What You Say is What You Get...

by Vic Johnson

"Thoughts, words, and acts are seeds sown, and, by the inviolable law of things, they produce after their kind." - Above Life's Turmoil

We focus a lot on how powerful our thoughts and actions are and in so doing, we overlook one of the most powerful killers of dreams --- our words.

In fact, many of the dream-killer words we use, we do so in casual conversation with not much thought of what we're really saying. At one point in my life, when I had a few more challenges than normal, I got into a very bad habit of using this reply when asked how I was doing, "Oh, you know, when it rains, it pours."

I'm not sure why I used that reply (maybe I was looking for some sympathy), but I know the results were devastating. Not only did it keep raining, it began to storm!

In the Northern Hemisphere we're in a season when colds and the flu usually increase. Would you think I've gone off my rocker if I said we speak some of those maladies into existence? Before you decide, read up on the medical evidence of the power of belief, and then understand that when we speak something we give power to it --- we increase our belief in something when we speak it.

So when someone asks you how you're doing and you reply, "I think I'm coming down with something," you're actually contributing to the illness you end up with. And the same goes for the other words that people speak like, "I don't ever have any money," "I'm always so tired," "I've got the worst luck," and on and on.

What words are you speaking? Stop and listen to yourself, whether it's your self talk or your words to others. Can you see the connection between what you're saying and the life you're experiencing?

Regardless of the religious faith, the spoken word is acknowledged as having great power. Hindu writings tell of yogis that have used mantras to light fires, materialize physical objects like food and even influence the outcome of battles. In the Christian Bible, we find these words in the Gospel of Mark, "those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

And that's worth thinking about. -- Vic Johnson

Career/Marketplace

by Jim Rohn

My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in your future.

Whether you stay six weeks, six months or six years, always leave it better than you found it.

Don't bring your need to the marketplace, bring your skill. If you don't feel well, tell your doctor, but not the marketplace. If you need money, go to the bank, but not the marketplace.

If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune.

Don't just let your business or your job make something for you; let it make something of you.

Lack of homework shows up in the marketplace as well as in the classroom.

Where you start in the marketplace is not where you have to stay.

The worst days of those who enjoy what they do are better than the best days of those who don't.

We get paid for bringing value to the marketplace. It takes time to bring value to the marketplace, but we get paid for the value, not the time.

Here's the major problem with going on strike for more money: You cannot get rich by demand.

Personal Development - The Four Emotions That Can Lead to Life Change

by Jim Rohn

Emotions are the most powerful forces inside us. Under the power of emotions, human beings can perform the most heroic (as well as barbaric) acts. To a great degree, civilization itself can be defined as the intelligent channeling of human emotion. Emotions are fuel and the mind is the pilot, which together propel the ship of civilized progress.

Which emotions cause people to act? There are four basic ones; each, or a combination of several, can trigger the most incredible activity. The day that you allow these emotions to fuel your desire is the day you'll turn your life around.

1) DISGUST

One does not usually equate the word "disgust" with positive action. And yet properly channeled, disgust can change a person's life. The person who feels disgusted has reached a point of no return. He or she is ready to throw down the gauntlet at life and say, "I've had it!" That's what I said after many humiliating experiences at age 25. I said, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke. I've had it with being embarrassed, and I've had it with lying."

Yes, productive feelings of disgust come when a person says, "Enough is enough."

The "guy" has finally had it with mediocrity. He's had it with those awful sick feelings of fear, pain and humiliation. He then decides he is not going to live like this anymore." Look out! This could be the day that turns a life around. Call it what you will, the "I've had it" day, the "never again" day, the "enough's enough" day. Whatever you call it, it's powerful! There is nothing so life-changing as gut-wrenching disgust!

2) DECISION

Most of us need to be pushed to the wall to make decisions. And once we reach this point, we have to deal with the conflicting emotions that come with making them. We have reached a fork in the road. Now this fork can be a two-prong, three-prong, or even a four-prong fork. No wonder that decision-making can create knots in stomachs, keep us awake in the middle of the night, or make us break out in a cold sweat.

Making life-changing decisions can be likened to internal civil war. Conflicting armies of emotions, each with its own arsenal of reasons, battle each other for supremacy of our minds. And our resulting decisions, whether bold or timid, well thought out or impulsive, can either set the course of action or blind it. I don't have much advice to give you about decision-making
except this:

Whatever you do, don't camp at the fork in the road. Decide. It's far better to make a wrong decision than to not make one at all. Each of us must confront our emotional turmoil and sort out our feelings.

3) DESIRE

How does one gain desire? I don't think I can answer this directly because there are many ways. But I do know two things about desire:

a. It comes from the inside not the outside.
b. It can be triggered by outside forces.

Almost anything can trigger desire. It's a matter of timing as much as preparation. It might be a song that tugs at the heart. It might be a memorable sermon. It might be a movie, a conversation with a friend, a confrontation with the enemy, or a bitter experience. Even a book or an article such as this one can trigger the inner mechanism that will make some people say, "I want it now!"

Therefore, while searching for your "hot button" of pure, raw desire, welcome into your life each positive experience. Don't erect a wall to protect you from experiencing life. The same wall that keeps out your disappointment also keeps out the sunlight of enriching experiences. So let life touch you. The next touch could be the one that turns your life around.

4) RESOLVE

Resolve says, "I will." These two words are among the most potent in the English language. I WILL. Benjamin Disraeli, the great British statesman, once said, "Nothing can resist a human will that will stake even its existence on the extent of its purpose." In other words, when someone resolves to "do or die," nothing can stop him.

The mountain climber says, "I will climb the mountain. They've told me it's too high, it's too far, it's too steep, it's too rocky, it's too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You'll soon see me waving from the top or you'll never see me, because unless I reach the peak, I'm not coming back." Who can argue with such resolve?

When confronted with such iron-will determination, I can see Time, Fate and Circumstance calling a hasty conference and deciding, "We might as well let him have his dream. He's said he's going to get there or die trying."

The best definition for "resolve" I've ever heard came from a schoolgirl in Foster City, California. As is my custom, I was lecturing about success to a group of bright kids at a junior high school. I asked, "Who can tell me what "resolve" means?" Several hands went up, and I did get some pretty good definitions. But the last was the best. A shy girl from the back of the room got up and said with quiet intensity, "I think resolve means promising yourself you will never give up." That's it! That's the best definition I've ever heard: PROMISE YOURSELF YOU'LL NEVER GIVE UP.

Think about it! How long should a baby try to learn how to walk? How long would you give the average baby before you say, "That's it, you've had your chance"? You say that's crazy? Of course it is. Any mother would say, "My baby is going to keep trying until he learns how to walk!" No wonder everyone walks.

There is a vital lesson in this. Ask yourself, "How long am I going to work to make my dreams come true?" I suggest you answer, "As long as it takes." That's what these four emotions are all about.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Persistence

by Les Brown

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.

Potential

by Ron White

The stage was a Texas Rangers baseball game and as I stared at the batter I muttered "potential" as he held the bat over his shoulder waiting for the pitch. No sooner had the word escaped my mouth when my friend leaned over and said, "What did you say?" I replied, "I said potential..." Her confused question was, "Okaaaay? Potential in regard to what?"

I then explained. "Well, in science they have something called potential energy and it basically says that the higher an object is the more potential energy it has. For example, a rock on top of a building has a potential energy in it – if it were to fall. I was just thinking about the potential energy in the player's bat and how that relates to me."

She looked at me intensely, somehow sensing that I was telling the truth that these were my thoughts. She proclaimed, "I never cease to be astounded at the weird things you think about."

Perhaps it is an odd thought to cross my mind at a baseball game, but it happened. Potential energy basically says that the higher an object is the greater the potential energy. A ball on a six-story building has more potential energy than one on a three-story building. As a matter of fact, the doubling of the height doubles the potential energy.

At the baseball game, when I started thinking about potential energy, I was considering it in regards to me – and you for that matter. You see, it has been said that to those who much has been given... much is expected. Based on the fact that you have access to a computer, understand how to read and have a thirst for learning, you have been given much. Or, in scientific terms, you have tremendous potential energy. You are like that rock on a tall building. However, if you sit there, the potential energy is never utilized or accessed.

One of the greatest tragedies of life is when an individual has tremendous potential energy and squanders it. That is one of my greatest fears. I am constantly faced with the prospect of not using my potential energy. To me, that is one of my largest motivating factors. Every day as I age, I look in the mirror and question if I did everything I could to use my potential energy. Did I do everything I could to figuratively jump off that building and expend the energy?

Pent up inside of you right now is tremendous potential energy that could be utilized to cure cancer, send humans to Mars, write a novel or become President of the United States. The great tragedy is not expending your potential energy and falling short. The great tragedy of life is to be that boulder – to have tremendous potential energy – and squander it through inaction.

There you have it. I was thinking about potential at the baseball game. I was thinking about it because I know that humans with nothing more than primitive tools constructed the pyramids, Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China. These are testaments to human potential. They are testaments to certain individuals thousands of years ago expending their potential energy for the ages to witness and marvel at. The challenge today for you may not be a monument for society or culture; however, it is a call for you to understand potential energy and implore you to seize yours.

-- Ron White

The Hot-Air Factor: How Full of It Are You?

by Jeffrey Gitomer

Sometimes salespeople get a bad rap. Sometimes they create it.

Sales requires self confidence -- but there's a fine line between self confidence and cockiness. A finer line between self-assured and arrogance. And the finest line -- between proud and egotistical.

As a professional salesperson, there's a career of difference between self talk = self performance (the right way) and loose lips sink ships (the ultra-wrong way).

Salespeople are not the most loved group of professionals to begin with. We rank above politicians, tax collectors, and (especially) lawyers, but below dentists and dog catchers. All that a salesperson can hope to do is establish a great reputation, and let that propel him to success.

Since the prospect buys the salesperson first -- reputation is as valuable (and critical) an element as a he or she can have. How is yours?

One bad event, situation, or story can ruin years of hard work. Continuing stories of neglect or overpromising breed career destruction. A salesperson's self-delusion (failure to admit the problem, and thinking nothing is wrong) will make the situation worse.

Sales hot-air can occur at any level. Customers, prospects, bosses and co-workers are all potential victims.

"Come on Jeffrey," you say, "Get to the point. Give me some examples of self-destructive talk -- what is sales "hot-air?" Relax, helium breath, here `tiz.

7.5 examples of Hot Air -- (even though I'm sure none of these apply to you).

1. BTNA -- Big talk - no action. Too much time talking about the sales you're going to make and not enough time making them.
2. Bragging too soon - Before the deal is signed, sealed, and a check delivered.
3. Bragging too much -- No one but you wants to hear it. If you really need to hear yourself -- just make a tape of yourself and replay it in your car until you get as sick of it as others.
4. Bragging at the expense of others -- Beat the competition, but don't beat them into the ground. A variation of this is making someone else look like a fool. Bragging about someone you took advantage of or tricked.
5. Using others as scapegoats to get yourself off the hook -- Better known as covering your butt, or the inability to accept responsibility. Blaming others for your failings is obvious to those listening, and makes a fool out of the teller.
6. Exaggerating the facts -- Each year the fish that got away increases in size. Stay within the parameters of what you know to be true -- or less. Understated is always better.
7. Using insincere words -- Honestly, truthfully, quite frankly, and I mean that, are words that alienate. 7.5 Talking past the sale -- Knowing when to shut up and go home. Employing any one of the above elements after a sale has been consummated -- but before you leave will jeopardize the sale. It's known as "buying it back," and it happens often. The rule of thumb in sales is "less is more."
   

Hot air has interesting negative side effects...
• It wastes everyone's time.
• It's the most unproductive and negative use of your time possible.
• It makes you look like a fool.
• It lowers your respect factor by 100.
• It gets people talking behind your back.
• It prevents advancement.
• It can get you fired.
Who wants that? No one, but these side effects are linked to people with severe cases of hot air.

How do you know if this is you? How do you know if you're blowing hot air? Well, no one is without some guilt. It's hard not to brag if you just made a big sale, and took it out from under the nose of your biggest competitor.

The rules are simple:
• Don't say anything behind anyone's back you wouldn't say to their face.
• Don't say something you wouldn't want said about you.
• Don't say anything you have to remember (lies must be remembered, or you get tripped up with the truth).
• Don't say anything you couldn't say in front of your mom.

The key is to temper your remarks with humility.
Your challenge is to always bring out the good side in your words.
Your challenge is to employ self-discipline in getting past hot-air.
Your challenge is self-rule or self destruct.

-- Jeffrey Gitomer

Move Out of Your Comfort Zone

by Brian Tracy

Any change, or even an attempt to change anything you are doing, makes you uncomfortable. By attempting to change, you move out of your comfort zone. You feel increasingly uneasy. You experience stress and tension. If the change is too extreme, your physical and mental health can be affected. You will experience sleeplessness, indigestion, or fatigue. You may react with impatience, irritability or anger. You will often feel as if you are on an emotional roller-coaster.

Raise Your Internal Standards

So if you want to sell more and earn more, you must increase your self-concept level of income. You must increase the amount you believe yourself capable of earning. You must raise your aspirations, set higher goals, and make detailed plans to achieve them. You must begin to see yourself and think about yourself as capable of being one of the highest earning salespeople in your field. You must take charge of developing a new self-concept for sales and income that is more consistent with what you really want to accomplish.

Build Your Self-Concept Level of Income

Your self-concept determines your levels of performance and effectiveness in everything you do. In sales, you have a series of mini-self-concepts that govern every activity of selling. You have a self-concept for prospecting, for using the telephone, for cold calling, for making appointments, for qualifying, for presenting, for answering questions, for closing, for getting referrals, and for making follow-up sales. You have a self-concept of your level of product knowledge, your personal management skills, your level of motivation and for the way that you relate to different types of customers. In every case, you will always perform in a manner consistent with your self-concept.

The Key to Peak Performance

Wherever you have a high self-concept, you perform well. If you enjoy working on the telephone, you look forward eagerly to telephone prospecting and selling and you do it well. If you have a high self-concept for making presentations or for closing sales, you feel comfortable and competent whenever you are doing them.

Wherever you feel tense or uneasy in selling, it means that you have a low self-concept in that area. You do not feel comfortable when you are engaged in that activity. You probably avoid that activity as much as possible.

This is normal and natural. The only question is, “What are you going to do about it?’

Action Exercises

Here are two actions you can take immediately to get better results.

First, set a goal today to become one of the highest earning people in your organization. Then, back your goal with action by committing to becoming very good in every area of selling.

Second, see yourself, imagine and visualize yourself as if you are already very good at what you do. Create within yourself the feeling of success and accomplishment. Remember, as within, so without!

-- Brian Tracy

When Pessimism Prevails, It's Time to Get Rich

by Robert Kiyosaki

If you're serious about getting rich, now is the time. We've entered a period of mass-produced pessimism, when bad news is everywhere, and the best time to invest is when optimists become pessimists.

The Weird Turn Pro

The late journalist Hunter S. Thompson used to say, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." That's true in investing, too: At the height of every market boom, the weird turn into professional investors. In 2000, millions of people became professional day traders or investors in dotcom companies. Mutual funds had a record net inflow of $309 billion that year, too.

Just before then, I stated that it was time to sell all nonperforming real estate. My market indicator? A checkout girl at the local supermarket, who handed me her real estate agent card. She was quitting her job to become a real estate professional.

As a bull market turns into a bear market, the new pros turn into optimists, hoping and praying the bear market will become a bull and save them. But as the market remains bearish, the optimists become pessimists, quit the profession, and return to their day jobs. This is when the real professional investors re-enter the market. That's what's happening now.

Pessimism vs. Realism

In 1987, the United States experienced one of the biggest stock market crashes in history. The savings and loan industry was wiped out. Real estate crashed and a federal bailout entity known as the Resolution Trust Corporation, or the RTC, was formed. The RTC took from the financially foolish and gave to the financially smart.

Right on schedule 20 years later, Dow Industrials and Transports struck their last highs together in July 2007. Since then, nothing but bad news has emerged. In August 2007 a new word surfaced in the world's vocabulary: subprime. That October, I appeared on a number of television shows and was asked when the market would turn and head back up. My reply was, "This is a bad one. The worst is yet to come."

Many of the optimistic TV hosts got angry with me, asking me why I was so pessimistic. I told them, "The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that a pessimist is a realist. I'm just being realistic."

As we all know, things only got worse in 2008, with the demise of Bear Stearns and the Federal Reserve stepping in to save investment bankers. In February, many of those optimistic TV (and print) reporters became pessimists -- and when journalists become pessimists, the public follows. By March, mutual funds had a net outflow of $45 billion as investors fled the market.

Surviving the Bad Times

Back in 1987, as savings and loans closed and investors' stock and real estate portfolios were wiped out, my wife, Kim, and I were living in Portland, Oregon. Many people were depressed and hiding from the truth. The following year, I said to Kim, "Now is the time for you to begin investing."

In 1989, she purchased a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house for $45,000, putting $5,000 down and earning $25 a month in positive cash flow. Today, she owns over 1,400 units and -- because more people are renting than buying -- she earns hundreds of thousands a year in positive cash flow.

The period from 1987 to 1995 was a rough one, even for the rich. In his book "The Art of the Comeback," my friend Donald Trump writes about being a billion dollars down at the time. Rather than give up, he kept on fighting to survive. He and I often talk about how that period was great for character development.

Two-Year Warning

I believe we're through the worst of the current bust. I know there will be more aftershocks, and the news will continue to be pessimistic for at least two more years.

But the upside to this is that it gives us at least two years to do our market research and find the next big stock or real estate bargain. Before buying, I strongly suggest you study, read books, and take courses on your asset of choice. If your choice is stocks, take a course on stocks or options. If it's real estate, take a course on real estate. Now is the time to learn; not only will you know more than the average person and be in a good position when the market turns, but you'll also meet people with a similar mindset.

You have about two years to get into position. Opportunities this big don't come along often, so this is your time to get rich.


Tighter lending conditions and difficult economic times are creating incredible buying opportunities as many homeowners work to offload their properties. Now's the perfect time for you to jump in and learn the principles that could lead to your financial success in real estate.

Get complete details: http://richdad.jimrohn.com

Vitamins for the Mind | Time Management

by Jim Rohn

Something will master and something will serve. Either you run the day or the day runs you; either you run the business or the business runs you.

Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don't do well simply because they major in minor things.

Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being busy. The question is: Busy doing what?

Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.

Sometimes you need to stay in touch but be out of reach.

Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than invest it.

We can no more afford to spend major time on minor things than we can to spend minor time on major things.

Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.

Never begin the day until it is finished on paper.

Learn how to say no. Don't let your mouth overload your back.

Time is the best-kept secret of the rich.

Personal Development - Great Time Management Advice!

by Jim Rohn

I often talk about the importance of time and time management -- how rich people and poor people both have the same amount of time every day - 24 hours (which by the way, I find fascinating).

This week, I want to share with you four great time management ideas excerpted from our Leadership Event Speaker Roundtable Session - Enjoy!

From Jim Rohn:

Regarding the television, I knew a guy who wasn't doing too well and he wanted some advice from me. I knew he had a television set and knew he watched a lot of television, so I asked, "How much did that television cost you?"
He said, "About $400."
I said, "No, you're mistaken."
He said, "No, this television set cost me $400."
I said, "Well, that's to buy it. To watch it, I am sure it is costing you about $40,000 a year to watch."
He finally got the message and he called his brother-in-law, who had a pickup, and he and his brother-in-law hauled his television out of the house. His brother-in-law did say, "Well, you can just shut it off."
And he said, "No, for now I don't trust myself, Jim Rohn is right. I'm not going to let this television set cost me $40,000 a year anymore."


From Brian Tracy:

I always give the principle of: Begin the day by "Eating That Frog." It basically says that if the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, then you will have the satisfaction of knowing it is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. And your "live frog" is your most important task. Now there's two corollaries to that. The first one is if you have two frogs to eat, eat the ugliest one first and the second corollary to that is if you have to eat a frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it too long.

So the key to high performance is to plan every day the night before, in advance, and set priorities for it. And then say, "If I can only complete one task on this list before I was to be called out of town for a month, which one task would it be?" And whatever that is, it becomes your frog and the next morning discipline yourself to start in on that task, the most important thing on your list, and do only that until it is complete.

If you can develop that habit, you can double and triple your productivity, you'll take full control of your life, you'll eventually become wealthy, and the personal feeling of pride, accomplishment, discipline and achievement you get will be absolutely extraordinary. It is one of the most important of all lessons to learn, and one of the hardest things to implement if anybody has tried to do it.


From Denis Waitley:

Stop watching in prime time and start living in prime time. Prime time is 7-11 p.m. EST, when all of America is watching other people making money and having fun in their professions. So if you want to watch other people making money, having fun in their professions, which gets their ratings up so they make more money, go ahead and do things that are tension relieving, instead of goal achieving. But if you truly want to live YOUR life in prime time, then write in prime time, have intimacy in prime time, talk with your children in prime time, live and do in prime time instead of unhooking and engaging in tension relieving activities. Every book I've written has been written 7-11 p.m. weekly and on Saturdays. And why? Because I am earning money the rest of the time, and I don't have time to write a book except in prime time.

So stop watching and use the television set as an appliance. It has doors on it. Close the doors and use it like an iron. When you need to iron your clothes, bring out the TV set.


From Vic Johnson:

My biggest tip would be in an area in which I struggle a lot. About 15 years ago, I heard someone say to never handle the items in your inbox more than one time. So I adopted that for email. Now I get over 300 emails every day, even though I have all kinds of filters, some of them going to other people, etc. My biggest challenge is to touch that email only one time. Either I forward the email, I return the email and delete it or drag it to a folder for action by someone else or delete it. If you continue to have to go back and revisit that email over and over trying to make a decision, that's time -- that's wasted time -- plus it's on your mind until you get rid of it. So if you are in a profession and you handle a lot of emails and you're still getting a lot of items in your inbox, only touch them one time.

Jim Rohn

Spend time acquiring the knowledge, the tools and the new state of mind that'll help you attain your goals and start you on your journey to financial freedom!

The Last Word...

by Chris Widener

Since it's January and everyone is still working hard to keep their New Year's resolutions -- especially in the area of being healthy -- I thought this would be a good Last Word offering. Here's the question:

Q. I know I need to exercise to be healthy and successful. But how does one make time in a day that already seems too short? JC New York, NY, USA

A. Well, there are a couple of issues here. First one has to be very honest and see if they really aren't just making excuses. For example, does your “busy’ day consist of an hour of television? If it does, cut that down, or any other superfluous activity, and get to exercising! Second, if you truly are too busy, then I would suggest one of two things: One would be to build exercise into your routine. For example, if you work on the 10th floor, quit taking the elevator and hit the stairs. Another would be to park at the outer edge of the parking lot instead of circling for 20 minutes looking for that one right next to the door. A second thing you can do is to exercise while working. If you have to read for work, then you can walk on a treadmill and do your reading.

One last option would be to combine a couple of activities. For example, if you have family time on a regular basis, make your family time into family exercise time. Instead of sitting there playing games all of the time, make some of your activities into things like walking, bicycling or some other activity. This way you spend time with those you love and you get your exercise – not to mention, they do too! Above all, talk to your doctor before you start any exercise routine. They will be able to give you great ideas! -- CW

Made for Success Quote and Commentary

"Our greatest lack is not money for any undertaking, but rather ideas. If the ideas are good, cash will somehow flow to where it is needed." Robert Schuller

Chris' Commentary:

Many people tend to think of the lack of money as a "money problem" when in fact it is instead an "idea problem." Wherever there are good ideas there will be a flow of money. If you are experiencing a lack of money, don't focus on the money; focus on the idea, specifically coming up with a better idea or ideas. If your sales have slowed, think of new ways to pitch the concept or a new product to sell. The answer lies in the generating of new ideas, which will in turn generate new and better cash flow.

Action Point: Take some time today, either by yourself or with your team or family, to sit together and generate new ideas. Don't focus on the problems. Just brainstorm new and exciting ideas. Don't even try to decide at first if they are good ideas. Just get them down. Then go back through and pick the best three. You know what to do next - try them!

Thoughts on Financial Freedom

by Chris Widener
(excerpted from Week 16 of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)

Here are a few thoughts on financial freedom and how to find it for yourself.

Financial freedom is a buzzword for our generation. It is the pursuit of literally millions of people. So what is it? Is it that elusive? Can anyone achieve it?

Let me start by saying that this is not about how to earn money, or even more money. Rather, it is about how to find financial freedom, which surprisingly, may or may not involve making more money.

The first step in finding financial freedom is to realize that financial freedom has absolutely nothing to do with how much money you have or make.

What? Exactly. Financial freedom is something that goes on inside of you.

This is why someone who makes very little can be happy and someone who makes a ton can be extremely stressed out over his or her financial situation. So the first step is to realize that financial freedom is more about our attitudes toward money than about the amount of money.

"Okay Chris, I'm with you. So what are the attitudes that provide financial freedom?" Here are a few that keep me in financial freedom.

I do not have to worry about money. I used to catch myself saying, "If I had more money, then I wouldn't have to worry about..." But do you know what? I don't have to worry anyway. I can control my income. I can control my outgo. I can make choices that can alleviate any of my worries. I also realized that things always work out. So why worry? I choose not to worry. I work hard, invest, plan for the future and I do not worry about it.

I can be happy regardless of my financial state. I know people who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars and I know people who don't have two nickels to rub together. Some are happy and some aren't. And none of the people who have a lot of money say to me, "Chris, I've become so happy since I got money." They were happy before they had money and they are happy now that they have money. Their happiness has nothing to do with the money. Billionaire David Geffen once said, "Anyone who says that money will buy them happiness has never had any money."

Money is a means to an end, not the end itself. Another way to look at it is that money is a tool to build the house, not the house itself. I would set some financial goals if I were you, but go beyond that to know what greater purpose there will be when you reach them. What will the house be used for that you build with this tool?

I am free. I am free to earn - some people think it is bad to earn more money. It isn't.

I am free to save - some people believe it is bad to save. It isn't.

I am free to give money away - some people feel they will be better off hoarding it. They won't.

I am free to spend - some people believe that they can't spend anything on themselves. They can.

We are free to make choices. That is financial freedom.

Embrace delayed gratification. Here is the principle: Buy it now and struggle later. Another principle: Delay buying it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! And you won't even have to touch the principal! We tend to think that having it now will bring enjoyment, but unless you can do it and not cause yourself financial stress, you will actually get more from waiting!

Have more by managing better. The fact is that most of us earn enough. What would be beneficial is to set our priorities and live by a budget. As we get control, our budget will loosen up a bit and we will find ourselves enjoying it more. Money that is already there can be your answer if you put it to work for you.

You can experience financial freedom no matter how much money you have. Granted, it is great to build wealth and that should be our goal, but no matter what level you are currently at, or what level of wealth you ultimately attain, if you keep money in the proper perspective, you can be happy and free.

Questions for Reflection:

Q. Do you have an investment plan? Do you follow it? How well?

Q. Do you have a plan to invest in hard assets? Income producing assets?

Q. What ideas do you have that you can invest in?

Q. Are you investing in your company? If so, how? If you don't have one, have you considered starting one? What would it take for you to step out and do so?

This week, take some time and put some thought into your Financial Freedom plan, then take the action necessary to accomplish your Freedom!

Chris Widener

How Character Sustains Leaders

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

A critical mistake that I made as a young leader was that I used to think that charisma was the most important aspect of leadership. In the beginning, I focused on charisma because I know that leadership attracts, and leadership influences people. Therefore I thought, "Well, if I'm going to influence people I've got to develop charisma in my life." I've been around enough boring leaders to say that is a desire that most of us should have!

What I learned is that character is the most important aspect of leadership, not charisma. Charisma attracts, but character sustains. In fact, I think charisma, in the area of leadership, is overrated.

Character embodies who you really are. It's the inner fiber of your being. It is your inner self in action. It reveals what you are truly made of, it's your substance. Character is, as D. L. Moody said,
"What you are in the dark."

If you have charisma without character, it's only a matter of time before people find you out. Without character you cannot sustain meaningful relationships, and without relationships your ability to lead and influence others is anemic.

So what is it about character that really makes a difference?

1. Character sets you apart.

There was a time when people who lacked integrity stood out from the crowd. Now the opposite is true--charisma can make people stand out for a moment, but character can set them apart for a lifetime.

2. Character creates trust.

Leadership functions only on the basis of trust. If you pull out trust, then you will lose your leadership foundation.

3. Character promotes excellence.

If you lead people, good character sets a standard for everyone who is following you. People will eventually become like their leader. If leaders compromise on their standards, cheat the company, or take shortcuts, so will their followers.

4. Character gives staying power.

During the tough times that all leaders face, character has the ability to carry you through, which is something that charisma can never do. When you are weary and inclined to quit, the self-discipline of character keeps you going.

5. Character extends influence.

Charisma, by its nature, doesn't last long or extend very far. It's like a flash of gunpowder. It produces a quick, blinding light, but then it's gone. The only thing left is smoke. Character, on the other hand, is more like a bonfire. Its effects are long-lasting. It produces warmth and light, and as it continues to burn it gets hotter, giving fuel that burns brighter.

If you're currently leading people, you probably have some measure of both charisma and character. The question is which one are you relying on to lead? The answer can be found in your response to this great question, "As time goes by, does it get easier or harder to lead?"

Without character, leadership becomes harder to sustain. You constantly have to perform to get people to notice you; but with character, as time goes by, leadership strengthens, builds, and continues to attract the people. And best of all, the ones who do come to enjoy your fire stay with you a lot longer than the ones who only want to see a show.

-- John Maxwell

Zig Ziglar on Integrity

Major surgery requires not only a skilled surgeon, but also a number of skilled assistants to make certain that everything happens as it should. They function as a team. No one person, regardless of how brilliant he or she is, could pull off a major operation alone.

A new head nurse was starting her first assignment in a major medical center. She was in charge of all the nurses on the operating room team. She had full responsibility for performing all the duties nurses perform. When the surgery was complete, the surgeon said, "Okay, it's time to close the incision. I need the sutures."

The new head nurse responded, "Doctor, you used twelve sponges; we've only removed eleven." The surgeon assured her that all of the sponges had been removed and he was ready to suture. She replied, "Doctor, you used twelve sponges; only eleven have been removed."

With a bit of irritation in his voice, the doctor said, "I will accept full responsibility." The nurse's temper flew and she apparently stomped her foot and said, "Doctor, think of the patient!"

When she said that, the doctor smiled, lifted his foot and revealed the twelfth sponge. He looked at the nurse and said, "You'll do." Her integrity had been tested; she passed with flying colors.

The question is, how many of us, under identical circumstances, would have risked offending the surgeon, remembering that there was a possibility we had miscounted? But this nurse felt the patient's life and health were at stake and she, without hesitation, did the right thing. Over the long haul, that's the best way to get to the top and stay there.

-- Zig Ziglar

Plan Your Action... Then Put Action to Your Plan!

By Paul J. Meyer and Kevin Rhea

Every day, every week, and every month will take you closer to your goals IF you are planning your action and then putting action to your plan. These three steps will help you reach your goals:

Step One: MONTHLY PLANNING
-- Reserve one hour at the end of each month to plan for the coming month. (This can be a quick review if you plan in 90-day cycles.)
-- Survey your goals for the year/quarter and your progress on them.
-- Break goals and projects down into steps you can accomplish each week.
-- Designate specific due dates for completing these interim steps.
-- If what you plan will take several months, divide it into steps so that you can accomplish a little each month.

Step Two: WEEKLY PLANNING
-- Set aside half an hour every Friday afternoon or Monday morning to plan for the upcoming week.
-- Look over the goals you've set for the week, and consider any additional tasks that you need to accomplish.
-- Divide tasks planned into steps, and choose a day to work on each step.
-- Make note of previously scheduled meetings and appointments.
-- Be sure that your weekly routine includes activities that are directly related to your goals.

Step Three: DAILY PLANNING
-- At the beginning of each day, review your progress on yesterday's work, and note any pending items.
-- Spend a few minutes deciding what tasks to work on today.
-- Order the day's tasks by priority level with "must do" items first.
-- If possible, schedule items that will require more concentration for the time of day that you work best.
-- Leave roughly 20 percent of your time unscheduled to make room for new items, delays, etc.
-- If appropriate, start with your top-priority item and work on it as long as you can or until it's completed. Once you've tackled your #1 job, move on to the next highest priority on your list.

When you put daily action to your plan, your goals will quickly come to pass!

Vitamins for the Mind - Leadership/Management

by Jim Rohn

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.

We must learn to help those who deserve it, not just those who need it. Life responds to deserve not need.

My mentor said, "Let's go do it", not "You go do it". How powerful when someone says, "Let's!"

Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, "We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people." Wow! What a clever short cut.

Managers help people see themselves as they are; Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are.

Learn to help people with more than just their jobs: help them with their lives.

Personal Development - Keys to Finding Your Genius

by Jim Rohn
(Excerpted from the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)

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

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

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

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

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

Jim Rohn

Leading Change

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Leadership is about change. If you need no change, you need no leader. In times of change, people seek out more and better leaders. Those successful sought-out leaders embrace the following thought: "The best reformers the world has ever known are those who began with themselves."

Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change that we envision." Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

The following comments are about personal change:

1. One person cannot change another person.

When I started as a young leader, I thought that a leader could change the people; and boy, did I work at it. I said, "All right, I'm going to give them thoughts, ideas, and principles; and I'm going to change people."

After several years, I awakened to the thought that the only person who can change himself or herself is himself or herself. You can change yourself, but I cannot change you. You see, I am responsible to you but I am not responsible for you; and there is a world of difference between those two. I am responsible for teaching you good leadership, I am responsible for sharing things that can help add value to your life; but you are the only one who can take responsibility to change yourself, and that is what this whole article is about.

2. Most people need to look at the way that they look at change.

How many times have you heard somebody say, "I sure hope things will change." The only way things will change for me is when I change. It has nothing to do with hope. You can't just say, "Well, I just hope things will change around me," and expect results. The only way that things will change for me is when I change.

I have also heard this before, "I don't know why I'm this way." Well, you are the way you are because that is the way you want to be. Let's expose it for what it really is.

3. When you make the right personal changes, other things begin to turn out right.

So when people say, "I'd like things to turn out better for me, I'd like things to turn out right, I'd like things to turn out better in the organization, or in my family," I say to them, "Start by making personal changes."

If You Had A Million Dollars

by Ron White

I saw a movie a few years ago that had a very funny scene. One of the characters asked the other what he would do if he had a million dollars. He replied, "Nothing....if I had a million dollars, I would just relax all day long and enjoy myself." Another guy chimed in and seriously stated, "Hey, you don't need a million dollars to do that...just look at my cousin...he is flat broke and he doesn't do a thing but sit there all day long."

I think I laughed about that for an hour and it just caused me to smile again.

Although the line in the movie was a joke, it illustrates a truth of life. Whatever it is that you wish to do - do it! Don't wait! Seriously, why put off your dreams until tomorrow or until you get all your ducks in a row. Guess what? The ducks of life sometimes have a mind of their own and tend to wander a lot. You may never get all your ducks in a row.

I have been a professional speaker since I was 20 years old. When I was 27, I was speaking with a woman and she said, "I am 59 years old and by the time I am 65 I would like to have my Master's Degree and be working as a professional speaker." I looked at her perplexed as I inquired, "Why in the world are you going to wait until you are 65 and have a degree? I am 27 years old with no degree and I am speaking tomorrow!" You could tell that my statement shattered her reality and she had no response.

This woman was waiting to pursue her dream until everything was just perfect. Until she had everything that she thought she needed to ensure maximum success when in reality the greatest thing that she could have done is simply move in the direction of what she desires.

The greatest resistor of human dreams is the "If I had a million dollars" attitude. Individuals dream that if they had a million dollars, they could pursue their vision. No they wouldn't! If you don't pursue your vision when you are broke – when you grasp a million, you will create another reason why it isn't possible. Or if you are one of the few who would actually live their dreams if you had a million dollars, what is the probability that you are going to save a million dollars?

Ever heard this train of thought?

Once I get out of high school I am going to see the world and travel...
Once I finish college I am going to see the world and travel...
Once I get married I am going to travel with my spouse…
After our kids are older we are going to see the world and travel...
When our kids get out of high school we are going to see the world and travel...
As soon as we retire we are going to see the world and travel...
Now, I am out of school, kids are gone and I am retired – if I was younger and my health was better I would see the world and travel…

Don't wait...

Many questions of life are complicated and unclear. Yet, the question of if you should pursue your dream or what until you have a million dollars is as clear as the waters of Fiji. You are not promised tomorrow. You are not promised a million dollars. Pursue your dream today and inch closer or it will remain equally as distant as the pages of your life near the final chapter.

-- Ron White

How to Turn Nothing Into Something

by Jim Rohn
(Excerpted from the Jim Rohn Weekend Seminar-Excelling in the New Millennium)

Have you ever wondered how to turn nothing into something?

First, in order to turn nothing into something, you've got to start with some ideas and imagination. Now, it might be hard to call ideas and imagination nothing; but how tangible are those ideas? That is a bit of a mystery. I don't believe that ideas that can be turned into a hotel, ideas that can be turned into an enterprise, ideas that can be turned into a new vaccine or ideas that can be turned into some miracle product, should be called nothing. But tangibly, you have nothing. Interesting! Think of it, ideas that become so powerful in your mind and in your consciousness that they seem real to you even before they become tangible. Imagination that is so strong, you can actually see it.

When I built my first home for my family in Idaho all those years ago, before I started construction, I would take my friends and associates out to the vacant property and give them a tour of the house. Is that possible? Is it possible to take someone on a tour through an imaginary house? And the answer is, "Yes, of course." "Here is the 3 car garage," I used to say, and my friends would look and say, "Yes, this garage will hold 3 cars." I could really make it "live". I would take them on a tour throughout the house… "Here is the fireplace, and look, this side is brick and the other side is stone." I could make it so real… "Follow me through the rest of the house. Take a look through the picture window here in the kitchen, isn't the view great?" One day, I made the house so real that one of my friends bumped his elbow on the fireplace. I mean, it was that real.

So, the first step of turning nothing into something is to imagine the possibilities. Imagine All of the possibilities. One of the reasons for seminars, sermons, lyrics from songs and testimonials of others is to give us an idea of the possibilities; to help us imagine and to see the potential.

Now here is the second step for turning nothing into something, you must Believe that what you imagine IS possible for you. Testimonials like, "If I can do it, you can do it." often become a support to our belief. And we start believing. First we imagine it's possible. Second, we start to believe that what's possible is possible for us.

We might also believe because of our own testimonial. Here is what your testimonial might say, "If I did it once, I can do it again. If it happened for me before, it could very well happen again." So we believe not only the testimonials of others who say, "If I can do it, you can do it. If I can change, you can change. If I can start with nothing, you can start with nothing. If I can turn it all around, you can turn it all around." Then we also have the support of our own testimonial, if we've accomplished something before. "If we did it once, we can do it again. If we did it last year, we can do it this year." So those two things together are very powerful. Now, we do not have actual substance yet, although it is very close.

Again, step one is to imagine the possibilities. Step two is to imagine that what is possible is possible for you. Here is what we call step two - faith to believe. In fact, one writer said this, "Faith is substance." An interesting word: "substance", the powerful ability to believe in the possibilities that are possible for you. If you have faith to believe… that faith is substance, substance meaning "a piece of the real." Now it's not "the real", it's not this podium, but it is so powerful that it is very close to being real and so the writer said, "The faith is a piece of, the substance of". He then goes on to call it evidence, substance and evidence. It is difficult to call substance and evidence "nothing". It is nothing in the sense that it cannot be seen except with the inner eye. You can't get a hold of it because it isn't YET tangible. But it is possible to turn nothing, especially ideas and imaginations, into something if you believe that it is now possible for you. That substance and evidence becomes so powerful that it can now be turned into reality.

So the first step is to imagine what is possible, the second is to have the faith to believe that what is possible is possible for you. And now the third step is to that you go to work to make it real. You go to work to make it a hotel. You go to work to make it an enterprise. You go to work and make it good health. You go to work and make it an association. You go to work and make it a good marriage. You go to work and make it a movement; you make it tangible. You make it viable. You breathe life into it and then you construct it. That is such a unique and powerful ability for all of us human beings. Put this to work and start the miracle process today!

-- Jim Rohn

Lifelong Learning: Your Key to Employability

by Connie Podesta

In today's business climate, no one's job is completely secure. While your specific job may be necessary today, that does not mean it will be necessary tomorrow. As the future workplace continues to evolve, many employees who don't consistently update their skills and industry knowledge often find themselves out of a job. This doesn't have to happen to you. When you take the steps to understand and anticipate future and industry trends that could ultimately change the nature of your job, you take the first step to lifelong learning.

The fact is that jobs in almost every industry are being totally revamped in order for organizations to remain competitive. Are you aware of the trends, ideas, innovations and advancements in your field that might bring about serious change in your organization this year? In five years? How will these trends affect your job? What is your future going to look like? If you want to stay employed, you must know what will be expected of you down the road. What skills do you have that will be obsolete? What skills will be needed that you don't have yet?

All the knowledge we have today will represent only 1% of the knowledge that will be available in 2050. In other words, we can never stop learning. There will always be more to know. And the more you know, the better chance you have of staying employed. How have you responded to technological changes, as well as all of the other changes that are going on in the workplace? Do you accept new responsibilities and challenges and see them as opportunities to increase your value to your employer? Before you get left behind with inadequate skills, use the following suggestions to help you identify ways to enhance your current skills.

1. Identify Skills that are of Value to Your Company

To assess your value to your organization, you must be aware of the skills you possess that help make you a valuable employee. Analyzing your skills objectively is the place to start. First, determine what you are good at doing and then take an honest look at how many other employees in your department or your organization possess the same or similar skills. Some organizations place a high value on specialists who are very good at one thing, while others value more generalized knowledge across a wider spectrum. To remain employable, it's important to know where your organization places greater emphasis. If you are not aware of your strengths and their value to your organization, it is probable that you aren't using them to their greatest advantage. Even if you are aware of your strengths, start expanding your level of expertise and learn new skills to increase your value.

In addition to self-assessment, it's important to also get feedback from your manager or supervisor. When asking for an evaluation, perception is the name of the game. You can have all the right motives, justify your behavior, and defend your attitude to the hilt. However, if your boss, co-workers, colleagues, and customers perceive you as apathetic, irritable, argumentative, or impatient, then that is their reality. You need to address their comments not by tirelessly defending your actions, but by working to understand what it is you say and do that creates this perception in other people's minds. While it takes great confidence, even courage, to ask for honest feedback, it's the first step to assessing your skills and seeing where you need to make improvement.

2. Keep Your Skills Up to Date

Even if your skills are of current value to your organization, you must be prepared for the future. The vast majority of people who lost their jobs due to downsizing or cutbacks revealed that they knew of the possibility that their jobs might be eliminated-even months in advance. Nevertheless, they did not go back to school, network, or train for another job in their own organization, or look into the possibilities of other employment or of starting their own business. Most did not even have an updated resume when they received the bad news. What about you? Are you preparing for the possibility that your job many be eliminated in the future?

What new skills do you need to acquire, and which of your current skills need enhancement? Perhaps you could develop your computer skills, enroll in a class or attend a seminar, learn better people skills, become a better problem solver, or improve your writing skills. The list of possibilities is endless. Most people, however, are working longer hours than ever before and the thought of going back to school at night or taking a class on the weekend may be something you don't want to think about. But the thought of being unemployed may be even more staggering.

Once you determine the skills you need, arrange to get that training in a way that is the least disruptive to your life. You'll find that there is a wide variety of options to meet your training and educational needs. An additional benefit is the opportunity to meet and learn from other people if you will only step outside your comfort zone to get to know them at training sessions and workshops. It's amazing that in today's rapidly changing job market there are still employees who feel that they have no need to learn anything new. This is not the time to demonstrate a lack of interest in learning anything new-not when a commitment to learning is so necessary in order to stay employed.

3. Find a Mentor and Learn from a Pro

A mentor is a wise and trusted teacher or guide who can help to ensure your future employability. Having a mentor is another way to sharpen your skills and acquire new ones. You may have thought that someone you admire is far too busy to have time for you. In fact, many people are willing to share their knowledge and experience with those who want to learn.

Unfortunately, many employees never ask for help or advice. They believe that asking for help will pinpoint them as being inept at their job. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you seek help from a mentor, you show that you want to discuss ideas, support others, and work as a team. It shows upper management that you take your job seriously and want to continually improve.

Many employees find mentors in their own organizations who contribute to the success of their careers. No matter what field you're in or how much you know, there are people who can teach you something more. Make sure you take advantage of any opportunities you have to learn from the pros in your business or profession. It's an important part of your commitment to lifelong learning.

The Final Steps

Above all else, be sure to stay current with all industry trends. You can do this by reading professional magazines and trade journals that relate to your business. In addition to reading, network, ask questions, and attend in-service training programs to determine how you fit into the big picture. If you don't see your job as a part of that big picture-as part of the future of your business and your organization-learn what you can do to change that. Make sure you join business associations and attend conferences. They provide the opportunity to meet your competition firsthand, see what the latest trends are, and make new friends.

Granted, committing to lifelong learning requires time and dedication. And while you may think you don't have the time to implement all these ideas, if you want to stay employed, you need to make the time for lifelong learning. It's the only way to ensure lifelong employment.

-- Connie Podesta

The Legacy We Leave in Our Relationships

by Chris Widener
(excerpted from Week 49 of the Jim Rohn One Year Success Plan)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And when this happens we must face a decision: Will we let the relationship remain broken or will we learn to forgive? An analogy might be in order. A relationship is like building a house. It has to have a strong foundation.

That is where you start. Then it must be built step by step until it is finished. During the building process there may be times when a beam falls or the two-by-fours break. The builder has a decision to make. Will he repair the building or let it go? If he chooses to let it go, the house will be weak and eventually fall into disrepair. Unfortunately, too many people let their relationships break and do not repair them by practicing forgiveness. People who leave successful relationships behind them practice the art of forgiveness.

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

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

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

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

Chris Widener

The Last Word... How To Squeeze The Most Out Of Your Time

by Brian Tracy

How do you start your day? Years ago I started planning mine by writing everything down I would have to do, the night before. I found that drawing up your list the night before prompts your subconscious to work on your plans and goals while you sleep. When you wake up, you feel ready to tackle your challenges.

When prioritizing and planning your time, consider the following points:

• Key questions.
What is the highest value-added action I can do?
What can I, and only I, do that I've done well before to make a difference?
Why am I on the payroll?
The answers to these questions help identify all that needs to be done and in what order. That, in turn, will bolster personal productivity.

• Values.
Decide what's important to you, and in what order. Make sure your values don't conflict with work. Energy spent worrying diminishes your abilities.

• Consequences.
Every action has consequences - good and bad. Consider what rewards you'd reap by completing a task. Then, compare those rewards with the consequences of putting it aside. This process makes it easier to see which goals have a higher value.

• The Pareto Principle.
Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century engineer, argued that 20% of what you do accounts for 80% of the value. When considering the importance of a task, ask yourself whether it's among the 20% that creates the most value.

• Urgency vs. Importance.
An unexpected phone call or a drop-in visitor may be urgent, but the consequences of dealing with either may not be important in the long run.

The urgent is other-oriented, it's caused by someone else. Important things are self-directed and have the greatest value for you.

• The Limiting Step.
Standing between you and what you want to achieve is the limiting step. That's the bottleneck that determines how quickly you can reach your goal. It's important to identify that step and focus single-mindedly on getting that one thing done.

• A Written Plan.
Lists of goals, tasks and objectives are of no help unless they're written. Putting your plans on paper makes a seemingly elusive goal more concrete. There's a connection that takes place between the brain and the hand. When you don't write it down, it's fuzzy, but as you write it and revise it, it becomes clear.

• Visualization.
See yourself doing what you need to get done. Visualization trains the subconscious to focus on completing tasks. Say, for example, that you want to begin each morning by exercising. Visualizing yourself doing sit-ups and push-ups the night before conditions the mind to do those the next day. When you prime you mind, it wakes you up even before the alarm clock goes off.

Remember, you are a winner and preparation goes a long way in helping you achieve all your goals.

Made for Success Quote and Commentary

Anita DeFrantz

"Your goal should be out of reach but not out of sight." Anita DeFrantz


Chris' Commentary:
Goals are funny things. They have to be set just right in order to be most effective. If they are set too close - close enough for us to touch them - then they aren't goals but reality. If they are set so far away that we can't see them, then we forget that they exist and we live only in our current reality. So what are your goals? Have you reviewed them lately? Are they far enough away to make you work, stretch and strive for them, yet close enough for them to be firmly in your sights?

Action Point: Sit down today and restate your primary 6-month goal in the following categories: Physical, emotional, financial, career, family, and spiritual. Then write them down on a small card and put it somewhere where you will see it regularly.

Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Goals and Make Them Work!

by Chris Widener

Here are some simple ways to set goals so that we achieve them! After all, what good is a goal if it isn't something you achieve? Here are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you see change in your life this year.

Narrow your focus. That's right, start small. Pick two or three areas tops, that you want to work on. Too many people say to themselves, "I want to do this, and this, and this, and this..." and they end up doing nothing! Most of what you do throughout your day can be done without a lot of mental or emotional exertion, but change isn't one of them. So focus down to a couple. This way you can get some victory in these areas. Here are some areas to think about: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, Financial, and Relational. What areas need some work? Now, what one thing should be the first item on the change list? The others will come later, but for now, you should focus on two or three total.

Keep the long-term in mind, but set your sights on achieving your goals in the short-term. Do you want to lose 75 pounds? Good. Long-term you will. But for now, think short-term. Don't think about losing 75 pounds by summer 2010. Think about losing 5 pounds by February 1st. This does two things. First, it makes it urgent. Instead of blowing it and saying, "Oh well, I still have 17 months to lose the 75 pounds" (because eventually that becomes 2 months to lose 75 pounds) your goal is only a few weeks out. This is better in terms of reaching your goal. Secondly, as you reach these shorter goals, it gives you regular victories instead of regular progress. Progress feels good, but achieving a goal is awesome!

Reward yourself when you achieve the goal. When you lose the 5 pounds by February 1st, go get yourself a Grande whole-milk mocha. But just one! Then get back to your goal for March 1st. This puts a little fun back into the process of self-control and self-discipline. You will look forward to the reward and when the going gets tough, you will say, "two more weeks, two more pounds, then..."

That's it. I truly believe that it can be that simple for you.

Chris Widener

The Winner's Edge Coaching Tips

by Denis Waitley

As we move into the New Year, often this can be a stressful time as we close out the old year and work to create new goals and determine our direction for a new year. So for the next three weeks we'll cover, "The Three Rules For Turning Stress Into Success." So let's go ahead and cover our first rule.

1. Accept the Unchangeable - Everything that has happened in your life to this minute is unchangeable. It's history. The greatest waste of energy is in looking back at missed opportunities, lamenting past events, grudge collecting, getting even, harboring ill will, and any vengeful thinking. Success is the only acceptable form of revenge. By forgiving your trespassers, you become free to concentrate on going forward with your life and succeeding in spite of your detractors. You will live a rewarding and fulfilling life.

Your enemies, on the other hand, will forever wonder how you went on to become so successful without them and in the shadow of their doubts.

Action Idea: Write down on a sheet of paper things that happened in the past that bother you. Now crumple the paper into a ball and throw it at the computer screen. This symbolizes letting go of past misfortunes.

Work on letting go of the past, forgiving yourself and others and move forward! -- DW

Specificity Is The Key

by Denis Waitley

This is the season for goal setting. It's the time to start with a clean slate and fill your slate for 2009 with tangible, incremental, stairsteps to your ultimate dreams.

One of the major reasons so few people reach their goals is that most people don't set specific goals and the mind just dismisses them as irrelevant. Most people want financial security, but have never considered how much money it will take. The mind cannot begin to formulate the strategies and actions required without specific information. Your mind will simply not respond to a request to get rich, have more, do better or make money. You must act like a bank loan officer with your goals.

The reason loan officers want to see a detailed business plan is that they know the entrepreneurs who are precise and specific are the ones who will succeed and pay off their loans.

If you ever begin to feel that you are losing your drive, if you feel like your energy level is down, your frustration level is up and you just can't seem to muster the enthusiasm to face a challenge, check the pulling power of your goals. You may have outgrown your current targets and present lifestyle. It may be time for motivation by elevation. Raise your sights and challenge yourself with some goals that are farther out on the horizon.

This may require more knowledge, new skills, a new lifestyle. If so, that's great! Many people resist goal-setting because they assume it leads to a formula-driven, highly uncreative life. Actually, the exact opposite can be true. People who passively assume that everything will somehow work out in the end can hardly be termed creative. They're not creating their lives, they're just hoping against hope that something good will happen to them.

Setting worthwhile goals is a much more imaginative approach. It's fashioning and molding the life of your choice. It's approaching your life the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. There are other useful metaphors for creativity in goal-setting. The rudder of a plane, for example, is small and rigid, like a short term goal you might accomplish in just one day. But the rudder can turn the plane in any direction the pilot chooses. In that, there's a great deal of freedom and flexibility.

Once you set a goal, you can adjust and fine tune it any way you wish. That's creativity. And persistence is what allows you to keep progressing toward the goal no matter how many adjustments are required, and no matter how long it takes to accomplish.

The mind is the most magnificent bio-computer ever created. But remember, like a computer, it only responds to specific instructions, not to vague ideas. So come alive in 2009! Get laser focus and goals that are just out of reach, but not out of sight.

Get Specific and Achieve Great Things in 2009

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About the Author:
Denis Waitley has studied, counseled and trained leaders in virtually every field including Apollo astronauts, Olympic gold medalists, Super Bowl champions, returning POW's, heads of state and Fortune 500 top executives.

Denis is recognized as a world class speaker and author and has traveled the globe sharing success ideas and strategies to thousands of companies the past 25 years. To book Dr. Waitley to speak for your company or to be part of your upcoming Regional or National Convention send an email to speaker@deniswaitley.com or call 877-929-0439.