Motivation Articles, Essays, Tips and Advice

Some time ago, I spoke to a group of salespeople in Kansas City as they kicked off their new team. It was exciting to see them get excited about making a difference through their work.

The topic they assigned me was “Simply the Best.” So as I prepared, I asked myself, “What characteristics would help someone pass the “Best” test? That is, what are the characteristics of those who become the “best” at what they do? Here are the thoughts I shared with them:

The Best are Optimists…
You can’t get to the top if you don’t think that there is a top or if you think you can’t make it. One characteristic of those who reach the peak is that they always believe that things can get better or be done better. This pushes them on to be their best.

The Best have Vision…
They can see ahead of the pack. Their eyes aren’t locked into the here and now. They see the bright future and what things will look like when they reach their destiny. While working hard for today, they live for the future! They do what Stephen Covey calls begin with the end in mind.

The Best Relentlessly Pursue Excellence…
The status quo is not for them. They want to be the best and experience the best. And that means giving their best. They go the extra mile so that in everything they do, in everything they say and think, they are striving for excellence.

The Best have a Life Long Habit of Personal Growth…
They don’t want to stay at the level they are at. They want to grow in their work, their intellect, their spirituality, their relationships, and in every area of their life. And they discipline themselves to put themselves in situations wherein they grow. Personal growth doesn’t “just happen.” You choose to grow. I always suggest what Zig Ziglar does and that is to enroll in “Automobile University.”

Whenever you are driving around, listen to a personal or professional growth tape or CD. Over the long run you will grow. Also, read more. The old saying is true: Leaders are readers. So are those who pass the “Best” test.

The Best Understand that They will be Pushed by the Competition - and They Welcome It…
Like the lead runner in the race who has someone on his heels, the best know that the competition is right behind them. They love it though because they know that the competition keeps them from becoming lazy and resting on their laurels. Instead, the competition pushes them to go faster and to achieve more - to remain the best by forging ahead.

The Best have a Quest for Leadership…
Someone has to lead - it may as well be the best! Those who attain it get there because they want to. They want to lead and help make a difference. And they want to be equipped with the skills necessary to lead others on to a better place.

The Best Leave a Legacy…
They aren’t in it just for themselves, though they will surely reap the rewards of being the best. Rather, they build things that last beyond themselves, things that can be enjoyed by others as well.

The Best are Adept at the Two Most Important Pieces of Time and Personal Management: Prioritize and Execute…
Just like weight loss boils down to eat right and exercise, personal management boils down to prioritize and execute.

First, prioritize your activities. The important stuff goes on the top. Then, execute: do them. The best have habits and discipline that get them to the top by doing the best things and doing them first.

The Best Focus on Building Relationships…
Success does not come alone. Everyone who achieves much does it with the help of countless others. How do the Best get others to help them? They treat them right. They embrace them and help them. People become the best because they help other people, and people like them.

The Best Make no Excuses…
When they fail they admit it and move on. They get back up and do it right the next time. They let their actions speak loader than their words. They stand tall and do the right thing the next time. No excuses, just results.

The Best Understand that the Good is the Enemy of the Best…
Yes, they could say, “this is good.” But that would mean they have settled for less than the best. Many people think that good is good. Good is not good. Good is the enemy because it keeps us from the best. Choose your side: the good or the best. The Best choose, you guessed it, the
Best.

The Best Dare to Dream…
While others live the mundane and settle into a life they never bargained for, a rut, the Best dream of a better life. And then they take the risks necessary to achieve their dreams.

They live by Teddy Roosevelt’s quote: Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs though checkered by failure, then to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilit that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Want to be the best at what you do? Take inventory on the above characteristics and then start moving to bring your life in line with the characteristics of the “best.” Then when you get to the top you will know that you have passed the “Best” test.

Chris Widener
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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 him at www.ChrisWidener.com.

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Do you ever feel like there are parts of you saying yes, while other parts are holding you back? There is a cast of characters that live inside of us all and at different times we may be run by one voice over another.

The key question here is this. If you are committed to being successful, how can you put your dreamer and visionary at the helm, on a day-to-day basis? If you can turn the volume up on the voice of the dreamer, and the volume down on the voice of the doubter, you will create more opportunities for greater success with greater ease.

What are the voices saying inside of your head? Who are the people in your life and on your team who might be playing these roles? Imagine that your dream is to take risk, a big risk that could really grow your business. Perhaps you would change jobs, an assistant or move to a bigger space.

Here’s how these voices might typically respond.

Doubter – This voice is often heard saying such things as, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “I have my doubts.” Even “bad idea.” If you were to really crank the volume up on this voice it could turn into a real annihilator saying things like, “Are you out of your mind?”

Realist – “Be realistic…” If we turn the doubter down a bit, it becomes the voice of a realist. Realists aren’t bad, as a matter of fact, they are important for they require evidence and solid plans. The way to deal with this voice is to give it what it needs. If you ignore it, or worse reject it, it can cleverly sabotage you. Being realistic often offers prudence and makes us do our homework. However, if you are overly realistic you may kill the passion around your dream.

Dreamer – Once the realist is fed (with facts and strategies) there is room for the dreamer. The dreamer says, “What if…” (the doubter often says, “But what if…”) The dreamer imagines what is possible, is an opportunist, believes in the dream and finds creative outlets.

Dreamers talk about their dreams in a powerful way, with clarity and intention. Serious dreamers build Dream Teams as they get others excited about their vision. And most importantly, dreamers take action to make their dreams a reality.

Visionary – This voice says, “Anything is possible, let’s dream big!” You know these people. These are the folks we look up to and admire. Setbacks or failures do not stop them. They have learned the process of realizing their dreams and now they embody what it means to be a big dreamer.

Simply put, a visionary has a vision and they invite others to join them. Often people are so inspired by this visionary that they ask to participate. People enroll themselves when they are in the presence of a true visionary.

A visionary is not defined by the size of the dream, for dreams come in all sizes and areas of life. If you were truly living your dream, even your “dream come true life,” how would it be? What do you see yourself doing, where are you doing it, and who is doing it with you? How many lives would you touch and how many people would you help?
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Marcia Wieder is a motivational speaker, specializing in helping people make their dreams real! In addition to her speaking and coaching she is the author of several books. Reach her by visiting her website at www.marciaw.com.

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This is a classic momentum-killer that you will have used, just like me, on numerous occasions. The first step to recognising and solving a problem is to own up to it right?

Have you ever seen the kids’ TV program Sesame Street? There’s a character on there called The Count. He’s like Count Dracula and he..well, he counts. “1 - 2 - 3 ha ha ha!”

What’s so wrong with counting you say?

Nothing. Nothing unless it is killing your momentum and stopping you getting what you want from life. Which it often does.

I’m going to use the task of writing as an example in this case but it could be any task that involves the risk counting – earning money, writing words, making phone calls, creating sales appointments, losing weight etc..

So, in this example, let’s just say you’re writing an article or a book – you’re going great guns and surging through the writing at high speed, you’re on a roll. Then you hit a block of some kind or your focus is momentarily taken away and you pause for a moment.

HERE COMES THE COUNT..

Rather than use the Law Of Momentum to get instant momentum and get the book finished you think;

“I’m going to see how well I’m doing and count the number of pages I’ve done.”

So you leave your creative zone and your mind goes into number crunching mode. It’s important to note that once you cross boundaries like this with your brain it’s not easy to get back into that creative zone again.

So anyway, you count the pages. 32 pages. Not bad, you say to yourself. But because your brain is now in number-crunching mode it wants more tasks to do in this mode. So you say to yourself;

“I wonder how many words I’ve written?”

So then you run a word count. 11,283 words. Not bad. What does this tell you? Precisely nothing.

Your brain is still in analytical (rather than creative) mode so it wants you to give it more ‘food’ i.e. analytical tasks. So you say to yourself;

“I should probably just run a word check on what I’ve done so far.”

Now, let’s just recap a moment. Ten minutes ago you were in full creative flow. The book or article was being created. You momentarily lost your momentum (it only takes a moment to lose it, or to create it) and then you got taken over by the blood-sucking Count Dracula.

You did a page count. You did a word count. You did a spell check.

Now you might say – so what?! Just 10 minutes lost right? No. Not just 10 minutes – you just lost your creative juices and the creative power that you had in full flow. The ideas that you were meant to write before you lost momentum may NEVER come back to you again. Those could have been million dollar ideas – they could have made the difference between the end product being a success or a failure and you lost them for the sake of counting.

HOW TO STOP THE COUNT DEAD IN HIS TRACKS

Now writing a book is one thing and it’s disruptive enough doing that but what if Count Dracula sinks his teeth in when it comes to earning money? Or when you’re trying to lose weight? When you spend more time on the scales than you do in the gym?

You need garlic, a stake and a cross.

GARLIC – THE SMELL OF SUCCESS

To stop yourself being distracted by counting, measuring and analyzing focus always on the success that your task will bring. See, hear, feel and SMELL what that success will be like for you. This will have a powerful pull on you and drive your actions accordingly.

STAKE – THE INSTANT KILL

As soon as you find yourself doing more counting than achieving – kill the activity instantly. Just picture Count Dracula sinking his teeth into your neck and sucking out your blood and life. Stop him dead in his tracks.

CROSS – KEEP THE FAITH

Just believe that you are on the right track. If you look deep inside yourself you know in your heart of hearts how well you are progressing with something without actually having to take time out and start counting, counting, counting.
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Written by Michael Cheney — You can get daily FREE videos from him to help you get motivated at www.GetMomentumTv.com

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There just isn’t time to do all you want to do and all that you need do. It is easy for us to teach abandonment to others, but the leader knows the price of abandonment, beginning with his own thought processes.

What do you think about? Let’s go a step further, what do you talk about? Someone once said that little people talk about things, medium sized people talk about people, and big people talk about ideas. Which kind of people do you like to be around?

How are your reading habits; how many books have you read this year, how many are you reading now, how many of the ideas you’ve received from the books have you shared? The power of a single book at the right time in a life is unlimited.

The leader leads the way, showing that leaders are readers. You should not only keep a flow of books for yourself, but give them away. Paperbacks are inexpensive and popular. I share a book list that points out the books that have been the most influential of my life.

The leader is constantly learning to abandon the things that come naturally, like DISCOURAGEMENT. Discouragement is, without a doubt, the most expensive luxury we can afford. When I become wealthy, I plan to get discouraged for a week at a time, but I can’t afford but a few minutes a day right now.

Most people I know must really be wealthy now, for all the discouragement they seem to be enjoying. Sometimes I’m asked if I ever get discouraged, and I reply, “yes, often.” But I never let anyone know about it, because if I allow you to know how discouraged I am, you’ll become discouraged, you’ll discourage me more than I am, and I can’t hardly stand how much I have now. So abandon discouragement and all the other attitude killers as you become the leader you are meant to be!

Tremendously,

Charles “T” Jones
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Written by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. In addition to breaking many sales records in the Insurance Industry throughout his career, Mr. Jones is the founder and CEO of Executive Books. For more information on Charlie “T” Jones and Executive books visit www.ExecutiveBooks.com

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One major aspect of your personal image comes from how well you’ve developed what’s inside your skull. I’m not talking about a high IQ or your skill at Trivial Pursuit. I’m referring to your mental fitness.

Can your mind lift abstract concepts from The Wall Street Journal or from the professional journal in your field? Can you grasp the intricacies of a problem explained by an expert from another field? Can you hang in there when getting an issue settled is going to mean clearing seven committees and the CEO?

Try to get in the habit of not assigning labels to people. At work, for instance, don’t dismiss the opinions of a mere “clerk” while perhaps over-valuing those of a “consultant.” It takes intellectual strength to appreciate people’s unique, human side and not judge them generically. But do so and you’ll win their respect - and maybe learn something, too.

Seek Depth and Breadth of Knowledge…

Depth of knowledge refers to how well you understand your own area of expertise. The more you know about it, the more power and influence you’ll have. Charismatic people often make good first impressions not because they’re smarter than others but because they prepare better.

But if depth of knowledge alone were enough to make a good impression, chemists would bond with other chemists, cops with other cops, and taxidermists with other taxidermists. But, what about the rest of the world? Breadth of knowledge enables you to engage in meaningful social talk, the social lubricant that looms large in all human exchanges. Thus, by being informed on a wide range of topics, you’ll be able to project a favorable image more easily with more people.

How do you increase breadth of knowledge? You’re literally surrounded by opportunities! If there’s one thing we don’t lack in our culture, it’s access to information. You can read books and magazines. Explore the Internet. Take classes. Go to plays and movies. Attend workshops. Listen to audio programs. You name it!
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Dr. Tony Alessandra has authored numerous books, recorded over 50 audio and video programs, and delivered over 2,000 keynote speeches since 1976. If you would like more information about Dr. Alessandra’s books, audio tapesets and video programs, or about Dr. Alessandra as a keynote speaker, visit his website at Alessandra.com

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