BUILD ON THE BASICS

One of my mentors, Jim Rohn, used to say "There are no new
fundamentals!" He emphasized that "If you hear someone say
they've discovered a new 'secret' to success, you know
they're full of it." The rules of success and, the
principles for a great life have not changed.
We all love the phrase, "new and improved!" We like new
technology, new products, even new colors, shapes or
features that add novelty to our lives. I'm told that
advertisers have long known they can increase sales by
adding the single word, "New!" to a package, even if there
are no new features or benefits of any kind. Amazing!
When it comes to achieving success and living a great life,
I think it's important to avoid the temptation to look for
something "new and improved."
Now, please note, let's not be confused about some guru
claiming to have new principles or new insights, verses the
choice to use a new technique. If you find it helpful to
keep your to-do list on your phone rather than using paper
and pencil, go for it! If you prefer having your MasterMind
team meet on a conference call rather than at a local
restaurant, do so!
Around the margins, new technology or methods can be very
helpful. There's no reason to be stubborn or old-fashioned
about this.
But the principles have never changed.
Let me suggest a few that I consider to be the basics.
1.  Decide what you want more of and what you want less of.
Life's short and you probably cannot have everything that
attracts you. To make more money, you'll likely have to
work harder, smarter or do some things differently. If you
prefer more time off, more relaxation and vacation, that
will likely impact your earning potential. Be clear about
your choices in life. This is fundamental.
2.  Actions are more important than desires.
Visualizations, affirmations and written goals are powerful
tools. Use them! But in the end, only behavior counts.
Visualizing a trip to Tuscany is great. But saving for it,
scheduling vacation time, buying tickets and reading tour
books is even more important. Actions count! What we do
with our time and energy matters more than our intentions.
3.  There is no alternative to self-discipline. A to-do
list is a helpful reminder. Being accountable to other
people is powerful. Use these tools! But in the end, we
must run our own lives as we see fit. If you decide to get
up earlier or exercise more, you have to actually do it! No
alarm clock or accountability partner can "make" you do it.
Self-discipline has been defined as "doing the right thing,
in the right way, at the right time, whether or not anyone
else is watching." I like that!
4.  Winners are inner-directed and highly motivated. Living
and running your life on your own terms requires passion,
enthusiasm, energy and focus. There will always be nay-
sayers, doubters and distractions. That's life. A key
fundamental is to be so excited about your own life that no
temptation or "bright shiny object" can distract you from
your priorities. Be excited about your life! Be eager to
make progress, to learn and do things. Be single-minded
about the life you want.
5.  Be Selfish. I'm not talking about being mean or petty,
greedy or grasping. I'm talking about being self-aware,
self-directed, and self-confident. Know who you are, what
you want and where you're going in life. Be clear about
your values and priorities. Know what you will not (or no
longer) tolerate! Eliminate the chatter and trivialities
that are "not you" so you have more room for the things
that represent the one and only you.
These things are Fundamental. They are the basics of adult
life. You may have other principles to add to this list,
but knowing what you want in life, taking massive,
repeated, consistent action, and refusing to be distracted
are critical. Master these things and life becomes much
better, richer and more satisfying.

10 WAYS TO DE-STRESS THE BEGINNING OF NEW SCHOOL YEAR

School is all about getting knowledge, having fun with friends and being involved in lots of different interesting activities. Learning is a part of everyone`s life and it’s not always exciting but also exhausting, boring and stressful. When the summer holidays come to an end and a new school year begins, lots of children suffer from the coming duties and every morning wake ups. Here are 12 ways to de-stress the beginning of the new school year.

1. Be optimistic

An optimistic way of thinking always helps us even in the most difficult life situations and this one is no exception. Teach your children to be optimistic no matter what. Don`t let them think that school is the end of the world. Inspire them and always say that there`s nothing that can make them scared. Help them find strength to cope with stress by encouraging them and pointing out the bright side of life. This way, they`ll feel no stress for good.

2. Offer your help

If you see your child is out of sorts about the new school year, you may offer your help. Ask what difficulties they see and what they can`t do on their own. Then try to solve their problems together. Give the examples from your own experience and try to show them that everything is great and in fact there`s nothing to worry about. You can even tell them about your own current problems as it`ll show that their situation isn`t the worst one.

3. Laugh

Laughing is a great way to reduce stress of any kind. When we laugh, our muscles relax and the stress hormones leave the body. We start feeling better even though we often can`t figure out the reason of it. Laughter is the reason. Humor saves our nerves and helps us a lot in life thus if you want to make your child happier with a new-school-year, try to surround them with colorful toys and cheerful nick-nacks. They`ll just forget about stress when laughing a lot.

4. Our mood depends on food

The food we eat can either boost our mood or lower it. If you give your child sweets and sugary beverage, no wonder they can’t concentrate. All they do is throw a temper tantrum. Consider your child’s meal plan, and make sure you add enough fruit, vegetables, nuts, nut butter, and other healthy foods to their lunchbox. Healthy eating helps to banish stress and improve your child’s health.

5. Drink more water

Dehydration often causes fatigue and sadness. Children become dehydrated very quickly and easily. Remind your child to drink enough H20 during the day and give them a bottle filled with fruit or plain water. Stay away from soda, coffee, tea and any sugary drinks that lead to dehydration. A normal water rate of the body is the key to a better mood and memory as well.

6. Practice breathing techniques

You child can fix stress by deep breathing as well. When they feel stressed, they should find a quiet place and make six deep breaths a minute. Meanwhile they may say relaxation, peace and love in mind during this procedure. It slows a heart rate and lowers blood pressure. Practice breathing techniques together on a daily basis to cut stress out of your family for good.

7. Remember the holiday time

One of the best ways to de-stress the beginning of the new school year is to remember your fun summer season. I’m sure there are many things to talk about. Ask your child to recreate as many details as possible including people, scents, colors and tastes of that time and place. When we imagine something in details, our brain reacts as if we experience it right now. Therefore, a child may feel as great as it was that time.

8. Look at the bright side

Let your children look at the bright side of learning. Either way, school isn`t all about learning and doing dull tasks only. It also means having lots of fun with friends and gradually becoming an adult human. Tell them that the sooner they finish school, the faster they`ll have all the opportunities of a grown up life and stress is something all adults can cope with easily. Thus they should act as grown ups to become so. All children want to grow up most of all thus you can use this desire to help your own children to de-stress the beginning of a new school year.

9. Work out in the morning

Starting a day with exercise means that you start the day off on a positive note before your child goes to school. Exercise gives the body enough endorphines to feel happier. When children are happy, they never moan about school. Instill a habit of exercising in the morning into your child and they’ll thank you down the road.

10. Move more

Try to explain to your children that they should move more during the day to feel better. When we move, our body gives and gets energy and the blood moves faster all over the body that causes useful brain`s activity. It helps us forget about stress and makes us smile instead. When children move less, they become tired and irritated because they look at the same things and think about everything they don`t like to do again and again. Even a 5-10 minute walk can help a lot in reducing stress.

We all love our children and wish them only the best. Even though we know school isn`t the worst thing in life, it may seem to be a really tough challenge for them. If you want to realize your child`s feelings and worries, try to talk to them more often. Busy parents don’t pay enough attention to their kids and then wonder why they are so selfish. Does your child have trouble going back to school?

LEADERS SHOULD BE AHEAD OF THE PACK

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 zillion things to do as the boss.
It is easy to get bogged down in day-to-day operations and
we 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 is reported to take a week 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, 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.

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.