THE GREATEST LESSON OF 2016

We are nearing the end of the year and one of the
most important (and profitable) investments you can make is
to review the past few months very, very carefully.  

Humans are creatures of habit. We are examples of Newton's
law that, "a body in motion tends to remain in motion." We
tend to plunge ahead, repeating yesterday's mistakes and
failing to learn from experience. We take great pride in
the fact that we "can" learn, but my observation is that
we rarely do.
We tend to assume that what worked last year will continue
to work next year. We know that we should be innovative,
creative and original, but in our daily work it's easy to
get trapped in old habits, whether they serve us or not.  

When Jack Welch was the head of General Electric,
he insisted that half the company's profits come from
products and services that were less than five years old.
Why? Because he knew that yesterday's methods won’t fit
tomorrow's world.
Take time to review the following questions:  

1. What worked best this year? What surprised me, inspired
me or taught me something new for my work or my life?  

2. What did not work, or is working less and less well?
What was less profitable or effective than I expected? What
should I drop in the new year?  

3. What's new in my field? What are my colleagues
doing that I should apply to my business?
 One of the BEST things any professional, business owner or
manager can do is invest in seminars and conferences. The
chance to "see the forest for the trees" is incredibly
valuable. Conferences generate new perspectives, and new
ideas create vast new opportunities! Invest in yourself!

FOR MANY YEARS NOW, TIME FLIES

In a few weeks we’ll begin a brand new year and it is vital
that you ask yourself exactly what you will change, start
(or stop) so that 2017 is better, happier and more
successful than 2016.
Next year, you'll have 52 weeks to achieve whatever you
wish. In 52 weeks you can, quite literally, rock your
world! In a year, you can transform relationships, change
your personality, or modify your bank account. You can
change careers in 52 weeks. You can marry the person of
your dreams, learn a new language or sail around the world
in 52 weeks. What will you accomplish in 2017?
Whatever you decide, you will have to persist. To change
careers, you'll have to make decisions, take risks, make
mistakes, get better advice, start over, get more training,
be scared, and celebrate many small wins and losses along
the way. Through it all, you will have to "keep on keeping
on."
Personally, I love it when big things happen quickly and
easily! That's exciting! 
But most of the time, success requires patience,
persistence and hard work. The winners in life have clear
goals. They plan well, and use smart strategies. If things
are not working, they step back, re-assess and try another
way. But through it all, no matter what, winners persist. 
Philip Humbert said, “For over 30 years, Mary and I have used the time between
Thanksgiving and New Year’s to review and plan. During
these weeks, we take time to talk, to dream, to change our
minds, to surprise and contradict ourselves, and set goals
for the coming year. We get confused; we get clear. We
study what friends and associates are doing, we ask loved
ones for input and ideas.
We juggle budgets, and we argue some. We cross off
wonderful ideas that, unfortunately just don't fit, while
adding ideas and projects that "pop up" during the process.
By January, we have a map, a set of strategies and
specific, measurable outcomes to be achieved in 52 weeks.
It's fun to dream and plan and strategize. It becomes a
source of laughter and inspiration and we look forward to
it. That's the easy part.
The hard part is keeping faith, week after week, and taking
the daily steps to get where we want to go. Often, that is
not much fun. Sometimes, it really sucks! Which brings me
back to writing TIPS for one thousand and forty consecutive
weeks.
I had to develop a strategy and make it a habit.
Fortunately, after all these years it's usually fun and
sometimes TIPS practically "writes itself." Clients, books,
seminars and friends inspire the topics. I ponder them
while walking the dog or writing my daily journal, and then
I write a letter to 40,000 of my best friends. So, at one
level, doing TIPS is like achieving most goals--it's a
basic mix of commitment, strategy, a bit of effort and tons
of persistence.
To achieve your goals in 2017, know where you want to go,
and plan to persist. Plan to continue when the going gets
hard, to start over if necessary, and to celebrate many
large and small victories along the way. Expect a few "rain
delays" and lots of rainbows! Life is like that.
Persistence pays. And next year, may your Thanksgiving be
the biggest and best ever!

USING YOUR INNER GUIDANCE

Do you have incredible powers of mind and emotions that give you timely and accurate feedback in every area of your life? The answer is yes!

Using Your Inner Guidance System

We know that the body has a natural bias toward health and energy. It's designed to last for 100 years with proper care and maintenance. When something goes wrong with any part of our body, we experience it in the form of pain or discomfort of some kind.

We know that when our body is not functioning smoothly and painlessly, something is wrong, and we take action to correct it. We go to a doctor; we take pills; we undergo physical therapy, massage or chiropractic. We know that if we ignore pain or discomfort for any period of time, it could lead to something more serious.

How to Tell Right From Wrong

In the same sense, nature also gives us a way to tell emotionally what's right for us and what's wrong for us in life. Just as nature gives us physical pain to guide us to doing or not doing things in the physical realm, nature gives us emotional pain to guide us toward doing or not doing things in the emotional or mental realm. The wonderful thing is that you're constructed so that if you simply listen carefully to yourself-to your mind, your body and your emotions-and follow the guidance you're given, you can dramatically enhance the quality of your life.

Just as the natural physical state of your body is health and vitality, your natural emotional state is peace and happiness. Whenever you experience a deviation from peace and happiness, it's an indication that something is amiss. Something is wrong with what you're thinking, doing or saying. Your feeling of inner happiness is the best indicator you could ever have to tell you what you should be doing more of and what you should be doing less of.

The Messenger

Unhappiness is to your life as pain is to your body. It is sent as a messenger to tell you that what you're doing is wrong for you.

Very often, you'll suffer from what has been called "divine discontent." You'll feel fidgety and uneasy for a reason or reasons that are unclear to you. You'll be dissatisfied with the status quo. Sometimes, you'll be unable to sleep. Sometimes, you'll be angry or irritable. Very often, you'll get upset with things that have nothing to do with the real issue. You'll have a deep inner sense that something isn't as it should be, and you'll often feel like a fish on a hook, wriggling and squirming emotionally to get free.

Divine Discontent

And that is a good thing. Divine discontent always comes before a positive life change. If you were perfectly satisfied, you would never take any action to improve or change your circumstances. Only when you're dissatisfied for some reason do you have the inner motivation to engage in the outer behaviors that lead you onward and upward.

Listen to yourself. Trust your inner voice. Go with the flow of your own personality. Do the things that make you feel happy inside and you'll probably never make another mistake.

Action Exercises

Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, listen to yourself and trust your own feelings. If there is a part of your life that causes you stress and unhappiness, resolve to deal with it.

Second, identify those areas of your life where you are dissatisfied or frustrated for any reason. What changes should you, could you make?

Third, remember that nature wants you to be happy, healthy, popular and prosperous. Any deviation from those conditions is a signal to you that action is necessary.

AMBITION AS PART OF THANKSGIVING

This week, the U.S. celebrates our Thanksgiving Day. Canada
celebrated a few weeks ago, and other countries have their
own days but my friends and colleagues, and the news media,
are focused on our American holiday this week. The
conversation is about gratitude and being thankful.
But since I'm a contrary sort of guy, along with gratitude,
I've been pondering our desire for even more. I suspect
thanksgiving for what we have and the desire for more
actually go together, like opposite sides of the same coin.
Clearly, gratitude is necessary to experience joy and
abundance. Without gratitude, we focus on lack or things we
"need," and we close up. We get "tight" and it's very hard
to see or seize opportunity. When we focus on what we lack,
there's poverty in the human spirit, a grasping or fear
that makes us small. Gratitude sets us free to laugh and
sing and celebrate!
At the same time, there is something wonderfully human
about optimism and a desire for "more." We are acquisitive
people. Growth and expansion and the desire for riches is
part of the human experience. It's natural to desire and
work for a better, richer life.
Remember the old movie, "Wallstreet," and Michael Douglas'
famous exclamation that, "Greed is good!"? He argued that
greed leads to investment, to study, preparation, hard work
and risk-taking. Greed motivates us.
Now obviously, the standard definition of greed is ugly.
Usually, we think of greed as a voracious desire to take
from others, no matter what the cost or moral consequences.
I want no part of that, although like most of us, I admit I
see its ugly presence in my life once in a while.
Is there, however, a positive aspect to greed? I suspect
so.
Once in a while, we see people who are so focused on giving
that they are unable to receive. While generalities are
always dangerous, in my experience I've seen it most often
in women who are so focused on caring for others that they
fail to care for themselves. Obviously, this is not gender-
specific, but some people even have a hard time graciously
accepting praise or a compliment. They feel awkward winning
a prize or accepting a gift.
I often wonder how that holds us back and limits us.
I think of Life trying to give us abundance, trying to
offer us wealth and opportunity but some of us are so
concerned about not being "greedy" that we close our hands
and refuse the gift. I see that as a false humility, an
insult to God and Life. We live in an abundant, beautiful
world. We live in a time of unlimited opportunity and
endless variety, and yet sometimes in trying to be
"grateful" we think small and refuse the richness around
us.
Just to be contrary and daring, this Thanksgiving, I
encourage you to be grateful for all you have, and to think
in terms of how you will use your wealth to create and
contribute even more! As you pause to give thanks, take a
moment to review your goals for 2017. Think about what you
will do with all you have! Imagine what's possible!
This week, pause to give thanks for life, for health and
wealth, for loved ones and education and all that surrounds
us, but also imagine yourself as a steward of these things.
Imagine yourself taking care of them, cherishing them, and
investing your riches to increase them in 2017. Gratitude
is good, but so is "greed," in the healthy sense of using
what we have to create even more for ourselves and others.
We have much to be thankful for. Gratitude is good and
right and necessary. But so is the ancient blessing: "May
you and your tribe increase in the year ahead!"