How to Become Financially Successful

You Can Have It All
To increase the odds of making the right choices to becoming successful, you don’t have to invent a new thought process and lifestyle. All you need to do is copy how successful people think, how they play the game of life, and how they are different from the average person. Logically, if you learn to think like successful people, you will do the things successful people do, and you too most likely will be a success. Believe it or not, the first thing most successful people do is decide where they’re going then they head in that direction. Not timidly and full of fear, but with passion and gusto.

Ten key points to help you on the road are as follows:

Set long-term goals. Without knowing where you want to go, how in the world can you get there? Your initial goals shouldn’t be in ways to make the most money. They should revolve around what you’re most passionate about. Don’t open a car dealership if you love plants. Open up a nursery. Duh!

Focus on those goals and put real energy into achieving them. Half-baked efforts usually will lead to half-baked results or, more likely, no results at all.
Plan a strategy. Map out the direction you plan on taking to achieve your goals. Keep in mind your strategy may change as conditions change including your level of experience and education. This is not a blood oath between you and a piece of paper; it’s a map to lead you in the direction you want to go.
If you need extra training, get it. Don’t be making a bunch of excuses about how hard it’s going to be or you don’t have time. Between the internet, the library, and successful people you will meet, you can learn everything you need to know. That is, if you really want to learn. (Yep, there are people like that.).
Don’t procrastinate. Start today and always keep your eye on the goal. Forget about the get-rich-quick plan. You’re going to have to put work into achieving your goal. Even a thief has to put hard work into his or her goal of achieving a perfect heist. After the heist, the thief then has to worry about being caught. Talk about stress.
Set out to win. If you’re investing in a business, don’t worry about competition because winning in spite of any competition is part of what you have considered in your strategy. Don’t waste your time considering how you might fail as this thinking often becomes a self-fulfilled prophesy.
Think for yourself. If you tend to follow the herd, reflect on the fact that most people in the herd aren’t financially successful.
Take calculated risks. Remember, everything is a risk so go ahead take risks. I know, that’s scary, but overcoming this fear is important to your success.
Be smart about your time. Working hard does no good, if you don’t work right. Invest your time wisely; it’s your most important asset. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American worker over 25 watches 2.6 hours of television a day. That’s 949 hours a year or equivalent to about 24 forty-hour workweeks. If you consider the average month as having four weeks, that’s 6 months. That’s a lot of time better spent on your goals rather than improving somebody’s ratings.
Be passionate about your life and how you live it. Passionate people are exciting to be around and often have opportunities presented to them that the Caspar Milquetoasts never enjoy.
In the name of the finance gods, pay off your debts and quit borrowing. Stop with the ‘I’ve got to have it now’ thinking and teach your kids to do the same thing. If it’s really worth having, it’s worth waiting for.
Have fun. Play hard. Let’s face it; you’ve only one life as the person you are, so spend some of it having fun. You will discover the more passionate you are about life in general, the more fun you’ll have.

Let me conclude by giving you some wise words of advice from John D. Rockefeller Senior, a man who was not born into loads of money, but certainly mastered the skills of making it:

"The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let the money be my servant and not make myself a slave to the money…" (John D. Rockefeller Senior, 1904)

What Successful People Never Do

Success is an aim which is hard to reach, but not impossible to. One common thread that runs along success stories is that successful people observe great discipline on themselves on their way to the top plus also their foresight. Common among successful people are also goals and their habit of not leaving other aspects of their lives behind.

Despite these characteristics, successful people, like most other people, are no strangers to failure. Even after learning the tips on what things to do or remember to achieve success, people still stumble on which things not to do to achieve success. Herewith is a list of things successful people do not do which other people should not do as well in order to reach success:

For achieving goals, here are some points people should never stumble upon on their way to success:

1. Having no plan at all. Setting goals is just the easy part, some people see the ends they want to meet but cannot see the way through them. It is important to consider the resources one will need and back-up plans should plan A fail.

2. Cramming one's mind with so many things at once. Start small. Take it one step at a time. Build up small habits to enhance self-confidence and then pick up speed then on.

3. Being vague about plans. Try to be more specific. As in exercise, instead of saying "I'll do some work-out next year." Try saying "For the whole year net year, I'll exercise twice a week." or something to that effect. Point is, seal your plans from wiggle-out spaces. Also refrain from absolute statements containing "never" and "always".

4. Fooling one's self. Keep track of progress in a journal or checklist. Sometimes memory becomes really selective and remembers activities never done and forgets about little failures.

5. Beating one's self up. A pat on the back for things done well can mean a lot of encouragement to push through. Do not think too much about the mistakes committed. Learn from them and then move on forward.

6. Expecting things to work perfectly as planned. Leave room for failure. Follow the cliche "try and try until you succeed". If things do not go well the first try, step up and do it again. With a little faith it can be done.

While in the business, here are some pitfalls to avoid:

1. Being content with mediocrity. Asserting one's edge or trait differentiates one from the rest.. Another bonus from this is that you can ask for higher incentives for the marginal benefits that you offer.

2. Underestimating one's worth. Determine the price so that it is both competitive and appropriate. Be cautious about the implications of having too high a price or too low. A price too high drives away customers and a price too low may make clients think twice about the quality of the product or service.

3. Failing to make one's business accessible to potential clients. Best forms of marketing are via word-of-mouth and referrals. Try to penetrate these media of advertising. They are cheap yet highly effective.

4. Becoming a workaholic. It is not advisable for one to burn himself out with work. One should never abandon his health and his life altogether. He may become successful professionally but a total loser in the other aspects of his life. Try to socialize with officemates or colleagues. It is recommended for a person to engage in a healthy recreational activity once in a while to relieve stress brought about by his job.

5. Being content with stacked knowledge. For one to succeed, it is important to always be willing to learn. This is important especially in the field of technology where everything is changing at a very rapid pace. It is important to be up to date with the latest trends, programs and gadgets so that one can deliver well to his clients. Try attending seminars and workshops to keep abreast with the latest trends in your field of work.

6. Finally, failing to enjoy one's work. Personal satisfaction at work is as important as workmanship itself. Personal satisfaction can serve as the well of enthusiasm for a person, ensuring that he only rarely, if not never, loses his momentum at work. Personal satisfaction also keeps a person from draining out of energy to enable him to do other things after work

Secrets of successful people

Successful people are a cut above average people. They are passionate and driven, and seem to have more energy than ordinary folks. They believe in their talents and capabilities, are brilliant at conceptualizing ideas, and are highly effective in actualizing their dreams and goals.

Successful people are highly motivated. They set high, demanding goals for themselves. Whether at work, at play, or simply taking care of their personal and family affairs, successful people are winners who love to create and achieve. Most importantly, the ones who succeed most are those who persist and hold on to their vision when the going gets rough.

Here are more distinguishing qualities that separate successful people from the mediocre ones:
• Successful people love their job. Through their occupation, they are aligned to their passions and purpose in life. They value and enjoy what they do, and find fulfillment and significance in their work and accomplishments. Successful people would rather work than play.

• They have a good support system. Successful people are connected to people who nurture, value, love, and support them — their family, relatives, caring friends, and associates. They find strength in others who encourage and believe in them.

• They are well-connected and can relate to any strata in society. They are always building their network of social and business connections, increasing their number of friends and supporters. Successful people know one of the greatest secrets of success: It’s not only what you know that matters, it’s who you know.

• They have an infectious, positive attitude. Successful people always look at the bright side of life and count their blessings often. They spread happiness and sunshine wherever they go, and maintain a healthy optimistic mindset, feeling assured and confident. They have a driven, “I can do it; it can be done!” attitude.

• They are concerned about health and take care of their bodies. They keep physically fit and strong to meet the demands of the fast life. Successful people know the importance of a good diet and consistent exercise regimen. They know how to pace their schedules and effectively manage stress.

• They have well-set priorities. Successful people have a clear vision of what they want and give precedence to what are most valuable to them. They prioritize their goals, set them on a time schedule, and work on them according to the importance assigned to them.

• They know how to manage their resources. Successful people develop a systematic way of managing their time, talents, money, and energy. These four elements when properly handled can lead to outstanding achievements and accomplishments for they are the primary investments needed for great success.

• They believe in the pursuit of excellence. Successful people have high self-worth, and won’t settle for anything but the best. They strive for spectacular results and aim for the extraordinary. They put in a hundred percent effort in everything they do.

• They turn every disappointment and failure into something good. Successful people look at failure as a temporary setback in their journey to success. They have great focus and try, over and over again, until they succeed. Winners never give up.

• They have good fundamental values and set higher goals. Successful people live meaningful and more significant lives because they have clear-cut fundamental values. They set higher goals than typical people and set their goals above everybody else’s.

• Successful people are people-oriented. Success comes to those who sincerely love being of service to other people — educating minds, uplifting lives, inspiring others. Ever wonder why Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates are mega successful? They are people-oriented and share their talents, ideas, and achievements with the world.

Two Personality Powers for Motivating Others

There are two powers of personality you can develop that will increase your charisma and your ability to influence others.

Decide Exactly What You Want
The first of these powers is the power of purpose. Men and women with charisma and personal magnetism almost invariably have a clear vision of who they are, of where they're going and of what they're trying to achieve. Leaders in sales and management have a vision of what they're trying to create and why they're doing what they're doing. They're focused on accomplishing some great purpose. They're decisive about every aspect of their lives. They know exactly what they want and what they have to do to get it. They plan their work and work their plan.

Set Clear Goals For Yourself
You can increase your charisma and the magnetism of your personality by setting clear goals for yourself, making plans to achieve them, and working on your plans with discipline and determination every day. The whole world seems to move aside for the person who knows exactly where he is going.

In fact, the clearer you are about your purposes and goals, the more likely people will be to attribute other positive qualities to you. They will see you, or perceive you, as being a better and more admirable human being. And when you have clear goals, you begin attracting to yourself the people and opportunities necessary to make those goals a reality

Believe in Yourself
The second personality power is self-confidence. Men and women with charisma have an intense belief in themselves and in what they are doing. They are usually calm, cool and composed about themselves and their work. Your level of self-confidence is often demonstrated in your courage, your willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve a purpose that you believe in.

The Secret of Attraction
People are naturally attracted to those who exude a sense of self-confidence, those who have an unshakable belief in their ability to rise above circumstances to attain their goals.

Assume the Result in Advance
One of the ways you demonstrate self-confidence is by assuming that people naturally like you and accept you and want to do business with you. For example, one of the most powerful ways to close a sale is simply to assume that the prospect has decided to purchase the product or service, and then go on to wrap up the details. One of the best ways to achieve success in your relationships is to assume that people naturally enjoy your company and want to be around you, and then proceed on that basis. The very act of behaving in a self-confident manner will generate personal charisma in the eyes of others.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, think on paper. Write out your goals and plans in detail and then review them regularly. Discuss them with others. Upgrade your goals and plans and revise them when you get new information. Be clear about them.

Second, express your level of self-confidence to others all the time, even if you have doubts inside. Always walk, talk, act and move like a winner, like a person who is absolutely confident of success and ultimate victory.

The Causes of Money

Never Worry About Money Again
You must aim to reach the point where you have enough money so that you never have to worry about money again. The good news is that financial independence is easier to achieve today than it has ever been before. We live in the richest country at the richest time in all of human history. We are surrounded by more wealth and affluence than ever before. Your job is to get your fair share.

Financial Success Is Not An Accident
The Law of Cause and Effect applies to money as much as to any other subject. This law says that financial success is an effect. As such, it proceeds from certain, specific causes. When you identify these causes and implement them in your own life and activities, you will get the same effects that hundreds of thousands, and even millions of others have gotten. You can achieve whatever level of affluence you really want if you will just do what others have done before you to achieve the same results. And if you don't, you won't. It is as simple as that.

Your Beliefs Determine Your Success
There is perhaps no other area where universal laws are more in evidence than in the acquiring and keeping of money. In America today, there are several million men and women who have started with nothing, or deeply in debt, and achieved financial independence. Their attitudes and behaviors have been studied in great depth. We now know the keys to wealth creation better than ever before. And what we know is that your most cherished beliefs on the subject of money will be the primary determinants of how much you acquire and how much you keep over the course of your working lifetime

Your Primary Aim in Life
Your primary aim in life should be the achievement of your own happiness. However, happiness is something that exists naturally in the absence of fears, doubts and negative emotions. One of the factors that most deprives you of happiness is worry about money. And, by the way, when we talk about money worries, we're not referring to your having too much. The problem is virtually always that people feel that they have too little money and their lives are suffering as a result.

Build a Financial Fortress
Perhaps the greatest single fear, the one that causes you more distress and unhappiness than anything else, is the fear of failure. In the area of money, you experience this as the fear of poverty and the fear of loss. Since one of the deepest needs of human nature is security, any threat to your security, real or imaginary, can cause you tremendous stress.

You can only free yourself from the fears of poverty and failure by achieving a specific level of financial worth and then by building a fortress around it so that you are safe and impregnable. This achievement of financial independence is a key responsibility of adult life. No one else will do it for you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to implement the Law of Cause and Effect in your financial life:

First, begin today to implement the causes of financial success in our society. This requires that you spend less, save more, invest carefully and strive toward financial independence.

Second, study other people who are financially successful who have started from little or nothing. Find out what they did to become financially independent and discipline yourself to do the same things.

The Determinant of Your Success

Perhaps the most powerful single factor in your financial success is your beliefs about yourself and money. We call this the Law of Belief. It says simply this: Whatever you believe, with feeling, becomes your reality.

What Successful People Believe
Whatever you intensely believe becomes your reality. That we have a tendency to block out any information coming in to us that is inconsistent with our reality. What we've discovered is that successful people absolutely believe that they have the ability to succeed. And they will not entertain, think about, or talk about the possibilities that they'll fail. They do not even consider the possibility of failure.

Positive Thinking Versus Positive Knowing
You always act in a matter consistent with your beliefs. The most important belief system you can build is a prosperity consciousness where you absolutely believe that you are going achieve your financial goals. We call this positive knowing versus positive thinking. Positive thinking can sometimes be wishing or hoping. But positive knowing is when you absolutely know that no matter what, you will be successful.

The Foundation of Willpower
Another principle related to your beliefs is willpower. We know that willpower is essential to any success. Willpower is based on confidence. It's based on conviction. It's based on faith. It's based on your belief in your ability to triumph over all obstacles. And you can develop willpower by persistence, by working on your goals, by reading the biographies of successful people, by listening to audio programs, by reading books about people who've achieved success. The more information you take into your mind consistent with success, the more likely it is that you will develop the willpower to push you through the obstacles and difficulties you will experience.

Beat the Odds on Success
Remember that success is rare. Only one person in one hundred becomes wealthy in the course of a lifetime. Only five percent achieve financial independence. That means that the odds against you are 19-to-1. The only way that you're going to achieve your financial goals is if you get really serious. To succeed, you must get serious. You must get busy. You must get active. You must get going. Remember, everything counts.

Resolve to Achieve Greatly
Self-mastery, self-control, self-discipline are essential for anyone who wants to achieve greatly. And control over your thoughts is the hardest exercise in self-mastery that you will ever engage in. See if you can talk and think about only what you desire and not talk or think about anything that you don't want for 24 hours. Then you'll see what you're really made of. It's a hard thing to do but with practice, you can reach the point where you are thinking about your goals and desires most of the time. Then, your whole life will change for the better.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to build a belief system consistent with the financial success you desire:

First, continually repeat to yourself the words, pictures and thoughts consistent with your dreams and goals. Whatever you repeat often enough, over and over, becomes a new belief.

Second, set a goal for yourself to think and talk only about the things that you want for the next 24 hours. This will be one of the hardest things you ever do. But if you can keep your mind on what you want and off of what you don't want for 24 hours, you can begin to change your entire future.

Accepting Yourself Unconditionally

How Are You Treated By Others?
Self-acceptance begins in infancy, with the influence of your parents and siblings and other important people.

Your own level of self-acceptance is determined largely by how well you feel you are accepted by the important people in your life.

Your attitude toward yourself is determined largely by the attitudes that you think other people have toward you. When you believe that other people think highly of you, your level of self-acceptance and self-esteem goes straight up.

The best way to build a healthy personality involves understanding yourself and your feelings.

Let the Light Shine In
This is achieved through the simple exercise of self-disclosure. For you to truly understand yourself, or to stop being troubled by things that may have happened in your past, you must be able to disclose yourself to at least one person. You have to be able to get those things off your chest. You must rid yourself of those thoughts and feelings by revealing them to someone who won't make you feel guilty or ashamed for what has happened

Understand What Makes You Tick
The second part of personality development follows from self-disclosure, and it's called self-awareness. Only when you can disclose what you're truly thinking and feeling to someone else can you become aware of those thoughts and emotions If the other person simply listens to you without commenting or criticizing, you have the opportunity to become more aware of the person you are and why you do the things you do. You begin to develop perspective, or what the Buddhists call "detachment."

Be Honest With Yourself
Now we come to the good part. After you've gone through self-disclosure to self-awareness, you arrive at self-acceptance. You accept yourself for the person you are, with good points and bad points, with strengths and weaknesses, and with the normal frailties of a human being. When you develop the ability to stand back and look at yourself honestly, and to candidly admit to others that you may not be perfect but you're all you've got, you start to enjoy a heightened sense of self-acceptance.

Do An Inventory of Your Accomplishments
A valuable exercise for developing higher levels of self-acceptance involves doing an inventory of yourself. In doing this inventory, your job is to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative.

Think of your unique talents and abilities. Think of your core skills, the things that you do exceptionally well that account for your success in your profession and in your personal life right now.

Think About Your Future
Think about your future possibilities and the fact that your potential is virtually unlimited. You can do what you want to do and go where you want to go. You can be the person you want to be. You can set large and small goals and make plans and move step-by-step, progressively toward their realization. There are no obstacles to what you can accomplish except the obstacles that you create in your mind.

Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, sit down with your spouse, or a good friend, and tell him or her about something that is troubling you and is still causing you unhappiness.

Second, develop perspective on your problem by standing back from it and imagining that it was happening to someone else. What advice would you give to that person?

Third, think continually about the good experiences and accomplishments you have enjoyed in the past. Remind yourself regularly that you are a pretty good person and you've done a lot of good things in your life

It is a Challenge to Succeed

It is a challenge to succeed. If it were not, I’m sure more people would be successful, but for every person who is enjoying the fruit from the tree of success, many more are examining the roots. They are trying to figure it all out. They are mystified and perplexed by what seems to be some strange, complex and elusive secret that must be found if ever success is to be enjoyed.

While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily engaged in designing and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. While the much larger group sits in awe at how life can be so unfair, complicated and unjust.

“I am a nice person,” the man says to himself. “How come this other guy is happy and rich, and I’m always struggling?” He asks himself, “I am a good husband, a good father and a good worker. How come nothing seems to work out for me? Life just isn’t fair. I’m even smarter and willing to work harder than some of these other people who just seem to have everything going their way,” he says as he slumps into the sofa to watch another evening of television. But you see you’ve got to be more than a good person and a good worker. You’ve got to become a good planner, and a good dreamer. You’ve got to see the future finished in advance.

You’ve got to put in the long hours and put up with the setbacks and the disappointments. You’ve got to learn to enjoy the process of disciplines and of putting yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. You’ve got to be prepared and willing to attack the challenges if you want the success because challenges are part of success. Now that may sound like a full menu of activities, but let me assure you that the process of going from average to fortune isn’t really all that difficult.

Thinking about it is the difficult part. Anticipating all the effort and the changes and the disciplines is far worse in the mind than in reality. I can promise you that the challenges you’ll meet on the road to success are far less difficult to deal with than the struggles and the disappointments that come from being average. Confronting and overcoming challenges is an exhilarating experience. It does something to feed the soul and the mind. It makes you more than you were before. It strengthens the mental muscles and enables you to become better prepared for the next challenge.

I've often said that to have more, we must first become more, and to become more, we must begin the process of working harder on ourselves than we do on anything else. But in addition to gathering new knowledge, new skills and new experiences; it is also important to discover new emotions. It is how we feel about what we know that makes the biggest difference in how our lives turn out. How we feel about the chances we have and the choices we have determines the intensity of our effort. Whether we try or don’t try. Join or don’t join. Believe or don’t believe.

I’d like for you to discover some strong feelings about your life and about what you want to do with that life. You probably have much of the knowledge and a lot of the experience and perhaps most of the skills that it takes to become successful. What you may be lacking in are the strong feelings about what you want and what you want to do. You may be one of those who have become so involved in the process of earning a living that you’ve forgotten about the choices and the chances you have for designing your own life.

Let these strong feelings help you take a second look at your life and where you’re headed. After all, you’ve only got one life, at least on this planet. So why not make it an adventure in achievement? Why not discover what all you can do and what all you can have? Why not discover how many others you can help and in the process how that can help you?

Why not now take the Challenge to Succeed!

Solving Problems Effectively

Your ability to communicate is the most important skill you can develop to get on to the fast track in your career. Perhaps the most important thing you do in business is to solve problems and make decisions, both by yourself and with other people.

Use A Systematic Process
A major type of communication in the business organization is meetings for problem solving and decision making. The key to effective problem solving and decision making discussions, is for you to all go through the process systematically.

Define the Problem Clearly
Right at the beginning, you ask the question, "What exactly is the problem?" Clarity of definition will resolve 50% of the issues before they go any further.

Focus on the Future
When discussing a problem, be sure to focus on the future over the past. Ask the question, "Where do we go from here?" "What do we do from here?" "What are our options for the future?" Too many problem-solving discussions end up focusing all of the attention of all the people present on what happened in the past and who is to blame. The effective executive uses this type of communication to focus on where the company and the individuals are going, and what can happen in the future - the only part of the equation over which anyone has any control

Talk About the Solutions
A second element in effective problem solving communications, is for you to talk about the solutions instead of talking about the problems. It is for you to keep the attention of the individuals in the meeting focused on the possible solutions and what can be done rather than what has already happened.

Release Creativity
The discussion of solutions is inherently positive, uplifting and has a tendency to release creativity amongst the group. A discussion of problems is inherently negative, demotivating and tends to inhibit creativity.

The Key to Positive Thinking
You can become a positive thinker simply by becoming a solution-oriented person rather than a problem-oriented person. If you get everyone in your organization thinking and talking in terms of solutions, you will be astonished at the quality and quantity of ideas that will emerge.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two things you can immediately to become a better problem solver and decision maker.

First, take some time to be absolutely clear about the problem that is under discussion. Give some thought to what an ideal decision or solution would accomplish. Instead of focusing on the situation as it is, talk about the situation as you would like it to be.

Second, keep the conversation focused on solutions, on what can be done in the future. The more you think and talk about solutions, the more positive and creative everyone will be and the better ideas you will come up with.

The Key to Motivation

Your Real Goal
Your goal is to become a transformational leader, the kind of person that motivates and inspires people to perform at levels far beyond anything that they had previously thought possible.

Keep People In the Know
Transformational leaders empower others by keeping them "in the know," by keeping them fully informed on everything that effects their jobs. People want and need to feel that they are "insiders," that they are aware of everything that is going on. There is nothing so demoralizing to a staff member than to be kept in the dark about their work and what is going on in the company.

Give Regular Feedback
One empowering behavior practiced by transformational leaders is regular feedback on performance and results. People need to know how they're doing so they can improve if performance is below standards and so that they can be proud of their successes. The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical. My friend, Ken Blanchard, says that, "Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Be Generous With Praise
Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Remember, people are the only asset that can be made to appreciate in value by giving them warmth, respect, approval and by creating a climate of positive expectations.

Create An Exciting Future
What companies and countries and institutions need today are courageous visionary leaders who are committed to creating an exciting future for themselves and others. You have within yourself the ability to evolve and grow as a leader and to make a real difference in the world around you. And the one thing you can know for sure about yourself is that, no matter what you've accomplished up to now, there is far more that you can do.

As you practice the behaviors of effective leaders, you will grow more and more toward the realization of your full potential. It's completely up to you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action in your work.

First, hold regular meetings with your staff and tell them everything that is going on. Invite their comments, questions and concerns. Make everybody feel as if he or she was an insider in the organization.

Second, continually look for opportunities to give positive feedback, praise and encouragement. People need praise and encouragement like roses need rain and sunshine. Take every opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and their work.

Don't Lose Money!

Throughout the history of American enterprise, you've heard the words, "work hard and save your money." Work hard and save your money. It is the oldest rule for success in America. It's so important, as a matter of fact, that W. Clement Stone once said, "if you cannot save money, then the seeds of greatness are not in you."

Saving Is a Discipline
Why is it that saving money is so important? Because saving money is a discipline and any discipline affects all other disciplines in your life. If you do not have the discipline to refrain from spending all the money that you earn, then you are not qualified to become wealthy and if you do become wealthy, you'll not be capable of holding on to it.

The Law of Attraction
A principle with regard to saving your money is the law of attraction. The law of attraction is activated by saved money. Even one dollar saved will start to attract more money. Here's what I suggest that you do. If you're really serious about your future, go down and open a savings account. Put as much money as you can into it, even if it's only ten dollars. And then begin to collect little bits of money, and every week go down and put something into that account.

Attract More Money Into Your Life
You will find that the more you put in that account, the more you will attract from sources that you cannot now predict. But if you do not begin the savings process, if you don't begin putting something away towards your financial independence, then nothing will happen to you. The law of attraction just simply won't work.


Invest Your Money Conservatively
Once you begin to accumulate money, here's another rule. Invest the money conservatively. Marvin Davis, self-made billionaire, was asked by Forbes Magazine, "How do you account for your financial success?" And he said, "Well, I have two rules for financial investing." He said, "Rule number one is, don't lose money." He said, whenever I'm tempted, whenever I see an opportunity to invest where there's a possibility I could lose it all, I just simply refrain from putting the money in. Rule number two is, whenever I get tempted, I refer back to rule number one. Don't lose money.

Get Rich Slowly
George Classon says, in The Richest Man In Babylon, that the key is to accumulate your funds and then invest them very conservatively. One of the characteristics of self-made millionaires, one of the characteristics of old money in America is that it's very cautiously, conservatively and prudently invested.

Don't try to get rich quickly. Concentrate rather on getting rich slowly. If all you do is save ten percent of your earnings, put it away, and let it accumulate at compound interest, that alone will make you wealthy.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply these lessons to your financial life:

First, open a separate savings and investing account today. From this day forward, put every single dollar you can spare into this account and resolve to never touch it or spend it for any reason.

Second, whenever you consider any investment of your savings, remember the rule, "Don't lose money!" It is better to keep the money working at a low rate of interest than to take the chance of losing it. Be careful. A fool and his money are soon parted.

One Thing You Can't Hide

One of the most important traits of all motivators at work is consideration. Employees report that the best managers they ever had were people who cared about them as people and as friends. These managers took the time to ask them questions about their lives, and to listen patiently while they talked about the dilemmas and problems and situations in their families. The more that the employees felt that the boss liked them and respected them, the more empowered and motivated they felt.

Caring is the Key
The flip side of this motivator is the de-motivating feeling that the boss doesn't care. This is almost invariably expressed in a lack of recognition, a lack of approval, a lack of appreciation and a general failure to pay attention to the employee over time.

Spend Time Listening
Remember, the amount of time that you spend talking to and listening to an employee is a signal to that employee that he or she is important to you and to the company. This is why the very best bosses spend a lot of time walking around and chatting with their employees. They sit with them for lunch and coffee. They invite their comments and encourage open discussion and disagreements about work. They create an environment where people feel that the work belongs to them as well as to the company. In that environment, employees feel good about themselves and more fully committed to doing the job and doing it well.

Become A Positive Person
To empower and motivate your customers, your suppliers, your bankers and so on, you simply need to be a genuine, positive and cheerful person. You develop a positive mental attitude. You be the kind of person from whom, "never is heard a discouraging word." You are easygoing, genial, friendly, patient, tolerant and open minded. You make people feel comfortable being around you.

Emotions Determine Everything
Remember, everyone is primarily emotional. Everything that people do, or refrain from doing, is triggered by their deeper emotions. Your job is to connect with their higher and more positive emotions so they feel so good about you they want to help you and please you in some way.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, get out of your office and go among your friends and coworkers. Ask them about their personal lives and concerns, and then listen carefully to the answer.

Second, resolve to be a genuinely positive person under all circumstances. Be the kind of person people feel happy being around and working for

Four Essentials for Happiness

You may have a thousand different goals over the course of your lifetime, but they all will fall into one of four basic categories. Everything you do is an attempt to enhance the quality of your life in one or more of these areas.

The Key to Happiness
The first category is your desire for happy relationships. You want to love and be loved by others. You want to have a happy, harmonious home life. You want to get along well with the people around you, and you want to earn the respect of the people you respect. Your involvement in social and community affairs results from your desire to have happy interactions with others and to make a contribution to the society you live in.

Enjoy Your Work
The second category is your desire for interesting and challenging work. You want to make a good living, of course, but more than that, you want to really enjoy your occupation or profession. The very best times of your life are when you are completely absorbed in your work.

Become Financially Independent
The third category is your desire for financial independence. You want to be free from worries about money. You want to have enough money in the bank so that you can make decisions without counting your pennies. You want to achieve a certain financial state so that you can retire in comfort and never have to be concerned about whether or not you have enough money to support your lifestyle. Financial independence frees you from poverty and a need to depend upon others for your livelihood. If you save and invest regularly throughout your working life, you will eventually reach the point where you will never have to work again.

Enjoy Excellent Health
The fourth and final category is your desire for good health, to be free of pain and illness and to have a continuous flow of energy and feelings of well-being. In fact, your health is so central to your life that you take it for granted until something happens to disrupt it.

Peace of Mind is the Key
Peace of mind is essential for every one of these. The greater your peace of mind, the more relaxed and positive you are, the less stress you suffer, the better is your overall health.

The more peace of mind you have, the better are your relationships, the more optimistic, friendly and confident you are with everyone in your life. When you feel good about yourself on the inside, you do your work better and take more pride in it. You are a better boss and coworker. And the greater your overall peace of mind, the more likely you are to earn a good living, save regularly for the future and ultimately achieve financial independence.

Control Your Attention
Life is very much a study of attention. Whatever you dwell upon and think about grows and expands in your life. The more you pay attention to your relationships, the quality and quantity of your work, your finances and your health, the better they will become and the happier you will be.

Action Exercises
Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, take time on a regular basis to think about what would make you really happy in each of the four areas.

Second, set specific, measurable goals for improvement in your relationships, your health, your work and your finances and write them down.

Third, resolve to do something every day to increase the quality of some area of your life - and then keep your resolution

Earn the Respect of Others

The Most Important Measure of Success
Being respected by others is very important to each of us. A survey done by the Gallup organization found that the most prominent living Americans rated the respect of others as the most important measure of success in life. They worked very hard to earn the respect of their parents, the respect of their spouses and children, the respect of their peers and colleagues, and the respect of mankind at large.

Why You Respect Yourself
It seems that we truly respect ourselves only when we feel that we are respected by others, and we will go to great lengths to earn and keep that respect. When we feel that someone respects us for who we are and what we have accomplished, we tend to be more open to that person's influence.

Two Things You Can Do
We can do two things to put ourselves in a position to be respected by others. The first is to develop our knowledge of our field. The more people perceive you know about your subject, the more they will respect you. The highest-paid people in almost every field are those who know more than the average people. They are recognized as experts, and they develop what is called "expert power." Because of their superior knowledge, they are looked up to and listened to, and they are much more capable of influencing others to act in a particular way than they would be if their knowledge level were just average.

Develop Your Expertise
Another way to put ourselves in a position of being respected by others is to develop your expertise. Expertise is closely tied to knowledge, but it is a little different. Expertise is the ability to do, the ability to perform well in your chosen field. Men and women with expertise are those who practice over and over in whatever they do until they become known far and wide as the very best in their field.

Action Ex ercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, study your field in detail. Dedicate at least one hour per day to reading, listening to audio programs, studying to become more and more knowledgeable about what you do.

Knowledge and know-how are the keys to the 21st century

Thinking Out of the Box

Improve the Quality of Your Thinking
Human beings are mental organisms. Everything we are or ever will be, will be as the direct result of the way we think. If we improve the quality of our thinking, we must improve the quality of our lives. And, there is no other way to do it.

Youth and Creativity
In one series of I.Q. tests given to children ages 2 - 4 years, 95% of the children were found to be highly creative with curious, questioning minds and an ability for abstract thinking.

When the same children were tested again at age 7, only 5% still demonstrated high levels of creativity. In the ensuing years, they had learned to conform; "If you want to get along, you had better go along," is what they had discovered.

The Dangers of Conformity
They had learned to color between the lines, to sit in neat little rows, to do and say what the other kids did and said, and to do as they were told. Over time, they lost the wonderful fearless spontaneity of youth and learned to suppress ideas and insights that were unusual or different.

Aggressively Seek New Ideas
Most of us have had similar experiences. The "Not invented-here" syndrome in many large companies is simply the adult version of "not rocking the boat." But fortunately, since creativity is your birthright, a fundamental part of your nature, you can tap into it at any time, no matter how long it has been since you really used it.

Action Ex ercises
Here are two things you can do to start thinking outside of your mental box.

First, imagine that there was a vastly better, cheaper, faster way to do your job - and somebody else had already discovered it and was going to put you out of business.

Second, imagine doing exactly the opposite of what you are doing today. Allow your mind to float freely and consider how current trends will change your business

Insatiable, Insidious Inflation

It was Ronald Reagan who pointed out, rather
graphically, that, "Inflation is as violent as a
mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly
as a hit man."

Now, you've probably never thought of inflation in
quite such criminal terms before but that doesn't mean
that such alarmist language is incorrect.

Most of us tend not to worry about inflation simply
because we don't think about it. Just like the hole in
the ozone layer or global warming, we know it's there,
but we reckon that if we ignore it, it'll ignore us
and, more importantly, go pick on someone else!

Well, that isn't true about our jointly created big
doughnut ring in the sky, the upward creeping planetary
temperature that's melting our polar ice caps, or inflation.

If you've ever run retirement calculation numbers for
yourself or for others, you probably have chosen
to estimate annual inflation rates - for projection
purposes - of between 3% and 5% to mirror the
reality of average retail price increases in your
country.

If we turn to that mainstay of mental calculations, the
famous Rule of 72, this means that what can be bought
today with a single $100 bill will require $200 in about 14
years (rounding down 72 divided by 5) to 24 years (72
divided by 3).

Even if the official national inflation rate stays well
below that range, it is likely that for most of us who
live in urban centres across the globe, our personal
inflation rates will remain higher because of our
consumption habits.

Now, what does this mean in real life?

Well, the manner in which a typical 42-year-old, say, may
wake up to that truth is to remember that when she was
in her first year of primary school, a bottle of Coke
in the school canteen cost one price and today her own
kids need to pay 8 times that amount to enjoy a cool,
frosty Coke.

That's an 8-fold increase in 36 years.

Now, the Rule of 72 can be used again to quickly
realise this works out to an average of 6% Coke-related
inflation rate. If you aren't familiar with this
powerful way of estimating the purchasing power erosion
effects of inflation, then please tag along as we run
through the numbers:

72 divided by 6 indicates 12 years is required for
purchasing power to be halved. If that turns out to be
true, then the actual inflation rate is 6% a year. If
this rate of price escalation continues unabated, then
in another 12 years, purchasing power is quartered, and
in the final 12 years (of the 36 years that has passed
since our now 42-year-old lady started school) the
ability of $1 to buy goods and services has dropped to
one-eighth what it was 36 years before.

This means that instead of needing $1 to pay for
something in 36 years, assuming the average inflation
rate affecting the good or service you want is 6% a
year, you'll need $8.

Worried?

It gets worse:

Consider what you would do if the item under scrutiny
were not a mere bottle of Coke but a vital vial of
medicine or a loaf of bread or a steak.

The consequences of long-term embedded inflation are
difficult to look at, but it is clear that the only way
to beat inflation is to avoid a pointless frontal
assault and to initiate a savings and investment
programme that will allow you to earn portfolio returns
that exceed the rate of inflation.

You want to sprint ahead of inflation as it jogs and runs
along without ever stopping to rest.

Three Factors for Financial Success

What do wealthy people do or have that enables them to accomplish so much more than the average? I believe that these people are successful as a result of what I call leverage. Leverage is the key to maximizing and multiplying your potential for success and financial achievement. Here are three examples of leverage that you can develop to achieve financial independence:

Become an Expert
First, become an expert in your chosen field. Read all the books, take all the courses, listen to all the audio programs. Second, specialize in those areas that are of greatest importance and greatest value to your company or to your customers. And the third key is know your product or service inside out. Aim to be recognized as the industry expert in your field. Remember the person who has the expertise has a far greater contribution to make than the person whose knowledge is just average.

Develop Your Skills
The second type of leverage is skill. The better you are at your job, the more you will be paid. The top 20 percent of salespeople earn as much as ten and fifteen times the average earnings of the bottom 80 percent. There are three keys to developing the leverage of skill. First, make a decision to be the best. Pay any price. Make any sacrifice. Go any distance to become excellent at what you do. Second, engage in continuous improvement. Never allow yourself to become satisfied or complacent at your current level of skill. And third, always strive to exceed the expectations of your customers, your boss, of the people you serve. Always do more and better than you're paid for.

Save Your Money
The third type of leverage is money. Money is a powerful source of leverage and usually follows the development of knowledge and skill in your field. One of the reasons that it takes money to make money is that the accumulation of funds is an essential step in the development of the personal qualities and character that must precede the achievement of financial independence. In other words, you become the person capable of becoming financially independent by accumulating the funds that are necessary for you to achieve it.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas on personal leverage into action:

First, resolve today to become an expert in your chosen field. Set it as a goal, make a plan and work every day to become a little bit better in the most important things you do.

Second, develop the habit of saving money out of every single paycheck. It was once said that, "If you cannot save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you." The very act of regular saving changes your character and gets you ready to achieve financial independence.

Focusing on the Essentials

Do you think you know a leader when you see one? Most companies have the wrong notion of what a leader really is and does. Yet all the development efforts in the world can't deepen the leadership pool if they're focused on the wrong people to begin with

The brilliant strategist, the creative genius, the financial engineer, and other bright people command attention and respect, and rightfully so. People recognize such individuals' knowledge and intelligence, respect their opinions and ideas, and appear willing to follow them. Combine that great mental ability with a strong work ethic and drive to achieve, and no wonder people are impressed. Unaware of their own shortcomings and driven to succeed, these experts push for leadership jobs at higher and higher levels, persuading -- sometimes even intimidating -- their bosses to promote them. But many lack essential leadership traits. Although they may succeed for a while when put in charge of other people, without a natural ability to lead, they are unlikely to ever succeed as CEOs or high-level leaders outside their domains of expertise.

What does a natural leader look like at the age of twenty-five or thirty? The usual attempts to answer that question take the form of laundry lists of personal qualities. These are important, but on their own they can be misleading, especially because the same wonderful personal qualities can be found in political leaders, spiritual leaders, and leaders in sports, many of whom don't have an ounce of talent for business. Besides, many personal traits and capabilities associated with leadership in the past are insufficient today. You have to go beyond the list of personal traits you're looking for to include other indications that a person can succeed in leading a business function, business unit, or whole company in the emerging business context.

One way to think about the raw talent or inner engine of a business leader is to think of two strands of a helix: people acumen (the ability to harness people's energy) and business acumen (understanding the essence of how a business makes money). The beginnings of these strands are pretty much in place in individuals by the time they reach their twenties. After that, we can test someone's people acumen and business acumen and give them opportunities to expand them. But we don't yet know how to implant them in mature people who lack them entirely. That's why spotting these strands, however undeveloped they may be, should be central to any effort to identify leadership potential. People who lack them are unlikely to ever reach the highest leadership levels, no matter how many other leadership traits they possess. Only when people acumen and business acumen are present in some degree should personal traits come into play.

It's fruitless to argue whether those talents and personal traits are born or made. We know they begin to manifest themselves early in life and are firmly in place in some people by the time they join the workforce. Some of those qualities may be latent and come to the surface only later under certain conditions -- such as when a person who is not the official leader suddenly takes charge of a crisis. But it is unlikely you can implant them into a mature person without inherent leadership abilities to make him or her a leader.

Make Every Minute Count

Your mind is your most precious asset. You must be continually working to increase the quality of your thinking.

Turn Driving Time Into Learning Time
One of the best ways is to turn driving time into learning time. Listen to educational audios in your car. The average driver according to the American Automobile Association, drives 12,000 to 25,000 miles each year, spending 500 to 1000 hours that you spend each year in your car. That is the equivalent of 12 1/2 to 25 40-hour weeks. This is the same as two full university semesters spent behind the wheel of your car each year.

If you did nothing but use that traveling time as learning time, this decision alone could make you one of the best educated people of your generation. Many people have gone from rag s to ric hes simply by listening to audio programs as they drive to and from work.

Attend Every Seminar You Can
In addition, for personal and professional development, you should attend every seminar you can. You can often save your self 100's of hours of reading and researching by attending a seminar given by an authority in his or her field. You can learn ideas, techniques and methods that can save you hours, days, even months of hard work and research on your own.

The Key to Increased Inc ome
Remember, to ear n more, you must learn more. Your outer world of results will always correspond to your inner world of preparation. I've always loved the po em by Henry Wadsworth Lon gfellow where he describes those who achieve great things with their lives:

"Those heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept were toiling upward in the night"

Remember, continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.

Action Ex ercises
Here are two things you can do to put these ideas to work in your life immediately.

First, purchase an audio program that can help you to be happier and more effective today. Begin listening to it immediately. Resolve never to listen to music in your car when you can turn driving time into learning time.

Second, seek out seminars and training programs given by experts in your field. Sit close to the front, take careful notes, and apply the best ideas that you learn immediately

Utilizing The Law Of Attraction

The law of attraction states that you will attract into your life—whether wanted or unwanted—whatever you give your energy, focus, and attention to.

You are constantly giving off vibrations of energy when you think and feel. These vibrations can be picked up and received by other people. That’s why people say, “he has good vibes,” or “he gives off bad vibes.” You are constantly giving off vibrations.

If you’re feeling excited, enthusiastic, passionate, happy, joyful, loving, appreciative, abundant, prosperous, relaxed and peaceful, you are giving off positive vibrations.

On the other hand, if you are feeling bored, anxious, worried, confused, sad, lonely, hurt, angry, resentful, guilty, disappointed, frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed out, or depressed, then you are giving off negative vibrations.

The law of attraction states that the universe responds to whatever you are offering -- by giving you more of whatever you are vibrating. It doesn’t care whether it is good for you or not; it simply responds to your vibration.

If you saw the film The Secret, you saw this explained in great detail.

The problem is that most of the time, you are not aware of what vibration you are offering. You are simply responding to things outside of you—current events, the news, how people treat you, the stock market, how much money you are making, how your children are doing in school, whether or not your favorite sports team wins—and then having a feeling that is either positive or negative.

When you are simply responding unconsciously to what happens around you, you tend to stay “stuck” in your current condition. This is why most people’s lives never seem to change very much. They get stuck in a repeating cycle of recreating the same reality over and over by the vibration they are sending out.

It works like this… First you observe what you currently have and are currently receiving in your life. You call this your “reality.” You respond to what you observe with a feeling, positive or negative, which then gives off that vibration to the universe. The law of attraction then responds to this vibration and brings you more of what you were vibrating. This keeps the cycle going over and over, until you choose to change it through the exertion of your will. You are a victim of your lack of awareness of the law of attraction.

The Process of Intentional Creation
It is possible to get out of this vicious cycle and create what you want instead of continually recreating what you already have. It is a simple three step process that you can begin immediately.

Step 1: Identify what you truly desire & eliminate the negative

It is important to focus on what you want rather than what you don’t want. You must state it in the positive and filter out the words don’t, not and no. Remember, your mind works in pictures and if you say I don’t want to be mad, you are creating the picture and thus the vibration of being mad. You must create the opposite of what you don’t want.

Step 2: Raise your vibration level

Your job in stage two is to create a vibrational match for that which you say you want to have. How would you be feeling if you already had those things—the perfect job, the perfect relationship, the mount of money that you want to have?

Your job is to identify what makes you feel good and do more of it, then learn not to tolerate your negative feelings.

Affirmations are an important component in raising your vibrational level to what it is you want. Remember, the law of attraction does not respond to the words you use or the thoughts you think. It simply responds to how you feel about what you say and how you feel about what you think.

For information on how to create even more effective affirmations, review pages 75-80 in The Success Principles, where you’ll find my “Nine Guidelines for Creating Effective Visualizations.”

Step 3. Release it and allow it.

In this third step you simply release your affirmation, your vibration, and your feelings to the universe to take care of your “request” or “order” as I call it. But you have to abstain from any doubts. If you doubt you can have it in any way, then you are not allowing it. You are pushing it away and you end up with contradictory messages to the universe

It is only when the contradictory thoughts, talk, and images are removed that your desired results will manifest. The faster you remove your resistance, the faster your dreams can be realized.

UNLOADING THE MANAGEMENT OVERLOAD PROBLEM

“I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up.” ~Erma Bombeck.

Is it just my imagination or do other managers feel overwhelmed with the current overload in all the things we are expected to do these days and not having enough time to get them done?. I think it is a good thing to pause and think about what is going on, why it is happening, and what the most reasonable solutions are. This is really problem-solving 101 in its most basic form.

There are many books out now, such as Gary Hamel’s The Future of Management, that warn us that management knowledge has peaked and may now need to be redefined from the ground up. This means re-examining the purpose that management presently serves. Originally, management’s purpose was to manage employee relationships in building teams to work together effectively to translate their leader’s vision and purpose into results that proved success. However, today the role of manager is much more and hence the total overload meltdown.

In the continual effort for business to be lean and mean and more competitive and profitable, there has been an elimination of a very critical level in the organization—the supervisors, who are needed to train, organize, monitor, coach, motivate and correct performance of the employees working to achieve the company’s mission and goals. Now without a person devoted full-time to doing that job—not just with the title and a separate full-time job as an employee—who is going to do all that work?

This elimination of supervision and all the work of supervising that hasn’t been done has showed up in a lower quality of employee performance and lower quality of service or product delivered by companies. Consumers want more for less. Add the uncertainty of what performance is possible in this new exploding ‘Information Age’ and we have a real mess. We have the problem of overload and don’t understand it well enough to do anything about it. All we know is how uncomfortable we are getting.

This is where we have to put our heads together and get very creative and even crazy in redefining very basic things like what the problem is, what our purpose is, how we set priorities, how we view time and how we teach others better organizational skills and needed structure to manage huge problems. Effective management in our future will require some very sacred paradigm transformations. Here are a few to consider.

1. We really don’t have the answers to these questions and to think we do will just keep us from finding the real ones. What we should do right now is to reach consensus on the main problem—the overwhelming overload we all feel. After all, misery loves company! To not openly acknowledge the overload is denial and being out of touch with reality.

2. One crazy idea is to redefine your “management” purpose in the organization. It may be to stop dividing everything into priorities and non-priorities; it could be that everything is a priority—even operational emergencies that you think should have bee better planned for—and you have to figure out how to get everything done. When you waste time working hard on “non-priorities” your negative feelings about doing so keep you from being as productive as you can be and feeling like you are being successful. That leads to compounded distress which is very unproductive. Are you beginning to question what your main purpose is in your organization?

3. We also may need to redefine what ‘success’ is to include something else we hadn’t though about and maybe even include everything. One thing is for sure—the amount of success you feel from your efforts is closely related to how you define success itself. And just because you let someone else define it for you, doesn’t mean they have it right. Maybe success is a very private thing only you can define for you. Do you have a good handle on what success means for you?

4, To get everything done though, you have to change your whole concept of time, from the traditional ‘mechanical-sequence’ concept to a more unconventional fluid, psychological version. This just means not judging the importance of this priority over that one and just devote your full attention and efforts to do whatever it is you are doing right now. Time has a funny way of expanding with that approach. It is frequently called the eternal now moment. How do you currently view time?

5. Just being open to possibilities and being flexible enough to change our idea of what management should and shouldn’t be doing is the best beginning to unraveling this annoying discomfort we are all feeling from overload. How flexible are you being with what is going on?

6. I used to have an unusual schedule I thought up on my first job forty years ago as a case worker in a maximum security prison and I think I’ll resurrect it now. I reserved mornings to do the tedious things I had to do and schedule needed appointments; then I scheduled spontaneity for the afternoons just to se what might turn up that needed my attention. I always slept well with that routine, not going to bed feeling like I still had so many more things I needed to do. What kind of new schedule would be good for you?

7. No matter how we throw the dice, we really do need to figure out how to have our cake and eat it too. And the only way I know how to do that is to question the order in which I think I ought to approach things and just do them—like running faster and bringing the finishing line closer simultaneously. That doubles my results in half the time

Allow Difficulties to Teach You, Not Defeat You

Everything happens for a reason. I know we've all heard that
before, but it's true. There is nothing random in the
Universe. Nothing. So, when difficult, almost impossible
situations arise, we need to look around and examine what we
are doing in our lives.

Infinite Intelligence communicates with us in different
ways. Each person is unique in the way they receive
information from the Universe. Your lessons may show up in
the form of plunging finances or failing health.

I know of a marvelous spiritual teacher who knows she needs
to re-evaluate her life by the condition of her car. When
she loses her spiritual way or stops concentrating on her
goals her car breaks down. Strange, yes. But the Universe is
a strange and perfect place.

No matter what forms your teachers take, recognize them as
wake-up calls. Start paying attention, because the Universe
is trying to tell you something.

Action Step:

In closing, I'd like to offer an exercise to complete in the
week ahead:

How many times have you faced difficulties in your life?
When they presented themselves did you put the blame onto
someone else, even God? Doing that didn't really solve
anything, did it?

The next time you encounter obstacles I want you to try
something new. I want you to be thankful for the situation.
(Yes, that's what I said, I want you to be thankful for it.)
Then, I want you to gratefully ask: "What is this temporary
situation here to teach me?" I want you to say "thank you"
and ask that question in your heart and out loud every day
until the situation passes.

Keep a daily journal detailing what occurs during this time.
When you take an attitude of gratitude and acknowledge your
willingness to be a student of the Universe, difficulties
leave your life quickly.

Mark Victor Hansen - Co-Author of the Chicken Soup For The
Soul

Unlocking Your Creativity

Creative thinking can be stimulated by two things; intensely desired goals and pressing problems. Your creative capacities need something to hone in on and your job is to provide it.

A Continual Stimulus for Ideas
Intensely desired goals, clearly defined with detailed plans for their accomplishment act as a continual stimulus for ideas to achieve them.

Visualize Your Goals
To trigger your imagination, write out a clear description of your ideal end result or goal. Be clear about the goal, be flexible about the process. Think about it, visualize it as realized over and over. Project your mind forward to the picture of the realized goal and then look back to the present.

Define Your Goals Clearly
Think on paper. Make a plan and then work on the plan, updating it, changing it, adding to it as you think of new ways to work toward the goal. The more clearly defined and keenly desired your goals, the more of your natural creativity will be released for goal attainment

The Proper Approach to Problems
The second stimulant to creativity is pressing problems. The key to idea generation when you face a problem is to approach the problem confidently, expectantly, with the attitude that there exists a logical, practical solution just waiting to be found.

The most creative people have a relaxed attitude of confident expectancy that causes their minds to function in original and imaginative ways.

Diagnose Your Problems Accurately
Define your problems clearly in writing. Accurate diagnosis is half the cure. Sometimes you will find that you are dealing with a "cluster problem," one that is made up of several smaller problems. Your job is to sort them out and then go to work on each one separately.

Break Up the Clusters
In many cluster problems, there is a core issue surrounded by a lot of symptoms. Creative thinking requires that you separate the core issue, and then focus on resolving that before worrying about the smaller problems.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to stimulate your creativity.

First, be absolutely clear about your goal. Write it down and make a plan to achieve it. Think of different ways you could accomplish it.

Second, define your problems clearly and then make a list of all the possible solutions to your problem. Take action on at least one idea immediately

Four Keys to Becoming a Great Leader

In William J. Holstein, interviews and meetings with hundreds of CEOs over the years, I’ve noticed that the best ones have a burning sense of curiosity. He thinks it’s one of the most important differentiators.

Here are the ways they manifest that curiosity:

Reading Outside Their Industry. It’s easy to immerse yourself in one vertical area of business knowledge. But the best CEOs read books and magazines outside their narrow business focus. They’re trying to find trends that are going to hit their company in coming years. And they’re looking to adjacent fields to find tips on how other industries are coping with a particular problem.

Exposure to Networking Groups. The best CEOs expose themselves to other corporate leaders in non-profit settings or organizations like the Young Presidents Organization. And in those environments, they are constantly hungry for best practices.

They Don’t Wall Themselves Off. The most curious and therefore best CEOs make sure that they have exposure to people in their private and social lives who can speak the truth to them, even if it’s uncomfortable. They don’t fall into the CEO Trap where the only things you hear are the things that people beneath you want you to hear.

Avoiding the Arrogance Trap. A corollary is never becoming arrogant, never assuming that he or she knows everything. When a whole organization knows that a CEO is curious and is open to learning, that shapes the culure of the whole company. But when a CEO projects arrogance, the whole company shuts down and stops learning. The personality and behavior of the CEO is so crucial–it cascades throughout the organization

Conducting Performance Appraisals

As you become responsible for managing other people, you will likely need to conduct performance appraisals. These face-to-face discussions—ideally undertaken at least every 12 months—provide an opportunity for a manager and employee to review the employee’s work and to improve motivation and performance. Unfortunately, many managers dislike conducting appraisals and, even worse, a lot of employees fail to see the value in them. In reality, an appraisal can be a great opportunity for understanding and improvement—if it's done right.

Why conduct performance appraisals?

Performance appraisals give you an opportunity to review your employees’ past performance, plan their future work and role within the organization, and agree on specific goals. A face-to-face appraisal can:

1. Permit on-the-spot coaching, in which you can identify development needs and set up development activity;
2. Elicit useful feedback from the employee, which can reinforce your relationship;
3. Help the employee’s career progression and increase his or her motivation;
4. Provide an opportunity to delegate more responsibility to the employee.

If an employee must be terminated, a record of performance appraisals provides a foundation for such a decision and may be helpful if the employee takes legal action.

The good appraisal presupposes that even the best performance can be improved.

The Law of Abundance

The Law of Abundance- there is ample money for everyone who knows how to acquire it and keep it. We live in an abundant universe in which there is sufficient money for all who really want it and are willing obey the laws governing its acquisition.

You Can Have All You Want
There is plenty of money available to you. There is no real shortage. You can have virtually all you really want and need. We live in a generous universe and we are surrounded on all sides by blessings and opportunities to acquire all we truly desire. Your attitude, of either abundance or scarcity toward money, will have a major impact on whether you become rich or not.

Make a Decision
The first corollary of the Law of Abundance says that, "People become wealthy because they decide to become wealthy."

They become wealthy because they believe they have the ability to become wealthy. Because they believe this completely, they act accordingly. They consistently take the necessary actions that turn their beliefs into realities. And you can always tell what your beliefs really are by looking at your actions. There is no other way.

The second corollary of this law says: "People are poor because they have not yet decided to become rich."

Examine Your Own Thinking
In the book, The Instant Millionaire, by Mark Fisher, the old millionaire asks the boy who has sought his advice about becoming a millionaire, "Why aren't you rich already?"

This is an important question to ask yourself. However you answer this question will reveal a lot about yourself. Your answers will expose your self-limiting beliefs, your doubts, your fears, your excuses, your rationalizations and your justifications.

Review Your Reasons
Why aren't you rich already? Write down all the reasons you can think of. Go over your answers one by one with someone who knows you well and ask them for their opinion. You may be surprised to find that your reasons are mostly excuses that you have fallen in love with.

Whatever your reasons or excuses, you can now get rid of them. The world is full of hundreds and thousands of people who have had far more difficulties to overcome than you could ever imagine, and they've gone on to be successful anyway. So can you.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, imagine that every experience you have ever had with money contained a special lesson that was designed just for you to help you to ultimately become financially independent. What are the most important lessons you have learned so far?

Second, analyze yourself honestly and determine your biggest block, your major self-limiting belief that holds you back from becoming more successful financially. Resolve to act from now on as if this block no longer exists.

Trust Your Subordinates

The Definition of Leadership
Leadership has been called "The ability to get followers." One of the deepest cravings of human nature is the need to feel important, to have a sense of meaning and purpose in life and work. Leaders are invariably those who can tap into the deeper emotions of others and get them to rise above and beyond anything they may have accomplished in the past.

Inspiring Words Lead to Victory
Winston Churchill was able to arouse and inspire an entire nation with words like these: "Let us so carry ourselves that if the British Empire should endure a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour."

Spearhead A Turnaround
Lee Iacocca stepped into Chrysler Corporation when the company was almost bankrupt. Through the sheer force of his personality, his unshakable determination, his appeals to Congress, to Chrysler workers and to Chrysler customers on television, he spearheaded a turn-around that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest achievements in American business.

Trust Other People
The key to getting followers in every case is to "trust your subordinates." Many studies have concluded that it is the mutual bond of trust and respect that acts as the catalyst that creates high performance. Not only must you trust your subordinates, but even more important, they must trust you.

Act With Integrity
In order to "get followers," your subordinates must have an absolute belief in your integrity. They must believe that you will abide by the highest ethical standards of fairness and justice. Integrity appears over and over as the most important leadership quality. People can only put their whole hearts into their work when they feel secure and they can only feel secure when they can relax and trust you completely.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to bring out the very best from the people who look up to you.

First, make people feel important. Tell them how important and valuable they are and then give them both the responsibility and the opportunity to do their job the very best they know how.

Second, set a good example. Be an inspirational leader by being a role model for everyone else to follow. The more people look up to you, the better they will do their work and the happier they will be.

The Law of Saving

Financial freedom comes to the person who saves ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime.

One of the smartest things that you can ever do for yourself is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary, every single paycheck. Individuals, families and even societies are stable and prosperous to the degree to which they have high savings rates. Savings today are what guarantee the security and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Start With Yourself
The first corollary of the Law of Saving comes from the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Classon. It is to "Pay yourself first."

Begin today to save ten percent of your earnings, off the top, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

Develop New Habits Regarding Money
The remarkable thing is that when you pay yourself first, and force yourself to live on the other ninety percent, you will soon become accustomed to it. You are a creature of habit. When you regularly put away ten percent of your earnings, you soon become comfortable living on the other ninety percent. Many people start by saving ten percent of their income and then graduate to saving fifteen percent, twenty percent, and even more. And their financial lives change dramatically as a result. So will yours.

Take Every Advantage
The second corollary of the Law of Saving says, "Take advantage of tax deferred savings and investment plans." Because of high and even multiple tax rates, money that is saved or invested without being taxed accumulates at a rate of 30% to 40% faster than money that is subject to taxation. Self-made millionaires, according to Dr Thomas Stanley's book The Millionaire Next Door, are almost obsessive about accumulating their funds in assets such as real estate, self owned businesses and equities that increase in value without triggering tax liabilities.

Invest in company pension and retirement plans, 401(k) plans, IRA's, Keough Plans, Roth IRA's, Education Investment Accounts, stock option programs and whatever else has been approved by the IRS for long term financial accumulation. Make every dollar count!

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, begin today to put away ten percent of your earnings. Set up a special account for this purpose and treat your contributions to this account with the same respect that you do your rent or mortgage payments each month.

Second, become a lifelong student of money. Read the best books, take courses and subscribe to the most helpful magazines. Know what you are doing so you can always make intelligent decisions when you invest your funds.

One Hour Makes All the Difference

You've gone as far as you can with what you now know. Any progress you make from this moment onward will require that you learn and practice something new.

Commit to Lifelong Learning
One quality of leaders and high achievers in every area seems to be a commitment to ongoing personal and professional development. They look upon themselves as self-made people, as "works in progress." They never become complacent or satisfied. They are always striving toward ever greater heights of knowledge and understanding.

Get to the Top in Five Years
Earl Nightingale said many years ago that one hour per day of study in your chosen field was all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you'll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.

Read Everything You Can
Read all you can about your field. Subscribe to the executive book clubs and book summaries. Build your own library of important books in your field. Never be cheap about your education.

In fact, if you make a decision today to invest 3% of your annual income back into yourself, back into your own personal and professional development, you will probably never have to worry about money again

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into practice.

First, ask the successful people around you for their best book recommendations. Whatever advice they give you, immediately go out and buy those books, take them home and begin reading for one hour every morning before you start work.

Second, when you read, underline and take notes when you find important ideas that you can use. Implement them immediately. Take action of some kind on good ideas. You will be amazed at the change in your career.

Increasing Your Value

Your goal is to organize your life in such a way that you enjoy a good income, a high standard of living, and that you are the master of your economic destiny rather than a victim of changing economic times.

Contribution is the Key
Your job is an opportunity to contribute a value to your company in excess of your cost. In its simplest terms, your job is as secure as your ability to render value in excess of what it costs to keep you on the payroll. If you want to earn more money at your current job, you have to increase your value, your contribution to the enterprise.

Add Value Every Day
If you want to get a new job, you have to find a way to contribute value to that enterprise. If you want any kind of job security, you must continually work at maintaining and increasing your value in the competitive marketplace.

And here's a key point. Your education, knowledge, skills and experience all are investments in your ability to contribute a value for which you can be paid. But they are like any other investments. They are highly speculative.

Knowledge and Education Are Sunk Costs
Once you have learned a subject or developed a skill, it is a sunk cost. It is time and money spent that you cannot get back. No employer in the marketplace has any obligation to pay you for it, unless he can use your skill to produce a product or service that people are ready to buy, today.

Prepare For Your Next Job
Whatever job you are doing, you should be preparing for your next job. And the key question is always: Where are the customers? Which businesses and industries are growing in this economy, and which ones are declining?

Where is the Future?
I continually meet people who ask me how they can increase their income when their entire industry is shrinking. I tell them that there are jobs with futures and there are jobs without futures, and they need to get into a field that is expanding, not contracting.

Never Be Without A Job
There are three forms of unemployment in America: voluntary, involuntary, and frictional. Voluntary employment exists when a person decides not to work for a certain period of time, or not to accept a particular type of job, hoping that something better will come along. Involuntary unemployment exists when a person is willing and able to work but cannot find a job anywhere. Frictional unemployment is the natural level; this includes the approximately 4 or 5 percent of the working population who are between jobs at any given time.

Three Keys to Lifelong Employment
However, there are always jobs for the creative minority. You never have to be unemployed if you will do one of three things: change the work that you are offering to do, change the place where you are offering to work, or change the amount that you are asking for your services. You should consider one or more of these three strategies whenever you are dissatisfied with your current work situation.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, look around you at your current job and find ways to create added value every day. There's always something more you can do.

Second, identify the kind of work you want to be doing in the future and then make a plan to develop the knowledge and skills you will require to do it well

The Golden Hour

You become what you think about most of the time. And the most important part of each day is what you think about at the beginning of that day.

Start Your Day Right
Take 30 minutes each morning to sit quietly and to reflect on your goals. You'll find when you read the biographies and autobiographies of successful men and women that almost everyone of them began their upward trajectory to success when they begin getting up early in the morning and spending time with themselves.

Feed Your Mind With Positive Ideas
This is called the Golden Hour. The first hour sets the tone for the day. The things that you do in the first hour prepare your mind and set you up for the entire day. During the first thirty to sixty minutes, take time to think and review your plans for the future.

Use Your Quiet Time Effectively
Here are four things that you can do during that quiet time in the morning. Number one is to review your plans for accomplishing your goals and change your plans if necessary.

Number two is think of better ways to accomplish your goals. As an exercise, assume that the way you're going about it is totally wrong and imagine going about it totally differently. What would you do different from what you're doing right now?

Number three, reflect on the valuable lessons that you have learned and are learning as you move toward your goals

Practice Daily Visualization
Number four, calmly visualize your goal as a reality. Close your eyes, relax, smile, and see your goal as though it were already a reality. Rewrite your major goals everyday in the present tense. Rewrite them as though they already existed. Write "I earn X dollars." "I have a net worth of X." "I weigh a certain number of pounds." This exercise of writing and rewriting your goals everyday is one of the most powerful you will ever learn.

Fasten Your Seatbelt
Your life will start to take off at such a speed that you'll have to put on your seatbelt. Remember, the starting point for achieving financial success is the development of an attitude of unshakable confidence in yourself and in your ability to reach your goals. Everything we've talked about is a way of building up and developing your belief system until you finally reach the point where you are absolutely convinced that nothing can stop you from achieving what you set out to achieve.

Everything Counts
No one starts out with this kind of an attitude, but you can develop it using the law of accumulation. Everything counts. No efforts are ever lost. Every extraordinary accomplishment in the result of thousands of ordinary accomplishments that no one recognizes or appreciates. The greatest challenge of all is for you to concentrate your thinking single-mindedly on your goal and by the law of attraction, you will, you must inevitably draw into your life the people, circumstances and opportunities you need to achieve your goals.

Become A Living Magnet
Once you've mastered yourself and your thinking, you will become a living magnet for ideas and opportunities to become wealthy. It's worked for me and for every successful person I know. It will work for you if you'll begin today, now, this very minute, to think and talk about your dreams and goals as though they were already a reality. When you change your thinking, you will change your life. You will put yourself firmly on the road to financial independence.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two things you can do every single day to keep your mind focused on your financial goals:

First, get up every morning a little bit earlier and plan your day in advance. Take some time to think about your goals and how you can best achieve them. This sets the tone for the whole day.

Second, reflect on the valuable lessons you are learning each day as you work toward your goals. Be prepared to correct your course and adjust your actions. Be absolutely convinced that you are moving rapidly toward your goals, no matter what happens temporarily on the outside. Just hang in there!

Two Strategic Thinking Principles

There are two specific military principles of strategy that you can apply in your personal and corporate life to be far more effective. One key principle that you can use is called the Principle of the Offensive. This principle requires that you accept full responsibility for your situation, whatever it is, and then you take charge and take action. You go on to the attack. You become proactive rather than reactive.

The Key to Breakthroughs
I have consulted and worked with hundreds of corporations. In every case, I have found that all great breakthroughs, and breakouts from problem situations, involve someone making the decision to take aggressive, forward action. The wonderful thing about this attitude of the offensive is that it invariably leads to an outcome that is superior to that of just waiting for things to improve.

Determine the Critical Success Factors
Look at your current situation. What are the critical factors that will determine your success or failure? Once you have decided on the one or perhaps two things that, if done well, can make a real difference, launch yourself forward and get busy, take action, do something. The only real antidote to worry or problems is systematic, purposeful action in the direction of your goals

Concentrate Your Energies
Another military principle of strategy that you can use is called the principle of the mass. The principle of objective requires clarity of focus. The principle of the offensive requires aggressive action. The principle of the mass requires that you concentrate your resources on your areas of greatest opportunity. One of the most important habits that you can develop is the habit of single-minded concentration, with all your energies, on one thing at a time.

Identify Your Key Success Qualities
The starting point of applying the principle of the mass to your personal and corporate life is for you to ask, "What skills, talents and abilities do I have that have accounted for my success in life to date?" It is only by concentrating your energies on the one or two things that you can do that can make a real difference that will enable you to fulfill your potential as an executive.

Eliminate Your Major Obstacles
You then ask the question, "What obstacles stand between me and my goals and objectives?" Make a list of all the factors that appear as obstacles in your environment. Be sure to write down the areas of competence or skill where you might be weak. Include the factors within your corporate environment as well as the factors outside the corporation. Then, organize the list in terms of priority. What one obstacle, if it were removed, would move you the most rapidly toward accomplishing your goals?

Focus On One Activity Only
To be successful, you must discipline yourself to think through what you are doing and then to concentrate on one thing, the most important thing, and stay with it until it is complete. This one habit alone can change your entire future. And you can develop this habit through daily practice.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two actions you can take immediately to apply these principles to increasing your effectiveness.

First, resolve today that you will be proactive rather than reactive. Instead of worrying about something, take action to solve the problem or change the situation. Go on to the offensive in your business life and keep moving forward.

Second, focus your talents and energies single mindedly on the one thing that you can do that can make a greater difference than anything else. Resolve to develop the habit of single minded concentration until it is as natural to you as breathing. This will change your entire life.