G.R.E.A.T LIFE

There are lots of ways to maintain a positive attitude.
Personally, I love humor and a bit of mischief, great books,
exercise, time with friends (and my dog!), and I listen to
good audio programs almost every day. I find journaling
helps, and of course my coach keeps me focused and
productive. You probably have your own "best practices."
Remember to use them!
But a vital basis for all positive motivation is the deep-
down certainty that you are building and living a GREAT
life. I'm convinced a great life is no accident. It's not
about "luck" or good genes, or money or education or any of
that. A great life doesn't "just happen" for a few while
others are condemned to mediocrity. A GREAT life is the
elegant and delightful result of doing certain things, in
the right way, at the right time.
I've come up with a 5-step process that turns a G.R.E.A.T.
life into an acronym:
1. A GREAT life begins with GOALS. Few things in life are as
meaningful, exciting and powerful as the progressive
accomplishment of goals we truly desire. Powerful, value-
driven goals get us up in the morning, keep us focused, and
push us forward all day long. Whether it's a teenager's
desire for a date or a driver's license, a young couple's
desire for children, or the dream of starting your own
business, goals push, pull and drive us forward.
All of us have goals, whether we realize it or not. Winners
select their goals carefully, and write them down. They
develop specific plans for their achievement. Their goals
are well-thought-out and reflect the deepest desires of
their hearts. For many people, goals have a logical quality,
while for others goals are more about "direction" or
"purpose" or a general "vision." However you do it is fine!
The key is to know where you're going and how you'll get
there. A GREAT life starts with GOALS.
2. A GREAT life is focused on RESULTS. A great life doesn't
worry about whether things are easy or difficult. It's not
about the approval of others. A great life is focused on
getting important things done! It's about using your time,
skills, tools and talents to create the life your truly
want. It's about achieving the RESULTS that are important to
you.
3. A GREAT life is about EXCELLENCE. A great life is not
about being average. It's is not built on mediocrity or
settling for second-best. A GREAT life is about having the
life, the relationships, the environment and circumstances
that make you feel fantastic! It's about being excellent in
every thing you do, every day. It's about being a person of
integrity, honesty, skill and achievement. Whether your
goals relate to parenting, business, fame or fortune, it's
about being a person of EXCELLENCE.
4. A GREAT life is based on ACTION. Nothing gets done until
something gets done! I know, that's a solipsism, but it's
also true. A great life is built! Clear thinking, careful
planning, and superb strategies are helpful, but in the end,
a great life is based on action that moves you in the
direction you want to go. Even poor or inefficient action
will move you forward. Take action! Take action every single
day that moves you toward the life you desire and deserve.
Take ACTION!
5. A GREAT life takes TIME. How much time depends on the
goal. Meditation can bring peace of mind in moments.
Training to run a marathon may take months, and building a
great marriage may take years. All goals require some level
of persistence over time. We are impatient creatures.
Americans are famous for our desire for "instant" solutions.
But the truth is that important goals, and a GREAT life, are
built over TIME.
Set it as your minimum standard to have a G.R.E.A.T. life!
Set appropriate, value-driven Goals, measure your Results
and demand Excellence in all you do. Take the best, most
strategic Action you can, and repeat it over Time. You
deserve a G.R.E.A.T. life! Accept nothing less.

Quotes of the Week
"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the
right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." -- Theodore Roosevelt
"In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by
pressing the limits do you ever find them." -- Dr. Joyce Brothers
"Change your thoughts and you change your world." -- Norman Vincent Peale
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human
being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind!" -- William James

NINE THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CAPITAL

When starting any enterprise or business, whether it is full-time or part-time, we all know the value of having plenty of capital (money). But I bet we both know or at least have heard of people who started with no capital who went on to make fortunes. How? You may ask.

Well, I believe there are actually some things that are more valuable than capital that can lead to your entrepreneurial success. Let me give you the list.

1. Time.
   Time is more valuable than capital. The time you set aside not to be wasted, not to be given away. Time you set aside to be invested in an enterprise that brings value to the marketplace with the hope of making a profit. Now we have capital time.

   How valuable is time? Time properly invested is worth a fortune. Time wasted can be devastation. Time invested can perform miracles, so you invest your time.

2. Desperation.
   I have a friend Lydia, whose first major investment in her new enterprise was desperation. She said, "My kids are hungry, I gotta make this work. If this doesn't work, what will I do?" So she invested $1 in her enterprise selling a product she believed in. The $1 was to buy a few fliers so she could make a sale at retail, collect the money and then buy the product wholesale to deliver back to the customer.

   My friend Bill Bailey went to Chicago as a teenager after he got out of high school. And the first job he got was as a night janitor. Someone said, "Bill, why would you settle for night janitor?" He said, "Malnutrition." You work at whatever you can possibly get when you get hungry. You go to work somewhere -- night janitor, it doesn't matter where it is. Years later, now Bill is a recipient of the Horatio Alger award, rich and powerful and one of the great examples of lifestyle that I know. But, his first job -- night janitor. Desperation can be a powerful incentive. When you say - I must.

3. Determination.
   Determination says I will. First Lydia said, "I must find a customer." Desperation. Second, she said, "I will find someone before this first day is over." Sure enough, she found someone. She said, "If it works once, it will work again." But then the next person said, "No." Now what must you invest?

4. Courage.
   Courage is more valuable than capital. If you've only got $1 and a lot of courage, I'm telling you, you've got a good future ahead of you. Courage in spite of the circumstances. Humans can do the most incredible things no matter what happens. Haven't we heard the stories? There are some recent ones from Kosovo that are some of the most classic, unbelievable stories of being in the depths of hell and finally making it out. It's humans. You can't sell humans short. Courage in spite of, not because of, but in spite of. Now once Lydia has made 3 or 4 sales and gotten going, here's what now takes over.

5. Ambition.
   "Wow! If I can sell 3, I can sell 33. If I can sell 33, I can sell 103." Wow. Lydia is now dazzled by her own dreams of the future.

6. Faith.
   Now she begins to believe she's got a good product. This is probably a good company. And she then starts to believe in herself. Lydia, single mother, 2 kids, no job. "My gosh, I'm going to pull it off!" Her self-esteem starts to soar. These are investments that are unmatched. Money can't touch it. What if you had a million dollars and no faith? You'd be poor. You wouldn't be rich. Now here is the next one, the reason why she's a millionaire today.

7. Ingenuity.
   Putting your brains to work. Probably up until now, you've put about 1/10 of your brainpower to work. What if you employed the other 9/10? You can't believe what can happen. Humans can come up with the most intriguing things to do. Ingenuity. What's ingenuity worth? A fortune. It is more valuable than money. All you need is a $1 and plenty of ingenuity. Figuring out a way to make it work, make it work, make it work.

8. Heart and Soul.
   What is a substitute for heart and soul? It's not money. Money can't buy heart and soul. Heart and soul is more valuable than a million dollars. A million dollars without heart and soul, you have no life. You are ineffective. But, heart and soul is like the unseen magic that moves people, moves people to buy, moves people to make decisions, moves people to act, moves people to respond.

9. Personality.
   You've just got to spruce up and sharpen up your own personality. You've got plenty of personality. Just get it developed to where it is effective every day, it's effective no matter who you talk to - whether it is a child or whether it is a business person - whether it is a rich person or a poor person. A unique personality that is at home anywhere. My mentor Bill Bailey taught me, "You've got to learn to be just as comfortable, Mr. Rohn, whether it is in a little shack in Kentucky having a beer and watching the fights with Winfred, my old friend or in a Georgian mansion in Washington, DC as the Senator's guest." Move with ease whether it is with the rich or whether it is with the poor. And it makes no difference to you who is rich or who is poor. A chance to have a unique relationship with whomever. The kind of personality that's comfortable. The kind of personality that's not bent out of shape.

   And lastly, let's not forget charisma and sophistication. Charisma with a touch of humility. This entire list is more valuable than money. With one dollar and the list I just gave you, the world is yours. It belongs to you, whatever piece of it you desire whatever development you wish for your life. I've given you the secret. Capital. The kind of capital that is more valuable than money and that can secure your future and fortune. Remember that you lack not the resources.

THE MAJOR KEY TO YOUR BETTER FUTURE IS YOU

Of all the things that can have an effect on your future, I believe personal growth is the greatest. We can talk about sales growth, profit growth, asset growth, but all of this probably will not happen without personal growth. It’s really the open door to it all. In fact I’d like to have you memorize a most important phrase. Here it is, “The major key to your better future is YOU.”

Let me repeat that. “The major key to your better future is YOU.” Put that someplace you can see it everyday, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, at the office, anywhere where you can see it everyday. The major key to your better future is YOU. Try to remember that every day you live and think about it. The major key is YOU.

Now, there are many things that will help your better future. If you belong to a strong, dynamic, progressive company, that would help. If the company has good products, good services that you are proud of, that would certainly help. If there were good sales aids, that would help, good training would certainly help. If there is strong leadership, that will certainly help. All of these things will help, and of course, if it doesn’t storm, that will help. If your car doesn’t break down, that will help. If the kids don’t get sick, that will help. If the neighbors stay half way civil, that will help. If your relatives don’t bug you, that will help. If it isn’t too cold, if it isn’t too hot, all those things will help your better future. And if prices don’t go much higher and if taxes don’t get much heavier, that will help. And if the economy stays stable, those things will all help. We could go on and on with the list; but remember this, the list of things that I’ve just covered and many more - all put together - play a minor role in your better future.

The major key to your better future is you. Lock your mind onto that. This is a super important point to remember. The major key is you. A friend of mine has always answered when asked, “How do you develop an above average income?” He says, “Simple. Become an above average person. Work on you.” My friend says, “Develop an above average handshake.” He says, “A lot of people want to be successful, and they don’t even work on their handshake. As easy as that would be to start, they let it slide. They don’t understand.” My friend says, “Develop an above average smile. Develop an above average excitement. Develop an above average dedication. Develop an above average interest in other people.” He says, “To have more, become more.” Remember; work harder on yourself than you do on your job. For a long time in my life, I didn’t have this figured out.

Strangely enough, with two different people in the same company one may earn an extra $100 a month, and the other may earn a $1,000. What could possibly be the difference? If the products were the same, if the training was the same, if they both had the same literature, the same tools. If they both had the same teacher, the same compensation plan, if they both attended the same meetings, why would one person earn the $100 per month and the other person earn the $1000? Remember here is the difference...the difference is personal, inside, not outside, inside.

You see the real difference is inside you. In fact, the difference IS you. Someone once said, “The magic is not in the products. The magic is not in the literature. The magic is not in the film. There isn’t a magic meeting, but the magic that makes things better is inside you, and personal growth makes this magic work for you.

The magic is in believing. The magic is in daring. The magic is in trying. The real magic is in persevering. The magic is in accepting. It’s in working. The magic is in thinking. There is magic in a handshake. There is magic in a smile. There is magic in excitement and determination. There is real magic in compassion and caring and sharing. There is unusual magic in strong feeling and you see, all that comes from inside, not outside. So, the difference is inside you. The real difference is you. You are the major key to your better future.

NETWORKING FOR FUN AND PROFIT

There's an old saying that "it's who you know that counts,"
and for better or worse, it's often true.
Yes, there is a cynical aspect to the phrase, referring to
favoritism that is unfortunate. More often, however, people
get the referral or the promotion precisely because (in a
positive sense) of "who they know." Knowing and liking
someone does make a difference.
When it comes to networking, however, I've noticed two
unfortunate patterns that are generally NOT helpful:
First is the person (to be honest, it's usually a male) who
views networking as some strange contest to see who can
trade the most business cards in the shortest period of
time. There's a frantic, phony energy that is a huge turn-
off. Their quick handshake, exaggerated smile and exchange
of business cards is usually a waste of time.
The second is the person who attends networking functions
but fails to connect in a meaningful way. Often they spend
the entire time chatting with a friend, and leave without
meeting anyone new, or making any lasting impressions.
Effective networking means connecting with people in an
honest, sincere way that says you would like to help them if
you can, and would appreciate the other person's support in
exchange.
Get to know people. Call them up, go to lunch, and if
appropriate, certainly exchange business cards! But what
you're looking for is a relationship. Get to know a few
people well, rather than collecting dozens of cards from
strangers. Follow-up with a phone call to touch base. And
for goodness sake, if you can, be sure to send some business
to the other person. Nothing will grow your own referral
business like the gratitude of people who have benefited
from your genuine support.

Quotes of the Week

“How we live our days is how we live our lives.” -- Annie Dillard
"If you can DREAM it, you can DO it." -- Walt Disney
"In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by
pressing the limits do you ever find them." -- Dr. Joyce Brothers
"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing on
one's own sunshine." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE POWER OF CONQUERING FEAR

"You must do the thing that you fear until the fear of that thing becomes no more." - Brian Tracy One day, not too long ago, I was in the middle of a 5 day fast. I was looking for spiritual answers to some situations that I was facing. On the third day, I got hit with the truth: my attention that my life and motives had been based on fear. I had feared that people would not love me if I stood up for myself. I had feared that people would not understand me when I needed them to. I had feared that failure would always overtake my efforts in life no matter how well I performed. Ultimately, I feared being a complete and total failure in life. It was very shocking for me to come to this realization. I had always felt that I had a natural zest for life, but there was always a "glass ceiling" that I just could not seem to break through. I could always "see" what I could be, but actually becoming that person often eluded me. Fear is a great paralyzer. It lulls one into believing that gloom and doom are always "inevitable." Fear causes great people to accept mediocrity. It also causes death and destruction to lives and dreams of most people. Where there is overwhelming procrastination, there is fear. Where there is great anger, there is fear. Where there is extreme hatred, there is fear. Where there is complacency, there is fear. Where there was failure, ultimately, fear was there. That brought me back to something else that I never consciously realized; that fear is a mind-set. Thus, anything that is set in your mind got there from a thought or set of thoughts. However, thoughts can be corrected by consciously choosing to think better thoughts. If you constantly fear that you are going to be "sick," you are going to be "sick." So to correct your "sickness" before it happens, start consciously choosing "healthy" thoughts. This ideology holds true in most walks of life. Henry Ford, world-renowned industrialist and automotive pioneer, once stated, "Whether you think that you can or you can't, you're right." Ford often successfully overcame fear. You see, he only had a sixth grade education. By most standards, he would have been considered illiterate and ignorant. Mr. Ford was so "ignorant," that he committed himself to the "outrageous" dream of building automobiles with little formal education. Ford was so "ignorant," that he pioneered the "V" shaped engine, something that his "smart" engineers said "couldn't" be done. In essence, Ford was so "ignorant," until he forgot to "fear" things that most people with his set of "limitations" were supposed to. I'm pretty sure that there is somebody out there right now driving their family vehicle to a job that is murdering their dreams of greatness. These people are probably 1000 times "smarter" than Henry Ford was. So "smart" that they think "security" is going to come by working for someone else the rest of their lives. I sincerely believe and teach people to be bold in their journey through life. Boldness breaks the bondage of fear. Boldness is defined as the willingness to face risk fearlessly. What do you have dreams of doing or being? What is holding you back? For the first question, I know some people will answer things becoming a singer, writing a book, starting a new business, buying a new car, and etc. However, for the second question, I know that tons of fear-based excuses will come up. Things like, "I'm too old," "I'm too young," "I'm a woman," "I'm Black," "I don't have a lot of money," and the like. In this article, I have been spiritually led to tell you the truth. Your boldness will lead you to the result of question one, and defeat the untruths of question two. World-renowned writer, speaker, and pastor, Joyce Meyer, describes fear as "False Evidence Appearing Real." The truth of the matter is that success knows no such boundaries as race, sex, age, gender, creed, or religious preference. Thus there is no reason for fear to keep you in bondage anymore. The following are five steps to unleashing your power over F.E.A.R. 5 Steps to Unleashing Your Power Over Fear Become "ignorant" to fear Don't let fear have time to think Always speak faith and belief Create and maintain a positive outlook of yourself Continue to execute the thing(s) that you fear until fear disappears Become "ignorant" to fear: Fear appears in many different forms. It can come from negative self (i.e. "I can't do this," "I'm not good at this," etc.). It can come from negative media forecasts (i.e. bad predictions of the economy, bad weather reports, reports of murder, etc.). Remember the story of Henry Ford? He could have been nothing in this lifetime because of what he could not do, but his fears took a back seat to his ability to ignore any ideas that were not in congruence with his dream. Therefore, you must mute the voice of fear by limiting (or completely eliminating) your contact with fear-causing entities. Don't let fear have time to think: Thoughts are powerful. A single thought can be responsible for life or death in this world. And anything that you think about long enough will find its way into the physical realm. Therefore, if you were to spend time thinking about the things that you want out of life (I mean conscious concentrate), you begin to see them. Conversely, the same is true for the things that you don't want in life. Commit your time to faith and believing, not fear and doubt. Always speak faith and belief: To frame your own world free of debilitating fear, always think, act, and speak positively in faith and belief. Be bold and say things as you want them to be in your life. If it is a new house you want, say it! If it is a new car you want, say it! If it is a successful family life you want, say it! If it is a better job that you want, say it! Create and maintain a positive outlook of yourself: I have a motto that goes like this: "If I know who and what I am, no one can tell me who and what I am not!" No matter what the world has decided to think about me, I have decided to think great thoughts about myself. Therefore, I am free of world's often limiting belief system. I don't worry about things like weather reports, poor economic forecasts, what celebrity just went to jail, and who does not believe in my dreams, because if God is for me, who or what can be against me (Romans 8:31)? Decide who and what you are right now and do not be moved negativity. Continue to execute the thing(s) that you fear until fear disappears: Success is active. Action dispels fear. If you sit still, fear has the time to paralyze your abilities and efforts, ultimately causing you to fail. Continue to move toward your goals with great diligence and great courage! Good luck and may success embrace you!

TAKE A TURN AT TENACIOUS!

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." - Calvin Coolidge

I have worked with many successful people; people who have achieved the kinds of lives they have dreamed about. I have also worked with many people who are not anywhere near where they want to be in life. Many times those who are not successful resent those who are and believe that somehow success was handed to those who have achieved much.
What I have found however is that actually the reverse is true. Those who have achieved much have worked much HARDER than those who are not successful. You wouldn’t believe the stories of struggle that I hear from those who now appear to on “top of the heap.” Yes, they are successful, but no, it wasn’t handed to them! And I find that most of the unsuccessful people who come to me actually haven’t been tenacious at all. I find that with many of the people I speak to who complain about their lack of success simply haven’t persevered and been tenacious. When I ask them questions I usually get excuses. Yes, there are exceptions on both sides, but I find this to be almost universally true.
If you are one who finds yourself dreaming of a better life, or looking at someone who “has it made,” I would ask you to take a long, deep look inward and at your life to find whether or not you have actually been tenacious in pursuit of your dreams. How long have you gone for it? Many people who achieve much go for YEARS before they achieve what their hearts long for? How hard have you gone for it? Most people who achieve much have given up much. They have sacrificed much. They strive valiantly for what it is that resides deep in their dreams. They just plain work hard!
So what are the principles of tenacity? What do you need to know in order to take your turn at the tenacious? Here are some thoughts to start your fire and get you going!
1. Sometimes you just have to outlast the others.
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." William Feather
I have found that many people start on their dreams but most never finish. Then those who stop resent those who make it. The truth is that most people who become successful have simply mastered the art of keeping on keeping on! I myself can remember early on in my career when I would get discouraged and I literally said to myself, “One more week. Just give it one more week.” Quite frankly, this is what got me through a couple of years of my work early on. I hung on as others let go.
It is easy to get disheartened. Ask those who have achieved success if they ever got disheartened and you will find some of the most amazing stories you have ever heard. Give it a try: Go to the most successful person you know and ask them if they ever thought about quitting. Ask them how they kept on going. You will be amazed at what you hear.
2. Sometimes you just have to hold on at the end.
"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." Franklin Roosevelt
I wonder how many people have quit just as they would have begun their entrance into success? Sure there are many who quit at the first sign of hard work, but what about those who, after the tenth time of trial then give up, just as fate would have seen them go through one last hurdle and then into the promised land? How many people were on their last hurdle and decided not to jump? How many people had just one more mountain pass to go? Or just one more river to cross?
Of course we will never know, but certainly some of the people who quit are doing so on what would have been their last trial, right?
So what does this mean for you? For me it means I do not quit because I would hate to find out later that all I needed was just one last effort and I would have achieved my goal. What if it isn’t my last trial? That’s okay because as long as I keep going, eventually I will get to my last trial, I will overcome it, and I will enter the Winner’s Circle.
3. Sometimes the most beautiful results come from dull things under pressure.
"Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs." Malcolm Forbes
If coal wasn’t an inanimate object it would certainly scream, “Stop! I want out!” But that coal, when facing incredible pressure, is turned into one of earth’s most precious possessions. Ugly, dirty old coal is transformed into beautiful diamonds.
Instead of looking at pressure and trials as the reason to quit, get tenacious and see them as the very thing that will make your life the beautiful thing that you desire it to be. See it as your opportunity to learn, to grow, and to be transformed. See these trials as the very things that will enable you to have the life that dream of!
Trials will surely come. Life will get hard. You will want to quit.
Then you will have a choice: Will you give up? Or will you take your turn at tenacious. The choice you make will determine much of the rest of your life.
My advice? Take your turn at tenacious. You will become stronger, and you will end up living the life you dream of!

ELIMINATE THE BOTTLENECK!

In any process, there is an upper limit to how powerful the
results can be, and the limit is always the same: A
bottleneck.
In watering your garden, the smallest point limits how much
water passes through the hose. The bottleneck may be the
valve on the side of your house, the diameter of the hose,
or the little washer inside the coupling. Wherever the
bottleneck occurs, it limits the flow through the entire
hose, and the solution is always the same: increase the flow
at that one critical point, and the results are instant and
dramatic!
No matter how smart or skilled you are, something limits the
success you will achieve. There may be several points of
"friction", but there is always one item that limits you
more than all the others combined! Fix it and the results
are amazing!
Here are 4 common bottlenecks:
1. Not Acting as a Business. Many professionals and
entrepreneurs have a dream, not a business. They work
without focus, without clear priorities, and without
results. The bottleneck is lack of clarity. Work the
business!
2. Ineffective Marketing. If you aren't getting enough
inquiries, the bottleneck is in your advertising. Find a way
to let more of your most desired customers know about you.
Everyone wants great service at a fair price! Help them find
you!
3. Ineffective Sales Technique. If lots of folks show up,
ask questions, and compliment your work, but don't buy, your
bottleneck is closing the sale. Work with a sales coach, buy
books or get a mentor, but fix this! Mary Kay Ashe said,
"Nothing happens until someone sells something!"
4. Inadequate Value Added. This is probably the hardest one
to admit, but if people try your product or service, but
don’t become steady customers, something is wrong. To
achieve unusual success, you must transform casual customers
into life-long partners. It may be a problem with your
pricing or your delivery, but it must be fixed!
What bottleneck is holding you back in your work, and in
your life?

PRACTICE GOLDEN RULE SELLING

To improve your sales performance, adopt the Golden Rule mentality. The Golden Rule says to, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It also says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The Golden Rule mentality in sales, says simply, "Sell unto others as you would have them sell unto you."
Different Strokes For Different Folks
What does this mean? Aren't there all kinds of different personalities that require different approaches and techniques? Well, yes and no. Practicing the golden rule in selling simply means that you sell to other people the way you would like to be sold to. You sell with the same honesty, integrity, understanding, empathy and thoughtfulness that you would like someone else to use in selling to you.
Seek First to Understand
If you would like a salesperson to take the time to thoroughly understand you and your situation before making a recommendation, you practice the same thing with your customers. If you would like a salesperson to give you honest information and to help you make an intelligent buying decision, you practice the same with your customer. If you would like a salesperson to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the strengths or weaknesses of his or her product or service, and that of his or her competitors, then you do the same with your product or service and your competitors.
Care About Your Customers
Perhaps the most important part of golden rule selling is the emotional component embraced in the word, "caring." Top sales professionals care about their customers. They care about themselves, their companies, their products and services, and they really care about helping their customers to make good buying decisions. If you think about the very best salespeople you know, you will recognize that they are caring individuals.
They Don't Care How Much You Know
If you think about your very best customers, you will recall that these are invariably people you care about, and who care about you. When you think about the people you buy from, you will recall that they seem to care about you more than the average. In every part of your business life, you will find that the significant people all have the denominator of caring as part of their character and their personalities.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, resolve today to sell to your customers with the same honesty, empathy and understanding that you would like them to use in selling to you.
Second, take time to genuinely care about your customers, their individual needs and their unique situations. Make people feel important and they will make you feel important.

YOUR ATTITUDE - YOU CHOOSE

There are lots of things in this life that we don’t get to choose. On the other hand, there are lots of thing in this life that we do get to choose. Our attitude is one of the things that we get to choose. Nobody else lives inside our brain. Nobody else controls what or how we think. It is up to us, moment by moment, to choose what our attitude is. It is up to us to determine how we will look at and perceive the world around us. It is up to us to decide how we will react to our world around us.

My advice? Choose a positive, optimistic attitude! Here are some thought on choosing your attitude.

We cannot choose our circumstances. For the most part, this is true. We cannot control if someone around us gets ill. We cannot control how another person will treat us. We cannot control the global economy. We cannot control the direction our society as a whole will go. For some, this may seem scary. For me, it is freeing. I don’t have to control my circumstances. Running the whole world would be a big responsibility. It is good to know that I am not in charge of, or in control of all of my circumstances. This dose of reality frees you to focus in on what you can control – your attitude.

We can choose our attitudes. That’s right. We get to choose what our attitudes are. Here is the definition of attitude: “The feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that follows from this.” We choose how we feel about others and situations. We choose our opinion about people and situations. We choose the way we will behave in relation to other people and circumstances. We choose it. It doesn’t have to be bad. It doesn’t have to be anything but what we want it to be. We have the option.

The choice of a right attitude will significantly determine new circumstances. Choosing to have the right attitude will change the world around you. This isn’t any sort of magic; it is just how the world works. Now, don’t get me wrong. It won’t cure everything and turn your world into a virtual Shangri-La, but it will significantly improve the world you live in. For example, let’s say that every day you go into work and you gripe about life and work from the moment you get there until the moment you leave. Will others want to be around you? Will others ask your opinion? Will others like you? Will others ask you to join them for lunch? Probably not! But what if you come to work every day and you are the positive optimist of the crowd? Will everybody love you? No, but significantly more people will than if you are the office pessimist! Your choice of attitude will determine what kind of circumstances you get!

Ultimately, it is our choice on what we have as an attitude. Nobody else can force you to have a bad attitude. Nobody else can force you to have a good attitude. It is simply a choice you make.

Where are you with your attitude? Do you have a good one? Why not sit down and give it some serious thought? Then, no matter where you find yourself, decide to take your attitude to the next level! If you have a really bad attitude, decide to take it up a couple of levels!

Your attitude. Your choice. Choose wisely.

MAKING MONEY, CREATING WEALTH

This week, I heard some interesting statistics on Public
Television. A few years ago Japan suffered through a deep
recession for almost 10 straight years, while America had
relative boom times. During those ten years, the following
occurred:
Japanese citizens saved 27% of their income; Americans saved
essentially nothing.
The average Japanese family has a net worth of $177,000; the
average American family has a net worth of less than $3000.
The average American family has almost $12,000 in consumer
debt -- in other words, many of us actually have a negative
net worth!
We make more money than any other nation on earth; and we
spend about 103% of what we make. This makes no sense!
The key to creating wealth is not simply in making more
money. The key is understanding how money works, saving a
bit every month, and using compound interest to your
advantage. This is not complicated. It is not very exciting
or difficult, but we seem unable (or unwilling) to do it.
Read a few good books on how money works. Find tools and
resources that can help you. Spend a bit less than you make
and invest the difference. You'll be glad you did!

Quotes of the Week
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your
strength lies." -- Mother Teresa
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
to improve the world." -- Anne Frank
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind
is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors
the servant and has forgotten the gift." -- Albert Einstein
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find
out how far one can go." -- T. S. Eliot

HOW TO MAKE A CREATIVE PRACTICE A HABIT

Habits often have a bad reputation...but some habits can be helpful and healthy. Stop and think about your talents for a moment. What are you not doing that would help you enjoy your talents more, get more done or be more effective? It might be a practice that worked well for you in the past but that you stopped doing for some reason...or it could be a new activity that you'd like to try. It's possible to turn helpful or healthy practices into new habits. Here's a step by step guide:

1. Identify a practice that you'd like to become an automatic part of your life.
Perhaps you want to spend regular time honing your craft. Maybe you want to complete a particular amount of creative work each week. Or meditate regularly. What practices would you like to turn into habits? Select one of these habits as your target habit. (It's helpful to focus on one at a time).
2. Be specific and concrete.
Instead of saying 'write more', identify exactly how much you want to write. "I want to write at least five pages a day, at least five days a week, every week." OR "I want to spend at least an hour a day writing, at least four days a week, every week." The more specific the practice, the likelier it will become a habit.
3. Ask yourself: why?
Identify the benefits of starting this habit. (For example, if I practice my sousaphone at least an hour a day, I'll become a better musician; I'll increase my repertoire; I'll do better in auditions; I'll feel so much better). Write down as many reasons as possible to start your new habits and practices and keep them handy. Review your list at least daily.
4. Whittle your intended habit into reasonable, doable baby steps.
If your target habit is to compose a new song every day, for example, then you might begin the process by committing to write a song a week (assuming that sounds realistic for you). After that becomes second nature, aim for two songs a week. When, eventually, that practice seems like old hat, go for three a week...until eventually you are writing a song every day.
5. Start small.
Your beginning practice should be so easy it's laughable. Guarantee your success. Returning to the last example, if writing a song a week is easy as pie, that's a great place to start. If, however, the notion of writing a song a week puts you in a sweat, then choose something smaller and easier. Aim for a viable chorus or verse instead. Still shaking? Aim for a musical idea or a cool phrase that might become a lyric someday.
Rest assured, wherever you start is fine. AVOID JUDGING yourself or being too hard on yourself. Pick a practice that's really, truly easy.
For example, let's say your target habit is to paint for at least an hour a day. You might start with the practice of painting for at least five minutes a day, at least four days a week. "Five minutes? I can't get anything done in five minutes," you are apt to wail. Yes you can. You can gesso a canvas. You can sketch out a figure. You can apply paint.
"But five minutes a day isn't going to accomplish anything!" You'd be surprised what you can get done in five focused, undistracted minutes, dedicated to a specific task.
The truth is, if you aim for minutes, you may well do more. What matters is that you do AT LEAST five minutes, at least four times a week.
Let me repeat that: The important thing here is to ESTABLISH THE HABIT. The amount of time doesn't matter. What you're actually doing doesn't matter. What you get done doesn't matter. As long as you are taking steps towards your intended target habit, you are on track. That's why it's helpful to start with easy practices. The easier the initial practice, the more likely you'll cultivate the new habit you desire.
6. Set yourself up for success.
Start your new, easy practice when you're really ready. Put in place the support or resources you need -- be it information, a teacher/mentor/coach or a trusted "progress buddy" (like a diet buddy to keep you on track).
If you're the kind of person that needs to make a public commitment to get yourself to do something, then email your friends and tell them your intentions. Ask them to hold you accountable to your new practice. In contrast, if you suspect your 'friends' might be jealous or competitive or might unknowingly undermine your efforts, then it doesn't serve you to tell them what you're up to.
7. Monitor your progress.
Every day, make note of what you did, related to your target habit.
8. Remind yourself why you're doing this.
Until your target habit becomes like breathing for you, make it a daily practice to review your 'benefits' list (from step 3). This only takes a few seconds and can really help.
9. Praise yourself.
This is non-negotiable. It'll feel pretty darned good to do what you set out to do...yet it's important to acknowledge you successes in some tangible way. Give yourself bonus points for every day that you carry out your intended new practice. You can mark 'X's on a calendar. You can give yourself gold stars. You can email your creativity buddy at the end of the week to say 'I did it!'
10. Be kind and gentle with yourself.
If you happen to not do what you intend, avoid beating yourself up. Simply record what did (or didn't) happen. I'm human and therefore fallible. It's no big deal. Let's move on. Tomorrow is another day. Look at the bigger picture: okay, I missed yesterday, but I did my new practice eight times in the past two weeks. That's eight days I did great. Overall, I can see I'm establishing this new target habit -- I'm making this practice an automatic part of my life, most days.
11. If you find yourself consistently missing your intentions, then it's time to dig deeper.
What's going on? Do you really want to establish this new target habit? If no, then review your list of habits from step #1, pick a habit you DO want to establish and start over with that. If yes, then perhaps you're trying to do too much too fast. Try breaking your daily/weekly practices into smaller, easier increments. Or are you trying to start too many new habits at once? If so, pick one to focus on and leave the other target habits for now.
12. When you find yourself meeting your initial baby step practices regularly and consistently, up the ante a bit.
Aim to do a little bit more. Repeat the process (steps 6 - 11) as you gradually work up to performing your target habit regularly and consistently. Build momentum, slowly but surely.
13. Be patient.
Slow and steady progress is better than short-term maniacal enthusiasm followed by sudden burnout or abandonment of your intentions. Avoid thinking about what's to come -- just focus on what you need to do today. Depending on what it is you're trying to do, it can take 21 -- 30 days -- or more -- to establish a new habit.
14. When you've successfully established your new habit, be sure to reward yourself for that milestone.
Give yourself a healthy, happy treat -- you deserve it.
After your first target habit is well established and ingrained, you can return to your list of habits from step #1, select a new habit and go through the process again. You'll find that each time you go through the process, you'll get faster and faster at establishing your new target habits.

SELLING TO TODAY'S CUSTOMERS

What is selling? In its simplest terms, selling is the process of helping a person to conclude that your product or service is of greater value to him than the price you are asking for.

How Markets Work
Our market society is based on the principles of freedom and mutual benefit. Each party to a transaction only enters into it when he feels that he will be better off as a result of the transaction than he would be without it.
The Three Options
In a free market, the customer always has three options with any purchase decision. First, the customer can buy your product or service. Second, the customer can buy the product or service from someone else. Third, the customer can decide to buy nothing at all.
Convincing the Customer
For the customer to buy your particular product or service, he or she must be convinced that it is not only the best choice available but he must also be persuaded that there is no better way for him to spend the equivalent amount of money. Your job as a salesperson is to convince the customer that all these conditions exist and then to elicit a commitment from him to take action on your offer.
Customize Your Sales Presentation
The field of professional selling has changed dramatically since World War II. In a way, selling methodologies are merely responses to customer requirements. At one time, customers were relatively unsophisticated and poorly informed about their choices. Salespeople catered to this customer with carefully planned and memorized sales presentations, loads of enthusiasm and a bag full of techniques designed to crush resistance and get the order at virtually any cost.
Treat Them With Respect
But the customer of the 1950s has matured into the customer of the 21st century. Customers are now more intelligent and knowledgeable than ever before. They are experienced buyers and they have interacted with hundreds of salespeople. They are extremely sophisticated and aware of the incredible variety of products and services that are available to them, as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses of those products. Many of them are smarter and better educated than most salespeople and they are far more careful about making a buying decision of any kind.
The Need For Speed
In addition, they are overwhelmed with work and under-supplied with time. Because of the rapidly increasing pace of change, down-sizing, restructuring and the competitive pressures surrounding them, customers today are harried and hassled. They are swamped with responsibilities, impatient, suspicious, critical, demanding, and spoiled. To sell to today's customer requires a higher caliber of sales professional than has ever before been required. And it is only going to become tougher and more complicated in the months and years ahead.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, think continually about how you can convince your customer that your product or service is the very best available. Why does he buy, or refuse to buy?
Second, upgrade your knowledge and skills every day so you can sell more effectively. Remember, your customers only get better when you get better.

What Recession?

Everyone knows we are in a serious recession. Every day the
news is filled with stories of unemployment, skittish
consumers, foreclosures, poor business conditions and fears
of a "double dip." Businesses, large and small, are
suffering. Everyone knows this and it's become a mantra of
our times.
Except for those who know better. In the midst of all the
bad news, some businesses are expanding. Some are growing,
adding new customers, finding solutions and getting rich.
How do they do it? They have found a way to add unexpected
value, make larger contributions, solve problems and make
life better for their customers. So should you!
Some have reduced prices, added features or benefits. Others
have created new divisions or products and are penetrating
markets they might never have considered before the "hard
times" forced them to be creative and think in new ways.
Human nature has not changed. Everyone still loves a
bargain. People still want solutions, benefits and great
customer service. Yes, in many cases margins are down and
making the sale has become harder. Yes, the old exuberance
is gone and now you must earn business in more thoughtful
ways. But that does not change the fundamental equation:
People want stuff!
To profit in these "hard" times the old principles still
apply. Find a need and fill it. Provide value. Go the extra
mile. Listen to your customers and pay attention! Hear what
they need and want. Work with them to find effective,
efficient solutions and they will still beat a path to your
door. It's easy to make money when times are good, but the
really great fortunes are made when times are hard. The
businesses who are willing and ready to partner with their
customers actually take advantage of hard times to forge
bonds of loyalty that endure.

Quotes of the Week
Follow your bliss." -- Joseph Campbell
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is
limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein
"Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no
courage without fear." -- P. Hayes
"The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be one's
own self." -- Montaigne