Posted 12/30/2002 by Josh Hinds

Proactive Change: "To Change Or Not To Change ... That Is The Question"
By Randy Gilbert (c)2002

After spending weeks developing a good habit, such as eating healthier, why do we want to change back to your old habits? Yet we do!? After years of smoking and knowing cancer or emphysema are coming, we want to quit this heartache habit? Yet we don't!?? And the list goes on. One of the keys to success is, "knowing what to change and what not to change."

The ball is in your court. The cards have been dealt. The bell has rung and clock is ticking in the game of life. You get to choose which habits to change, because it is your habits that will determine whether you live in happiness and abundance or, in sorrow and poverty.

One of today's greatest success philosophers, Jim Rohn says, "We create our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today." Whether you realize it or not, you are constantly choosing which path to follow and scenery changes with each one.

You have the ability and responsibility for making proactive choices rather than reactive ones. You can be in control of your choices rather than letting them control you. Here are three tips that can help us know what to change and give us some insight as to how.

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Tip 1 - Gather The Right Resources
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You don't need more time. In fact, let's be honest here. You won't get more time even if you wanted it, because everyone gets the same amount every day.

You don't need more answers. The world is full of people with negative opinions, bad advice, and money grabbing schemes. Yet, how can they provide the answers when they never take the time to find out what the questions are?

What you need is the truth about the universe and yourself. Just like a jury in a court of law needs "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Without the truth you make errors in judgment that lead you down the wrong path.

Begin the success habit right now of asking for the truth in every situation. When you know the truth, you will be able to stop sentencing the good habits to a life in prison and setting the bad habits free. The truth will make itself known if you seek it.

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Tip 2 - Love Yourself First
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Love and care for yourself as a top priority. This is not selfish. Taking the time to eat right, sleep well, learn, and exercise is the only way you will have what it takes to care for others.

We must first value ourselves, then we can value others. Start by forgiving yourself for every mistake you make and use it as a learning experience. You did the best you could considering what you knew then. You are learning, so you will do better in the future.

Love yourself so that you can love others. By forgiving others you are loving yourself, because it's been scientifically proven that forgiveness brings happiness.
Acknowledge that others have done their best with what they knew at the time and that they are learning more and will be better in the future.

Begin the success habit of admitting you make mistakes, noting what you've learned from them, and deciding to be better in the future. Use this habit to eliminate the mistakes in your eating, sleeping, learning, and exercising habits.

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Tip 3 - Get Rid Of The Clutter
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Getting rid of the clutter in your life and learning how to concentrate your energy will empower you to make good choices. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short, in all of human affairs."

Even though I know my major purpose in life, too much clutter often destroys my focus. My ability to concentrate and make good choices is severely limited when my desk, calendar, and mind are filled with extraneous things.

You can take better control of your life by beginning the success habit of deciding what should be on your desk and what shouldn't take up space. Decide what should be on your calendar and what should not take up your time. Decide what you need to remember and what things are trivia.

It always comes down to the basics that make the difference. The basics in this instance are the choices we make. The three success habits of seeking the truth, loving yourself, and eliminating the clutter will help you to make the choices for changing the rest of your habits. Choose these 3 habits today and you will choose the good life.
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Randy Gilbert is the author of Success Bound, from which portions of this article are extracted. To read summaries of each chapter, see the reviews of other authors and leaders, or to buy his new book click here!

Posted 12/26/2002 by Josh Hinds

Going Broke
By Michael Angier

I know what it's like to lose the farm.

In the early seventies I started farming in Addison County, Vermont. In 1976 I built a meat packing company that would take not only the pork and beef production from our farm but from many other farms in the Champlain Valley. I felt Vermont farmers needed to diversify themselves from dairying, and I believed the timing was right.

I was wrong. I was 26 years old and I'd bet the farm. I'd raised some capital but it wasn't enough. I'd put everything on the line, and in less than 18 months I'd lost it all. Seven years of blood, sweat and tears. A hundred and fifty acres, my home and most of my confidence were gone.

When all options had been explored, it was clear that bankruptcy was the only option. Going broke isn't so bad, it's whistling right on by broke that's really tough.

Many people ask me today how I dealt with that failure--as well as another big one that happened ten years later. Sometimes, I'm not sure how I got through it. I guess we don't remember pain all that well.

What I say is that I left the meat plant with only three things: my experience, my rhododendron plant and my attitude. I don't know what happened to the office plant. And the knowledge and experience I got in the meat business doesn't provide a whole lot of value to me today.

What really has been of value is my attitude-- especially toward setbacks.

It wasn't always easy. I didn't always have a great attitude about my business failure. But I did hang in there.

I'd made a promise to myself when I was 20 years old that I would never quit. I told myself that no matter what challenges I might face in reaching my goals I would never throw in the towel.

There were certainly times I wanted to give up on myself and there were even times when I felt like I DESERVED to give up on myself. But somewhere I found the strength to carry on.

And I'm sure glad I did.

I kept a positive attitude by reading good books and listening to good tapes. I kept myself up by hanging out with positive, successful people. I monitored my self talk and wouldn't allow myself to hold pity parties.

Did I get discouraged? Sure.

Was it hard work? You bet.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

For those of you who might be facing difficult times-- now or in the future--I say, 'Hang in there. You CAN do it. The pain WILL go away.'

Just because you've failed at something doesn't make YOU a failure--UNLESS YOU QUIT.
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Copyright Success Networks International. Part of SuccessNet's mission is to position you for success. Free subscriptions, eCourses, memberships, eBooks and SuccessMark Cards available through the following link.

Posted 12/23/2002 by Josh Hinds

Focusing Strategies During Uncertain Times
by Gary Ryan Blair

There is nothing worse than uncertainty. Unmitigated certain disaster beats ongoing uncertainty hands down. Disaster is dramatic. It inspires deep feelings and provides an outlet for people to justify their fears.

Uncertainty, on the other hand, is like living your life eternally sitting in some cosmic twilight zone waiting to go out on a date with someone that you're sure you don't want anything to do with.

In response to the many requests for insight into how to remain focused during uncertain and scary times, I have created this lesson on transforming the fear and perceived negativity of any situation into opportunities for growth, progress, and achievement.

I began by asking myself this question: "How do you plan for success in a world filled more with conflicts, surprises, and uncertainty than with patterns?"

Focusing Strategies During Uncertain Times is meant to support and empower your creative thinking, communications, actions, and most importantly your results.

1. Focus On Others

Economic and political events throughout the past year have made people around the world anxious and fearful about their futures. Because of that fear, people tend to drive into themselves, and begin to feel isolated, hopeless, and helpless.

In this situation, the best defense is a good offensive strategy. Go in the opposite direction by purposefully expanding your connection with others. Focus on helping your family, friends, associates, and community to make something wonderful happen.

Forget about yourself, and focus in on others. The more you do this, the less you will need to worry about your own situation. You'll become a source of strength, confidence, and an inspiration for others to emulate.

2. Focus On Relationships

In uncertain times, people have a tendency to become frightened about the viability of the things they do and the positions they hold. Don't go there emotionally!

A wise strategic response right now would be to focus on deepening the power and possibility of all your relationships - with family, friends, associates, and community.

Every time you strengthen a relationship, you automatically increase your opportunities for growth, progress, and achievement.

3. Focus On Value

When times are uncertain, you better place a premium on the creation and delivery of greater value. What people want at all times is value creation - that is, solutions that help them eliminate their uncertainties, capture their opportunities, and reinforce their strengths.

When you focus on providing these three solutions, growth, progress, and achievement will naturally follow.

4. Focus On Opportunities

Because of uncertainty and the roll of the dice this past year, some things may have disappeared from your life. Some people never get over this. They keep replaying history and focusing on coulda, woulda, and shoulda.

A better strategy is to start an entirely new game - create history by using new ideas, new energies, new tools, and new resources to focus on new opportunities.

Read this next line a few times to make sure you completely get the point: Just because you did not see a good business opportunity when you see one does not mean that you didn't see one!

Be open and alert by focusing and capitalizing on opportunity. A big opportunity is available now for achieving far more than you ever did in the past. Stay awake
and either open or kick the door in when it knocks!

5. Focus On Progress

At some point in time, uncertainty and fear knocks the wind out of all of us. Success and achievement may not come as easy as they once did. New competitive realities will either defeat you or reveal new strengths.

Your physical muscles always get stronger from working against resistance. The same is true for the muscles in your mind, your spirit, and your character.

Focus on progress, and treat this whole period of challenge and uncertainty as a time when you can make your greatest progress.

6. Focus On Today

The "future" is uncertain; at best your plans are a hypothetical guess. The only future that has any reality is the one that you continually create for yourself through each day's contributions, achievements, and results.

Take it one day at a time. Focus on what you can do over the course of each 24 hours. Plan the day well, maximize every opportunity, continuously generate value and flawlessly execute your plan.

7. Focus On Gratitude

Uncertainty is one of those times when everyone has to make a fundamental decision: to complain or to be grateful. When things go south, the consequences of this decision are much greater.

Complaining only attracts negative thoughts, negative people, and negative results. There is no inherent value to be found from complaining.

Gratitude creates and attracts positive thoughts, positive people, and positive results. It allows for the best thinking, actions, and results to emerge.

Focus on everything that you are grateful for - communicate this - and open yourself each day to the best possible consequences.

A Final Thought

There are certainties in uncertain times. Even in uncertain times, you must go forward and actively pursue your goals.

Within that context you will discover abundant opportunities for growth, progress, and achievement. These opportunities will allow you to improve your life, your family, your community, and our world.

Everything Counts!
Gary Ryan Blair
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Written by Gary Ryan Blair - The GoalsGuy is your online goal setting and personal leadership coach. Check-out My Personal Strategic Plan and learn how to achieve more in the next year than most people do in a lifetime. See why best selling author Brian Tracy said, "This is the most remarkable, simple, and practical guide for ANYONE who wants to create the ideal life!" To learn more click here.

Posted 12/20/2002 by Josh Hinds

SUCCESS IS EASY, BUT SO IS NEGLECT
by Jim Rohn
(excerpted from The Challenge to Succeed audio series)

People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas.

They found that easy not to. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn't matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I'm a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.

In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.

It is not the lack of money - banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity - America, and much of the free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books – libraries are full of books - and they are free! It is not the schools - the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.

Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply, neglect.

Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.

Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more...and on and on it goes.

So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of "easy to" and "easy not to" that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, "easy"; but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
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Article Submitted by Jim Rohn - Announcing a Very Special Invitation - The Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan! One of the Most Comprehensive Resource and Success Plans Ever Created For You To Reach All Of Your Goals in the Next 12 Months! For details and/or to take advantage of the special introductory offer click here.

Posted 12/14/2002 by Josh Hinds

Life is a Contact Sport
by Andrew Wood, The Millionaires Library

While people in business take great pains to plan out their business, plan their marketing, and project their cash flow, few, if any, plan out the people they want - no, need -- to meet!

In every industry there is a king pin. In every community there is a Mr. or Mrs. Who who makes things happen. In every media outlet there is a person that has the power to make you a star! It's your job to know who that person is in your industry or community and develop a relationship with them. If you are not sure who you need to meet, or just want to enhance your reputation in a broad way, here are a few suggestions.

Resource Directory
The first place to start looking for new relationships is with the people you know already. Create a resource directory. List all the people you know, get all of their contact information, office phone, home phone, mobile phone, e-mail address, and pager numbers. Note where you met them, who they mentioned they knew, and any personal information that they share with you like their spouse's name.

The more you know about a person, especially their likes and dislikes, the quicker you can build rapport with them. Often when talking to people you will find that they know someone whom you would like to meet, or in other cases you may find that someone you already know has a host of connections that you have not yet uncovered.

As you get to know a person better, inquire about his or her charitable activities, the professional associations he or she is involved in, and the people he or she knows. You will often be amazed by the host of connections you have right under your feet if only you are willing to dig a little.

There are seven ways to build relationships and enhance your reputation.

The easiest way to do this is to become involved in your community, either in a business sense with a chamber of commerce or development agency, or in a charitable sense. The more visible you are in the community, the greater your chance to build your credibility, both with those you associate with and with others who see you in a role of leadership.

1. Charity - It stands to reason that the people involved in giving large donations of their time and effort to any given charity are people of means and respect in the community. From a purely personal point of view, doing charitable work will almost always boost your own personal self esteem and confidence.

There is a true sense of power and satisfaction that comes from helping those less fortunate that yourself. From a business sense it has never hurt anyone's reputation to be seen helping others less fortunate than themselves. Best of all, the relationships you can develop aiding such causes can be among your most valuable.

When picking which charity to support, there are several considerations depending on what you want to accomplish. If you want to meet certain people, pick the charity you know they support.

If you want to enhance your own reputation, don't pick a charity that is huge; they already have celebrities and stars far bigger than you hogging all the attention. Instead, pick a lesser known organization with a good name so that you can shine in its support.

2. Civic Groups - Civic groups such as the Lion's Club, Rotary Club, Pilot International, and a host of other such organizations are excellent to bring yourself into contact with more people.

3. Business and Networking Groups - Business and networking groups offer the most focus of all approaches to helping you and everyone else enhance their reputation. The secret to chambers of commerce, tip groups, and management breakfasts is to be active in your support; most people are not, so don't reap the rewards.

4. Country Clubs - In my experience there is simply no better place in the world to meet people and develop lasting relationships than a country club. I am sure that part of the attraction of golf is the enormous power the game has in networking people. Even if golf is not your game, a social membership which allows you to use the bar and dining facilities can often be the best business
investment you will ever make in your life!

5. Association Events - Association events build your credibility among your peers and also give you opportunities to meet others from associated fields. Often it is the people on the fringe of the association who can have the greatest impact on boosting your reputation.

At the last meeting I attended for the National Speakers Association, I was able to establish contact with a major distributor of audio products and a key player at the BBC, always a great contact in the UK market. The world is full of interesting and amazing people; all you have to do to open that world to you is ask.

At the same convention I walked out side of the hotel and saw that Mark Victor Hanson, author of the hit series Chicken Soup for the Soul, was standing nearby, obviously looking for a shuttle. I walked right up to him and introduced myself, then quickly inquired whether he needed a ride somewhere.

He said that he had been waiting for the shuttle to come back and take him to his hotel down the street. I immediately offered to give him a ride. I had my Ferrari driven up by the valet and spent the next 15 minutes with one of the best-selling authors in the world.

6. Trade Shows - At last year's PGA show I met two reps who had both just been let go and were looking for work. After sharing with them some creative suggestions for getting hired with another company, I was able to learn a great deal about the troubles of their previous employer.

This information provided an excellent chance to offer creative solutions to what I perceived -- well actually knew -- the company's problems to be.

7. Become a Media Expert - Have you ever noticed on TV that as soon as they have a hostage crisis, or a plane crash, or some other newsworthy event, all of a sudden they put an expert on from Harvard, or an ex military general, or somebody who seems to know a lot about the specific situation they're describing, no matter what it is?

Well the reason that they can put their finger on these people so quickly is that each TV station and radio show keeps a resident Rolodex list of experts on a thousand different topics. If you want to be considered the expert in your town, get some Rolodex cards made up and send them to all of the local media announcing that you are a resident expert in whatever your specialty happens to be, along with perhaps a couple of related topics.

Any time they have a newsworthy event and they slip through their Rolodex file, guess who's going get the call as the leading expert in the area when it comes to your topic? How do you become the expert? You become the expert by telling everybody that's what you are.

Always, always initiate. The more contact you make the more business and opportunities you will bring into your life!

How many new people have you met this month?
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The Millionaires Library author, Andrew Wood, is recognized worldwide as a business, marketing, leadership, and personal development expert. He is the author of The Millionaires Library, which delivers you the essence of knowledge from over 1000 business, sales, marketing, leadership, and personal development books in a single powerful set. To learn more visit through the following link.

Posted 12/12/2002 by Josh Hinds

Recently I had a bit of fun news. I was chosen by the good folks at ThoughtWear.com to be featured as one of their "Thinkers", the idea is pretty nifty if I do say so myself. Each "Thinker" is featured as a cartoon (mine being the one you see to the left :-) and of course their original quote is included as well. Currently they offer t-shirts, nightshirts, sweatshirts, and hooded pullover sweatshirts. This is a neat way to keep yourself motivated, as well as inspire those around you at the same time :-) Be sure to drop by their website to have a look and order yours today.

Posted 12/09/2002 by Josh Hinds

MEETING & BEATING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
by Zig Ziglar

What do your customers expect from you and your business? It's a good question to think about and answer. It's an equally good question to invite your employees to answer! No one transacts business (repeatedly) with a company without expecting something. So what is it that your customers expect from you, your employees, and your business?

It's important to know what customers expect because they're going to rate you. And generally speaking, they'll rate you in one of three ways. You're either "below expectations" -- and that's not good for the longevity of your company -- or you're "on par with expectations" -- good, but not great, because lots of businesses fall into this category -- or you're "beyond expectations" -- and that's very, very good!

How do customers rate you? It probably depends on how well you R-A-T-E!

R is for Reliability, Recovery & Responsiveness

Those are the three R's of great customer service. Customers don't expect any business to perform perfectly, but they do expect your business to keep its promises. You've got to be reliable. You must do what you say. And if you can't always do what you promise then at least make it up to the customer in another way. When you fail to meet a customer's expectations (and it happens from time to time, even to the best of companies) you should recover by fixing it! Recovery may be as simple as a phone call and an apology. Always be sure to respond quickly. Customers hate to be kept waiting. Don't keep them on hold. Don't make them wait in the waiting room. Respond to your customers as soon as you can.

A is for Assurance

Customers want to feel that their problem is being handled by an expert. Assure them that you know your business!

T is for Tangibles

Customers judge you by your looks. That's right, they judge your personal looks, but they also judge the environment of your business. They judge the look of the office, the waiting room, the shopping center, the parking lot, your company brochure, etc. Yes, they also judge you by the look of your Web site! If you want to meet the expectations of customers, look your best!

E is for Empathy

Every customer wants you to recognize him or her as unique. Customers resent it when you make them feel like a number, or just one of the crowd. Show your customers that you care for them individually. Use their names when you address them!
So how do you R-A-T-E? Not sure? Why not ask your customers? They'll tell you what they expect and how well they think you're doing at meeting or beating their expectations.
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Zig Ziglar offers a free weekly newsletter filled with more of his inspiring stories as well as practical ideas to help you in the areas of sales, marketing, customer service, and related topics. You can subscribe to the Zig Ziglar Newsletter by visiting http://www.zigziglar.com and click on the Free Newsletter button.

Posted 12/06/2002 by Josh Hinds

Music of the Heart Will Not Be Silent
Copyright 2002 Stephanie West Allen

Most of Beethoven's masterpieces were composed while he was deaf. He had inside him music that would not be stilled by life's circumstances. His music triumphed over suffering.

The last movement of the Ninth Symphony is choral music Beethoven set to Friedrich von Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy." Beethoven believed this poem celebrated the brotherhood of man.

On May 7, 1824, when the Ninth Symphony premiered, Beethoven was on-stage conducting. Also on-stage was a supplementary
conductor necessary because of Beethoven's deafness. When the "Ode to Joy" movement was over, the audience erupted in
applause. Beethoven did not turn around as he could not hear them.

Turn Around and See What You Have Created

One of the chorus members broke protocol and moved towards Beethoven. He took hold of the composer's arm. Beethoven
gave him a fierce look but the chorus member persisted gently turning him around. By then the applause had subsided.

As Beethoven looked out into the audience, they began to rise in standing ovation. First one person and then many and then all. It is said that a single, small tear of joy slipped down the composer's cheek. It is also said that another tiny companion tear rolled down the cheek of the chorus member standing next to him.

Some Questions for You

What gift inside of you is so strong that it must triumph over any adversity (or shyness or inactivity or busy-ness) and come out for others to enjoy?

Are you still holding it in, sapping creative energy by squelching it? What will it take for this ability, this genius, to flow out of you on a stream of inspiration?

We all have our genius with which we can make our world and that of others a more beautiful place. Part of being a member of the brotherhood of man is sharing our gifts with each other. What will bring your tear of joy?

And one more question, who in your life gently turns you around when you are facing in the wrong direction so you can see your standing ovation?

And Today...

Read these words from "Ode to Joy":

"Let us raise our voices in more pleasing and more joyful sounds!"

Sing today. Sing, sing, sing the happiest songs you know. As the words flow out of your mouth with gusto, feel every cell in your body spinning and dancing and cavorting with joy. Each song will be a workout of gladness for your whole being. Yeah, it may feel silly at first but do it anyway. Soon the happiness will permeate you and all feelings of silliness will fly out the window, never to return.

Get others to sing with you. Let's make this day an international day of song

if you find yourself in a situation where you cannot sing right that moment, hum in your head. Head humming is highly beneficial for you, too.

Make today a symphony of song and jubilation. And before you go to sleep, give yourself a rousing round of applause. What a day this can be.

Copyright 2002 Stephanie West Allen
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Stephanie West Allen, JD, promotes the profound power of thoughts. "Thoughts create things. Wear the power." http://www.ThoughtWear.com
Monday through Friday, start your day with a free Upsy Daisy Push-up to get you going gloriously, gratefully, and
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