Use What You've Already Got

Use What You've Already Got by Mark Victor Hansen

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a brilliant man born with a God-given talent. He was composing at age five and performing before royalty by the time he was six years old. Early on, Mozart realized what his talents were, practiced and honed what he was born to do and used his natural abilities to create amazing pieces of music.

Mozart was not the first to be born with natural talents and he wasn't the last. We all have them - all of us. We only need to discover what they are and use them to the best of our abilities. You have been given amazing gifts that are meant to be shared with the world. Your job is to find out what those talents are and master them. When you focus most of your time and energy on your natural talents, you will find that you reap phenomenal rewards.

Celebrating our natural talents should be an easy task. But for many people it's emotionally exhausting. Why? Because a lot of folks fight their natural talents for one reason or another. Perhaps their parents wouldn't approve of their artistic ability to paint or sculpt, because they want them to be a successful doctor or lawyer. Maybe someone's gift wouldn't seem to have the ability to bring the kind of wealth they desire. Sometimes people are simply afraid to pursue something that seems to come so easily to them ? shouldn't success be difficult? No, it shouldn't and it isn't.

These are all excuses. And all the excuses in the world won't destroy talent. It will be there, waiting for us to fight through fear and "what ifs" until we realize what we should have been doing our entire lives. We have been given natural talents for a reason ? to use them to the betterment of the planet and those who inhabit it.

Have you ever noticed that when you engage in an activity in which you are naturally talented, you feel energized, excited and optimistic? That's a sign that these are the things you should be focusing upon. For example, when I stand in front of an auditorium filled with thousands of people, and speak to them about fulfilling their dreams, my body is filled with energy ? so much that I'm practically buzzing all over. I'm so excited I can hardly stand still.

Your job is to find out what makes you buzz and begin to perfect it. Discover your brilliance in life and practice, practice, practice. You must hone your natural abilities to perfect them ? concentrate on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Look at the world's greatest athletes. They practice what they're naturally good at ? and what they love to do ? every day. You don't see Michael Jordan sitting around trying to decipher a strand of DNA. If that was something he was talented at that's what he would be doing. But it's not. He's a brilliant athlete and businessman. He sticks to what he does best and has reaped astounding rewards because of it.

There are only two steps to success ? discover your brilliance and perfect it. Doing this will allow you to receive the wealth you truly deserve.

'The only waste of human resources is letting them go unused.'

Thinking Tremendous

People who know the most, know they know so little, while people who know nothing want to take all day to tell it to you.


Self-improvement can be harmful if you are doing it to look better. If you live your life in helping others look better, you'll to be better without trying.


If you give to get something, you're not really giving you are trading. Giving is never to get, because you have it and are not aware of how much you have until you give.


Big people are always giving someone credit and taking blame; little people are always seeking credit and giving blame.


Don't worry about having to make a right decision. Make it and then work to make it right.


An attitude of gratitude flavors everything you do. Learning to be thankful is the golden thread woven through every truly successful life.

Leave the World A Bit Better

Leave the World A Bit Better by Ron White

One of Ralph Waldo Emerson works was a poem on success, and one of his measures of success in that poem was to, 'Leave the world a bit better.'

That line has always stuck in my head. Emerson said you have succeeded if you leave the world a bit better. And I have made that line part of my life philosophy. When the tide goes out there is a watermark left behind of where the water was. When the waters of life recede from the shore of my being and my heart pumps for the last time, my desire is that there will be a mark where I stood. My aim is that the mark will say, 'For some decades a man occupied this space who saw others more important than himself and efforted to leave the world a better place for them and those yet to come.'

Our society tells us that success is measured by bank accounts, power, beauty and wealth. These are often the result of hard work, luck or birth. They are not evil and I strive for some of them daily. However, they are not the mark I will measure the success of my life with.

So how do you do it? How do you 'leave the world a bit better?':
-- You give a percent of your income away to a charity or church. This makes your community better.
-- You save a percentage of your income to pass down to your family when you leave.
-- You volunteer your time for those who are less fortunate. Are you volunteering anywhere?
-- You mentor someone who needs a positive direction in life.
-- You follow and get involved in politics. Our laws and leaders will determine the future. You can have a hand in that future.

Or you can amass as much wealth as you can, spend it as fast as you can on the fading desires of your heart and seek to please yourself first. Our culture might tell you that this is success. Emerson tells us that it is not. I encourage you to realize that the waters of your life will eventually withdraw from the shore. When it does, will there be a watermark?

Laws of Selling Success

The 14 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Selling Success by Brian Tracy

1. The Law of Sales: Nothing happens until a sale takes place.

2. The Law of Ambition: How high you rise is largely determined by how high you decide to climb.

3. The Law of Need: Every decision to purchase a product or service is an attempt to satisfy a need or relieve a dissatisfaction of some kind.

4. The Law of Problems: Every product or service can be viewed as the solution to a problem or the resolution of an uncertainty.

5. The Law of Persuasion: The purpose the of the selling process is to convince the customer that she will be better off with the product than she would be with the money necessary to buy the product.

6. The Law of Security: The deepest craving of human nature is the desire for personal, financial and emotional security.

7. The Law of Risk: Risk is inherent in any investment of time, money or emotion.

8. The Law of Trust: The trust bond between the salesperson and the customer is the foundation of the successful sale.

9. The Law of Relationships: All selling is ultimately relationship selling.

10. The Law of Friendship: A person will not buy from you until he is convinced that you are his friend and acting in his best interests.

11. The Law of Positioning: The customer's perception of you and your company are his reality and determine his buying behavior with you.

12. The Law of Perspective: The way that you are viewed by your customers determines your income.

13. The Law of Preparation: The best salespeople prepare thoroughly before every call.

14. The Law of Perverse Motivation: Everyone likes to buy but no one wants to be sold.

Expand Your Imagination About What's Possible

Expand Your Imagination About What's Possible by Mark Victor Hansen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keeping Your Attitude Up When Circumstances Are Down

Keeping Your Attitude Up When Circumstances Are Down by Chris Widener

"Instead of spending your time thinking about how bad things are, think about how good they will be!"

Everyone knows that a positive attitude is key to the successful life. But what happens when things go wrong? What happens when circumstances deal us a blow? We have a tendency to let our attitudes take the dive along with our state of affairs. Life deals us setbacks, both minor and major, on a regular basis, but if we are going to be successful, we need to know how to deal with them and keep our attitudes intact! We need practical tools to help us understand how we can go about keeping our attitude up, when the circumstances are down. Here are some thoughts to help us do so:

Take some time-out. I'm sure you are aware of what happens. You are going about your day and everything seems to be going well, when out of nowhere disaster strikes. All of your best-laid plans begin to tumble. Sometimes circumstances surprise us and we react. Unfortunately, this often compounds the problem because by reacting we tend to operate out of our weaknesses instead of our strengths. We make decisions that are not well thought out. We function with a bad attitude that says, "I can't believe this is happening!"

The next time circumstances turn against you, take some time to just step back from the problem and think. This will enable you to deal with the issue at hand rationally, instead of emotionally. It will allow you to put your state of mind back into its proper place. It gives you the opportunity to choose your attitude as you face the circumstances at hand. Remember that we don't have to do something right now. Go grab a cup of coffee and relax little bit. By doing this you function with you being in control and not the circumstances.

Keep your eye on the goal. A second step in keeping our attitude in the proper place is to make sure we keep the important things important. One of the biggest problems with trouble is that it gets your focus off of where it should be. When I experience difficult circumstances and people ask me how it is going, I tell them, "I am just keeping my eye on the goal." It has always been fascinating to me that when racecar drivers get into trouble, they keep their eyes straight ahead and do not move them away. There is just too much chance of wrecking that way. Instead, their eyes are on the goal, and this keeps them out of trouble. If you find yourself getting down about circumstances, sit down and write out what the goal is. Give some thought to how you can achieve that goal or others you may have.

A man was asked how he was doing and he responded, "Pretty well, under the circumstances." The other man asked, "What are you doing under the circumstances?" Good question. We shouldn't be under the circumstances we should be focused on the goal and moving forward.

Focus on solutions, not problems. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, the old saying goes. Negative circumstances don't sit idly by. They scream for our attention. When we face difficult circumstances, we tend to dwell on them. We talk about them, fret about them, and give them way too much attention. Instead of talking about problems, talk about solutions. Instead of spending your time thinking about how bad things are, think about how good they will be! Don't have family or staff meetings about the problems and how big they are. Have meetings on the solutions and how you will implement them. Don't let yourself or other team members complain. Encourage them to solve, with an emphasis on the positive results that will come from doing so. Then take some time to put these solutions down on paper, so you can monitor your progress.

Get some positive input. The mind tends to build on itself, so when we begin to go in one direction, i.e. worry, it can be a slippery slope. One thing we must do is get our thoughts back on track with positive ideas. When circumstances have got you against the emotional wall, get with a good friend who can encourage you. Listen to a tape by Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar or another motivational speaker. Pick up a good book and give it a read. Whatever external influence you can get to put your attitude back on the positive side of the tracks - do it! It must be one of our first goals to start plugging good things into our minds to fuel our attitudes.

Tell yourself the good. One of the greatest internal powers we have is the power to control our thoughts. Spend time dwelling on the good things about your life or job instead of the problems. Think about positive things, things you enjoy and give you a sense of happiness and peace. There is an old childhood song that says, "Count your blessings, name them one by one." That is great advice! Let your positive attitude develop from within as well as from without. This makes all the difference!

Some questions as we close:

Q. Do you have a habit of reflection before responding?
Q. Do you have a habit of keeping your eye on the goal?
Q. Do you focus on solutions or problems?
Q. Do you give yourself positive outside influence?
Q. Do you have a habit of telling yourself the good?
Q. Do you remind yourself that nothing is forever?

Remember that circumstances are not forever. Sometimes it seems like we are going to be up to our eyeballs in the situation forever, when in reality, this too shall pass. There will be a time in the future when circumstances will change and you will be on the mountain instead of the valley. This will give you a sense of hope as you live and work that will change your attitude, make you feel better and put you on the fast track for growth!

Thoughts Create Behavior

Thoughts Create Behavior by Vic Johnson

"Cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things." -- As A Man Thinketh

We remember from science class Newton's physical law that "every action creates an equal and opposite reaction." Or, every cause has an effect. And because it is a law, it is absolute and undeviating. It always happens -- in every circumstance, under every condition.

James Allen says the same law that applies in the physical also applies in the world of thought. Every effect must have an originating cause. Our life does not develop as a result of chance but as a result of causes.

In the thought world, a thought (the cause) creates a feeling (the effect). Feelings can eventually materialize in the physical world because they create actions or behavior. These actions cause results or outcomes, and thus our life goes.

When we say a person "looks worried" what has taken place? A negative thought of some kind (the cause) triggered a feeling of worry (the effect) that materialized in the physical world through the person's facial actions. Those feelings may also materialize in other ways. For instance, by increased blood pressure or nausea. All of these "effects" originated from the original cause which was a thought.

Dr. Wayne Dyer writes that "all of our behavior results from the thoughts that preceded it... So the thing to work on is not your behavior but the thing that caused your behavior, your thoughts."

That was so liberating to me because I was so frustrated in trying to change the behaviors that I knew were causing the pain in my life. But I had been working on the wrong thing.

We cannot change anything in our life without first changing the originating cause. And everything in our life originates in our thoughts.

As Jim Rohn says: "if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause."

And that's worth thinking about.

Because He Said He Would

Because He Said He Would by Ron White

It was a family get together a few years ago, and in my absence my family began to speculate if I was going to show up. Some said, "Probably." Others didn't think so. Then my aunt chimed in, "He'll be here." Everyone turned and looked at my aunt because of her matter-of-fact tone. My grandmother said, "How do you know that?"

My aunt replied, "Because he said he would -- and not only that -- he will be on time!"

That was that, and the conversation shifted to other matters and preparing the food. The lunch was set to begin at 1:00 and at 12:57 there was no sign of me, yet, the look on my aunt's face was as relaxed as it could be (She has nerves of steel - not a good idea to play poker with her).

Then at 12:58 the door knob began to turn and I walked through the door. As soon I stepped foot in the house, my aunt threw up her arms as if to signal the game winning field goal and said, "What did I tell ya?!" My aunt has never been above gloating and savors every opportunity.

I soon realized her happiness was more than simply me joining them for lunch. That reaction from my aunt caused me to think that day. It forced me to pause and realize how valuable it is in life and business for others to trust what you say and feel comfortable depending upon you.

It is priceless when others are 100% confident that you will follow through on your word.

How do you garner that kind of trust? How do you become a person who others will know you will be there or do what you say that you will? Simple?. you do what you say you will do. It may seem elementary, yet if you do this day in and day out believe it or not people will begin to notice. You don't have to advertise that you are a person who keeps their word. Others will just figure it out.

It is so rare and so uncommon that you will stand out like a red marble in a bowl of white marbles.

There is a truth that says, "He who is faithful in little will also be faithful with much." There is no task, chore or promise that is too small to be faithful with. It could be keeping a secret, a promise or following through on a statement. It could be simply arriving on time or delivering your product when you said you would.

When you are faithful in a lot of little things - those little things end up meaning a lot over time. It has been said that a good name is more desirable than riches. It is certainly worth more and good luck attempting to build riches without a good name.

If you are not reliable and trustworthy when your friends have referrals they could give you - do you think that they would? If you don't follow through on the simple matters of life, why would anyone trust with referring business to you.

Hopefully one day someone will say about you, "Because they said they would!"

ACTION POINTS

1. When you say you will be there at 1:00 - Be there at 1:00

2. When you promise to deliver your product on time - Deliver your product on time.

3. If you don't have someone on the way to purchase the product that your prospect is looking at - don't fabricate someone to create urgency. Take a sales training course and learn how to sell.

4. If you say you will call - call.

5. Pay your bills on time - cut back on your expenses if you can't do this.

6. Become trustworthy - it is very simple. It is about the little things.

Why Accepting Change is Vital to Your Professional Success

Why Accepting Change is Vital to Your Professional Success by Connie Podesta

Like it or not, change is an integral part of today's business climate. Those employees who embrace and initiate change will thrive, while those who complain and fear change may be headed for the unemployment line. Employers feel strongly about the need to have employees who are successful change agents for their team and their organization as a whole. What exactly is a "change agent?" An agent is someone who represents the interests of another person or organization, and his or her job is to take care of business and make sure everything goes smoothly. Thus, a change agent helps take care of an employer's business by facilitating change.

Are you a change agent for your organization? Can others count on you to make sure things go smoothly? Do you continue to take care of business in the midst of change?

Although some employees have been conditioned to fear change, we must not lose sight of the fact that change is normal, and most of us will experience unpredictable changes in both our personal and professional lives. In the workplace, changes can occur as a result of new thinking, advances in technology, innovation and progress, knowledge and communication, as well as mergers, takeovers, layoffs, and downsizing. These organizational changes can directly affect our professional lives as well as our personal lives. They may also lead to feelings of sadness, frustration, grief, and anger, especially when jobs are lost or worse, when an entire organization ceases to exist. So let's discuss how we can make this normal life experience-change-as positive and beneficial as possible.

What's Wrong with Change?

Employers want commitment to change when it's necessary. Knowing that, then, why are so many people resistant to it? The number one reason is fear, although very few people are willing to admit it. None of us want to acknowledge that we doubt our ability to integrate new ideas, use new technology, or adapt to new organizations. We don't even want to think about what's ahead: new management, new ways of doing things, new terminology, new titles, and new job description. Fear can have several components:

1. Fear of the unknown: What will happen to my organization, my job, my life, as I know it now? How secure is my future?

2. Fear of not being in control: What should I do? Should I just wait around while they make decisions that could seriously affect my life?

3. Fear of being inadequate: I know how to do this job now, but will I be able to do it as well as they expect me to when everything has changed? And if I can't, what happens then?

4. Fear of moving outside your personal comfort zone: I've been doing my job this way for years, and I'm very good at it. Why do we have to change what has worked so well for so long?

No matter which category your fear falls in, one thing is for sure. The more we fight and resist the change, the more painful and frightening the changes will be. Resisting doesn't keep a new idea from taking hold; it simply makes the process longer and more painful. Change will happen no matter what. We will handle it better when we learn to move with the change-not against it. Plus, this is definitely not the time to drag your feet because managers are not inclined to take employees by the hand and lead them through the change process.

Communication is Key:
There is no doubt that employees often view change from a different perspective than their supervisors. Many employees believe that management doesn't understand their side of the story, and managers often feel it is the employees who don't understand why the change is necessary. This is why communication is so vital during any change circumstance.

It's been said that lack of communication is the number one reason why personal relationships can develop problems, and the same holds true for relationships between employers and employees. Change will require open communication on both sides. Unfortunately, fear has the power to freeze employees in their tracks and prevent them from expressing their ideas and opinions.

When faced with change we must always ask ourselves this important question: Does my resistance to change have anything to do with my own fears? That's a tough question and one that's not easy to answer honestly. It's natural to fear the unknown and lack of control. We know that we won't be quite as proficient at our tasks while we're in the process of learning to do things a new way. We know we will have to work a lot harder. Are we willing to let go of the present to embrace the future? We may not know what the future will bring, but we are responsible for what we bring to the future.
The Positive Side of Change

If you routinely describe your current job as boring, mundane, or menial, then perhaps a change is good for you. One of the most positive aspects of change is that it is never boring. On the contrary, it can create passion. And passion-and the excitement, creativity, and energy that accompany it-is the spark that keeps us going.

Passion could be called the charge for our life's batteries. Without that charge, it's hard to get our engines revved up. That igniting charge is sparked by the challenge of change-learning new things, meeting new people, growing as professionals, and taking risks that push us to reach our potential. None of that can happen unless and until we are willing to experience the fear that inevitably arises when we move out of our comfort zones. No risk, no fear; no fear, no passion; no passion, no fun.

If we want passion back in our lives, we must be willing to meet the challenge of change. What might that mean for you? Perhaps it might involve going back to school, learning how to work with a computer, working with a team, taking on new responsibilities, or redefining a career path. If you want to remain employable, you may have to change more than just your attitude and your reaction to change. You may have to change some of your ideas and goals to create a better future for yourself.

Embrace Upcoming Changes:
Many people are content to live their lives by playing it safe. If fear, pain, and hard work are prerequisites of change, it's easier to understand why some people are so dedicated to resisting it. They might be good at giving all the best-sounding reasons why this particular change is not right for the department, the organization, the team, or the customer. However, their underlying concern may be their fear about how the change will affect them-their job-their lives.

If you've been reacting negatively to change, it's important to modify your attitude and your behavior before it's too late. Think about what you really want. Comfort at all costs? The status quo? The good old days? If those are the aspects you desire-if that's what you're waiting for-then you will probably soon be out of a job. If, instead, you want challenge and welcome change, you will always be employable.

To Get Ahead, Use Your Head

To Get Ahead, Use Your Head by Harvey Mackay

I'm the last person in the world who would tell you not to work hard. I'm also the first one to remind you that working hard must also be tempered by working smart, or you might just be wasting a load of effort. There is a reason why we were born with both muscles and brains.

Consider the story of two lumberjacks in a tree-cutting contest. Both were strong and determined, hoping to win the prize. But one was hardworking and ambitious, chopping down every tree in his path at the fastest pace possible, while the other appeared to be a little more laid back, methodically felling trees and pacing himself. The go-getter worked all day, skipping his lunch break, expecting that his superior effort would be rewarded. His opponent, however, took an hour-long lunch, then resumed his steady pace. In the end, the eager beaver was dismayed to lose to his "lazier" competition. Thinking he deserved to win after his hard work, he finally approached his opponent and said, "I just don't understand. I worked longer and harder than you, and went hungry to get ahead. You took a break, and yet you still won. It just doesn't seem fair. Where did I go wrong?" The winner responded, "While I was taking my lunch break, I was sharpening my ax."

Hard work will always pay off; smart work will pay better. Remember back in college, there were the kids who studied all day and all night, but still struggled to pass exams? Then there were the kids who studied hard but also found time for a game of cards or basketball, and still aced every test. Both groups studied the same material, attended the same lectures taught by the same professors, and took the same test. Was the second group just that much more brilliant? Maybe, but my money's on the way they approached their material and learned how to study. If they were smart, they applied those same principles after graduation: work hard, but work smart.

That's a lesson that can be learned by even young children. A little girl visiting a watermelon farm asked the farmer how much a large watermelon cost. "Three dollars," he told her. "But I only have thirty cents," the little girl said. The farmer looked around his field, and feeling sorry for the little girl, pointed at a small watermelon and said, "That one's thirty cents." "Oh good," she replied as she paid him, "Just leave it on the vine and I'll be back in a month to get it."

Call it creativity, call it ingenuity, call it whatever: I call it using your head. Knowing how to analyze a situation and how to execute an action plan will put you ahead of the game in the long run. There's nothing wrong with having a leg up on your competition - it's how you win. The combination of hard work and smart work is the formula for success. Think about what needs to be done, and then think again about the best way to accomplish it - not necessarily the way you've always done it, or the fastest way, and certainly not the hardest way. Never make work harder than it has to be. That's just a colossal waste of time.

Perhaps the ingenuity award goes to the fellow who came to the Canadian border on his motorcycle, carrying two saddlebags strapped across his seat. The border guards asked the obvious question, "What's in your saddlebags?" "Rocks," was the reply. So the guards emptied the bags to check out his story. Sure enough, all they found were rocks. So they sent him on his way. The next week, the same fellow came to the crossing, again on a motorcycle, again with the same payload. The guards checked once again, and found more rocks. Off he went. The scene repeated itself weekly for several months, until finally the guards couldn't stand it any longer. "We know you are smuggling something across the border, but every time we inspect your saddlebags we find only rocks. Please tell us what you are up to, and we promise not to turn you in." "Well," the fellow replied, "It's really very simple. I'm smuggling stolen motorcycles."

Mackay's Moral: It's good to work hard. It's great to work smart. But it's best to work hard and smart.

Dont wish it was easier

Don't wish it was easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.

You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.

You can cut down a tree with a hammer, but it takes about 30 days. If you trade the hammer for an ax, you can cut it down in about 30 minutes. The difference between 30 days and 30 minutes is skills.

The key to life is to become skillful enough to be able to do rewarding things.

Learn to hide your need and show your skill.

To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day. And here's what's exciting ? there are lots of people!

Practice is just as valuable as a sale. The sale will make you a living; the skill will make you a fortune.

Selling is a person-to-person business. You cannot send the sales manual out to make the sale. Sales manuals have no legs and no voice.

In the sales profession the real work begins after the sale is made.

Sales people should take lessons from their kids. What does the word ?no? mean to a child? Almost nothing.

Even if you are new in sales, you can make up in numbers what you lack in skills.

The Ant Philosophy

Over the years I've been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - the ant philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and the first part is: ants never quit. That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them; they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, they'll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer. That's an important perspective. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, "Don't build your house on the sand in the summer." Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to be realistic. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun. Think ahead.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, "This won't last long; we'll soon be out of here." And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.

And here's the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the "all-you-possibly-can" philosophy.

Wow, what a great seminar to attend - the ant seminar. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Succesful people are action oriented

1) Successful people are action oriented and they do things immediately. One of the basic laws of the universe is that life rewards action. Some people may say, "Yes, but if I try, I may fail." But the truth is that if you don't try you absolutely will fail. I have found that the difference between successful people and those who are not successful, basically comes down to those who take action and those who do not. Even those who take action and fail will, if they learn and continue to take action, succeed in the end.

Successful people are action oriented yes, but there is a timeline to their action as well. They take action immediately. "But what about timing? What if it isn't the right time? Shouldn't we wait, then?" Good point, but misguided. Yes, you should wait if it is poor timing, but you should still be taking immediate action in order to be thoroughly prepared when the timing becomes right, so when that door of opportunity opens wide you can waltz right on through.

What about you? Are you an action taker? Do you see what needs to be done and then do it? If you want to be successful in life, become action oriented. When you see a way to make money, take action. When you see a way for a relationship to be built, take action. When you see a way to help someone, take action. Life rewards action, and I want you to get the biggest rewards!

2) Deal with your goblins. I have worked closely with individuals and families for nearly two decades now. And one thing is true - they ALL have challenges. Most of my work has been with very wealthy individuals and families, and guess what? They ALL have goblins. We are people who live in an imperfect world. That means we all have problems.

A key to life success then is to do the best we can to overcome those goblins and make the most of our lives. Many people have problems in childhood that could scar them for life. Unfortunately that stuff happens. But for some people who got a bad start, something occurs: They start to take responsibility for themselves and they deal with their goblins--what power! The good news is that everyone has that same opportunity.

Maybe you have a drinking problem. Begin to deal with it and enable or give yourself the power to get on with your life. You are not alone--there are hundreds of thousands of alcoholics who have dealt with their goblins and then became very successful.

Maybe you have an anger problem. Get some help. Learn how to channel that anger into energy that will make you successful. It can be done!

Maybe you have gone through a divorce and feel like you can't ever love again. Talk with someone who can help you understand what you went through and make sure you become as healthy as you can, so the next time around you enjoy your relationship to the fullest.

Maybe you went bankrupt. Deal with that goblin. Pay off your debts. Get some financial education. It isn't the end of the world. You have the chance to start over.

Goblins are goblins, and they are tough. But they cannot stop you from succeeding unless you choose not to deal with them. So deal with them, and get on with your success!

3) You become what you think about most of the time. Have you ever thought
about what it is that you think about most of the time? Try this: Set your watch to beep every hour on the hour and then write down what you have been thinking about the last few minutes. You may be shocked at what you find.

Then, once you get a "lay of the land," leave that beeper set to the top of the hour, but now write down what you want to think about and every time the beeper goes off, begin to think about what you want to achieve and what you want to become. Do this for a few weeks and see if your mind doesn't begin to change its thoughts on its own.

The fact of the matter is that when you change your thoughts, you will change your life because the mind acts on what it thinks about.

So, as the old proverb goes, "As a man thinketh, so is he." It is true. Decide what you want to be, and then begin to groom and tailor your thoughts to become those that will take you to your desired destination!

Seven Habits Revisited

Seven Habits Revisited: Seven Unique Human Endowments by Stephen R. Covey

I see seven unique human endowments or capabilities associated with The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One way to revisit The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is to identify the unique human capability or endowment associated with each habit.

The primary human endowments are 1) self-awareness or self-knowledge; 2) imagination and conscience; and 3) volition or will power. And the secondary endowments are 4) an abundance mentality; 5) courage and consideration; and 6) creativity. The seventh endowment is self-renewal. These are all unique human endowments; animals don't possess any of them. But, they are all on a continuum of low to high levels.

Associated with Habit 1:
Be Proactive is the endowment of self-knowledge or self-awareness, an ability to choose your response (response-ability). At the low end of the continuum are the ineffective people who transfer responsibility by blaming themselves or others or their environment anything or anybody "out there" so that they are not responsible for results. At the upper end of the continuum toward increasing effectiveness is self-awareness: "I know my tendencies; I know the scripts or programs that are in me; but I am not those scripts. I can rewrite my scripts." You are aware that you are the creative force of your life. You are not the victim of conditions or conditioning. You can choose your response to any situation, to any person. So on the continuum; you go from being a victim to self-determining creative power through self-awareness of the power to choose your response to any condition or conditioning.

Associated with Habit 2:
Begin With the End In Mind is the endowment of imagination and conscience. If you are the programmer, write the program. Decide what you're going to do with the time, talent, and tools you have to work with: "Within my small circle of influence, I'm going to decide." At the low end of the continuum is the sense of futility about goals, purposes, and improvement efforts. After all, if you are totally a victim, if you are a product of what has happened to you, then what can you realistically do about anything? So you wander through life hoping things will turn out well, that the environment may be positive, so you can have your daily bread and maybe some positive fruits. At the other end is a sense of hope and purpose: "I have created the future in my mind. I can see it, and I can imagine what it will be like." Only people have the capability to imagine a new course of action and pursue it conscientiously.

Associated with Habit 3:
Put First Things First is the endowment of willpower. At the low end of the continuum is the ineffective, flaky life of floating and coasting, avoiding responsibility and taking the easy way out, exercising little initiative or willpower. And at the top end is a highly disciplined life that focuses heavily on the highly important but not necessarily urgent activities of life. It's a life of leverage and influence. On the continuum, you go from being driven by crises and having can't and won't power to being focused on the important but not necessarily urgent matters of your life and having the will power to realize them.

The exercise of primary human endowments empowers you to use the secondary endowments more effectively. We will now move from Primary to Secondary Endowments.

Associated with Habit 4:
Think Win-Win is the endowment of an abundance mentality. Why? Because your security comes from principles. Everything is seen through principles. When your wife makes a mistake, you're not accusatory. Why? Your security does not come from your wife living up to your expectations. Your security comes from within yourself. You're principle-centered. As people become increasingly principle-centered, they love to share recognition and power. Why? It's not a limited pie. It's an ever-enlarging pie. The basic paradigm and assumption about limited resources is flawed. The great capabilities of people are hardly even tapped. The abundance mentality produces more profit, power, and recognition for everybody. On the continuum, you go from a scarcity to an abundance mentality through feelings of intrinsic self-worth and a benevolent desire for mutual benefit.

Associated with Habit 5:
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood is the endowment of courage balanced with consideration. Does it take courage and consideration to not be understood first? Think about it. Think about the problems you face. You tend to think, "You need to understand me, but you don't understand. I understand you, but you don't understand me. So let me tell you my story first, and then you can say what you want." And the other person says, "Okay, I'll try to understand." But the whole time they're "listening," they're preparing their reply. They are just pretending to listen, selective listening. When you show your home movies or tell some chapter of you autobiography "let me tell you my experience" the other person is tuned out unless he feels understood.

But what happens when you truly listen to another person? The whole relationship is transformed: "Someone started listening to me and they seemed to savor my words. They didn't agree or disagree, they just were listening and I felt as if they were seeing how I saw the world. And in that process, I found myself listening to myself. I started to feel a worth in myself."

The root cause of almost all people problems is the basic communication problem people do not listen with empathy. They listen from within their autobiography. They lack the skill and attitude of empathy. They need approval; they lack courage. The ability to listen first requires restraint, respect, and reverence. And the ability to make yourself understood requires courage and consideration. On the continuum, you go from fight and flight instincts to mature two-way communication where courage is balanced with consideration.

Associated with Habit 6:
Synergize is the endowment of creativity, the creation of something. How? By yourself? No, through two respectful minds communicating, producing solutions that are far better than what either originally proposed. Most negotiation is positional bargaining and results, at best, in compromise. But when you get into synergistic communication, you leave position. You understand basic underlying needs and interests and find solutions to satisfy them both. You get people thinking. And if you get the spirit of teamwork, you start to build a very powerful bond, an emotional bank account, and people are willing to subordinate their immediate wants for long-term relationships. With courage and consideration, communicate openly with each other and try to create win-win solutions. On the continuum, you go from defensive communication to compromise transactions to synergistic and creative alternatives and transformations.

Associated with Habit 7:
Sharpen the Saw is the unique endowment of continuous improvement or self-renewal to overcome entropy. If you don't constantly improve and renew yourself, you'll fall into entropy, closed systems and styles. At one end of the continuum is entropy (everything breaks down), and the other end is continuous improvement, innovation, and refinement. On the continuum, you go from a condition of entropy to a condition of continuous renewal, improvement, innovation, and refinement.

My hope in revisiting the Seven Habits is that you will use the seven unique human endowments associated with them to bless and benefit the lives of many other people.


Dr. Covey is the author of several acclaimed books, including the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. To order Dr. Covey's Newest Release, "The 8th Habit" as an Individual Set (contains one DVD and one CD of the speakers 'live' performance) or to view and learn more about The Complete Ultimate Collection for Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals -- including Jim Rohn, Jeffrey Gitomer, Brian Tracy, Connie Podesta, Stephen Covey, Les Brown, Harvey Mackay, Connie Podesta, Tom Hopkins and More! go to

http://dvdset.jimrohn.com/default.asp?kbid=5500

Persistence

Persistence

I believe there are three kinds of people. There are winners, who know what they want and understand their potential and the possibilities. They take life on. Next are losers, who don't have a clue as to who they are. They allow circumstances to shape their lives and their self-image.

I believe there is a third group as well. This consists of potential winners whose lives are just slightly out of alignment. I call them wayward winners. It may be that they just need to learn how to be real winners. Perhaps they've hit a bump or two that has knocked them off course and they are temporarily befuddled. A failed relationship, a lost job, financial problems, unformed goals, a lack of parental support, illness... many things can send us off course temporarily.

Wayward winners are not lost souls; they just need some tweaking and coaching and nudging to get them back on course. A map might be nice. Many of these wayward winners are easily identifiable because they are always searching.

Right now, there are many wayward winners out there braving rain, sleet and snow because they, too, still believe that they have untapped talents. They attend motivational seminars and listen to inspirational tapes and they plunge onward, believing that sooner or later they will find their way again.

Other wayward winners have temporarily given up. They are damaged and disoriented, their confidence badly eroded. They tend to drift through life numbly. The friends and relatives and loved ones of wayward winners see that they are out of sync and wonder why they can't be satisfied, why they don't settle down. They wonder how people who have such obvious abilities and great potential can be so disoriented and unsure.

It is difficult for others to understand the rawness of a broken heart or the aching emptiness of an unguided spirit. You and I know. We have been there. Wayward winners know that there are possibilities out there, but too often they feel locked out from them. Some are afraid to risk any more because of what they have risked and lost already.

I know now that as difficult as it may be for you wayward winners to do, it is necessary to continue to test yourselves. Even though you have been hurt before, it is the only way to grow. We all have the capacity to change, to lead meaningful and productive lives by awakening our consciousness.

You know there are going to be tough times as you go about changing your life, so brace yourself and you will be able to handle them. When you get into your seat on an airplane, what is the first thing they tell you to do? Fasten your seat belt. Brace yourself for the turbulence.

When you decide to move your life to the next level of accomplishment, you must fasten your mental and spiritual seat belts because it is going to be a while before you reach that comfortable level again. You will reach it, but you must endure the turbulence of change in order to grow.

Try this technique to help you through the difficult times of change and growth. Find four reasons why you cannot succumb to your fears and your troubles. Find those deep sources of motivation that can lift you out of the turbulence and above the clouds. You must change your life because, for example:

You have not yet tapped the talents given you.
You want to leave something more for your children.
You want to live life rather than letting life live you.
You want to do what makes YOU happy.

It is in these rocky early moments of bringing change to your life that you discover who you are. In the prosperous times, you build what is in your pocket. In the tough times, you strengthen what is in your heart. And that is when you gain insight into yourself, insight that leads to self-mastery and an expansion of your consciousness as a life-force in both your personal and professional lives.

Well-set goals

"If you have plenty of goals well-designed and plenty of goals to stir your imagination, here's what they will do, they will become like a magnet. The bigger they are and the stronger they are and the longer the list, the stronger they pull. Here's the other advantage...goals will pull you through. You can much more easily survive the next crisis, the next winter of your life, if you have well-set goals."

--Jim Rohn, excerpted from the 2004 Weekend Event, Goals Workshop, CD 15, Track 10

http://dvdset.jimrohn.com/default.asp?kbid=5500

Quarterly Quotas - 90 day plan

In my work with Olympic athletes, astronauts, top business executives and other winners, I've discovered that most of them have approached their success in ninety-day seasons. In many areas of life, ninety days is regarded as an appropriate growing cycle. The business world operates on a quarterly basis.

The sports world, to a great extent, operates on a seasonal basis in which the majority of league games are played during a ninety-day cycle, not including post season playoffs. The academic world, in many universities, is set up on a quarterly basis, with the fourth quarter usually being summer. Even academic institutions that operate on a semester schedule usually have nine-month terms, or three quarters of the year spent in class.

I've found a ninety-day cycle of success to be a wonderful unit of time. It's a time period that is long enough to plan for, begin, work hard at, and accomplish certain objectives. At the same time, it isn't a year from now or forever. It is a short enough time to generate a sense of urgency. One of the problems with focusing on monthly goals is the gap in a month caused by events and holidays.

Tax time in April, vacations in June, July or August, Christmas and other religious holidays, the World Series, the playoffs, and the Superbowl. These gaps present a problem in any given month. To simply sum up the concept of the ninety-day season of success: It is a long enough period of time to accomplish something significant, yet it is a short enough time that there is urgency to act now.

Your ninety-day season of success will build your motivation because, often, yearly or five-year goals are so distant that it's easy to get discouraged and give up on them in frustration. When your goals are proximate and positively pressing, you're more likely to muster the motivation necessary to achieve them. Before you begin your next ninety-day success season, take an evening to go through the following exercises. To do this, I recommend you download the text from this newsletter, and block out some time for yourself when you're alone and can think without being interrupted.

Exercise One: Review your life forming goals, and update your personal mission statement for your life or career.

Exercise Two: Take fifteen minutes and write down your most important priorities personally and professionally for the next ninety days. Get your calendar and planner out and start sequencing your action steps. Write down a list of "to-dos", phone calls, e-mails and appointments you need to make.

Exercise Three: Now review your list from Exercise Two and spend another fifteen minutes adding things to that list that you want to do for your own personal entertainment or enlightenment.

Exercise Four: Take five minutes and record three things that tend to slip through the cracks in your professional life; then do the same exercise for your personal life. These are things that you always mean to accomplish, but somehow never get around to doing.

Exercise Five: Create your "Seasonal Success Focus." Review the specific goals and images of achievement you want to accomplish during the next ninety days in order to further your life's mission. As you write these goals on paper or in your electronic diary, put a short statement as to the major benefit of accomplishing these goals.

Once you have done this review, determine what the present reality is. Where are you right now in relation to the accomplishment of these goals.

This week, start thinking about your goals as "quarterly quotas."

Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live by Denis Waitley (Excerpted from The Seeds of Greatness Treasury)

An ancient Chinese proverb tells us, "A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every passerby leaves a mark." We cannot teach our children self-esteem. We can only help them discover it within themselves by adding positive marks and strokes on their slates. All positive motivation is rooted in self-esteem ? the development of which, just as with other skills takes practice. Think of self-esteem as a four-legged chair.

A Sense of Belonging: The first leg of self-esteem is a sense of belonging. We all have a deep-seated need to feel we're part of something larger than ourselves. This need, which psychologists call an affiliation drive, encompasses people, places and possessions. Our instinct for belonging ? for being wanted, accepted, enjoyed, and loved by close ones ? is extremely powerful. It explains the bond of an extended family, friends, and teammates. It also explains why some adolescents join gangs. They want to belong, even if it?s wrong.

Make your children proud of their family heritage and make your home a place where they feel safe, loved and welcome. Also, make your home a place where your children want to bring their friends, rather than a place they want to leave as soon as possible.

A Sense of Individual Identity: The second leg, which complements the sense of belonging, is a sense of individual identity. No human being is exactly like another, not even an identical twin. We are all unique combinations of talents and traits that never existed before and will never exist again in quite the same package. (This explains why most parents believe their children came from different planets!)

Observe your children as they grow and play. Watch their learning styles. Notice what they love to do in their free time. Help them discover their unique positive talents and help nurture them into skills. Report cards don't necessarily measure talents. They often are a measure only of discipline, memory and attention span.

A Sense of Worthiness: The third leg of self-esteem is a sense of worthiness, the feeling that I'm glad I'm me, with my genes and background, my body, my unique thoughts. Without our own approval, we have little to offer. If we don't feel worth loving, it's hard to believe that others love us; instead, we tend to see others as appraisers or judges of our value.

Show your children unconditional love. Carefully separate the doer from the deed, and the performer from the performance. The message: "I love you no matter what happens, and I'm always there for you" is one of most important concepts in building a feeling of worthiness or intrinsic value in children. After every reprimand, let them know you love them. Before they go to sleep at night, give them the reassurance that, regardless of what happened that day, you love them unconditionally.

A healthy sense of belonging, identity, and worthiness can only be rooted in intrinsic core values as opposed to outer, often material, motivation. Without them, we depend on others constantly to fill our leaking reserves of self-esteem ? but also tend to suspect others of ulterior motives. Unable to accept or reject others' opinions for what they're worth, we are defensive about criticism and paranoid about praise ? and no amount of praise can replace the missing qualities.

A healthy sense of belonging, identity, and worthiness is also essential to belief in your dreams. It is most essential during difficult times, when you have only a dream to hang on to.

A Sense of Control and Competence: Early in my career in motivational psychology, I thought the chair of self-esteem balanced firmly on those three legs, especially since they involved intrinsic core values. It took much time and research to realize that a fourth leg ? one of the most important ? was missing.

There are many reasons why few Americans currently in high school and college believe they were born to win. The supportive extended family ? in many cases, even the nuclear family ? is disappearing. Role models are increasingly unhealthy. The commercial media bombards young senses ever more insistently with crime, violence, hedonism, and other unhealthy forms of escape. But whatever the explanation, constructive citizens and leaders in society cannot emerge and develop without the creative imagination that serves them like fuel ? which is why the apprehension, frustration, and hesitation I see and hear in the younger generation is cause for concern. At the moment, the future they imagine will help drive neither happiness nor success.

The chair's fourth leg is self-efficacy, a functional belief in your ability to control what happens to you in a changing, uncertain world. A sense of worthiness may give you the emotional means to venture, but you need self-efficacy, the sense of competence and control, to believe you can succeed. That's why it is so important to assign responsibility for small tasks to your children as early as possible so they can learn that their choices and efforts result in consequences and successes. The more success they experience, the stronger their confidence grows ? and the more responsibility they want to assume.

Give them specific household chores and duties they can accomplish and be proud of. Teach them that their problems and setbacks are just temporary inconveniences and learning experiences. Emphasize it constantly: Setbacks are not failures.

Armed with a view of failure as a learning experience, children can develop an early eagerness for new challenges and will be less afraid to try new skills. Although they appreciate compliments, they benefit most from their own belief that they are making a valuable contribution to life, according to their own internal standards.

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, each new, young member of the workforce simply must believe that he or she is a team leader, a self-empowered, quality individual who expresses that quality in excellent production and service. With increasing pressures on profit and the need to do more with fewer workers because of e-commerce and changing technology, it is essential that parents and business leaders help raise the value of their childrens' and employees' stock in themselves.

Our Kids are Not Our Clones

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned in being an effective family leader and in raising six children is to: "Treat our children with the same respect, we expect from them." Our children are not clones or copies of us. Although they mimic us and other adults as role models, they cannot be expected to feel or act the way we do. Kahlil Gibran is my favorite on the subject:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life?s longing for itself?.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,
Not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them be like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday

Our ability to see the future.

"We are all affected by five things. But the most important thing that affects us is our dreams--our ability to see the future. But here's why we don't reach into the future. We're trapped either by regret of the past or the routine of the present.

"So make sure that the greatest pull on you is the pull of the future."

--Jim Rohn, excerpted from the 2004 Weekend Event, Goals Workshop, CD 15, Track 10

The 12 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Leadership

The 12 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Leadership by Brian Tracy

1. The Law of Integrity: Great business leadership is characterized by honesty, truthfulness and straight dealing with every person, under all circumstances.

2. The Law of Courage: The ability to make decisions and act boldly in the face of setbacks and adversity is the key to greatness in leadership.

3. The Law of Realism: Leaders deal with the world as it is, not as they wish it would be.

4. The Law of Power: Power gravitates to the person who can use it most effectively to get the desired results.

5. The Law of Ambition: Leaders have an intense desire to lead; they have a clear vision of a better future, which they are determined to realize.

6. The Law of Optimism: The true leader radiates the confidence that all difficulties can be overcome and all goals can be attained.

7. The Law of Empathy: Leaders are sensitive to and aware of the needs, feelings and motivations of their people.

8. The Law of Resilience: Leaders bounce back from the inevitable setbacks, disappointments and temporary failures experienced in the attainment of any worthwhile goal.

9. The Law of Independence: Leaders know who they are, what they believe in and they think for themselves.

10. The Law of Emotional Maturity: Leaders are calm, cool and controlled in the face of problems, difficulties and adversity.

11. The Law of Excellence: Leaders are committed to excellent performance of the business task and to continuous improvement.

12. The Law of Foresight: Leaders have the ability to predict and anticipate the future.

Desire and Motivation

Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a "must" and a "want."

The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, "I wish someone would come by and turn me on." What if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life.

When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot.

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.

What you do today prepares you for your future

One of the most powerful things that struck me this week while listening to Jim Rohn (2004 Weekend Event 24 CD set) was, what you do today prepares you for your future. In fact, I sat down recently and wrote out 100 things that I wanted to do, places I wanted to see, etc., before I die--pretty powerful stuff. One of the best things you can do to guarantee your future success is to be sure that you envision it today. Make sure that you have a vision for what you want out of life.

But just as importantly is acting upon your dreams today. This significant truth is so impactful! What you do today produces what you will become tomorrow. If you want to weigh 20 pounds less in three months, work out today. If you want to save $1000 in two months, put $16.66 in the bank today.

Everything you do today will make you what you will be tomorrow and in the future; you can be sure of that. So take the mindset that you are going to be proactive and purposefully create the life of your dreams by acting today.

A second powerful thing was that our character is forged when we confront our limitations. Limitations are a part of life. We all have them. Even the greatest athletes hit points where they think it is physically impossible to go further. Limitations are one of life's greatest opportunities because of how we react to them and what we become through them.

Every single person from time to time will be confronted with their own limitations. You may be experiencing some now. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful is what happens when we face them. Some people simply look at them and become so intimidated that they say, "I can't," and walk away, never knowing what could have been. But successful people see their limitations and say, "I can." At the very least they say, "I will try."

What do you do? Do you confront your limitations and see them as a growth opportunity? I hope so! And when you get through your limitations, be sure that there will be others. It is in breaking through each new barrier that we continue to climb higher and higher and achieve new levels of character, skill and success.

And thirdly, are you going to be a casualty or a survivor? A victim or a victor? These are great questions that Donna asked. From hearing her story you see how many times she could have chosen to be a casualty. She could have chosen to be a victim. But living a victorious life means choosing to be a survivor and a victor, no matter what the circumstances.

Victor Frankl wrote in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," about being in a concentration camp. He could have chosen to be a victim when they came to torture him. Instead, he decided that he would choose how he would respond, and what kind of attitude he would have. Certainly, most of us will never have to be confronted with anything remotely like the horrors of a WWII concentration camp, which means that the choice to be a victor is all the more within your grasp! Spend some time this week when you are confronted with tough circumstances, to remind yourself that you have a choice on how you will respond and how you will see yourself.

My thoughts come from TC Cummings' section. I don't believe that most people really understand what it means to be a Navy SEAL.

Perhaps five percent of the world's population has the physical ability to be a SEAL. Probably two percent have the mental toughness and less than one percent have both. When TC Cummings speaks you should listen, take notes and memorize it.

The greatest take-away that I got from TC, was that when you confront a self-imposed limitation and conquer it, you will build character and self-esteem. I have heard so many speakers talk about goal setting. However, I never really understood what it does to your mental toughness and character when you accomplish a goal. I have a few things in my life that I have wanted to change for a while, yet I kept putting them off. But when I heard TC speak, I realized that by overcoming these things in my life, not only would I be rid of them, but I would also build self-esteem and character in the process.

Now, I have set my goals, and the payoff is not only the life change by changing the habits that I have designated...it will also be the character and self-esteem. Perhaps I have heard other speakers explain it that way, yet I have never understood it until TC said it. I've now listened to TC's segment more than five times, and it is by far my favorite.

The Formula for Failure and Success

The Formula for Failure and Success (Excepted from the book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle)

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 Your Success,

The Last Word

The Last Word...

Ever wish someone would make a "short list" of success traits key to developing your leadership skills? Well, this week's Last Word offering is exactly that, so in the spirit of keeping it short... Here are Seven Character Traits of Successful People!

1. They are hard working. There is no such thing as easy money. Success takes hard work and people who are willing to do it.

2. They are honest. Those who are successful long-term are the honest ones. Dishonest people may get the first sale, but honest people will get all the rest!

3. They persevere. How many success stories will go untold because they never happened? And all because someone quit. Successful people outlast everybody else.

4. They are friendly. Have you noticed that most successful people are friendly and people oriented? This endears them to others and enables them to lead others to accomplish the task.

5. They are lifelong learners. Successful people are people who stretch themselves and grow continually, learning from all areas of life, including from their mistakes.

6. They over-deliver. The old statement of under-promise and over-deliver became famous because it made a lot of people successful, including the richest man in the world - Bill Gates.

7. They seek solutions in the face of problems. Problems are opportunities to do the impossible, not just complain. Successful people are the ones who find solutions.

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect

It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hopes of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as, 'The Butterfly Effect'. He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns.

One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result ? however he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly's wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas? ? Thus you have 'The Butterfly Effect' theory.

This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz's 1960 experiment.

"But, what does this mean for my life?", I can hear you asking.

It means that every decision or action that you make - no matter how small ? could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure yours is, is a testimony to the butterfly effect. When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. Over two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12 year olds called him a nerd) and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone.

Did you follow that?

You are receiving this from me, reading my books, or hearing me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job ? if Brian hadn't gotten me the telemarketing job and Brian would never have known me if we hadn't met at the age of 12 in P.E.! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym two decades ago ? that is 'The Butterfly Effect'.

ACTION POINTS

1. Realize that 'The Butterfly Effect' is very real and small decisions or actions can make a huge impact on your life.

2. Take responsibility for your decisions, actions and friends ? even the tiny decisions ? realizing that they can dramatically alter the course of your life.

3. Understand the importance of attention to detail. Years before 1986, the smallest flaw was overlooked in a Space Shuttle O-Ring. That flaw led to a horrific 'Butterfly Effect' and the deaths of seven Astronauts years later in January 1986.

4. Do not allow 'The Butterfly Effect' to paralyze you from inaction. Instead, use it as the spark of motivation to fan the fire of action ? realizing that you control your destiny even in the tiniest of ways.

Use the 'Butterfly Effect' as a tool to make a positive, lasting impact on your life and it's direction.

Navy SEAL Success

What Does Being a Navy SEAL Have to Do With Success? - TC Cummings Interview by Jerry Clark (excerpted from the 2004 Jim Rohn Weekend Event)

Jerry Clark: Hello everyone this is Jerry "DRhino" Clark. We have here an individual with us who happens to be the Master Coach for the Jim Rohn International coaching program. TC Cumming is a guest speaker at this Weekend Event and is also a former U.S. Navy SEAL. So we really want to learn how to get that Navy SEAL mental toughness. Hey, TC welcome to the program.

TC: Good to be here.

Jerry Clark: Now TC with regard to being a former Navy SEAL how does one become a Navy SEAL and what is the mindset you need to want to be a Navy SEAL?

TC: Its about loving challenge. You want to play big with the SEALs. When I say you want to play big, you've really got to want to play big. I'll give you an ideal; 154 men started in my class to become a SEAL and most of the guys wanted to be a SEAL all of their lives, yet only 18 of us became SEALs. So you've really, really ridiculously got to want to play big.

Jerry: So tell us about this program, because this correlates to success in life. Some of the principles that you have to have in order to go through this training and make it, because 90% of these people, who all their life wanted to be Navy SEALs, didn't make it through the program. Not that they couldn't make it but for some reason they didn't. Was it the mental toughness? I'm sure they all had the physique, they were all strong, they were all powerful, and they did all the preliminary working out. So tell us about that.

TC: In fact Jerry, most of the guys that were the biggest were the first to quit because they were not used to losing. The mental toughness is not about winning, it is about what you do under adverse or inopportune conditions. What do you do, do you react or do you respond?

Jerry: What is the difference between reacting and responding?

TC: Excellent question. When we react we are coming from a programmed egotistical place. We are either reacting aggressively or passively. Oh, I'm not good enough. Hey, does everybody see how cool I am. Reactive.

When we are responding, when you say, "Hey, you did a great job." and I say, "Thank you. What was great about it?" I am responding, I'm doing it on purpose. Response is on purpose. Reactive is our ego. So nothing wrong with that because we all have ego. We have a lot of ego and we all are reactive. When we shut down that reactive nature, we become more clear because when we are doing things on purpose; we are choosing who we are going to be with. We are choosing who we are going to surround ourselves with. We are choosing the path we are going to take. When you are sitting in freezing water, it's not really freezing water. You're sitting in the water and you are freezing because of the evaporation process; you are getting cold. No matter how long you stay there when the water comes over you and goes away you get cold. When the cold hits, where is you mind? Are you a victim, are you going to react or are you going to respond? In my mind I would respond by saying, "I'm so cold but there are other guys still here, I'm not dead yet. So I can keep doing this." Other guys would react and say, "I'm out of here, I quit." I remember very clearly in my mind the biggest guy; this guy could do pull-ups till the cows came home. He could run, he could carry people, he could do one arm rope climbs, and he quit. Bam! Like that and as soon as he quit, six other guys said, "My God, if he can't make it I can't make it." They all quit -- Reactivity. They were choosing; these men in their minds, they chose.

Are you going to react or respond? Your son, when he was younger, he's poking you saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..." If you say, "What, what do you want?" You are reacting. You'd never choose to do that. You put your arm around him and say, "You wait until I'm done talking with your Mother." That is a response, that is what you're choosing. So the same thing is true with making money or in any of our relationships. The biggest element though of course, is our relationship with ourself and are we reactive with ourself? With Jim Rohn International Coaching, we support an environment that gets to show this to other people, so you get to see your own reactivity or your responsiveness. Because reactivity is weak, it is disempowering. It's not bad -- it's human. But pro-activity, taking the opportunity by the horns is empowering. Just look at yourself and what you have created, very much at core, if you did it because, "I'll show them", it is reactive. If you did it because "I can, I need to do it, it's my destiny to fulfill; I've got a talent I need to put it to good use. I choose to be successful", that is where the power is.

Award winning corn

James Bender, in his book How To Talk Well (New York: Mcgraw-Hill Book Co. Inc. 1994), relates the story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn.


Each year he entered his corn in the state fair it won a blue ribbon.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

He is much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.


So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who chose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

So if you have something good, don't keep it to yourself but share it.
It is when we give that we receive... and much more.

Create That Winning Feeling

Create That Winning Feeling
I believe we would all agree that having a winning feeling is prerequisite to achieving outstanding results. A person can?t possibly expect to win if they?re constantly focusing on failure! The real secret here is to capture that winning feeling of success as often as you can to create the environment necessary to succeed.

If you?ve been a little down in the dumps, feeling insecure or perhaps not feeling as confident in your ability as you?d like, I have a great tip for you. My suggestion to anyone looking for a success track to run on, or to a person who is looking to get back on one, is to start capitalizing on short-term victories. That means specifically focus on tasks you can achieve daily. The principle is to start with an adversity over which you can succeed, and gradually take on more and more difficult tasks. Nothing succeeds like success.

Another technique used by many people in developing or maintaining a winning feeling is what we call the reflection method. Think back during a time where you were really successful at something? we all have times to which we can relate. It could have been a sale, a particular speech, a school play, or standing up to the town bully. Each one of us can reflect back on a moment in time to recapture that winning feeling.

Professional sports coaches often replay winning games of the past for their team prior to a big game to stimulate and create a winning feeling!

Years ago, a good friend of mine had left his job and a company that he had worked with for many years. He was one of the top VPs with his company and had done extremely well. He had left because he wanted to start his own business. I told him he could use one of our offices until such time as he was ready to open up his own office.

In any event, I happened to be in the office one afternoon and Grant, who normally was very upbeat and positive, was really having a difficult time. After a few moments of small talk, it became apparent what the problem was. Grant had hit the terror barrier and the possibility of starting his own company was overwhelming him? he just didn?t think he could do it. Here?s a man who had risen to the top of his field, made a high six-figure income for years? and yet was still having doubts as to his ability to start his own company.

I asked Grant to go home, get a notebook and start to write down all of his accomplishments, as far back as he could remember. The look on his face was priceless ? I?m sure he thought I?d lost my mind. I told him that the accomplishment could be small or large? it didn?t really matter. The point was to focus on something positive. I still remember him asking, ?Well, what if I only fill half a page.? I just smiled and asked him to do his best and start writing.

Monday morning came and Grant was back in the office with a notebook full of accomplishments. I smiled and said, ?You must have been fairly confident, you picked up a good sized notebook!? We both had a good laugh. Grant went on to build a multi-million dollar financial planning company and later franchised the operation to extend across Canada and the US!

This is a great exercise for anyone needing a bit of a boost. What would give you a winning feeling of pride and satisfaction? Remember? a winning feeling is a confident feeling and one that forgets misses, and reinforces successful attempts.

Action vs. Self-Delusion

Action vs. Self-Delusion
Knowledge fueled by emotion equals action. Action is the ingredient that ensures results. Only action can cause reaction, and to take it one step further, only positive action can cause positive reaction.

Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.

I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying, "Faith without action serves no useful purpose." How true!

I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.

But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see - affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well-being there is little worse than self-delusion.

The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of the false hope which affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. Remember this: TO MAKE PROGRESS YOU MUST ACTUALLY GET STARTED!

The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start TODAY. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk... today. Start setting your first goal... today. Start listening to motivational CDs... today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan... today. Start calling on one tough customer a day... today. Start putting money in your new "investment for fortune" account... today. Write a long-overdue letter... today. ANYONE CAN! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.

Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past -- that faith and action have now taken charge.

It's a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline you will be amazed at how much progress you'll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?

Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this -- the first day of your new beginning.

The people you meet and the books you read

Here are three things that struck me this week and some thoughts for you on each.

First is that you become like the people you meet and the books you read. This is one of the most important lessons that I've been taught because it is so incredibly simple and yet profound, and always practical.

Think about the type of person you want to be in five years. Think also about the kind of life you would like to be living in five years. Do you think it is possible to achieve? I would tell you, along with Charlie that it truly is possible to create the life of your dreams using this principle of the people you meet (and associate with) and the books you read.

Here is how it works: If you want to be a certain kind of person, begin to seek out, meet, and associate with and learn from those kinds of people. By associating with them you will begin to change yourself and become like your desired outcome.

This works the same way with books. If you want to master something, you can simply seek out 60 books on the topic and read one a month for 5 years. I guarantee you that you will become like the books that you read - at the very least you will become so much more like your desired result. This is even more true to the degree that you take the lessons and principles you learn and act on them.

Let's look at an example: Let's say that you want to become wealthy. Think about the people you associate with. Are they wealthy? Let me preface this next comment with this: I am not suggesting you dump your poor friends because they are poor. I am going to suggest that your poor friends won't be able to teach you how to be rich, so you need to seek out men and women who are living a wealthy lifestyle and associate with them--and learn from them, then begin to live like them.

This works with the books too. Set up a 60 book reading list, and read one book on wealth and finances every month for five years. Put the principles into practice in your own life and I'll bet that you will be better off financially at the end of five years.


Second, taking small steps builds courage and confidence. I remember reading an article written by Michael Jordan about how his confidence was built. The great basketball player Larry Bird once said that "God has disguised himself as Michael Jordan." Many people think that Michael Jordan may have always been the best basketball player in the history of the world, and yet many of them do not know that he was cut from his high school basketball team (when he was a sophomore). So how did he go from not being able to make his team to one of the most recognizable people on the planet?

Slowly.

Jordan says that the key to his success is confidence and yet, it was only through each successive win that he came to have the confidence to perform the next great feat. It all really started with a game winning last-second shot in college when he realized that perhaps he could go to the next level. It built his confidence. By the end of his career, he had so much confidence that every time it came down to a last-second shot, everybody in the stadium knew that Michael would be the one to take it.

So what does that mean for you and me? I think it is simple. No one starts out as "Michael Jordan Superstar" - not even Michael Jordan!

Instead, we must tackle small wins and build our courage and confidence so that we can take the next step in our lives and careers - phases that we may not be able to get to in large steps, but can in small steps. What do you want to accomplish - that big dream of yours? That's great! But is it more likely that you will get there slowly and surely than through one big jump? You bet. So take each step carefully and move toward the accomplishment of all your dreams and goals.


And third, average people do incredible things. One of the most fascinating aspects of my life has been meeting many people who have achieved so much. From a very early age, people who have shaped their world with incredible accomplishments have surrounded me. It has been a privilege to learn from them and see inside of their lives and careers.

Do you know what one of the most empowering things I have learned by observing these people? It is this:

They are no better than anyone else. Period.

Occasionally, I will meet someone who will reference someone else and begin to talk as though that other person were other-worldly. It may be a sports hero, a politician or another speaker.

Unfortunately, what has happened is that the person has either over-valued the achiever or under-valued himself.

You see, there are no "super-humans." Superman is a cartoon. There are high achievers, yes. But they are ordinary people who achieve extraordinary things. And yet these high achievers are just people. They hurt, they cry, they fail, they make mistakes and they are trying to find their way - just like everyone else. Because of the cult of personality, we think of them otherwise.

I think that understanding this is extremely empowering! Why? Because it means that any one of us can accomplish great things! Think about it: If success only came to these "super-beings" then those who were merely mortal would have no hope. And yet, success can come to anyone. Anyone can be rich. Anyone has a chance to make a huge impact on their world. Anyone can build a great business. That is an amazing thing to believe and act on!

So, the next time you see someone who has accomplished much, admire them, but see them as an example that can be followed, not on a level that is beyond your reach!