going to reach the peak and then you can coast down the other side picking up speed as you go. You just have to last longer than the upward slope does.

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Whatever goal you are pursuing, check your determination level. Are you content with trying to achieve it? (Remember, "trying" is simply failing with honor.) Or are you at the REFUSE TO LOSE! level where it doesn't matter what comes your way - you triumph no matter what? The only person that can keep you from succeeding is you. If others have done what you dream of doing, you can do it, too! If nobody has ever done it, then be the first!!! But never, never, never quit on your dreams.

Don't You Quit!
~ Unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

The Importance of Brick Walls

2008-10-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Randy Pausch's book The Last Lecture and I came across a chapter where he talks about the importance of brick walls. Whenever we are in pursuit of something we really want, we all have encountered one or more brick walls that stand in the way of getting it. But Randy makes the point that brick walls are not designed to keep you from getting what you want. Not at all! Brick walls are simply there to test just how bad you really want it.

Think about that for a moment. Think about the last time you pursued a goal (no matter how big or small) that you did not achieve. What stopped you from achieving it? What was the brick wall? Why did it stop you? Or perhaps a better question is why did you let it stop you?

I am willing to bet that the majority of the brick walls we encounter that stop us are not insurmountable so much as they are unexpected. We have a plan, a road map that is going to take us from the where we are to where we want to be. We expect a few bumps in the road and maybe a couple of small hills; we know we could handle those. But where in the world did that mountain range come from? We then set up camp beside the mountains rationalizing that we have come so far and that is good enough. We obviously don't want it bad enough to climb the mountain.

"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
~ Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is someone that I have admired for a long time - not so much for his achievements as for the example he sets in overcoming every brick wall that gets in his way to achieve it. Most people think Michael was just naturally talented and that was why he achieved all he did. But did you know that he was cut from the varsity team his sophomore year? Did you know that in the third game of his second NBA season he broke a bone in his left foot that sidelined him for 64 games? Did you know that he and his team were booted from the playoffs by the same team three years in a row, denying him his first NBA title? Do you know that he was highly criticized for that fact and his team leadership abilities questioned? Did you know that just before fifth game of the 1998 NBA finals he contracted a horrible case of the stomach flu but he played through it and still scored 35 points? (Most players can't score 35 points in a game when they are in the best shape of their lives.)

Michael Jordan is no stranger to brick walls. But he overcame every single one of them because he wanted what was on the other side bad enough. I remember watching that fifth game of the '98 finals. If you didn't see it, you probably don't understand how bad it was for him. But I saw the toll the physical exertion was taking on his already weakened body. The pain was etched in his face. At the end of the game, his teammates were practically carrying him off the floor to keep him from collapsing.

I wondered at the time why he played. It didn't secure them the championship because they still had to win one more game in order to do that. It wasn't for the thrill of playing the game because I could easily see that that particular game was absolutely all work and no play for him. What it came down to is this: he wanted that championship so badly for himself and for his teammates that he was completely unwilling to allow even the possibility of his team losing a single game if he was able to do something about it. He knew there was still a chance that he could fail - that they would lose the game. But he was okay with that possibility. What he was not okay with was not trying.

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying."
~ Michael Jordan

I did not mean for this to become a Michael Jordan tribute post, but what I hope you take away from this is that even the greatest achievers we have ever known have brick walls to overcome. Most multi-millionaires have experienced bankruptcy. Many fitness and health gurus were once fat. Beethoven was deaf. Thomas Edison was told by his teacher that he was too stupid to learn anything. Walt Disney was fired from by a newspaper because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas." Oprah Winfrey was fired as a TV news anchor and was told she had "no business anchoring the news in a major market." Albert Einstein's PhD dissertation was rejected. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected by 140 publishers who thought there was no market for Chicken Soup for the Soul. The difference between all of them and each of us is that they wanted their dreams bad enough to overcome any and every brick wall that arose in front of them.

Do you want it bad enough to do the same?

Action Steps:
1. Write down a dream that you are ready to pursue or one you are already pursuing.
2. Write down all the reasons why you absolutely have to achieve that dream. What will it give you? What pleasure will you experience?
3. Write down all that you will miss out on if you quit on your dream. What pains will you experience if you allow yourself to fail?
4. Identify foreseeable brick walls, both internal ones and external ones, that could possibly pop up in your way as you pursue your dream.
5. For each brick wall, identify strategies for going over them, around them, or through them.
6. Take action on your dreams every single day and don't settle for "good enough". You deserve better than that. You deserve the "GREAT!!!" So endure to the end so that you, too, may say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7) and I AM VICTORIOUS!

I Just Have To!

2008-10-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

I love sports movies - even the goofy kid movies put out by companies like Disney. The reason is that in every sport movie there is a defining moment of struggle. And in that moment, there is a lesson taught that has real life applications.

The other night I was watching the movie Rookie of the Year with my boys. The defining moment of the movie came in the second game that Henry was sent in to pitch. Henry is nervous and is struggling with his control. The lesson comes when Chet "The Rocket" Steadman is sent to the mound by the team manager to calm Henry down and give him some advice. Not knowing what to say, Chet tells Henry to use his "have to". He explains that this is the place you go when you are full of fear. You use your "have to" to pull yourself through in spite of the fear. Henry nods even though he doesn't understand and even Chet walks back to the dugout muttering "The 'have to'. What the heck was I talking about?" But the advice worked and Henry starts throwing 100 mph strikes and saves the game.

The reason this lesson intrigues me is because the following morning I was listening to a CD from Anthony Robbins' Personal Power II series where he was talking about the "7 Wealth Wounds". He makes the point that successful people get what they want in life because they make it a "have to". They will not accept any other alternative. He uses people who maintain a healthy weight as an example. If they set 130 lbs as the weight they have to maintain, the minute it creeps up to 132-133 they immediately do whatever they have to do to get back down to that 130 or even just a little below.

People who have achieved financial abundance operate the same way. They set a financial level that they have to reach and maintain and they do whatever it takes to get there. They are not content with just getting by even when just getting by may be significantly better than where they currently are. They have to be financially well off and nothing is going to stop them from reaching that point.

Are you someone who settles for getting by or even just improving a little from where you are now? I know I have been guilty of that. When I have had serious financial struggles (even to the point where a financial counselor told my wife and I that our only option was bankruptcy), my "have to" kicked in and I did whatever I needed to do to overcome the situation. Unfortunately, I failed to set my sights above the "getting by" level where I made just enough to cover my bills. So what happens is a medical emergency or major car repair would come along and wipe out my savings and knock me right back into financial distress.

A perfect example of this is a couple of years ago my wife and I started following Dave Ramsey's "Baby Steps" to getting out of debt. We built up $1,000 in savings for an emergency fund and went to work on paying off our smallest debt balance. A couple of months later the transmission on our van blew out. We didn't have the option of not repairing it because the van was our only means of transportation and essential to making the extra money that was keeping us afloat financially and enabling us to pay down our debt. The repair cost us $2,500. You can probably guess where we had to pull the additional $1,500 from.

I was listening to Dave's radio show the other night on the way home from work when I heard him advise a caller not to stay at the $1,000 savings level for very long because then you are just asking for trouble. I immediately thought to myself "Dave! Where was this level of honesty three years ago when we got killed financially while following your advice?" The truth of the matter is that we did not follow his advice - not entirely anyways. He advises working with "gazelle-like" intensity when setting up the emergency fund and paying off the debt. Once we had the fund in place and were paying our bills, we lost that intensity. We stopped working from our "have to" because it was no longer a have to in order to survive.

I was thinking about all of this last night and had a personal breakthrough that many of you can learn from as well. The reason why I settle for survival rather than making abundance my "have to" is that the pain was gone. In the Personal Power II series, Anthony Robbins talks about how the two greatest motivators in life are pain and pleasure and that pain is the greater motivator out of the two of them. Pain drives the "have to". When I was faced with the pain of bankruptcy, I kicked things up a notch or two to get away from that pain. Then when things leveled out financially the pain was gone and I settled back into a groove that kept us above that line where the pain of not being able to pay my bills would start up again, but just barely above. I derived pleasure from having gotten our family back to a level where we could survive again financially and the pain had disappeared so I had met my needs.

Now, I recognize that I would get more pleasure if I were living much further above that line, but that would mean a lot of hard work, it might mean more time away from my family, it would mean giving up some things that I enjoy right now; all things I associate pain with. So I was inadvertently motivating myself to stay right above one pain line and right below another. I had trapped myself in a very small comfort zone!

Do you have any areas in your life where you have done something similar? It may not be finances, but it may be related to weight loss, to self-improvement, to relationships, to parenting; it could be anything. Just look for an area where you are just getting by. Or look for areas in your life where you improved in the past, but then you just stopped and didn't go any further. What is motivating you to remain mediocre? What pleasure do you get from not pursuing your dreams? What pains are you effectively avoiding by not going after what you really want in life? Write it all down on a sheet of paper right now so that you can see clearly how you have trapped yourself where you are right now. Go ahead! I will wait until you are done.

Did you write it all down? I hope you did because, if you didn't, the rest of this post won't make a difference to you so you might as well quit reading right now and go find another blog to waste your time at. But it isn't to late too start changing your life right now. Write it all down right now!!!

Now, if you did write it all down, you probably experienced a moment of feeling a bit foolish. I know I did. I could now see how I was to blame for where I was at financially. I could no longer blame circumstances because I had already proven that I could overcome circumstances to get from being a step away from bankruptcy to being financially stable. But I was the one to blame for it not getting any better than that.

Did you see what happened there? I started to feel a NEW pain for my situation. And that is the first step to moving on from where you currently are - when it is too painful to stay!

So here are the steps that are going to enable you and me to motivate ourselves to move on from where we are right now. Take out a clean sheet of paper and...

1. Write down a definite goal for where you really want to be.

This is not a goal for where you think you can get to. This is where you really want to be. Just focus for a moment on WHAT you want and leave the HOW you are going to get it for later. Don't settle on a goal that is less than your best vision of your future. You deserve the best so allow yourself to have it!

State your goal in the present and make it S.M.A.R.T.

Specific - Does you goal answer the six "W" questions: Who, What, Where, When, Which, and Why?
Measurable - Does your goal answer the questions of how much, how many and how will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable - There is very little that you cannot do if you are determined to do it. Use your inner compass to determine what is possible for you. Picture yourself in your mind accomplishing your goal. If you can "see" yourself doing it, it is attainable.
Realistic - A goal is realistic if it represents an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. If you truly believe that it can be accomplished, then it is realistic.
Timely - Every goal needs a deadline. It creates a sense of urgency and has the added benefit of engaging your subconscious mind in the process. So when do you intend to complete your goal by?

T can also stand for Tangible, which means that your goal can be experienced with one of the senses (i.e. taste, touch, sight, smell and/or hearing). Tangible goals have a better chance of being specific, realistic and measurable, thus making them attainable.

After you have written down your new goal...

2. Write down all the pleasure you will get out of attaining that goal.

Get creative and list all the reasons reaching that goal will bring you pleasure. How much better will you feel? What will it do for your self-esteem when you pull it off? Who will it inspire? What will you have that you didn't have before? What options and opportunities will you now have? List it all!

Now that you have all the pleasure laid out before you, it's time to heap a bit of pain on top...

3. Write down all the pain you will experience if you don't go for the goal.

What are all the things you are going to miss out on if you don't do it? What embarrassments will you suffer? Who will follow your example and suffer the same frustrations you have? What will your life be life 5, 10, or 20 years down the line as you look at how different your life could have been if you had just changed it now? Get it all out there and notice how you are feeling as you write it all down.

I am willing to bet that you are going to start feeling some of that pain right now. GOOD! This changes your goal from a "want to" to a "have to". You now have to be completely debt free. You now have to maintain your weight at 130 lbs. You now have to learn to play that piano. You now have to increase your personal income by an additional $2,500 per month. The level you are now at should no longer feel comfortable. You have to move up!

You now have a new set of motivations. Take that old list and throw it away because that isn't you anymore. You are no longer content with mediocrity. It's time to go for it! So now it is time to...

4. Brainstorm a list of all the different things you could start doing today that would start you on the path to where you want to be.

Once you have your list of actions you can take...

5. Pick one thing to do today and do it!

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing ... that's why we recommend it daily."
~ Zig Ziglar

Keep your new list of motivations in a safe place and review them every single day. Remind yourself of the reasons why you are doing what you are doing and what will you suffer if you don't. That way when you come up against a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, they will be fresh in your mind and you will refuse to be stopped ... because you just have to succeed!

Have You Succeeded Today?

2008-10-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am Complaint Free!

2008-10-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

At the end of the First Step series yesterday we talked a little about the "Blame Game" and the negative effect that it has on you. Today, let's talk a little about the precursor to blaming - complaining!

You usually don't blame someone or something unless you have a complaint about something. And a complaint is nothing more than a negative focus on a particular situation or outcome. In fact, the dictionary defines a complaint as an expression of discontent, regret, pain, censure, resentment, or grief; lament; faultfinding.

What important lesson can you learn from that definition?

The point that I noticed in that definition is that in order for something to qualify as a complaint, it has to be expressed. It is human to feel discontentment, regret, pain, resentment and grief about things in life. But it is our choice whether or not we continue to focus on it and share that negative focus with others. The danger of doing so is that negativity is highly contagious and deadly to the spirit. The symptoms of this disease include depression, a darkening of the mind, unconscious and consistent frowning, a downward mental spiral, and an overwhelming desire to spread this disease further so that others will feel just as bad as you do or at least give you attention for having contracted it.

So, what do we do?

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”
~ Maya Angelou

You have a choice when you are faced with something that dissatisfies you. You can eliminate the negativity altogether by simply changing what you don't like. But, if you can't change it (or, as I prefer, until you change it since I believe that there is very little in this world we cannot change if we persist long enough until it does change), change your attitude and focus on something positive. But, if you struggle to do even that much, the least you can do is keep it to yourself until you do find a better focus so that you do not spread that negativity out into the world.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I was pleased to learn today that Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri introduced a bill last July designed to reduce the amount of complaining in the U.S. To some this seems impossible and a silly waste of taxpayer's dollars. Unlike the $700 billion bailout package that has yet to make a difference (that is not a complaint, mind you - just an observation of fact), this strikes at the core of a problem rather than the typical attempt to treat the symptoms and hope the problems we face go away. It is by no means an extravagant or costly plan. What Graves has proposed is to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving an official “Complaint Free Wednesday” in the U.S. in order to help us prepare for a day of gratitude.

H.Con.Res.404 is currently in committee, but in order for it to pass it needs 50 members of Congress to act as co-sponsors. I have included the full text of the bill and, if you can support this act, click HERE or follow the instructions after the text of the bill to send an e-mail to your congressional representative and encourage their support of this act. I would then recommend that you e-mail everyone in your address book and encourage them to read this blog posting and e-mail their representative as well.

If you choose to act on this, please leave me a comment so that I can see who my fellow non-complainers are. Those are the people I want to hang out with!

HCON 404 IH

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. CON. RES. 404

Supporting the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 31, 2008

Mr. GRAVES submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Supporting the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday.

Whereas the average person complains approximately 15 to 30 times per day, resulting in approximately 4,570,350,000 complaints per day in the United States;

Whereas people complain in order to negatively get attention from others, avoid taking action, pre-excuse poor performance, brag, or exercise control over others;

Whereas complaining damages a person’s health, relationships, and ability to solve underlying problems;

Whereas violence usually begins with complaining by expressing grief, pain, or discontent;

Whereas it is not complaining if a person acts proactively to resolve an issue;

Whereas ‘A Complaint Free World’ is an organization that encourages people to wear purple bracelets as a symbolic reminder to change a person’s complaining nature;

Whereas ‘A Complaint Free World’ has delivered approximately 5,439,532 purple bracelets to people throughout the world;

Whereas ‘A Complaint Free World’ hopes to inspire 1 percent of the world’s population to have a positive attitude;

Whereas supporters of this movement have worked with thousands of schools in the United States through the Complaint Free program and have achieved amazing results in creating positive attitudes; and

Whereas Complaint Free Wednesday will be observed on the day before Thanksgiving, providing each person in the United States a day free from complaining in order to prepare for a day of gratitude: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

(1) supports the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday;

(2) encourages each person in the United States to remember that having a positive life begins with having a positive attitude; and

(3) recognizes and reaffirms the meaning of Thanksgiving by asking each person in the United States to use Complaint Free Wednesday to refrain from complaining and prepare for a day of gratitude.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is how you can garner support for this bill:

Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri has introduced House Resolution H.CON.RES.404 to officially declare the day before Thanksgiving “Complaint Free Wednesday” in the United States of America.

For this to become a reality, we need you to contact your congressional representative and ask him or her to become a Co-Sponsor of this bill. For it to pass, this bill needs 50 members of congress to act as co-sponsors.

* * * Here’s what To Do * * *

1. Go to www.house.gov/writerep/

You will be directed to The U.S. House of Representatives web site. Enter your STATE and ZIP CODE. This will launch a window so you can send an email directly to your congressional representative.

2. Email the following Text. You can copy and paste it from here.(Be sure and insert your representative’s name at the top and your name and town at the bottom)

Dear Representative ___________,

As you know, the attitude of a society plays a critical role in the well being and prosperity of its citizens.

The United States has long been the can-do optimist capital of the world, and I urge you to please CO-Sponsor and support H.Con.Res 404, which reminds Americans that a positive attitude and avoiding complaints can have a profound impact on our society.

This bill, entitled “Supporting the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday” was introduced by Congressman Sam Graves (MO-6) on July 31, 2008, and encourages each person in the United States to participate in a day free from complaining on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day to prepare for our national day of gratitude.

Thank you in advance for your support of this legislation.

Sincerely,

__________ (Your Name)

______, ___ (Your Town, State)

So, act today and then leave me a comment letting me know that you took a first step to changing the world!

The First Step - Part 7 of 7

2008-10-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

“Take the first step, and your mind will mobilize all its forces to your aid. But the first essential is that you begin. Once the battle is startled, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance.”
~ Robert Collier

Most people do not consciously recognize that there is a mind/body connection that can aid us or hinder us depending on how we use it. A quick way to test this is to think of what you do with your body when you are sad or depressed. Your head will be down, your eyes will be looking down, your posture slumped, your breathing shallow; whatever it is that you usually do when you are in that emotional state. Now, consciously perform those actions without any particular reason to feel that way and pay attention to how those actions combined affect your emotions and your level of thinking.

Now reverse it. Act the way you normally act when you are happy or really excited. Your head is held high, you are standing tall, you are breathing fully, your eyes are wide and looking upward, and you have a big silly grin on your face. Do this and see how those actions affect you. Now while you are acting happy, without changing any of those characteristics, try to get depressed. If you are honest and you stayed in your "happy stance", I am willing to bet that most people who try this are not able to get depressed.

So, why do I bring this up?

When you are immobilized in terms of your goals, when you procrastinate doing what you really want to do, that immobility has a dampening effect on your mind. And, conversely as Robert Collier points out, when you take the first step, your mind mobilizes all of its available faculties to aid you in achieving your goals and dreams. And when you act and your mind engages, you feel good, which, in turn, makes you want to act again, creating a Mind/Body Achievement Cycle and, pretty soon, you are "on a roll!"

But not only does your mind and your body work together for your good when you decide to act, but the universe conspires WITH you as well! Take my wife, for example. She is a Mary Kay consultant and she had to make a decision regarding her business. She could either scale back her efforts and settle into an easy, comfortable flow of business that would provide her with a little bit of extra money each month and leave her time to pursue other side interests, or she could pursue her dream of being a Director with an "I will not be denied!" attitude until it is achieved which would not only provide her with a good source of income to pay off debts and take amazing vacations with our family, enable her to meet new and amazing women on a regular basis, give her a huge sense of achievement, and win her a number of fabulous gifts and prizes every month. She decided to go for it!

Within days of her decision, incredible things started to happen. Her schedule for the following month was almost completely booked up. She had people lining up to join her team and go for their dreams as well. She even met a lady at the grocery store who she had never met before who gave her a solid lead for someone who was ready to join her Mary Kay team right away - someone my wife hadn't even worked with yet! Everything just started to fall into place seemingly overnight and my wife is well on her way to accomplishing amazing things with an amazing company.

In conclusion of the First Step series allow me reiterate the last words of Robert Collier's quote:

"...Once the battle is startled, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance."

A single step is all that stands between you and the path to getting everything you want out of life. There will be other steps to take and lessons to learn along the way, but it only takes a single step to get started. Take that step, my friends, and get yourself on the path. Nothing worthwhile comes to those who stand still in life expecting everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. We live in a "self-service" world where we have to get out and get the things we want. Don't be foolish enough to believe people are just going to hand it to you. It is as my father always told me: "He who hesitates is lost."

Take the first step and I will see you at the finish line!

Action Steps:
1. Take the first step towards your dreams and goals today!
2. Keeping taking small steps every single day until you achieve them!
3. Visit The Millionaire Marathon blog consistently for more tips, information and insights to help you along the way.

The First Step - Part 6 of 7

2008-10-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yesterday we talked about having a plan or goal and breaking it down into small stepping stones that will carry you from where you are to where you want to be. But what do you do when you don't know all the steps to take? What do you do when you can't see the path from beginning to end, when you can only see the first few steps? Most people don't do anything. This is known as "paralysis by analysis".

It really does not matter if you don't know how to do something. You only need to know the first step to take. If you know that much, you take a "leap of faith". Boyd K. Packer describes this as "the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

Jack Canfield also talks about this faith in the movie, The Secret, when he talks about driving from California to New York at night. You don't have to see from one coast to the other to get there. All you need is for your headlights to show you the next 200 feet before you. And once you have traveled those 200 feet, your headlights will reveal the next 200 feet, and so on, and so on until you reach your destination.

But some of you may worry about starting off in the wrong direction because you can't see the full path. I struggle with perfectionist tendencies from time to time, so I can totally understand that concern. Let me share with you an example of where I learned to overcome that struggle. I have aspired for many years to be a popular fiction writer. I was working on one particular story and decided to outline the story from beginning to end to prevent me from getting bogged down in the writing of it. I managed to complete 90% of the outline, but was unable to finish it because I couldn't quite see how to wrap up the story without dragging the ending out and boring the reader with explanations and dialogues that lacked the action to hold their interest. I agonized over this for weeks (yes, weeks) and made absolutely no progress, whatsoever.

I finally came to the realization that, while I didn't have a neat and tidy ending laid out, I had the bulk of the novel planned and ready to write. Why worry so much about an ending that hasn't even had a beginning yet? So I started writing, trusting that the ending would present itself at some point in the process. The funny thing is that within two days of writing, of getting the creative process flowing and putting it into action, the pieces started to fall into place. I still don't have it completely nailed down, but I am very close and have full faith that it will not even be an issue when I get to that point in the story. But even if I end up with a poor ending to my story, it is only a first draft. Any story can be written, but only great stories are rewritten!

So don't worry so much about the how, focus on the now and take the first step in faith!

Action Steps:
1. Write down something that you have been procrastinating because you don't know fully how to accomplish the task or goal.
2. Identify and write down the first step that you can take.
3. Take the first step in faith!

The First Step - Part 5 of 7

2008-10-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

“Have a bias toward action - let's see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.”
~ Indira Gandhi

Imagine just for a moment that you have just been invited to the movie set of a Christopher Nolan film. Although Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were huge successes, this is to be far greater than anything he has ever done so you are very excited to witness the master at work as he creates what is sure to be a blockbuster film. All the actors are on their marks ready to film the next scene and special effects and technical crews stand waiting to work their magic as Christopher steps forward and calls out the traditional "Lights! Cameras! ..." and then nothing happens.

The same thing happens with your life when you have goals, dreams and plans, but never act on them. You are the director of your life. You can either create a blockbuster event that the whole world would pay good money to see, or you can squeeze out a low-budget, no-plot B-movie that is quickly forgotten by the five people who went and saw it.

What is the movie you want to create? Is it a comedy that keeps people laughing? Is it a romance that inspires people to treat their spouses better? Is it an inspirational movie that moves people closer to God? Is it a "Biggest Loser" documentary starring you? Whatever type of movie you want to direct yourself in, make sure it is an ACTION movie. Go out and tackle your B.H.A.G. (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and give the world something worth watching.

One of the major problems with B.H.A.G.s are that people are intimidated by them. Even though accomplishing their B.H.A.G. would be a huge deal to them, most people never start on them or they give up soon after they start because the end seems so far away. It seems unattainable. I talk a little bit about that in The Millionaire Marathon program and how to conquer that fear. Here is an exerpt from The Millionaire Marathon:

The Power of Stepping Stones

Just like any marathon, in order to reach the finish line, you have to take the steps that will carry you from the starting line to the end of the course. There may have been times in your life where you thought, “If I had a million dollars, my life would be so much better/easier/more fun.” But, if your life would be so much better, why didn’t you set out in that moment to create a million dollars? Is it because the idea was too big?

Try a little experiment with me. Imagine you just came home and as you enter the family room you discover that someone had broken in and tore up the place. Your DVDs are thrown all around the room, the couch is tipped over, books were pulled off the bookshelf, the curtains are lying on the floor, your potted plants are knocked over, the laundry you folded before you left has been thrown all around – it is a complete disaster area! You can’t take a single step into the room without stepping on something. You, of course, call the police. They come, take their photos, promise they will be in touch, and then they leave you alone with Martha Stewart’s worst nightmare.

Now, notice what your mind does when I give you the following instructions. Keep in mind that you are the only one there so these instructions are for you and you alone
--- CLEAN THE ROOM!

Now, most of you probably did not immediately picture a clean family room. You probably started going through a mental checklist of what to do to get it clean which may have included pick up the books and put them on the shelf, put the DVDs away, push the couch back upright, hang the curtains back up, rewash and fold the laundry, straighten up the potted plants, vacuum the whole room, etc.

Some people’s mental checklist may have been get the phone book, open to the yellow pages, look up a local cleaning service, pick up the phone, dial their number and ask how quickly they can send someone over. (There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking the easy route!) And some people’s mental checklist may have been break down in tears, go get the half-eaten pint of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer and hide out in the bedroom until your spouse gets home.

The human mind is a funny thing in that it cannot cope with large projects. No matter which line of thought your brain may have followed, it had to take the large project and break it down into smaller, more accomplishable tasks. This is one of the true secrets of success in any endeavor. It doesn’t matter if it is to create a highly popular video game, lose 50 pounds, write a New York Times’ #1 best-selling novel or create one million dollars. Simply break the task down into the small stepping stones that will enable you to traverse the chasm that lies between where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow … and TAKE ACTION!!!

Action Steps:
1. Identify and write down a major goal you want to accomplish.
2. Write down the major tasks you need to do to accomplish this goal. These are your milestones.
3. Break your plan down into small stepping stones that will carry you from milestone to milestone.
4. Write down a "reward" for each milestone you reach.
(Note: Rewards don't have to be expensive. In fact, they can cost absolutely no money at all. It just has to be something that makes you feel good. Get creative!)
5. Take ACTION and take the first step!

The First Step - Part 4 of 7

2008-09-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

“The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.”
~ Lee Iacocca

I am sure that you have all heard the saying that a goal not written down is only a wish. Do you know why writing things down is so important and the impact that it has on you? As humans, our brains are constantly running; constantly thinking about "something" and we may not even know what that something is. It is intangible, distant and lacks clear definition. The minute you start putting it into words, you start to bring it into focus. You give it body, shape, form and substance. It becomes more than a thought and creates an emotional reaction within us.

One example of this can be found by those who have kept journals or diaries. We all have hazy memories of our past. But as time goes on, unless it was a life-impacting experience, most of our memories get hazy and distorted until they become difficult to recall at all. We become detached from them. If you have kept a record of your past, you may have noticed that you can go back and read about a day, even one that was not particularly eventful, and the scant details you recorded will bring it back to you with amazing clarity. You may even start remembering details that you did not write down such as a song you heard, a slight breeze that was blowing at the time, or physical features of the people you interacted with. And all of this provokes an emotional reaction within you; usually the one you felt that day when you first recorded the entry. It is as if your journal is a time machine that takes you back to that day so you can relive it all over again.

Just like your writing is a time machine to your past, it can also convey you to your future.

Let me pick a wish of mine as an example. I wished to be a publicized author. I can take that wish and turn it into an instant reality (yes, instant!) by writing down my experience of attending the Meet the Author event where I am the author! I can share the excitement of opening the boxes and see the cover of my book with my name on it. I can describe the long line of people who are waiting anxiously to meet me. I can express my joy and appreciation as people compliment me on what I have written and how much they enjoyed it. I can describe the exitement of shaking people's hands, giving hugs, encouraging aspiring authors and my gratitude for the opportunity to meet such diverse, incredible people who have been inspired and entertained by my writing.

Just as I wrote those few lines about that future experience, completely devoid of the details I would use to describe the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the occasion, my pulse quickened and I became slightly breathless with excitement. Why? Because as I wrote those lines, I lived that experience ever so briefly in my mind. It was as real as if it had already happened and it provoked the emotional reaction of my being there. And as you focus on the emotional, future experiences, you start to set the Law of Attraction to work on your behalf.

So, write it down and make it happen!

Action Steps:
1. Make a list of things you want to d0, places you want to see, people you want to meet, objects you want to acquire and experiences you want to have. (See if you can list 100!)
2. Identify your "Top 10" on this list.
3. Select one of your "Top 10" and take the first step to making it happen by describing it in detail. Use all the senses - sight, touch, smell, sound and feeling!

The First Step - Part 3 of 7

2008-09-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

“The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.”

~ Robyn Davidson

Have you ever felt powerless and weak when it came to achieving something important to you? I know I have. But like Robyn, I learned that I was far more powerful, far stronger than I initially believed I was. Let me share an example with you.

A number of years ago, I hiked to the rim of Mt. Saint Helen's with some members of my family. I was in pretty good shape and was cruising up the slope, at one point carrying my sister's backpack along with my own. But there came a point when my legs cramped up unexpectantly. It started out as just being really uncomfortable, but when we broke clear of the boulders and hit the pebbly slope that stretched to the rim of the volcano's crater, it quickly became intensely painful and my pace ground to a near-complete stop.

Seeing how much pain I was in, my father suggested I just sit and rest and they would pick me up on the way back down and help me reach the bottom. As appealing as it was to sit down at that moment and ease the pain, I simply replied that I was still moving. I started picking out points on the slope to walk to, but the more intense the pain got, the farther away those points seemed. I finally just started telling myself, "Take 10 more steps. You can do that much."

So, I took 10 more steps. Once I hit the tenth step, I told myself to take 10 more. And I kept taking 10 more until I collapsed with quivering legs on the crater's rim, looking down at the lava dome at its center. The interesting thing was that, while I was one of the last in our group to reach the rim, I was the first to reach the bottom, running and jumping all the way down completely free of pain, where I waited for the rest of my group to wearily straggle back to the car.

I learned the important lesson that day that I am far stronger than I tend to allow myself to be. That applies to more than just my physical body. I am smarter, wiser, and mentally tougher as well. And now, one of the things I enjoy most is pushing myself to see just how far I can go and how much I can achieve.

Sometimes, we just have to get out of our own way and see how far we can go. We have to erase the word "can't" from our vocabulary and keep on pushing on to see just exactly what we can do. The majority of the limits we have encountered exist only in our own minds. We have to make that difficult decision to take that first step beyond what we think we can do, and another after that, and another after that until we reach our desired destination.

So wherever you feel weak, wherever you feel you have gone just as far as you can possibly go and you have done all you can possibly do, take 10 more steps or improve by just 1% and allow yourself to be stronger and more powerful than you previously thought you were. And if you do it once, you can very well do it again, and again, and again.

Action Steps:
1. Write down an area where you wish you were better.
2. Write down you personal best achievement in this area.
3. Now write down what it would mean in terms of achievement to "take 10 more steps" or improve in this area by just 1%.
4. Take the first step beyond your previous record and keep on moving!

Busy Weekend

2008-09-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a hectic and crazy one. I did make time for my 1/96th of a day reading, but I did not create the time to come post about it. I have lots more to share with you, but I plan to finish out my First Steps series first and store up everything else until it is done. Don't worry, though. I am writing it all down so I don't forget any of it because what I have read and the insights I have been having because of it are just awesome!

The First Step - Part 2 of 7

2008-09-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”

~ Mark Caine

It is easy to fall into the trap of believing your environment is to blame for where you are in life. Perhaps you don't have the same opportunities as other people who come from wealthier families. You may not be as popular as some people. Maybe you don't have the same training and education that others have received. All of these situations and more can make you feel like a captive in your current state of being.

The truth of the matter is that your environment has nothing to do with you. When you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it no matter what the obstacles. There are hundreds of stories of people who have overcome poverty, lack of education, shyness, opposition and more to go on to achieve things beyond even their wildest dreams. They simply refused to be held captive any longer. They took the first step and found that taking that step and another and another was far easier than living in defeat.

Action Steps:
1. Write down what areas of your life you feel are holding you captive from the freedoms you want to enjoy.
2. On a separate piece of paper, write down steps you can take that could break you free from your current prison. Be creative.
3. Wad the first piece of paper up into a ball and say to it, "I refuse to be your captive any longer. As of today, I am free!" and throw it in the trash.
4. Choose one of the steps you have written down that will give you your freedom.
5. Take the first step!

The First Step - Part 1 of 7

2008-09-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

We have all heard the saying that every journey begins with a single step - the first step. For all the self-improvement, motivational, and success "secrets" out there, taking the first step is the most important of them all and deserves greater coverage by the success gurus than it actually gets. While I am no self-proclaimed guru of health, wealth and happiness, allow me to share with you over the next seven days some "First Step" quotes and my thoughts on how they can be applied to move you from where you are to where you want to be:

“Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation”

~ Oscar Wilde

Discontent is a powerful tool for achieving success. Every one of us is discontent with something in our lives. We all have something we want to change. The unfortunate fact is that the majority of us bury our discontent in our fears.

We are discontent with how much money we make, but we are afraid to ask our boss for a raise or to look for a new job.

We are discontent with our social situation, but we are afraid to try and make new friends or to ask our dream date out.

We are discontent with the amount of debt we have, but we are afraid of looking poor in front of our friends by spending less money.

We all have something we don't like, but our fears are holding us back. Allow that discontentment to grow until it is bigger than your fears. Then, when the pain of not changing is greater than the fear of making the change, you will be ready for that first step.

Action Steps:
1. Write down one aspect of your life that you are discontented with.
2. Write down what steps you could take to change it and identify what the first step is.
3. Write down what is holding you back from changing that aspect of your life.
4. Write down everything you would gain by changing this aspect of your life.
5. Write down everything you would miss out on by not making the change.
6. Take the first step!

I'm Coming Back!

2008-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted on this blog for nearly three months and I apologize to any of you that have been checking back regularly. I allowed myself to get too busy living my life to actual live my life. I fell back into the habit of getting by rather than cultivating the habits that will allow me to get ahead.

One habit that I have been neglecting is my 1/96th of a day habit that was taught to me by my friend and mentor John Dilemme. John pointed out that with there being four 15 minute periods in every hour, there are a total of 96 of them in every day. He proposed that if I spent 15 minutes of every day, 1/96th of my day, reading a motivational book or listening to an inspirational tape, my life would change drastically for the better over time. He called it feeding your spirit and has based it on the concept that what goes in, must come out.

I used to do this on a daily basis. I turned my car into a rolling university by listening to cds of Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Mike Litman and others as I drove to and from work. I read books by Jim Rohn, Denis Waitley, Norman Vincent Peale and others as I ate lunch. Having done that for a while and now having gotten out of the habit, I can testify to you that it does make a difference. When I was in the habit of feeding my spirit, I thought and acted differently; far better than I do now. I didn't react as much as I do now. My hope was higher, my goals bigger and my heart happier and I was better for it.

I am taking up that 1/96th of a day habit again and you all have the opportunity to be my accountability partners. This blog will be a measure of how well I am doing in re-cultivating that habit because it will be the outlet for what I take in my spirit. I will spend a minimum of 15 minutes absorbing motivational, enlightening, inspirational, spirit-filling material for the express purposes of changing my life and sharing it with you in the hope that it will change yours as well.

You will be hearing from me again ... very soon!

The Key to Getting "Unstuck"

2008-06-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges each of us face in becoming more financially secure, more prosperous, is that we don't often know what to do or where to start. We know what we want to change but we don't know how to do it. Today I am going to unlock the secret to destroying that roadblock forever.

Let me illustrate how to do this by sharing an experience I have had over the last couple of days. I have a brother-in-law that works for a company that sells and installs fitness equipment. He isn't paid very much but is given a lot of duties and responsibilities. On his blog he talked about how he was dissatisfied with the situation, how the organization was a total mess, and how the sales manager was taking a three week leave of absence. So the boss gave me brother-in-law a temporary "promotion". (You know what a promotion is don't you? It's an increase in responsibility without a corresponding increase in pay.) He now has to do the sales manager's job without any notes or information to help him.

Whether it is right or wrong, when I hear someone say they are dissatisfied with a situation, I make the assumption that they don't want to remain in that situation forever. It doesn't seem like that far of a stretch. If something is uncomfortable, change it or get away from it. Nobody wants to just sit there and take it, do they? So, I pointed out that he is in a prime position to improve his situation in the company. He will be learning the sales manager's job and, seeing how disorganized it is, can suggest improvements in how it is done. He can look for opportunities to improve sales seeing as how this is the slow time of year for their company and get their name out there more. Above all, he can make himself more experienced and more valuable and, if his efforts are not rewarded, he can take that experience and value to some other company that would appreciate it more.

The next day he posted again saying how excited he was for the opportunity and started listing a couple of ideas he had. I responded again and expanded his ideas and suggested some additional ideas of my own and some organizations and events their company could get involved with that would get their name out there more. Then today he posted some ingenious ideas about doing a fitness clinic that had further evolved from my comments the day before. But, again, it sparked the creativity centers in my brain and I had more suggestions on how to do the clinic at a low cost and in a way that would benefit not only them but some fitness trainers in the community.

Can you see what is happening here?

When we are stuck and clueless, it is most often because we are trying to go it alone and figure it all out for ourselves. The best way to overcome this roadblock isn't to brainstorm for ideas but to brainstorm with others for ideas. We don't all think the same thoughts and we don't all think in the same way. And once you get a creativity vibe going the ideas just start to explode from every person involved.

Napolean Hill talked about this in his book Think and Grow Rich: "When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in Harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance, becomes available to every individual brain in the group." It is the power of the "Master Mind" group.

So, whatever it is that you want to accomplish, get people involved. Don't hide under your fears of failure. Step out and share your goals and engage your master mind group to lay out the plan that will lead to success beyond your wildest dreams!

Are You Motivated Right Now?

2008-06-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing that we all lack when it comes to being, doing, and having the things that we want in life, I would say it is motivation in the moment. I know that there are over 100 things (because I actually took the time to make a list of them) that I would like to be, do, or have. Some are complex goals and others are simple whims and wishes. Why don't I have them? Why haven't I done them? I lacked the motivation in a given moment to pursue them.

Let's take this blog as an example. I can't tell you how many times I have thought that I would like to post something that day that would be of value to those who might happen to read it. My series on Universal Laws has been bouncing around in my head for months now. I think getting the series researched, written out and posted would be of great benefit to my readers and to me.

Have I had time to do it? Absolutely! I have the same amount of hours in any day that anybody else does. I would be lying to you and myself to say I haven't had time to do it. I have wasted precious moments that I could have used to complete it. I just wasn't motivated to do it in those moments.

So the question before us is "How do we motivate ourselves right now?" Let me give you a step-by-step process:

Step 1 - Take out a pen and paper. I'm serious here. Stop reading right now and take out a pen and paper or don't even bother reading further.

Do you have your pen and paper?

Okay. Good. Let's continue on ...

Step 2 - Write down what it is that you want to do. What do you want to accomplish? This could be a major goal like learning to play the piano, making $100,000 or becoming the top salesperson in your line of work. Or it could be something simple like giving a compliment to your significant other every single day, posting on your blog daily, reserving quality time each week for your kids.

Step 3 - Wright down what is most important to you in your life. It could be your spouse/significant other, your kids, your car, your bank account, whatever it is. What is most important to you?

Now, before we go on to the next step, I want to prepare you a little. Not because it is so amazing and so shocking, but because it is so simple. Open your mind to this next step and really let it sink in.

Step 4 - Ask yourself: What would you do if you had only 90 days to achieve your goal or you would lose what you cared about most forever?

Really let this question sink in, and, as soon as the ideas start pouring forth, write them all down as fast as you can. If what you wrote down for Step 2 is truly important to you, the answers should start coming to you right away. You will now have an idea list that will get you started on your goal, and, more likely than not, you will feel excited about doing it now. You may not see the full path that leads you from where you are now to where you want to go, but that's okay. You have a direction to start in and a number of steps outlined to start with. And now for the most important step of all ...

Step 5 - Pick one of your ideas and take action on it right away! It doesn't matter how small the step is, just do something; ANYTHING!!! If your goal is to learn to play the piano, it may be as simple as calling around to find out who teaches piano and making an appointment with them. If your goal is to get better at giving compliments to your significant other, your first step may be to make a list of all their attributes that your appreciate and admire. Just do it! DO IT NOW!!!

What? Are you still here? What are you doing? You're wasting your time. You're wasting your life! Not the one you are currently living but the one you always dream about. Go take your first step and then come back. These words aren't going anywhere. They'll be here when you get back. GO NOW!!!!!

Did you go and come back? If you did, that's fantastic because now you are one step closer to where you want to be and you are ready for the next step on your list. And every step you take, every task you complete, will motivate you more and more because each little success you have will add up to the major success of completing your goal.

The reason why this works so well is you are adding two essential factors to your goals that you were most likely lacking before completing this exercise: IMPORTANCE and URGENCY. We pay our electric bill because it is important for us to keep warm and cook food and it is urgent that we do so before the electric company shuts it off. We go grocery shopping because it is important for us to eat to survive and urgent because we are hungry.

If someone kidnapped my wife, held a gun to her head and told me I had 90 days to bring them $1,000,000 or they would blow her brains out, I would be motivated enough to start selling everything I own that very day. I would also talk to every last person I could get in contact with to ask them for help. I don't care if I had to ask 12,000 people every single day for 90 days to donate $1 to help save my wife, I would do it (and I really struggle when it comes to asking other people for help). Nothing would stop me from raising that $1,000,000 before that 90 day deadline because my wife is very important to me and the deadline makes it urgent that I get it done. THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD FAIL!!!

I hope that you did not read this whole post in one sitting. I hope that as soon as you read Step 5 you stopped reading right then and went out and took the first step towards achieving your goal. If you didn't, I won't hold it against you as long as you go do it right now. And once you have done it, come back and leave a comment telling me how it all worked out.

When the wind does not blow your way...

2008-06-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

~ Jimmy Dean

How to Cure a "Bad Day"

2008-06-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Read this, and let it really sink in... Then, choose how you start your day tomorrow...

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'

I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Positive thinking the the first step towards a happy life.

Attitude is everything!

If everyone applies just these, the whole world will live in happiness.

-------------------------------------------------

Isn't it funny how you always seem to come across those things you need to hear most, even if you don't want to hear it? This day has been a bit rough for me. Not that it has been a bad day. In fact it was only a couple of ---small--- things that happened this morning that started it spiralling downward. I even ended up getting a little grumpy with my wife which she totally did not deserve. I made a bad choice. Luckily, I recognized how badly I chose and was able to save the day by choosing something better.

Tomorrow, I plan to skip over "better" and choose to have the best day so far this month!

What do you choose?

“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”

~ W. Clement Stone

Are You In A Recession? I'm Not!

2008-04-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Much of the media has been warning us for several weeks that we are in a recession. There is nothing but doom and gloom in the forecast, President Bush's Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate will not make a difference and we had better prepare for hard times ahead. I'm sure you have all been reading the same articles and hearing the same predictions of the coming financial storm. Personally, I have declined to participate in this recession. How about you?

What Is A Recession?

A recession is defined as being two or more quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. What that means is that for two or more quarters consumer, business and government spending decreases while exports and inventory increases.

The interesting thing is that I was listening to Dave Ramsey's talk radio show on the way home from work the other night and he talked about how we are NOT in a recession and how politically biased the media actually is. He pointed out that, if the majority of the population believe that we are in the midst of a recession come election time (and many people already do believe that), there is absolutely no way a Republican candidate will be elected President. For those of you who don't know, a major indication of a recession is an increase (particularly a sharp increase) in the rate of unemployment. Unemployment has held steady of late and has even dropped a little. So where is this recession? I'll tell you where. It is in one of the most dangerous places of all - our minds.

Recession Breeding Ground

At the rate that the so-called recession is becoming the most talked about subject in the media, in schools, in our work places and in our homes, we will end up in a recession.

Why?

Simple.

The more this subject is tossed about, the more fearful people become. And when we make decisions based on fear, we usually make the wrong ones. Those of you who recall the movie The Secret of My Success may remember that when Michael J. Fox's distant uncle's corporation was targeted for hostile takeover, his uncle ordered his executives to find ways to "cut to the core" operations and expenses to try and save cash. Fox, posing as an executive (although he had been hired to work in the mailroom) was adamant that doing so would open them right up for the hostile takeover and that they needed to expand and make the company stronger than their competitor. Then they go and take them over! Unfortunately, most of the executives, including the key senior executives, believed they should just follow the direction they had been given by their superior. The result was that they opened themselves right up for the hostile takeover. (I won't ruin the ending by telling you any more than that.)*

(*Note: If you haven't seen The Secret of My Success, be advised that, while it is a humorous movie, it is rated PG-13 for some language and sexual themes. If you find that offensive, I do not recommend this movie to you; not even when it has been edited for television as the sexual themes play such a large part in the film that they are impossible to edit out.)

So what does this have to do with us? Allow me to explain.

Everyone gets more and more fearful of a recession. They start saving money for potentially hard times ahead. Profits drop for major corporations because people are buying less. They start cutting jobs to reduce expenses and preserve profits. Unemployment rates start rising and we end up in a recession. The danger of this is that when fewer and fewer people are working, two things happen:
1. Fewer and fewer people have jobs to provide money to purchase products to increase profits to induce companies to hire more people.
2. As profits drop, prices go up to make up the difference which reduces our buying power and so we buy less which in turn causes profits to drop.So you can see how the recession would perpetuate itself.

As critical as opponents have been over President Bush's Economic Stimulus checks and how it won't make a difference, he does have the right idea. More people need to buy more products to pull back from a recession. The government can't fix this, only we can.

So, how can I decline participation in the recession?

My Declaration of Declination

"I decline the opportunity to participate in any real or imagined recessions. I choose instead to participate in an expansion of personal prosperity. I do so by focusing on literature, news and topics of study that enhance my life. I accept the events of life as being neither inherently good nor bad but simply opportunities for growth and learning. I recognize that I cannot change these events themselves but I can determine my own outcome by choosing the proper response for the outcome I desire. I look for and take advantage of financial and personal opportunities that create a better future for me, my friends and my family. I will share every opportunity I discover with all those I come in contact with and encourage them to choose for themselves as well."

Selective Media Blackout

The worst things in history have happened when people stop thinking for themselves, especially when they allow themselves to be influenced by negative people. That’s what gives rise to dictators. Avoid that at all costs. Stop it first on a personal level, and you will have contributed to world sanity as well as your own.
~ Donald Trump

The first step I have taken in declining participate is to choose not read about, listen to or think about the chance of a recession. Some people may think that is a stupid idea, but let me tell you why this is important. As I pointed out above, the more it is talked about, the more people fear it and, like a nearby rattlesnake that is poised to strike, they focus and fixate on it. And, by the Law of Attraction, that which we focus on and lend emotion to (and fear is an emotional response), we will attract. Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, you can see how it applies by my earlier illustration of how our fear-driven actions will bring about the recession. I choose instead to focus on uplifting, motivating, inspiring and educational topics instead that will actually benefit me.

E + R = O

Some areas I have chosen to focus on are the beliefs, habits and life lessons shared by successful and wealthy people. One of those people that I have enjoyed studying is Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Jack taught me about the life formula E + R = O, which means an Event + your Response to that event = your Outcome. He shares a story about a Lexus dealer in the middle of the recession of the early 1980's. Nobody was coming in to buy his cars and he knew he would have to do something different or he would end up going out of business. So he started to ask himself, "Where are the people that can afford to buy my cars?" Well, he came up with that they were probably hanging out at the country clubs at the golf courses, the yacht clubs and so on. So he rounded up all his salesmen, drove a bunch of cars to the local country club, walked in and asked who would like the opportunity to drive a brand new Lexus.

After people had the opportunity to test drive a car, he would tell them to continue to drive it for a week and he would take their car in to the shop, clean it up and detail it free of charge. After the week was up, these drivers would come to trade in the Lexus for their personal vehicles. Now, anyone who is reading this that has driven a brand new car and then gotten back into their old car can probably relate to what happened next. When you get out of a new car and get back into your old car, it doesn't feel as good and doesn't seem to drive as nicely as the new car. The end result was that the dealership sold more cars in the middle of that depression than they ever had in the past all because he changed his response to a situation to get a better outcome.

Opportunities Abound

When we choose our response to life's events, we really take control of our lives. Most people live life in fear, stress and frustration because they feel powerless to deal with unwelcome circumstances. They feel like they have been dealt a bad hand and they have no chance of winning. What they don't realize is that it doesn't matter what cards we are dealt, it is how we play them that matters. As illustrated by Jack Canfield's story above, there are always opportunities. Most people just have a habit of looking at the way things are rather than how they can be.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
~ Sir Winston Churchill

If under the aforementioned Law of Attraction, focusing on a recession will bring about a recession, why not use the same law to turn it around? The easiest way to do that is to ask yourself what you would be doing if the economy was thriving. You would be trying to cash in on it, right? So, the next step in declining participation in a recession is to follow the example of the Lexus dealership owner and look for and take advantage of opportunities for financial growth and prosperity. If we continue to live life the way we have been, look for opportunities to enhance that life, and encourage others to do the same, there is no possible way we will experience a recession.

Give So That You Can Give More

There is a verse in the Bible that says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Mark 6:38) A lot of people translate this to mean you must give to receive, but that is a selfish attitude to take which does not suit the doctrine presented in the book. I believe it means give to give more.

It is my hope that what I have given here will evoke responses and comments that will enhance what little I have presented; a way of giving more to the reader. I further hope that all who read this will share it further with others at every opportunity. By so doing, we can inspire our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to choose expansion over a recession and build a more prosperous community for everyone to enjoy.

Life! Focus! ... ACTION!!!!

So, come on, everyone! Shut out the negative prophets of financial doom and replace that with media and topics that fulfill you, enhance you and bring you joy. Choose a better outcome to your circumstances by choosing a better response to events. Look for opportunities to expand your finances, your circle of friends and acquaintances and, thereby, your moments of fun and pleasure. And lastly, tell everyone to do the same! Together, we can turn those financial gurus on their heads and show them a thing or two!

A Personal Apology

2008-04-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly 2 months since I last posted in this blog. If there is anyone out there that has been checking back regularly, I apologize for my absence. There have been many a time that I thought about writing a new post to inspire, encourage, advise and to breathe new life and ideas into the reader who comes by for a visit, but I just couldn't do it. I was just too discouraged, stressed and depressed.

Those of you that know me personally may be well-acquainted with my imperfections and flaws, but what many of you may not know is that depression was something that I struggled with for years. Under very special circumstances, I received inspired counsel at the age of 14 from a religious leader that did not know me personally in which I was told to beware of depression as that was a temptation that I would struggle with. Knowing that I was going to struggle with depression, however, did not provide me with the tools necessary to overcome it. It took me many years to figure out why I was depressed so often.

I don't want you to think that my life was especially miserable or difficult. I was pretty much an average American teenager. I had many bright, happy and very enjoyable moments in life, but they seemed to slip through my fingers so easily leaving more than enough room for the darkness that flowed into its place. I eventually learned that a major cause of my depression was my focus on all the things I did not have in life rather than being grateful for the abundance of health, talents, friends, education and wealth that I had been blessed with.

I may not have been the strongest or fastest individual, but I had a complete, healthy, relatively disease-free body that enabled me to play any sport I desired at an average to above-average level.

I may not have been the most-talented individual at sports, music, art or any other area of interest, but I could play sports, picked up on how to play the piano and guitar, re-taught myself how to sing after a throat injury (you can read more about that here), I could draw, paint and sculpt better than the average person and could virtually do anything that I set my mind to if I was willing to put in the time.

I may not have been the most popular individual, but I had many fun and loving friends of all ages in spite of my tendency to behave as a shy person would and hang in the background.

I may not have been the smartest kid in the class or pulled straight A's, but I quickly learned anything I wanted to and could retain the bulk of what I read freeing me from having to put in very much time reviewing and studying.

And I may not have had much money or material possessions growing up (in fact, my family's income was below the average and my parents had to make the dollar stretch with six kids), but I had more than kids in third-world countries, I had the ability and opportunity to work, and everything I listed above along with my family and many other things I did not mention gave me a very blessed and abundant life.

This last category has been the reason for my latest struggles. It is very difficult to focus on long-range goals like completing The Millionaire Marathon when my urgent, short-range issues keep rising up to slap you in the face every single day. I became frustrated, despondent and withdrew into myself to relive the pain again and again and again.

I am happy to say that I have overcome that through the application of an important lesson we all must remember when we are not happy with the way things are:

Do something; anything!!!

I couldn't change the whole situation in that moment, but I could tackle one small part of it and I did. I went to work with an urgency and focused on a future happy outcome. Just in the moving and the doing, hope revives and faith starts to rebuild. Making any sort of progress, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem, is a million times better than doing nothing at all.

Am I out of the woods, yet? No. But I am closer this week than I was last week and I will be even closer next week. I am just taking it one day at a time and making sure that my head and my heart stay in the right place.

As far as posting to this blog, I will resume my efforts to relay and share uplifting, motivating and hopefully inspiring material as often as I am able to do so. I am still working on the Universal Law series that I mentioned nearly 2 months ago and will finish it when I can, but I have some financial projects that take priority right now. So check back from time to time to see where I am at and, if you feel like doing so, leave a comment to let me know you are following and what you find interesting and helpful. If there are topics that you struggle with that you would like some input on, let me know and I will be happy to offer what I can.

I also invite you to come over to my personal blog at http://www.niceguyblogging.blogspot.com/ and read about the Million Step March challenge that I am participating in and the progress I am making with it.

Test Your Attractor Factor

2008-02-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Joe Vitale, I was led to a site where you can test yourself on how well you practice the principles that enable the Law of Attraction to work in your life. The beauty of this test is that you receive customized advice on where you need to improve and tips on how you can do it. You can find the test at:

www.smart-attractor.com

I highly recommend taking the few minutes to check it out!

Be watching this next week for a series of blog posts focusing on Universal Laws and how to apply them to your life!!!

Which Price Will You Pay?

2008-02-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I was reading in Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Laurence Leamer. He was relating a conversation Arnold was having with another, more experienced bodybuilder just before Arnold was to take his turn flexing and posing on stage. Arnold asked his competitor suddenly if he believed that he could have everything he wanted. The competitor, surprised by the question, pondered it a second and replied that a man cannot have everything he wanted. As Arnold's name was called he shot back, "No! You're wrong! You can have everything you want. You just have to be willing to pay the price."

The Price of Success
There is nothing that we cannot attain if we are willing to pay the price of success. Talents are developed when we pay the price of remaining teachable and practicing daily. Relationships grow when we pay the price of taking time to listen and share and interact with others. Fortunes are made as we pay the price or working to increase income and disciplining ourselves to save and invest rather than spend. Bodies are strengthened when we pay the price of pushing through painful and exhausting workouts.

Is there something out there that you wish you could be, do or have? There is a price to pay for it. Figure out what that price is and determine to pay it no matter what struggles you encounter and you will receive what you wish for.

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Do not fall into the trap of thinking you can set the wages, though. Life is not a deal-maker. Life will not grant you a $100 reward for a $2 effort. You get what you pay for! You can't say, "I am willing to eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day, but I refuse to give up my soda pop, chocolate and doughnuts," and expect to start losing weight. You can't say, "I am willing to practice the piano for 10 minutes every other day, but that's it," and expect to learn and progress and develop at the same rate as someone who practices for a minimum of 30 minutes every single day. Do not think you can set the wages and avoid the pain. You must pay the price and push through the pain to succeed.

"The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens."
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Price of Failure
Whatever path you choose, there is a price to pay. Just as the champion must pay the price of discipline to enjoy the rewards of success, there is another price to be paid by choosing not to pay the price of success. In economics this is known as the opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is lost benefits you could have enjoyed had you pursued a different course.

The athlete who does not practice and develop his or her skills has the opportunity cost of never being a starting player or perhaps not even making the team. The business person who does not consistently work their business has the opportunity cost of never enjoying the profits or the financial freedom it may have brought had they chosen to work it consistently. The man or woman who does not take the time or make the effort to eat healthy and exercise regularly has the opportunity cost not having as much energy or the self-esteem that a trim, healthy body would give them.

The difference between the price of success and the opportunity cost of failure is that the price of success diminishes over time. Muscles grow, habits form, fears diminish, experience is gained, talents develop and the actions you take grow easier and easier and easier. The opportunity cost of failure does just the opposite. Where the price of success diminishes, the opportunity cost of failure grows. Muscles atrophy, motivation fades, fears grow, self-esteem diminishes, apathy sets in and you regret more and more everything you don't have or experience. And you start blaming anything and/or anyone for your sad experiences in life while you envy the accomplished and successful.

It isn't anybody else's fault, though. You choose the price. And, once it is chosen, you will pay that price until you make the decision to change it.

What do you really desire in life? Are you paying the price to get it? If not, take the first step and start paying it now!

What did you choose not to pursue? Is the opportunity cost too high? If it is, choose to start paying the price to succeed! Do it now!!!

The choice is yours.

The Most Valuable Question You May Ever Ask

2008-01-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect.

Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work.

Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.

Thomas Edison is reported to have tried over 2,000 different experiments that failed before he finally got the light bulb to work. He once told a reporter that, from his perspective, he had never failed at all. Inventing the light bulb was just a 2,000-step process. If you can adopt that attitude, then you can be free to take an action, notice what result you get, and then adjust your next actions based on the feedback you have received.

Ready, Fire, Aim!
Don’t be afraid to just jump in and get started moving toward your goals. As long as you pay attention to the feedback you receive, you will make progress. Just getting into the game and firing allows you to correct and refine your aim.

The Most Valuable Question You May Ever Learn
In the 1980s, a multimillionaire businessman taught me a question that radically changed the quality of my life. So what is this magical question that can improve the quality of every relationship you are in, every product you produce, every service you deliver, every meeting you conduct, every class you teach and every transaction you enter into?

Here it is:

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality of our relationship during the last week?”

Here are a number of variations on the same question that have served me well over the years...

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate…

• our service?
• my teaching?
• our product?
• this class/seminar/workshop?
• this meeting?
• our date/vacation?
• our performance?
• this meal?
• my coaching/managing?
• this book/recording/show?
• my parenting/babysitting?

Any answer less than a 10 always gets this follow-up question:

“What would it take to make it a 10?”

This is where the *really* valuable information comes from. Knowing that a person is dissatisfied is not enough. Knowing in detail what will satisfy them gives you the information you need to do whatever it takes to create a winning product, service or relationship.

There Are Two Kinds of Feedback
There are two kinds of feedback you might encounter – negative and positive. We tend to prefer the positive – that is, results, money, praise, promotion, raise, awards, happiness, inner-peace, etc. It feels betters. It tells us we are on course and doing the right thing.

We tend not to like negative feedback – lack of results, little or no money, criticism, poor evaluations, complaints, unhappiness, inner conflict, pain, etc.

However, there is as much useful data in negative feedback as there is in positive feedback. It tells us that we are off course, headed in the wrong direction, doing the wrong thing. This is priceless information!

In fact, it’s so valuable that one of the most useful projects you could undertake is to change how you respond to negative feedback. I like to refer to negative feedback as information for “improvement opportunities.” Here is a place where I can get better.

Ask Yourself for Feedback
In addition to asking others for feedback, you need to ask yourself for feedback, too. More than any other source of feedback, your body will tell you whether or not you are on course or not. When you are relaxed and happy, your body is telling you that you are on track. When you are constantly exhausted, tense, in pain, unhappy and angry, then you are off track.

Take time to listen to what your body is saying to you. Take time to listen to your physical sensations and your feelings. They are sending you important messages. Are you listening?

Remember, Feedback Is Simply Information
You don’t have to take it personally. Just welcome it and use it.

For more on Using Feedback to Your Advantage, review Principle #19 in The Success Principles. It’s one of the most important principles you can apply.

© 2007 Jack Canfield
Are you "stuck" in this area?
Send me your most pressing question about this topic, then join me for our monthly "Ask Jack Canfield" Tele-Clinic! http://www.askjackcanfield.com/

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Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: http://www.freesuccessstrategies.com/

Courage

2008-01-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a little levity on the subject of courage...

Cowardly Lion:

Courage.

What makes a King out of a slave?

Courage.

What makes the flag on the mast to wave?

Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk?

Courage.

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder?

Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?!

Courage.

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got?

Dorothy & Friends:

Courage!

Cowardly Lion:

You can say that again.

On a more serious note...

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

~ Winston Churchill

The Journey to Your Goals

2008-01-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

On a recent cross country flight I looked out over the Rocky Mountains from 30,000 feet and saw hundreds of paths sort of heading towards the summits of the various peaks.

I write "sort of" because looking at these zigzagging paths made it very clear why they are called switchbacks. Those switchbacks occupied my thinking for most of the rest of the flight to Oakland and have been on my mind often since.

It occurred to me that those switchback paths are much like the paths we often take towards our largest, most important goals. We're definitely on a path, but it doesn't always seem direct or in a straight line.

Through my reflection I have found five messages about goal setting - and goal attainment - in the switchback paths.

1. The need for a clearly defined goal. If you are on a mountain path, the goal is pretty clear. You are there because you want to get to the top. In your daily routine how often do you strive to make your goals that clear and obvious?

From the 30,000 perspective you probably can see yourself progressing towards your goal, but sometimes on the path it's hard to see. Keeping your goal clearly in front of you is critical to your attitude and aids in maintaining your persistence and belief.

2. Switchbacks allow you to get started. Have you ever faced a mountain of a goal and the steps towards it seemed hard, steep and full of risks? While boldness is important, often at the beginning of a journey, you just need to get started; to build some momentum and confidence.

Taking a winding path may not be the most direct route, but it's one of the best ways to insure a successful start and finish.

3. Keep your head up. Not only do you need to clearly define your goal, but you must always keep it in sight as well. In any journey, whether walking or moving towards a goal, you must keep your head up - to be alert to dangers and diversions and to keep the goal in sight. Even if the switchbacks make it seem - even momentarily - as if you are moving away from it.

4. Switchbacks allow for ongoing progress. I've hinted at this already, but it bears repeating - the path of the switchback allows for ongoing progress. The path allows for steady consistent progress - which is critical to reaching any goal of importance.

5. Watch for shortcuts. The well worn path is a valuable one to have, but there may be opportunities to skip a switchback. The serious hiker and goal achiever is always looking for a short cut - a path that might be a bit more difficult, but may cut significant time off of the journey.

Yes, moving towards your goals is a journey, but you must always have the destination in mind. If someone dropped a rope from a helicopter, and your goal was to get to the top of the mountain, be willing to grab on!

We must keep moving forward, but always be looking for the big opportunity to shorten our path and reach our goals more quickly.

Obviously, this is written from the perspective of reaching individual goals, and hopefully that perspective has been valuable. However, thinking of these five points is just as important (if not more important) for you as a leader or as part of a team that is trying to reach important and perhaps big goals.

Keeping your focus and enthusiasm for goals as an individual is hard, but keeping a team or organization on track and excited often presents an even larger challenge. Keep these lessons in mind and put them to use for yourself or your team and they will aid you on your path.

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Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive a special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

It's Always Your Choice

2008-01-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice."

~ Wayne Dyer

How to Get Lucky!

2008-01-31T11:56:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across a blog today at http://www.thesimpledollar.com/ and read a post of a review of the book Never Wrestle With A Pig by Mark McCormack. The author of the blog highlighted some of the points the book made, but I want to mention just one that is vitally important. In the first chapter of the book, Give Yourself A Reality Check, McCormack talks of our need to realize that you have to work hard to make it happen.

I agree 100% with that point. People who think that it is easy for someone else to succeed and it should be easy for them as well don't really know what they are talking about. They aren't privy to the years of experience that built up the skills that makes what they are doing now look easy. They aren't privy to the time they spent cultivating relationships, studying and gaining essential knowledge, establishing habits of setting goals and achieving them, becoming proficient in establishing effective plans that lead to successful accomplishments, etc. We just sit back and classify them as "lucky" and wish we could be lucky just like them.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
~ Seneca

One of the points McCormack makes that I want here is that if you're relying on luck to carry you through something, it probably won't work! You need to put all your effort into making yourself "luck proof" just as these "lucky" people have done. Consistent winners are those who have done everything they can to stack the odds in their favor. They plan and prepare and then do absolutely EVERYTHING in their power to bring about favorable results.

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
~ Thomas Jefferson

Whatever it is that you want in life, plan for it, prepare for it, persistently pursue it and you, too, can get lucky!

STING Procrastination

2008-01-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

When you hear the word "sting", don't you get an unpleasant feeling? You probably thought of a bumble bee, a wasp or even a scorpion. Who in their right mind really wants to get stung? Nobody! And procrastination is no different. In fact, if you STING procrastination enough times, it probably won't hang around you any more. Won't that be nice! So let me tell you how to do it:

S - Select one task.

Select one task that you have been putting off. It could be something as simple as cleaning the kitchen or as complex as doing your taxes. Break it down and select one small piece of it if it is a large or complicated task and just focus on that for now.

T - Time yourself.

Set a time limit to work on the task. I recommend one hour for adults and 15 to 30 minutes for children depending on their age and attention span. Use a kitchen timer so you don't have to watch the clock.

I - Ignore everything else.

Don't answer the phone or check your e-mail during this time. Focus only on what needs to get done and don't give in to tempting distractions.

N - No breaks.

Work straight through to keep the momentum going. Keep on pushing yourself right up until the timer goes off or the task is completed.

G - Give yourself a reward.

Once the timer goes off, you are done whether the task is fully completed or not. The object wasn't so much to get everything done in this amount of time, but to overcome the procrastination and start making progress. If you do that, you win! And every winner deserves to be rewarded for their efforts. For more on this topic, and even some suggestions of rewards, see my Reward Yourself! posting.

That is how you STING procrastination!
S - Select one task.
T - Time yourself.
I - Ignore everything else.
N - No breaks.
G - Give yourself a reward.

If you practice this every day, procrastination will be but a distant, unpleasant memory!

How Do You Live?

2008-01-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

While I was sick a couple of weeks ago, I watched a lot of movies because I really wasn't up to anything else. In one of the movies, I heard a quote that has always struck me as comical, but I think it aptly describes how many of us tend to live our lives.

"I don't know where we're goin' but there's no sense bein' late."

~ Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley in Quigley Downunder

Many of us live our lives with no greater purpose than to earn enough money to pay our bills. We get up in the morning, chase the almighty dollar all day long, collapse in front of our T.V. for several hours at the end of the day, go to bed, and then repeat the cycle all over again the next day. Very few of us live our lives on purpose. And so we readily accept whatever purpose is handed to us.

"Most men lead lives of quiet desparation and go to the grave with the song still in them."

~ Henry David Thoreau

Start living your life instead of just going through the motions. And, if you are going to live your life, make it a life worth living! Instead of accepting whatever it is that life gives you, decide what you will have and go get it!

What is it that brings you the most joy and fulfillment in your life?
Are you doing it?

What do you want to be remembered for?
Are you accomplishing it?

Celebrate 2008! is my effort to inspire people to take action in their lives by setting goals to achieve the things they really want to achieve in their lives and stick with those goals until it happens. If you haven't set a goal or a resolution this year, please do so now. Do not go to your grave with your song unsung. None of us know how long we have to live, to breathe and to achieve so start today!

A Tribute & The Six B's

2008-01-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley, prophet of God and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, passed away this afternoon at the age of 97. I cannot say enough how much I love and respect this man. At an age when most are feeble and enjoying their retirement, he continued to travel the world over spreading the gospel and inspiring everyone he came in contact with. He became close friends with notable people like Larry King and held many interviews that were broadcast around the world, enabling him to clear up misconceptions regarding the church and to share our beliefs with all that would hear. The good he has done in his lifetime would fill volumes of books. My prayers are with his family at this time.

In honor of President Hinckley, I would like to share with you "The Six B's." It was a message directed to the youth, but I believe it has value to all of us.

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THE SIX B's

BE GRATEFUL - Express appreciation to everyone who does us a favor or assists us in any way. Two little words - "thank you" - the mark of an educated man or woman.

BE SMART - The Lord wants us to train our minds and hands to become an influence for good "...that ye may be prepared in all things" (D&C 88:78-80).

BE CLEAN - We live in a world filled with filth and sleaze. We cannot afford to let it touch us. We should not be disrespectful of the body which the Lord has given us. Avoid evil talk, choose your friends carefully. You are a child of God.

BE TRUE - Let us be loyal to the Church under all circumstances. The authorities of this Church will lead us in paths of happiness.

BE HUMBLE - The meek and the humble are those who are teachable. Be willing to listen to the whisperings of the still, small voice.

BE PRAYERFUL - Look to the Lord for understanding and guidance, and walk according to His precepts and commandments. The miracle of it all is that He hears, He responds, He answers.

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To learn more about President Hinckley, the LDS church or to read the full text of the message surrounding The Six B's, visit www.lds.org.

The ABC's of Happiness

2008-01-26T22:07:00.000-08:00

A--Accept
Accept others for who they are and for the choices they've made even if you have difficulty understanding their beliefs, motives, or actions.

B--Break Away
Break away from everything that stands in the way of what you hope to accomplish with your life.

C--Create
Create a family of friends whom you can share your hopes, dreams, sorrows, and happiness with.

D--Decide
Decide that you'll be successful and happy come what may, and good things will find you. The roadblocks are only minor obstacles along the way.

E--Explore
Explore and experiment. The world has much to offer, and you have much to give. And every time you try something new, you'll learn more about yourself.

F--Forgive
Forgive and forget. Grudges only weigh you down and inspire unhappiness and grief. Soar above it, and remember that everyone makes mistakes.

G--Grow
Leave the childhood monsters behind. They can no longer hurt you or stand in your way.

H--Hope
Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the task.

I--Ignore
Ignore the negative voice inside your head. Focus instead on your goals and remember your accomplishments. Your past success is only a small inkling of what the future holds.

J--Journey
Journey to new worlds, new possibilities, by remaining open-minded. Try to learn something new every day, and you'll grow.

K--Know
Know that no matter how bad things seem, they'll always get better. The warmth of spring always follows the harshest winter.

L--Love
Let love fill your heart instead of hate. When hate is in your heart, there's room for nothing else, but when love is in your heart, there's room for endless happiness.

M--Manage
Manage your time and your expenses wisely, and you'll suffer less stress and worry. Then you'll be able to focus on the important things in life.

N--Notice
Never ignore the poor, infirm, helpless, weak, or suffering. Offer your assistance when possible, and always your kindness and understanding.

O--Open
Open your eyes and take in all the beauty around you. Even during the worst of times, there's still much to be thankful for.

P--Play
Never forget to have fun along the way. Success means nothing without happiness.

Q--Question
Ask many questions, because you're here to learn.

R--Relax
Refuse to let worry and stress rule your life, and remember that things always have a way of working out in the end.

S--Share
Share your talent, skills, knowledge, and time with others. Everything that you invest in others will return to you many times over.

T--Try
Even when your dreams seem impossible to reach, try anyway. You'll be amazed by what you can accomplish.

U--Use
Use your gifts to your best ability. Talent that's wasted has no value. Talent that's used will bring unexpected rewards.

V--Value
Value the friends and family members who've supported and encouraged you, and be there for them as well.

W--Work
Work hard every day to be the best person you can be, but never feel guilty if you fall short of your goals. Every sunrise offers a second chance.

X--X-Ray
Look deep inside the hearts of those around you and you'll see the goodness and beauty within.

Y--Yield
Yield to commitment. If you stay on track and remain dedicated, you'll find success at the end of the road.

Z--Zoom
Zoom to a happy place when bad memories or sorrow rears its ugly head. Let nothing interfere with your goals. Instead, focus on your abilities, your dreams, and a brighter tomorrow.

How Winning Is Done

2008-01-24T12:28:00.000-08:00

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!"

~ Sylvester Stallone as Rocky in Rocky Balboa

I've Been Shot!

2008-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have noticed a tendency among people that is a little bit frightening. It is a tendency that makes any goal difficult to achieve if not all-together impossible. Here are some examples of that tendency:

• A man wants to have a happy and successful marriage, but enjoys a final fling at his bachelor party the night before the wedding.

• A woman wants to lose weight and so she hits the treadmill after she finishes off a chocolate bar.

• A couple want to be more secure financially but they buy the big screen TV on credit and then make a budget to live on.

• A student wants a good grade in a class but puts off studying until the night before finals.

I could go on and on with examples. Instead, let me let you in on an obvious, yet well-ignored secret:

Your chances of winning any race are significantly greater if you don't shoot yourself in the foot right before you start running!

We have the incredible ability to adapt to challenges and overcome them. What I don't understand is our tendency to make a challenge more challenging than it needs to be through self-sabotage. Do you do that?

Take a look at your goals and dreams and take a good hard look at what you did, and may very well be doing still, which is holding you back from achieving all you ever wanted. Take responsibility for your failure and make the decision to stop failing and start succeeding. Do this and you will sprint across the finish line rather than collapse upon it!

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

2008-01-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow.

"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

- Author Unknown

Reward Yourself!

2008-01-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

How is everybody doing on their Celebrate 2008! goals and resolutions. Did you give up? Are you barely hanging in there? Or is it becoming easier as the tasks that lead you toward your goals turn into daily habits because you have been consistent in doing them? Whatever you are experiencing right now, I hope you renew your commitment to succeed today and push on through the difficult times. Trust me, it will get easier!

An often overlooked way of pushing through the difficult times is to set rewards along the way to keep you motivated. My wife has a desire to lose some weight right now. She has really wanted to try a diet service that sets you up on a meal plan and even provides the majority of the food you need to stick to the diet. She is really optimistic about the results that she would get with this service, but has hesitated because the price didn't really fit in our budget. That is when I offered her a deal.

My experience has been that proper eating will slow weight gain or maintain your current weight, but consistent daily exercise is required in order to lose weight. With her busy schedule, she has struggled to maintain a consistent exercise program these past two years with the exception of the physical toll of chasing after our three boys day in day out. I told her that I would provide the money for the diet service if she demonstrated her commitment to losing weight by exercising every day except Sunday for two solid weeks. I also warned her that it would probably require that she get up a little earlier (she is not much of a morning person) so she could get it in before the boys were up. In spite of that, she was really excited to get started - and she has done great!

My wife has come back to me many times and told me how good she feels now that she is exercising regularly again. Her mood has improved, she has more energy and she feels good about the accomplishment. She said it was rough starting out because she hadn't exercised in a while, but every day she pushes herself a little bit farther and a little bit harder. It isn't always easy and there are days when she procrastinates it and doesn't feel like doing it, but the promise of the reward keeps her moving.

Jack Canfield talks about this as rewarding your inner child. Here is an exerpt from an article of his:

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Your Inner Child

A big part of creating more success in life is rewarding yourself when you succeed. So, it’s important to reward your inner child as well. Every time you work hard to meet a goal, the part of you that just wants to have fun has to sit still and be good. However, just like any kid, if it knows it will be rewarded later with a treat, it will hang in there with you.

How can you reward your inner child?

• Take a 20-minute walk after an hour or two of concentrated work
• Go for walks in the morning with your spouse, friend, or significant other
• Take 20 minutes to listen to music and daydream
• Take most weekends totally off
• Take several weeklong vacations throughout the year
• Get regular massages
• Engage in daily meditation, exercise and yoga
• Take music lessons
• Go to movies, concerts and plays
• Listen to comedy tapes and watch the Comedy Network
• Listen to motivational audio programs when driving

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Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: http://www.freesuccessstrategies.com/

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So, if you aren't on track to succeeding with your goals, perhaps you need to set up a system of rewards for your inner child. The promise of achieving the goal isn't always enough to keep you going (in fact, it is rarely ever enough). Set up some monthly or even weekly rewards to motivate you. Reward yourself with every milestone you accomplish. It doesn't have to be an elaborate or expensive reward. Just make sure it is something you enjoy.

Review your success plan today and set up rewards to keep you going today!

Choose To Enthuse!

2008-01-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

As I've been speaking around the country over the past year or so, I've often asked my audiences this question: "How many of you have way too much enthusiasm? You're seeing a psychiatrist for enthusiasm management therapy, and have a seatbelt on your bed to keep you from jumping out too fast in the morning and breaking a leg?" I get lots of laughs, but almost no one raises a hand.

Then I ask how many people would be happier, more productive, and more successful if they could consistently be more enthusiastic than they are now. Almost every hand in the room goes up (those who don't raise their hands are invited to attend my remedial class on honesty).

The good news, I tell them, is that scientists have shown that there is no enthusiasm gene. Enthusiasm is a choice. You decide every morning whether or not you're going to have a good day. You can't decide what happens to you, but you can decide whether you react to it enthusiastically.

Choosing enthusiasm is the triple crown of attitude. Your organization wins because enthusiasm is the added "spark" that puts the smile into customer service. Your family, friends and coworkers win because enthusiasm is contagious, and you're helping them to be happier and more productive.

And, of course, you win because people with a lot of enthusiasm have a lot of life, and people without enthusiasm don't. They're like the man who passed away but had his life insurance denied, because since he'd never really lived, he couldn't have really died.

Energy is the fuel for enthusiasm - it's hard to be enthusiastic when you're physically out of gas. And here again, there's good news: more than we care to admit to ourselves, whether or not we have energy is also a choice.

And here's more good news: human energy is the ultimately renewable resource. The more you use it, the more of it you have.

__________
Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit http://www.joetye.com

A Very Grave Story

2008-01-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

A man was walking home after drinking at the hotel and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery. As he walked in the dark he stumbled and fell into a freshly dug open grave.

He sat there and contemplated his sorry situation. After a few minutes he heard someone walk past. It was a doctor. The man cried, “Help me! Help me!” The doctor looked down, pulled out his pen and notepad, wrote a prescription, dropped it into the grave and walked away.

Later the man heard another person walking by. It was a priest. Again he called, “Help me! Help me!” The priest, thinking it was a lost spirit, said a prayer and walked away.

By now the man was feeling low and lonely when he heard another person approach.

Again he cried out, “Help me! Help me!” This time it was a friend who recognized the man. The man in the grave said, “Mike, is that you?”

“Yes, buddy, it’s me. Wait a second.” Then Mike jumped into the grave.

The man shouted, “You idiot! Now we are both in a hole.”

Upon which Mike replied, “Yes we are, but I’ve been here before and I know the way out.”

Morale of the story:When things look grave, look up and rise above your challenges with the help of people who care, people who share and are people who are there for you.

Is This On Your Daily To-Do List?

2008-01-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

~ Zig Ziglar

Skip a bath if you have to, but don't skip motivating yourself daily to create the life of your dreams!

How to Stay Motivated

2008-01-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

Be willing to say to yourself, "I’m on the right road. I’m doing OK. I’m succeeding." We too frequently become adept at pointing out our flaws and identifying failures. Become equally adept at citing your achievements. Identify things you are doing now that you weren’t doing one month ago … six months ago … a year ago. What habits have changed? Chart your progress.

Doing well once or twice is relatively easy. Continuously moving ahead is tough, in part, because we so easily revert to old habits and former lifestyles. Over the long run, you need to give yourself regular feedback to monitor your performance and reinforce yourself positively. Don’t wait for an award ceremony, promotion, friend or mentor to show appreciation for your work. Take pride in your own efforts on a daily basis.

Keep the end result in sight. Always see the big picture of the ultimate goal you’re working for and the benefits that come with it. During World War II, parachutes were being constructed by the thousands. From the workers point of view, the job was tedious and repetitive. (Like making "cold calls" on the phone or in person.) It involved crouching over a sewing machine eight to ten hours a day, stitching endless lengths of colorless fabric. The result was a seamless heap of cloth. But every morning the workers were reminded that each stitch was part of a life-saving operation.

As they sewed, they were asked to think that this might be the parachute worn by their husband, brother or son. Although the work was hard and the hours long, the women and men on the assembly line understood their contribution to the larger picture. The same should be true with your work. Each thing you do benefits the health and well being of adults and children throughout the world, not just generally, but specifically. These are the visions that drive us through tedious details to the top.

Set up a dynamic daily routine. Getting into a positive routine or groove, instead of a negative rut, will help you become more effective. Why is the subway the most energy efficient means of transportation? Because it runs on a track.

Think of the order in your day, instead of the routine. Order is not sameness, neatness or everything exactly in its place. Order is not taking on more than you can manage, without still being able to do what you really choose. Order is the opposite of complication; it’s simplification. Order is not wasting a lot of time trying to find things. Order is avoiding a lot of recriminations because you didn’t do something you promised. Order is setting an effective agenda with others, so neither of you is disappointed. Order is doing in a day what you set out to do.

Order frees you up. Get into the swing of a healthy, daily routine and discover how much more control you’ll gain in your life.

Denis Waitley

Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Weekly Ezine, go to http://www.deniswaitley.com/ or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright © 2005 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Seasons of Life

2008-01-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

"It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap. Faith further provides to us an irrevocable law decreed in heaven which assures that for every disciplined human effort we will receive a multiple reward. For each cup planted, a bushel reaped, for every good idea given to another, many shall be given to us in return. For every demonstrated act of faith, a multiplicity of the rewards; and for every act of love given, a life of love in return."

~ Jim Rohn

As I travel around the country and world lecturing, one of the most frequently asked questions is what do I expect to happen over the next 6-12 months and/or even years? Well, I'm no expert, but I can share with you my thoughts. Whether it is preparing for the next few months or the next several years, I still believe there are overriding principals that we should follow and be led by. So I'd like to devote today's message to my view of the period of history we're in now and how it relates to words I wrote over 20 years ago in my book, "The Seasons Of Life". Forgive me in advance if I sound a bit philosophical, but as you know by now, I do believe your philosophy is critical to your life's success.

Life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. For the six thousand years of recorded history, as humans have entered this world, received parental instruction, classroom instruction, and gathered the experience of life; many have set for themselves ambitious goals, and dreamed lofty dreams. As the wheel of life continues its constant turning, all human emotions appear, disappear, and appear once again.

A major challenge faced by us all is that we must learn to experience the changing of life's cycles without being changed by them; to make a constant and conscious effort to improve ourselves in the face of changing circumstances.

That is why I believe in the power and value of attitude. As I read, ponder and speculate about people, their deeds and their destiny, I become more deeply convinced that it is our natural destiny to grow, to succeed, to prosper, and to find happiness while we are here.

By our attitude, we decide to read, or not to read. By our attitude, we decide to try or give up. By our attitude, we blame ourselves for our failure, or we blame others. Our attitude determines whether we tell the truth or lie, act or procrastinate, advance or recede, and by our own attitude we and we alone actually decide whether to succeed or fail.

How incredibly unique that a God who would create the complex and immense universe would create the human race and give to those humans the free choice that would permit them to select their own achievement or their own destruction.

This strange, but all-knowing God gave to us a delicately balanced sphere called earth. On it, he placed the intelligent human who would either develop it or destroy it. How terribly fascinating that a God would leave both projects - earth as well as humans - unfinished! Across the rivers and streams he built no bridges; he left the pictures unpainted, the songs unsung, the books unwritten, and space unexplored. For the accomplishment of those things, God created the unfinished human who, within his heart and mind, had the capacity to do all these things and more, depending upon his own choice.

Attitude determines choice, and choice determines results. All that we are and all that we can become has indeed been left unto us. For as long as you continue to draw breath, you have the chance to complete the work in and for the earth and for yourself that God has begun for you. In the cycles and seasons of life, attitude is everything!

So let's begin our discussion of the four seasons. I'll start by making two comments. First, life and business are like the changing seasons. That's one of the best ways to illustrate life: it's like the seasons that change. Second, you cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself.

Now with those two key phrases in mind, let's look at what I consider to be the first major lesson in life to learn, and that is how to handle the winters. They come regularly, right after autumn. Some are long, some are short, some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after autumn. That is never going to change.

There are all kinds of winters - the "winter" when you can't figure it out, the "winter" when everything seems to go haywire. There are economic winters, social winters and personal winters.

Wintertime can bring disappointment, and disappointment is common to all of us. So you must learn how to handle the winters. You must learn how to handle difficulty; it always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions; they come right after expansions. That isn't going to change.

The big question is what do you do about winters? You can't get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here is what you can do: you can get stronger; you can get wiser; and you can get better. Remember that trio of words: stronger, wiser, better. The winters won't change, but you can.

Before I understood this, I used to wish it were summer when it was winter. When things were difficult, I used to wish they were easy. I didn't know any better. Then Mr. Shoaff gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, "Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom."

Next is spring. Fortunately, following the turbulence of winter comes the season of activity and opportunity called springtime. It is the season for entering the fertile fields of life with seed, knowledge, commitment, and a determined effort.

However, the mere arrival of spring is no sign that things are going to look good in the fall. You must do something with the spring. In fact, everyone has to get good at one of two things: planting in the spring or begging in the fall. Take advantage of the day and the opportunities that spring can bring.

It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap. Faith further provides to us an irrevocable law decreed in heaven which assures that for every disciplined human effort we will receive a multiple reward. For each cup planted, a bushel reaped, for every good idea given to another, many shall be given to us in return. For every demonstrated act of faith, a multiplicity of the rewards; and for every act of love given, a life of love in return.

Just remember it is a natural characteristic of springtime to present itself ever so briefly, or to lull us into inactivity with its bounteous beauty. Do not pause too long to soak in the aroma of the blossoming flowers, lest you awaken to find springtime gone with your seed still in your sack.

With the intelligence, wisdom, and freedom of choice given to us as humans exercise the discipline to plant in spite of the rocks, weeds, or other obstacles before us. The rocks, weeds, and thorns of the world cannot destroy all your seeds if you plant massively enough and intelligently enough. My suggestion is to choose action, not rest. Choose truth, not fantasy. Choose a smile, not a frown. Choose love, not animosity. Choose the good in life in all things, and choose the opportunity as well as the chance to work when springtime smiles on your life.

Spring shows us that life is truly a constant beginning, a constant opportunity, a constant springtime. We need only to learn to look once again at life as we did as children, letting fascination and curiosity give us welcome cause to look for the miraculous hidden among the common.

Get busy quickly on your springs, your opportunities. There are just a handful of springs that have been handed to each of us. Life is brief, even at its longest. Whatever you are going to do with your life, get at it. Don't just let the seasons pass by.

The third major lesson in life to learn; how to nourish and protect your crops all summer. Sure enough, as soon as you've planted, the busy bugs and noxious weeds are out to take things over. Here is the next bit of truth: they will take it, unless you prevent it.

There are two key phrases to consider with the third major lesson. The first is "all good will be attacked." Don't press me for a reason. I was not in on some of the early decisions, so I don't know why. I just know that it's true. Let reality be your best beginning. Every garden will be invaded.

The second phrase is "all values must be defended." Social values, political values, friendship values, business values - all must be defended. Every garden must be tended all summer. If you don't develop this skill, you'll never wind up with anything of value.

But for those who make diligent efforts to plant, protect, and preserve there are not enough birds, bugs, or other obstacles to destroy all the efforts of last spring.

Now, the fourth and season is fall, the time of harvesting the fruits of our springtime labor. Fall also presents us with our fourth major lesson to learn in life, and that is to learn how to reap in the fall without apology if you have done well and without complaint if you have not.

For nothing is more exciting than a bounteous crop, and nothing more dreadful than a barren field in the fall. We must remember that in all areas of the human existence, what we put into this world, we get back from it. It is nature's way of evening the score. So regardless of the results, take full responsibility for your crop. One of the highest forms of human maturity is accepting full responsibility for our lives.

Which brings me back to the beginning of our discussion. We must remember that life is constantly recycling itself. Much of life is about the balancing of two opposites; like the positive and negative charge on a battery. Life's balancing of opposites totally surrounds our lives; man/woman, day/night, good/evil, life/death, water/land, summer/winter, recession/expansion, joy/sorrow, etc.

Yes, I believe we will have major changes, but I also believe we will continue to have just one winter, spring, summer and fall each year. Much of our success will lie in our ability and philosophy to plant in the springtime of opportunity. To weed and cultivate in the testing time of summer, to harvest without apology and/or complaint in the season of fall and to get stronger, wiser, better in the transition and learning times of winter.

Remember it is not what happens to you that determines your future; it is what you do about it.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

This article was submitted by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher. To subscribe to the Free Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine go to www.jimrohn.com or send a blank email to subscribe@jimrohn.com Copyright © 2007 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.

When Is It Good Enough?

2008-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Do you suffer from the same problem of "perfectionitis"? You just can't let other people see your work until it is perfect. And you suffer for days trying to make it perfect right up until the deadline leaving you stressed and exhausted and feeling like it still isn't perfect enough. Let me share with you a key to overcoming "perfectionitis".

A mentor of mine by the name of Mike Litman compiled a book called Conversations With Millionaires based on his radio interviews with wealthy and successful people that included:

Tony Robbins Millionaire Mentor, Jim Rohn
#1 Authors of One Minute Millionaire: Robert Allen & Mark Victor Hansen!
Rich Dad, Poor Dad co-Author, Sharon Lechter
Jack Canfield, co-Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Michael Gerber, Author of The E-myth
The Genius behind 1-800-FLOWERS, Jim McCann
Guerilla Marketing Author, Jay Conrad Levinson
Even Chocolate Chip Cookie Guru, Wally 'Famous' Amos!

These are people who told him the secrets of their rise from obscurity and financial devastation to fame and fortune. You would think that a lot of care would go into preparing this book for release to the public. But Mike released the book before it had even been proofread! Why would he do that? Why would he put something out there that even he admits he would be embarrassed to have associated with his name now?

The reason why is because of a little piece of advice he received from a mentor of his. The advice he received was:

"You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going."

~ Joe Shroeder

Mike no longer tries to get his projects and ideas to "A+" quality and presentation before he shares them with others. When they are a "C", he gets them out there, then listens to the feedback of what other people think would make it better, and then makes the changes. Have you heard of the terms "beta-testing", "updates" and "version x.x" in the computer software industry? These are real-life examples of this principle.

So what are you trying to perfect in your life right now that is causing you to procrastinate getting it out there? It doesn't have to be great. Just get it to good and then ask people around you how you could make it better. I did that when I started The Millionaire Marathon and you can do it to!

The Secret Is Out!

2008-01-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

"The 'secret of success' is so simple that it is overlooked by most people. Whatever you want you can have, if you want it badly enough, and if you are willing to persist long enough and hard enough in doing what others have done to accomplish similar things before you."
~ Brian Tracy, Maximum Achievement

I found this in the introduction to Brian Tracy's book, Maximum Achievement. What I want you to take from this is that you can have whatever you want. You just have to:

Want it badly enough - Do you have a burning desire to accomplish this goal? If not, crank up the flame!

Be willing to persist long enough and hard enough - Most people quit on the 1-yard line and don't realize it. Will you? Or are you willing to keep on pushing until you have scored that touchdown?

Do what others have done to accomplish similar things before you - Achieving success is much like opening a combination lock. When you turn to the right numbers in the right sequence, the lock will open for you every time. The right combination of thoughts and actions will enable to accomplish pretty much anything you want, and you can figure that out if you search long enough and hard enough. You can also shortcut the process by watching and studying those who have achieved something similar to what you and learning what it is that they did to overcome their obstacles and their success. You don't have to recreate the wheel to be successful!

The Power of a Plan

2008-01-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

I helped my wife rediscover the other day what I like to call the Power of a Plan. We have all heard and read tons of things about the power of goal-setting ... even from me. But most advocates of goal-setting don't mention the essential element of success of planning and those who listen to them wonder why they fail to reach their goals time and time again.

My wife was wondering this just the other day. She had committed to some pretty big goals in her Mary Kay business over the past year. My wife accomplished some amazing things, but when she did accomplish the specific major goals she had set it was often through major stress and struggle right up to the deadline or she would miss the deadline all together and have to start all over. She eventually noticed that each time she accepted a major goal commitment, there was almost always an immediate period of demotivation and inactivity.

Why was this happening? She loved what she was doing and she wanted the results these goals would bring, but for some odd reason she just had a hard time wanting to keep working whenever she had these major goals in place. She finally admitted that she felt overwhelmed right from the get-go. She would mentally convince herself, sometimes consciously and sometimes subconsciously, that it was just to far to get from where she was to where she wanted to be and that she just wouldn't make it. And if she wasn't going to succeed, why bother trying?

Since she was struggling through a slow period at the time, we sat down Sunday night and I asked her for a sales goal to reach by the end of the current quarter. I took that goal and divided it by how many weeks were left. When I showed that number to her and asked her if it was possible to reach that amount each week. She was shocked when she looked at it because it was below her working sales average and she was confident that she could easily sell that amount each week. I took a sheet of paper and asked her to write down what she would need to do this week to sell that amount and to set up the next week for success as well. After she wrote it out, I asked her what part of that she would do on Monday, then Tuesday, and so on. She now had a plan!

What was really neat about the whole process was watching her frustrations disolve away and see them be replaced with excitement and optimism. Rather than dreading the coming week and all she had to do, I could tell she was actually looking forward to the coming morning and the activities she had planned for the coming day. She was no longer staring at the huge chasm and wondering how she would be able to jump it. She was now looking at the stepping stones that lay before her and seeing that it was only a short hop to each one. It was great! Her Director in Mary Kay had outlined plans like this for her in the past, but it was the first time that we had sat down to do it as a couple and make a plan that truly fit our situation, our needs and our goals. We even went on to talk about weight-loss goals and home organization goals that had been overwhelming her and how she can accomplish them as well.

No matter what it is that you want to accomplish in life, you need to set a goal to achieve it and then back it up with an actionable plan to get you there. Whatever you are going for, how much do you need to improve each month, each week, and each day? What do you need to do to make those improvements? Write them down and take action on the very first one and you will be well ahead of 97% of those who dream of something better! Do it now!

Back from the Dead!

2008-01-16T16:54:00.001-08:00

I apologize to all those who have been following this blog pretty regularly. I have been fighting the worst cold of my life this past week that had left me bed-ridden for quite a while. I will be doing double posts for the next week to compensate for lost time.

So, What Do You Think?

2008-01-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win but you think you can't,
You can almost be certain you won't.

If you think that you'll lose, you are lost,
For out in the world you will find
Success begins with a person's will;
It's all in the state of the mind.

If you think you're outclassed you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've just got to be sure of yourself
Before you can win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To a stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the person who wins
Is the person that THINKS they can.

~ Anon.

I love this poem because it perfectly illustrates the simple truth that we will get what we think about most. If you think you will win and are unwilling to accept anything less, you will win. If you don't think you stand a chance, then you have mentally forfeited. And if you've mentally forfeited, then your physical actions will follow that weak thought with a weak performance. Just as sure as you don't scratch your nose without thinking it first, you don't win unless you think you can.

So whatever it is that you want - more money, less weight, a promotion, greater love - whatever it is, start out thinking that IT CAN HAPPEN FOR YOU!