Posted 9/21/2004 by Josh Hinds

Just a quick note to let you know I updated the Articles Library with a new addition by motivational speaker and executive coach Gail Blanke entitled "One More Defining Moment".

Posted 9/19/2004 by Josh Hinds

Escape from “the new poverty”
By Joe Tye

“Sometimes I just sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.”

That saying has been variously attributed to many different people, most credibly to an anonymous woman who had already experienced many decades of life. Part of the reason it strikes such a chord with many of us is that we have so little time to just sit and think, much less just sit. We suffer from what Jacob Needleman, in his book Money and the Meaning of Life, calls “the new poverty,” the poverty of time.

One of the classic self-help books of all time is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Notice that he did not entitle his book Grow Rich and Think. But how many of us feel we never have time to think because we’re too busy trying to make a living – or to recuperate from the exhaustion of trying to make a living?

This coming weekend, I encourage you to find a time and a space for a bit of what I call “strategic laziness.” If you don’t like that term, call it “a lion day,” because the King of Beasts spends a lot of time lyin’ around.

Where are you going to find the time? You’re not. You don’t find the time to just sits and thinks, not in today’s frenzied world. You make the time. You consciously and deliberately set aside a block of time during which you walk away from the distractions and the provocations of the temporal world.

Another classic self-help book is The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason. The secret to growing wealth for your future, he says, is to pay yourself first – to set aside ten percent of your income – all of your income – into your savings (though too few of us take that advice to heart – the national savings rate has dropped from almost ten percent to near zero over the past decade).

What would your life be if you applied Clason’s formula to your time? Ten percent of your waking hours are to be set aside for you – time for you to sits and thinks, or time to just sits? My bet is that over time, you’d be a lot happier, a lot more peaceful, and a heck of a lot richer too boot.
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Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit http://www.joetye.com

Posted 9/17/2004 by Josh Hinds

I just added a new Focus On Success Interview with author Jason Michael Gracia of Motivation123.com. You're sure to enjoy all the wisdom he shares :-)

Posted 9/16/2004 by Josh Hinds

Watch What You Say
By Jim Donovan

"Now don’t you go getting any ideas, Harold".
"Don’t you get any ideas either, Terry".
"Don’t you two get any ideas".

The young mother’s words to her small children echoed in my head for several days. While I realized she was probably warning them to not do something against her wishes or something that could harm them, I can’t help but wonder about the effects that a situation like that, heard over and over for a period of years, will have on their lives and their ability to realize their potential.

Flash forward — It’s 20 years later and now little Howard and Terry are all grown up, sitting in a conference room where they both work as marketing managers, having graduated at the top of their classes in college. The CEO is pacing back and forth saying, "Okay gang, what we need now, if we want to save this company, are some really good ideas."

As their bosses words trail off, Howard and Terry are jolted back in time to that day at the Eagle Diner. All they can hear is their mother’s voice telling them not to get any ideas. The conflict that this is causing has blocked their creative abilities. The contribution they might have made has been stifled by a poor choice of phrasing some 20 years ago.

I know this sounds a bit extreme but if you stop and think about it, this happens all the time. We are constantly being conditioned by the messages we hear, especially in our formative years.

We use phrases like "don’t get smart" and then wonder why children are doing poorly in school. There is a connection. Whatever is repeated, over and over, will be absorbed into the sub­conscious mind of the person listening, in this case your children. McDonalds knows this, as does every other successful advertiser.

In my seminars I ask people to complete this phrase. Winston tastes good like a ____. Even audience members in their 20’s can complete this advertising slogan, though it hasn’t been used for more than 25 years!

The words you choose and the phrases you use repeatedly will have a lasting impact on your children. Why not choose words that will help them realize their potential as unique, creative, bright, loving, powerful and successful human beings?

Imagine what could happen if you made a habit of using positive, empowering, self-esteem building messages every day? Imagine all your children could become!

Decide right now to create some positive messages you can implant in the young minds of your children. Make a daily habit of using positive messages when speaking to your children.

For example, you might say, "You know (child's name), every day you’re getting better and better in every way." (This is a take off on a phrase from Claude Bristol’s classic self help book, The Magic of Believing.)
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Jim Donovan is a motivational speaker and the author of several books who asks, if you had all the information and tools you needed to live your dream life, would you use them? Yes? Then take advantage of his special, limited time offer and click here.

Posted 9/13/2004 by Josh Hinds

Just a quick note to let you know I've added a few new articles to the Articles Library... They include: Five Ways to Stay Positive in a Negative World by Lucy MacDonald, Your Big Life Plan by Jon Gordon, and The Illusion of Control by Bob Scheinfeld ... enjoy :-)

I have also added an archives section to the part of the site where I list my own original articles if you'd like to have a look... All the best, Josh Hinds :-)

Posted 9/12/2004 by Josh Hinds

STOP ANY ARGUMENT In 3 Simple Steps
Copyright 2004 Laurie Weiss, Ph.D.

Do you need to stop arguments? These three steps will turn almost any argument into a productive discussion in less than five minutes.

1. Go to the bathroom. When you are in the throes of an argument or difficult discussion, just say, "I really want to have this conversation, but first, please excuse me I must go to the bathroom." Interrupting the argument will give each of you a chance to cool down and collect your thoughts.

If you are on the telephone, say "Excuse me for a moment, I have to handle a call on the other line." If you are on a cell phone, break the connection in the middle of one of your own sentences. Call back a few minutes later and apologize for being cut off.

2. Use your break time to think. Decide what you really want to accomplish by turning the argument into a discussion. Get very clear about your own objectives.

3. Return to the conversation, summarize the argument so far, and then ask politely what the other person wants the outcome of the conversation to be.

These steps work because they give each of you a chance to think instead of react to what has been happening. And neither of you needs to lose face or look weak or act disrespectfully.

When you approach any conversation with your goal in mind, you are far more likely to achieve it than you are in the heat of an argument. When you ask others their goals, they too must think about what they want to accomplish.

When you create a productive discussion, you create mutual respect and the opportunity for excellent future relationships.
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Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., author of Dare To Say It!, is an internationally known executive coach, psychotherapist, and author. For more simple secrets for turning difficult conversations into amazing opportunities for cooperation and success, visit www.DareToSayIt.com or email: feedback@laurieweiss.com


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Best-selling memory techniques by Dr. Amazing -- the world's greatest mentalist by Mike Teitelbaum, MD ... Learn more by clicking here!

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Posted 9/06/2004 by Josh Hinds

Trust and doors will open
By Jon Gordon

I recently called a friend, Edie Williams, who just started her own State Farm Agency in North East Florida. She had only been in business 4 weeks and I could hear the fear and tension in her voice.

I said, "Edie, I bet you are thinking about your rent and bills and start up costs... right." She said, "Of course I am." I said, "Stop. Simply stop. They are details that will be taken care of if you focus your energy on creating success. The more you worry about the things you can't control the more you will prevent success, customers, and money from flowing into your life.

Your rent is your rent. You can't do anything about it. It's fixed-and so are your monthly bills. Instead, think about all the people you are going to help with insurance and investments. Think about growing your business and making it successful. Visualize what it looks like a year from now.

Believe that you will be successful. Trust that God would not have brought you to this place if he wouldn't help you through it. Stop worrying about the details and start accepting the success that is part of your bigger plan." A few weeks later Edie called me and said, "Wow. It was amazing. After your call I stopped worrying about everything and as soon as I did, everything started falling into place- almost magically." I wasn't surprised at all.

Spending our time worrying is like sitting in a very messy house with a cleaning service standing outside a locked door- unable to enter. If we opened the door everything would be cleaned up. But worry keeps the door shut and allows the mess to build. In life, only trust will open the door.

Trust keeps the door open so that God can take care of all the details while you focus on doing great things. It's no different than eating. When you eat do you think of all the things your body has to do to digest the food? Do you tell your stomach to produce hydrochloric acid? Do you tell your cells what nutrients to absorb? Of course not.

You eat and let your body's intelligence take care of the details. The same goes for your life. Let your higher power and greater intelligence take care of the details while you focus on creating your best life every day. Trust that great things are happening every day and take powerful actions to create the results you want to achieve.

Amazingly when you trust, the people you need show up, the money flows, the ideas pop into your head, and everything falls into place.
Action Steps

1. If you are starting a new business or job, or nervous about a project, or worrying about a new development in your life, make the decision to stop worrying. Realize that worry only stops the flow of positive energy and abundance in your life.

2. Decide to focus on what you can control. Your thoughts and emotions.

3. Make the decision to trust and believe that everything will happen the way it is supposed to. Since we are not ultimately in control it really is the only way.

4. Focus on what you can do each day to create success and happiness. What action steps can you take? What phone calls do you need to make? Who can you ask for help?

5. Trust, take positive action and let the energy flow through your open door.

May your day be filled with boundless energy!
- Jon
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Energy Tips by Jon Gordon, The Energy Addict. For additional tips, visit http://www.energyaddict.com -- Jon is also the author of "Becoming An Energy Addict". Click here to get your copy.

Posted 9/02/2004 by Josh Hinds

Accept No Limits
by Vic Johnson

(excerpted from Day by Day with James Allen)

"A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses." - James Allen, As A Man Thinketh

You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts.

We each earn the income we do today because that is the amount we have limited ourselves to earn. We could easily earn 5, 10, 20 times more if we did not limit ourselves through the thoughts we maintain.

Don't believe that's true? Surely you know people who earn much more than you who don't have your education, your skills, or your intelligence. So why do they earn more than you?

I love the story of George Dantzig that Cynthia Kersey wrote about in Unstoppable. As a college student, George studied very hard and always late into the night. So late that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for class. He quickly copied the two math problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on the professor's desk the next day.

Later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m. by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind teasers that even Einstein hadn't been able to answer. But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't.

Bob Proctor tells us to "keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how."

And that's worth thinking about.

Vic Johnson
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Vic Johnson speaker and founder of a host of personal development websites. You can grab your complimentary copy of "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen's, a timeless success classic by clicking here.