Thursday, May 26, 2005
The Power of Focus
The Power of Focus
© 2000 by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen
The main reason most people struggle professionally and personally is simply a lack of focus. They procrastinate and allow themselves to be easily distracted and interrupted.
Successful people have successful habits. The keyword here is consistency. That means every month. This is called a no exceptions policy. If maintaining excellent health is high on your list of priorities exercising 3 times a week may be the minimum standard to keep you in shape. A no exceptions policy means you will maintain this exercise habit no matter what happens because you value the long term benefits.
More people than ever are living for immediate gratification. People in the habit of doing this have a sense of playing catch up all that time. There is always another payment next month. The fact is if you keep on doing things a certain way you will always get a predictable result. Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create a positive reward, that’s just the way life is. What’s happening is that after 21 to 30 experiences with a new habit it’s harder not to do it than to do it. To insure consistency astronauts use a check list for every single procedure to insure the same result every time.
Imagine if you only changed four habits every year, five years from now you would have 20 positive new habits. Quality is not an act it is a habit. By systematically improving one behavior at a time you can dramatically improve your overall lifestyle. We all need an education in the obvious. A lack of clarity about expected outcomes, not following up consistently on overdue receivables, talking instead of listening, working long days with no exercise or regular breaks, taking work home with you, making reservations at the last minute. Now check yourself out by making a list of all the habits that keep you unproductive.
If you hang around people who are always complaining about how bad everything is, you may start believing what they say. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive you are more likely to see a world full of opportunity and adventure.
Successful people have developed successful habits. Learn to observe what those habits are. Study successful people. They leave clues, what do they read, how do they schedule their time. Read their autobiographies and biography. Another habit that three of us have developed is listening to motivational and educational audio tapes when we are driving, walking or exercising. If you listen to an audiotape for 30 minutes each day 5 days a week in 10 years you would been exposed over 1300 hours of new and useful information. This is a habit that almost all the successful people we know have developed. They listen to audio tapes.
If you read one book every month about your industry in 10 years you’ll have read 120 books that will put you in the top 1% of your field. There are three fundamental steps. Clearly identify your bad or unproductive habits. The more vividly you describe the benefits the more likely you are to take action. Create a three part action plan. Successful people I want to interview. Three step action plans to jump start my new habit. Your habits will determine your future.
It is not hocus pocus it is all about focus.
Do you see the big picture? Creating optimum balance, building excellent relationships, the confidence factor, ask for what you want, consistent, persistent, taking decisive action, living on purpose. As the foundation is built people and systems are put in place to create stability. Paper work increases and what started out as an exciting venture becomes daily routine.
Most entrepreneurs are controllers. This is the ultimate Catch-22. There are more opportunities on the horizon and bigger deals to close but you can’t get to them because you are stuck with the day to day routine. You must invest most of your time every week doing what you do best and let others do what they do best. Focus on those activities you do brilliantly and from which you produce extraordinary results. If you don’t you will probably create higher stress levels and ultimately burn out. They are masters at applying the habit of priority focus. That means they only do the things they are brilliant at, recording and performing on stage. The Rolling Stones simply concentrate on what they do best - singing and performing.
When you focus most of your time and energy doing the things you are truly brilliant at, you eventually reap big rewards. Notice how these top performers spend very little time on their weaknesses. It is important to clearly differentiate your areas of brilliance from your weaknesses.
All your biggest rewards in life will come from spending the vast majority of your time in the areas that score ten on your talent scale what you do effortlessly without a lot of study or preparations.
Jim Carey improves his focus using visualization. He wrote himself a check for $10,000,000.00 for services rendered, dated it and kept it in his pocket. When times were tough he would sit on a quiet hillside overlooking Los Angeles and imagine himself as a movie star then he’d reread the check as a reminder of his upcoming good fortune. Interestingly enough two years later he signed a deal for more than $10,000,000.00.
Basically you make a list of all the activities you do at work in a typical week. Most people when they add up their totals score between 10 and 20. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you can’t do 40 things each week to be truly focused. Even 20 activities are far too many.
Many people are shocked when they see how much of their week is fragmented. Simply record everything you do in 15 minute records. List three things you are brilliant at doing in your business, effortlessly, give you energy and produce the greatest results and in in-completed business. In a typical week what percent of your time do you spend on your brilliant activities? Be totally honest, often the answer is 15% to 25%. Imagine if you could refine this to 80% to 100%. The level of brilliance will determine as far as your opportunities in your life.
List three things you don’t like doing, resist doing or just no good at. Have you noticed how these activities tend to drain your energy instead of expanding it? When you keep on doing work that you just have you need to remind yourself that this is futile. Most entrepreneurs are great starters but then they don’t finish. Find a brilliant finisher to handle the details. He or she is brilliant at doing that task you don’t like to do or shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
Use the 4D formula to help you prioritize.
1. Dump it, no I choose not to do this.
2. Delegate it. Who else could do this?
3. Defer it.
4. Do it.
Staying within these boundaries requires new level of self discipline. Is what I am doing right now helping me to achieve my goal? It also means saying “no” a lot more. Preschedule your appointments just like a doctor and choose the most productive time to make your phone calls. Be aware of those habits that may be pulling you away from your focus.
People watch TV 6.5 hours a day on average. C. Clement Stone in 1969 said, “Do you watch television?” Then he asked me, “How many hours a day do you think you watch?” After a short calculation I answered about three hours a day. I want you to cut out one hour a day. If you do that you will be saving 365 hours per year. If you divide that by a 40 hour work week you will see that you added about 9½ additional weeks of productivity to your life. That’s like getting two additional months every year. I agreed that this was a great leveraging concept and then I asked Mr. Stone what he thought that I should do with this extra hour every day. He suggested I read books in my field of motivation, psychology, education, training, self esteem.
List all the business activities at work that use up your time. Name the three most important activities that generate income and the three most important activities that you don’t like doing and who could do these for you.
Set aside a scheduled time for thinking. In fact, I reserve one day a week on my calendar just to think. All of my greatest opportunities ideas or money making ventures started with the days I took off to think. I used to lock myself away in my den with strict instructions to my family that under no circumstances would I to be disturbed. The Think strategy worked for Einstein who actually did his pondering in a special thinking chair.
Master philosopher Jim Rowan astutely observes that there are two major pains in life. One is the pain of discipline the other is the pain of regret. Don’t want to look back years later saying if only I had taken up that business opportunity. If only I had saved and invested regularly, if only I had spent more time with my family, if only I had taken care of my health. John Garter the famous explorer at the tender age of 15 sat down and made a list of 127 challenging lifetime goals he wanted to accomplish. By the time he turned 50, he had successfully completed more than 100 of the goals on his list. One of Schuler’s comment said it all I think when you have big dreams you attract other big dreamers. Third, and this may be the wisest strategy, selectively share your dreams with the few people you trust. What contribution do I want to make? What do I want to become? What do I want to learn? What do I want to spend my time with? How much do I want to earn save and invest? How much time do I want off for fun? What will I do to create optimum health? Write a number beside each goal 1, 3, 5 or 10 years.
The seven goal categories are financial, business, fun time, health, relationships, personal, and contribution. When you dedicate a portion of your time to accomplishing one significant goal in each of these areas every 60-days you will have balance and peace of mind.
Start with small increments and gradually increase the size of your goals. To keep those in the forefront of your mind review them daily. Most people don’t even have an action plan for their goals. When you have written out your seven major goals shift your focus to the week ahead. We call it the seven-day focus.
At the beginning of each week select the three most important things you want to accomplish. Phone your partner at the beginning of the week and share your three most important activities. Seven days later discuss your results, victories and challenges and start the process for the following week. At work John has a first class personal assistant who allows him to focus on what he does best. Consequently he does not get caught up in unnecessary paper work or become distracted by people who could waste valuable chunks of his time. Because of this ability to be well organized he enjoys most weekends off. Although he starts the day early John is rarely home later than 6:00 p.m. allowing him special time with his family. Remember if you want a different result do something different.
B is for blue print. This is how you prepare for the day. You do prepare don’t you? A blue print is simply a map for the day. Recent research indicates that if you create your blue print the night before rather than in the morning, your unconscious mind will actually work during the night figuring out how to fulfill your next days plan. Have you ever observed people who are not in the habit of designing a blue print for the day? You will meet a few in most sales organizations. They tend to hang around the coffee pot first thing in the morning. Socializing and reviewing the newspapers are high on their agenda. Perhaps the first sales call happens around 11:00 a.m. so you can imagine how productive the rest of the day is likely to be. The one thing that separates winners from losers is winners take action.
Learn from others, you can learn a lot by observing and studying other people.
What do wealthy people do?
How do they become rich?
Why do some people struggle throughout their lives?
Why are only a small percentage of people financially independent?
I then ask them to raise their hands if they had ever approached any of these two or three people to ask them what their secrets of success were.
We honor the people who are successful but we are afraid to approach them and ask them for information, direction and guidance.
There are essentially two things that will make you wiser. The books you read and the people you meet. If you really want to rise to the top invest one hour of your day to learn more about yourself in your industry. Developing this simple habit can make you a world expert within five years. Remember the use of knowledge is power.
Exercising improves your sleeping habits.
Increases your energy levels.
Relieves stress and anxiety.
Helps you promote a healthy posture.
Relieves digestive disorders.
Enhances your self image expands career longevity.
The more time off these people take the more money they make. If you realized how powerful your thoughts are you would never think a negative thought. It’s a wonderful feeling to have special people in your life that can enrich and nourish you in many different ways. In fact when your time is almost up on this planet and you doing a little reflection on how it all worked out you’ll probably remember the relationships you call today and the unique memories and experiences associated with those people especially your family and friends. This is important stuff in life versus burning yourself out at the office.
One blast of negative energy from their lips can erase that smile on your face permanently. These people are poisonous to your health. You need a long range antenna to keep them outside your boundaries at all times. This constant negativity will drain the life out of you. They also inform you with a noxious cynicism that you can’t do this and you can’t do that especially when you have a really great idea. They delight in bursting your positive bubble. It is the highlight of their day. Don’t put-up with it any more. You could choose the type of people you want in your life. If something is dragging you down all the time make a decision, let go and move on.
One of the first things my success mentor W. Clement Stone suggested I do was to make a list my friends. And he directed me to put the letter “N” next to each person who nourished and encouraged me to be great. People who are positive optimistic solution oriented and have a can-do attitude. Next he asked me to put the letter “T”, behind every person who you talk with. Surround yourself with positive people if you want to be successful you must hang out with the successful people.
Do I like them?
Do I trust them?
Do I respect them?
Look for clues that demonstrate their integrity, honesty and experience. Watch how they treat other people. Little details will offer big insights are they in the habit of saying “please” and “thank you?”
Your clients are your passport to future growth. New business is important. Getting in touch with your best client is more important. Also be aware of the time you spend on people who are peripheral clients. They commonly take a lot of your time and energy and give you little business in return. All research indicates that very little time is allocated for clients. Consequently these relationships never mature to their full potential.
Now let’s take a look to your most important personal relationship. Take a close look at this list and review the amount of time you spend with these people. Is it sufficient to enjoy quality time?
When you ask someone to be a mentor it’s the ultimate compliment. The mastermind group requires the meeting of the mind. What’s your greatest challenge at this time?
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears our presence automatically liberates others.
Unfinished business is a term describing all the messes in your life that you haven’t dealt with. There are three ways to handle this - we can play the denial game, you can go into limbo, you can confront the issue head-on. Usually we don’t like confrontation, it’s uncomfortable and there is a certain amount of risk involved. Step into your fear. Another important factor is the energy you consume when you live in fear. You can’t afford to have all that vitality bottled up. They restrict your capacity. Be aware that unfinished business is an on-going reality.
Every week something will happen that needs to be resolved. Don’t allow these things to fester. Everything you want is on the other side of fear. What do I really fear? What can I do to overcome this?
Confidence grows by doing not by thinking. We must learn to forgive, second forgive your-self. You must give to be free. Too many people never let the real person within them come alive. Consequently they live a dormant and unfulfilled existence. Instead of gloriously stretching and challenging to be all they can be, they flounder in everyday life.
Everyday remind yourself that you did some things well. Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies. Be thankful build excellent support around you. Push yourself to accomplish or trim goals do something for your self every week.
The road to confidence is paved with weekly victories. Learn to applaud them. When I get stuck I restart myself by focusing on one goal I can finish in the next seven days, something simple. I don’t think about anything else that usually starts my momentum again. When you think you can’t revisit a former triumph.
After you sell your business do you want to buy one ask for written endorsements. Another good option is pick the most powerful sentences from 10 different testimonials and paste these on one page with the names of your clients.
One reason we can offer you such a great price is that we also asked for three estimate referrals I am sure you know the value of referrals in return we promise to give you the best in service so you’ll be happy with your decision to do business with us. Would you please introduce me to a few people of equal quality to you. Should I pay people for giving me referrals, ask for more business. Many people lose thousands of dollars and bills every year because they have nothing more to offer after the initial bill. Adding one more question at the end of a sale can significantly increase your income. Remember if you don’t ask someone else, will ask.
Consistent persistence – you will never achieve big results in your life without consistent and persistent action. This lack of consistency you will wreck your team unity. In today world the answer is simple.
Make a list of 6 things you absolutely have to get done in the next 3 months. These are activities that must be completed for whatever reason. After each activity that you have to do write one word that describes your feelings about it. Take a look at each item and one at a time put a line through each task. That’s right, cross it off your list. You don’t have to do any of these things. In life you don’t have to do anything. The big point we are making is that you don’t have to. If the feeling is negative you automatically create a negative energy that drains your capacity.
Make a list of at least 6 things you want to do or choose to do in the next 3 months. This is a different list. What are you really looking forward to doing? Again choose a word to describe how you feel about completing each item on your list. Well it’s easy to feel good about things I want to do but life isn’t always like that. There are lots of things I don’t like to do but I have to do.
Everything in life is a choice absolutely everything. All the results you are currently experiencing in your life are absolutely perfect for you. The reason you are where you are in life is simply the result of all the choices you have made to this point.
When you say things like “she made me angry,” the truth is that you chose to be angry. You didn’t have to be angry you responded with anger instead of making a different choice. When you live each day from the position of choose-to you are in a position of power. You feel in-charge and in control of your life. Make every activity a conscious choice, no more “have to,” list.
Starting today eliminate those words from your vocabulary. Regain your power. Expand your energy and enjoy the freedom that imparts consistent choosing adds to your life. When you consistently make better choices you create better habits. These better habits produce better character when you have better character you add more value to the world you become more valuable, you attract bigger and better opportunities. This allows you to make more of a contribution in your life. Remember your dominant thoughts usually win out when it comes to everyday decision.
Make sure your conscious choices are moving you closer to the completion of your most important goals it is also important to understand that choosing not to do something is a valid position. I choose not to watch TV for 3 hours every night. I choose not to waste my time reading some fictional newspapers. I choose not to become a workaholic.
The double way formula is agreement and accountability. All broken relationships can be traced to fact of the broken agreement. True integrity is based on keeping your agreements when you consistently do what you say you will do the names attached to our “reliable” and “trustworthy.” Always start the correspondence with “as promised.” For example “as promised here is a quote.”
There are six good reasons you may be procrastinating.
You are bored.
You are overwhelmed with work.
Your confidence has slipped.
You have a low self worth.
You are doing what you don’t really enjoy.
You are easily distracted.
Make sure you are not one of these frustrated individuals who go through life with the label “does not complete,” as Jim Rhone so eloquently says.
“The pain of discipline weighs ounces whereas the pain of regret weighs tons”.
W. Clement Stone had a unique way of pushing himself to take action. He would stand in front of the mirror and with great vigor smash his hands together explaining loudly as he did say “Do it now.” He would repeat this action three times this anchored him for the jobs ahead it must have worked. When he was 21 the Great Depression had set in. Undaunted young Stone started his own company called Combine Insurance, hired one thousand skilled people and built it into one of the largest enterprises in North America. I am going to do the work I enjoy carry a 3 x 5 cards that say “I am so happy I am.” Read this card at breakfast lunch dinner just prior to sleep so you become one with idea and eventually it will become a reality. Why hesitate? Upon the flames of hesitation are the bleached bones of countless million who on the threshold of victory sat down to wait and in waiting they died.
Somewhere between 35 and 55 the famous midlife crisis appears. Is this all there is? They begin feel bored something is missing.
What am I going to do with my life?
What is my life’s work all about?
What legacy will I leave behind when my time is over?
The challenge:
Let others lead small lives but not you.
Let others argue over small things but not you.
Let others cry over small hurts but not you.
Let others leave their future in someone else’s hand but not you.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1558748849
© 2000 by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen
The main reason most people struggle professionally and personally is simply a lack of focus. They procrastinate and allow themselves to be easily distracted and interrupted.
Successful people have successful habits. The keyword here is consistency. That means every month. This is called a no exceptions policy. If maintaining excellent health is high on your list of priorities exercising 3 times a week may be the minimum standard to keep you in shape. A no exceptions policy means you will maintain this exercise habit no matter what happens because you value the long term benefits.
More people than ever are living for immediate gratification. People in the habit of doing this have a sense of playing catch up all that time. There is always another payment next month. The fact is if you keep on doing things a certain way you will always get a predictable result. Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create a positive reward, that’s just the way life is. What’s happening is that after 21 to 30 experiences with a new habit it’s harder not to do it than to do it. To insure consistency astronauts use a check list for every single procedure to insure the same result every time.
Imagine if you only changed four habits every year, five years from now you would have 20 positive new habits. Quality is not an act it is a habit. By systematically improving one behavior at a time you can dramatically improve your overall lifestyle. We all need an education in the obvious. A lack of clarity about expected outcomes, not following up consistently on overdue receivables, talking instead of listening, working long days with no exercise or regular breaks, taking work home with you, making reservations at the last minute. Now check yourself out by making a list of all the habits that keep you unproductive.
If you hang around people who are always complaining about how bad everything is, you may start believing what they say. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive you are more likely to see a world full of opportunity and adventure.
Successful people have developed successful habits. Learn to observe what those habits are. Study successful people. They leave clues, what do they read, how do they schedule their time. Read their autobiographies and biography. Another habit that three of us have developed is listening to motivational and educational audio tapes when we are driving, walking or exercising. If you listen to an audiotape for 30 minutes each day 5 days a week in 10 years you would been exposed over 1300 hours of new and useful information. This is a habit that almost all the successful people we know have developed. They listen to audio tapes.
If you read one book every month about your industry in 10 years you’ll have read 120 books that will put you in the top 1% of your field. There are three fundamental steps. Clearly identify your bad or unproductive habits. The more vividly you describe the benefits the more likely you are to take action. Create a three part action plan. Successful people I want to interview. Three step action plans to jump start my new habit. Your habits will determine your future.
It is not hocus pocus it is all about focus.
Do you see the big picture? Creating optimum balance, building excellent relationships, the confidence factor, ask for what you want, consistent, persistent, taking decisive action, living on purpose. As the foundation is built people and systems are put in place to create stability. Paper work increases and what started out as an exciting venture becomes daily routine.
Most entrepreneurs are controllers. This is the ultimate Catch-22. There are more opportunities on the horizon and bigger deals to close but you can’t get to them because you are stuck with the day to day routine. You must invest most of your time every week doing what you do best and let others do what they do best. Focus on those activities you do brilliantly and from which you produce extraordinary results. If you don’t you will probably create higher stress levels and ultimately burn out. They are masters at applying the habit of priority focus. That means they only do the things they are brilliant at, recording and performing on stage. The Rolling Stones simply concentrate on what they do best - singing and performing.
When you focus most of your time and energy doing the things you are truly brilliant at, you eventually reap big rewards. Notice how these top performers spend very little time on their weaknesses. It is important to clearly differentiate your areas of brilliance from your weaknesses.
All your biggest rewards in life will come from spending the vast majority of your time in the areas that score ten on your talent scale what you do effortlessly without a lot of study or preparations.
Jim Carey improves his focus using visualization. He wrote himself a check for $10,000,000.00 for services rendered, dated it and kept it in his pocket. When times were tough he would sit on a quiet hillside overlooking Los Angeles and imagine himself as a movie star then he’d reread the check as a reminder of his upcoming good fortune. Interestingly enough two years later he signed a deal for more than $10,000,000.00.
Basically you make a list of all the activities you do at work in a typical week. Most people when they add up their totals score between 10 and 20. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you can’t do 40 things each week to be truly focused. Even 20 activities are far too many.
Many people are shocked when they see how much of their week is fragmented. Simply record everything you do in 15 minute records. List three things you are brilliant at doing in your business, effortlessly, give you energy and produce the greatest results and in in-completed business. In a typical week what percent of your time do you spend on your brilliant activities? Be totally honest, often the answer is 15% to 25%. Imagine if you could refine this to 80% to 100%. The level of brilliance will determine as far as your opportunities in your life.
List three things you don’t like doing, resist doing or just no good at. Have you noticed how these activities tend to drain your energy instead of expanding it? When you keep on doing work that you just have you need to remind yourself that this is futile. Most entrepreneurs are great starters but then they don’t finish. Find a brilliant finisher to handle the details. He or she is brilliant at doing that task you don’t like to do or shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
Use the 4D formula to help you prioritize.
1. Dump it, no I choose not to do this.
2. Delegate it. Who else could do this?
3. Defer it.
4. Do it.
Staying within these boundaries requires new level of self discipline. Is what I am doing right now helping me to achieve my goal? It also means saying “no” a lot more. Preschedule your appointments just like a doctor and choose the most productive time to make your phone calls. Be aware of those habits that may be pulling you away from your focus.
People watch TV 6.5 hours a day on average. C. Clement Stone in 1969 said, “Do you watch television?” Then he asked me, “How many hours a day do you think you watch?” After a short calculation I answered about three hours a day. I want you to cut out one hour a day. If you do that you will be saving 365 hours per year. If you divide that by a 40 hour work week you will see that you added about 9½ additional weeks of productivity to your life. That’s like getting two additional months every year. I agreed that this was a great leveraging concept and then I asked Mr. Stone what he thought that I should do with this extra hour every day. He suggested I read books in my field of motivation, psychology, education, training, self esteem.
List all the business activities at work that use up your time. Name the three most important activities that generate income and the three most important activities that you don’t like doing and who could do these for you.
Set aside a scheduled time for thinking. In fact, I reserve one day a week on my calendar just to think. All of my greatest opportunities ideas or money making ventures started with the days I took off to think. I used to lock myself away in my den with strict instructions to my family that under no circumstances would I to be disturbed. The Think strategy worked for Einstein who actually did his pondering in a special thinking chair.
Master philosopher Jim Rowan astutely observes that there are two major pains in life. One is the pain of discipline the other is the pain of regret. Don’t want to look back years later saying if only I had taken up that business opportunity. If only I had saved and invested regularly, if only I had spent more time with my family, if only I had taken care of my health. John Garter the famous explorer at the tender age of 15 sat down and made a list of 127 challenging lifetime goals he wanted to accomplish. By the time he turned 50, he had successfully completed more than 100 of the goals on his list. One of Schuler’s comment said it all I think when you have big dreams you attract other big dreamers. Third, and this may be the wisest strategy, selectively share your dreams with the few people you trust. What contribution do I want to make? What do I want to become? What do I want to learn? What do I want to spend my time with? How much do I want to earn save and invest? How much time do I want off for fun? What will I do to create optimum health? Write a number beside each goal 1, 3, 5 or 10 years.
The seven goal categories are financial, business, fun time, health, relationships, personal, and contribution. When you dedicate a portion of your time to accomplishing one significant goal in each of these areas every 60-days you will have balance and peace of mind.
Start with small increments and gradually increase the size of your goals. To keep those in the forefront of your mind review them daily. Most people don’t even have an action plan for their goals. When you have written out your seven major goals shift your focus to the week ahead. We call it the seven-day focus.
At the beginning of each week select the three most important things you want to accomplish. Phone your partner at the beginning of the week and share your three most important activities. Seven days later discuss your results, victories and challenges and start the process for the following week. At work John has a first class personal assistant who allows him to focus on what he does best. Consequently he does not get caught up in unnecessary paper work or become distracted by people who could waste valuable chunks of his time. Because of this ability to be well organized he enjoys most weekends off. Although he starts the day early John is rarely home later than 6:00 p.m. allowing him special time with his family. Remember if you want a different result do something different.
B is for blue print. This is how you prepare for the day. You do prepare don’t you? A blue print is simply a map for the day. Recent research indicates that if you create your blue print the night before rather than in the morning, your unconscious mind will actually work during the night figuring out how to fulfill your next days plan. Have you ever observed people who are not in the habit of designing a blue print for the day? You will meet a few in most sales organizations. They tend to hang around the coffee pot first thing in the morning. Socializing and reviewing the newspapers are high on their agenda. Perhaps the first sales call happens around 11:00 a.m. so you can imagine how productive the rest of the day is likely to be. The one thing that separates winners from losers is winners take action.
Learn from others, you can learn a lot by observing and studying other people.
What do wealthy people do?
How do they become rich?
Why do some people struggle throughout their lives?
Why are only a small percentage of people financially independent?
I then ask them to raise their hands if they had ever approached any of these two or three people to ask them what their secrets of success were.
We honor the people who are successful but we are afraid to approach them and ask them for information, direction and guidance.
There are essentially two things that will make you wiser. The books you read and the people you meet. If you really want to rise to the top invest one hour of your day to learn more about yourself in your industry. Developing this simple habit can make you a world expert within five years. Remember the use of knowledge is power.
Exercising improves your sleeping habits.
Increases your energy levels.
Relieves stress and anxiety.
Helps you promote a healthy posture.
Relieves digestive disorders.
Enhances your self image expands career longevity.
The more time off these people take the more money they make. If you realized how powerful your thoughts are you would never think a negative thought. It’s a wonderful feeling to have special people in your life that can enrich and nourish you in many different ways. In fact when your time is almost up on this planet and you doing a little reflection on how it all worked out you’ll probably remember the relationships you call today and the unique memories and experiences associated with those people especially your family and friends. This is important stuff in life versus burning yourself out at the office.
One blast of negative energy from their lips can erase that smile on your face permanently. These people are poisonous to your health. You need a long range antenna to keep them outside your boundaries at all times. This constant negativity will drain the life out of you. They also inform you with a noxious cynicism that you can’t do this and you can’t do that especially when you have a really great idea. They delight in bursting your positive bubble. It is the highlight of their day. Don’t put-up with it any more. You could choose the type of people you want in your life. If something is dragging you down all the time make a decision, let go and move on.
One of the first things my success mentor W. Clement Stone suggested I do was to make a list my friends. And he directed me to put the letter “N” next to each person who nourished and encouraged me to be great. People who are positive optimistic solution oriented and have a can-do attitude. Next he asked me to put the letter “T”, behind every person who you talk with. Surround yourself with positive people if you want to be successful you must hang out with the successful people.
Do I like them?
Do I trust them?
Do I respect them?
Look for clues that demonstrate their integrity, honesty and experience. Watch how they treat other people. Little details will offer big insights are they in the habit of saying “please” and “thank you?”
Your clients are your passport to future growth. New business is important. Getting in touch with your best client is more important. Also be aware of the time you spend on people who are peripheral clients. They commonly take a lot of your time and energy and give you little business in return. All research indicates that very little time is allocated for clients. Consequently these relationships never mature to their full potential.
Now let’s take a look to your most important personal relationship. Take a close look at this list and review the amount of time you spend with these people. Is it sufficient to enjoy quality time?
When you ask someone to be a mentor it’s the ultimate compliment. The mastermind group requires the meeting of the mind. What’s your greatest challenge at this time?
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears our presence automatically liberates others.
Unfinished business is a term describing all the messes in your life that you haven’t dealt with. There are three ways to handle this - we can play the denial game, you can go into limbo, you can confront the issue head-on. Usually we don’t like confrontation, it’s uncomfortable and there is a certain amount of risk involved. Step into your fear. Another important factor is the energy you consume when you live in fear. You can’t afford to have all that vitality bottled up. They restrict your capacity. Be aware that unfinished business is an on-going reality.
Every week something will happen that needs to be resolved. Don’t allow these things to fester. Everything you want is on the other side of fear. What do I really fear? What can I do to overcome this?
Confidence grows by doing not by thinking. We must learn to forgive, second forgive your-self. You must give to be free. Too many people never let the real person within them come alive. Consequently they live a dormant and unfulfilled existence. Instead of gloriously stretching and challenging to be all they can be, they flounder in everyday life.
Everyday remind yourself that you did some things well. Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies. Be thankful build excellent support around you. Push yourself to accomplish or trim goals do something for your self every week.
The road to confidence is paved with weekly victories. Learn to applaud them. When I get stuck I restart myself by focusing on one goal I can finish in the next seven days, something simple. I don’t think about anything else that usually starts my momentum again. When you think you can’t revisit a former triumph.
After you sell your business do you want to buy one ask for written endorsements. Another good option is pick the most powerful sentences from 10 different testimonials and paste these on one page with the names of your clients.
One reason we can offer you such a great price is that we also asked for three estimate referrals I am sure you know the value of referrals in return we promise to give you the best in service so you’ll be happy with your decision to do business with us. Would you please introduce me to a few people of equal quality to you. Should I pay people for giving me referrals, ask for more business. Many people lose thousands of dollars and bills every year because they have nothing more to offer after the initial bill. Adding one more question at the end of a sale can significantly increase your income. Remember if you don’t ask someone else, will ask.
Consistent persistence – you will never achieve big results in your life without consistent and persistent action. This lack of consistency you will wreck your team unity. In today world the answer is simple.
Make a list of 6 things you absolutely have to get done in the next 3 months. These are activities that must be completed for whatever reason. After each activity that you have to do write one word that describes your feelings about it. Take a look at each item and one at a time put a line through each task. That’s right, cross it off your list. You don’t have to do any of these things. In life you don’t have to do anything. The big point we are making is that you don’t have to. If the feeling is negative you automatically create a negative energy that drains your capacity.
Make a list of at least 6 things you want to do or choose to do in the next 3 months. This is a different list. What are you really looking forward to doing? Again choose a word to describe how you feel about completing each item on your list. Well it’s easy to feel good about things I want to do but life isn’t always like that. There are lots of things I don’t like to do but I have to do.
Everything in life is a choice absolutely everything. All the results you are currently experiencing in your life are absolutely perfect for you. The reason you are where you are in life is simply the result of all the choices you have made to this point.
When you say things like “she made me angry,” the truth is that you chose to be angry. You didn’t have to be angry you responded with anger instead of making a different choice. When you live each day from the position of choose-to you are in a position of power. You feel in-charge and in control of your life. Make every activity a conscious choice, no more “have to,” list.
Starting today eliminate those words from your vocabulary. Regain your power. Expand your energy and enjoy the freedom that imparts consistent choosing adds to your life. When you consistently make better choices you create better habits. These better habits produce better character when you have better character you add more value to the world you become more valuable, you attract bigger and better opportunities. This allows you to make more of a contribution in your life. Remember your dominant thoughts usually win out when it comes to everyday decision.
Make sure your conscious choices are moving you closer to the completion of your most important goals it is also important to understand that choosing not to do something is a valid position. I choose not to watch TV for 3 hours every night. I choose not to waste my time reading some fictional newspapers. I choose not to become a workaholic.
The double way formula is agreement and accountability. All broken relationships can be traced to fact of the broken agreement. True integrity is based on keeping your agreements when you consistently do what you say you will do the names attached to our “reliable” and “trustworthy.” Always start the correspondence with “as promised.” For example “as promised here is a quote.”
There are six good reasons you may be procrastinating.
You are bored.
You are overwhelmed with work.
Your confidence has slipped.
You have a low self worth.
You are doing what you don’t really enjoy.
You are easily distracted.
Make sure you are not one of these frustrated individuals who go through life with the label “does not complete,” as Jim Rhone so eloquently says.
“The pain of discipline weighs ounces whereas the pain of regret weighs tons”.
W. Clement Stone had a unique way of pushing himself to take action. He would stand in front of the mirror and with great vigor smash his hands together explaining loudly as he did say “Do it now.” He would repeat this action three times this anchored him for the jobs ahead it must have worked. When he was 21 the Great Depression had set in. Undaunted young Stone started his own company called Combine Insurance, hired one thousand skilled people and built it into one of the largest enterprises in North America. I am going to do the work I enjoy carry a 3 x 5 cards that say “I am so happy I am.” Read this card at breakfast lunch dinner just prior to sleep so you become one with idea and eventually it will become a reality. Why hesitate? Upon the flames of hesitation are the bleached bones of countless million who on the threshold of victory sat down to wait and in waiting they died.
Somewhere between 35 and 55 the famous midlife crisis appears. Is this all there is? They begin feel bored something is missing.
What am I going to do with my life?
What is my life’s work all about?
What legacy will I leave behind when my time is over?
The challenge:
Let others lead small lives but not you.
Let others argue over small things but not you.
Let others cry over small hurts but not you.
Let others leave their future in someone else’s hand but not you.
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