Recession Survival Tips
Who Are the Millionaires By Brian Tracy
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The way you think about money will determine how much of it you accumulate more than any other factor. Your attitude toward money affects your emotions and your motivations.
The Five Ways to Become a Millionaire
If you are really serious about becoming wealthy, you will want to know the five main ways that fortunes are made in this country. Number one, top of the list, top of the hit parade throughout the history of America, is self-owned businesses. It is entrepreneurship of all kinds, including in real est ate. 74% of self-made millionaires in America, not only in this generation and in this century, but in the last century as well, come from self-owned businesses.
How Wealthy People Start Out
The great majority of wealthy people started businesses and built them from the ground up. In the 19th century, fortunes were built by people like Andrew Carnegie, Jacob van Astor, Thomas Edison, Commodore Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan and others. In the 20th century, especially in the last few years, businesses and fortunes alike have been built by people like Bill Gates, Steve Case, Larry Ellison, Ross Perot and Sam Walton. Each of these people started with nothing and succeeded in building a business from scratch.
Become a Millionaire Where You Are
The second major source of self-made millionaires in America is senior executives. Ten percent of the self-made millionaires in America are men and women who have joined large corporations and worked with those corporations for many years. They rose to positions of seniority, were paid extremely well, given stock options, profit sharing and bon uses, and as a result of holding onto the money, they became millionaires.
Success Pays Big Rewards
Michael Eisner of Disney Corporation received a $126 million dollar bon us in a single year. Lee Iacoca of Chrysler Corporation was paid $26.7 million dollars as a bon us in a single year. It’s not hard to become a self-made millionaire when you are making that kind of money.
The Professional Road to Wealth
The third source of self-made millionaires in America is doctors, lawyers and other professionals. Men and women who become very, very good at what they do and rise to the top of their professions are eventually paid, very, very well. The top five percent in every field earn 10 and 20 times as much as the average person in that field.
Sell Your Way to the Top
The fourth major source of self-made millionaires in America are salespeople and sales consultants. Fully five percent of self-made millionaires are men and women who are the top salespeople in their fields. They never started their own businesses. They never went to college or university to get professional degrees. They just became very good salespeople for their products or services and were paid very good money. The secret was that they then invested the money conservatively and held on to it. 99% of self-made millionaires come from these four categories: self-owned businesses – 74%; senior executive positions – 10%: doctors, lawyers and other professionals – 10%; and salespeople and sales consultants – 5%.
Other Ways to Get Rich
The final one percent of self-made millionaires is made up of all the people in all other areas. This one percent consists of people who have made their money by inventions, in show business, in sports, through authorship of books and songs, lottery winners and inheritances. But these people make up only one percent of the total. The bottom line is that there are so many ways for you to become a self-made millionaire that it is almost impossible for you not to achieve this goal if you are really serious about it.Action
Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put this information into action as soon as possible:
First, decide what it is that you really enjoy doing and then throw your whole heart into doing it extremely well. There is a direct relationship between excellent performance and the kind of high income that leads to financial independence.
Second, be perfectly honest with yourself on an ongoing basis. Is what you are doing right now going to lead you to financial independence, or do you have to begin making some serious changes in your work and in your life? Whatever your answer, take action on it immediately.
article source: www.briantracy.com
Tags: abundance, brian tracy, Dr Rona Hart, money, Positive Psychology, success, wealth, wealth psychology
MEETandLINK Group – great networking
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Dear Friends
I am delighted to invite you to join one of the most exciting business networks in London: MEET&LINK
MEET&LINK is a new business networking group that operates in North West London.
MEET&LINK has developed a new model of networking which enables members to establish personal relationships, and gain exposure and access to members’ networks through referrals. Additionally, members of the group share knowledge and expertise in various areas and enjoy each others’ advise and support.
Here are the essential details:
- MEET&LINK is intended for business people and professionals
- Members’ occupations include psychology, architecture, real-estate, nutrition & weight loss, IT, banking, internet, finance, charity, child minding, and many more.
- MEET&LINK currently operates one group in North West London with a scope to open more groups in other areas of London later this year.
- Groups meet once every two weeks
- Members’ ages are 30 to 60
- Group size: 15-20 people
Structure of meetings:
Meetings are designed in a way that would offer the highest return for participants:
- At the beginning of each meeting each participant presents their business or product to the group. Each presentation is allocated 1 minute.
- During each meeting, one member is invited to give a presentation about his business or product for 10 minutes
- Next members report on any new partnerships which have been formed through MEET&LINK
- During each meeting, one member presents an issue that he or she may be facing and ask members’ advise and support. This part of the meeting involves brain-storming and mastermind skill sharing, where members can support each other and contribute.
- Towards the end of the meeting members choose 3 members to have a 10 minute one-on-one meeting with.
MEET&LINK offers its members opportunities to open doors and increase exposure and access to their businesses, through personal contact and acquaintance. The collaborations and partnerships formed through MEET&LINK are documented to enable the evaluation of the benefits of MEET&LINK membership.
MEET&LINK is a proof that even in our digital-virtual networking world – nothing can replace the power and effectiveness of personal contact.
Networking definitely works!
The next event will take place on Tuesday 2nd June at 7.30pm.
Venue: North West London – the exact location will be given upon registration
Price: £5
To register and book your place at the next event visit: http://www.meetnlink.com/default.aspx
Is The Bad Economy Making You Afraid of Success? by www.Sedona.com
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Everywhere you turn people’s minds and media headlines seem to be focused on the same things: doom and gloom about the state of the economy, fear of losing their job or running out of money, struggles just to make basic ends meet.
Unfortunately, this is the situation in the economy right now, not just an exaggerated speculation. As the Chicago Sun-Times recently reported, many middle-class Americans are now struggling to maintain the American Dream.
It takes a family of four $50,000 just to pay for bare essentials like food, housing and health care, according to the Heartland Alliance, which is more than many at the lower end of the middle-class earn. Again, this is just the basics — no vacations, no savings for college or retirement, preschool or private school … just food, housing and health care.
“Our definition of middle class has shifted a bit,” said Heartland senior research analyst Amy Terpstra on HeartlandAlliance.org.”The cost of our basic needs have really increased at a time when our incomes have declined.”
At times like these, who are you to be thinking about success?
Unfortunately, this is just the mindset that too many of us fall in to. With the economy like it is, our motivation and self-belief can plummet, and we become afraid of success.
Even in the best of times, becoming afraid of success is not uncommon. Some people are afraid of trying and failing. Others fear accomplishing their goals only to find they’re still not happy. While others believe success could cost them relationships if their friends or colleagues become intimidated by their success.
This is a vicious cycle and one that’s important to break free of because the more you worry about something, even success; the more you are holding in your mind the opposite of what you truly desire.
How to Stop Being Afraid and Start Being Successful
“The key to success in any time is having an optimistic and positive mental attitude. If you feel good about yourself and you know you can succeed you usually will. However, if you are simply putting a happy face on top of how you truly feel about your financial situation or about the economy that will not help you,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates.
So even when times get tough, the secret to believing in yourself and being successful lies in letting go of your fear and negative thoughts. The Sedona Method can be your crucial support system to help you get through this. As soon as you learn its process of releasing, you can let go of the fears that are preventing you from achieving financial security, success and peace of mind.
“Through releasing the negative you uncover your natural positive and you can maintain this effortlessly no matter what is going on around you,” Dwoskin says. “The more you let go the more optimistic and motivated you will be and you’ll find that you have the energy and focus to follow through on creating your goals. Nothing can stand in your way unless you let it.”
Source
HeartlandAlliance.org March 30, 2009
Tags: bad economy, Dr Rona Hart, fear of success, sedona method
Will Your Life Work the Way You Want It to? by Jack Canfield
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As I mentioned earlier, 2009 may bring greater uncertainty and more unsettling economic news than recent years, but these circumstances should compel us to take a deep breath, and pause to think about our lives. When things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, it can feel unsettling. Don’t give up on your goals and dreams just because “the time isn’t good”… you can still make 2009 the year you uncover a whole new you for the better! Even in tough times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes–both good and bad. Life will always be a series of choices and YOU get to decide on what will move you closer to your goals, or farther away from them. External forces will always be part of the equation, even during the good times when the world is thriving. When people ask me about the single most important ingredient to success, I always share the same response: realizing what’s making you achieve success, and then realizing what is stifling your success. Sometimes recognizing the things that are NOT working in your life can be painful, yet VERY powerful to shaping the life you want. Don’t try to rationalize them, make excuses for them, or hide them. This is when it’s even more critical to take personal inventory and evict those excuses, rationalizations, and hidden habits that don’t serve you. These things will keep you from the life you want to be living. Let me give you some examples. Ask yourself if you relate to any of these questions: Do you want to be active, fit, and strong? Then you have to stop making excuses about your weight, diet choices, and lack of exercise. Do you want to be in a loving relationship based on friendship and respect? Then you have to stop rationalizing why you and your partner are not communicating well. Do you want to embrace Monday mornings and feel excited about going to work every day? Then you have to stop hiding your true passions and go after whatever it is you really want to be doing day in and day out. Do you want to lose the debt forever? Then you have to stop ignoring your spending habits and get real about a creating budget that will pull you out of debt and allow you to reach financial freedom. Do you want to feel more connected to the people in your life, such as your children, friends, and colleagues? Then you have to stop complaining about your poor relationships and figure out why you don’t feel as connected as you’d like to be. These things can be painful to look at because the truth is that you have to do something about them in order to make it work in your life. You’ll have to say no to the second helping of dinner and the dessert to follow and go through the awkward stage of getting into shape… You’ll have to confront your partner about the areas that need work… You’ll have to get past fears about changing your job or professional path… You’ll have to cut back on your spending and be frugal… You’ll have to take a good hard look at your personal relationships and perhaps consider your own shortfalls and weaknesses in communicating your needs and concerns. Plain and simple, you will have to do something uncomfortable. Successful people don’t waste time in denial (or complain or make excuses for that matter). They face situations like a warrior. They look for the warning signs, they find out why things aren’t working, and they go about fixing them- even when fixing requires problem solving, hard work, risk, and a level of uncertainty. It’s okay to identify a problem even though you haven’t a clue about how to go about solving it right away. The first step is just recognizing the issue, and then having faith that you’ll figure it out with careful attention to it. That’s how successful people live–in constant focus on goals, on results, on problem solving, and on the actions that get them to where they want to be. Following are three things to do constantly in pursuit of your goals and dreams, however big or small: Awareness: Keep your awareness on the feedback you are getting from life and decide to address the situations immediately. Don’t bottle up feedback, cast it aside, and avoid it like you would a pile of dirty laundry or a stack of unopened bills. Life tells you things every day. Do this. Don’t do that. Think about this. Try me. Forget that. We live in a world that seemingly encourages us to live on autopilot. Successful people fly manually every day and so should you. When those feedback signals come in, listen to them and use them in planning your next step. Commitment: Commit to finding out why things aren’t working and learn what will fix them. Once you start the process it will be much easier to continue. Nothing fruitful stems from inaction. Trust: Trust that making changes to the situation will ultimately bring about the best results. Sure you might go through a bit of discomfort during the change, and some unlikely or unwanted outcomes, but in the end you will triumph! So are you ready to admit the things that just are not working out? Make a list of the things in your life that are working against your success and ask how the situation can be improved. Commit to tackling just one of those issues and be brave! If you need help organizing those “things” in your life, try using the following list of categories. I recommend reflecting on each of the 7 areas and ask yourself, what’s not working here in each one and then brainstorm 3 potential solutions. 1.) Financial Goals, 2) Career/Business Goals, 3.) Free Time/Family Time, 4.) Health/Appearance Goals, 5.) Relationship Goals, 6.) Personal Growth 7.) Making a Difference Remember, by facing what is not working, you can only improve your life!
Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
Tags: goals, goalsetting, jack canfield, recession
How To Succeed In Today’s Economy And Ensure Your Bright Future Featuring Chris Howard
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We are in one of the greatest financial downturns in history, according to world economists. People are scared, confused and uncertain. Jobs are being lost and some people take on a victim mentality, which can weaken their confidence and resolve. Many businesses are struggling with cash flow challenges and the number of bankruptcies has increased.
There are those who thrive no matter what the economic conditions are by seeing opportunities and through having the courage to take action in spite of their fears. Then there are those who become paralysed and only see obstacles.
Many fortunes are built during recessions when the prices are low and opportunities are seized by those who train themselves to spot them. John D. Rockefeller made billions in the Great Depression. John Paulson was able to increase his personal fortune and the funds he managed by 38% in 2008, by seeing opportunities in housing and banking shares.
Successful people develop a way of thinking and believing − they take charge of their mindset and then follow through with action to achieve success. Training your mindset is just one of the strategies for success you can learn at Breakthrough to Success.
click here: http://breakthroughtosuccess.drronahart.com/
to enrol in Breakthrough to Success – it’s my gift to you.
So what’s the difference between people who thrive and those who are just surviving…
…It’s their mindset.
You will discover that no matter what your circumstances are, you can change your thinking and change your results.
|
Now more than ever, it’s time to upgrade your mental software and make empowered choices that will determine your future. |
Think about what it will cost you if you don’t change limiting beliefs, negative self-talk and habits that are holding you back?
You have probably heard the quote…
“the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.”
If you know something needs to change in your life and are not sure where to begin, then join us at Breakthrough to Success and my team and I will be your guides.
Breakthrough to Success is 3 days jam-packed with fun filled activities, valuable insights and illuminating discoveries. The accelerated human change technologies you’ll learn, allow you to walk away with an unshakeable belief in yourself and an ability to engineer your own success.
You’ll pinpoint those hidden beliefs and behaviours that stop you from having what you want. Imagine, in only 3 days you’ll learn effective tools and strategies that will propel you towards creating your goals and dreams.
Breakthrough to Success could be the BEST investment in yourself you ever make.
And the best thing is attendance at Breakthrough to Success won’t cost you or your friends a thing. Tickets valued at £1790 for two, are extended to you with my compliments.
click here:
http://breakthroughtosuccess.drronahart.com/
to enrol in Breakthrough to Success.
- Release internal blocks that are sabotaging your wealth, success, health, fulfillment and happiness
- Create a blueprint for how you will achieve rapid success in any area of your life
- Gain access to the people and resources you need to get you there
- “Upgrade” your mental programming so you can finally experience your desires and dreams coming true!
- Discover what’s REALLY keeping you stuck, frustrated in your relationships or not making the kind of money you want and deserve – and what you can do about it.
- Apply the Strategic Visioning process, to create your desired reality, so that the when you take the subsequent action, the fulfillment of your goals becomes inevitable
- Align your values and release any conflicts, so you are are propelled toward your highest goals and boldest dreams.
Learn more about the Breakthrough to Success:
| It’s time to take charge of your thinking today, so
you will be set for a future filled with ultimate wealth, optimal health and fulfilling relationships. |
My friend, you have the power right now to expand your thinking and live a rich and fulfilling life.
Why make life a constant struggle when you can change your blueprint for success and fulfillment in only 3 days? If you’re prepared to transform your life once and for all and develop the mindset for wealth and success, take action now and and click here
http://breakthroughtosuccess.drronahart.com/ to enrol.
Breakthough to Success dates:
London, May 15 – 17, 2009
Dublin, September 11 – 13, 2009
What have you got to lose, you can only gain!
I look forward to meeting you soon.
To your success,
Christopher Howard
CEO
Christopher Howard Training
Tags: breakthrough to success, christopher howard, recession tips
Do current economic conditions alarm you? Read on!
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Do current economic conditions alarm you? Read on!
The current economic crisis will only get worse with…
- more people facing unemployment,
- rising cost of credit,
- increased homelessness,
- increasing number of bankruptcies, and
- higher tax burdens!
There is a Way To Protect Yourself, your Home and Assets, Starting TODAY!
Read this book: Recession Survival Guide
Great Advice for Tough Times by Tom Ziglar
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I was speaking with one of my mentors this week. Larry Carpenter is a very successful business and family man and a longtime friend of our family. Larry lives out the Ziglar philosophy. Currently, Larry owns and operates a very nice hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, that is doing remarkably well in an extremely tough industry right now.
Larry and I were talking about the economy and he mentioned that about four months ago he called all of his key accounts that book rooms on a monthly basis and had a conversation that went kind of like this:
“I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that we really value your business and our relationship. I know that times are getting tougher for everyone and I wanted to let you know that if you should need some help down the road, we are ready to sharpen our pencil on our end and do everything we can. Just let me know, because we want to be first in line to work with you in any way that we can.”
Larry shared with me that he got his first call back from a key account last week and he is working with them to create a mutual win. Here are some key take-aways:
He was putting the relationship and the customer first
He was offering a helping hand and taking the edge off a potentially tough conversation
He was making it clear he is in business for the long term and in the short term real relationships help each other out
He was being very wise and proactive in that he was likely to get “the call” anyway
He understands that especially in tough times you can create trust and loyalty if you are willing to be creative and do not let fear of loss drive your decisions
I bet you have a few longtime customers who could use a little bit of good news and a helping hand right now. Be proactive and give them a call; let them know you will help any way you can.
Tom Ziglar is the proud son of Zig Ziglar and CEO of Ziglar.
This article was taken from his blog, http://www.tomziglar.com/.
Recession-proof your mindset by Matt Morris, Success University Founder and CEO
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http://www.rhart3.successuniversity.com
I know this may sound like a strange title for this month’s Founders Letter, but in today’s economic crisis, I believe this message is so important that I’ve had our team dedicate this ENTIRE issue to mindset. I’ve also broken my message into two parts that I believe are instrumental in allowing you to experience the success you deserve. We’ll be back with a special recognition issue next month… For now, ensure that you and your team completely devour this issue – it’s that important!
That leads me to the second fact which should give you more excitement about Success University and Network Marketing than you’ve ever had… To give you the full understanding, I’m going to share with you some history into our industry of Network Marketing. It was in the late 1950’s (when unemployment was at its highest since the Great Depression) that networking really began to flourish with the opening of such pioneering companies as Shaklee and Amway. This continued into the early 1960’s with companies such as Mary Kay, Avon, Tupperware and Fuller Brush all gaining momentum. Then in the late 60’s when the economy improved and unemployment dropped, the growth of direct selling and the home based business actually slowed.
Again during the 1980’s we saw the Network Marketing industry really flourish in the first half of the decade when the unemployment rate had reached its highest level in 40 years at 9.7%. The second half of the decade saw a downturn in Network Marketing as the economy rose and unemployment went back down. This cycle continued into the 1990’s. In the early 90’s (1990 – 1994) the industry experienced huge momentum. In fact, “there was more wealth created by way of MLM from 1990 to 1994 than any other time in history.” (Network Marketing Lifestyles, May 2000)
At the core of all of us lies the one factor that controls virtually everything in our lives. Regardless of what your conscious mind may wish for, this one element completely overrides those conscious desires. The most powerful element controlling your outcome in life boils down to your identity. The most diffi cult thing in the world for people to change is their identity because it’s WHO THEY ARE. There’s an important law of human nature called consistency which states that we have a natural urge and tendency to remain consistent with who we believe we are at our core. When you’ve programmed your identity to be overweight, consciously you may want to get thin, but subconsciously you’ve programmed your mind to believe you’re an overweight person. Because your subconscious mind is so much more powerful than your conscious mind, it does everything it can to keep you consistent with the identity of an overweight person.
If you’ve been on all kinds of diets, but nothing’s worked, my suggestion is to look at the root cause as to WHY you’re overweight. I can promise you that it’s not that the “diet” didn’t work. Losing weight is actually an incredibly simple formula; when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. When you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. What keeps you overweight, more than anything else, is your mental process and identity about being overweight. Sometimes people claim they just don’t have the WILL power to lose weight. By simply speaking the words “I don’t have the willpower” you make yourself believe it’s true. Because you have an identity of being overweight, OF COURSE you’re going to have these “irresistible” cravings because your subconscious mind constantly looks for ways to KEEP you overweight to maintain your identity of being overweight.
What you must concentrate on is changing your vision and belief about yourself. Every time you start to think or say to yourself that you’re fat, flip it and say, “I’m perfectly fi t, healthy and sexy!” Please don’t get discouraged. You’ve formed your identity over years and years of subconscious programming, so you may not be able to change any negative identity overnight.
Just focus on overriding any negative belief with a new positive belief and you’ll gradually change into the healthy, positive person you truly want to become.
Here’s an internal programming example I had created for myself for becoming wealthy. For most of my childhood, I grew up poor. Mom was working her way through school so we lived on food stamps. I was the kid who had the free lunch pass at school. We even lived in a little apartment above a garage that was so small when you sat on the toilet, your knees touched the shower!
Even though we were broke, my mom worked her way through school to become an attorney. However, her starting salary was so low that she had to work two jobs just to take care of me. That taught me two important lessons. First, it’s important to work extremely hard to get what you want out of life. Second, no matter how hard you work, money is always hard to come by. Because that’s what I experienced, that’s what I believed. So it was no surprise that when I become an entrepreneur at age 18, I had a ton of discipline and an intense work ethic. But no matter how hard I worked, I never had enough money. I kept getting farther and farther in debt and was constantly telling myself and other people in my life how broke I was.
You see, every time I said “I’m broke” I was programming my subconscious mind that it was my identity. No matter how many goals I set to make money, what I truly expected for myself, my vision and belief about myself, was that I was always broke. My subconscious cheerfully did everything in its power to keep me broke. Even when I started making some money, I would always end up being broke and in debt because I never believed that I could ever be someone who was anything but broke. What turned my life around was when I started to change that identity for myself. When I started refusing to say that I was broke, when I started refusing to say that I was in debt, when I started refusing to say or even to think about myself as anything but a complete and total success; that is when my life started to turn around. I started declaring to myself that I was wealthy and that money was easy to come by. I started declaring what I wanted, not what I was currently experiencing. Before you can reach the goals you set in your life, you must fi rst believe you are the type of person who can achieve them. I had to start declaring that I was a millionaire to myself LONG before I could actually become one. You don’t gain confi dence in yourself after you have success. You gain confi dence in yourself before you ever achieve any type of success.
You absolutely must believe you are capable of achieving success long before you will ever succeed. Belief is that leap of faith that can take you from where you’re at right now to where you really want to go. So take a look at what you want to improve in your own life, and then honestly look at how you’ve created your identity through your words, thoughts and actions. To change, you must fi rst become conscious of your disempowering words and thoughts and then flip them around to declare what you do want. If you’re late all the time, you’ve simply built that as your identity. If you’re bad at time management and can’t get anything done during the day, you’ve simply built into your identity that you’re bad at time management. If you’re a terrible public speaker, you’ve simply made that your identity. The good news is that everything you are right now is only because you believe them to be true.
Here’s how to turn your life in a positive direction. First, STOP DECLARING ANYTHING NEGATIVE TO BE TRUE! I hear people say, “There’s just not enough time in the day.” Guess what? Every time you say that, you make it truer in your life. When you profess weakness, you become weak. When you profess cowardice, you become a coward. When you profess hatred, you get hatred. Starting right now, declare wealth, declare health, declare happiness, declare love… Start declaring everything you want for your life and you’ll start to build the identity that allows you to become the person you wish to be. Don’t let your life wallow in mediocrity one second longer. The reason average people are average is because they walk around their entire lives being miserable saying things like, “If I can just find the right man or woman, then I’ll be happy.” Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. Whatever you want to attract, you have to become that type of person before you will get any results. Your dream spouse is probably someone who wants to be with someone who’s already happy and completely excited about life, so until you become the kind of person who will attract them, you will never have that person. Remember, you can never have and then be; you must be and then you will have.
Watch your thoughts because they will become your words.
Watch your words because they will become your actions.
Watch your actions because they will become your habits.
Watch your habits because they will become your character.
Watch your character because that will become your destiny.
To Your Success!
Matt Morris
Founder and CEO
http://www.rhart3.successuniversity.com
Success University
From Motivation to Motive-Action by Denis Waitley
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With the current times, each of us needs to understand the magnitude of social and economic change in the world. In the past, change in business and social life was incremental and a set of personal strategies for achieving excellence was not required. Today, in the knowledge-based world, where change is the rule, a set of personal strategies is essential for success, even survival. Never again will you be able to go to your place of business on autopilot, comfortable and secure that the organization, state or government will provide for and look after you. You must look in the mirror when you ask who is responsible for your success or failure. You must become a lifelong learner and leader, for to be a follower is to fall hopelessly behind the pace of progress. The power brokers in the new global arena will be the knowledge facilitators. Ignorance will be even more the tyrant and enslaver than in the past. As you look in the mirror to see the 21st Century you, there will also be another image standing beside you. It is your competition. Your competition, from now on, will be a hungry immigrant with a wireless, hand-held, digital assistant. Hungry for food, hungry for a home, for a new car, for security, for a college education. Hungry for knowledge. Smart, quick thinking, skilled and willing to do anything necessary to be competitive in the world marketplace. Working long hours and Saturdays, staying open later, serving customers better and more cheerfully. To be a player in the 21st Century you have to be willing to give more in service than you receive in payment.
These are the new rules in the game of life. These are the actions you must take to be a leader and a winner in your personal and professional life. By mastering these profoundly simple action steps, you will be positioned to be a change master in the new century.
Action Step Number One – Consider Yourself Self-Employed, But Be a Team Player. What this means is that you are your own Chief Executive Officer of your future. Start thinking of yourself as a service company with a single employee. You’re a small company that puts your services to work for a larger company. Tomorrow you may sell those services to a different organization, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less loyal to your current employer. Taking responsibility for yourself in this way does mean that you never equate your personal long-term interests with your employer’s.
The first idea is resolving not to suffer the fate of those who lost their jobs and found their skills were obsolete. The second is to begin immediately the process of protecting yourself against that possibility – by becoming proactive instead of reactive.
Ask yourself these questions:
How vulnerable am I? What trends must I watch? What information must I gain? What knowledge do I lack?
Again, think of yourself as a company. Set up a training department in your mind and make certain your top employee is updating his or her skills. Make sure you have your own private pension plan, knowing that you are responsible for your own financial security.
Entrusting the government or an employer, other than yourself, with your retirement income is like hiring a compulsive gambler as your accountant.
You’re the CEO of your daily life who must have the vision to set your goals and allocate your resources. The mindset of being responsible for your own future used to be crucial only to the self-employed, but it has become essential for us all. Today’s typical employees are no longer one-career people. Most will have five separate careers in their lifetimes. Remember, your competition is a hungry immigrant with a laptop. Action Step Number One is to consider yourself to be self-employed, but be a team player.
Action Step Number Two – Be Flexible in the Face of Daily Surprises. We live in a time-starved, overstressed, violent society. Much of our over-reaction to what happens to us every day is a result of our self-indulgent value system, where we blame others for our problems, look to organizations or the government for our solutions, thirst for immediate sensual gratification and believe we should have privileges without responsibilities. This condition is manifested in the high crime rate and in the increase in violence in the work place where employees blame their managers for threatening their security.
I have learned how to be flexible in the face of daily surprises, which is one of the most important action traits for a leader. I really haven’t been angry for about 17 years. During that time, no one has tried to physically harm me or someone close to me. I’ve learned to adapt to stress in life and reserve my fear or anger for imminently physically dangerous situations. I rarely, if ever, get upset with what people say, do or don’t do, even if it inconveniences me. I do react emotionally when I see someone physically or emotionally abusing or victimizing another. But I’ve learned not to sweat the small stuff.
The Serenity Prayer, “Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference,’ is a valuable measuring tool we can apply to our lives. Simple yet profound words to live by.
Article source: http://www.chriswidener.com/
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