Posted 3/27/2007 by Josh Hinds

Love it or Lose -- Passions and the Quest for Meaning
By the authors of Success Built to Last

Much is said today about the importance of loving what you do, but most people simply don't buy it. Sure, it would be nice to do what you love, but as a practical matter, most people don't feel they can afford such a luxury. For many, doing something that really matters to them would be a sentimental fantasy based on wishful thinking.

Listen up -- here's some really bad news: It's dangerous not to do what you love. The harsh truth is that if you don't love what you're doing, you'll lose to someone who does! For every person who is half-hearted about their work or relationships, there is someone else who loves what they're half-hearted about. This person will work harder and longer. They will outrun you. Although it might feel safer to hang onto an old role, you'll find your energy is depleted and, miraculously, you'll be the first in line for the layoffs when they come.

All You Have Is Your Personal Capital...

You may have noticed that we now live in a global economy where job security is a contradiction in terms. All you have is your personal capital, and we're not talking about your money. It's your talents, skills, relationships, and enthusiasm. Making success last takes a level of tenacity and passion only love can sustain. Without it, you'll collapse under the weight of the hardship or long-lasting adversity that you are bound to encounter.

Making a life is as important as making a living. This is not an either-or decision. Builders do both. You will hear this from most everyone who has enjoyed lasting success: entrepreneurs, government and religious leaders, artists and educators, single parents, social workers, Academy Award winners, carpenters, store managers, and billionaires.

You will hear it from the most hard-boiled military generals and tough business guys like Larry Bossidy, author of a warm-and-fuzzy-sounding book called Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Bossidy has never been accused of being touchy feely.

On a bitter cold, clear day in Connecticut, we huddled in the tough-minded retired CEO's home office built in a converted barn near a frozen pond, where we talked for hours about success and leadership. When we threw the "L" word at him, the steely eyed former CEO didn't flinch.

"It's a competitive imperative," he insisted. "Only by loving what you do will you actually do more and do it better than the person sitting next to you. If you don't, well then, we'll find someone who does."

Yep, fear is a big motivator, too, but you'll find that love lasts longer. You can run a marathon at gunpoint, but you probably won't win the race.

"You can survive without loving it, but you will be second-rate," said Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender, Ret. "To spend any part of your career not knowing why you're there will take your power away." It's dangerous not to be fully engaged. If you want to have success that outlasts any job you have, then only love will find the way.

It's Like Saving Up Sex for Old Age...

Warren Buffett loved his work long before he had two pennies to rub together. Today, he is one of the richest men on Earth.

"You know, they say that success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get," he said. "Well, I don't know which one applies in this case. But I do know that I wouldn't be doing anything else. I always worry about people who say, 'You know, I'm going to do this for ten years. I really don't like it very well, but I'll do ten more years of this and . . .' I mean, that's a little like saving up sex for your old age. Not a very good idea," Buffett laughed.

"I tap dance to work and I get down there and I think I'm supposed to lie on my back and paint the ceiling, or something, like Michelangelo, I mean, that's the way I feel. And it doesn't diminish. It's tremendous fun."

The research libraries are filled with studies that confirm that love is not just a warm and fuzzy topic; we're talking about your survival in the competitive marketplace out there, with lots of people who want your job more passionately than you may.

Passionate people spend twice as much time thinking about what they've accomplished, how doable the task ahead is, and how capable they are of it. Your coworkers or competitors who love their work try harder, try more things, move faster, come up with more great ideas, and, frankly, get better opportunities to move up and contribute more than people who only do things for a living.

"The job of leadership today is not just to make money, it's to make meaning," said John Seely Brown, who presided over research for two decades at Xerox Park. "Talented people are looking for organizations that offer not only money, but . . . spiritual goals that energize . . . (that) resonate with the personal values of the people who work there, the kind of mission that offers people a chance to do work that makes a difference."

Be warned: The relentless irritation of not loving what you do makes you a pain to be around and has been clinically proven to chip away at your health.

"We spend our health building our wealth," said author and financial advisor Robert T. Kiyosaki, paraphrasing the old proverb. "Then we desperately spend our wealth to hang onto our remaining health." After several successful, but unrelated, entrepreneurial stints, Kiyosaki changed careers again at nearly age 50 to write his first book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which has sold more than 17 million copies. Wouldn't it be "better to do what we love in the first place so we don't bankrupt our well-being" in a vain attempt to earn our way to freedom?

The Secret of Life...

There is a good chance you feel there is something missing in life -- or you are on an incessant search for meaning -- until you make one simple choice. Those uncertainties can dog you in a never-ending but noble quest until you just go out and serve somebody. Builders from all over the world shared this recurring theme with us.

Frances Hesselbein, chairman and founding president of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, is best known for her leadership work with large organizations, universities, the U.S. military, and her 13 years as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. She led the transformation of that vast nonprofit organization, which today has about 236,000 troops and almost a million volunteers. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- America's highest civilian honor -- in 1998, and was the first recipient of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Security Series Award in 2002.

Hesselbein, like most Builders, believes that there is "a powerful synergy when you combine service to others with passion for your own mission, your own work."

"We are called to do what we do, and when we respond to that invitation, it is never a job. When we are called to serve and we respond, it is joy and fulfillment," she noted. "The key to fulfillment is service and the key to leadership is not how to do, but rather how to be. Serving others is part of the 'how to be' character of a great leader."

Leadership author Ken Blanchard calls this Servant Leadership, wherein the goal of the leader is to promote not herself, but the goals of the organization and careers of the people she leads. It's all about alignment of what's inside your heart and what the world needs. It's about finding what you love and doing that to serve others.

Copyright © 2006 Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson from the book Success Built To Last
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About the Authors...
Jerry Porras coauthored (with Jim Collins) Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, which has been translated into twenty-five languages and sold more than one million copies. He is Stanford Graduate School of Business Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change.

Stewart Emery is considered one of the fathers of the Human Potential Movement. He served as the first CEO of est, cofounded Actualizations, led seminars in dozens of countries, and has coached over 12,000 people in the last three decades.

Mark Thompson captured the insightful stories that formed the foundation for Success Built to Last from hundreds of personal interviews with enduringly successful people around the world.

For more information, visit www.SuccessBuiltToLast.com.

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Posted 3/18/2007 by Josh Hinds

It's Time for Your Tune-Up
By Jeff Keller

If you own a car, you probably take it into the service station for maintenance at regular intervals. You want to make sure the engine is running smoothly. You want any worn parts to be replaced, or your tires to be safe and balanced.

Often, the mechanic has a checklist of the items that need to be addressed. When you pick up your car after the service has been completed, you drive off with a vehicle in better shape to get back on the road and get you where you want to go.

Just as your car has needs that should be addressed regularly, YOU too can benefit by giving yourself a "tune-up." During your personal mental tune-up, you can examine the old routines that need to be replaced or identify new actions that will rev up your engine.

Here is a checklist you can use for your tune-up:

* Take a class or study a new subject. Learning something new will be exciting and will expose you to new people and new situations. Whether it's art history, ballroom dancing or learning a new language, this will rejuvenate you as you re-discover the joy of learning and broaden your horizons. Unlike your school days when subjects were "forced" upon you, now you can choose those subjects that are most appealing to you.

* Stop participating in activities or organizations that no longer interest you. The fact that you joined an organization or have engaged in an activity does not mean that you enter into a lifetime contract to keep doing it until you die.

Are there any organizations that you belong to that are no longer fun or interesting to you? Maybe you've outgrown an activity or group. After all, you're not the same person that you were 10 years ago. When you get some of this "dead wood" out of the way, you open up the way to new, more relevant activities.

* Confront a fear that stands in the way of your personal or professional growth. Fear holds us back from reaching our potential and living an exciting life. We have dreams and goals, but we won't take steps toward them because of a variety of fears - the fear that we might fail, the fear that someone may criticize us, the fear of the unknown, or even the fear that we might succeed.

When you face these fears head-on, you gain self-esteem and confidence. If you have trouble coming up with a fear to confront, tackle public speaking. Join a Toastmasters group in your area. You may be uncomfortable at the beginning, but you'll learn valuable skills and gain confidence, which will serve you well.

* Examine whether your activities are in line with your stated priorities. Ask people about their priorities, and they'll probably tell you that it is their family, faith or their health.

The only problem is that their activities are often completely at odds with what they're saying - e.g., they talk about wanting to live a healthy lifestyle, but you see them with a plate of nachos.

What do you need to do to bring your activities in line with your priorities? If you will not make any changes to be more consistent, then don't kid yourself any longer. Your priorities are simply not what you say they are.

* Take care of any "unfinished business." If you're holding a grudge or resentment against anyone, especially a close family member, let go of it immediately. This is draining your energy. If that other person leaves this earth without you having resolved the issue, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

You don't have to approve of what the other person did to you. You don't have to spend time with the other person. Furthermore, it's irrelevant if the other person still disagrees with you, or even hates you. You simply need to release the resentment and move on.

* Support others in the pursuit of their dreams. Take every opportunity to support friends, relatives or colleagues who are pursuing their dreams. From your own personal experience, you know how tough it is to blaze a new trail, start a new business or try to achieve something very ambitious.

You needed all the help and support you could get. Give that support to others. It will make a world of difference to them. In addition, getting involved in their dreams will rekindle your enthusiasm and encourage you to pursue your own dreams.

* Do something to improve your health and energy. Start treating your health as a top priority, instead of something you "don't have time for." If you don't have time to maintain your car, or if you put sludge into the gas tank, your car sputters or breaks down. The same holds true for you.

Find the time to walk several times each week or to do some other type of exercise at home or in the gym. As a result, you're going to feel better and perform more effectively ... on the job and at home.

In addition, taking care of your body builds self-esteem. This isn't about becoming a tri-athlete or a bodybuilder. It's about attaining a level of basic fitness. Energy is a vital ingredient for living a successful, productive life.

Isn't it interesting that you take your children for all of their doctor visits and make sure that they are physically active, yet you don't take the same care of yourself? Don't wait another day to start a fitness regimen that will preserve your health and vitality.

Have you gone through the checklist for your tune-up and are you ready to attend to each of these items? You wouldn't want your mechanic to skip over any areas when tending to your car. So, don't cheat yourself by ignoring these areas. When you give yourself this regular tune-up, your body, mind and spirit will be firing on all cylinders.

-- Jeff Keller
(c) Attitude is Everything, Inc.
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Jeff Keller is a motivational speaker and delivers his presentations and seminars to businesses, groups and trade associations throughout the United States and abroad. He is the author of the book, Attitude is Everything. For more information about his motivational presentations and resources, visit AttitudeIsEverything.com.

* Learn about Jeff Keller's audio program: Success from Soup To Nuts - 50 Inspiring Messages That Will Take You To New Levels of Success!

Posted 3/12/2007 by Josh Hinds

The Secret To Abundance in Every Area of Your Life
By Christopher Guerriero

I don’t believe that anybody can have true abundance in ANY area of their life without first feeling immensely confident in themselves. And the main determining factor in any person’s confidence is how they feel about their physical being (or their body); and the shape and health of a person’s body is determined, to a large extent, by certain universal laws that absolutely must be followed each and every day.

Here’s an example of just one of those laws…I once heard it said that nearly 70% of all the energy a person uses during the course of a single day (70%) is used simply to digest the foods they eat. Therefore, if it takes 100 grams of energy (bear with me for using such basic terminology here) to digest each and every meal you eat during the day - but by improving the efficiency of your metabolism…we can get your body to digest each meal using only 50 grams of energy – then you could have nearly double the energy to put towards all your normal daily activities…

So if one of your main life goals is to make more money – wouldn't it be beneficial to you if you had more “physical energy” to do the daily tasks necessary to build your financial streams, or what about all the added “mental energy” that you would have to put towards creatively designing new ways to handle all the daily challenges that every entrepreneur faces today.

Personally, I never had success in my life until I took control of my body. I remember feeling like a failure in everything I did, I remember not even wanting to go out of the house because I didn’t like the way I looked, in fact, I specifically remember not wanting to leave the house even to go to the store to buy food because I hated the way I looked in all of my clothes.

Today, I rarely think about the clothes I’m going to put on each day because I feel confident that no matter what I wear, my body will make those clothes look good. All clothes just hang better on a body that’s in shape. That means that guys who wear their shirts ‘untucked’ no longer HAVE to do that (unless they truly like that style) - and women who wear black because it’s ’slimming’ can now wear any color they like - because their BODY will make that color look good on them.

This is the way everyone should feel! When I finally took charge of my physique, everything in my life got better - my social life improved, my health improved, my family life improved, my spiritual life improved, and my financial life skyrocketed. I went from feeling like nobody noticed me, to being picked out in a crowd of people (the right people).

Here’s a horrible fact that I regularly speak about in my teleseminars and live events - In today’s society, without a nice body, people subconsciously make life a bit harder for you. You see it all the time. People who are in good shape almost always get treated differently by others. Now I’m not saying that’s fair – it’s absolutely not - but it’s a fact of life, so why not take advantage of it?

You see, you can’t change the fact that most everybody else in the world seems to treat good-looking people better, but you can change the one person who really matters, and that’s you. You can make yourself as strong and healthy-looking as possible, making life easier for you and setting a good example for your family so that they can also live a more successful and healthy life.

Good looking people climb the corporate ladder faster, they portrait more authority when they stand in front of their staff, they get more preferential treatment…and they have far more stamina to take on all the work that’s necessary in order to build a powerful company or business.

There’s 8 people in my inner circle of friends, all of which own businesses which gross from $5 million to $700 million annually - the bigger the business, the more focus that owner puts on staying in top shape. These people aren’t stupid, they don’t want to grow a huge company, then not be in good enough health to enjoy the rewards — and the secret that all of these folks have, is that being in good shape didn’t start when they became successful - it started way before that - and probably had a lot to do with their success.
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Christopher Guerriero is an international bestselling author, keynote speaker, and philanthropist. To access his Bestseller Starter Kit, and to get your hands on loads of free book writing resources for the novice to the seasoned author, including videos, an audio, and tips sheet, click here!

Posted 3/08/2007 by Josh Hinds

Winning the Thought Battle
By Chris Widener

If you have read my articles or heard me speak, you know that I always come down to action. We need to act if we are going to be successful!

Yet, our success starts long before our actions. In fact, our success begins in our thoughts.

The process is that thoughts become actions and actions produce results. So the equation starts with the thoughts. So the key to success is to start with and control the thoughts that we have. Good thoughts become good actions become good results.

But there is this predicament we have as humans. It is this "battle" we have with our thoughts. Thoughts of depression, negative thoughts, thoughts of fear etc. constantly creep into our minds and cause us to act in certain ways that are going to produce the antithesis of the kind we want that will produce success.

So what can we do to win the battle with thoughts? Here are a few main points. Apply these immediately and then constantly and you will be on your way to winning the thought battle.

Guard your mind. Pretend that behind that forehead of yours is a very precious thing - your mind - because it is precious. If you had a storehouse of gold in your house, you would hire an armed guard to stand watch and keep all the bad guys out. Yet, many of us let any old ting come into our minds.

We need to keep the bad thoughts, the negative thoughts O-U-T! Now when I say this, I mean both the ones that start in our heads and the ones that come from external sources.

Proactively place good thoughts in your head. Just like a garden, where you weed, or pull the bad stuff out, and plant, put the good stuff in, so we do the same thing with our thoughts. Buy tapes and music that will produce good, happy thoughts in your head! Watch TV programs and videos that put good thoughts in your head!

Avoid the naysayers. They are all around you. You work with them, you live near them - some are even in your family! Whatever you do, do not let them affect you with their negative thoughts. Spend as little time as you can with them (unless it is your spouse or kids - then you need counseling!)

Act on the positive thoughts that you do have. When a positive thought comes into your head, act on it! This will begin to produce a "bridge" between what you think and how you act! This will then make that transition even easier as time goes by!

Four key ideas to win the thought battle:

* Guard your mind.
* Proactively place good thoughts in your head.
* Avoid the naysayers.
* Act on the positive thoughts that you do have.

Go forth and Win the Battle!
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Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, and succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams. Visit his web site and be sure to take advantage of his free newsletter while you're there.

Posted 3/01/2007 by Josh Hinds

A Teen Millionaire's 3 Principles to Success
By Cameron Johnson

This young entrepreneur finds that success in business starts with believing in yourself.

I started my first business at age nine with $50 and a home computer, and ran it from my room at home as a one-kid operation. By the time I was 19 I had started nearly a dozen profitable businesses, and for my latest venture I had received a very attractive offer of $10 million in venture capital.

I turned that offer down and walked away because I didn’t feel good about the conditions that would have been imposed on me if I’d taken the money. The venture capital firm would have called the shots, told me how to run my company, and paid me a salary that would’ve been less than I’d made on my own since I was 12.

It was a lucrative offer, and who knows? Maybe with their backing and expertise I would have come out way ahead. But I didn’t think it was the right deal for me. I made that decision without regret, and I’ve never looked back.

I knew this was not a now-or-never choice. There would be plenty of other opportunities to create even more successful businesses--because I’d learned the skills it takes to do so. Once you learn these skills, you never have to be tied to any one particular enterprise. I realized that while I could have taken someone else’s $10 million investment, I’d rather invest in myself.

I’ve been fortunate enough to make my first million before graduating from high school and buy my own house at 20. At 21, I’ve now put away enough in savings and other investments that I could practically retire today ... if I wanted to. But of course, that’s the last thing on earth I’d want to do. I just enjoy it all too much. Not to say the money isn’t important, but frankly, it’s not why I do what I do. I do it because I love it.

I’ve always loved starting new businesses. I take pleasure in every aspect of it, from coming up with a new concept, or a unique twist on an existing concept, to finding a name that perfectly captures the nature of the business, to building the team, launching the enterprise, and watching it take off and grow. Of the more than dozen successful businesses I’ve launched over the past 12 years, every one of them has been a unique experience, and I’ve loved the process every time.

Starting out so young gave me a certain courage that comes with blissful ignorance. I had the confidence that comes with not knowing any better. As I’ve grown older and seen more of the business world, there have been times when I’ve had to overcome doubts and work to maintain my confidence, just like anybody else. But the thrill of trying out new ideas and seeing them take root and grow has always made it worth the effort.

I was fortunate to learn very early on the key principle that all successful entrepreneurs need to know: First, you have to believe in yourself.

It’s actually not that difficult to succeed. It’s much more common sense than rocket science. But it starts with finding the courage to put yourself out there.

Believing in yourself is what gives you the confidence and resilience to deal with the rejections and doubts. It drives you to do the best job you can, no matter what you’re doing.

Over time, I’ve learned to trust my instincts--and that’s crucial. You can learn all kinds of things from other people, but ultimately it’s your own instincts that you’ll need to rely on. The bottom line of your business is you.

Whether you are selling door-to-door, on the phone, through an infomercial, or on a website, ultimately the venue doesn’t matter. All of these methods work. First and foremost, you must be able to sell yourself. People don’t buy your product or service only because they like it or want it; they also buy it because they like you. If they don’t like you, then in many cases it doesn’t matter how much they like the product you’re selling, they won’t buy it.

If you put yourself out there with confidence, you’ll find that most people respect you and respond well to you, whether or not they want what you’re selling.

Believing in yourself leads naturally to a second principle: You have to believe in what you’re selling.

People sometimes think of selling as the art of being pushy, crafty or even manipulative. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. The best salespeople focus on asking questions and listening, not pushing.

I don’t believe in high-pressure selling. High pressure is what people use when they’re selling something nobody wants, or charging far more than their product is worth. There’s a difference between being persuasive and applying pressure. I’m persuasive when I’m selling, but that’s because I truly believe in what I’m selling and the value it will create for my customer. My feeling is, I’d be doing my customers a disservice if I let them not buy my product.

The best salespeople are so dedicated to giving customers what they want that they are willing to be as rigorous, patient, and dedicated as it takes to make the sale. They don’t give up easily because they believe in what they’re doing.

I’m always genuinely fascinated to know why people wouldn’t want what I’m selling. If you’re not passionate about the product or service you’re offering, how could you possibly approach people with genuine confidence? Make sure you’re proud of what you sell and the value it creates in people’s lives, and you’ll instantly become a better entrepreneur.

Believing in yourself also leads to a third success principle: When you respect yourself, treating other people with respect comes naturally. Treating other people with great respect is one of the most powerful secrets of business success. Keep doing that over time with everyone you encounter, and you’ll find that people are consistently receptive to you and to your products, services, and ideas. Any fears and doubts you have will start to melt away.

And then you won’t hesitate to go ahead and ask for the sale.

* Excerpted from You Call the Shots by Cameron Johnson. Copyright © 2007 by Cameron Johnson. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.