EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP IN TOUGH AND CHALLENGING TIMES

Every human organization goes through tough and challenging times, because, well, we're human! We need to expect that tough times will come, but know that by exhibiting Extraordinary Leadership during those times, the group can come out of them stronger than ever! Here are some thoughts for you to consider on being an Extraordinary Leader during tough and challenging times, whether you lead a business, a city, a non-profit organization, a church or a family.How to Exhibit Extraordinary Leadership in Tough and Challenging Times
1. Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture. When things get tough, everybody's temptation is to become acutely focused on the problem. The Extraordinary Leader, however, will keep his or her eye on the big picture. This doesn't mean that we don't address the problem. In fact, we have to address the problem. But what separates a leader from a follower is that the leader doesn't get caught up in the problem. The leader sees the big picture and keeps moving toward the vision. The further they take their followers toward the vision, the further away from the problem they get.
2. Don't Get Caught in the War or the Friendly Fire. When it gets tough even the most loyal team members can be tempted to start shooting and, unfortunately, they sometimes shoot each other! Rather than focusing on the enemy on the outside, they begin to question each other and find many faults with one another that they normally would not have seen. The Extraordinary Leader is the one who can keep from being drug into the fray. They keep their eye on the big picture and act rationally and objectively. They understand that people are heated and are saying things they don't really mean. The people are firing because they are angry or scared. The Extraordinary Leader understands this and rises above it. This way, they take fewer arrows and they set the example for their followers.
3. Be First to Sacrifice. When it gets tough, like when there has to be cuts in salaries etc, the leader should do just that - lead. They need to not only be the one who is rewarded the greatest when all is well, but they need to be the first to sacrifice. The Extraordinary leader says, "I know many of you are concerned with the salary cuts. I am too. In the long run we will be healthy again but for the mean time, this is necessary. Understanding this, I want you to know that I am taking a 20% pay reduction myself. I want you to know that we are in this together." The Extraordinary Leader is the first to sacrifice and will be rewarded with the loyalty of his or her followers.
4. Remain Calm. Panic is one of the basest of human emotions and no one is immune to it. The Extraordinary Leader, however, takes time out regularly to think the issues through so they can remain calm. They remind themselves that all is not lost and there will be another day. They remind themselves that being calm will enable them to make the best decisions - for themselves and for their followers. Panic only leads to disaster, while calm leads to victory.
5. Motivate. In tough and challenging times, people are naturally down. They tend to be pessimistic. They can't see how it is all going to work out. Thus, they have a hard time getting going. The Extraordinary Leader knows this and will focus in on being the optimistic motivator. He or she will come to the office knowing that for the time being, the mood of the group will be carried and buoyed by them and their attitude. Above all else, they seek to show how the end result will be good - and with this they motivate their followers to continue on, braving the current storms, and on to their shared destiny.
6. Create Small Wins. One of the ways to motivate is to create small wins. The Extraordinary Leader knows that in tough times his or her people think that all is lost. They wonder if they can win. So the Extraordinary Leader creates opportunities for the team to win, even if they are small. They set smaller, more achievable goals and remind and reward the team members when they hit those goals. With each small win, the leader is building the esteem and attitude of his followers, digging them out of their self-created hole of fear.
7. Keep a Sense of Humor. Look, hardly anything in life can't be laughed at. The Extraordinary Leader knows that even if the whole company goes down the drain, we still go home to our families and live a life of love with them. The Extraordinary Leader keeps perspective and knows that we humans act irrationally when we get scared and fail, and sometimes that is humorous. Don't ever laugh at someone's expense in this situation, because that will be perceived at cold and heartless, regardless of what you meant by it, but do keep the ability to laugh at yourself and the situations that present themselves. By doing this you will keep yourself and your team in an attitude that will eventually beat the tough times.

RESULTS: DO YOU WORRY!

Have you ever watched people bowl? Many of them go through a little ritual before they actually get to the point of hurling their bowling ball in the direction of the pins. They carefully lace up their bowling shoes, and then the hunt for the perfect bowling ball begins. They may put on a bowling glove as well as an elbow brace. As they step to the line they glare at the bowling pins and get into their approach posture. Then they step forward and release the bowling ball down the alley. That's when it gets interesting. As the ball rolls toward the pins the bowler starts deploying facial expressions, body language, and hand signals to "guide" the ball into the best impact point on the pins. As they see the ball drifting into a less-than-perfect point of impact they begin to give voice commands to the ball to correct its course. Of course, once the ball is released it is on the way, and there is nothing the bowler can do to change what is going to happen. The bowler could just as easily release the ball, turn around, and not even look at the impact of ball and pins. The results would be the same.

The bowling illustration demonstrates the futility of "worrying" about results. When you have set your goals properly and planned the action you need to take, it's a waste of time, energy, and emotion to worry about the results of what you have set in motion. When you execute an action step, it is like releasing a bowling ball. The results ball is rolling, and there is little you can do to change the point of impact. Worrying about where the ball will impact the target won't improve or change what happens. The results will be the fruit of how well you prepared and planned and executed the action.

Worrying Makes Problems Worse
Worrying about the results will not change them. I certainly recognize that a certain amount of worry is just part of being human. People have concerns about many things. There are legitimate concerns about money and financial security. There are legitimate concerns about health issues, and there are concerns about our personal and professional relationships. People want all of these things to go well in their lives, and a certain amount of worry and concern is normal. But there is another kind of worry that is not only dangerous to your health; it is dangerous to your success. The kind of worry I'm talking about is "imagined worry." Imagined worry is when you spend a lot of time thinking about the future and what might happen in your life that could be terrible. My late friend Mary Crowley said, "Worry is a misuse of the imagination," and she hit the nail on the head with that remark.

Now you might be wondering why I'm so concerned about worrying and what it has to do with success and expecting to win, so I'll tell you. Worry is the most significant factor that relates to the root of negative thinking. As a matter of fact, worry just might be the engine that starts negative thinking, and if you are involved in negative thinking, you will not expect to win. If you spend an excessive amount of time imagining all the bad things that can happen in your life, you will become a person who is problem-conscious, not solution-conscious. There is perhaps no greater example of how this can be so dangerous than when it involves worrying about health issues. I have known many people who receive bad medical reports, and when they hear the news, they begin to worry so much about it that their life may as well have ended at that moment. Yes, they can have bad days, but they can choose to focus on the good days and what they can still do. They can live in the moment and know full well that tomorrow will be what it is and they can deal with it when it arrives, not before.

Stop Worrying...Start Expecting
Worry is the result of thinking and imagining what might happen in the future. I want to stress the word "imagine." The only reality people have is what is going on in their lives today. It is in the events of the day that life transpires, and anything based on tomorrow is pure speculation. I've learned that if you have planned and prepared, you can have reasonable expectations about the future. If you take care of your health through a good diet coupled with exercise, you can reasonably expect good health in the future. If you save and invest your financial resources, you can reasonably expect to have financial security in the future. If you live by principles of love and service to others, you can reasonably expect to have good personal relationships in the future. Good action today will produce good living tomorrow. Reasonably good expectations for tomorrow are based on positive thinking and prudent action today. Try this: instead of imagining all the bad things that might happen to you in the future based on your fear, start imagining things working out. There's a song titled, "What If It All Goes Right?" by Melissa Lawson. The second line of the chorus is, "What if it all works out, what if the stars all line up..." You have to develop a what if it does go right and work out expectancy if you want to be the winner you were born to be.

I Don't Worry
Worrying is something I quit doing many years ago, and today I can honestly tell you that I don't worry about anything--period! In fact, when the terrorist attack happened on 9/11 and I had to find a way to travel back home, I did not worry about the possibility of another attack. I believe if it is not my time, there's not a terrorist on the earth who can change the will of God about what my lifespan should be. I never worry because I know who I am and I know Whose I am. I know that the principles I live by are true and correct. I also know that I always try to do the right thing, and when you do the right things in life, you don't have to worry about results. As a matter of fact, if I've done the right thing every day I'm not even responsible for results. I just get the benefit of what I do, and the benefits are usually better than I could have hoped for.

Finally, remember that if you have planned and prepared yourself to win, there is no need to worry about the results. Like the bowler who has released the ball down the alley, you must learn there is nothing your worrying can do to change anything. If you have planned well and set good goals, you can have confidence that you know where you want and need to go. If you have done what you need to do to prepare yourself to win, you do not have to worry. You will have no justification to worry about failure. You can expect to win!       

LEADERS LEAD!

One of the most over-looked traits of a business leader is
that they…lead.
As I work with business owners and managers, one of the key
things I observe is the need for the leader to stay ahead of
the pack. There are a million things to do as the boss. It
is easy to get bogged down in day-to-day operations and
forget to learn, to plan, and to maintain a vision for the
business. And yet your employees, your customers and the
future of your business depend on your ability to set the
standards and lead the way.
Bill Gates takes time off every three months, for thinking.
I understand he maintains a retreat on Hood Canal and often
goes there alone to review and renew. Apparently, the
practice has worked well for him.
Benjamin Franklin treasured the time on his trips across the
Atlantic because they gave him perspective. C.S. Lewis often
took walks of up to 20 miles, in order to have time to
think. Hundreds of successful business leaders have reported
that their most productive time is the hour they spend
planning.
When I coach business leaders, I encourage them to divide
their planning and visioning time into two components:
Business Design and Personal Growth. Both are essential.
Plan the future of your business. Design the growth you want
to see. Choose the course and develop a strategy for the
future. And then, be sure your personal development program
equips you to be the leader your company will need in the
future.
The most important single contribution you make to your
business is leadership! Know where you’re going! Your staff
and your customers depend on you to lead the way. Do not get
so bogged down in working that you forget your most
important job.

7 STRATEGIES TO HELP YOUR COPE WHEN YOU OVERWORK.

Are you screaming unmentionables in your head all day long? Do you feel like the character in the movie, Network, bellowing out the window for all the world to hear, "I'm mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore?" Do you fantasize about walking away from your job when you are within spitting distance of a pension? Do you find yourself working around the clock, home later, up earlier, with never enough time and emails stacked up like cord wood. Do you think if one more person asks you for one more thing your head might actually spin off your neck? You can barely take a full breath as you catch that plane, perfect that pitch and handle all three meetings scheduled at the exact same time.

The demands to today are far and beyond what they have been before. People are working harder and faster and still it is not enough. So many are at a breaking point, they want to walk away from their jobs, their caretaking responsibilities and their unceasing demands that are no longer chronic but are acute. Day-in and day-out, everything has morphed into an emergency. There is the perpetual dance of the fire drill. Today's standard appears to be that everything is urgent; it must be done now, period.

What's an overburdened, overworked person to do?

1. Stop.
It feels very counter intuitive, but stop; really, stop right now. Take a mental health day ASAP and do no work. Walk away from your computer, Blackberry and I-pad. Put your smart phone in a time-out corner. Do absolutely nothing that resembles catch-up. You have spent nights and weekends playing catch-up and where has it gotten you? More and more work, right? Clearly, this methodology is not working for you.

2. Do something different.
Change the game; change your brain. Pull weeds, plant flowers, go to a movie, sink into a novel, take a sky diving lesson, cook up something gourmet or take a well-deserved nap.

Research has proven that we are far more efficient, effective and creative if we change up our routines and stop working non-stop. In other words, days off pursuing your personal life will garner gains in your professional life. This is a win-win. How can you continue to say no?

3. Work smart.
Those folks who work on optimal performance models, tells us that we should work in 90-120 minute chunks and then get up and do something different for 15 minutes. Why not test out this proven theory? Consider reconfiguring your day and telling the powers-that-be that you are following a peak performance template. Hey, you might start a trend.

4. Make the care and tending of your profound exhaustion a personal priority.
You are not really effective if you are dragging your over-taxed, droopy, fried-brain self through countless meetings, calls and tasks. Good self-care rewards you with resilience and happiness.

A wise mom once said that 90 per cent of her family's problems could be handled with a good meal and a good night's sleep. Mom had an excellent point. A good meal and a good night's sleep can't undo countless days and nights of overwork, but they can help you to refind your feet and feel a bit more balanced as you take on the next day. It's a baby step towards course correcting the frenetic nature of your life.

And think about this: the latest research out of Harvard indicates that skimping on sleep is linked to faster aging of the brain.

5. Move.
All that thinking, strategizing, analyzing, worrying, debating and the like has left you head-heavy. Your body, more than likely, has been relegated to second-class citizen status. Shake up your energy; stretch your spinal column and allow more of the good energy, what the Chinese call the chi, to flow through you. You will find yourself more energized. And some of the screaming meemies may have found an outlet as well.

6. Create some boundaries.
I'm not suggesting that you turn into a slacker, but it's time to learn that time-honored and very difficult, head-shaking response, "No." For such a small word, it packs a huge wallop. Where can you draw a line that will protect you? There is no right or wrong here, but discern what is right for you and how you can best honor yourself so that you feel emotionally and physically sane and centered.

Will you take your vacation and not work through it? Would you consider leaving work at a reasonable hour and not working at your desk at home until the wee hours? Will you cease putting everyone's needs (and, hence, your expenditures of energy and time) ahead of your own priorities? Will you close your door, unplug the phone and turn off your computer? Will you say "Yes" to yourself.

7. Remember the bigger picture.
There is life beyond your desk. Really, it's true. There is much beyond you -- great activity, life, possibilities and options. There is much to quicken the heart, feed the soul and expand your creative portals. The world does not end when you walk away from your busyness. Consider a walk out the wild side and see what adventure might be calling your name.

And keep breathing. You have the power to create anew.

GET CUSTOMERS TO SELL FOR YOU

Did you know that 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising?
Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from. What does this mean for you?
It means that the only way that you can be among the top ten percent of salespeople in your industry is by having your existing customers selling for you on every occasion. Because of the importance of mega-credibility in selling, your customers must be happy to open doors to new customers for you wherever they go.

Never Prospect Again

All top salespeople eventually reach the point where they seldom have to prospect because their customers do much of their selling for them. When you live your life consistent with your personal and business mission statements, both fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, your sales career will soar, as will your sales results and your earnings.

Be Clear About Who You Are

One important point with regard to vision, values and mission statements: be gentle with yourself. It has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today. If you are like everyone else, you are not perfect. You have lots of room to grow and improve. There are many changes that you can make in your character and personality in the course of becoming the excellent human being that you aspire to. But change in your personality will not come easily, and it won't come overnight. You must be patient.

Persist Until Your Succeed

The reason that people grow and become better and better over the course of time, is because they persist gently in the direction of their goals and dreams. They don't expect overnight transformations. When they don't see results immediately, they don't get discouraged. They just keep on keeping on. And you must do the same.

Put Your Ideas Into Action

Once you have a clear idea of the person you want to be and the kind of life and career you want to create, just take the first step. Read your mission statements every day as you go about your activities, think of the different ways that you could practice the virtues and qualities that you are in the process of incorporating into your own personality.
Remember, it is only your actions with regard to other people that really demonstrate the kind of person you have become. And if you persist long enough, you will eventually shape yourself into the exact person that you have imagined.

Action Exercises

First, treat every customer as if he is going to be a great source of word-of-mouth advertising for you. Remember that every person knows about 300 other people.

Second, resolve to become better and better in your dealings with others but be gentle with yourself. Behave every day in every way the best you can be and you will be sure to get results.

YOUR 6-MONTH CHECK-UP

June marks the half-way point of the year, and we are half-
way through June. Are you half-way to your goals? Have you
earned half of your annual budget? Have you achieved the
first half of your personal goals? Have you checked?
One of the most important things any business leader can do
is track the key "measurables" of your business and chart
them against both a calendar and your pre-determined
objectives. In every business there are a handful of key
items that can tell you, at a glance, how you're doing.
For salespeople, those numbers are often the number of calls
made, the number of proposals submitted, and of course, the
number and dollar volume of orders received.
In other businesses, the measurables might be employee hours
worked, or inventory volume. For Psychologists, two key
numbers are client sessions per week, and the average time a
client remains in treatment. When I was doing therapy, those
two numbers allowed me to predict the clinic's annual
revenue and my personal income with remarkable accuracy.
What are your key numbers? As we approach the half-way mark,
now is the time to take a long hard look at them. I'm a fan
of graphs and charts. Put those numbers on a wall chart or
plot them on a large calendar. Compare them to last year's
numbers, and to your annual budget. Compare them to your
goals, and see how you are actually doing.
If you are ahead of schedule, fantastic! If you are on
schedule, congratulations! And, if you find the numbers
tell a sad or unfortunate tale, take action.

ACHIEVE ANY GOAL (An excerpt by Brian Tracy)

It's Not Where You Start—It's How You Finish When I was eighteen, I left high school without graduating. My first job was as a dishwasher in the back of a small hotel. From there, I moved on to washing cars and then washing floors with a janitorial service. For the next few years, I drifted and worked at various laboring jobs, earning my living by the sweat of my brow. I worked in sawmills and factories. I worked on farms and ranches. I worked in the tall timber with a chain saw and dug wells when the logging season ended. I worked as a construction laborer on tall buildings and as a seaman on a Norwegian freighter in the North Atlantic. Often I slept in my car or in cheap rooming houses. When I was twenty-three, I worked as an itinerant farm laborer during the harvest, sleeping on the hay in the farmer's barn and eating with the farmer's family. I was uneducated and unskilled, and at the end of the harvest, I was unemployed once more. When I could no longer find a laboring job, I got a job in straight commission sales, cold-calling office-to-office and door-to-door. I would often work all day long to make a single sale so that I could pay for my rooming house and have a place to sleep that night. This was not a great start at life. The Day My Life Changed Then one day, I took out a piece of paper and wrote down an outrageous goal for myself. It was to earn $1,000 per month in door-to-door and office-to-office selling. I folded up the piece of paper, put it away, and never found it again. But thirty days later, my entire life had changed. During that time, I discovered a technique for closing sales that tripled my income from the very first day. Meanwhile, the owner of my company sold out to an entrepreneur who had just moved into town. Exactly thirty days after I had written down my goal, the new owner took me aside and offered me $1,000 per month to head up the sales force and teach the other salespeople what I was doing that enabled me to sell so much more than anyone else. I accepted his offer, and from that day forward, my life was never the same. Within eighteen months, I had moved from that job to another and then to another. I went from personal selling to becoming a sales manager with people selling for me. In a new business, I recruited and built a ninety-five-person sales force. I went literally from worrying about my next meal to walking around with a pocket full of $20 bills. I began teaching my salespeople how to write out their goals and how to sell more effectively. In almost no time at all, they increased their incomes as much as tenfold. Today, many of them are millionaires and multimillionaires. Life Goes Up and Down I have to admit that since those days in my mid-twenties, my life has not been a smooth series of upward steps. It has included many ups and downs, marked by occasional successes and temporary failures. I have traveled, lived, and worked in more than ninety countries, learning French, German, and Spanish along the way and working in twenty-two different fields. As the result of inexperience and sometimes sheer stupidity, I have spent or lost everything I made and had to start over again—several times. Whenever this happened, I would begin by sitting down with a piece of paper and laying out a new set of goals for myself. After several years of hit-and-miss goal setting and goal achieving, I finally decided to collect everything I had learned into a single system. By assembling these ideas and strategies in one place, I developed a goal-setting methodology and process, with a beginning, middle, and end, and began to follow it every day. Within one year, my life had changed once more. In January of that year, I was living in a rented apartment with rented furniture. I was $35,000 in debt and driving a used car that wasn't paid for. By December, I was living in my own $100,000 condominium. I owned a new Mercedes, had paid off all my debts, and had $50,000 in the bank. Then I really got serious about success. I realized that goal setting was incredibly powerful. I invested hundreds and then thousands of hours reading and researching goal setting and goal achieving, synthesizing the best ideas I could find into a complete process that worked with incredible effectiveness. Anyone Can Do It Some years later, I began audiotaping and videotaping my workshops and seminars so that others could use them. We have now trained hundreds of thousands of people in these principles, in multiple languages, all over the world. What I found was that these ideas work everywhere, for everyone, in virtually every country, no matter what your education, experience, or background may be when you begin. Best of all, these ideas have made it possible for me and many thousands of others to take complete control over our lives. The regular and systematic practice of goal setting has taken us from poverty to prosperity, from frustration to fulfillment, from underachievement to success and satisfaction. This system will do the same for you.

IS YOUR BUSINESS SUCCEEDING?

As I work with professionals and business owners, I see far
too many of them working hard to earn a living, but utterly
failing to build an effective business.
Too many of them work hard all day and struggle with
marketing and maintenance and production until they are
exhausted at night. Or, worse, they don't have enough work
or customers to keep them busy, so they fret and worry, but
again, they aren't building an effective BUSINESS, so day
after day, nothing changes.
The goal of any business is to serve customers and the goal
of an effective business is to do it in a way that makes a
profit and makes sense for the owner, the employees, and the
investors. In the end, a business has to make sense--as well
as "dollars and cents!"
Is your business "working" for you, or are you struggling?
Do you have the customers you need, not just "enough"
customers, but the right customers so your business really
"works" for everyone involved?
Do you have a plan (a blueprint, with details and dates) for
growing the business? Do you have an exit strategy for when
you want to retire or are ready to move on? Do you make time
(no one "has" time) to plan and design the future? Are your
plans being implemented on a regular basis?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then make
changes! Adjust your schedule, get training, hire an
assistant, or get a coach! As Michael Gerber says in his
wonderful book, "The E-Myth," you want to work on your
business, not just in or for your business. Design and build
an effective, efficient (and profitable!) business that
works FOR you!

THE RICHNESS OF YOUR LIFE

Your life can be as RICH as you want
it to be, whenever you decide to "make it so."
There is no need to wait! The RICHNESS of your life is not
dependent on cash, or assets, or anything else. You don't
have to have money or own a business or get a raise, or move
to a new city. The richness of your life is strictly up to
you and depends on only a few simple, daily disciplines.
Here are a few suggestions:
1. The Daily Discipline of having FUN! Every day, hug
someone you love, play, dance, take a nap or go for a run.
Do something you love and do it every day. Of course, you'll
want to schedule work and errands, but be sure that first of
all, you schedule time to actually LIVE your life out loud.
Have lottsa fun!
2. The Daily Discipline of Planning. John Lennon said that
"life is what happens while you are making other plans."
Every day, just before bed or first thing in the morning,
choose your priorities. Review your goals and values, and
plan your activities accordingly. Of course, you'll want to
include the daily tasks of life, but make sure your VALUES
show up as well!
3. The Daily Discipline of Learning. Our world is changing
and those who do not learn, are destined to fall behind.
Every day, read for 30 to 60 minutes. Every day listen to
audio programs in your car or while you exercise. Watch
educational TV programs. Attend concerts, classes and
workshops. If you aren't learning something new, you are
falling behind.
4. The Daily Discipline of Thinking. Henry Thoreau wrote
that he went to the woods to "live deliberately," and that's
a GOOD thing! These past two weeks, I've had the chance to
choose my activities each day and to spend part of each day
just "sitting." I sit for ideas and inspiration. I sit to
watch a sunrise. I sit to absorb the gifts life gives
freely. Take time each day to envision your goals, to affirm
your values and set your direction.
5. The Daily Discipline of Work. In the end, results
matter. Doing work that makes a difference, work that
produces results and makes life better is one of life's
great blessings. It's a chance to partner with God to make
the world a better place for ourselves and others. Never
fritter away your life on empty effort or trivial chores,
but do all the real Work you can!
Personally, I believe the time we spend on these Daily
Disciplines is not "subtracted" from our total, but is
actually "added" to our lives--it adds to the quality, the
richness and quite possibly, the length of our lives.
Take time to have Fun, to Plan, to Learn, to Think and to
Work every day. Do not spend your life being busy about
trivial things! Hopefully, we have many years ahead of us,
but we know that life is short and it ends too soon. Should
your time arrive unexpectedly, be sure your loved ones know
that you LIVED every day of your life!

THE TIME FOR TRANSFORMATION

For many people, summer is the time to relax, get away, and
generally take it easy. I think of the old song that
celebrates the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer."
These are all wonderful connections to summer. Everyone
loves the warmth of summer, but it also makes me think about
when and how (or if!) we schedule time for personal growth.
We know that achievement and success are not related to
intelligence or education. We know achievement is not tied
to income or to age--you are never too young or too old to
achieve excellence. So what makes the difference for highly
successful people?
I believe there are several key strategies that high
achievers have in common, and one of them is a commitment to
personal development. They simply refuse to "settle."
Mediocrity is not an option for them and they constantly
look for opportunities to learn and grow.
Highly effective people put themselves in situations that
test their abilities and give them new tools. They volunteer
for assignments that stretch their skills and teach them new
things. They hang out with experts, and they ask questions.
Highly effective people don't settle for situations that
allow them to grow; they eagerly seek out situations that
require them to grow!
Human beings have always wanted to go further, do more, and
achieve. We have explored the oceans, the skies, and space
itself. We have looked at the smallest cells and the largest
galaxies. This is part of our heritage, part of what makes
us fully human.
And so it is shocking that the average American reads less
than one book per year, and many never read another serious
book after they leave school. It is amazing how few people
attend seminars unless they are required for Continuing
Education credit. I once heard Anthony Robbins say that
fewer than 10% of Americans ever buy an audio program, and
of those who do buy, most never listen to the full set!
I find that astonishing!
One of the easiest, most convenient and most powerful
"secrets" of high achievers is that they work on personal
development. Whether you focus on your work skills, your
parenting skills, investment skills, your health or fitness,
keep growing! For all of our society's fascination with sex
and youth and romance, most of us never even read a book on
intimacy, and think of the potential THAT might hold!
This summer, commit to a program of personal growth. Buy or
borrow three books on a topic you want to study. Get some
recordings that will make you better at your job, or make
you a better spouse, or a happier, healthier person. Then,
READ the books and LISTEN to the audios! Attend a Conference
or schedule a personal retreat. Make this your summer of
self-development. By September, be better than you are right
now! I guarantee, your life will never be the same!
Just one warning – once you get the bug, personal
development can be habit-forming and unstoppable, and
wouldn't THAT be a fine state of affairs?

7 EASY SELF-IMPROVEMENT TIPS

If you're like me you're probably always in search of the most effective techniques for personal development.

There are many fantastic ways to gain momentum - things that you can do along with any specific techniques that you have chosen to aid your own inner healing and personal growth.

After spending over a decade studying and actively taking part in personal development, I've come across a few fundamentals that we all ought to implement into our lives; and thought I'd share 7 easy self-improvement tips to help you on your journey to achieve greater success in life.
1. Positive Expectations
People who achieve great things in life, are generally no more intelligent or capable than anyone else, although they do one thing different which many people have trouble doing.

Most of us continue dreading the worst; successful individuals expect to win - even before they've figured out how to pull it off! Go about your day feeling as if everything is finally 'clicking into place,' and shrug off the rest - as they say, the rest is just a matter of perseverance.

By having positive expectations, after some time, you'll experience wonderful things in your life in ever increasing amounts because what you put out you get back!
2. Writing Goals and Plans of Actions
It is an absolute MUST if you ever hope to accomplish anything, to get into the habit of writing down clear and specific goals. This is because writing down your goals clarifies them and begins constructing powerful images deep within the subconscious mind, which manifest over time.

Once you have your priority goals highlighted, and even placed along a proper time-line, work on your plans of action for achieving those goals, as this will gives you tremendous purpose and passion.

Also it will provide a solid framework from which specific actions can be derived that can be taken each day towards the realization of your long-term goals.
3. Feeling and Affirming Gratitude
Gratitude has the power to change your life in ways unimaginable to you unless of course you are already a long time practitioner of gratefulness.

It will shift your whole perspective of life for the better and literally change your inner dialogue, self expression, confidence and of course the decisions and actions you take.

For best results, write one positive affirmation centered around the foundation of Gratitude, for each key area of your life such as health, relationships, finances, and so on and make a commitment to affirming them out aloud at least once a day, and allow yourself to feel truly grateful for your life.
4. Daily Journaling
One of the greatest tips you'll find is keeping a journal.
Not only is it a great way to get anything off your chest it also helps to clarify your thoughts and you'll begin to develop a keen sense of self-awareness. Try not to dwell on the negative though, get it all out and then focus on the positive.

The best way to do this is, each night before bed write out a list of a few things that you feel you have done successfully. This might include something as small as taking the time to read to your children or as much of a milestone as finishing a triathlon!

The more you acknowledge your successes, the more you will establish an unwavering self-confidence.
5. Continue to Learn
The more you continue to learn and implement the principles of personal growth, the more effective they'll be in your own life. To help deepen your understanding of the principles you want to apply to your life, you may want to write each one out as if you were explaining it to others.

Also learning in general is awesome for your moral and at any age can add vigor to your step. To learn new things of interest will keep your mind sharp and again it will have a profound effect on your confidence levels as you get closer to becoming a master in each pursuit.
6. Contribution
Giving to others unconditionally is one of the greatest traits one can possess. It is a sure sign of strong character. If you give to others without caring if you receive anything in return, you have taken the first steps to engage the laws of abundance.

Of course, you should help out in any way you can but there is no need to be a martyr.
All I know is this, give regularly to your favorite charity and help others often and you'll watch your life improve beyond measure.
7. Meditation
Meditation is probably the most commonly overlooked of these 7 self improvement tips although it is also one of the most important.

Meditation has been considered the most effective means of reducing stress and clearing out your mind of negative thoughts which often lead to worry and anxiety - for approximately five thousand years although I can imagine it's really as old as human kind.

Daily meditation helps to slow your heart rate and makes your sleep more restful; it also enables your body to recover faster, it can even help to regulate your digestion among dozens of other health benefits.

The one thing that would make the other six of these 7 self improvement tips truly effective would be the daily practice of meditation.

BREAK AWAY FROM OLD IDEAS

Do you consider yourself to be highly creative? What about adaptive? Flexible?
Highly creative people tend to have fluid, flexible, adaptive minds. Here are 3 statements that creative people can make easily and which you learn by regular practice.

Admit It When You Are Wrong

The first is simply, "I was wrong." Many people are so concerned with being right that all their mental energy is consumed by stonewalling, bluffing, blaming and denying. If you're wrong, admit it and get on to the solution or the next step.

Face Up to Mistakes

Second, non-creative people think that it is a sign of weakness to say, "I made a mistake." On the contrary, it is actually a sign of mental maturity, personal strength and individual character. Remember, everybody makes mistakes every single day.

Be Flexible With New Information

The third statement that creative people use easily is, "I changed my mind." It is amazing how many uncomfortable situations people get into and stay in because they are unwilling or afraid to admit that they've changed their minds.

Be Willing to Cut Your Losses

If you get new information or if you find that you feel differently about a previous decision, accept that you have changed your mind and don't let anyone or anything back you into a corner. If a decision does not serve your best interests as you see them now, have the ego-strength and the courage to "cut your losses," to change your mind and then get on to better things.

Action Exercises

Here are 2 ways you can break out of narrow thinking patterns and become more creative.

First, be willing to admit that you are not perfect, you make mistakes, you are wrong on a regular basis. This is a mark of intelligence and courage.

Second, with new information, be willing to change your mind. Most of what you know about your business today will change completely in the coming years so be the first to recognize it.