THINKING OUT OF THE BOX

Did you know that human beings are mental organisms? Everything we are or ever will be will be as the direct result of the way we think. If we improve the quality of our thinking, we must improve the quality of our lives. And, there is no other way to do it.

Youth and Creativity

In one series of I.Q. tests given to children age 2 - 4 years, 95% of the children were found to be highly creative with curious, questioning minds and an ability for abstract thinking.

When the same children were tested again at age 7, only 5% still demonstrated high levels of creativity. In the ensuing years, they had learned to conform; "If you want to get along, you had better go along," is what they had discovered.

The Dangers of Conformity

They had learned to color between the lines, to sit in neat little rows, to do and say what the other kids did and said, and to do as they were told. Over time, they lost the wonderful fearless spontaneity of youth and learned to suppress ideas and insights that were unusual or different.

Aggressively Seek New Ideas

Most of us have had similar experiences. The "Not-invented-here" syndrome in many large companies is simply the adult version of "not rocking the boat." But fortunately, since creativity is your birthright, a fundamental part of your nature, you can tap into it at any time, no matter how long it has been since you really used it.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do to start thinking outside of your mental box.

First, imagine that there was a vastly better, cheaper, faster way to do your job - and somebody else had already discovered it and was going to put you out of business.

Second, imagine doing exactly the opposite of what you are doing today. Allow your mind to float freely and consider how current trends will change your business.

CHOOSE OPTIMISM

Every morning I collect my thoughts and plan my day. I jot my daily
priorities on a card, and on the back I write a summary of
my major goals and life-values. I put it in my pocket and
review it throughout the day to stay on track and to smile
as I get things done.
There's nothing special about that. Lots of success
coaches recommend planning your day. (It is a KEY to
getting the important things done!)
What caught my attention this week was the need to
intentionally CHOOSE to be optimistic and hopeful. Our local newspaper had
headlines about a state budget crisis here.
There was a story about terrorism and something about
problems in the schools. I turned on the radio and was
warned about dangerous toys and travel delays and all sorts
of bad news.
The irony hit me in the face. No one - not the news, not
my business associates, no one - was going to remind me to
be cheerful, optimistic and productive.
All around us, the world conspires to be negative. It's
too hot or too cold. Costs are too high, incomes are too
low. Beware of illness, be careful of danger. Watch out!
In journalism, there is a saying that "if it bleeds, it
leads." Bad news sells, and that is a shame. Thanks to
television, bad news shows up in our living rooms within
minutes, giving us a daily dose of pain, danger and
suffering.
Yes, we live in a complex world and there are real and
legitimate problems out there. Of course that's true!
It also happens to be true, however, that we live in the
richest, healthiest and most exciting time in history.
Most of the illnesses, dangers and threats that harmed our
grandparents are totally eliminated. We are free to
travel, to learn, and to try. For the most part, we can be
as productive, as happy and as joyful as we choose to be.
I grew up in a country and I remember when it was common
to see a man without fingers or missing an arm. Some had
lost limbs in war, but many had been injured on farm
equipment or in factories. Fortunately, those things don't
happen so often any more. And yet, we expose ourselves to
crisis and warnings and worry as if flood or famine were
just around the corner.
Don't do that to yourself!
Most of us will live long and prosperous lives. We will
build businesses and visit exciting places. Most of us
will see our children do things, meet people, solve
problems, travel and enjoy a world we can barely imagine.
We are free to read the best literature and watch the best
movies ever made. We can visit museums, go anyplace on
earth, and even watch football on a big-screen TV! What an
incredible age!
So, don't blow it. Choose optimism, joy and hope. Have
some fun, make a call, hug a child, enjoy a sunrise, go for
a walk, take a friend out for dessert.
This new, celebrate your life and remember the
opportunities that lie ahead. Get a calendar and plan to
make 2019 your BEST year ever!

BE THE BEST YOU IN 2019

Your mental diet largely determines your character and your personality and almost everything that happens to you in life.

What is a mental diet? Keep reading and I’ll explain the importance… 

When you feed your mind with positive affirmations, information, books, conversations, audio programs, and thoughts, you develop a more positive attitude and personality.

You become more influential and persuasive. You enjoy greater self-esteem. You learn how to be confident.

Those who use computers at work use the expression “G.I.G.O.” or “Garbage in, Garbage out.” But the reverse is also true, “Good in, Good out.”

When you make a clear, unequivocal decision that you are going to take complete control over your mind, eliminate the negative emotions and thoughts that may have held you back in the past, and become a completely positive person, you can actually bring about your own personal transformation.

Mental fitness is like physical fitness. You develop high levels of self-esteem and a positive attitude with training and practice. Here are the seven keys to becoming a completely positive person:

1) Positive Affirmations

While speaking to yourself, speak positively; control your inner dialog. Use positive affirmations phrased in the positive, present, and personal tense. Here are some tips:

“I like myself!”

“I can do it!”

“I feel terrific!”

“I am responsible!”

We believe that fully 95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself as you go throughout your day. The sad fact is that if you do not deliberately and consciously talk to yourself in a positive and constructive way, you will, by default, think about things that will make you unhappy, lower your self esteem, or cause you worry and social anxiety.

As we said before, your mind is like a garden. If you do not deliberately end carefully, weeds will grow without any encouragement at all.y plant flowers and t

2) Positive Visualization

Perhaps the most powerful ability that you have is the ability to visualize and see your goals as already accomplished. Create a clear, exciting picture of your goal and your ideal life, and replay this picture in your mind over and over.

All improvement in your life begins with an improvement in your mental pictures. As you “see” yourself on the inside, you will “be” on the outside.

3) Positive People

Your choice of the people with whom you live, work, and associate will have more of an impact on your emotions and your success that any other factor. Decide today to associate with winners, with positive people, with people who are happy and optimistic and who are going somewhere with their lives.

Avoid negative people at all costs. Negative people are the primary source of most of life’s unhappiness. Resolve that from today onward, you are not going to have stressful or negative people in your life.

4) Positive Mental Food

Just as your body is healthy to the degree to which you eat healthy, nutritious foods, your mind is healthy to the degree to which you feed it with “mental protein” rather than “mental candy.” Read books, magazines, and articles that are educational, inspirational, or motivational.

Feed your mind with information and ideas that are uplifting and that make you feel happy and more confident about yourself and your world.

Listen to positive, constructive CDs and audio programs in your car and on your MP3 player or iPod. Feed your mind continually with positive messages that help you think and act better and make you more capable and competent in your field. Watch positive and educational DVDs, educational television programs, online courses, and other uplifting material that increases your knowledge and makes you feel good about yourself and your life.

5) Positive Training and Development

Almost everyone in our society starts off with limited resources, sometimes with no money at all. Virtually all fortunes begin with the sale of personal services of some kind. All the people who are at the top today were once at the bottom, and sometimes they fell to the bottom several times.

The miracle of lifelong learning and personal improvement is what takes you from rags to riches, from poverty to affluence, and from underachievement to success and financial independence.

As Jim Rohn said, ”Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

When you dedicate yourself to learning and growing and becoming better and more effective in your thoughts and actions, you take complete control of your life and dramatically increase the speed at which you move upward to greater heights.

6) Positive Health Habits

Take excellent care of your physical health and wellness. Resolve today that you are going to live to be eighty, ninety, or one hundred years old and still be dancing in the evenings. Eat healthy foods, natural and nutritious, and eat them sparingly and in proper balance. A nutritional diet will have an immediate, positive effect on your thoughts and feelings.

Resolve to get regular exercise, at least two hundred minutes of motion per week, walking, running, swimming, bicycling, or working out on equipment in the gym. When you exercise on a regular basis, you feel happier and healthier and experience lower levels of stress and fatigue than a person who sits on the couch and watches television all evening.

Especially, get ample rest and relaxation. You need to recharge your batteries on a regular basis, especially when you are going through periods of stress or difficulty.

Vince Lombardi once said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Some of the factors that predispose us to negative emotions of all kinds are poor health habits, sleep deprivation, lack of exercise, and nonstop work. Seek balance in your life.

7) Positive Expectations

Practicing the Law of Attraction is one of the most powerful techniques you can use to become a positive person and to ensure positive outcomes and better results in your life. Your expectations become your own self-fulfilling prophesies.

Whatever you expect, with confidence, seems to come into your life. Since you can control your expectations, you should always expect the best.

Expect to be successful. 

Expect to be popular when you meet new people. Expect to achieve great goals and create a wonderful life for yourself. When you constantly expect good things to happen, you will seldom be disappointed.

SET IT FREE IN 2019!

I only send a few "bonus" issues each year, always to share
or acknowledge something of unusual importance, and nothing
seems more important to me than planning the life you truly
want.
It's New Year's Day, and everyone is busy, and most
readers may not even check email or look at this issue,
but for those who do, I want to send the most passionate
invitation I can to take ACTION this year! Plan wisely,
get great advice, do all the usual preparations and so
forth, but in the end, make it a year of ACTION!
All my coaching clients have heard me say, "nothing changes
until something changes", and I love that phrase. It
motivates me, it makes me smile, and it reminds me that to
make anything better, I must do SOMETHING. I must try
something. I must take ACTION.
It does not necessarily have to be brilliant action, or
even smart action, but nothing changes until I try
something new or different. The key is movement and
determined, focused, persistent activity.
There is always a bit of risk in suggesting specific
actions for other people. I'm not smart enough to always
choose the best course of action for my own life, so
recommending activities for other people is extremely
risky. Nevertheless, they say "fools rush in where angels
fear to tread", so here goes. In 2019 make a point to:
1. Read! Your future will look exactly like your past
except for the things you learn and the people you meet.
Read every day. Read biographies of people you admire.
Read self-help and motivational books to keep you going.
Read how-to books for information and solutions. Read
novels for fun, but read.
2. Listen to tapes and take courses! I am amazed at the
statistics on how little most people invest in themselves
and their quality of life. Spend a few dollars and a few
hours listening to the best information you can find. Go
to the seminars and workshops. Learn from the experts.
3. Sit still. I sit and write every morning, and it makes
a difference. That may not be your style, but find a way
to sit and reflect. Take time to sit and plan. Take time
to sit still and notice your own life.
4. Dream. Never permit anyone to make the phrase, "you're
a dreamer" anything less than a supreme compliment. Dream
big! Dream often! Dream in living color, in rich detail
and share your dreams with people who understand, and who
have even bigger dreams of their own. Dream every day.
5. Invest wisely. Invest time in yourself and in your
loved ones. Invest your money in education, in your
business and in your future. Time cannot be "managed", it
is merely invested in activities - invest wisely.
6. Plan carefully. Most people do not plan their lives,
and that is tragic. They may dream, and they may scheme,
but they fail to plan and then wonder why their dreams
never came true. Planning and strategy are key. Write
your plans on paper. Review them often. Adjust them when
necessary.
7. Live every day. This brings us back to ACTION. With
dreams and plans and education and great coaching, the only
missing ingredient is unrelenting, persistent, determined,
energetic ACTION! Make the calls. Do the work. Try a new
way, but keep moving forward UNTIL. There is no substitute
for living and working and moving every single day.
We cannot know all that will happen in the coming year.
What you can control are your attitudes and your actions,
so invest in yourself. Read and go to workshops. Take
classes, and take action. Set your goals, devise the best
plans you can, and then go forward. Take baby steps when
appropriate, even go backwards when you must, but never stop
moving. Your goals, and your life, are too important. In
2019, take action! Set it free in 2019!