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Best Success
If you have a choice each day in the tasks that you face, a choice between doing what is urgent and doing what is important, which do you choose?
Overnight success seems to be happening to a lotof other people all the time.A new popstar arrives in a blaze of glory and isan instant success. A hotshot businessman or online marketer suddenly appears, telling how they are raking in millions.So how come you aren't an overnight success?Why are you still working so hard at your business,your career or whatever else your personal viewof success maybe?Well here's the shocking truth about becomingan overnight success....It doesn't happen overnight.Take some time out and lookup some of the apparentovernight success stories, and you'll find a commontheme running along all of their stories.Almost without exception they were all working hard,exactly the same way you are, for some time before theyacheived "overnight success".Read or watch interviews with popstars who have suddenlyappeared and you'll find they were playing small gigs,knocking on talent agents doors, entering contests foryears before they were discovered.The highflying business owner or "new internet marketingguru" has a string of failures behind him or her preceding that one big breakthrough which launched themto guru status and the big earnings.
I'm going to begin this article by sharing a little secret with you?
What does a sharp saw have to do with lifelong learning? For all you Covey fans, you know Dr. Steven Covey coined the phrase "sharpen the saw" in his highly acclaimed book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. To me, I think about a saw sharpener as a complicated device that I would never be able to use. Doing an image search on "saw sharpener" on Google shows 423 different pictures of saw sharpening devices that require you to know various things and exert various amounts of effort to "sharpen a saw" in the traditional sense. Now there are probably close to this many ways we can keep our own saws sharp by continuously learning. I won't bore you with all of them, but I will outline a few of the ones I?ve found helpful below.
All of us could work on our skills in influencing others - whether it is within a company, a family, or a group of friends. Within the corporate world, influence is a power that you can control with your supervisor, upper management, customers, and co-workers.
Nicholas Darvas, escaping his war-torn homeland, Hungary, sought refuge in Turkey in June 1943. In Istanbul, however, he faced a new crisis. Now, he had no friends, no money, no knowledge of Turkish, and no citizenship. He risked starvation. He also risked losing his sense of being special. He didn?t want to be poor and hungry for the rest of his life. No, he had fonder hopes for himself. He wanted to thrive. He wanted to be an outrageous success.
If you want to be rich and famous, you have to focus on your strong points. Don't dwell on your weaknesses. Choose your strongest asset and build it into a formidable asset.
The Great Library of Alexandria once held the wisdom of the ancient world. When it burned down, billions of invaluable thoughts perished. One book, however, survived. Since it wasn?t considered a valuable book, a poor man bought it for a few coppers. He was not very literate and thought the book dull. The only thing of interest to him was a thin strip of vellum. Written on it was the secret known as the ?Touchstone.?
I was in the gym, pushing my adolescent muscles to their limit. The other dudes where there too, getting their various degrees of "pump" on. And there he was, the one we called "Pec Man? This cat looked like all he did in life was work his chest. His twin peaks of manhood bulged and glistened before us as he paused every 5 seconds to admire his life's work. Awe and envy filled the space whenever we beheld his mountainous presence.
The scene from "Biloxi Blues" where Matthew Broderick's character kept asking, "Is the heat getting hotter?" was looping in my mind. Indeed, the surface of the sun may well have been a cooler place to spend the day.
After 13 years of being married to the same woman and working for the same employer, I had a crisis in motivation. My marriage, ended in an unmitigated emotional and financial disaster. In short order, my career path went awry as I was ?reorganized? out of a job. My life seemed to be a study in chaos and failure. I felt somehow cheated. At 38, I was too young to quit, but felt too old to start over. I'd strived to be the devoted husband, model citizen, the über employee. Still, I lost. Or did I? How was I measuring success? Weren?t my efforts to be my best worthwhile? These are questions most of us will struggle with a few times in our lives. How we answer them will either fuel us for further progress or immolate us in a bonfire of self defeatism.
Many people consider reading books a waste of time. It is just so easy to switch on the television, put the brain into neutral and accept everything that is shown to you. Some even boast that they have not read a single book since they have left school. That is definitely something that I would not be proud to admit.
The Law of Experience
Think back to a time in your life when you felt inspired and excited to make a significant change. Did you go for it or did your inner obstacles get in the way?
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Top Ten Ways To Create Positive Behavior Change1. Open your mind to new ideas: Positive behavior change has to start with your thoughts. Get excited about learning new methods, developing new skills and doing things differently. Anything else is "text-book insanity" ? that's when you do the same things the same way and expect different results.
Changing Your Mind Can Be a Wrestling MatchIf you've been walking this earth for any length of time, it must be pretty clear by now that if you want to make changes in your life, the first thing that needs to change is YOUR MIND! But here there's a problem - maybe a lot of problems - called LIMITING BELIEFS...ideas about yourself and the world that keep you from forging through change.
Tracking Success With A Goal Tracking ChartCreating a goal tracking chart is as simple as drawing a basic grid or table. Create as many vertical columns as you have goals to include, and include a horizontal row for every sub-goal or milestone you wish to divide your goals into, plus one row on top for your "Finish By" date and one row below for your goal heading or title. [Hint: Creating a goal tracking chart poster-sized on inexpensive and brightly colored poster board ensures visibility and accountability!]
3 Powerful Tips to Help You Have Your Best Year EverHere are 3 powerful steps you can take to free yourself from frustration and to start enjoying the good life so many are enjoying right now:
Creating A Life You LoveImagine that right now, right here, today? there is within your grasp not one but several opportunities to redesign specific aspects of your life so that the sum total is a life you absolutely love. Then imagine that the only thing standing between you and your opportunities is a closed mind, fear, habits, concern, worry, drama, or perhaps mental, physical, and emotional clutter. Do you know what a default is? It's what you get when you don't choose to get something else and for most of us a default life is average and mediocre with sprinkles of joy in between. A default life is living for the weekend. A default like is hanging on 'til retirement. A default life is waiting for the kids to grow up, move out, and finish college. A default life is waiting, and waiting, and waiting for things to get better someday?one day.
Create Credibility for SuccessBack in my early marketing days, finding the magic ticket to online success was my prime focus. Day after day I became engaged in the journey to find the internet "El Dorado". I did find what I was looking for, nothing more than a fistful of air. The online marketing formula for success was always right in front of me or rather right inside. And yet still so many marketers are out there searching for that elusive ticket to success.
ExpectationsI'll let you in on a little secret...life delivers pretty much what you expect it will. If you want to have success in life, you must train yourself to expect success.
Success ...Whats the Key Ingredient?Don't expect results over night - what??
What is Optimum Performance?What is Optimum Performance? This question raises different responses from different people. It causes people to ponder issues like:
The #1 Success Secret of All TimeFrom time to time I receive correspondence from individuals with questions and concerns about their own individual prospects for personal and/or monetary success. The concerns from one request to the next are usually very similar...
An Honest Commitment To Action Is Key To Your SuccessWith topics in personal development ranging from goal setting to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and many things in between it's no wonder at times we are left feeling as though all this learned knowledge is not being made the best use of. We wonder why it's not working for us.
What Are the Nine Bodyparts of a Better Life?Your Head, think about what you want and move towards itEveryday we have several opportunities to make a change for the better, the worse or just say the same and everytime we make a decision in one of these directions. At breakfast you could have oatmeal, or toast and jam, or you could have a coffee and a donut, your decision could often be better. When you get to work you could take the elevator only part way and climb a few flights in the very empty stairwell or you could choose to take an elevator to your floor. Don't feel too terribly bad about all of your decisions as you should know that not many others are making a great decision every time either. I ride my bike to work every day and in a building of 1000 people I am one of three bike riders. Look at these decisions one at a time and if it is a little easier carry around a notebook and write down things to do better. Try to resolve today to just do a few things alittle better than you did yesterday.
So What is Success Anyway?Well I'll tell you what it's not. Even thought many of us like to periodically visit our own personal Fantasyland complete with its mansions, servants, fancy cars and trips to exotic places (check under the heading of "What I Would Do if I Won the Lottery") most of us over the age of twelve with any experience under our belts are realistic enough to recognize our Fantasyland for what it is. A fun place to visit but one sorely lacking in personal fulfillment.
The Characteristics of a WinnerAs kind of a hobby I like to watch people. Just kind of sit back and quietly watch how they react and respond to others and their environment. Through the course of this activity I've noticed a few things that the real winners in life seem to have in common. I'd like to point out a few of these characteristics for the purpose of reinforcing them.
Evaluating Your Associations (Part Two)Two weeks ago we took a look at the power of influence in our lives and how it is possible to be nudged off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?"
Reach Your Goals - Step Into Your Own TruthCreate a truth and step into it
7.9 Things I Learned About Success From Darth VaderUnless you have been living in a cave, you have probably seen Star Wars 3. I did some 'thinking outside the box' and came up with some ideas about success from watching the movie.
Adaptability as a Key to SuccessDo you ever stop to consider how much we change and grow as people? I'm not talking so much about "maturing" or physical growth. What I'm driving atis the changes that occur inside of us; the changes in thought and self perception. We are constantly bombarded with an incredible amount ofinformation. Our grandparents didn't get nearly as much stimulation in their lives as we get in a single day. We are exposed to more ideas, morelifestyles, more ideologies every week than our great grandparents ever heard of. So given this fact it is imperative that we learn good copingmechanisms and a strong sense of focus.
Reach Your Goals - Aim For The ImpossibleChoose "impossible" goals
The True Key to ProsperityTo have a high probability of becoming prosperous, you have to start with one very important decision!
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