Personal Success & Business Success Consultants - JLM & Associates

2009-06-07T13:25:00.001-07:00

We Make Ourselves

There is a couplet of Shakespear which goes: “It hath been taught use from the primal state / That he which is / was wished until he were.” And Manas adds: “Men make themselves.

We make ourselves, as persons, all the years of our lives, as a species, all the years of human history. What we wish will come. Remember how we could wish for something and have it come true. As adults, we do that. Sometimes we live to rue the day, and wish we could get our real wishes; we become the living embodiment of them.

That's why we know that the things on which scientists and engineers are working on today will eventually come about. We have never put an idea into the realm of possibility, and set out to work on it, which has not come about.

Today, we can walk on the moon, see different galaxies, and have an actual station in space. We can build artificial limbs, cure diseases and even some cancers. We can communicate verbally as well as visually instantly around the world via the Internet.

We make terrible and painful mistakes as we move onwards into time, fashioning our own world in the way in which we think it will best do the job. We often work at cross purposes and come to ruinous clashes, but our intention, as humans, is good. We really seek what is good, what is best for us. And because we do, we will in time achieve the kind of world we all want.

None of us now living may see it, but it's in the works, I truly believe. Everything in nature struggles upward, all humans included. Most of us want what is best, what is good, for ourselves, and our families. We are stopped most often by the anarchy of nations and by those who seek power, who think that they know what's best for us and that we don't.

But despite coming through the bloodiest century in the history of mankind, what we are making of ourselves is better than what we've been. We see a new social consciousness everywhere. People are beginning to care what happens to other people. It's almost as though, for the first time, they're beginning in really large numbers to realize that we're all part of the same family.

We make ourselves, collectively and individually. If we relinquish control over our own lives and just drift with the crowd, it is still our decision to do so.

When I mentioned that we would achieve the kind of world we want, I did not mean to indicate that we'll be happy with it when we get it; we'll probably wont' be satisfied and looking for some kind of new way. Perfection is an ideal impossible to achieve, so we'll always have something to strive toward. It's in the striving that we grow and in which lies our hope for the future.

Each of us is, at this moment, the sum total of his or her thoughts to this point. We make ourselves; through our wishes, through our real desires, through our daily thinking.

2009-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

How To Win An Argument Every Time

Some friends and I were talking this past week about how to avoid arguments. The answer is to ask questions, to make the other person define his or her terms and prove his or her point, and usually the argument will evaporate before it really begins.

That's the way to win an argument without having to argue at all. Just be gentle and wise as to how you go about it. Under no circumstances, tell a person he or she is wrong. No one likes to be told, emphatically and finally, “You are wrong.” It burns the person's ego; it makes him or her feel smaller and want to spoil for a fight and jump into a heated argument.

If you let the other person do the talking, you inflate his or her ego; listening is the direct opposite of arguing. You don't have to agree with everything the other person says but your willingness to listen makes the person know that you understand, or at least, will attempt to understand his or her point of view.

When you argue with a person, you are attacking his or her ego, which goes off the instant an outsider touches it. However, if you admit that the other person is right on small, insignificant points, you'll find yourself getting your own way on the big issues.

Arguments always tend to wander away from the main issues and get cluttered up with trifling connections to which you can yield gracefully without sacrificing your main convictions. By conceding points that don't matter, you'll get credit for being broad-minded, and this keeps the other person more reasonable.

Have you ever noticed how voices rise higher and higher during arguments? Have you ever been trapped into making rash statements and displaying bad manners? No wonder. Your system was full of adrenaline; you were ready for a fight. But at the same time, you'd sidetracked your capacity for straight thinking.

Benjamin Franklin once said that the ability to remain calm when the other person disagrees with you is the loftiest human accomplishment. He also said that the way to convince another is to state your case moderately and accurately. Then scratch your head, or shake it a little, and say, that is the way it seems to you, but that, of course, you may be mistaken about it. This, then, causes you listener to receive what you have to say and, like it or not have to turn around and convince you of it, since you seem to be in some doubt. But if you go at the person in a tone of positiveness and arrogance, you only make an opponent of him or her.

This was the kind of tact and good judgment that Franklin made one of the greatest sales in history. He sold a group of men the idea of adopting, and signing the Constitution of the United States.

2009-03-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

It Comes Down To Excellence

Here are few reminders for those of us who expect to survive and prosper in the world of business, and advice for the person who plans to go into business for him or herself or rise in the ranks of their current corporation.

The first piece of advice is to accept the fact that people do not need what you have to sell them. You may think they do, but they don't. Accept the fact that needs are not important, but that wants are very important. Millions of people ought to have what you are selling, but until you make them want what you have, they will never buy it.

Remember this: If someone is made to want something badly enough, nothing in the world can stand in the way of him or her getting it. Nothing happens until someone sells something. The salesperson, the want-creator is a very important person.

It's good, isn't it? Sometimes we forget who the salesperson is. The salesman or woman is the person with the briefcase getting on the plane, and visiting your office.

But the salesperson is also the man or woman behind the door marked “President.” And he or she is the person burning the midnight oil at the advertising agency who knows the truth of advertising great, Leo Burnett's comment that “Any fool can write a bad ad, but it takes a real genius to keep his hands of a good one.”

It was also Leo Burnett who said, “After all the meetings are over, the phones have stopped ringing and the vocalizing has died down, somebody finally has to get out an ad, often after hours. Somebody has to stare at a blank piece of paper. This is probably the very height of lonesomeness. Out of the recesses of his mind must come words which interest, words which persuade, words which inspire, words which sell. Magic words. I regard him as the man of the hour in our business today."

And the former president of BBD&O, Charles Brower once wrote: “When you try to formalize or socialize creative activity, the only sure result is commercial constipation. The good ideas are all hammered out in agony by individuals, not spewed out by groups.”

This should be of particular interest to the modern business owner or executive who carries the delegation of authority to the point where even he or she expects all good ideas to come from minds other than his or her own.

In the end, the formula remains the same today: Excellence in every department of your business. Excellence renewed every day.

We all know, really, what it takes to succeed in the world today. But it's good to be reminded once in while to re-affirm our belief and start looking in corners for signs of the dust of complacency.

2009-01-04T14:33:00.001-08:00

Only One Enemy

Each of us has only one enemy, himself or herself; an enemy difficult to ignore and full of cunning.

And no one knows their enemy better than the person who must manage his or her own time. For example, a salesperson working on commission, or a person trying to break a bad habit or lose weight.

One of the hardest things a person can do is to look at himself or herself objectively, realistically, without self-glorification, deception, or despair. An analysis of yourself can pay rich dividends in a variety of ways: increased effectiveness and impact on others, better personal relationships, and greater personal fulfillment

Getting to know yourself is not simple. Psychologists agree that each of us builds up a strong network of defenses which act to protect us from others and, incidentally, ourselves.

All of us are born into this world helpless and dependent. In order to survive, we need to lean on others. The child growing up learns to turn to mother not only for comforts of physical help, but for the rewarding comfort of approval.

As we grow older, we continue the search for approval from the widening circle around us. We want friends not only to like us, but to approve of what we do. In their approval, we find assurance of our own worth.

So great is the human need for love and approval that we will often deceive ourselves, if necessary, rather than face the fact that we might now deserve it. Undisguised, our behavior might not always merit approval all of us do things that are inconsiderate, unkind, and downright cruel. But rather than face ourselves in an unkindly light, even to our own eyes, we unconsciously will protect our image of ourselves.

We rationalize. We say, “I did it because,” providing supposedly good and substantial reasons for our behavior. We protect, disowning the fault and seeing it as the other person's problem. We displace by blaming someone else for our own faults that we can't accept. We compensate by stretching ourselves in one area when we have failed in another.

Our defenses serve two purposes. First, they represent an attempt to prove to others that we're really fine people, and anything we do wrong is done for the right reason, they help us to deceive ourselves.

Know your enemy, and you can overcome him or her. Know yourself, the ancient advice still heads the list, and perhaps you can overcome the only real enemy you have: yourself.

2008-11-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

If you take everything that's been said or written on human achievement, analyze and study it long enough, you'll be left with two vital factors. Two factors that every person needs to live a successful and happy life.

Do you know what the two factors are? The first is a goal; the second is creative thinking. This is why anyone can be successful; these two factors are there for the asking for every human being. They're free and they can lead us to the life we want. Sure, this is an oversimplification, but after everything else has been taken away, these two factors are all anyone needs for success.

First the goal; you decide what it is you want. Once this is established, the mind comes into play. For example, if a child wants to fly an airplane, he simply turns to his imagination, and away he goes. His goal is to fly, and in an instant he's doing it.

If he still has that goal as an adult, his mind draws him to learn. Soon, he's flying with an instructor; later, without one. If his goal is to build a better plane, well, that's tougher, but well within the ball park. He can do that too. He can become an aeronautical engineer and work on a new generation of airplanes.

It is the misunderstanding of the importance of these two factors that keeps millions living far below their true potential for living. If a person has a goal and doesn't understand the importance of creative thinking, the importance of his or her mind, the goal becomes and daydream, a harmless fantasy.

There is a place for daydreams and fantasy in our lives, and we all indulge in them, but we need to understand that with just these two factors, goal setting and creative thinking, there are few things that we can seriously consider that we cannot achieve. The important thing is to be able to distinguish between what is achievable and what is fantasy.

So, whether it's finding the right person to marry or the right job, or achieving a particular position in life, or earning a certain income, or owning a particular home, or playing golf in the middle eighties, whatever it may be, the odds are overwhelmingly in our favor if we stick with our goal and bring the full power of our mind to bear.

We have only to give it all we have to give, for a sufficient length of time, for it to be ours; really ours, not in fantasy, but in truth, in fact.

You can have anything you want in this life, within reason. The problem is, most people don't know what they really want. They never really decide on a goal, or, at least seldom do and then stay with it until it's achieved.

2008-10-05T19:28:00.001-07:00

Great Ideas

We often hear or read of people saying their idea or ideas have been stolen by someone, or large corporation, and complaining because they have not been properly compensated.

In the first place, if you've got what you believe is a valuable idea, apply for patent. Just call an attorney that specializes in intellectual property. If you're not willing to invest money in your own idea, it's best to give it away. Besides, what did the idea cost you?

Several years ago I sent an idea to one of the major car companies just to see how they would respond to it. My idea was to put some sort of electronic attention-getting device on cars when they back up, similar to warnings made when commercial vehicles back-up.

I felt maybe an idea like this could prevent a tragedy or even save the life of a playing child or a sleeping pet, to say nothing about hurting someone in a parking lot.

To make a long story short, I sent the idea. My letter was returned to me with a note that I should include proof of a patent or a copy of my patent application before submitting an idea. I didn't even get a thank you.

Most companies have many ideas already in their files that they have never bothered to develop. I can get ideas all the time and so can you. What's an idea worth? It's worth nothing at all unless we put it into action ourselves, or try to patent or copyright it.

It's no big deal. Just call an attorney, get a book on the subject or check out one of the many legal services available on the Internet.

One idea can make you millions if you put it to work and have enough faith in it to take some risks. I've received hundreds of ideas over my career from people to the effect that they have a great idea for a book, and why don't I write it? Why don't they write it?

Everything you see, buy, or use was once an idea in someone's head. Companies don't steal our ideas. They're usually getting along fine without them. If you get an idea you think might solve a problem, get it patented immediately.

Getting ideas is much like making a discovery: It can be worth a little or a great deal or nothing at all. Ideas are responsible for everything we see around us, the music we hear, the clothes we wear, everything that wasn't already here when we showed up.

Ideas can fill our lives with meaning and joy and love, as well as their opposites. If we're idea people, it shows in every department of our lives.

2008-09-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Reasons Why People Fail

Have you ever wondered why people fail? Here are the 10 most common reasons I have found during my career. Make sure you're not making any of these mistakes:

1. The misunderstanding or ignorance of the universal law behind success of any kind, which is, simply, that you have to give before you can expect to get; and you will receive in direct proportion to how much of yourself that you give. Your rewards will be in exact proportion to your service. Some may not like this universal law, but that doesn't change it. If you want to increase your income, you must increase your service to others.

2. The inability to concentrate on what is really important and what isn't. Give the great majority of your attention to the really important matters, delegate the details, and use your spare time for things that you enjoy.

3. The lack of organization. Make certain you know exactly where you're going, and plan to work to get the most out of your time and abilities.

4. One of the greatest causes of failure is thinking you can ever stop learning and trying new and better methods. Would you buy stock in a company that closed its research and development department? Of course not. Your continuing education is your own personal research and development, without it, you can't expect to grow.

5. The loss of faith in what you're doing, or in yourself. If you do not sincerely believe in what you're doing, if you lack faith in it, get out of it and into something that you can throw all your heart, talents and abilities.

6. Clinging to the status quo. Many people try to hang on to what they have and don't realize that the only thing upon which they can definitely count on is change. The world is changing every day, and more rapidly than at any time in its history. Welcome change, because it brings with it new opportunities for growth and expansion.

7. Forgetting who the boss really is, don't ever forget that throughout your working life, no matter what job you have, your boss is always the customer. The customer is king. Customers will continue to spend their money on the products and services you deliver if you earn and continue to earn their confidence and respect. You won't get one cent from a customer if you fail to earn it. That is the way it should be.

8. Another great cause of failure is thinking you should do just what you absolutely have to and no more. It doesn't work. You have to do more than you're being paid to do. Go the extra mile in everything you do.

9. A lack of understanding. At regular intervals, you need to take stock of your strengths and weaknesses, and work to strengthen both.

10. Giving up too soon. Never give up; persistence is still the most important ingredient for achievement.

Ten reasons for failure: For every one of them, there are a hundred ways to succeed by sticking with the universal rules. Success is really nothing more than knowing where you're going and making the best possible use of what you have.

2008-09-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Assessing Management Potential

We live in a new age of identity in which your employees, customers, investors and stakeholders care about what your company really is.

Good management always makes a difference. It can turn a company around and positively impact the entire organization.

What should you look for in younger people coming into the business world when it comes to management potential? A college degree or even an MBA in business management is really the least of the qualifications you should be looking for.

Here are 13 variables to management potential:

Personal Impact: Forcefulness. How forceful an early impression does he or she make? Consider the impression he or she made on you.

Oral Communications Skills: How effectively does the person express himself or herself? Consider ease of expression, correct use of English, vocabulary, precision in explaining views, vocal clarity and tonal quality.

Human Relations Skills: How well can this person get people to perform effectively by good human-relations techniques? Sincerity is very important.

Personal Impact and Likability: How likable an early impression does he or she make? Consider the impression he or she made on you. Did you tend to like or dislike him or her?

Behavior Flexibility: How readily can the person when motivated, modify his or her behavior to reach a goal? Consider tendencies to persevere and frequency with which he or she has adapted to change circumstances.

Need Approval of Superiors: To what extent does the person seek approval of persons in authority over him or her? Consider his or her dependence on superiors for help and guidance, as well as tendencies to solicit praise and support for them.

Tolerance of Uncertainty: To what extent will his or her work performance stand up under certain or unstructured conditions? Consider person's need for structure and the impact of lack of structure on his or her behavior.

Inner Work Standards: To what extent will he or she want to do a good job even if less is acceptable.

Primacy of Work: To what extent will he or she find satisfactions from work more important than satisfaction from other areas of life?

Energy: How continuously can he or she sustain a high level of work activity?

Goal Flexibility: To what extent will he or she be able to change his or her life goals in accordance with reality's opportunities? Consider what the person says are his or her goals and his or her commitment to them.

Other points to look for are; what is the person's need for advancement, need for security, social objectivity that is how free is the person from prejudices against racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, educational and other kinds of groups? Does the person have the ability to delay gratification?

Finally, what is the person's range of interests? To what extent is he or she interested in a variety of fields of human activity such as science, politics, sports, music, art, etc? Consider his or her leisure time activities, hobbies, reading habits and community activities.

Whether you're interviewing for a managerial job or you are the one looking for a management position, you should take note. Each of these 13 variables together is critical for great management. If just one is missing you do not have management potential.

2008-07-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Why People Remain Ignorant

I'd like to start this week's blog by asking you a few questions: Why are so many people unemployed? Why are so many people unhappy with their lives? Why don't more people accomplish more with their lives? Why do most people unnecessarily limit their lives to only a small fraction of what they could have?

The answer is the same for all the questions. It's because most people are, as general rule, so uniformly ignorant. It seems that people have built-in resistance to knowledge. And in my opinion there are two main reasons people why people don't want to keep themselves well informed:

First, people don't seem to understand how profitable knowledge can be to them in every way; how it can enlarge their horizons, give them more zest, charm and interest to their lives; and how it can improve their incomes and standards of living.

Second, they live in fear that they might learn something that would upset some of their pet beliefs. They would much rather close their eyes and cling to their superstitions and prejudices than run the risk of having to admit they might have been wrong. The easiest way to spot the person with a small, closed mind is by his or her refusal to ever admit he or she was wrong about something.

I've never been able to understand this. What's wrong with being wrong? The only thing that's wrong with it is to cling to it regardless of the evidence.

The person who has never admitted to others that he or she has been wrong about something, or refuses to admit it to himself or herself, is sick. No one can go through life without being wrong about hundreds of things. Because of the constantly changing world we live in, there is probably not a human being alive on earth who is not wrong about 60 percent or more of what he or she believes in.

Reading and learning the thoughts of the great minds past and present; keeping an open mind to all information; actively pursuing knowledge as the answer to success in all areas of our lives, this is the mark of the person who, during his or her lifetime, has a chance to reach fulfillment, to really succeed as a person.

This type of a person will also tend to have a better sense of humor, be more agreeable, more forgiving, and more open minded.

People must understand that knowledge can set them free; that it is good, not bad; that we should embrace it, not be suspicious of it. What most people call living is only an appetizer, while the real life, like a great feast, goes unnoticed and unsatisfied before them.

Unless you're smarter today than you were yesterday, you've got a problem. And if you learn only from experience, or from that which comes to you as a part of daily life with no other effort on your part, you're missing out, and you have no one to blame but yourself.

2008-06-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Keep Your Life In The Proper Perspective

When a person is busy working toward economic well-being, that is, getting a nice house, food on the table, an education, good health care and so on, often times the individual is too busy working toward these goals to worry about other important things.

It's at this time that the person is most productive and innocently engaged toward his or her own good, but what happens after the goal has been reached? When that person achieves financial freedom and becomes affluent, when all the economic goals have been reached, what then?

During my career I have given many talks to high school and college students and I often find students that are not happy with their life, and many of them surprisingly will blame their parents for their problems. On the other hand I've often heard my friends and clients voice disappointment in their children.

I think this disappointment stems from a lack of understanding on the part of people in different age groups not understanding one another. For example, parents who work hard so that their children can have all the things they themselves never had are often amazed that their children could care less. They are also shocked discover that the easy life they have provided for the kids, when they themselves had to get out and work at an early age, did not produce conscientious, hard working people like themselves, but just the opposite.

People who reach their goals are often unsatisfied. For example, a man or woman who hasn't planned beyond retirement. The person now has the rest of his or her life and doesn't know what to do and therefore finds the rest of life very unfulfilling.

Economic goals are excellent and you must have them. We all must earn a living before we can look beyond our daily income to other meaningful accomplishments, but to not look beyond economic goals, to not have economic goals in the proper perspective is to miss a great deal of living.

For example, parents will often think and sometimes say to their children, especially when the children are in their more-difficult teens, “Look what we've given you; a fine home, good clothes, good food, good schools, vacations, a car, spending money, everything a young person could want.”

But all this isn't everything a young person could want and that's the trouble. In the hierarchy of needs, once security and want have been satisfied, it is perfectly natural for a young adult to look for something else. It's not the teen's fault that once his or her material needs have been met the he or she is not satisfied completely.

Parents too will often find new dissatisfaction, new arguments and new problems once the children are gone off to college or have moved out on their own. For example, one of the parents might think or say, “I wish we could go back to the time when were living in that small apartment, when we wondered where out next meal was coming from. We were really happy then.” Yes, they were happy then, because people are happiest when they're striving toward identifiable goals, when they know what it is they're trying to accomplish.

They are least happy when all their needs are taken care of and all the fun has been taken out of striving. That's when they become unhappy, lethargic, critical and often develop a sense of entitlement.

Are your goals in the proper perspective? How would you feel if you achieved them tomorrow? Remember to set some goals for your own health and peace of mind. For example, how about, “I will laugh a lot this year, or I will spend more time with my kids.”

2008-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Power Of Belief

One of the most difficult things to teach, and because of this, the most difficult thing for someone to learn is the all powerful force of faith or belief.

Faith is a power that every person has, but which few people use. No one has a monopoly on faith. In other words one person possesses the power of faith above another, or to a greater degree. Everyone has it, since we all live and have a consciousness. The question then is not: Do you have the power? It is merely; Are you using it correctly?

When you discover the extent of your powers, by the conscious and correct use of faith or belief, or whatever you want to call it, you find that there has been introduced an entirely new set of laws into your experience.

New to your experience, yes, but the laws are not new themselves. When you discover what the power of belief can mean, how it can revolutionize your life for the better, you will at first be astounded until you realize that your life had been operating on the same principle all along.

The difference is that when you understand and use this power for good to achieve your goals, while other people who don't understand use this same power to hold themselves back, to limit themselves, and to live a sort of half-life.

It would be a great surprise to most people to discover that the very law which now holds them back, holds them in a kind of bondage, is the very law which could free them if they just used it in a slightly different way.

To illustrate this point let's look for example, at a sailboat. With a sailboat, you can go east or west, steer into the rocks, or bring the boat gently to anchor at the dock, all with the same wind, blowing in the same direction. It's all up to you and the way you steer.

In the Bible it says “Go thy way; and thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” I think this is a wonderful summary of belief or faith because it says; as he believes, so is it done unto him, but the power of belief is with him, it's his sailboat, and it's his hand on the wheel whether he knows it or not, or whether he likes it or not.

The same force that leads one person into fulfillment, happiness and abundance unfortunately keeps another person muddling through life with no purpose or reason, fearful, afraid and often bitter.

The tragedy of it is that the world could be his if only he understood that most difficult thing, to teach or learn; that we become what we think about most of the time; that as we believe, so it is done unto us.

2008-04-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

What Business Executives Do

In this year's highly charged political atmosphere corporations and especially the executives of those corporations are being made out to be villains. As people who don't work hard. Many in our society think that all business executives do, is play golf, take vacations, and make exorbitant salaries at the expense of the public.

In reality nothing could be farther from the truth.

What does the average business executive do? They read. They read reports and articles about their business, and very often they write an article or report. Good business executives read a lot more and have a library of books and other materials pertaining to their business and industry, to their specialty, whether it's sales, engineering, finance, or whatever.

They subscribe to various trade journals and read the financial and businesses sections of various newspapers every day. Business executives produce nothing of value themselves, except by indirection. What they do is manage the efforts of others.

Sometimes they watch others as they manage themselves and hope for the best, but their function is leadership, meetings, visits with suppliers, with dealers and distributors, with members of the financial community.

Talking is the chief job of a business executive. Talking is an exercise of the mouth and tongue and certain parts of the brain, depending on the executive you're thinking about.

Good business executives listen more than they talk because they know they can't learn anything when they're talking. In fact, you can judge the real effectiveness of executives by the ratio of their listening to talking. They listen, asking penetrating questions, and then listen some more. Usually what they are listening to is a proposal that must get their Ok before it can put into operation.

Every sort of productive activity that takes the form of numbers of people working toward a common goal demands a business executive, a director. They are as necessary to humanity as is the importance of the function they direct. Their efforts are directed toward the accomplishment of important goals, and toward those ends, they direct the work of others.

That's what good business executives do!

The tools of business executives are their brains and their words. To the extent that they work to develop both will they know success and the many perquisites of a business executive's job.

2008-03-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

The Key To Happiness

To me, there's no more interesting subject than what a person does, how his or her life is spent. The average working person today will spend an average of 50 years in the workforce. That's a long time and it's important! In fact 50 years is the average life expectancy for people living outside the North American continent.

But with a life expectancy of almost 80 years, the fortunate North American will spend at least 50 of his or her years holding down some kind of a job.

If he or she works 40 hours a week and averages 50 weeks a year, he or she will work about 100,000 hours during his or her lifetime. Quite a bit of time, so much time, in fact, that it becomes very important as to just how it's spent. It's too much time to waste and far too much time to be spent doing something we don't like to do.

But did you know that surveys have indicated that, an average of 60 percent of the working people today are not happy with their work? And the same surveys showed that an additional 20 percent are not sure, or don't particularly care one way or the other.

What makes matters worse is that studies show that the average non-professional college graduate today will have an average 12 to 14 different jobs in his or her working lifetime.

We've all been it work, at some time or another, that we didn't like. Even the work we do like has its own unpleasant parts. But it has always seemed to me to be an incalculable waste for someone to spend 50 years working at one particular job or going from job to job that he or she does not like, nor finds interesting.

I've said this many times before, but I think it bears repeating: The happiest people in the world are those who do for a living that which they'd be doing anyway, even if they didn't have to work. And they're not just the happiest, they're the most productive.

When you're happy and truly fulfilled with your work it spreads to all the other areas of your life; your family and friends. You want to share with others around you. Money is not a dominant issue in your life.

In this group you can list the world's best scientists, writers, teachers, accountants, lawyers, doctors and entrepreneurs. They find interest, enjoyment and fulfillment in their work and wouldn't trade places with any other person on earth. You'll find them in show business, in the world of sports; they are bus drivers, auto mechanics, plumbers and construction workers.

There's an easy way to spot them; they're good at what they do. You'll never find a person who likes what he or she is doing who isn't good at it. Or, if you'll give him or her enough time, he or she will become good at it.

Finding the right work for us is like finding the right shoes. They're wonderfully comfortable when the fit is right, and we're seldom unaware of the discomfort or pain if it isn't.

2008-02-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Things People Need To Know

Contrary to what the news media, politicians and the special interest groups would have you believe; every person in this country does get an education. He or she gets it at home, away from home, in school, through his or her conversations with others, and from the books he or she reads.

The amount of knowledge obtained varies widely with each individual and to a large extent, reflects their desires, interests and is in keeping, as a rule with the size of their goals, if they have goals. All of this constitutes what we know.

By and large, with most people, their knowledge is heterogeneous, covering a wide range of things. Their knowledge may consist of facts and real information, half truths, superstitions, out-dated beliefs, and so on.

Let's look at few things most people do not know; things which, if known, would dramatically change their lives for the better.

* Most people really don't know that life can be an enormously rich and rewarding experience, and a lot of fun.

* Most people don't realize or fully understand that they are in control of their own lives and that their daily environment is nothing more than their own accurate reflection of themselves. In fact, the majority of people will call you an liar on this one, but it's true all the same.

* Most people don't know where they're really going.

* Most people don't know that everyone has within them deep reservoirs of ability, even genius that he or she habitually fails to use.

*Most people don't know how little they know, and as result, generally believe that an education stops with graduation from school, the exact point where it really should begin.

* Most people believe that their lives are shaped by events and forces over which they have no control. That they are in effect pushed around by fate, circumstances, luck or lack of it.

* Most people seem to resent and fear change. They seem to be basically suspicious of anything new or different and suppose it will be for the worse.

* Most people emulate the people whom they associate with in the misguided conception that these people know how to live successfully. As a result they don't even play follow the leader; they play follow the follower in kind of circular game that can only come back again to the beginning, if it ever leaves the beginning.

* Most people look upon their work as a necessary evil. They long for quitting time, weekends and vacations and then they don't know what to do with their leisure time. They don't realize that the majority of their work and satisfaction and all of their success will come from their work.

Well, today I gave you a list of things most people don't know. Things which, if they were only understood, could change a person's life dramatically for the better and result in the individual achieving far more than he or she could have dreamed possible.

2008-01-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

What The Goals Of A Good Education Should Be

Education is the key to success. With a good education a person's future regardless of race or gender is unlimited, but without it there is no way a person can succeed.

With this being an election year our education system is at the forefront of attention and rightfully so, because it is failing in some many areas. I'd like to list what I feel the goals of a good education should be:

1. To learn to understand, appreciate and take care of the natural world we live in. Most people go through life unaware of the fascinating and complex events around them, of climate and terrain and vegetation and animals and people and their interrelatedness. People of all ages need to know not only what the environment is like but how to keep it habitable.

2. To understand, appreciate and learn to live with the people from every country. Every child must learn about the races of the world and rich variety of the world's cultures. Students must learn about the history of humankind and of nations. They must learn that there are many people in the world today who differ from them profoundly in habits, ideas and ways of life, but perceive these differences not as reason for uneasiness or hostility, but as challenges to their capacity for understanding.

3. Every student should have an area of aesthetic experience, which includes religion and spirituality. The significances, the meanings we perceive, are private. Students need to learn how to give themselves some kind of beauty and order so that they can not only enrich their own lives but also contribute more to the lives of others.

4. Everyone must be capable of earning a living. Students need to learn about business and finances. They need to have entrepreneurial skills as well as how to manage and invest their money. These skills can be learned in school or out of school, and at any level, from humble work to highly paid, professional skills. Throughout all of high schools and colleges there needs to be a strong and active relationship between the academic world and the world where people make a living.

5. I have saved for the last that which I regard as the most important of all, namely, the leaning of some kind of critical or intellectual method. Bombarded daily with millions of word by print and electronic media we all have to have some kind of critical method by means of which to decide whom and what to believe, and to what degree. Students must given a chance to see both sides of every issue so that they are able to make an objective decision.

In summary, the five goals of education should be (1) our world, (2) the world's people, (3) an area of aesthetic experience, the search for order, (4) earning a living, and (5) learning a critical or intellectual method, a way of sorting the important and the true from the unimportant and the false.

2007-11-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

Why We Should Always Want More

The thing that gives our society its energy, excitement, and constant change is the fact that we're a people who are never satisfied with what we've got. And that's good!

Societies that become satisfied and content with what they've got tend to stagnate. You can see this in the United States by comparing certain parts of the country and different cities and towns. The people in them tend to want and expect their financial security to come from government programs. They're not interested in new ideas. Instead, they're suspicious and often hostile to anyone who tries to tell them that they alone are responsible for their own destiny.

These cities and towns right within our own borders, remind me of those foreign countries that have slowed to a standstill because of their socialist policies, but these places are in the minority. Most areas, towns and cities in this country are not content. They're building and growing because that's what the people in them are doing.

What gives this country its vitality is that our people want more. They want to earn more money, do more things, see more places, have more things, play more, do more and be more. When they move, it's usually because they want more room, more property, a bigger house with more rooms and a bigger garage for more cars.

In the Industrial Age it was often the case that because a parent didn't have a college education but had a good and secure job that he or she wouldn't encourage his or her child to do so either, but now that we are in the Information Age we know that our kids have to get more and more education to succeed.

There are those who deplore this drive to have more, but I'm not one of them. You're either growing or you're dying you can't stand still even if you want to. We want more and better products and services, more and more customers, more schools, more teachers. This is the history of man and wherever this spirit has slowed down and stopped, stagnation and rot have set in.

So don't feel guilty if you want more than you've got. It's the natural state of growing, moving and producing human beings, but watch out for complacency. When you stop trying to come up with better ideas, better ways of doing your job and living your life, chances are you've reached your greatest growth and have started going backwards.

As the Italian Author and Philosopher Guissepe Mazzini once wrote, “The moral law of the universe is progress. Every generation that passes idly over the earth without adding to that progress remains uninscribed upon the register of humanity, and the succeeding generation tramples its ashes as dust.”

So, what do you want? Now is a good time to start going after it, to start progressing toward that dream in your heart. It is human to want, to progress, to achieve, to improve, to win. The great writer and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson brought out this point best when he wrote, “Progress is the activity of today and the assurance of tomorrow.”

A person who is always improving and doing whatever it takes to get better is guaranteed to become a success in whatever he or she sets out to do, but on the other hand a person who is constantly stagnating and never tries to become bettter will always be a failure; for vice, virtue and time are three things that never stand still.

2007-11-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Planting Seeds Of Dreams

We possess the greatest piece of imagination equipment ever assembled in civilization; it is called the mind. If we were somehow able to access all the computers that exist in the world today, they would not collectively duplicate the intricate thinking and “imagination” of a single human mind.

The tragedy lies in the fact that most people do not apply and use the awesome faculty of the mind in constructive and creative ways. Many, in fact, go through life abusing this wonderful gift.

What can you do to optimize and maximize this most personal and dynamic asset, your mind?

First, you must recognize and respect the mind as a visioning tool, one so powerful that it can make you well or make you ill as Kenneth R. Pelletier pointed out in his outstanding book, Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer.

In looking at the mind as a positive visioning tool, it is important to appreciate that we are capable of seeing things that are invisible. Things that have not yet occurred can be conceived in your imagination in unlimited dimension and scope. This fact is especially important because your future will be influenced by the thoughts and insights that occur in your mind today.

To foresee what is possible, you must be prepared to step outside of what may be considered current reality. In this context, reality is defined as the convergence point of the feelings that are physically present in our environment and our individual mental attitudes toward those objects.

You can visualize this reality by dreaming. As Victor Hugo said, “There is nothing like dreams to create the future.” Dreams may materialize in different ways and at different times. They may occur in sleep or a relaxation state as the serendipitous incubation or in an intentional altered state of consciousness. All that is needed for a dream to manifest itself is openness of mind and intense faith and belief that the dream will happen.

It is our capacity to dream that creates within every one of us the power to motivate ourselves. If we simply choose to let our imaginations soar free and high with a positive purpose, new ideas and thoughts will present themselves to us in the form of a dream.

The dream seed that is thus subconsciously planted can then be consciously allowed to surface. It is here that we must nurture our dreams to grow into fruitful fields that will yield the pathways to a better tomorrow.

2007-10-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

The Best Investment You Can Make

If you feel your life needs a change for the better, if things seem to have gotten into a rut with nothing much happening, there's one thing that anyone can do and afford irrespective of race, background and economic status. Begin a continuing education program.

Start with history, world history. It's the most fascinating story every written, and it'll spark ideas. Check out a good book on world history at your local public library, or buy one for a bookstore or on the Internet, or if you don't like to read, then, checkout or purchase and audio program.

Then study world religions, another fascinating study. Most people in our society know almost nothing about the great religions of the world, how they began and what they teach. Often time, a person knows practically nothing about his or her own, the one in which he or she was raised.

After getting started with that, start on philosophy. Read or listen to the great philosophers. You can find books and audio programs with the teachings of many of the world's wisest people. After that, tackle business and investment, which are both fascinating studies, not to mention that they are critical for success in today's world.

What you'll be doing is acquiring a first-rate education, and you'll wonder why you didn't find the same subjects interesting back when you were in school.

I guarantee that once you start a program of continuing education such as this, you'll find yourself living in the most interesting world you can imagine and never want to stop learning. You'll be constantly amazed and delighted about what you learn, and you'll wonder why everyone doesn't know how much fun, how rewarding it is, to start getting a real education.

Then, add to the history, religion, philosophy, business and investment, the study of English. After you master the tricky subject of English to the point where you can talk and write with ease and fluency, then, tackle a foreign language, but don't ever be bored.

If you find you don't know what to do some evening or on a Sunday afternoon, reading a book or listening to an audio program on any of these subjects I've mentioned will fill the time interestingly and rewardingly.

You will have invested a few minutes, or an hour or two, in yourself, your mind and in your fortune and your future, and it's the kind of investment you can't lose. Your mind controls your life, present and future. There is no way a life can be better or more enjoyable, or richer that what is stored in the mind.

People will say, “I took those subjects in school,” as though you can finish with a subject in a year or two, complete as you would some special project. You could spend a lifetime of studying any one of the subjects I've mentioned and still find it a rich source of unending enjoyment and discovery.

There is no such thing as an “educated person.” You don't finish an education and then stop learning. Either you're becoming educated or not. The trouble often stems from an unfortunate memory or unrelieved boredom in school. Maybe you were too young to take a real interest in them, maybe it wasn't presented in an interesting way, but the subjects themselves are interesting to anyone who takes the time to read or listen to them, and for the person who has never tired, it opens up an entirely new world, a whole new life.

Look at your private library. Are there books and audio programs on history, philosophy, religion, English, business and investment? If not, take my word for it, they'll represent the best investment you've ever made in time and money.

2007-09-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

How Important Is Money?

Whenever I give a seminar on the subject of “Finding Your Purpose In Life” or I write an article on the subject I inevitably get questions from the audience or emails asking me how I can talk about the importance of making money in the same context. They'll say or write things like, money doesn't buy happiness and it shouldn't be part someone's true purpose.

I always appreciate and welcome these questions and comments, but let me expand on what I mean by the importance of making money. For example, if you live on a remote tropical island, where there's plenty of free fish and coconuts, you're right, money isn't important, but if you live in the industrialized world where money is the medium of exchange, as it is in every industrialized world, then money is important. It is, in fact, extremely important.

It is particularly important to parents who want to send their kids to college; who want to live in a nice home and share in all the abundance of our society. It's important to people who want to travel and see what the rest of the world looks like. People who want to have the things that make living a little easier and more enjoyable, so that they won't grow old before their time through drudgery. People who want to surround themselves with good books, beautiful things, and have their leisure time to develop their minds and spirits.

Anybody who says money isn't important is not living in the real world. Money is every bit as important as air, water and food; you need it to survive in the industrialized world.

I wish people would stop coming up with the old, tired and ridiculous saying that, “money won't buy happiness.” Neither will poverty! Nothing can buy happiness, so that premise is absurd.

One of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln, who once said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” So, since it doesn't make a bit of difference as to how much money you have to determine how happy you'll be, you might just as well have money.

If you have a positive mental attitude toward life, money will make you just that much happier; and if you have a negative attitude toward life in general, at least having money will permit you to be miserable in comfort.

As to how important money is, that's up to each individual. Money and the accumulation of a lot of it can be as important to one person as becoming a champion golfer, or making a world-changing discovery or becoming outstanding in a particular field is to another.

The next time someone tells you that money isn't important, ask that person if he or she would turn down a pay raise or refuse an inheritance. Chances are that person downplays the importance of money because he or she hasn't figured out how to get his or her share.

2007-08-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

What Are Your Core Values?

I recently had lunch with a group of my friends and business associates, the conversation turned a very important but overlooked part of life; it turned to personal core values and why so very few people today have them.

If someone asked you to give him or her, the core values by which you live, could you tell him or her, what they are? Successful people in all walks of life, whether they're students, housewives, employees, business owners, no matter who they are or what they happen to do, really need to have a set of core values to live by.

My friends and I came up with six values we all felt should guide the life of any person who desires to live a successful and happy life. See if you agree with them.

1. Awareness. Without awareness, a person becomes little more than a machine, marking time and living mechanically. You need to be consciously aware of the need to be aware; to notice things, to see things, to be curious, to maintain a youthful zest for what's going on around you; to see the limitless opportunities begging for attention everywhere.

2. Skepticism. You need to have to have a good and healthy skepticism. You need to be a challenger of the way things have been done in the past. All human advancement has been brought about by people who have refused to believe that just because something is done a certain way it is the best way, or even a good way. You need to try to get the facts for yourself instead of just going along with the crowd. If something has always been done a certain way, there's likelihood that it's obsolete.

3. Integrity. You must be a person who others can trust and believe in. You should never compromise with what you believe to be honest, and because of this you will be a person of great value that others can trust implicitly.

4. Courtesy. This is always the mark of a well-rounded, successful person. You should always be courteous to other people no matter who they or what their social or economic status in life is.

5. Learning. You should learn something new every day of your life. You do this because you know that life is a lifetime journey of learning and without knowledge you cannot succeed.

6. Commitment. You commit yourself completely to what you choose to do. Unlike millions of people who have no goals, you put your whole heart and soul into accomplishing what you want.

If you have these six core values you will become outstanding in every area of your life and opportunities will continuously come your way. Whatever you set out to do you'll do to the very best of your ability and you'll do it a little bit better each time.

You may and should have other core values to live by, but I think these six will most certainly guarantee your success and happiness in life.

2007-08-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Creating Your Own Reality

I have had the opportunity during my 25 year career to meet thousands of people from all over the world and I have found two things to absolutely true time and time again regarding people no matter what their background, education or social status in life.

First, is that the more optimistic a person is the more successful and healthy he or she is likely to become.

Second, is that both optimism and pessimism tend to be self-fulfilling prophesies. Our reality becomes what we expect it to be.

There is a circular self-feeding loop of human nature that you can use to your advantage. For example, a woman who lacks confidence can acquire confidence by an act of will and convince herself with confident action and self-suggestion that she is confident.

This change in her thoughts and actions will produce a corresponding change in the way other people respond to her, which reinforces her original act of will. In effect, the world proves her right and her own certainty increases because objective, concrete events have proven that her confidence is justified.

Negativism works the same way. For example, a man with indigestion caused by stress may worry about the pain, further increasing his level of stress and making his indigestion worse. Since his pain is worse, he is even more worried, which makes the indigestion even worse.

Faith and doubt work the same way. When a person doubts his ability to succeed, he lowers his energy level because he feels defeated before he starts, and he impairs his health, which further lowers his energy level.

A lower energy level limits his progress, which causes him to doubt even more, further depleting his energy. Because of the self-defeating nature of the feedback loop, doubt makes success less likely.

Conversely, if you assume that your efforts can and will succeed your assumption helps create the fact by making you more energetic in the pursuit of your goal, giving you robust vitality and health.

Because you feel more energetic, you take confident strides forward, and you make more progress. You can then see that you are gaining on your goal which validates your assumption that you can succeed. This, in turn, gives you more confidence that you will succeed, which makes you even more energetic.

Faith is the starting point for creating your own reality. When you have faith that you will succeed, your faith that you will succeed, your faith feeds itself, building and growing as you make progress. The result is a positive self-fulfilling prophesy.

2007-08-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Planting For The Future

Right now in the middle of August, many farmers have planted seeds despite the fact that it might not rain, it might rain too much or it might be too hot. In August, just when everything is looking good, the big wind might blow and they will lose everything.

When harvest time comes, it might be too wet, and the crops may die in the fields. Who knows what prices will be and don't forget the bugs.

Before trains, trucks and supermarkets, spring was the hungriest season. In winter people still had stores from the harvest, but by springtime the stores had run out. Even though spring might be beautiful, nothing had produced. It was possible to starve amidst the beauty.

Those hungry farmers would look at the seed they saved with ambivalence. They had no choice: They could eat the seed and ease their hunger or plant their seed and go hungry, now.

Of course, if they didn't plant, they would surely starve the next year. So what should they do?

Their dilemma is one each of us faces every day. Kids must ask themselves whether they should study or play. The fruits of study won't be harvested for many years. Play feels good now.

Adults must decide whether to save money to invest in the future or blow it now on something that promises instant gratification. Should you make the next sales call? Write the next sentence in your proposal? Bite off a piece of the large task that will really pay off, or finish a job that makes little difference?

The big question is, “Shall I sacrifice not for a better future, but one which is not guaranteed?

The answer separates the wheat from the chaff. Nobody in the history of the world who consistently answered “no” to this question ever accomplished anything worthwhile.

There are no guarantees. There never were. Ask any farmer. Some seeds never sprout. Some are eaten by birds and bugs. Some harvests are ruined by weather.

Even in the sunny spring, seeds are safer out of the ground. Much safer than when you plant them. It's possible that you can lose them all and go hungry, but keeping seeds safe is not what seeds are for.

As General Douglas MacArthur said, “There is no security in life; there is only opportunity.”

2007-08-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Recreation

I recently spoke to a group of young business professional during a seminar I gave in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the topics I covered was the need to make time for recreation.

In today's highly competitive business world we live in, where the need and pressure to succeed is greater than ever most people fail to make the time for recreation; a time for rest, relaxation and most importantly renewal.

Most people look at recreation as a chance to have fun and maybe play their favorite sport, but to me recreation is more important than that. To me recreation is all about taking the time away from work to reevaluate your life, your life, work, goals, and reason for living.

Taking a morning or an afternoon off to play a round of golf or a game of tennis, simply doesn't give you enough time reevaluate your life. You need more time than that, several days or even a week or two.

For me it's taking the time to go to a beach and just walking along the beach or just sitting and watching the waves come in. It's the therapy of the fresh are, the sea itself

Everyone has his or her own way, or should have his or her own way or recreation or renewal, so that he or she can look at life once again with a new interest and enthusiasm. What's yours?

My friends and associates have different ways as well; for some it's gardening; for others it's painting, cooking, fishing, and camping. I have one associate that get recreational therapy from mountain climbing. Everyone needs to get away for some recreation.

For any recreation to be meaningful and fulfilling it must do three things: (1) It must stimulate your identity, the person you really are: (2) It must be stimulating: (3) It must give you a level of security as to take away your anxieties from work.

Occasional recreation helps you find yourself, reestablish who you are, and what you want, it helps with your identity. It most certainly involves change and stimulation, and it helps you develop inner security, the kind you need the most. If you have inner security, real security as a person, your world can come crashing down all around you and you can still emerge secure within yourself and build a new and possibly better one.

So when you find yourself getting stale, what you need is some meaningful recreation; you need to stop the world and get off for a while and look at things from a distance. You'll be surprised at the new ideas you'll get; and the new opportunities you'll see, opportunities that have been there all along but you've been too close to see them.

When you're lost in the recreation that you love, you're really living; you're living as fully as it's possible to live. That's the whole idea of life, isn't it?

2007-07-17T18:59:00.001-07:00

Cultivate The Happiness Habit

I think the three greatest blessings that a person can ever have on this earth are: the privilege of rendering some useful service which will help others; keeping our own mind busy working toward a worthy ideal; and being in good health both mind and body.

I think it's actually good for someone to be unemployed at one time in his or her life, because it teaches you what a real blessing a meaningful job really is.

When you find a career that you really love and want to put your whole heart and soul into, one that is truly making a positive difference in this world, then, you have found life's greatest gift, happiness!

No man or woman can be happy unless he or she is engaged in some sort of work that he or she likes. A person who is working just to collect a paycheck may seem to be happy, but he or she isn't. If that person smiles at all, it doesn't come from the heart.

Too many people have the mistaken notion that money brings happiness. It doesn't; at least not to the person who quits working because he or she has an abundance of money and material possessions.

Happiness does not come from having, but from working. It is not the mere possession of wealth that makes a person happy. It is the enjoyment a person receives from pursuing, working and achieving; from using wealth in the endeavor to multiply it; it is the game and not the tools with which the game is played that brings happiness.

There would be very little fun in a long, tapered hardwood stick if it were not for the baseball that goes with it and the game which is played with it.

Likewise, there would be very little fun in just hitting the lottery if it were not for the great game of work that you could play with the winnings.

What a wonderful blessing it would be if we could all learn to stop cheating and backstabbing other people just to get a raise or a promotion in the belief that it is essential for happiness.

Find happiness in you daily work, whatever it may be, and it will make little difference to you whether you succeed in piling up few or many dollars.

I have never hit the lottery, inherited any wealth or hit it rich overnight in business or an investment, but I've know people who have. Those people have never felt very comfortable until they adjusted themselves to this new environment and some of them lost all their wealth because they never adjusted.

Happiness is not an exclusive something that is just for a chosen few. It is accessible to all, regardless of age or condition, who will extend themselves a little and strive for it.

2007-07-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Discovering Opportunity In Adversity

My first job as an advertising copywriter was for a small agency that handled mostly car dealer and radio station advertising. Their ads up to that point were not very creative so I made it my first priority to improve them. Every time I got an assignment, I wrote two commercials: one the way the agency had always done it and a second that was more creative and exciting.

Every time I presented the commercials for approval, they always chose the one that was just like what they had always done, stuffy and boring. Their attitude was that if they had not done it before, they weren't going to try it.

I would have gotten depressed, but I had a good friend who had been in the business a long time and he kept telling me that every defeat sowed the seeds of success for the future. I became determined to wear them down. I tried even harder. If they saw my “better” commercials enough, eventually they would see the light and start to use them. I had been with them for a year now and I would give it just one more year.

As it turned out, they never once used one of my “better” ads. They never even showed a single one to any of their clients to see how they might react to them. It was a tough year, but by the end of it I had built up quite a portfolio.

Armed with my new portfolio, I arranged interviews with some of the biggest advertising agencies in the country. One of them loved my commercials and offered me a job on the spot, at almost twice the salary I was earning at my current job.

When I informed my boss that I would be leaving, he told me that while I was a nice enough guy, he didn't give me a year at my new job, because the agency I was going to was much too big and competitive for me. He said I stuck to my own ideas too much and that would get me nowhere. He said big companies like people who go along and don't make waves.

To make a long story short, it's been over twenty five years since I left and I'm doing great, but today that small agency is out of business. As a matter of fact a few years after I left the company I learned that many of the agency's clients had left them for one simple reason: They felt that they were getting the same old thing year after year, and they wanted fresh and original commercials, something I had tried to convince them to do for the two years I worked there.

If my friend had not given me the courage to believe in myself and my ideas, I would have never kept writing commercials the way I believed they should be done. I would have given in to their way of thinking. I would not have developed a portfolio that allowed me to find a better job and I would never have started and built the successful business that I have today.

2007-06-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Need For Leadership

With the 2008 election getting closer every day and with Presidential and Congressional approval ratings at historic lows there has never been a time in our history with so much at stake. Yet no candidate in either political party is showing what this country and the world needs the most; Leadership!

The Republican candidates are busy pandering to their conservative base and all the Democratic candidates are busy pandering to their liberal base. They are all doing the same thing; Doing whatever it takes to get elected, but no one is showing any leadership.

To be fair, maybe none of them know what true leadership is? So let's define it for them. Leadership begins with trust, and trust is based on honesty. A leader whether in business, the home, or the government, must trust those he or she has been given to lead.

A true leader facilitates growth of those he or she leads. That is, like a good parent, his or her attitude toward those he or she leads is, “You can be whatever you most want to be. You can grow as great as your abilities will permit. My job is to help you become what you want to become.”

True leadership is a matter of interdependence, rather than dependence. That is, if people have a really good leader, they do not have to be dependent, or feel that they are dependent upon the leader figure. Rather, they have a feeling of freedom based on honesty and trust, and they feel that they are interdependent, dependent on each other.

For example, suppose I invite a friend over for dinner and serve her refreshing sprits and a delicious dinner. Then I invite my friend for dinner a second time and then a third for yet another evening of spirits and dinner.

Following the third dinner she invites me to dinner. I refuse. She invites me again, and I still refuse. She then get angry with me. Why? Why should she be angry with me when I've had her to my home for dinner three times, given her the best food and drinks I possibly could. How can she be angry with someone who has done this for her?

She's angry because she has been forced into the role of a dependent; I have robbed her of her opportunity to reciprocate, to prove that she is not dependent upon me, but, rather; we are interdependent. It's fine to lean on someone, no one minds leaning on you, too, if you are to feel worthy and valuable as a person.

For example, a small child simply takes. He or she receives care and cannot care in return. No adult wants to be forced into the role of a child. A person's work should strengthen his or her image. A true leader realizes this.

Every person fears of being hurt in some way. Because of this, he or she has built-in defenses ready to leap into the picture at any time. A true leader is someone who brings about a reduction of defenses in those he or she leads. People feel that they don't have to be on the defensive with him or her; they can be themselves. A true leader builds trust in those he or she leads.

A true leader gives those he or she leads the opportunity to identify with the competence and problem-solving skills he or she as a leader demonstrates. A leader permits those he or she leads to identify with him or her. A leader sets that sort of example.

As of right now I am not seeing this sort of example from anyone in either political party. As proud Americans we should all demand and not settle for anything less then true leaders in all levels of our government.

2007-06-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

Become Interested Instead of Being Interesting

I met a very interesting man who attended my seminar in Atlanta, Georgia last week. His name is Arthur and he has been in sales and sales management for the last thirty years.

We talked at great length after the seminar and one of the things he told me is that during his sales career he has seen a lot of good people fail and the main reason is that they tried to be interesting instead of being interested.

I thought this was a very important point coming from such a successful individual. You see every one of us is engaged in selling in one way or another. For example, parents are trying to sell their children on the advantages of doing things the right way, husbands and wives are always trying to sell each other on their own points of view or something they want.

People in the world of business are selling every day. The higher the position the better the person is at selling his or her ideas and plans. The children with the most friends are the ones who are the best at selling themselves. Selling is just another word for human relations and communications.

People are successful in life to the extent that their communications are interesting. This is true in both your business and personal life. Because of this, every person should try to be more interesting in his or her conversation and communications.

How do you go about being interested instead of being interesting? One of the best ways is to see what a person is talking about from his or her point of view. It might sound easy, but it isn't. It is called empathetic understanding, understanding with a person, not about him or her.

The idea is to emotionally crawl into the other person's skin and see what he or she is talking about from his or her point of view. You then communicate with that person or sell him or her from his or her own standpoint.

When you do this, you immediately become the most interesting person he or she has talked to in months or even years. Again, this is not an easy thing to do. Your natural impulse is to see everything in your world from your own standpoint, but the minute you can completely forget yourself and think not only of and through the other person some amazing changes will start taking place.

You'll find people will start doing exactly what you want them to do and becoming exactly the kind of person you want them to be. Perhaps the most amazing part of all is that you will become intensely interesting to others.

By forgetting yourself and putting all your emphasis on other people and helping them get what they want, you will get what you want.

Getting along well with others is a lot of fun and enormously rewarding. This simple key to success is much too difficult for most people. You have to forget yourself.

2007-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Build Your Own World

People seek happiness in many different ways. They often seek it frantically as they would search for something they have lost. They're looking for something, that's very clear, but the best way to find something is to try to remember where you put it in the first place.

Many people have become unhappy about life solely and completely because they are not in control of their life. This is where you find the people who are most unhappy and even miserable. Life is moving along and controlling them.

On the other hand when you find someone who is happy, cheerful and strong, then, that is a person who is in control of his or her life. People who are in control of their own life are the happiest, whereas people who let life control them are generally unhappy.

Let's say for example that a young woman growing- up dreams of being married and having a nice home and family. She dreams of having a loving husband who would come home from work at night, she'd have dinner ready and the family and every aspect of their life would be happy.

Then one day she actually does get married and things don't work out as she had dreamed of. Her husband often comes home late, doesn't want to talk about anything with her, and life is not so happy. Somehow the light and laughter have gone out of the marriage.

What should she do? Should she get out of the marriage?

Well there are many things a person could do in this situation, and the least of them is to take a look at the environment. You look around and orient yourself in your environment; see yourself for what you are and where you are, and then try to make things better. The day when you stop building your own environment, when you stop building your own surroundings, that's when things cease to be happy.

In short, you look for happiness where you are, in what you have, by making where you are and what you have better. By beginning to build your own world with your own hands and mind you will find that you will, at the same time, be building your own happiness.

If you've been doing this, then, you know what I mean. Seemingly out of air, with nothing more than your mind and hands, you shape happiness and meaning where before there was nothing. It's as though you took a barren unattractive plot of ground and turned it into a beautiful garden.

This does not depend on whether or not you consider your environment good or bad only what you do with it.

The formula for happiness is: To take control your own life, don't let it control and dictate to you. Take whatever it is you now have and with your mind and hands make it somehow better. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is. Most things in life are, we just have a way of making them more complicated than they are.

2007-06-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Using Your Imagination

In the Information Age that we live in today where life is often hectic and competition is so fierce an important success factor is often missing in people. Even though we live in a global economy life has become programmed for many people, especially in our education system. What's missing is the use of our imaginations.

Every day, millions of people start out pretty even in being able to succeed in whatever they are doing. Some will go farther than others, get more fun and excitement out of life, do more, see more, experiment more, and wind up with more. Those who do, whether or not they realize it, are using their imaginations.

Using your imagination is free and everyone has one, but some use it more than others. One of the greatest inventors of the 21st century Charles Kettering once said, “Where there's an open mind, there will always be a frontier.” The way I interpret this is that how a person uses his or her imagination is the difference between success or failure.

When it comes to using your imagination it's best to keep an open mind so that your imagination gets a chance to do a little work on its own. After your imagination has come up with an idea, a negative impulse will usually come into the picture. Fear is usually an automatic reaction to imagination.

It's quite normal that once an idea a person gets an idea, he or she begins to wonder what others will think of it, and since most people don't have a very high opinion of themselves, he or she starts tearing the idea apart and often discards it completely. Then a couple of years later that person will hear or read about someone who is a millionaire because he or she came up with the same idea but decided to develop it.

Once your imagination has come up with a good idea, your must have the courage and determination to develop it. You must have a fearless attitude that you are going to keep trying till you get it right.

It's important to understand that imagination is nothing more than a vision. When you stop to think about it, vision has been responsible for everything that's happened in the world. Without vision we'd still be living our evenings by candlelight.

Luckily for us, there are enough men and women with the courage to stick with their vision and keep the world moving forward.

So take the time to today to rate your imagination and along with it see if you have the courage and determination to develop your ideas. Imagination can make a lot of difference in your life.

2007-05-28T17:48:00.001-07:00

The Secret To A Business' Success

When I hear people talk about successful businesses I often here them say things like, “That's a great company” or “That's a smart organization. Most people view successful businesses as a living entity with a mind of its own carrying all people who work for it with it.

People often forget or don't realize that behind every great business, there are people directing its destiny, deciding upon the courses of action, choosing products and product design, working out marketing and advertising campaigns and carefully instituting quality controls to make certain business will continue to be good in the years ahead.

It's people who make a business succeed or fail. Any business, no matter how large or small cannot succeed without good people. With good, talented and dedicated people the sky is the limit, but without good people the business is doomed no matter how good its product is.

One of the greatest entrepreneurs in the history of the world, Andrew Carnegie, once said, “Take away my mills, my mines and my factories, but leave me my men and in a short time I'll have them all back again.”

It's the minds of men and women that can turn a downhill course into an uphill climb, and this cannot be automated. There never has been and never will be a computer that can think and plan and come up with new ideas for the future.

And while much of this is done in the conference room and in committee, it is still the individual mind of the individual person that works the miracle of a good idea; an idea that can result in a better product or service, provide jobs for thousands of working people and keep the economy rolling along in high gear.

So, no matter what size the business is that you happen to think of, remember the whole thing started with one idea in the mind of one man or woman. And from that point everything that happened has been accomplished by people, quietly working away, thinking, planning, building, testing, trying, failing and trying again until something works.

There's no way to thank these people, most of whose names and faces you'd never recognize, for what they've done for our society and economy. But they don't need our thanks. Their rewards and satisfactions come from successfully doing what they're doing.

The next time you reach for a product that bears the name you've learned by experience you can trust to do the job it's supposed to do, and do it well, you might find it interesting to remember that the name is really a collection of people, as is the business that produced it.

It's all people. The measure of a product or service is the measure of the people who produce it, just as the way you do your work is the measure of you as a person. It should be better this year than last and better next year than this year.

I believe that really great men and women are known by three signs, generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success. You'll find people with these qualifications behind every successful business.

2007-05-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Definition Of Success

“What Is Success?” is a question that I often ask people at my seminars and on my recent trip to Europe it was a question that was asked of me many times.

The truth is it doesn't matter what country you live in, most people don't have the foggiest idea as to what success is. They equate success with something such as a college degree, the neighborhood in which a person lives, the type of car a person drives or the type of job he or she has. This is ridiculous! These luxuries are nice to have, but they don't necessarily have anything to do with success.

Who is successful in today's society? To answer this, you must first define your terms. What is success? The best definition I've ever found for success is from the Author and Radio Personality Earl Nightingale who once said: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”

Success consists of deciding on what it is you want in life and then spending your days working toward its achievement. What you decide upon is your business and has nothing to do with the ideals or goals of the people around you.

Success is doing the best you can at what you decide to do with your life. It may involve being a teacher. If may be becoming a lawyer, doctor, an engineer, an architect, or starting your own business. Or it may be none of these things.

For example I met a man at my seminar earlier this month in Bonn, Germany who is a painter. He told me how he has followed in his father's footsteps by always showing up at the house he is going to paint at 8:00am and he often brings fresh vegetables to the people he is working for from his garden. This man was happy. He loves his work and he had a wonderfully contagious positive attitude toward life and it showed because he is busy the year round.

That is what success is all about. I consider myself successful, because I love my work and I feel that I'm very good at it. But I'm not more successful because I happen to have a higher education degree than the man I met in Bonn or that I have won many awards in my profession.

Successful people are happy in what they've chosen of their own free will to do. The people who are not successful in life are those who haven't found themselves, who don't have any goals toward which their working to achieve every day.

It's really that simple and it should be left to every person once they are an adult to make their own decisions as to what they want to do with their own life. Remember every decision we make has consequences and we have to live with the decisions we alone make as individuals.

Success in life comes from knowing what you want and then committing yourself to it completely. Whatever it is, it's your decision.

2007-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Real Boss

The American Marketing Association recently conducted a study of over 500 businesses in the United States from different industries and found some interesting results.

The study found that on average, for every 100 customers lost to a company, one is lost due to death; three are lost because the salesperson calling on the customer left the company; five are lost because they began buying from a friend or relative; nine left to buy at a lower price from a competitor; 14 are lost because their complaints were ignored; and 68 are lost because the of the company's indifference and lack of interest toward them.

That adds up to 82 customers out of 100 lost because of inefficiency on the part of ownership. I say on the part of ownership because that's where the blame belongs.

I have a client in small southern town who, has owned a hardware store for the past 25 years and is still going strong despite the competition from larger worldwide companies. What's his secret? The owner makes sure that no one who works for him ever forgets a customer.

Within a few days after a purchase of any item, the customer receives a handwritten thank you note. Then, the company stays in touch with customers on a regular basis by mail or email with a newsletter and specials going on at the store. They never forget a customer.

The world is full of nice people who will never tell you why they stopped doing business with you. They'll come into your place of business or visit your Web site, make a purchase quietly and leave. But if they're not treated the way they feel they should be treated, or it's too complicated to navigate around your Web site, they'll never come back.

This is the customer you lose without being aware that you're losing him or her. This type of loss can add up into thousands of dollars, and in the case of big companies, millions of dollars a year.

This is why in-company training must be a never-ending process. It's as important to keep a constant training and reminding program going on inside a business as it is to advertise to the consumer. It has been proven many times that those businesses that hold regular weekly or monthly training meetings for their employees have a much higher bottom line that those that do not.

I have another client who owns a phone survey and customer service company in Chicago. On the desk of every employee is very attractive framed verse which reminds them that it's the customer who pays their wages and, thus, pays for their homes, vacations, the education of their children and their medical bills. They are reminded to smile and be especially courteous to every person they talk to.

It's been proven many times that most employees feel their paychecks come from the company they work for, and that the customer is something of a bother, an infringement upon their time.

This is why training, endless training, is essential if you're going to stay in business in today's competitive global market.

So it seems that better than 80 customers out of 100 are lost because of indifference and complaints that are not dealt with. It's tragic, but it sure makes for a wonderful opportunity for those businesses with owners who care about their customers.

2007-04-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Taking Responsibility

It seems that the more decisions are taken out of our hands, the more irritable we become. Haven't you noticed that people are becoming more short-tempered than they used to be? They are less friendly, somehow more suspicious and more impatient?

I believe that two main factors are responsible for this increase in tension and irritability that we see on every side of us. The first factor is change. We are living in a time of unprecedented and threatening change. Things and forces upon which we used to count on as fixed and permanent, we now see as temporary.

While change is an important and desirable factor in keeping people happy and interested, there is a point beyond which people don't like to let go. A little change is a good thing. But when change begins threatening the factors on which we build our lives and careers, when it threatens to topple institutions and factors we once believed to be permanent, that's a different story.

This phenomenon is no longer localized but is cropping up all over the place, in different forms; it's causing anxiety, anger, aggression and withdrawal, among students, in ghettos, labor unions, workers, intellectuals, and high-ranking officials.

The decisions that are affecting people today are being made by levels of government, by departments of levels of government, by economic interests, by the media, and other so-called experts.

The resulting fragmentation destroys the deep psychic need for wholeness, which in the end can be recovered when a person decides what he or she wants out of life. Self-control, coupled with accountability, will be the basis of a healthy human ecosystem.

People feel that most of the decisions being made, decisions that affect their lives and destinies, are beyond their own control. The resulting feeling of fragmentation and anxiety leads to irritability, to anger, to short tempers, and a lack of any sense of humor or positive attitude.

What do we do about it? We take the decision-making process back into our own hands, at least to the extent that it's possible. Self-control coupled with accountability, being accountable for what we do and for what we are, taking charge of our own lives and destinies, can help us get back on a more human and friendly basis once again.

It's all about maturity. We don't think of a mature person flying off the handle, getting angry over ridiculous little things, being short-tempered. When we think of a mature man or woman, regardless of his or her age, we think of a calm, understanding person, a person who would smile at a another person's mistake before he or she would become angry or upset about it. A mature person tends to be accountable.

So if you've found yourself caught up in the modern sickness of irritability and short-temperedness, if you've lost some of your patience with your fellow men and women, chalk it up to change and to having others make our decisions for us. It is time for each of us to become responsible and take over our own life again

2007-04-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Your Career Is Not Like A Marriage

In the highly competitive and constantly changing world in which we live today, there are so many interesting career opportunities that it's very difficult for most people to make a perfect decision the first time.

In fact most people worry because they think a career is like a marriage, to be broken only by failure or death. This is not true. You have to accept your uncertainties as normal. It is only a few early-maturing people, and the number is very small, who know from adolescence what they want to do. But the rest of us have to find out.

The Information Age has created so many interesting opportunities that it's difficult for most people to make a perfect decision the first time. Perfect or not, it seems most people do look at their work as they would look at their marriage, as a permanent thing. If it's not what they happen to like, well they often think that's just too bad, that they're stuck with it. That's not true either.

One of the great tragedies of our educational system is that it often steers young people into the more acceptable or better known fields simply because it's easier to get them to conform to the curriculum then it is for the school to branch out into less popular studies.

For example, a student who wants to be an entrepreneur or an investor gets discouraged or steered away from doing what he or she wants to do and ends up being a lawyer, or a CPA, an engineer or some type of computer professional.

But with this being said, people who dream of more interesting, more challenging and perhaps, more rewarding work should ask themselves very seriously what is preventing them from fulfilling their dream.

No matter what field a person chooses, there's always room for someone who's excellent at what he or she does. People in that field are getting older; they're moving up and out, retiring, and sometimes there are very few in the field at all.

If people can discover the field they would like to enter, chances are they can get into it, if they're willing to make a few sacrifices. It might mean going back to school or starting all over at the bottom, but if they want it bad enough, they can get into it.

Remember, too, that in the Industrial Age most people in most jobs were restricted to work in the country of their birth. Today, the whole world, or at least a big part of it, is available.

Opportunities are literally everywhere. There's a kind of work that can be congenial and interesting to just about everyone if people will just go to the trouble of deciding what it is they want to do and then getting the education and experience they need to do it well.

As I have mentioned many times before, the happiest and most successful people in this world are those who enjoy and can find personal fulfillment in their work.

2007-04-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Dangers Of Thinking Literally

If you don't know what a word means, or you have the wrong definition, you can go through life in a state of bafflement, shaking your head and trying to figure it out.

For example, take the word faith. Many of us learn as children that if we have faith, nothing is impossible, that faith can move mountains.

What is faith? We have learned that it means confidence and belief. We've been told that if we have confidence, if we believe, whatever it is that we desire in our lives will come about. And that's true.

The literal translation of the word faith is “to think from a different level.” The problem with this is that people who think literally all the time don't know much about what's really going on in the world.

If we're having a problem, and if we can't find a solution to it, we're thinking, the odds are, from a very literal and obvious level. That's the way it looks, and that's the way it is. But that's not true, because what we see, and what's really true, are usually miles apart.

We've all had too many seemingly mysterious events come to pass in our lives to believe in a purely, literal, obvious world. But we grow impatient. We don't seem to fully understand that we can have what we want, if we just take the time to decide what it is that we really want.

We have to create it in our imagination, our consciousness, and then relax and give it time to manifest. But we first need to think at a different level.

Psychologist and philosopher, William James once said that genius is nothing more than the ability to think in ways that are not habitual. It is because we tend to think in habitual ways that our lives can become dull and dreary. We see only the obvious, the external world around us, and miss all the wonderful opportunities that are there for each of us.

We need to think from new level and have patience. And we want will come to us, because thinking from a new level will show us the way to get what we want in this life.

People who think literally are not living in reality, they don't know what really going on in the world. They need to learn the thrill, the excitement, and the sure fulfillment that comes from thinking from a different level.

2007-04-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Make A Difference

I'd like to share a great quote with you from the late actor and writer, Leo Rosten: “The purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all.”

Makes you think, doesn't it?

The truth and accuracy of this quote is something anyone can accomplish to some degree no matter what your social or economic position is at this moment. To make a difference there are two fundamental things you must do.

The first is you must discipline yourself to lifelong learning and the second is you must check your references.

In the 21st Century knowledge and information in virtually every field is doubling every two to three years. Whatever information base you have is rapidly becoming obsolete. You must be in the process of continually taking in new information and ideas just to stay even.

You must read something educational 30 to 60 minutes every day. Reflect on what you have learned, and think about how you could apply new ideas in your daily business and personal life. One of your goals should be to contribute what you have learned so that others can learn your thoughts and discoveries.

You should invest in audio learning programs. Whether you travel to and from work in your car or use public transportation you can use this time as valuable learning time. These are valuable hours of down time that you cannot afford to waste, so use them to learn.

Attend all the live training and educational seminars you can. You can often save yourself weeks, months, and even years of hard work by attending seminars given by an expert who gives you state-of-the-art ways to get your job done faster and easier.

The second thing you must do to make a difference is always check your references. When you do, say, or write something you should always ask yourself, “Am I going to do, say, or write this because of what I've observed or heard others doing, saying or writing, or because I feel it's the best thing I can do, say or write?”

Keep in mind we live in a politically correct and opinionated society where most people say or write things that are wrong most of the time. Most people do, say or write things because they have either formed the habit or are part of a political ideology. There's got to be room for improvement here.

Yes, the purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we have lived. We need to remember that in each of us there's a considerable gap between our political, habitual way of living and our potential.

2007-03-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Your Attitude Is The Difference

Have you ever noticed that the more successful people are, the nicer they seem to be? It's all a matter of attitude. You can tell a great deal about a person just from studying his or her attitude.

People are mean, suspicious and vindictive outwardly only when they are mean, suspicious and vindictive inwardly. The more confident a person is of his or her own value as a person, the better his or her attitude toward others and the world is in general.

Successful people just naturally treat you well; they're smiling, courteous and confident. Being happy with themselves as people, they can reflect it, they have nothing to fear.

It is only the people who are not happy and successful that treat you badly. These are the people who have never really grown up or matured. Something stunted their inner growth, their confidence in themselves, and since they're not happy within themselves and not confident in their own ability and worth as a person, they can only see the world in their own reflection. As a result, their treatment of you is a kind of punishment of themselves.

We can only love others to the extent that we love ourselves. By carefully observing how others treat you, particularly strangers such as store clerks, salespeople, customer service representatives and employees of all kinds, you can make a fairly good evaluation of what these people think of themselves.

People with the best attitude just naturally gravitate toward the top of their field. So, the more successfully a person is, the nicer he or she seems to become. Their good attitudes did not come as a result of their success; their success came to them as a result of their attitudes.

People frequently make the mistake when they meet a successful and person of saying, “I'd be happy, too, if had what he or she's got.”

It's a natural tendency to think his or her attitude is the result of his or her success. But this is not the case, just the reverse is true.

Psychologist and philosopher William James once wrote: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”

Each of us attracts the kind of life we, as individuals, represent. That is, before a person can achieve something, he or she must become the kind of person this “something” would naturally belong to. We must first be the person we would like to be before the things that person would have can come to us. This may sound complicated, but it really isn't.

If you know how you think you would act if you had everything you wanted, begin to act that way now, make that kind of attitude a habit, and you'll get the things you want. But the attitude must precede the accomplishment.

Most people have this backwards and, as a result, wonder why they never have any success or happiness in life. If you want to be happy, spend your days acting like a happy person and it will come to you. One day you'll wake up to find you're happy, and you'll never quite know when the acting stopped and the reality began. That's why the saying that people are about as happy as they make their minds up to be is true.

A positive mental attitude is better than mental ability. Your attitude tells the world what you expect from life, and you will receive exactly that, no more, no less.

2007-03-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Power Of Organization

There are few things that will not benefit from organization, and nothing bolsters self-confidence like the knowledge that you understand the job that needs to be done and have it organized in a sensible, logical fashion.

Some people are list makers, others use daily planners, pocket calendars, personal computers or one of many commercially available systems designed to help get your life organized. There are numerous tools available to you: all you need to furnish are the desire and the discipline.

Make it a practice to stop and think about the task at hand before you jump in and begin flailing away at it. If you take time to think about a job at the beginning you will complete it far more efficiently. Organization is a great time saver and allows you to focus on larger issues rather than struggling to complete routine tasks.

If you make personal organization a critical component of your success philosophy, you will be more confident which will enable you to achieve more. Being organized also relieves stress. If you write down your goals and have a plan for achieving them, you don't have to keep worrying about them and fearing that you might forget something.

The engine that drives organization is personal discipline. It is the willpower, the determination, the strength of character that compels you to stay with the job until it is finished.

There is no easy way to develop personal discipline. It is the result of forcing yourself to do the right thing, to take the initiative to accomplish something when you'd much rather be doing something else. Personal discipline is developed one act and one day at a time until it becomes a habit to listen to your inner voice when it tells you to get going and taking positive action instead of procrastinating.

Personal discipline allows you to ignore the criticism of others and to stop blaming your heritage, your environment, bad luck or other people for your situation. It allows you to recognize that you have had problems (like everyone else), but that you can and will overcome them.

In all the world, you are the only person who is ultimately responsible for your successes and your failures and your happiness.

2007-03-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

Creating Your Own Future

The future never just happens; it was created. This is true for all civilizations, businesses and individuals. The success you achieve with your life will be the success you create.

In today's complex and competitive society, continued learning, good relationships and desire are the stuff from which jobs and careers are made.

Gone are the days when you could “finish” your education. Now, you are personally responsible for becoming more skillful and more qualified to compete in a world where change is the order of the day.

No job is immune from this trend. In 2004 the Harvard School of Business studied 900 managers from various industries and found that 20 percent believed they lacked the skills to meet the expectations of their bosses. Another 75 percent said they would be behind in skills within five years.

The first step in creating your own future is to conduct an objective analysis of your capabilities. Take a look at past performance reviews to see where you might need work. Ask those who you work for, your peers and your boss how you can improve.

Consider a lateral move to gain valuable experience and new skills. With promotion opportunities limited by crowded management ranks and continuous downsizing by corporations, a lateral move within the company is often the best option. It can help prepare you for the time when an opportunity arises.

Guarding business relationships is another step toward creating your future. Being honest and fair with others will make you a trusted and valuable associate, and help you maintain positive relationships with others.

Do what you say you will do when you promise to do it, regardless. When others learn they can always depend on you, soon you will discover that you are destined for bigger and better things.

Maintain good relationships with coworkers. Always maintain a pleasant, positive attitude and support other's ideas, when appropriate. When you support others, they will do the same for you. Show an interest in people and their families, and they will be more likely to consider you a warm cooperative person.

Let your bosses know that you are serious about your job and ask specifically what they expect from you that you can deliver.

Demonstrate your desire in everything you do. Show by your actions that the standards you set for yourself are higher than those set by your company. Put in the extra time to do the project well and complete it on time. Perform quality work because you are a quality person, not because someone else demands it from you.

Show desire in your appearance, as well. The way you dress and groom yourself says a great deal about your desire. Dress as though you were already in your boss's job.

Do the things that are necessary to prepare for success so that when the time comes to reach for your brass ring, you are ready for the challenge.

2007-03-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

Living Your Dream Every Day

Have you set “limits” on what you wish to achieve this year? How about the next five years? If you have, you may find that you have become what I call an SLS, a sporadic limit setting. The time to get rid of this destructive habit is now!

The way you let go of this unproductive type of “planning” is to allow yourself to dream, to envision what you want even before you get there! I have seen incredible things occur when people dream.

To take the idea a step further, when you dream BIG enough, the odds of getting to it do not matter. In other words, the passion and power of your need for that dream, whether it is social, emotional or financial, will propel you past self-imposed limits and will allow you to creatively deal with obstacles that you will inevitably encounter along the way.

Many people give up on their dreams because fear and doubt set in and they permanently root themselves in the mindset of the potential dreamer. Used properly, however fear can be a driving force and many times is necessary to achieve the big dream. Fear is a dream killer only if you allow it to debilitate your energy level and focus.

Fear can be a positive change driver if you move ahead step by step with fear. Fear only tells you that you are not sure of what lies ahead. If you move ahead with small actions or initiatives, the fear seems to find its own exit or dissipate.

Action conquers fear.

Fear can move you out of your comfort zone and allow you to discover the greatness within you, something that cannot occur while you are in your comfort zone or as some refer to it as the “dead zone.”

When you renew your commitment to identify what you need to make your life the masterpiece it deserves to be, to take the rust off your dreams, you begin to move out of the dead zone. You also lose what I call the “losers limp.”

There is no cure for a loser's limp except dreaming the big dream and preserving every day in your actions to make your dream happen. When you do, you will cast aside your limp and walk with greatness and satisfaction.

How do you know if your dream is big enough? Ask yourself the question: “What would I attempt to do or what challenges would I take on if I absolutely knew and was guaranteed that I could not fail?” That's your dream.

2007-02-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

Living Life With Enthusiasm

As young man, Winston Churchill was a profound underachiever in academics. This is interesting, because in so many ways he was a genius, for instance, as an adult he could quote verbatim whole pages of material he had read 50 years previously. Even as a youth, he was able to memorize a ten thousand stanza poem.

Churchill later grew into a world class author and historian, a truly excellent amateur painter, arguably the best orator of his age, a cunning fox of a politician and a visionary leader of the free world, all different passions. He embodied enthusiasm.

There is a key to understanding his academic failure. He once said, “They kept asking me questions about what I didn’t know, as opposed to what I did know.”

Really, we all only get enthusiastic about our own agendas. Once Churchill was free to write, speak and act upon what he did know and had a passion for, he went non-stop for the rest of his life. But when he was forced to respond to what others imposed, he was lackluster.

What are you passionate about?

I am quite frankly dumbfounded by the number of people I meet all over the world who are apathetic and bored. In a world of great books, magazines, things, people, loves, work, food, music, film, art, philosophy, politics, religion, children, and the Internet; people are bored?

How in the name of God, literally, can people be bored? There isn’t enough time to study and understand, let alone do all that life has to offer. Your task is to identify ten things that turn you on. Then prioritize them.

Twist the agenda imposed on you so that you get to study, communicate and do what you passionately care about. I am not suggesting that you should never compromise. Life is a compromise. But you must have a base from which you are compromising.

It’s like the poor soul who says, “All I want is a friend.” The response is, “Well, what do you want to be friends about?” People who have friends have music friends, another set of political friends and a different set they go fishing with.

I don’t fish. Yet I enjoy being in the company of someone who can enthusiastically tell me the beauties of it. I know he or she is a kindred spirit because he or she understands joy. And I know that anyone that anyone who is passionate about fishing could get interested in my passion, even if just for a moment.

Grasp your dreams and twist the world’s agenda to fit your passions, and share your enthusiasm. It’s infectious. Boredom is a killer, but the world will buy joy gladly.

2007-02-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Pot To Watch

Our sense of self-worth determines our attitudes and our capacity for achievement. But we may have trouble expressing our own self-worth in words or in learning how others feel about themselves.

Noted author and psychotherapist, Virginia Satir, developed an easy down-to-earth and surprisingly workable way to talk about self-worth.

She grew up in Wisconsin. On her back porch was a huge round black iron pot that stood on three legs. It was used almost daily.

Her mother made her own soap, so for part of the year the pot was filled with soap. When threshing crews came through in the summer, the pot was filled with stew. At other times, her father used the pot to store “stuff” for her mother's flower beds.

The family came to call it the “3-S pot.” Anyone who wanted to use the pot faced two questions: What is the pot full of, and how full is it?

Long afterwards, when Satir became a therapist, and people told her their feelings, some saying they felt full, empty, dirty, or even “cracked” she thought of that pot.

She helped families communicate by asking them to picture everyone having an “inner pot” containing their feelings. Doing so gave them a way to express feelings that they wouldn't otherwise talk about.

A father might say, “My pot is full today,” and the rest of the family knew he felt on top of things, full of energy and good spirits.

Or a son might say, “I feel low pot.” This told everyone he felt he didn't matter, or he felt tired or bored or bruised, not particularly lovable.

A wife who hesitated to tell husband that she felt inadequate, depressed or worthless would say frankly, “Please don't bother me now, my pot is dragging!”

The down-to-earth word “pot” made it easier for people to talk about their self-worth or self-esteem. Satir defines self-worth as the ability to love one's self and treat oneself with dignity and confidence.

If we appreciate our own self-worth, we're ready to see and appreciate the worth of others. Both kinds of appreciation are essential if we expect to find success and happiness in life. As Satir puts it, “The crucial factor in what happens both inside people and between people is one's self-worth, one's pot.”

At every moment, everyone has a feeling of self-worth, and it colors whatever they see and do. As with Satir's old family pot, the question you need to ask is: “What's in my self-worth pot now? What's in yours?”

2007-02-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Trust Thyself

Perhaps the greatest essay ever written by a human being is “Self-'Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The essay is a battle cry for the individual to listen to his or her internal genius, to swim upstream, to stand apart from the crowd, to take personal initiative in spite of fear and to go forth into productive work.

Emerson said, "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense. Else, tomorrow as stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another, trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."

Obviously, we need to enter into an alliance with other people, to seek the counsel of others, because the key word to all success and achievement is "thinking." All humans are not willing to think and none of us need their counsel and should not listen to it Think independently and find other independent thinkers for correction and synergy. Then take action.

To think and act are blessed freedoms that God has given to every individual, and what time to be alive. World political and economic freedoms are breaking out around the globe. There are troubles like those in the Middle East, but this is not the Big Picture.

Consider what is happening around the world in terms of wealth creation. The Internet has created more millionaire in the last ten years than the in the last fifty combined. Look at all the advances in computer and communication technology.

Think about this a bit, and you will realize that the world is about to enter the age of wealth, not leave it. The bears of the future cannot conceive it. I am bullish.

Big corporations are downsizing and laying off employees at a record pace,but thousands of small businesses are springing up all over the world and employing people at a rate at two-and-one-half times that of the layoffs. We must find a need, trust our intuition about filling it and take the personal intuitive of action. Create a want!

Oh yes there will be problems, setbacks and reversals. There have always have been. There will be abuses of freedom. There is and always was. It will take work to keep our heads on straight. It always did. There will be tyrants, dictators, and cheats. There always are.

What's new here? So what? The Big Picture is bright. Every true human being regardless of race, sex, or social status is a cause, a county, and an age.

2007-02-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

The February Blues

In my experience, February is the absolute worst month for many people. The holiday season is long gone, winter has been here for awhile, and it seems as though winter is never going to go away.

Of course, we know in our heads, that winter is going to go away, but in our hearts, well, it seems like another thing. To me "February Winter" is a metaphor for living through the common grayness of life.

All of us have our burdens to carry. For some, the burdens of carrying aged parents, once young, vibrant and strong, to their ultimate destiny this winter.

To others, the horrific problem of teenage children may be wearing them down. Or the unfulfilled promise of working extra hours at sometimes two and three jobs has not yet borne fruit. There are hundreds of February winters. Almost everyone has a few.

Now, in our heads, we know there is a light at the end of whatever tunnel we are in, but it is sometimes hard to believe in that light. We have been too long in the darkness.

One line has always given me hope for the soul: "Hope is the dream of a waking man." The beauty and profundity of this line are endless. We all have dreams, but some of those dreams occur when we sleep.

Dreams while we sleep we cannot control, but we can control our waking dreams. We can choose what we shall dream about when we are awake. That is within our power, and that power is the watershed dynamic in human consciousness.

If, in our waking dreams, we allow ourselves to get into visions of powerlessness, revenge, envy, futility or despair, then we shall remain forever in the month of February. On the other hand, if we consider the coming spring, empowerment, forgiveness, applause, human poetry or positive vision, then the flowers reman a future hope in our lives.

Every farmer lives this waking dream when he or she invests seeds in the soil. Our dreams are seeds, but which dreams we allow ourselves to plant make all the difference.

Plant good seeds of blooming spring. For winter shall pass, and we shall all celebrate the joy that God has in store for us.

2007-01-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Business Should Be Easy

Have you ever heard an otherwise bright person use the expression, "That was too easy!" when describing a business transaction that occurred with no hassles and very little effort?

You can do yourself a favor if you begin to count the times things seem to effortlessly fall into place. I think you'll be surprised by the unusually high number.

However, we all seem to have some perverted stake in the feeling that business should be difficult. Because we feel that way, many times we unknowingly hunt for the trouble areas and exaggerate them to justify our original negative feelings. We create problems for ourselves where none existed before.

I'm not suggesting that all business is supposed to be easily accomplished, but I am suggesting that the natural flow of business is easier than we think it is.

I gave a keynote address recently to a group of business owners, and soon afterward was given a major contract from an executive who was in the audience. Interestingly, I had previously moved mountains in an attempt to get the attention of a decision maker in that particular organization to no avail.

Business is like that. When you plan and execute that plan, many times nothing happens. Likewise, sometimes when you expend the least amount of effort, great rewards come. There is a lesson to be learned here by those who are alert to it: Never, never, never say, "That was too easy!" such a proclamation suggests that the time has come to unearth inherent problems.

Believe me when I say that in such cases there is no problem, only erroneous assumptions that problems are lurking nearby. Business is the easiest part of the workday. It is systematic and the system is supposed to work. To think otherwise is to create problems, not to find them.

2007-01-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Failing Enough To Win

There are a few good reasons for not taking personal initiative, but we often seem to find a number of bad reasons. The worst perhaps, is the fear of failure. It is the worst because most of the time you must fail enough to win.

Consider: You start playing baseball as a kid, you go to bat and ten times at bat, seven are outs. You keep this up. You pop up, you strike out, you dribble the ball to the pitcher, seven of ten times. Yet you persevere. You keep failing 70 percent of the time. You are out of called strikes, easy fly balls to left field, topped balls to the shortstop.

You keep up this spectacular failure rate until one day you are twenty-five years old and you would be totally disgusted with yourself, except a professional team just offered you a contract for a few million dollars a year

They did this because while you have been maintaining your extraordinary failure rate, you have been batting .300 and professional baseball teams pat a lot of money for failing this often. Look it up. They care about hits. To get 150 hits, you must be willing to fail 350 times.

Unless you are willing to do this, you don't get any of the hits. When your turn at bat comes, you must be willing to step up to the plate and strike out in order to hit consistently. This never changes. To win anything, you must go to bat, and you must be willing to get egg all-over your face a good deal of the time. That's just the way it is.

Two out of every three new business venture fail. So, nobody should risk starting a new business? Nobody should invent anything? Ninety-seven percent, or more, of direct advertising results in absolutely nothing. However, you'll notice that your mailbox hasn't gotten any emptier during the past few years. A lot of businesses are thriving on the three percent or less that might result in a sale.

Any teacher knows that only a small minority of students listen or care about what he or she is teaching, but that teacher lives for the few that will be inspired

When you fail, you are in great company. Literally.

Hey you only live once. So fail enough to know that you are alive. Fail away and make something happen. Take the initiative with your life and so something important. Make sure you fail enough to win.

The key here is the "enough." Never bat just once. There is too much at stake. Make sure you get to bat 500 times. Insure your 350 outs to get your 150 hits.

The world is littered with the potential of good folks who are afraid to bat. It's a tragedy. We could use the hits..

Heck, it's the runs batted in, not the strikeouts, that you'll remember anyway.

2007-01-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

Work With Others To Reach Your Goals

Being a successful entrepreneur requires an abundance of optimism and a healthy measure of self-confidence, but as in many aspects of life our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses.

Unrestrained enthusiasm is like lightening. It can strike anywhere. Enthusiasm needs to be counterbalanced by self-discipline and accurate thinking.

If you're good at selling and working with others, but not so proficient at running the office, perhaps your answer lies in forming an alliance with someone whose strengths compliment your weaknesses and vice versa. If you are a good outside person, make sure someone on your team is an equally good inside person.

In virtually every type of business, it is rare that the individual who starts and builds the business has the temperament to run it after it reaches a certain level of size and maturity. Most entrepreneurs don't have the patience for the systems and discipline required for the day to day management of the business.

If you find yourself in this position, conduct a realistic assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. Determine what you are best at and what you prefer not to do. Then look for a partner or associate who shares your basic values and commitment to the business or profession, but whose interests lie in the directions where you most need assistance.

When two or more people work in perfect harmony toward a common objective, the results can be awe-inspiring. Your alliance with other people can and should add up to a level of performance that far exceeds the sum of the individual contributions of each member.

2007-01-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

The Art Of Fantasy

You're sitting at your desk, but your mind is a thousand miles away, lost in a daydream.

If a colleague comes along and says, "Hey, wake up. Stay on the ball!" You'd probably feel embarrassed, and dismiss the daydream from your mind.

We tend to think of daydreaming as distracting from productive thought. Napoleon Hill, author of the classic book Think and Grow Rich, however, said, "Imagination is the workshop of the soul wherein are shaped all plans for individual achievement."

I agree with what Napoleon Hill said, because without daydreams the psyche shrivels. Fantasy can be an economical way of trying on alternative ways of feeling, acting, and being.

Fantasy is especially useful for revealing our unfulfilled wishes. Here are three fantasy exercises that I often recommend to my clients to help them uncover desires and beliefs that may not yet have crystallized in their mind:

1. On a typical weeknight you're watching the evening news, you hear the winning numbers for the lottery and find out they match the numbers you've played, and you've just won $10 million dollars. After recovering from the shock (and calculating what amount would be left after taxes) you decide the first thing you'll do is...

2. While hiking in the mountains you notice a cave in a wall of granite. You crawl up to the opening and look into the darkness. In the distance you hear running water and a voice calling, "Let me out. Let me out." And...

3. Design a utopian society that could conceivably exist in your future. How is that society governed? What are the social and political mores? Who works? When? For what? How and by whom are children raised and educated?

Keeping your imagination active with "fantasies" like these will enable you to conceive of possibilities others overlook.

Psychologist Carl Jung once wrote, "Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever come to birth. The debt we own to the play of imagination is incalculable."

So, don't be afraid to let your imagination explore possibilities that extend beyond the boundaries of current reality.

2007-01-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Take The Time In 07

We often underestimate our ability to handle a problem that we have not faced before. We can erroneously believe that we can't do something only because we haven't tried or thoroughly thought about it.

M.Scott Peck, psychiatrist and author of The Road Less Traveled, makes this point when he describes how, at the age of 37, he first learned how to fix things.

Until then, he had considered himself a mechanical idiot, usually unable to do simple home repairs. Then, one day, he was walking and happened upon a neighbor repairing his lawn mower. Peck remarked, "Boy, I sure admire you. I've never been able to fix those kinds of things or do anything like that."

The neighbor responded, "That's because you don't take the time."

That answer struck home and Peck gave it careful consideration.

A few days later, the parking brake on a patient's car was stuck and she knew there was something that could be done under the dashboard that would release it, but she didn't know what.

Peck lay down on the floor of the front seat of her car, took his time to make himself comfortable there, examined the situation for a few minutes, saw at first a jumble of wires and tubes and rods, but then gradually figured out what most of them were for and focused his sight on the brake mechanisms. He traced its course and located a latch that, with a little pressure, sprung loose and released the brake. He felt like a master mechanic!

Of course, most of us don't possess sufficient technical knowledge to solve all of life's mechanical problems, but there are many for which we could devise a reasonably effective solution if didn't rush to judgment or despair.

Instead making yourself comfortable and taking the time to understand the problem, then thinking it through until a solution is found, can transform you from an armature into a master.

Too often, we try something hastily and when that doesn't immediately work, we give up and seek a repairman, or a psychiatrist or a consultant for people problems, when what we really need to to do is invest the time the problem demands.

So take the time in 2007 to solve the problem.

2006-12-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Developing Spontaneous Creativity

The British statesman Herbert Henry Asquith once said about Winston Churchill: "Churchill had a zig-zag streak of lightening genius in the brain. When he was right, he was ever so right. But when he was wrong, Oh my God."

Churchill was a rare breed. He was also a bit of a fox. When he spoke in the House of Commons, he spoke without notes, and appeared to be speaking off cuff. He earned a reputation as an incredibly witty, insightful and poetic extemporaneous speaker.

But none of his speeches were off the cuff.

Churchill worked late into the night, night after night preparing for his "extemporaneous" speeches. All of his insightful remarks and witticisms, for which he became legendary, were prepared beforehand. Churchill worked hard at being creative.

I'm no Churchill (Who is?), and I often have very tough speaking jobs. I have given motivational talks to some very skeptical audiences over the years and make no mistake about it, my first task is entertaining them. One of the things I'm known for is always giving an interesting talk.

How do I do this? I use Churchill's method, I prepare. There is not substitute for preparation. Never be fooled. Every creative person you know works hard at this supposedly unique ability.

The other trick is to realize that like Churchill, some times you are ever so right, and at others you are ever so wrong. This is called editing, part of my work.

My method is fairly simple. I take two sheets of paper. On the first, I brainstorm. I write down every idea, quote, anecdote or story that occurs to me. Every idea is a good one at this level.

When I have three to four times as much material as I can use, I take the second piece of paper, and I ask myself: "Now, what really is my point?" I write that in one sentence.

Then I edit. I cut out ideas which have nothing to do with my point, usually about half of my material, which still leaves me with twice as much as I need.

Then I ask, "Why should they care about my point?" Then I explain. Soon it begins to write itself.

There is a great editing line that is worth remembering: Never, never answer a question that nobody is asking. If you think you are, start over. It's actually fun being known as "spontaneously creative."

But we know better. Thomas Edison was right when he said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."

2006-12-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Speaking From The Heart

Nothing will convey your conviction and your enthusiasm like opening your heart to others and telling them how you really feel about something that is important to you.

Martin Luther King knew this and he inspired a crowd of 250,000 civil rights marchers in Washington D.C., when he departed from his prepared text and said, "I have a dream..." In that moment when he began speaking from the heart, it was if a lightening bolt shot through the crowd, and King did not stop speaking as he was scheduled to do.

Instead, he launched into the stirring speech that became the conscience of an entire movement.
King later said that he had used the phrase, "I have a dream" before but at that moment it felt right to use it again. The people who were there that day, however, say it was more than just a right feeling.

Walter Fauntroy, then director of the Washington Southern Christian Leadership Council, told the Chicago Tribune in August 1993 that he believed King was moved by the Spirit. In fact, before King stepped to the microphone, Fauntroy told King, "Do what the Spirit tells you."

Rev. Benjamin Hooks, former head of the NAACP, was also there that day and he simply calls the moment "Divine inspiration."

"King came at the end of a long hard and hot day and the people were waiting for him and he was lifted up," Hooks said.

Coretta Scott King, his wife, later said, "It was as if the Kingdom of God appeared."

In the business world, we're taught to restrain our emotions and to maintain almost clinical detachment, but it has been proven again and again that while people use logic to justify their actions, they make decisions based on emotion.

When you speak passionately about your dreams and ambitions, and your products and services, people respond favorably. There's no substitute for emotion and inspiration that results when you follow your heart.

2006-12-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

There Are No Dull Subjects

Every business in the world from the small one or two person operation to the gigantic industrial complex, has something of value to sell, and its degree of creativity can be measured by the way in which it tells its story to the buying public.

An advertisement, whether it's pasted on window of a small retail store, appears in four colors in a quality magazine, appears on a Web site, or airs on radio or television, is the company's salesperson.

Its purpose is to attract favorable attention and move enough people to act over a given period of time to make it a profitable endeavor. Unfortunately, most advertising, like so many things in our world today, is not very creative.

In my years working for a large Advertising Agency and as an independent consultant, I've found that in most small businesses the job of handling advertising copy is done by either the owner or someone else who is least likely to handle it effectively.

These people usually know nothing about advertising and they simply scan the ads of other businesses in the same field and just copy what they do, changing little more than the name and address of the business.

I've often heard business owners and upper level managers make ridiculous statements such as, "No, I've never tried the newspaper" or radio, or television, or the Internet, "and it didn't work for me." They say this as though it were the fault of the medium.

The purpose of the medium is to expose the message to a certain number of people for a certain amount of dollars. It isn't the job of the medium to sell products or services; the medium's job is to take the message to the people. It it the job of the message to do the selling.

The secret to successful advertising is merely the knack of saying pertinent things in a fresh and original manner.

For example, look at all the new housing going up all over the country, they don't exactly present themselves in a fresh and original manner. They all look alike; there is little that is original, charming or different about any of them, and so you don't really see them. The only way you can remember them is by their street or unit number.

We're all engaged in trying to sell something to others, perhaps it's ourselves. So if you own a business, no matter what the industry, and sales are not what they should be, maybe you need to put a little more creativity into your sales story.

The success of your advertising depends upon the degree of your creative ability.

2006-12-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

How Employable Are You?

If you were an employer, would you hire yourself? In other words, if you were an employer and a person exactly like you in every detail and respect applied for a position, would you hire that person?

For example, let's say he or she knew everything about you that you know about yourself: how you do your work when now one is around; the attitude you take toward your work; the way you regard the company's customers; the way you habitually get along with those people you come into contact with on a daily basis.

Here are some other questions you would want to ask:

How long were your with your former employers? This gives a glimpse into your stability. Employers try to avoid hiring people who have stayed for short periods with many previous employers. The odds are good you'll repeat the same thing.

Is your history with one type of work, or are you a jack-of-all trades? Employers like those people best who have found a preference for and have developed skills in one type of work. Believe it or not, the jack-of-all trades person, the person who has skipped from one type of work to another, has the most difficult time finding employment.

Have your earnings been steady, with a gradual upward climb? Here again, satisfactory work and stability are indicated. A person whose earnings have gone up and down is regarded, justifiably, with some suspicion.

Would you feel comfortable and conscience-free to give facts regarding your financial affairs, life insurance and established credit? Here again, the employer gets a pretty good picture of the sort of person you are. If you have excellent credit, it tells the employer more in one minute than you could tell him or her all afternoon as far as your reliability an sense of responsibility are concerned.

Do you have a "Life is what you make it" attitude, or are you an "I never got the breaks" type of person? If you're the latter, you may find it difficult to obtain a good job.

Do you have sense of humor? Or do you ten to take yourself too seriously?

Finally, what sort of letters will your former employers write about you? Were you outstanding, very good, fair, average, or poor? Unless it's one of the first two, outstanding or very good, you might find yourself turning yourself down.

These are some of the important qualities an employer must check, or at least should check before they invest their money in someone, and entrust the reputation of their company and quality of their product or service with that person.

So pretend you're an employer, and you're applying for a job. How do you measure up?
It's an excellent idea to stand back once in a while and look at yourself objectively, to try to see yourself as you would look at a stranger if you were applying for a job.

2006-12-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

The Most Fortunate People On Earth

I was invited to dinner at a friend's house this past weekend and I had the pleasure of seeing his parents who I hadn't seen in quite a while. My friend's parents had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week.

I was having a pleasant conversation with my friend's mother about why so many people today get divorced and as she was giving me her opinion, I asked her; "Why do people fall in love?" She answered, "We fall in love with the person who sees in us that which we see in ourselves."

It makes you think, doesn't it? I'm sure she didn't mean that as an absolute rule for being attracted to the opposite sex. Men often fall desperately in love with women so self-centered that they can't see beyond their vanity mirrors, and vice versa. I'm sure some people marry a father or a mother figure as well.

I think it's fairly safe to say that generally we fall in love with the person who mirrors back to us a reflection of ourselves that shows us in our best light.

People who love us very much have a way of overlooking our faults in the same way we do. So, I suppose people who don't love us as much as we would like have a way of locating our faults and fixing upon often with a lot of criticism.

Humanity and relationships are like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Most of the pieces don't go together, but when one piece fits perfectly with one of the other pieces, then you have a good marriage or friendship.

Most people can change their personality to get along with a variety of people, but occasionally you will run across the kind of a person who is so flexible that he or she can get along with just about anyone.

On the other hand I'm sure you've come across people that have no flexibility at all. They insist that others conform to them, and if they don't, they are written off as inferior or stupid. These types of people often have a history of divorce as well as a string of lost jobs. These people always believe that the fault lies with others and never themselves.

Learning how to get along well with people is the most satisfying and rewarding thing you can do in life. Those people who are flexible have the best jobs and happiest relationships. Simply put people who get along well with others are the most fortunate people on earth.

2006-11-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Your Biggest Contribution

I was giving a talk yesterday to a group of students at Pennsylvania State University and afterwards several of the students asked me a simple question; the wanted to know how they could do the most good in the world.

The students were all well aware of the world's poverty, ignorance, disease and unrest. So, what I told them was simple; "You can help others and the world more by making the most of yourself than in any other way."

The reason I told them this was because by making the most out of what you have and who you are, you will make the greatest contribution to the world. It makes no difference what field you go into, as long as you're good at what you do. That is what will make a difference.

It doesn't matter whether you're a housewife, a policeman, a painter, a plumber, an electrician or in some other field, what is important is that you strive for fulfillment as a person. What's important is that you strive to narrow the gap that exists in each of us, between your habitual performance and your real potential.

You can do the most good for others and the world by simply making the most of yourself in what ever line of work you choose to do. You just have to give it your best every day. When you do this it will result in your making more than the maximum contribution to society.

Since the Universal Law of Compensation says that we receive in direct proportion to what we give to others, it guarantees, at the same time, that we will reap the maximum rewards. It is impossible for a person who gives his or her best day after day, year after year, to go unrecognized and rewarded.

The very fact that you are concentrating on giving your best to your work and to the people whom you associate with, and not thinking about personal recognition, will draw the rewards of life to you like a magnet.

Those people who take the attitude, "Why should I knock myself out for what I'm getting out of this?" never get anywhere in life. Their refusal to give until they get simply guarantees that they'll get nothing.

Those who take this attitude should try giving more of themselves and find out how drastically it will change their world for the better. It's not easy to change your attitude but it's the only why to truly find yourself.

To make the greatest contribution to the world, all you have to do is make the most out of yourself in the job, career, or profession you've chosen. It's the only way to guarantee you'll have happiness and success in life.

2006-11-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

We Are All Creatures Of Habit

I am often asked the question; Why do successful people continue to be successful and get richer, while unsuccessful people tend to remain unsuccessful and get poorer?

First of all let me say that this is not factually true. Economic studies show that the poor do not actually get poorer; rather they tend to remain poor, or stay at the bottom of the economic ladder, while the successful and the affluent tend to become even more successful.

Over my 25 plus years of studying successful people I've found that we are all creatures of habit. People at the bottom of the economic scale are as bound by the habit that have resulted in their lack of financial success as the more successful people are bound by theirs.

People in general tend to avoid change. You'd think that unsuccessful people who are at the bottom of the economic ladder would welcome any kind of change, but they don't. They have grown used to their way of life and feel that any change might be worse.

Successful people build up momentum that keeps going through habits that resulted in getting them started in the first place. They have developed good, productive habits and because they stay with those habits day in and day out, it has built an enormous cumulative success factor.

On the other hand, the occasional good fortune that seems to effect the unsuccessful people in a sporadic, hit-or-miss fashion is the result of their occasional tentative steps that never build up any momentum at all.

Unsuccessful people never really set anything in motion. They start something and then stop it, letting it loose momentum. The only way to achieve success in anything is for you to set things in motion. You have to do it, no one else can do it for you. Getting started is always the hardest part.

Successful people constantly run into problems, set-backs, and obstacles, but they ride them out, having faith in what they're doing and where they are going. They know sooner or later they'll get through the obstacles and reach their goal.

Success doesn't happen overnight, it takes time to succeed. You cannot succeed without understanding you must start by building up momentum and forming good habits.

So, if you've ever wondered why the successful and the unsuccessful people tend to remain that way it's because success in life is not so much a matter of talent and opportunity as it is a matter of concentration and persistence.

2006-11-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Value In Temporary Solutions

Do you know why it's almost impossible to win or succeed consistently? It's because there are no permanent solutions to problems.

Whether you're teaching, staying comfortably and successfully married, bringing up children, or managing employees, maintaining a high sales volume, or managing an organization of any kind. The minute you get one part of the operation functioning smoothly, another part rears its head and starts snapping at the seat of your pants.

This is what I call a "divergent" problem and anything that has anything to do with human beings, politics, economics, marriage, education, children or business is a divergent type of problem.

You should never stop trying to solve the problem simply because there is no permanent solution. The important thing is that you realize that there is no permanent solution so you keep trying different things, and enjoy the journey.

If everyone quite playing sports because one part of their game started falling apart, the golf courses, tennis courts, football fields, and baseball diamonds would become deserted. It's coping and struggling with the problems that helps us grow and mature and develop better skills.

For example, I don't know of a married couple who at some time during their marriage hasn't felt like saying, "I give up, I quit." It's unfortunate that millions do quit, but the quitting comes when they stop trying their best to cope with the problems.

I wonder how many marriages might be saved if the couple sat down and said to each other, "O.K., we've got a divergent problem here. It's impossible to find a solution because there are no permanent solutions, but if we want to stay married, if we want to work at it and try our best to come up with at least temporary solutions to our problems, we can make our marriage work."

Now, not all marriages would make it even with temporary solutions, but I do think that if we understand the fact that no solutions are possible, that marriage, like teaching, like so many things must be lived with on a day-to-day basis, doing the very best we can, looking for opportunities to improve, constantly trying new ways that might work better, that we can keep our sense of humor and keep trying.

When there are permanent and ugly breaks between couples, it's because they don't understand this important point. It's the same with relatives, friends and coworkers. Just think how many relationships could be worked out by simply saying, "I want to get along with you, I think we can have a meaningful and productive relationship or friendship if we'll both work at it."

You're probably familiar with the old saying, "If you don't like the weather wait for an hour or so, it'll change." The same can be said of virtually all human relations and everything that has anything to do with us as individuals.

2006-11-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Tragedy Of Growing Up

As we enter into this Thanksgiving holiday weekend I'd like you to glance around, and see that almost everything surrounding you has been invented or designed by someone else, some person at some time engaged in a creative act, and the sum total of those acts makes up the world you life in.

This applies not only to your physical environment but also to your mental one, your mind is filled almost entirely by symbols originally formed by creative people.

Consider what these creative products are made from. Very simple things; things that existed in nature, now combined into new patterns. The chair you sit in did not exist in the tree from which the material came but in the mind of a creative person who conceived and designed it.

And so with the desk or table, the rug on the floor, the draperies in the windows, the very floor and walls and ceiling that surround you. All are patterns formed by creative people who found new combinations for quite simple and ordinary things.

When you look at creative people, the question is not, "Why do some people appear to be creative, while others are not?" but, rather, "Why is it that some people do not use their creative ability that each of us has been born with, while other do not?"

Men and women stand at the wave front of a phase of an ongoing process, the constant and creative modification of environment, that has been going on since living things first moved upon the earth. Alone of all these creatures, we are aware that we are part of a process and, thus, can consciously direct it.

Creativity is a state of mind, and it is most widely expressed by children, because their confrontation with their environment is constantly made up of original discoveries and inventions. In time, through social pressures to conform and the repetition of experience, most of them lose this sense of wonder and become less and less creative, trapped in a concrete mold not of their own making.

It has been said that the creative person is essentially a "perpetual child." The tragedy is that most of us grow up.

2006-11-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

Let's Talk About Money

I was in Washington D.C. over the weekend visiting some friends and we went to dinner at one of my favorite French restaurants. I used to go there frequently when I lived in Washington, and did some consulting work for the owner at one time. It was a wonderful suprise to see my old friend Julien there, who is the owner of this fine establishment.

Julien immigrated from France over thirty years ago with nothing and has now become a successful restaurateur on the East Coast. We talked for while about how he built his restaurants into such a success, and I asked him when did he know that he had become rich?

His said to me, "I was rich when I was sitting on a park bench without a dime in my pocket." He said that there had not been the slightest doubt in his mind that he would soon have all the money he needed to do the things he wanted to do.

This is the perfect example of the way money works. Money is a product of your state of mind. How you think and feel about money determines not only how much you have but also how much value it will have for you.

Actually, it isn't only what you think and feel about money that determines the level of your financial security; it is what you think and feel about everything in life. Life's riches are measured not so much by the actual amount of money you have as by the content of your consciousness, your inner feeling of well-being, peace and security.

Are you rich inside? Are you free from worry, fear, feelings of inferiority, greed, selfishness and anxiety? You'd better be, because those states of mind will make anyone poor, no matter how hard he or she may work to make money.

Money isn't produced by hard work; it is produced out of our inner states of thought and feeling, our consciousness. Of course, hard work is necessary as a follow-up to our ideas and ambitions, but hard work by itself won't produce money.

Here's the most important lesson you'll ever learn about money: Money doesn't come from outside; it comes from inside.

Redirect your thinking about money, and the result will be a consciousness of prosperity. Know that you can be what you want to be, do what you want to do, have what you want to have, and go where you want to go, if you do within yourself what is necessary to make those things possible.

Begin to think prosperous thoughts; develop an attitude of positive expectancy. Know that the answers you need will come to you at the proper time.

Jonathan Swift said it best, "A wise man should have money in his head, not in his heart." When it comes to money always remember this: Money does not come from outside; it comes from inside.

2006-11-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

Establishing Your Priorities

When I was in Trenton, New Jersey yesterday giving a seminar, I asked if anyone in the audience had established written priorities for their life. I have to admit that I wasn't surprised when only a few people in the audience raised their hand.

So I had them do a simple exercise that I'd like to share with you. It's an important exercise that everyone should do. You simply make a list of your priorities, what's most important, next in importance, and so on.

You ask yourself, "What's the most important thing in my life?" You write that down after the number one; then go to the next. This can often be an extremely revealing exercise. Sometimes, it can bring out the complete reordering of our lives in that we can find that our real priorities and what we're working for are two different things.

For example, the first item on your list might be family. "What does my family want? Is what I'm doing now contributing to the best interests of my family, my spouse's interests, my interests, and the interests of my children?"

You might list work as priority number two."Did I choose this line of work because it's the one in which I have the greatest interest or did I sort of fall into it because it came along and I needed a paycheck? If this is not the kind of work in which I find the most interest, what is?"

Perhaps your third priority is income. "Does my income meet my requirements? Or do I put up with it because of habit, or fear of change, or some false notion of security? If it does not meet my real requirements, what are they? Maybe they're a lot less than I think they are."

Maybe if we simplified our lives, limited our wants to the real fundamentals, we'd be a lot better off, a whole lot less in debt, and a lot happier.

What about retirement? So few people today, especially young people, even think about the subject of retirement which is why the majority of our population find themselves flat broke or nearly so when they want to retire and therefore have to keep working.

Retirement and financial literacy is priority that should be near the top of your list, otherwise you will find yourself someday among the millions of people who are or will be nearly broke when retirement age rolls around.

Making a list of priorities is fun. If you've never done it before, it can be surprisingly revealing. You can find out what's most important and what isn't. You might find that you've been knocking yourself out for some of the wrong things.

2006-11-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

Using Controlled Attention

If you study the behavior of any person who has achieved great success in his or her life, you will find a common trait: They are able to stay focused on their major purpose or goal. What they do, in actual fact, is bring to bear the power of the mind on the achievement of definite ends.

By constantly thinking about, planning for, and doing things to facilitate your purpose, movement in that direction is inevitable. Earl Nightingale said, "We become what we think about most of time."

This works both ways; if you constantly think about all the problems in your life, complain, and focus on the negative, that will become your reality. Things will continue to get worse in your life.

On the other hand, if you focus on your purpose in life, your goals, and objectives, the things that are working for you, then that will become your reality.

Your mind is very powerful and whatever you hold to be true will become your external reality. This is how you create your own reality and then experience it. When you give your mind a picture of what you want to achieve, it will transform the picture into physical reality by using whatever practical means that are available.

When you fix your mind upon your purpose in life or goal and force your mind through a daily habit to dwell on that subject, you condition your mind to act on it. Whatever you think about, your mind will get to work proving that belief to be true in your physical experience.

What is difference between happy and successful people and those who are unhappy and not successful? Successful and happy people feed their minds on thought material related to their positive goals and purposes; people who are unhappy and not successful let external, negative influences feed their minds and they become fearful, anxious, bitter, and paralyzed.

To overcome the constant exposure to negativism that is a so much a part of today's society, we would all be well advised to consciously think about what we want every day (if not more frequently) and do something to manifest our goals. Otherwise our minds will be filled with a daily fare of "doom and gloom" and the result will be a life of fear, scarcity, and despair.

2006-11-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

Practicing Random Acts Of Thoughtfulness

I spoke to a former client of mine last week who owns an International Sales Company. He has owned his company for over twenty years and has built his company up from working out of his basement to having offices worldwide.

We spoke about how he has built a highly successful sales force by doing what he encourage them to do with their customers, showing them that he cares about them as individuals.

Mike makes it a daily practice to do something nice for others, something they are not expecting. It may be something they are not expecting. It may be emailing 25 or 30 notes of encouragement to sales directors, or may be a half dozen phone calls to give someone a needed boost.

When they get over the shock of hearing from the president and CEO, he tells them, "I just called to see how you are." He tries to find something to compliment them about.

He told me that, once when telegrams were in vogue, he sent out 25 telegrams, and all he said was, "Congratulations!" and signed them, "Mike." Every one of the recipients called to ask, "How did you know?" "I didn't know anything, I was experimenting, but nearly every person can find one reason why you would be calling to congratulate them."

Mike says the payback from such random acts of thoughtfulness increases exponentially. "It's amazing how quickly word gets around," he said "You call 10 people and they tell 50 others."

Does it work? Fortune magazine says, "When somebody takes an interest in your it feels good. The 325,000 consultants try to treat their customers the same way, remembering their birthdays, sending them little notes, showing they're interested, That's what sells their products.

"It makes me feel good too," Mike said. "Many of them say, "You know, after you talked to me, I decided I'm going to go for broke. I'm going to do it!"

2006-11-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

Our Nation's Most Serious Deficit

I was in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday talking to a group of local business leaders on the subject of Leadership. Since today is election day and I hope you did exercise your right to vote, I wanted to share a little about my seminar with you.

We have problems in this country but none more serious than the lack of leadership in all our institutions. We have a serious lack of leadership in our educational institutions, our religious institutions, our businesses, and without a doubt in our government.

Our country and is crying out for people who have a vision for the future. People who stand for something. Who our young people can look up to. We desperately need people will say, "This is what I believe in and here is my vision for the future. Here is where I want to lead you, this I why I want you to follow me, and here is my plan."

Anyway, getting back to may seminar in Atlanta on leadership. Here is some of what I told the audience. The goal of most people in leadership positions is to cause people to think more of the leader. The goal of a true leader is to cause people to think more of themselves. That's true whether you are leading a family, a business, or any group of people.

The goal of a true leader is to cause people to think more of themselves. People in business need to keep this in mind and so should a millions of parents.

If you are in a leadership role, ask yourself, "Do I cause those in my charge to think more of themselves?" A good question, isn't it? It's been found countless times that people will grow to fill the kind of shoes we expect them to fill.

Here are five attributes all true leaders all have in common:

* They have clearly defined goals

* Their goals are in tune with values that are important to them.

* They demand feedback, leaders always need to know how they relate to other people.

* They realize winning is a secondary victory and that trying is rewarding in itself, to fail is not a sin but not to try is.

* They don't crave to be liked, and they don't confuse refusal and rejection.

How people see themselves is critically important in determining their effectiveness as a human being, People can alter their view of themselves and accomplish much. This can be done regardless of what has happened in a person's life. It matters only where you are going, not where you have been.

2006-11-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

You Gotta Stay Hungry

It has often been called a "burning desire." I call it staying hungry. Whatever its name, it is the drive that creates a mindset of success and sends you on the way to uncompromisingly meeting your highest expectations, despite life's tendency to tempt your with daily detours.

Hungry people know that there is almost always a way to generate business even though it may not be immediately obvious. They always ask customers what problems they can help solve rather than telling them, "These are the services we offer." Hungry people never give up because the solution or service is something that they do not "usually do."

Here's an example, Southwest Airlines when they first entered the Pittsburgh market on the heels of U.S. Airlines departure began offering van service from different hotels in the area to the airport six times daily.

Southwest could have simply stood on their discounted airfairs, but instead they stayed hungry in this new market. To encourage customers to take the van service, the airline gives passenger points towards its Rapid Rewards Promotion Program and checks their luggage to the final destination.

Hungry people offer customers crazy incentives to introduce them to their products and services. For example a small poultry company I recently read about in Pennsylvania gives away a free chicken to anyone who has been audited by the IRS. All you need to do is send them a copy of your audit notice.

The tag line for their promotion is to be grateful that your tax return is checked by the IRS auditor and not by one of their relentless poultry inspectors.

Smaller companies can compete with the big guys when they are creative, and hungry!

Hungry people refuse to tiptoe through life just so they can arrive at death safely. Take calculated risks in your business every day. If that means picking up the phone and calling someone who "won't do business with you," get into action. Make something happen.

When you're hungry, outside forces can never keep you from achieving your dreams for your business and your family.

2006-11-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

How Are You Doing?

As we near the end of 2006 it's a good idea to take inventory of your achievements, to measure your progress and check the direction of your career and your life.

You should take the time to ask yourself ten important questions and then use the answers to identify improvements you need to make in your life right now:

1. Did you enlist a new mentor or role model this year?

2. What aspect of your job has been the most satisfying and what have you done to expand the scope of responsibilities you enjoy most?

3. What educational experiences have you completed? ( How many business or motivational books have you read, how many educational audio programs have you listened to, and how many educational seminars have you attended?).

4. What was the biggest risk you took? Did it work out as you hoped and what did you learn from it?

5. What did you do that made your boss look like a superstar?

6. What did you do to put something back into your community?

7. What aspect of your job did you realize you disliked? How can you change or minimize that aspect?

8. What have you accomplished that you can add to your resume?

9. What relationship with a friend, relative, or business associate were you able to improve, and how did you do it?

10. Do you have a list of goals for the next 12 months that are specific and include both your business and personal life?

If you don't know where you are going, one direction is about as good as another. You first have to know where you want to go if you ever have any hope of arriving there. Asking these questions, plus listing your goals and measuring your progress will help ensure that you are on track with your plans and goals.

2006-10-31T18:05:00.000-08:00

The Simple Truth About Customer Service

Great forests have been toppled in order to supply the paper necessary to print all the books and articles that have been published on how to provide good customer service. What have we learned from all voluminous writings on providing good customer service?

If my experiences are any indicator, we haven't learned very much.

I traveled to Minneapolis on Sunday night because I was giving a seminar the next day to a group of young entrepreneurs. Unknown to me, a large convention was being held at the hotel on Wednesday which was going to cause the hotel to be completely full.

When I gave the front desk clerk my name, I expected the usual check-in formalities: name, address, credit card number, etc. Instead, the first question hurled at me was: "Mr Love, will you assure us that you will be leaving tomorrow?"

An affirmative response wasn't nearly enough for these customer service amateurs. The clerk then said, "Please sign here guaranteeing us that you will be leaving tomorrow."

What a welcome! Acres of trees sacrificed and nothing to show for their loss. Why is it that even with the all the books that have been written on providing good customer service (including all the thousands of articles that have been written on the Internet) that customer contact employees still behave like adolescents?

I think there are too many rules laid out by the experts and too many trees destroyed. There should be only three simple rules that businesses and their employees should always follow:

1. Treat every customer with respect at all times.

2. Never do or say anything that you wouldn't want said if you were the customer.

3. The customer is right even when he or she is wrong.

I have been buying investment real estate for many years and the bank I usually deal with was recently sold and is under completely new management. I recently applied for a mortgage loan on a new property and I tried to reach my new banker at the appointed time. When I called him, I was greeted by his secretary who told me to call back later. When I told her that he was expecting my call and asked her to inform him that I was on the line, she promptly suggested that I call another bank.

How many trees must be sacrificed to reach these kinds of ignorant people?

Now my payment goes to a new bank whose people appreciate my business each month. That's the thing about good customer service. We always go where we find it.

2006-10-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

Check Your Ego With Your Luggage

I recently returned from a two week trip overseas where I was in Australia, Japan, and in Eastern Europe giving seminars. I met someone at the Sydney International Airport that has stuck with me like a sore thumb and I had to tell you about it.

I had a wonderful experience for the three days I spent in Sydney and had met some really great people but then at the airport it all changed. I was waiting for my flight and doing some reading as always do when a man by the name of Robert sat down beside me and immediately interrupted my reading.

I'd guess Robert was in his late 50's or early 60's, and his obviously expensive jewelry blended nicely with his deep tan. He introduced himself and immediately said, "I've been here for three weeks and now I'm on my way to the Caribbean where I'll spend at lest five more weeks." He told me that he owned a villa in Sidney and two more in the Caribbean Islands. He went on to tell me how much each of his properties had appreciated in value since he originally purchased them.

As I listened to Robert, my thoughts went to how bankrupt this guy actually was due to his oversized ego and he didn't even know it.

As I continued to listen to this obviously successful businessman continue to elaborate on his wonderful life, I wondered why he had the desire to communicate all these private details to me, a person who he had just met. No doubt, the process of his personal bankruptcy was well on its way. I could tell by listening to him that his overblown ego had chased away the important people in his life. He had been reduced to boasting to new acquaintances.

I can imagine that personal non-financial bankruptcy must be an awful process to endure. A person like Robert could explain it as an opportunity for financially troubled people and companies to reorganize themselves, but it really means failure. People and companies fail sometimes, no matter how much money they have. It's a fact of life.

Truly successful people learn from their mistakes and turn their situation around. Unfortunately, when failing causes your ego to go out of control, then it is worst kind of failure, because it should never be allowed to happen. It's always controllable.

The problem is that people who are in the process of going into personal bankruptcy usually don't have a clue as to what the problem is. They so enjoy talking about themselves that they cannot see the damage they are causing to themselves.

There is a simple rule that people should follow when they feel that their ego is going out of control: "If you are as good as you think you are, there is no reason to tell others about it. They will find out from your admirers who will proudly sing your praises for you."

2006-10-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

It's Good To Be An Amateur

Everyone is in over their head these days. Yet there are many people who don't think so, but they are simply wrong. No one has lived before and none of us have experienced dying. No one has been a parent next year, yet. No one knows tomorrow's problems. All we know for sure is that the future keeps coming at us.

We are in over our heads. Many people are paralyzed by this fact, and yet so many deny it is true, but they are over their heads, nonetheless.

The Titanic was built by experts, some of whom said, "Even God could not sink this ship." Those who built and sailed that doomed ship did not think that could possibly be in any danger, because there was nothing on earth that could sink the ship. Noah's ark, on the other hand, was built by amateurs, all of whom knew the reality was that any ship made by man could sink because it was not immune to the forces of nature.

To proclaim yourself an expert breeds overconfidence and destruction. To realize you are an amateur promotes an internal realization of the necessity for adaptability. Amateurs have enough "newness" not to say, "It's never been done this way before." They don't allow themselves to be limited by what the experts "know."

Strangely, those who are really experts proclaim themselves amateurs, and sometimes tragically, those who are really amateurs proclaim themselves experts.

Paradoxically, real expertise often has nothing to do with self-proclamation. Idiots can be haughty and geniuses can be humble.

The point is that to be happy and succussful you must constantly increase your knowledge, experience, and judgment while becoming more humble in the knowledge of what there is left to know.

Unfortunately, many people will never understand this. We have all seen teenagers truly bored who have know idea what they want to do with their future. They are experts at life without having ever experienced it. Likewise, we have all seen octogenarians truly excited about the next book they are about to read or the next place they plan to visit.

Go figure!

So here's to the amateurs among us! Those who know they are in over their heads and enthusiastically adapt to each new change or challenge, and can't wait for the next one. Many of them are experts, but think of themselves as amateurs. That's why they are experts.

2006-10-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Do You Pass Or Use Time?

In a typical day, what do you do with your allotment of time? Your day and everyone else's has 86,400 seconds, 1440 minutes. No days, weeks, minutes or seconds can be stored for future use like dollars put away in the bank.

A friend of mine recently told me of her renewed appreciation for time, when after going through months of chemotherapy she learned that she was cancer free. My friend told that she no longer begins to look forward to weekends on Wednesday, but rather, savors the joys and opportunities each day brings.

It is easy to become consumed by your routine as the calendar pages keep flipping. Sometimes it takes a traumatic death or illness in the family or another major life change to shock us into realizing how quickly our time is passing and to evaluate what we do with it.

Here's a technique that may help:

Take a piece of lined paper and draw seven columns, one for each day of the week. In one hour increments, list the 24 hours of each day down the left margin of the page. Write the days of the week at the top of each column. In each one hour blank, write what you did with your time during the past week. Colored pens will help distinguish between various types of activities.

After you have filled in the blanks, review the table to determine how you spent the time you no longer have. How much was spent on what you had to do? On what you wanted to do? How much was spent doing things without giving any thought to what you were doing? How much time did you spend watching TV? Working? Sleeping? How much time did you spend with your spouse and children?

Now use this form to plan what you are going to do with your time next week. What do you plan to change? How can you better spend you time to achieve your goals, to enrich your family life, to develop as a person?

Whenever I think about how I use my time, I recall the words of a nationally recognized author and psychologist that I once heard speak. As he reflected on his experiences in counseling terminally ill patients in their final hours before death, he recalled that in their last conversations, "None of them ever said they wished they had put in more time at the office."

As we're nearing the end of 2006 and a new year approaches it's the right time to reflect and evaluate what you are doing with your time, because it is the most valuable possession your have.

2006-10-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Discovering The Beauty Within

We've all heard the old expression: "Take time to smell the roses." The power of this simple concept was brought home to me many years ago and it is something that I've never forgotten.

After getting my graduate degree I was packing up boxes and getting ready to move. I was going through some personal keepsakes that I'd collected over the years and among my momentous from my earlier years was an ugly little spheroidal rock called a geode.

As I turned over it over in my hand, it struck me how this unusual stone mirrors life. Rough and unattractive on the outside, but inside the geode is a crystal lining of quartz or calcite. Unfortunately the inner beauty of the stone will never be seen unless it is placed under stress and opened up to allow the true beauty of the gemstone to shine through.

When a geologist finds a geode, he or she may keep it for years without ever opening it to unlock its true potential beauty. The holder of the stone can only imagine what is inside.

Sadly many people are like geodes. They may live their entire lives without ever reaching their true potential because they are unwilling or unable to open up and see the dormant potential that could be released by taking control of their lives and leaving behind the ugly crust of the past.

I still have that rock and I keep it on my desk. Sometimes I will look at it and let my mind wander, contemplating the similarities between the rock and so many human beings. It is a reminder to me that the same beauty that exists in the geode lives within every one of us. We must only release our innate creativity to discover it.

When we begin to realize the inner potential that lies within us, through the application of self-development principles, new doors of opportunity are opened to us. Once we take the time to discover the true potential that lies within all of us, we will be better prepared to take advantage of this unique power and achieve our goals.

Now I'm not saying that discovering this rock is what changed my life and put me on the path to success. There were many other factors as well, but it did cause me to think more deeply and want to do more discovery into why so many people never achieve happiness and success in their life.

Through more learning and experience I was able to define my purpose. Which is devoting my life to helping people around the world uncover their true potential and use it to create a more successful and happier life.

You too, can discover a gem, if you "take the time to smell the roses," to discover and appreciate the potential that lies within you.

2006-10-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Working With Problem Bosses

When I do consulting work for a company one of the first places I start is with the employees. I can find a great deal about a company by talking with its employees. Often I find many employees who complain about their bosses.

They feel that they don't get the support, or their bosses demand too much of them. They often feel that they should be promoted but their bosses are holding them back, and not letting them get ahead for one reason or another. I am often asked the question; "How do I get promoted with a problem boss?"

People are promoted because they have done well in their jobs. They get to be bosses. Although they have been great at their original jobs, they may be less effective as the boss.

All bosses are problem bosses in one way or another. Your fearless leader may have many great qualities, but he or she may also have faults that are hard to live with. Here's how you can deal with some of the more difficult types of bosses.

1. A bully. If your boss shouts and browbeats, wait until things calm down before trying to be reasonable. Keep your composure and repeat a calming phrase to yourself such as, "Ignore the anger. It isn't yours."

2. A workaholic. You can find this boss at the office almost any time of the day or night, and he or she will invade your personal life with off-hour telephone calls and work demands. Get this boss to set priorities and deadlines. Make assurances that they can be met. Also indicate that your personal responsibilities are also important.

3. A perfectionist. A nit-picking boss needs something to worry about. If he or she demands that you redo a task, mention your other assignments, and ask for priorities. The boss may accept the work when realizing what other tasks could be put on hold. You can't expect encouragement from this person; you must get it from someone else.

4. Aloof. If have a boss that doesn't keep you informed, determine the best course of action. Tell your boss about it. Say this is what you'll do unless you hear otherwise.

Chances are, no matter how difficult your boss is, you are contributing to the conflict. Talk to people who know you both and get some honest advice. If you discover how you are contributing to the problem and change that, you have come a long way toward making a better boss for yourself.

2006-10-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Finding Real Meaning In Life

It was the psychologist Carl Jung who pointed out that most of us spend about 35 years becoming competent at something, like riding a bicycle, for example. Then we begin to ask ourselves, "Why am I riding this bicycle anyway? What good is riding a bicycle? I'm competent, but so what? What does my life mean? What does anyone's life mean?"

At this point in our lives, we begin to question the meaning of everything and anything. We look around us and see that everything important is in advanced stage of change and self-destruction. Families, ethics, business, and government organizations are splintering into catastrophe. Worse, they are being destroyed by the very "successful" people that created them.

Why are we destroying our own creations? As a people, we have achieved incredible successes, but we have lost sight of the true meaning of life. We have confused doing good things, having good things and giving good things with meaning. Doing, having and giving good things is the best way to live, but noble behavior is not the same as having meaning and purpose in your life.

We are not here by accident, every individual is here on this earth for a reason; a specific purpose. You will die, your children will die and civilizations will rise and fall. Nothing on this earth is permanent.

You cannot find ultimate meaning in the things of the world. Not in your family; not in your career, not in your fame and not in working hard. Doing so will only lead you down the seductive path of being second best, of confusing material things with the only real excellent first value, serving others. Doing something to make this world a better place for future generations.

This doesn't mean that you should give up material things. Far from it. Serving others and making this world a better place for future generations means putting things in perspective, putting first things first. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "Put first things first and we get second things thrown in; put second things first and we lose both first and second things."

When we serve others and do something every day to make this world a better place for future generations, then good things, family, career, fame, charity, money, beauty, music,knowledge and success can be held in perspective, balance and proportion. Otherwise, we make something of secondary value a priority in our life.

By all means, ride your bicycle well. Do good things, have good things and give good things. This is the way to live, but don't lose sight of what is really important. Ask yourself every morning and during the day; "How can I serve others better?" "What can I do today to make this world a better place?" Then do, and do good. Then and only then will you find meaning and discover the true riches of life.

2006-10-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Six Steps To Better Relationships

A recent USA Today survey on relationships found the single biggest factor that people listed as a reason for their success and happiness in their life was healthy relationships at home and at work. The survey also found the inability to get along well with others was biggest single reason people listed for failure in their life.

The results of this survey ring loud and clear. All the happiness and success we achieve in life is because of the relationships we have with other people. No one does it alone.

The better your relationships are with your co-workers, business associates, and employees the more success you will have in your professional life. The same is true for your personal life. The better your relationships are with your spouse, parents, children and friends the happier your personal life will be.

Successful relationships are the key to everything you do in life. Here are six steps you can use to build better relationships:

1. Decide who holds the top position in your life. Be selective. Usually it's your spouse. If one friend will be closest to you, choose someone supportive.

2. Give that person highest priority in your life if that's the position he or she holds. This particular person is a source of happiness for you and you must make time for him or her.

3. Communicate. When friends move away, make the effort to write letters or make telephone calls. A good friendship can last for life.

4. See the good things. Whether it is your husband, wife, child or a friend, be generous with your praise. Be cautious with your criticism.

5. Weather the storms. Any relationship will have periods of difficulty. Cultivate loyalty and stay close, especially if a friend is having difficulties of his or her own.

6. Show your concern and your love. Practice loving kindness and it will be returned to you.

A healthy relationship is worth any price. Yet it can't be bought with money. Take the time to build good friendships gradually, and keep vigilant so that you don't undermine your efforts with destructive tendencies. If you are working on reconstructing and existing relationship, be patient and persevere.

Remember, when you need to reach out for another person, it's comforting to find that someone is there for you.

2006-10-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

Finding Happiness In Your Work

It's good for everyone to be out of work every once in a while. Yes, you heard me right. It's good for everyone to be out work every once in a while. Before you say that I'm crazy and just click out of or delete this Blog let me explain my reasons for saying this.

When you're out of work it actually gives you time to reflect on your life. It gives you time to reflect on what you really want to do with your life, on what type of work really makes you happy. When you find the work that is best suited for you, the work you love, and work that provides a great service to others, you have found life's greatest gift, happiness!

One of the greatest blessings you can ever receive in your lifetime is the privilege of rendering a service that helps other people. This brings into play the iron law of the universe, The Law of Cause and Effect. This law says that for everything you want, there is a price that must be paid. You have to give before you receive.

When we apply this law to our work it can be said this way: "Our rewards in life will always match our service." It's another way of saying, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Sir Isaac Newton in his laws of physics, put it this way: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

If a person is discontented with his or her rewards in life, that person should examine his or her service. Action; reaction. "Cause and Effect." What you put out will determine what you must get back in return. It's so simple, so basic, so true, and yet so few people in this world understand it.

The Law of Cause and Effect works for businesses as well as individuals. If a business is not doing well. If it is not growing and expanding then the business needs to look a it's contribution to society, how well it is serving the people. If a person is unhappy with his or her income, that person needs to examine and reevaluate his or her service to others.

It's no coincidence the wealthiest people in the world are the entrepreneurs and the real estate developers. Why is this true? It's true because they serve the most people. The entrepreneurs build the businesses that provide jobs for people. Real estate developers and landlords provide housing for people. These people serve the most people. The Law of Cause and Effect.

It's no coincidence either that the Internet has created more millionaires in the last 10 years than the world created in the last fifty. This is because an Internet business allows you to reach and serve millions of people all over the world instantly. Again, the Law of Cause and Effect. The more people you serve the greater your rewards.

If you're worried about your income or your future, you're concentrating on the wrong end of the scale. Look at the other end; concern yourself only with increasing your service to others and your future will take care of itself.

Every morning , and during the day, ask yourself: "How can I increase my service today?" When you get in the habit of doing this every day you will have started down the road to finding happiness in your work.

2006-10-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

It's Only Business

There are three little words which have enormous power, enough power to take the fairness out of all business dealings. These three words cause more distress and more bad feelings about business than any others I can imagine.

In every corner of society, there are people who have been slighted, mistreated, or lied to by a business they've dealt with. These people will never trust the business community because three simple words were used in defense of treating them improperly or unfairly.

If it were up to me, these three words would be stricken from the business lexicon so they could never again be used to rationalize an unfair business transaction. The words in questions are: It's only business, and they are often prefaced by the disclaimer, "Don't take this personally."

No doubt this phrase originated long ago when some over-zealous, self-centered business person used it justify getting more than he deserved from an employee, a customer, a supplier, or an investor. It's been used ever since to deny employees their due, to unfairly fix terms of an agreement, to justify faulty products, and to rationalize one-sided business dealings.

The three words, "It's only business" seem to draw a fine line between what is right and ethical in business and what right and ethical in personal life.

Why do we think we need one set of rules for one part of our lives and another set for another? If our personal code of conduct allows us to behave differently in a business situation, it should be adjusted immediately. In fact, I think the time has come to forever banish these three little words, and in the process reestablish the rules of decency and integrity in conducting business.

Every business owner, corporate executive, manager, and employee needs to challenge himself or herself to never make use of these three words again, and vow to rectify the transaction immediately if it is violated. If you ever find yourself in a situation when these three words are uttered, ask yourself: "Would I handle this situation the same way if I were not in business?

Replace for a moment the person in question with a good friend or family member and ask yourself if this is the way you would treat them in this situation. I seriously doubt that any business negotiation or transaction would ever conclude with these words: Don't take this personally, Mom. It's only business."

2006-10-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Begins With You

Is the rudeness of others hurting your productivity, sales or good will? If, so your leadership could turn the situation around.

Discourtesy can't be as easily identified as defective work, but many business owners and managers admit that are very concerned about it. They know that with greater concerns for quality and productivity, and fewer people around to help them reach those goals, courtesy can fall by the way side. Business owners and managers should especially practice courtesy to set an example for others.

Here are few common courtesies that should be practiced by everyone:

* Answer your telephone promptly. Finishing a task while someone waits a dozen rings for to answer is insulting to the caller. Rather than put someone on hold, offer to call back with needed information.

* Keep appointments. If you must be late for a meeting, let others know. Everyone's time is valuable; keeping them waiting vividly demonstrates a lack of respect for their time and their priorities.

* Return phone calls. You expect your calls to be returned, so be sure to extend the same courtesy to others.

* Write better emails. Put important statements at the beginning so others can quickly grasp your point. Use courteous language. Be positive and encouraging, and don't intimidate anyone. Always proof every email you send for typos.

* Keep your promises. If you promise to do something by a certain time or date, do it. Get help if needed. Failure to deliver creates ill will and is rude.

* Never take sides. Everyone in the workplace knows politics encourages back stabbers, credit stealers and power trippers.

* Compliment someone for a job well done. Everyone needs a pat on the back. It builds up their self-esteem and makes them want to do an even better job the next time.

Common courtesy beings with you. Courtesy is not just for the workplace, rather, it applies everywhere you deal with people. When you get in the habit of being kind and courteous to everyone you deal with every day in your life, you make everyone's life better, especially yours.

2006-10-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Why People Do Things

Over the weekend I was talking with a client who is in management. At any given time he is in charge of training and management for over thirty employees. During our session he asked me a very profound question regarding motivation; "Why do people do things?"

He caught me off-guard with his question but after thinking about for a minute I told him that in my opinion people do things for three primary reasons: (1) People do things because someone in authority tells them they have to. (2) People do things because they feel that it is a desirable thing to do. (3) People do things because they are deeply interested and want to do them.

So let's examine the three reasons why people do things a little closer. Doing routine work comes under number one or two. We do it because we've been instructed do it, or we agree that it is a desirable thing to do, whether we like doing it or not. For example, doing housework comes under the second reason. We may not enjoy doing it, but we feel that it is desirable.

When it comes to motivation and results number three is by far the best reason why people do things. This is where people do things because they want to; because they are personally interested in doing them.

This is where effective communications and good management come into the picture. With good management and communications, people can be motivated to want to do something, to become interested in and enjoy doing jobs that they would otherwise find uninteresting and disagreeable. It is here that a wise teacher, manager, or parent can make all the difference in the world as to how a job is done and the degree or morale of the people or person doing it.

A true leader says to his or her people, "Here's what I want you do, and let me tell you why I want you to do it." When people are given good, sound reasons why something needs to be done, their attitudes become more positive. People naturally want to be of value, to be part of a team, and demonstrate they can make a meaningful contribution to the solution to a problem.

It is a fact that people are the happiest when they are doing work that calls upon their very best efforts, when they are narrowing the gap that exists between their habitual way of doing things and their true potential, when they are steadily moving toward fulfillment as a human being.

It all comes down to understanding two important factors: (1) When people are doing a job because they want to do it, and are interested in doing it, they perform at a much higher level. There are fewer errors, and whatever they are doing will be done in an excellent way. (2) The way to get people to do what needs to be done is through effective communication. Every person must be reached in a clear and understandable way.

You cannot achieve success without working with other people and as long as you deal with other people there will always be problems. That is good, because problems are a way to progress. If you understand the reasons why people do things it will go a long way in helping you achieve success in everything you do.

2006-09-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Life Of The Party

In my message today I want to tell you about a business owner I met this past Tuesday at a networking event in Columbus, Ohio. I was in Columbus giving a seminar and attended the networking event immediately after. One of the first people I met at the event was Jay, the owner of a computer store.

Jay told me about his business and then turned his attention to me and what I do. As he asked me questions I could tell immediately how genuinely interested he was in what I do. There was something special about Jay and as I talked with other people at the event I couldn't help but notice how easy networking was for him. It seemed everyone at the event wanted to be around him. He had no trouble making contacts and getting business cards.

What made Jay someone that everyone else wanted to be around was his sparkling personality. Having a gracious and amiable personality is critical part to achieving success but yet it is often overlooked.

As part of your own self-development you should ask yourself if you have trouble making friends? When you're at a social event and you walk over to a group or people are they happy to see you or do they disperse as if you have a some sort of a plague? If you answer yes to either of these questions here are some tips that will help you.

* Build up your poise by learning that a smile and shrug go a long way toward turning an awkward moment into a "no-account" incident, particularly if you have to cope with that moment. When you show you don't take yourself and what happens to you too seriously, you put others at ease.

* Don't hold grudges, and don't spend your time keeping bitter moments alive. No matter how justified your hurt feelings may be, dwelling on them only makes you unhappy. You pass on negative feelings to others through your conversation and actions. People usually find a way to dodge a negative person.

* Don't be quick with a sarcastic quip at someone's expense. It's a tip-off to your own self-dissatisfaction. Building up your ego by undercutting others is a sure way to lose friends and influence others, against you.

* Don't be critical. The old saying that you can't really understand another person until you've walked in his or her shoes teaches us to avoid sitting in judgment of others.

* Practice using your voice to make only pleasant remarks.

* Don't insist on having the last word about everything. Even if you're right, some things are better left unsaid. You never have to apologize for what you don't say.

* Always be interested and not interesting. Don't talk about yourself unless you're asked, rather always ask questions and be interested in the other person.

Having a pleasant and enjoyable personality is not something that just happens, you have to work at it. Developing your personality comes from continuous self-development and constant acts of kindness and consideration on your part for others.

Success can only can only be achieved through other people. The more people you know who know you in a favorable way the more successful you will become. It all starts with having a pleasant and enjoyable personality.

2006-09-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's Never Too Late

Several years ago a man by the name of Chris called me, he had just lost his job at an airline where he had worked for over thirty years. After working his way up to become a successful executive with the airline he now found himself not only out of a job but with very little pension because of all the cuts in employee benefits.

I knew he was going to be all right because had been such a success with the airline and he was very intelligent and hardworking, but he felt very differently. He was over sixty and felt there was no future for him and there would be no retirement for he and his wife.

After working with him for several months to help him get his confidence back. I discovered that he had a passion for coffee. So, in his spare time, he began his studies. He read every book he could find on the history of coffee and how it was grown. He visited countries in South America to see how coffee beans were picked and sample hundreds of different types of coffee. He learned from experts in the industry everything there was to know about how to roast coffee.

To make a long story short, within two years after losing his job he opened up his first coffee shop in New York. He soon opened up another shop and soon another. Within a couple of years he had ten coffee shops all doing very well. He had a Web site were sold his coffee as well. He also published a very popular monthly newsletter about coffee.

My client recently sold his entire business and all of his coffee shops to a very large well-known coffee company for well over seven figures. He and his wife will now have a better retirement then they would have if he had retired with a full pension from the airline.

The point I'm trying to make here is that it's never too late to start a business and do something you really have a passion for.

So here's my advice if you've been laid off or down-sized from a job that you've been with for a long time. First, find out what you'd really like to do. Determine your objective, and actually visualize it in your mind. Picture what you want and the kind of person you want to become.

Next, get the facts. Get all the facts about what will be required to attain the objective you've determined upon and visualized. The more information you can get on the subject the better. Then, analyze, evaluate and group those facts. Try to put them in logical order of accomplishment.

The next thing you want to do is set a timetable for the accomplishment of your objectives, and try to stick to your timetable. Don't let people throw you off the track or tell you you're wrong. You should know what's right for you; what's right for others is their business.

Make sure your entire plan is written out so that you have a blueprint to follow. Make sure you check from time to time, to see how you're really doing by comparing your progress with your blueprint.

The most important thing of all to do is begin! Don't just keep talking about it. Do it! Understand that the time to start will really never be perfect, so start as soon as you can. If you don't start, if you don't take action on your plan, then nothing will ever happen.

Above all, stay with it. Keep your goal firmly fixed in your mind, have faith that you can reach it, and you will reach it. Like my client Chris, you'll find yourself happy, excited, and eventually financially free.

In today's age of layoffs and down sizing there is no such thing as job security. You could lose your job at any time. If that happens to you (and I hope it doesn't) just remember that no matter what your age or situation in life, it's never too late to start a business and do something you love.

2006-09-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Why She Got Fired

This past week I was having lunch with a good friend of mine who owns a small advertising agency. He told that he had a difficult week because of a very difficult decision that he had to make. He had to fire someone.

Earlier in the week my friend had to discharge a woman who had worked for his company for many years. He told me that when he did she played the role like a charm. Tears, saying that she'd probably never be able to get a job like she had and how much she loved the company. According to my friend she could have won an Oscar.

The reasons she was fired were not because my friend or his company take delight in firing people. On the contrary. In fact, I've never met a business professional who did not hate to have to fire someone. I know when I've had to do, I've often put it off for weeks and months to find a way around it.

This woman was fired because she had gotten the idea someplace that the purpose of business was solely for the benefit of the employees. She had been doing her work in a half-hearted way for a long time. She often came in a little late. She was the first to sprint down the hall for the elevator at just before five every day. She pushed her lunch hour to the maximum, and the coffee breaks too. While she took full advantage of her privileges, when she was at her desk she didn't give as much as she was getting.

Chances are you've known people like this. They want everything they can get. In fact, they feel it's their due, but when the shoe is on the other foot, when the employer wants his or her share, well, they feel picked on or taken advantage of.

Well, anyway, this woman had been fired and it was the best thing that could have happened to her! In the first place, she'll find another job because she is talented and my friend is well connected in the industry and he'll give her a good reference. In the second place, she might realize the truth of why she had been fired, and decide not to make the same mistake again.

The biggest lesson I hope she'll learn is that unless a company can make a profit on an employee, it can't afford to keep that employee. This is simple economics. With the overhead, the cost of rent, payroll, and other expenses today, the person occupying the space becomes critically important, as a person, and as part of the earning capacity of the company.

I think you'll agree that many times people think that companies have unlimited cash reserves. That they should go right on providing jobs and paychecks whether or not a person gives a fair return on that job and paycheck.

I have met thousands of people over the years who are actually on corporate relief roles, who are getting paid for much more than they're worth, but in today's economy companies cannot afford to keep employees who are not producing on their payroll.

Employees who are doing less than they are paid are also hurting themselves. If they are not constantly gaining new skills and knowledge that will help their company, then they are not helping themselves either, and they don't have much of a future.

Believe me, if you've never had to do it, firing someone is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do in business. Unfortunately, because of the fierce competition in the business world today, employees must understand that if they're not helping their companies grow and prosper, they won't stay employed for very long.

2006-09-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Why You Must Double Your Knowledge

In my Blog entries the last couple of months I've written quit a bit about the importance of continuous education if you want to be successful, but that it's up to you to do it. No one can force you to learn. You have to want to learn. You have to be motivated to learn.

I want to share with you today a wonderful success story that I found out about when I was conducting a seminar in Anaheim, California this week.

During the break a man came up to me and told me that he attended a seminar I gave in Chicago last year and it had changed his life. When I asked he to tell me more about it, he replied that he was in sales a year ago and was extremely frustrated. He was not doing very well, and he was barley making enough money to cover his bills. He felt like he was spinning his wheels and was ready to quit.

He told me during the seminar I had urged the attendees to carefully analyze their work and determine what was holding them back from achieving their business goals? What was limiting them? What were they good at? What were they poor at? What was their major area of weakness?

He told me that when I asked those questions, he realized that he didn't like prospecting for customers. As a result, he wasn't very good at it and he avoided it as much as possible. The very idea of prospecting filled him with fears of rejection. Not surprisingly, his sales continued to go down. He was working with fewer and fewer customers. He was using his intelligence to justify and rationalize avoiding going out and seeing more people.

In the seminar he realized that if he wanted to be successful, he would have to become excellent at prospecting. Otherwise, there was no future for him in a sales career. He then made up his mind to read every sales and motivational book he could get his hands on. He constantly listened to audio programs everywhere he was able to on the subject of sales, and he took numerous courses on sales and business.

He would start off first thing in the morning and would prospect all day long until he overcame his fear of it and learned how to do it well. He backed his resolution with persistent and continuous action.

As a result of his overcoming the fear of prospecting, primarily by preparing himself and becoming very good at it, his sales went up and up. Within six months, he was making four times what he'd been earning when he came to my seminar initially.

His company was so impressed that it promoted him into sales management and then transferred him to Los Angeles to open a new branch, where he is now responsible for recruiting, training, and fielding a professional sales force. He has a title, a high income, an expense account, and the respect of everyone around him. He is on the road to success, and the turning point for him came when he realized that he would have to prepare for success by becoming excellent at the parts of his job where he was the weakest.

This person was able to accomplish a lot in a very short time not because of my seminar but because he decided to be honest and objective about his strengths and weakness. He then made the decision himself to correct his weaknesses and become excellent at his profession.

Remember, we live in the Information Age, and knowledge in every field is doubling approximately every two to three years. This means that you must double you knowledge in your field every two to three years just to stay even.

2006-09-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jobs Don't Have Futures

How many times have you heard someone say, "There's no future in this job." Isn't it amazing that generation after generation, the majority of people never seem to get it? Do you know what causes it? It's caused by people who know how to talk, but little else, passing their well intended but misguided and uneducated point of view down to their children and associates.

It's too bad there isn't an intelligence test given as one of the requirements for a marriage license.

Not that we should expect young people getting married to know a great deal at that stage of their lives; none of us did. But at least they should want to learn so that they can handle the responsibility of passing good information along to their children, instead of misguided beliefs.
There is no such thing as a job with or without a future. A job is a condition, a circumstance, and nothing more. A job is neither good nor bad. It's what we do with a job that makes it good; that gives it a future or keeps us from having one.

Jobs don't have futures, people do!

We are living in a different in the Information Age. A time of unprecedented change. There is no job security anymore. There is no such thing as; "get a good education so you can get a good job, and then you'll be set for life."

In a recent article, the Harvard Business Review found that a college graduate today will have had an average of 13 to 14 different jobs by the time he or she retires. In contrast to the Industrial Age where a college graduate would have had only 1 or 2 jobs during his or her working lifetime.

Instead of looking at this statistic in fear. You need to look at this as a wonderful opportunity to learn. Every job you ever have holds a wealth of opportunity to learn new and valuable things for your future. Things that cannot be learned from school or book alone.

We have to change our attitude in the way we look at a job. Instead of looking at it as a "job that has no future" we need to look at from the standpoint of, "what can I learn from this job that will help me reach my goal." Every job you have should be used as a stepping stone to a better position for yourself in the future. As part of your master plan to reach your goal.

I have a good friend who a successful entrepreneur and owns six businesses. He has done this by working for each of the companies he now owns. He did it by taking a position in a company and learning everything he possibly could learn about the business and making valuable contributions that made every business he worked for more successful and profitable. Then he would make the owner an offer to become a partner or buy the business out right.

You see, my friend never had the opportunity to go to college, but he had an ultimate goal, which was to be a successful entrepreneur. So he saw every job not as a dead end, but as learning experience and stepping stone toward his ultimate goal. You can too!

Jobs don't have futures, people do! This is the reality of today. This is what parents need to be passing down to their children.

2006-09-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Leave Something For Others

Are you one of those people who tends to ignore wise advice from the older crowd? Perhaps you think that things have changed so dramatically that you don't have to take their coaching seriously. If so you may find that rejecting their ideas may be harming you more than you think.
One of the best pieces of business advice I ever received was from a 78-year old man who first heard it from his father over 60 years ago. This father and son team built a very successful rental business over the years. The valuable advice he gave me was this: "Don't take everything you can take; leave something for the other guy."

I know that this small piece of wisdom is very likely the last thing a budding entrepreneur or an aspiring executive wants to hear. At first glance, the contradictory message in this advice is also insulting to an aggressive salesperson who struggles daily to get all the business he or she can get. This message will probably not be well received by a savvy investor, because I don't think you'd want to ask him or her to leave some profits for the next in line.

The very concept of sharing, especially with competitors, flies in the face of all that is natural to the high achievers out there. As long as most of us can remember, we have been taught to compete for as much of the pie as we can get.

Just for a moment, though, let's step back and examine what happens when we leave something for the next person. First, the gesture will stand out as exceptional by its very nature, and it will prompt the beneficiary to remember the what you did for him or her.

Your competitors will feel less need to squeeze or pressure you if you communicate your desire to share with them. There will be less jealousy or envy, and in time everyone's job will become easier and more pleasant, but there is another important benefit to letter the other person get his or her share. You will sleep better.

Say for example you're hunting, (even if you don't hunt and I don't) you see a deer and you've got him lined up in the cross hairs. You feel the adrenaline pumping and then you consciously decide not to shoot. It's one of the great lessons of becoming successful.

There is a very powerful Universal Law, which is the Law of Compensation. This Law states that the more things you do for other people, the more things other people will want to do for you. What goes around comes around. Whatever you sow you will eventually reap.

2006-09-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Why People Remain Uneducated

I want to start out today's message with some questions. See if you can answer them: Why don't more people get higher paying jobs? What don't more people get more enjoyment out of life? Why aren't more people financially independent? What don't more people do more with their lives than they do? Why do most people unnecessarily limit their lives to small fractions of what they could be?

Do you know the answer to these questions? The answer is the same for all the questions. It's because most people are, as a general rule uneducated. It seems that most people have a built in resistance to knowledge.

People don't seem to understand how important and profitable knowledge can be to them in every way; how it can enlarge their horizons, give them more zest, charm, and interest in their lives; and how it can improve their incomes and standards of living.

I recently saw a startling study by the American Booksellers Association. The study found that 80 percent of Americans read less than one book per year. The study also found that 58 percent of adult Americans never read a nonfiction book from cover to cover after they graduate from college.

Let's look at another very telling study recently conducted by the Gallup organization. It found that the top 9 percent of people with the highest incomes in America today read at least one nonfiction book per month.

These two studies should tell you all you need to know about the importance of continuing education. If you want to achieve success in life, then your education cannot stop when you graduate, it is a lifelong proposition. It is not an option, but the choice is yours.

Learning; reading the great thoughts of business leaders; keeping an open mind to all the wealth of information that is available today; actively pursuing knowledge as the answer to success in all areas of our lives, this is the mark of the person, who during his or her lifetime, has the best chance to reach the highest levels of success, achievement, and fulfillment.

Another reason why people remain uneducated today is because of their own personal beliefs and prejudices. The world is changing at rate never seen before in all of history and many people are afraid. The cling to old Industrial Age beliefs and refuse to change. The easiest way to spot a person with a small, closed mind is by his or her refusal to ever admit he or she was wrong about something.

I've never been able to understand this. What's wrong with learning new things and being wrong? The only thing that's wrong with it is to cling to it regardless of the evidence.

Unless you're smarter this week than you were last week, you've got a problem. If you learn only from experience, or from events in your daily life, with no other effort on your part for continuing education you will never achieve even a fraction of your true potential in life.

Before you go to sleep at night you should ask yourself two important questions. What did I learn today that I did not know before? How did I make this world a better place today? When you have an answer to both of these questions every night, you will not only sleep better but you will be on your way to a very successful and fulfilling life.

2006-09-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Most Powerful Business Philosophy

I'd like to share with you today a statement that is foundation for the greatest business philosophy I've ever heard. It is a powerful concept with a message that has withstood the test of time. This is the statement: "Anything is possible if you don't care who gets the credit." Think about this for a moment and I think you will begin to agree with its inherent, undeniable strength.

Over the years I've seen hundreds and perhaps thousands of people sabotage themselves and their companies because of their need to be admired and appreciated.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with a little appreciation provided that you've earned it, but I'm more concerned with the applause having more meaning than the actual deed. When that occurs, the deed becomes secondary, its meaning is diluted to insignificant levels, and no one wins except, perhaps, for those who are satisfied with a few fleeting seconds of fame.

Even more devastating is what happens when an act is perceived by others to have been done only for personal gain. If others believe that you did something only because of the recognition it would bring, you might as well not have done it at all. Your effort was of little consequence.
Let's examine the powerful concept embodied in my opening statement: "Anything is possible if you don't care who gets the credit."

In order to live up to this philosophy, a person must be inherently selfless, something that cannot be faked. Selflessness is a quality that comes from life experiences. If comes from your heart. It as a genuine wanting to serve and help others even when you know that you may never get any credit for it.

If along life's way you've witnessed and been part of an abundance of fairness, you'll be prone to fairness. On the other hand, if you've had to struggle in order to retain for yourself even a tiny morsel of recognition for your efforts, it is very likely that you won't understand selflessness. Because selflessness is something that must be learned.

You can begin to recognize the power of selflessness when you adopt the philosophy: "Anything is possible if you don't care who gets the credit." When you do, good things will begin to happen. If you truly understand and apply this principle, your company will have all the customers it needs, you will have all the profits you want, and your employees can have all the credit they crave and deserve for their efforts.

2006-09-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Trust Your Intuition

My topic today has to do with intuition, that pure and precious little extra information which seems to percolate to the brain just when you need it most. Intuition is often the "still small voice" within. It is an involuntary feeling that tells you to do something other than what you want to do at the moment.

You may experience your intuition as a gut-feeling or as an inner sense of what is right or wrong for you. Sometimes your intuition manifests itself as an inspiration, a hunch, or a flash of insight.

The men and women in our society who achieve the highest levels of success are those who completely trust their intuition to guide them in every situation. They never speak or act until they feel an inner urging to do so. They know that their intuition will always bring them exactly the right answer at exactly the right time.

Here's my concern: Intuition is a natural ability. It is a skill that every person has. All we have to do is develop and take advantage of it. Since we all have the ability to tap into this higher source of information any time we need it; why don't schools teach students how to develop this important success skill?

The answer is that high schools, colleges and Universities are uncomfortable in teaching students to trust something that pops into their heads, seemingly from nowhere. They prefer the more traditional sources of information.

Perhaps it's time to focus on where this information comes from. It think you will agree to a new set of standards for paying heed to it when you understand its source. It comes from you. It comes from all the lessons you've learned. It comes from all the forgotten wisdom that has been held captive by your subconscious mind, and is suddenly born out of frustration for the right fact at the precise moment you need it.

There is nothing mysterious about these gems of intelligence which come to us. They represent our greatest power because they a combination of everything we know. If you consider this source of information lightly, you may harm yourself.

We are trained to study a problem from every angle and then keep studying it until we are certain we can trust the carefully researched answer. If you are ever going to reach the level of achievement that you are capable of, you must learn to blend you intuition into the knowledge equation for the purest and most trustworthy answer.

All of us have at our disposal the same intuitive powers used by some of the smartest men and women who have ever lived. We all have the ability to tap into and use a higher form of intelligence than we have ever used before. Our intuition will help us solve any problem and achieve any goal.

So start tapping into and trusting your built-in encyclopedia today instead of ignoring it.

2006-09-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

The Leadership Crisis

In today's fast moving, ever changing, and highly competitive world there is a serious and overlooked crises. The crisis is a lack of leadership. More than ever our government, businesses, religious organizations, and our educational institutions need leaders.

This crisis has arisen in part because of the end of the Industrial Age. With the coming of the Information Age that we are now living in, many of our institutions have been reinvented. Life is therefore uncertain for many people, which makes leadership much more risky.

With the coming of the Information Age the Internet has connected the world together like never before. This new way of communication and doing business has brought change in a whirlwind fashion that has never been seen in history. Yet in the midst of all this change that has supposedly brought the world closer together, never have so many people felt so isolated from one another, disconnected from their roots, and unsure of their future.

This feeling of isolation for so many people has happened in large part because, as the world becomes more virtual the skill of human relations is quickly becoming lost. Thus, never before has the skill of human relations been more valuable. In the near future, almost every person will have an e-mail address and every business will have a Web site. The only way you will be able to differentiate yourself and your business is by becoming exceptionally skilled at leading and persuading others.

In the Industrial Age of hierarchal organizations, big government, and traditional families the need for leadership was evident. We knew what the rules were and we needed the leaders to hold us to those rules. However, in the Information Age of Internet based businesses, two career families, and the increasing irrelevance of government we no longer have a clear set of rules to follow. What's more, the command and control leaders that try to hold people to seemingly arbitrary rules, are no longer successful.

What's needed today are the type of leaders who can inspire and motivate others within this virtual world, while never loosing sight of the timeless leadership principles that never change.

Throughout history, great leaders were never invited to become leaders by their followers. They stepped into leadership roles by their own initiative. They formed the habit of doing what needed to be done, whether it was their job to do it or not, whether or not they were paid for it.

It's increasingly clear that drugs, gangs, illiteracy, poverty, crime, and the breakdown of the traditional family, put every aspect of society at risk. Leaders of the future realize, further, that government and social groups aren't going to solve these problems. It's not their fault; they need a broader network of helping hands. Everyone thus needs a sense of responsibility and stewardship for the community.

We also need to develop a similar sense of responsibility in young people. Begin by becoming a role model for your family. Are you serving the community in some way? Are you working to understand community problems to see how you can help solve them? Are you organizing service opportunities for the entire family?

Create a vision for a better society and help bring it to life!

2006-09-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Get The Creative Juices Flowing

It's common knowledge these days that innovation is the lifeblood of any business. Yet our schools continue to teach students how to be good employees for jobs that aren't there anymore. They don't teach our young people the most important skill for success; how to think and create.

In the "Industrial Age" your could graduate from school, get a good job and as long as you worked hard you were set for life. But in 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down and the Internet went up we entered the "Information Age." We entered into a world economy and things changed forever.

To be successful today it is not how hard you work but how smart you work. You have to be learning something new every day and constantly coming up with new and innovative ideas.
But where do your find new ideas? Here are few suggestions for getting the creative juices flowing:

1. Be committed to innovation. Only when you are consistently in the right frame of mind will you be able to see and cultivate new ideas.

2. Look at innovation from different views. Ask yourself if what you are thinking about is new for you or for your company. It doesn't matter if it's being done elsewhere. How can you do it better?

3. Don't worry about rejection. Some ideas are good, but they can't be used right now. They might be used in the future.

4. See the good in the ideas of others. When someone else comes up with a promising idea, don't look for what's wrong with it. Instead, make a conscious effort to look for what's right.

5. Ask your customers the right questions to get new information. Customers can describe unmet needs, and they can help to evaluate a new idea.

New innovations always require more work. Sometimes an innovative idea is almost complete in itself, but it will uncover other questions that must be answered before it's true worth is determined. This is why it's so important to never shoot down ideas before they are fully developed.

The future belongs to the competent. The people who are constantly learning new things, taking risks, making new investments, and starting businesses. The people who are innovative and creative are people who will lead in the 21st century.

Let me finish today's message with a quote from Albert Einstein, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."

2006-09-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Building Better Relationships

I had lunch with a good friend of mine recently and he informed that after 16 years he and his wife were getting a divorce. I had known both of them the whole time they were married. They always seemed happy and had three wonderful children. I never had any idea that they had marital problems.

My friend quit his job seven years ago to start a business of his own. He has worked very hard and made his business very successful. His wife has good position at a large bank and she has worked very hard to move up the corporate ladder to where she is.

The point I'm trying to make today is that these two people worked hard to build successful careers and businesses. They were both very loving and dedicated parents but they forgot the most important thing; the age old advice about having to "work" at making your marriage successful.

You can't sit back and expect your spouse to please you, nor can you simply do what your partner wants and expect satisfaction. The strongest and happiest relationships are those in which two independent people draw strength from each other and contribute to and benefit from the relationship in-equal measure.

Here are some things you can do to build a better relationship with your spouse:

* You must respect and accept yourself. You are entitled to receive the same consideration from your spouse that you give, but be sure you are not expecting to get from him or her what you should be giving yourself. You must have a high level of self-esteem if you want your spouse to respect you.

* Build up your spouse's self-esteem with simple complements Take the time every day to point out something your spouse does or says that is really good and that you appreciate.

* Make time to talk every evening. No matter how busy and hectic your day has been or how tired you are, take 30 minutes before you go to sleep to talk with your spouse about how each others day has been.

* Be specific about what you want. When you need something from your spouse, discuss that one issue. Be specific about your need. Focus on the issues, not on the emotions.

* Speak up when something is bothering you, talk about it instead of becoming silent and withdrawn. Get the matter out into the open and hear both sides of the issue. Unless you tell your mate what is bothering you, you will never be able to solve the problem.

* When you don't like something your spouse does always tell him or her, but do it in a positive way. Suggest an alternative that is acceptable to both. For example, if you don't like the way your spouse is dressed, tell him or her how attractive he or she is in the type of clothing you like.

* Avoid the "It's really nothing" syndrome. you set yourself up to be taken for granted by pretending your efforts are not important. For example if you have done work in the yard or cleaned the house, point it out and make it known that you like to have your efforts recognized and appreciated.

* Don't wait to have your efforts noticed. People today, including your spouse are absorbed with their own concerns. You have to tell them or show them what you have done.

Because of the strenuous demands today relationships are more difficult to keep together than ever before, but they are worth it. When you and your spouse work together to keep your relationship strong and happy you're building a strong and prosperous future that is much harder to build alone.

2006-08-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

Is Your Business Easy To Buy From?

Why is it that so many businesses, in their tireless quest to excel so that they can compete more effectively, actually create more problems for themselves in the process? This is a phenomenon I have identified time and time again over the years as a business consultant and I still see growing evidence of every day.

For example, you've probably received at some time a direct mail package with a persuasive sales letter and a nice brochure, but there is nothing in the package that tells you how to order the product or service. You're left feeling confused and you simply toss the entire package in the trash.

You've probably also had the unfortunate experience of calling a company to get some information or place an order, and the telephone operator snaps, "Hello, hold please" and then leaves you dangling on hold so long that you finally hang up and promise yourself that you'll never deal with that company again.

How about going to a Web site to order a product or service and you find all types of great sales messages and links but it doesn't tell you how to place an order on the site. When you finally find the order page it is so confusing that you just click out of it and never visit or recommend that Web site again.

To further illustrate the point I'm trying to make, there's a powerul example in something that happened to me the other night. There was this wonderful little Italian Restaurant close to where I live. The food there was all homemade and it was excellent. They did a good business and most every night there was a wait to get a table.

One day I phoned to place a take out order only to be informed that the number had been disconnected and there was no forwarding number. My immediate assumption was that a fire or other emergency had taken place. I presumed that the restaurant would be back in business in a relatively short time.

I tried to phone again a few weeks later, but still to no avail. I didn't think much about the restaurant after that; I simply began to search for a suitable alternative. A few days ago, I was driving in the vicinity of the old restaurant, I decided to take a little detour and investigate. I wanted to find out what had driven such a fine establishment out of business.

When I drove into the parking lot, I couldn't believe my eyes. The restaurant was still there. There was no damage, no sign of fire. There was a new owner who welcomed me to his establishment.

As he talked, I immediately saw the problem. He told me that he had purchased the restaurant because of its great reputation, but he was determined to make it "his place," and not just an extension of the previous owner. So, he changed everything, including the phone number and he wondered why his business suddenly took such a dive.

I wish I could say that I made up this little story to illustrate my point, but sadly, it's all true.

What's important here, is that you learn from this unfortunate business owner who let his ego and his pride get in the way of common business sense.

2006-08-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Overcoming Negative Emotions

People today are becoming more and more health conscious, especially with the foods they eat. It's obvious that with so much of our population being overweight we have a long way to go but more people today are watching out for harmful foods.

My message today is that we should watch out for and cast off harmful thoughts just as we do harmful foods. Our thoughts are very powerful and virtually every study I have ever seen that has to do with the way people think shows that we do become what we think about most of the time.

You can always tell what your dominant thoughts are by looking at what you do. You always express your true values in your actions. You always act on the outside consistent with who you really are, and what you think about most of the time.

Our thoughts are habits and like any habit it takes proper training to change them. Habits, both good and bad are learned through repetition. The challenge most people face is that they must choose between negative and positive habits and emotions and encourage the development of the latter.

Everyone has two kinds of desire, and to overcome negative emotions you must find a balance between immediate desires and long-term goals. When you blindly follow immediate desire, your life will be empty. Meeting desire in the long term means establishing goals.

Constant study and meditation bring internal peace and will help you remain positive in the face of adversity. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time either positive or negative. You and only you choose what thought is in your mind at any given time.

This is why it so important that you lean new things every day. Read uplifting business and motivational books and magazines. Listen to positive and educational audio programs. Attend educational seminars. When you are constantly feeding your mind positive educational material there is no room for negative thoughts to dwell and grow.

Daily quiet time is absolutely essential for overcoming negative emotions. You need to take at least 30 minutes every day for quiet meditation. Often when I will suggest this to one of my clients he or she will immediately tell me, "I'm too busy, I don't have time for that." I will tell my client that because his or her life is so hectic and rushed it is critical to his or her inner peace happiness, and success that they make the time each day to do it.

There is an important distinction we all must draw between human behavior and human nature. Human behavior is often aggressive while human nature is more compassionate and gentile. The self we need to encourage is filled with compassion, love and forgiveness.

2006-08-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Thinking Big

I'm going to make a statement that I would bet you agree with. Here's the statement: Great spirit has always encountered violent opposition from small thinkers.

During the past 25 years I have had the opportunity to personally interview and study thousands successful men and women. Through my experiences I have learned what winners have that others don't. Winners are creative, imaginative, and they don't give up when others oppose their ideas. They are people how have learned to swim upstream, against the current of popular opinion.

If you are a reader of this Blog, you are one of those winners. You are taking steps to learn how to better apply the principles of success. You are a person who knows and finds a better way to do things.

You are a person who has the answer to a perplexing problem that has plagued others for far too long, and you're one who has often been rejected by others in powerful positions. It's a feeling that is shared by successful people in virtually every endeavor.

It isn't easy to go where none have gone before. The frustration of breaking new ground, of making something happen that has never happened before is sometimes too much to handle, even for the strongest people. Sometimes the frustration is simply too great and those who would have been winners, had they stayed the course, gave up too soon.

My advice on the subject is to power through. Ignore the naysayers! Excuse them for being small thinkers. Consider for a minute where we would be as a society without big thinkers. Without new concepts and new ways of doing things, we'd probably still be lighting our houses with candles. We'd probably be riding on horses and in carriages for transportation.

Negative people can always find a reason why an idea won't work. When you experience opposition from those who think small, take comfort in the knowledge that great success is something that is achieved by a very small minority. Those who always follow the opinion of the masses never achieve greatness in anything they do, but they do find great joy in trying to discredit your good ideas.

I find it curious that the negative and small thinking people, who because of their lack of trust, attempt to stop the big thinking people from making their great accomplishments. That's why surging ahead when you meet up with negative and small thinking people is so important.

Remember this: Your ideas are as good as anyone else's, but ideas are just dust under a rug, unless you mine and develop them for all they are worth, by surging ahead.

2006-08-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ten Hallmarks Of Educated People

Most people equate education with someone who has a degree from a major college or university. While this is true a college education or even a Masters Degree will not guarantee success in the Information Age we are living in.

Education is a combination of being book smart and street smart. You must have the proper mindset to succeed. You cannot force someone to learn or give them incentives to learn as some of the educational institutions are doing today. Education is a mindset. You have to want to learn.

The following are ten hallmarks that a person must have to be truly educated.

1. Educated people are those who have learned to think clearly and logically. They are people who give willingly and generously; who forgive others lovingly and graciously.

2. Educated people are those who are keenly aware that responsibilities have higher priorities than privileges; that there is no real security in life but there is an abundance of opportunity.

3. Educated people are those who realize that learning is never completed; that life is a never-ending process of growth.

4. Educated people are those who understand that personal integrity is the cornerstone of character.

5. Educated people are those who have learned that great ideas are more permanent than great wealth; that excellent examples teach more than words.

6. Educated people have discovered that curiosity is the heart of learning, and that curiosity leads to adventure and achievement.

7. Educated people are those who are deeply thankful for everything that they have achieved in life.

8. Educated people are those who welcome, respect and enjoy new challenges, different cultures, unusual customs and opposing opinions.

9. Educated people are those who thirst for additional knowledge, hunger for more truth, and yearn for increased wisdom.

10. Educated people are those who recognize their shortcomings and limitations but focus on their possibilities and opportunities; who appreciate their uniqueness but understand that we are all created equal.

Education is not a privilege for just the wealthy who can afford to go to college. In fact statistics show that many millionaires don't even have a college degree. They are people who were motivated to learn what they needed to in order to start and build a successful business.

Books are free at any library and for people who don't read well most books are on audio. There is a wealth of free information available on the Internet on virtually any field or profession. It doesn't take a lot of money if you want to be educated. It takes motivation!

What successful people have is motivation. The motivation to learn what then need to achieve their goals. Educated people have these ten hallmarks and once you motivate yourself and incorporate them into your everyday life, you'll find that nothing can stop you from achieving the the success you want.

2006-08-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Unblocking Your Problems

Got a difficult business problem? It probably triggers a range of emotions within you. These emotions can get in the way of finding a solution.

Every person has problems. Problems are like waves they are never ending. The keep coming at us constantly large and small. Problems do not discriminate as many people believe between successful people and unsuccessful people. Nor do problems discriminate between those people who have more money and those who don't.

We all have problems that we have to deal with every day. How successful you are in life is determined in large part by how you deal with the problems you face every day. The people who find creative solutions to their problems are usually the most successful in life.

How to unblock your problems and find creative solutions is today's message. You can cut through the emotional barriers that block you from solving your problems with a simple exercise that I have used successfully for many years.

Start by writing your problem at the top of blank sheet or paper. Draw a line down the center of the page. Then put your positive thoughts and possible solutions that come to mind in the right-hand column and your negative thoughts and anxieties in the left-hand column.

It's important that you be totally honest with yourself. No matter how ridiculous the thought may seem write it down. The very act of writing your positive thoughts down allows your mind to unleash the creative process and begin coming up with solutions. The same is true with your negative thoughts and anxieties . Once you write them down they don't seem so overwhelming and become more manageable.

After you've finished, review your list carefully. Then close your eyes and imagine tearing the sheet of paper in half and throwing the portion with the negative thoughts and anxieties into a raging fire.

Relax with your eyes closed and visualize the paper being consumed by the fire. Take a minute or two to watch the paper burn. Using all your senses here is important. Feel the heat of the fire and smell the paper burning.

Let your thoughts flow freely through your mind, no matter what they are. Try not to block or resist any thoughts, even if they appear foolish or unrelated. Listen to each one. Stay relaxed, even if you experience a blank period.

Solutions to your problems that you've never considered will begin to come into your mind. As they do write each one down. If you don't you'll loose that solution forever.

This technique will not work the first, second or even the third time. Like everything new, it will take time to perfect. So practice it often, daily if you can. The more you practice it, the more adept you'll become at taping into the power of "creative imagination."

2006-08-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Personal Benchmarking

There is an often misunderstood concept in management that will work wonders for you if you only learn how to apply it. It is the difference between feeling helpless and being in complete control. It is the difference between longing for success and actually achieving your goals. This technique is called "personal benchmarking."

Personal benchmarking is the process of consciously counting all of your small achievements that add up to big success. It is an attitude that encourages you to take pride in even the smallest steps in the right direction. There is an old Chinese proverb that says, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Personal benchmarking emphasizes the importance of that first step and every small one that follows.

Let me give you an example. I have a friend who wants to be a speaker and his progress seems to be at a firm standstill. He doesn't trust the personal benchmarking process, and because he's not yet in great demand as a speaker, he sees himself as a failure.

My friend is blinded by his inability to see the importance of the small steps that lead to the big goal. Success in any job, field, or career is not now, and never will be an overnight event. It is the cumulative effect of chugging away every day with your eyes clearly focused on the anticipated result.

It's the phone calls you make, the letters you write, the emails you send, and the new connections that you establish every day that count. If you don't do these things, you'll never be able to get where you want to be. To consider the time before you achieve success as a failure is like considering the time you are alive as days you are dying. It's narrow-minded, backwards thinking.

One of the main reasons why so few people in our society are successful is because they are impatient. People want instant success and instant gratification. If they don't receive results immediately most people just give up. Most businesses fail because the owner gives up before the business has a chance to prosper. Most investments fail because the investor wants an immediate return and sells the investment before it has a chance to grow.

A few years ago I was struggling to finish a project for a prospective client. It was two o'clock in the morning and I was tired. I was also frustrated because I was doing work on speculation. There was no guarantee that I would ever be paid for it.

Suddenly I realized that there was only one thing that I could do that would guarantee that I would never be paid. I could quit working. Only by quitting would I guarantee that I would receive no compensation for my efforts. I might add that it wasn't until a year later that I finally received a check in payment for my efforts and I have been receiving residual payments ever since.

Personal benchmarking is a wonderful process of many small things becoming one complete, fulfilled goal. We can't always have today what we want and need, but if we learn to do the small things, then the big things will take care of themselves.

2006-08-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

Helping Others Also Helps You

All of us have met successful people who claim that they are "self-made." In reality there is no such thing as a completely self-made man or woman. No one achieves his or her success without the help of other people. People who make these claims only prove that it's possible for self-centered people to make money.

Every person who reaches the top of his or her field has been able to do it only because of the substantial help along the way from others. The Law of Sowing and Reaping is the iron law of the universe and it requires that you respond in kind by helping others.

As I look back on my own career through my failures and personal tragedies there has always been someone that has helped pick me up and get through those down times in my life. The same is true in my successes whether it has been starting a new business or making good investment there has always been a mentor close by to help me.

No person is more successful or wealthy than the one who has the time and energy to spend in helping others. Notice I didn't mention money. That's fine too for helping others if you can afford it. But time and effort is even more precious and the payoff in satisfaction and self-contentment is equal to the investment.

One of the richest experiences you'll every have is to be able to point to someone at the peak of his or her success and say: "I helped put him or her there." Your efforts on behalf of someone less fortunate not only helps him or her, but also adds priceless value to your own self-esteem and self-worth. This will be the case every time whether or not that person recognizes your help or is even grateful for it.

Think of the staggering statistics of the number of young people in the United States, the richest country in the world that cannot read or write very well, and many of these are high school graduates. These young adults are our future and it's clear that they aren't going to get what they need to be successful in the 21st Century from high school or even college.

They need the help of mentors. People who have achieved success and can show others how to do it. Show them how the real world works and give them the direction and the confidence to succeed. All the books in the world are no substitute for learning directly from a person who has achieved success in his or her career.

Think of how the world would be transformed if each of us "adopted" someone else to help through life! In turn, each of us would be adopted and receive help. In a small way, it's already happening. But the system, if you can call it that needs to be improved and expanded as part of human progress and civilization.

I'll finish today's message with a favorite quote of mine from best selling author and speaker Zig Ziglar, "You can get anything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want."

2006-08-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Take Action To Overcome Fear

It's unfortunate that so many people are afraid these days. They are afraid to take any chances that could improve their life. Employees are afraid to make a decision at work because it might be wrong and they would get in trouble with their boss. People are afraid to start a business of their own because it might fail. Men and women are even afraid to go out on a date these days because they're afraid of getting into a relationship that doesn't work.

Take a look around you. You've met them. Their conversation is laden with negative comments and excuses like, "I can't," or "what if it doesn't work," or "I'm not smart enough," or " I'm not educated enough," or "I don't have enough money to do that." I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

You cannot accomplish or achieve success or happiness in life without taking risks and facing your fears. The wealthiest and most successful men and women in our society have failed numerous times before they achieved their success. If you ask any one of them, they will tell you they achieved their success because they faced their fears.

If these people could only learn once and for all that all their fears can easily be eliminated by simply taking some kind of action. When you address your fears, miracles will happen. When you do the thing you fear the most, it upsets the balance and attracts opportunity, which in turn eliminate the fear itself.

It is only when fear is absent that progress can take its natural course. Think about that project you haven't gotten around to working on yet because you fear that it may not be right. Or think about the phone call you've been avoiding because you fear the outcome of a pending negotiation, and understand that fear can be eliminated only by taking action. Then take the necessary action.

How many times in your life have you come up with an idea for a product or service and not taken action on it? You say to yourself, "That will never work" or "people will laugh at me and say I'm crazy." Then later on you see someone else making millions from the idea you originally came up with.

One thing is for certain: Your fear will remain and probably grow proportionate to the time it takes you to act upon it. Your very commitment to act will begin the evaporation process of your fear.

When you first get into action, you may suffer a few moments of discomfort in dealing with that which you've been avoiding, but then before you know it, a miracle occurs. The fear is gone. Your mind is clear, and once again you are ready to take-on the world.

It's true. Fear can and will be eliminated when you take appropriate action. It isn't up to someone else. It's up to you!

When you act upon your fears, you will begin to understand that the world is full of opportunity for those people who are courageous enough to take action. One of my favorite quotes and one that is more true today than ever before is from General Douglas MacArthur when he said, "There's no security on this earth, only opportunity."

2006-08-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Small Steps Lead To Big Success

If you ask just about anyone who has achieved success in life exactly how he or she accomplished it, you will most likely hear about a series of small steps, each following the other as part of a detailed plan. What I'm talking about is that often misunderstood, and seldom used word, goals.

Have you ever consciously sat down to make a list of everything you want? Goal setting is the "master skill" of success but tragically only a small minority of people have clear written goals for their life.

When you write down your goals and make plans to achieve them you will discover three things:

1. It's fun and even exhilarating.

2. You have very likely already accomplished some of the goals on your list.

3. You will begin to accomplish the things you want faster than you ever thought possible.

That's why for years, I've advised my clients and the people who attend my seminars to make two lists. The first should be a business or career list of goals. This list might include things such as a higher position in your company, owning a business or making more money. Each of these goals must be written down, have a plan for achievement and have a specific date by which you intend to accomplish them.

The second list is your personal list. This one might include buying a house, a car, or taking a nice vacation. This is a list of things you want, just because you want them. It has been my experience that most people who engage in goal setting often forget the things that are just pure fun.

You will inevitably accomplish your goals on the second list faster than those on the first, but every goal that you accomplish on that second list will get you a little closer to accomplishing a goal on the all-important first list.

Here's why: You will work a lot smarter when you are having fun, and the happiness that comes from eliminating self-imposed restrictions becomes the fuel which drives success. Small steps in a good plan add up to success.

A business can only succeed with a business plan and the same is true for your personal life. If you want to achieve success in your own life you must set goals and plan for your success. So make the time to begin putting your two lists together today!

2006-08-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's Never Too Late To Change

The more I look around, the more convinced I am that the happiest and most successful people the ones whose ears and eyes are always tuned to opportunity. These are rare people in our society.

My message for today is how these people take their cues from the environment, and pursue what seems to be the natural course of action for them. If their environment works for them, they choose to remain in it and grown within it. If their environment lacks enthusiasm, positive people, or opportunity they step out of it and find a better one.

Long before we are old enough to make any meaningful decisions about our future, we learn to take cues from the environment that shapes our life. The strong in our society are the people who make a conscious decision not to allow their environment to shape and control their life.

For some people, growing up in a family mold can be healthy and rewarding. Being raised by educated parents in a home where creative ideas are encouraged, where bookshelves filled with great books line the walls and where options and opportunity abound. For these people, their environment should be allowed to mold their futures.

Statistically, however, the chances of being raised in such an environment are rare indeed. For most of us, breaking the tradition of our younger years and steering toward a more interesting and productive course is a much better idea. But such action requires a decision.

Here is the good news: If you haven't yet made your decision to stay with or turn away from your early environment, the opportunity is still available, every hour, every day, month after month, year after year.

Here is even better news. Because we are in the Information Age there are more opportunities than at any time in history. The future belongs to the competent. The people who are the most educated and do something with their knowledge.

Whether you go to the library and check out one business book every week to read or buy one at a book store, it will amount to you reading fifty books per year. Fifty books per year will total about five hundred books over the next ten years. Just think of the competitive edge all that knowledge will give you in your chosen field!

One of my favorite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw, and seems to fit today's message perfectly. He said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."

What would you like to do with your life? You have the time to change, and it is never too late. But it is up to you!

2006-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Reach And Repetition

My message today is about an old time-honored advertising formula which can help anyone involved in management or executive life. Simply stated, the formula is, "Reach is nothing without repetition and repetition is nothing without reach." What this idea means is that in order for anything to happen, you must first reach those people who are in the best position to do what you want done. Then you must deliver a consistent message with repetition.

Think about it. If you saw an advertisement only once for a product in which you had an interest and you did nothing, you would probably forget about it. But if you continued to see advertisements promoting the product, you would be motivated to action. This is reach and repetition at work, and they are the reason why television and radio commercials and print advertisements are so effective.

The same marketing magic can work in your company. For example, if you are attempting to reach middle management with your message, don't communicate with their bosses, communicate with them directly. Reach them again and again until they are motivated to action.

Using reach and repetition in the office will guarantee less confusion among employees and fewer communication problems that lead to finger pointing.

If your company is like most, it's time to stop the confusion about why things aren't working the way they should. The answer is in plain sight. It's staring you right in the face. Communicate with, or reach, the right people, then do it again and again util the problem is fixed or the opportunity is seized.

Reach and repetition. One is useless without the other, but together they represent one of our most powerful and often misunderstood management tools. If you doubt the validity of this idea, just open your kitchen cabnets and see how much reach and repetition have influenced your own buying decisions. Then put this information to work immediately.